Until the "reforms" of 2001, the LA Area was represented on the CRP Board by the Vice-Chair South. I was privileged as a "young punk kid" to have been elected to that position in 1993 and re-elected 1995. The new plan gave Los Angeles a separate slot. The elections for these positions can help determine the direction of the CRP Board. In Los Angeles only one candidate has announced. Doug Boyd.Boyd is familiar in LA and for the matter state politics. After leaving the military he hooked up with the LA County Party and became their Executive Director. He was an AA for Dick Mountjoy, COS for a BOE Member (like the use of acronyms there?) and a congressional staffer. Boyd was also the political director for Getty Oil. That’s a company I read … Read More

A couple of years ago when my youngest child was about two years old, my husband bought one of those giant inflatable snowman and snow child and put it up in our front yard about two days before Christmas. My son was delighted to have his very own snowman and periodically had to go outside and check on his new friend. Early the day after Christmas, my son wanted to go check on his snowman and, since his dad was sleeping in, I took him outside…only to find the snowman was gone. When I woke my husband to find out why he had taken the display down so early, he had no idea what I was talking about. Apparently, the snowman was stolen on Christmas night, which left both of us asking, “What kind of person steals a Christmas decoration??”

The people of West Portal Lutheran… Read More

The inaugural issue of Red County magazine features this article by writer John Scott Lewinski on the rise of the Orange County blogosphere. Lewinski interviews FlashReport publisher Jon Fleischman, OC Register political writer Martin Wisckol and yours truly.

(Please -e-mail your name, address and phone number to editor@redcounty.com if you’d like to receive the next issue, due out in February)

… Read More

The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Logan Jenkins delivered anothergreat column yesterday, especially if one follows SD North County politics. A humorous and biting look at some of the political and other ongoings this past year in our northern areas of the county.I don’t always agree with Logan’s politics, but he’s funny…and a great writer.

I’ll get to it in a minute, but reading Jenkins’ wit does bring up a continuing question. Why is it that only the North County is blessed by SD’s newspaper of record with the kind of attention deserving of its own columnist? The politicians in the other areas might not like the prospects, as they could be outed a bit more, but I say bring it on (especially now that I’m out of office…ha!) After all, North County is not the only area of SD home to shenanigans. Plus, Logan doesn’t just hand out bricks…he often gives out bouquets when deserved (an example of both). If they’re doing a good job, the politicos in the non-northern cities should… Read More

I guess we will find out in early January whether California Republicans — especially mainstream GOP voters and those in the GOP donor community — elected a Governor who will stand by the most significant major tenets of the Grand Old Party, or whether they were used by a politician who is prepared to turn his bust of Ronald Reagan to face the wall. How Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger approaches his self-imposed top priority of working to tackle the issue of access to and affordability of health insurance for all Californians will define his commitment to core Republican principles. Arnold Schwarzenegger campaigned for re-election saying that he is fiscally conservative, socially moderate and progressive on environmental issues (or something close to that). Well, as we said at the time, EVERY issue facing state government is ultimately a fiscal issue, and improving access to healthcare is definitely a fiscal issue. As such, we are all hoping that it will be fiscally conservative Arnold Schwarzenegger that steps up to give his State of the State Address in January. There is a very basic and important Republican principle at… Read More

I guess we will find out in early January whether California Republicans — especially mainstream GOP voters and those in the GOP donor community — elected a Governor who will stand by the most significant major tenets of the Grand Old Party, or whether they were used by a politician who is prepared to turn his bust of Ronald Reagan to face the wall. How Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger approaches his self-imposed top priority of working to tackle the issue of access to and affordability of health insurance for all Californians will define his commitment to core Republican principles. Arnold Schwarzenegger campaigned for re-election saying that he is fiscally conservative, socially moderate and progressive on environmental issues (or something close to that). Well, as we said at the time, EVERY issue facing state government is ultimately a fiscal issue, and improving access to healthcare is definitely a fiscal issue. As such, we are all hoping that it will be fiscally conservative Arnold Schwarzenegger that steps up to give his State of the State Address in January. … Read More

Tonight, FR’s former State Capitol Correspondent, Karen Hanretty, with be guest-hosting for Sean Hannity on the Hannity and Colmes political show. You won’t want to miss this! The details: Foxs News Channel, 6 p.m. California time. If you miss it, or want to watch Karen twice, it will play again at 11 p.m. Karen has appeared on the program before, but this is a pretty big deal, to guest host a show. Congratulations Karen!

Before her ‘starring role’ with us here on the FR, Karen worked on Governor Schwarzenegger’s campaign in the recall election in ’03 and also served as Communications Director for the California Republican Party.

Actually, you can Tivo the show, and mass produce it onto video-tapes as stocking-stuffers for all of your friends.… Read More

This column by Governor Schwarzenegger ran today in the L.A. Daily News:

TIME FOR A CHANGE ON HEALTH COVERAGE By Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger One of the most serious problems facing California and our nation is the large number of people without medical insurance. In California, 6.5 million people – more than any other state – have no medical insurance for all or part of the year. Nationally the number is a staggering 47 million. But this is not just a problem for the… Read More