On Friday, the Governor appointed three new Judges in Los Angeles County. As part of our effort to look a the Governor’s appointments with an eye on the partisan registration, here they are (the original release is here):

Thomas T. Lewis, 56, of Thousand Oaks, has practiced family law as a partner with the law firm of Rehwald, Rameson, Lewis & Glasner since 1984. He was previously an attorney with the law firms of Rehwald, Rameson & Smith from 1980 to 1984 and Freeman & Freeman from 1978 to 1980. Lewis has also served as a judge pro tem for the Los… Read More

On the San Bernardino County side of the 65th Assembly District, the candidate who seems to be drawing the most local support is Banning Councilwoman Brenda Salas. Although she’s from Riverside County, she’s secured the support of three members of the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors: Paul Biane (R), Josie Gonzales (D), and Gary Ovitt (R); aswell as San Bernardino County District Attorney Mike Ramos (R), and a host of business, developer, and local-types.

Salas’ consultant, Joe Giardiello, has worked San Bernardino County for a number of years, and has already proven he can listen to advice, in this case that given by fellow FlashReport contributor Phil Paule. The Salas campaign’s walk piece focuses a great deal of attention on her opposition toillegal immigration, which Phil was concerned about, in addition to her work as a regional chair of Jessica’s Law, HJTA membership, and why she joined the Party of Reagan after starting life in the Party of Jefferson — William Jefferson Clinton that is. Salas has a good team and enough money to get her message out.

The presumed frontrunner, San Jacinto Councilman… Read More

There appears to be a new candidate exploring a run for the 59th Assembly District currently held by Dennis Mountjoy. Previously, the two main candidates running in this desperate district are Anthony Adams from the Hesperia part of the District and Chris Lancaster from the San Gabriel Valley part of the district. There is a candidate called by me as the “wild card” Barry Hartz and another by the name of Susan Slater. You can read my latest post on this race here and that of FR contributor Brad Mitzelfelt here. The candidates that has been making some calls in ….. Kevan Otto. Who is Kevan Otto? Well, I haven’t met him yet, but this is what I know. Otto hails from the San Gabriel Valley portion of the district and … Read More

I am sick to my stomach this morning, reading the stories that detail the actions of former Congressman Duke Cunningham.

When he first resigned as news came out about how he had used his office for personal gain, I made my opinion on this very clear. After all, like so many others, I had walked precincts for Cunningham and gotten to know him. During my many years of being a volunteer leader in conservative and Republican politics, I had always been proud that we had a decorated veteran, and a conservative stalwart like "Duke" in Congress. Anyone involved or interested in public policy or politics needs to read these articles today. It is overwhelming that one person can have combined so much greed with so little ethical standards. We’re talking millions. We’re talking about handwritten memos detailing how much personal take the Congressman would need to award government… Read More

I am sick to my stomach this morning, reading the stories that detail the actions of former Congressman Duke Cunningham.

When he first resigned as news came out about how he had used his office for personal gain, I made my opinion on this very clear. After all, like so many others, I had walked precincts for Cunningham and gotten to know him. During my many years of being a volunteer leader in conservative and Republican politics, I had always been proud that we had a decorated veteran, and a conservative stalwart like "Duke" in Congress. Anyone involved or interested in public policy or politics needs to read these articles today. It is overwhelming that one person can have combined so much greed with so little ethical standards. We’re talking millions. We’re talking about handwritten memos detailing how much personal take the Congressman would need to award government… Read More

For those who do not know, after my interest in politics, two other areas of passion for me include travel and wine. I consider myself to be a wine ‘enthusiast’ — having a modest collection of my own. I’ve been a member of the Free the Grapes organization for many years. These are the folks fighting make sure that all Americans, regardless of which state they call home, have the ability to order wine directly from wineries and wine producers. You see, going back to the days of Prohibition, there are a lot of states that have prohibitions on the direct-shipping of wine to consumers or to businesses. Many states have what they call a ‘3-Tier’ shipping system, which means that states require wine shipments to go through a distributor, and then on to the consumer. This is an antiquated system that is really government regulation that forces wine consumers to spend more on their wines, as this… Read More

According to the Alliance of Western Milk Producers, Governor Schwarzenegger has asked dairyman Dennis Leonardi to resign his position on the Northern California Water Resources Board because he sells his milk to Humboldt Creamery, which has a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NDPES) permit. There is a state law disallows any board member from receiving more than 10% of their income from an organization that holds an NPDES. Leonardi’s business does not hold the permit–the creamery he sells his milk to holds the permit. I do not believe that this is a new law that was enacted after Leonardi was appointed so the question is: what changed between when Leonardi was appointed and now? The Alliance, which calls this situation a "travesty," believes that the governor’s office is interpreting the law too… Read More

We’re now making an effort to keep a closer eye on Gubernatorial appointments, with a specific eye on political party registration. Yesterday, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced twelve appointments (read more detail here). If you are keeping score, they are: 7 Democrats, 3 Republicans, and 2 Decline-to-State.

DEMOCRATS: 7 Cleotha Adams, 49, of Marysville, has been appointed to the Corrections Standards Authority. Adams is a Democrat.

Carol Biondi, 62, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to the Corrections Standards Authority. Biondi is a Democrat.

Robyn Boyer, 57, of… Read More