You may have read in my commentary yesterday that there is currently a controversy underway in the race to succeed the disgraced Duke Cunningham in the 50th Congressional District in San Diego County. The issue at hand is that one of the candidates, former Congressman Brian Bilbray (pictured), is a registered federal lobbyist, but really isn’t keen on listing that particular profession as his ballot title. So Bilbray, who has made about a third of his lobbying income over the past six years from an immigration reform group, filed as his ballot title: "Immigration Reform Advocate" – which apparently didn’t pass muster with the Secretary of State’s office. After some back-and-forth, the Secretary’s office signed off on "Immigration Reform Consultant." Well, the predictable next chapter in this story has now… Read More

Today’s A1, above the fold Fresno Beestory on Fresno City Police Chief Jerry Dyer potentially entering the County Sheriff’s race is a bombshell and will no doubt change the dynamics of the race. According to the Bee, Dyer is seeking a ruling from the State Attorney General’s office to find out whether he can can serve simultaneously as Police Chief and Sheriff. Should he receive a favorable ruling, he’s probably in the race and most likely the presumed front runner. The issue? Consolidation of services between the Sheriff’s office and Fresno PD. It’s an issue that has been talked about to death, but as Police Chief and candidate for Sheriff, Dyer could make it happen. He is very visible and respected in the local area.

Declared candidates with some strength behind them areSheriff’s Captain Colleen Mestas, who seems to have good community support and "under the radar" support from Congressman Radanovich’s operation; Clovis City Mayor and Clovis PD Captain Jose Flores, a recent Republican… Read More

Sometime very soon, Randy "Duke" Cunningham will receive his sentence from the judge. The maximum penalty is 10 years in prison. Frankly, a truly remorseful Duke Cunningham should just accept the judgment of the court, and serve the time he is given.

But even now, after everything he has admitted to doing, he has his lawyers trying to lesson his sentence, to shave as much as 40% off of the decade behind bars that is his due. From the San Diego U-T:

The San Diego Union Tribune has just announced that ex-Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham has been sentenced to a term of 8 years and 4 months in prison. He is taken into custody, and ordered to pay $1.8,000,000.00 in restitution.

Read more about it here: SD U-T article.

Since his forced-retirement from Congress in the ’90s, Brian Bilbray has been a federal lobbyist representing at least seven different clients since 1998 – including the Federation for American Immigration Reform, the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians, the County of Los Angeles, San Diego Gas & Electric and more. According to the Center for Public Integrity, who publish information on registered lobbyists on the internet, Bilbray took in just over $700,000 in fees from his clients from 1998 to 2004 — last year’s numbers aren’t posted yet. Of these fees, a little over one-third has come from his immigration reform client, which becomes signficant as you read on. Answers.com defines a lobbyist as a person who solicits members of a legislature for the purpose of influencing legislation. Of course, the… Read More

Matthew Dowd, senior strategist for the Schwarzenegger for Governor campaign sent around the attached memo to Team Arnold folks, in which he discusses the current political environment surrounding the Governor’s race, especially with the release of the latest Field Poll data. It’s worth a read. Don’t worry, unlike many of these ‘insider memos’ this one is actually short and to the point.… Read More

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today announced the appointment of John Laettner to a judgeship in the Contra Costa County Superior Court.

Laettner, 50, of Walnut Creek, has served as assistant United States attorney in the United States Attorney’s Office since 1989. He was previously deputy district attorney in the Tulare County District Attorney’s Office from 1985 to 1989. Laettner also served as an associate with Stammer, McKnight, Barnum and Bailey law firm in 1983. He earned a Juris Doctorate degree from Hastings Law School and Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, San Diego. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Merle Russell Eaton. Laettner is a Republican.

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Since the GOP Convention, when a resolution was overwhelmingly passed by delegates asking the Governor to appoint Republican judges,… Read More

In recent days, Medical Marijuana supporters and former Assemblyman Bruce Thompson have come out in support of term limits for the SD County Board of Supervisors. Although this may seemingly put the conservative Thompson in strange company,it’s pretty clearthere appears to be no connection between the two … other than a shared dislike for incumbent Sups, or perhaps one incumbent Sup … in Thompson’s case.

Thompson’s campaign against Supervisor Bill Horn (pictured here with a mic, not a bong), rich with endorsements but apparently strapped for cash against the Horn war-chest, is simply tossing a needed issue into the public fray that Horn will either have to ignore or be hard pressed to ‘splain his position on.Here’s most of the Thompson release:

Fallbrook – 5th District Supervisor candidate Bruce Thompson formally announced today that as a County Supervisor he would immediately introduce a motion to adopt term limits for the… Read More