We’re down to less than two weeks left in the campaign.

We know how all but 3 down-ticket races are going to end up.

How LG, Controller, and Sec State turn out is still to be determined. Lots of decisions still are to be made and lots of money is still to be spent.

Each campaign still has some significant cash that will make a difference in the outcome. But legitimately, these three races are looking like they will be more shaped by independent expenditure efforts than by their respective campaigns.

And that isn’t a knock on the campaigns. The slates have been bought. The research has been done. It’s just that with the cash left for the last 13 days, these IE’s have far more to spend than any down ticket candidate.

On the Dem side, the Unions have pulled their money out of Angelides’ sinking ship. How much will they really end up spending on down ticket races? And where will they focus their efforts? These will be big questions in the coming 13 days.

First to see some major action on the Dem side is John Chiang, who yesterday received a $262,000 tv buy from the unions.

On the Republican side, some businesses are putting… Read More

There is some rhetoric flying around about what the Governor was and was not supporting by way of public employee pension reform last year. The Governor was supporting a change in pensions that would have shifted public sector employees from what is called a “defined benefit” program to what is called a “defined contribution” program. This change, which would have applied to only new hires (all existing public employees would be ‘grandfathered’ under the current rules), would have simply moved the methodology behind public sector retirement benifits to those used in the private sector.

In a defined benefits system, if an employee works for a set number of years, there is a specific formula of exactly how much the employer (in this case, the government) would pay a retiree, based on factors like their last salary, etc.

In a defined contributions system, the employer makes a specified contribution each pay period, or month, or year, into a retirement account for that employee (often times employees can augment this amount). Then this fund (like a 401k) grows over time resulting in an eventual retirement “nest… Read More

The wave of taxpayer groups and fiscally conservative leaders urging a sweeping NO on all five bond measures continues to grow. Lew Uhler’s influential National Tax Limitation Committee PAC has posted its ballot recommendations, and they oppose all nine spending measures, including recommending a NO on 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E and 84 — the five big bad bonds packages.… Read More

The California Voter Foundation has been around since 1994 and is most well known for its online voter guide. It’s founder, Kim Alexander, and I go way back — to before we were both bit by the political bug.

Anyways, Kim and several of her friends can be seen singing the "The Proposition Song" – a musical tribute to the wacky 13-issue long ballot. Hear the song and see it being sung by going here.

I was trying to figure out how to hijack the You Tube video so that I could have the song display the FR’s recommended ballot picks as each was referenced during the song. No such luck.

Besides, I am fairly certain the the Jon Fleischman ballot and the Kim Alexander ballot are NOT the same… OK, very sure. Check out the song – it’s great!… Read More

Tom McClintock and John Garamendi went head-to-head for the second time in a one-hour debate before the San Francisco Chronicle Editorial Board on Monday. The debate was filmed at KPIX-TV. (Watch it here.)

Executive Life, the Enron-type scandal that has haunted John Garamendi for more than 15 years, triggered a lively discussion between McClintock and Garamendi in the final 10 minutes of the debate. It’s really worth watching… Emmy award-winning political reporter Hank Plante asked the last question of the candidates, and it was about the Executive Life commercials that have been running statewide featuring Sue and Vice Watson.

[See Hank Plante’s video story on the debate… Read More

I just broke this story on Red County/OC Blog.

Otto Bade, who was the GOP nominee in the 69th Assembly District in 2004, has qualified as a write-in candidate in the 34th Senate District. The Secretary of State should certify him in the next day or two.

Since Otto has a snowball’s chance in hell of actually winning, the only impact he can possibly have is to hurt Lynn Daucher’s campaign.

So why is he doing this? Is it purely retaliation against Lynn Daucher — and by extension Dick Ackerman — for their lack of support for his doomed 2004 campaign? Or are extra-party factors involved?

Stay tuned…… Read More

Tom McClintock and John Garamendi went head-to-head for the second time in a one-hour debate before the San Francisco Chronicle Editorial Board on Monday. The debate was filmed at KPIX-TV. (Watch it here.)

Executive Life, the Enron-type scandal that has haunted John Garamendi for more than 15 years, triggered a lively discussion between McClintock and Garamendi in the final 10 minutes of the debate. It’s really worth watching… Emmy award-winning political reporter Hank Plante asked the last question of the candidates, and it was about the Executive Life commercials that have been running statewide featuring Sue and Vice Watson.

[See Hank Plante’s video story on the debate… Read More

Check out Campaign for Children and Families’ ballot recommendations:

CCF’s Recommendations on the 13 Propositions Vote YES on 1A, 83, 85 and 90

1A YES Makes it harder for the State to raid transportation funds for other “programs” 1B NO Instead of $38.9 BILLION in new debt, build roads with existing state funds 1C NO Instead $6.1 BILLION in new debt, ease state restrictions on new housing 1D NO $20.3 BILLION in new debt won’t improve academics or discipline in schools 1E NO This wasteful $8 BILLION expense won’t fix many levees or reform levee politics 83 YES Toughens laws on sex offenders, but 83’s actual impact is questionable 84 NO Costing taxpayers $10.5 BILLION, 84 is a slush fund for environmental activists 85 YES Protects minor daughters from secret abortions by requiring parent notification 86 NO $2.1 BILLION annual cigarette tax is money grab by the medical establishment 87 NO Taxing oil will raise gas prices, the wrong… Read More