Tom McClintock needs to drop out of the long shot, virtually impossible run at Lt. Governor and run for Congress NOW. The GOP majority is a rudderless, uninspiring bunch that is in dire need of intellectual arguments against the hate filled left. Elton Gallegly may be a great guy, but he brought nothing but a reliable vote to the table.

This could be the one chance we have in Washington to have a positive, conservative agenda. Tom McClintock – you are not going to be the Lt. Governor this fall but if you run for Congress, you will be the Congressmen. It’s time to run for a seat you can win and keep for a long time. Where do I send my $2,000?… Read More

I just spoke with Strickland Team insider Joel Angeles, who confirmed for me that if it is true that Elton Gallegly is running for Congress, that former Assemblyman Tony Strickland is prepared to retool his run for State Controller into a run for the House of Representatives. You can be very sure that the first endorser that Strickland would get for this race would be that of the local Assemblywoman, his wife, Audra. Right after that, look for the next endorsements to come from two opposite sides of the GOP spectrum — the local State Senator, Tom McClintock, would certainly support his close ally running for Congress — and of course State Senator Abel Maldonado would be pleased as punch to have a free ride to the GOP nomination for State Controller.

There is one legal question running through my mind right now — about whether Strickland can ‘unring’ the bell on his filed candidacy for State Controller — and what happens with that. One thing is for sure, Strickland… Read More

I can’t imagine a worse way to end a career in Congress than pulling the manuever that Elton Gallegly has in Ventura County today…and it might work…but probably not.

Apparently unlike State Legislative seats, filing does not extend if an incumbent doesn’t file (FR friend and political law expert Chuck Bell verified this for me). Gallegly, by waiting until two hours before the close of filing on the last day to file to announce his plans is really trying to stick it to former Assemblyman Tony Strickland.

Right now, Strickland has dozens of volunteers converging on the Registrar’s office to sign nomination docs in time for him to file for Congress.

Shame on Gallegly for this kind of street theater..is he like four years old? Even the often-immature Bill Thomas retired with a week to give other candidates time to file…… Read More

Elton Gallegly can chuckle over a beer tonight at his apparently successful effort to thwart our representative democracy. Despite a last minute scramble by Strickland and his supporters to get him filed – there was not enough time. So on the ballot is Gallegly (who has filed but announced he is retiring and will not be waging any campaign) and some obscure fellow named Tannenbaum. Strickland has a few days to consider whether he will try to mount a write-in effort, or keep his eye on the State Controller’s seat. In the meantime, if anyone sees Elton Gallegly around town, avert your glance. He has brought shame on himself and the GOP today…… Read More

The next few days should tell us how much legislative Republicans want to see Arnold Schwarzenegger re-elected.

The infrastructure bond currently being negotiated does not appear to meet the principles of fiscal conservatism that Tom McClintock outlined in January. But that bond, regardless of the policy specifics involved, is a key to the governor’s re-election. While Schwarzenegger can certainly be re-elected running a “taxes on steroids” campaign against Phil Angelides, the ability to tell voters he’s done something significant in terms of road, school and levee construction will make that task much easier.

So do Assembly Republicans protect the state’s fiscal situation and endanger Arnold’s re-election.? Or do they compromise on principle under the assumption that four years of Governor Angelides would be much more damaging?

My guess is that six Republicans in the Assembly compromise, just enough to get the bond on the ballot. The rest of the caucus gets to have it both ways. That’s one of the few advantages of life in the minority caucus.… Read More

No, its not the famous actor Laurence Olivier – he’s not with us anymore. But there is another Olivier running for California’s top spot – and this one is the former Mayor of Bellflower, Art Olivier (pictured). Today, Olivier announced his candidacy for the Libertarian Party nomination for Governor of California. Olivier is a pretty big deal with the Libertarians, I guess — apparently he was their party’s nominee for Vice President in the 2000 national elections sharing the ticket with Harry Browne, who recently passed away. Olivier, a husband and father of four, is the former Mayor of the City of Bellflower in Los Angeles County. In reading about his announcement, there are a lot of things he says that make a lot of sense. That said, in the United States, we pretty much have a two… Read More

The single most important decision that the legislature will make this year is whether to put a massive infrastructure borrowing plan in front of California voters this year. There is a lot of pressure mounting in the Capitol right now as Secretary of State McPherson has said that the deadline for the legislature to place an item on the June ballot is tomorrow (although many have said there is a week of ‘cushion’ in there).

Everyone in the capitol, the Governor, the Democrat Leadership, the Republican Leadership, all agree on the need for infrastructure investment. However, HOW THIS IS DONE IS VERY, VERY IMPORTANT.

When FR contributor Barry Jantz and I met with two Deputy Chiefs of Staff to the Governor in the hours leading up to the State of the State Address in January, a few key points were stressed to us: the Governor would insist that needed reforms (such as revamping the CEQA process) would be in this package, that there would be a 6% hard borrowing cap in the package, and that the Governor was committed to making sure that this bond measure did not get ‘loaded up’ with spending that wasn’t for basic… Read More

The single most important decision that the legislature will make this year is whether to put a massive infrastructure borrowing plan in front of California voters this year. There is a lot of pressure mounting in the Capitol right now as Secretary of State McPherson has said that the deadline for the legislature to place an item on the June ballot is tomorrow (although many have said there is a week of ‘cushion’ in there).

Everyone in the capitol, the Governor, the Democrat Leadership, the Republican Leadership, all agree on the need for infrastructure investment. However, HOW THIS IS DONE IS VERY, VERY IMPORTANT.

When FR contributor Barry Jantz and I met with two Deputy Chiefs of Staff to the Governor in the hours leading up to the State of the State Address in January, a few key points were stressed to us: the Governor would insist that needed reforms (such as revamping the CEQA process) would be in this package, that there would be a 6% hard borrowing cap in the package, and that the Governor was committed to making sure that this bond measure did not get ‘loaded up’ with spending that wasn’t for basic… Read More