FR FEATURED IN THE CHRONICLE Yesterday, San Francisco Chronicle reporter Carla Marinucci penned a very flattering piece on this website, which appeared on the front page of the second section of the paper! It is a great read, and a lot of folks say some very flattering things. Please take an opportunity to check it out! (This photo to the right is me working on this site – a photographer came to my home in the early hours of last Wednesday morning!)

MARK LENO: PRO-CRIMINAL Today’s lead feature column in the FR is an eye-opening piece from Assemblyman Todd Spitzer (pictured to… Read More

FR FEATURED IN THE CHRONICLE Yesterday, San Francisco Chronicle reporter Carla Marinucci penned a very flattering piece on this website, which appeared on the front page of the second section of the paper! It is a great read, and a lot of folks say some very flattering things. Please take an opportunity to check it out! (This photo to the right is me working on this site – a photographer came to my home in the early hours of last Wednesday morning!)

MARK LENO: PRO-CRIMINAL Today’s lead feature column in the FR is an eye-opening piece from Assemblyman Todd Spitzer (pictured to… Read More

When the smoke cleared, there was no fire on this particular rumor…

Over the weekend, I reported on the rumor that Governor Schwarzenegger’s Deputy Chief of Staff for Legislative Affairs, Richard Costigan, was leaving soon to take a position in the private sector. As I said, I’d received a half a dozen different contacts on this, and so I reservedly shared the rumor with FR readers. Well, this morning I had an opportunity to "ping" that rumor with someone who would definately know if this is true or not. It’s not. While invariably Richard will leave the Governor’s staff at some point (he is in one of those "24/7"… Read More

Veteran Democratic operative and LA Weekly political columnist reports at New West Notesthat the media buyers for another type of veteran, Swift Boat Veterans for Truth are asking for ad rates and time slots. Does this portend the influx of 527’s campaigns that can circumvent campaign finance laws or is it an old fashioned Independent expenditure? Like a gubernatorial campaign can run on at a little over $20,000 a donation.Read the article here.… Read More

People in positions of power inevitably attract the ‘crazies’ people who 1) have a lot of time on their hands, 2) passionately believe in something, however misguided their belief is, and 3) take action to show the world how crazy they are.

Well our own Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona is no different from any other high profile elected official. Last week the crazies came out to protest him. It wasn’t clear why they were protesting although the wife of a candidate who is opposing the sheriff was there according to the Orange County Register.

Outside of that handful of crazies, the rest of Orange County is solidly behind the Sheriff. Illustrating my point: Diane Harkey who is running for 35th Senate District brags about her endorsement from the Sheriff in the same column in today’s OC Register. As Harkey’s pollster you can bet I only advise her to promote endorsements who play well with the voters.

Also on the Carona front, the Register points out he has $340,000+ in the bank. I will let the Carona campaign… Read More

I’ve been out of commission for a couple of weeks and just now catching up with the news. Last week’s PPIC poll has some in our State wondering if the Governor’s post special election strategy is working, as his approval ratings are inching back up from the lows of last fall.

The answer is: no.

Anecdotally, which is one way of gaining a feel for political winds in the air, we know the Governor has depressed his base horridly, and the chances of recovery are slim to none. This is based on email I receive, conversations in restaurants and social functions, and with my small business peers. Without exception these encounters have been pretty much the same. People around here admire his moxy for making a run at reform for the special election, but are disgusted with his State of the Union proposals. “What the hell is he borrowing all this money for?” is a common question.

Another way of looking at poll numbers is through the prism of recent political history and here my analysis is simple – he’s running unopposed at the moment. He’s active, in the news, proposing policies and there are pictures of him… Read More

A while back, rumors were circulating (though not on this website) about the imminent departure of the Governor’s Deputy Chief of Staff for Legislative Affairs, Richard Costigan. Costigan (pictured to the left with the Governor), a solid Republican who formerly was a legislative go-to guy for the California Chamber of Commerce, has been Arnold’s point man with legislators since his rise to office in the 2003 special election.

The rumors of his departure have returned in ‘full force’ the last couple of days, enough so that, this go-around, it is getting a mention right here on the FlashReport.

Word is that Costigan is going to be departing for a job with Ameriquest Mortage Company. Ameriquest, of course, is a juggernaut in this mortgage lending business, and… Read More

In today’s San Francisco Chronicle, political writer Carla Marinucci has penned a feature story about the rise of conservative web sites in California politics, and spends a large portion of the article on the FlashReport. While I published the FR as a e-newsletter for years, the last four months that we have been online have really seen a surge in our readership and role in the process. I want to encourage all FR readers to check out Marinucci’s piece, which begins below.

This article coming out is a great time to thank some important folks without whom this all would not be happenned: First and foremost I want to thank our site contributors on the Weblog — this is a dedicated group of connected California politicos who DONATE their time to keep you all ‘in the loop’ in every corner of the state, in our state and federal capitols. I would also like to thank the dozens of prominent folks who pen the great columns that you read featured on this site. I’d like to give a ‘shout out’ to my development team at Cloudspace, for working diligently with me to custom-design the FlashReport.… Read More