Monday Assemblyman Van Tran (R-68) is set to annouce he will seek the GOP nomination for the 34th Senate Dist. Tran was just elected in 2004 to the Assembly after serving on the Garden Grove City Council. Tran may face Lynn Daucher (R-72) who is termed out. I expect Daucher will drop her bid with Tran coming on strong.

Even after winning in the Primary, Tran will face the Democrat in a district that will have a plurality of Republican voters, but has sent a Democrat to the Senate twice in the last eight years. Assemblyman Tom Umberg is the leading candidate for the Dems, while County Supervisor Lou Correa is also rumored to be considering a run.

Also this week expect to see Janet Nguyen, Republican Garden Grove… Read More

Governor, I’m not sure I can make the case any more.

I can do the "He’s Better Than Angelides" argument: that one’s still easy. But for the last several weeks, I’ve maintained that your new approach has more to do with tone and emphasis than any substantive policy change. The Administration’s new state budget proposal makes that a lot more difficult.

As my friend Fleischman noted, I was quoted in this morning’s San Diego Union Tribune saying the following:

"Almost every policy proposal that’s come out of the Governor’s Office over the last week or two is not significantly different from things he’s talked about in the past. But he’s making a much greater effort to emphasize a more moderate and conciliatory approach."

When I spoke to the reporter writing this story, that’s what I believed. But that was before the governor released his new budget.

I’ve… Read More

Dan Weintraub of the Sacramento Bee has the makings of a great policy idea Here is his proposal, which I have reprinted below, and I have some brief comments at the end:

A MODEST PROPOSAL From Dan Weintraub’s Political Insider Weblog It hasn’t received a huge amount of attention since no one is screaming about it, but the increase in education spending in the governor’s budget proposal comes to a cool $600 per student in K-12, or an 8 percent increase over the current year. I offer a modest proposal here for how that money might be best … Read More

Walnut, Salifornia is one of those places that isreally hard for teachers to work in. The place has the highest test scores in the San Gabriel Valley. If you drive through Walnut you see plenty of businesses that offer tutoring. (Which makes you wonder if the teachers or the tutoring are responsible for the high test scores?)It is a Republican area to boot.

Now the union there really has it rough. Despite all the allegededucation budget cuts, the district is offering a 4 percent raise. The union bosses wants a 5 percent raise. See article here. What’s a union goon to do?

I knowthey should vandalizethe homes of board membersand threaten them andother districtemployees.See the article here.What the articles don’t tell you is thatthe head of union made the statement that they can’t be held responsible for what someone might do two nightsBEFORE the vandal(s) struck.

That makes the uniontotally responsible.… Read More

The FlashReport has a very narrow focus on California politics. So why this short column on the importance of an Arizona Congressman running to replace Tom DeLay as Majority Leader of the United States House of Representatives? Well, an ancillary effect of his candidacy is significant California news, because Shadegg is stepping down as Chairman of the Republican Policy Committee, one of the top leadership posts. None other than "our own" Darrell Issa is now campaigning for this seat (read more about it on the FR Weblog).

Arizona Congressman John Shadegg is a leader of the Republican Study Committee. Last week, we featured a column from Congressman Ed Royce, another strong conservative Congressman, on the importance of the efforts of the RSC. Frankly, the current leadership of the House of Representatives has failed in its primary mission. When Republicans… Read More

Some explanations for California’s ongoing budget problems

For the first time in four years, California does not expect a budget shortfall in the coming fiscal year, thanks to unexpected tax revenue pouring into the state this year.

But a $6 billion deficit is expected to return during the 2007-2008 fiscal year, with continued deficits anticipated for the next several years. Here are some of the central reasons why state government has so much trouble living within its means:

MANDATED SPENDING As much as 70 percent of spending in California’s budget is mandated through federal law, court order or voter initiatives. Even if lawmakers had the will to cut, most of the reductions would fall disproportionately on specific programs. Some of those smaller pieces of the budget pie are considered critical such as certain law enforcement, parks and recreation, and public health programs.… Read More

The Republican National Committee is made up of about 165 or so members (a rough estimate), which includes the 50 State Republican Party Chairmen, and a Committeeman and a Committeewoman from each of the 50 states and the U.S. Territories. So California’s three representatives to this body are CRP Chairman Duf Sundheim, Tim Morgan, and Barbara Alby. As a practical matter, when there is a Republican in the White House, the RNC members, in practice, defer the running of the National Committee to the President, who exercises this faith by naming the Chairman of the Party (in this case, Ken Mehlman), who goes through a ratification vote by the full committee (but I don’t think the committee has ever turned down the pick of a President). The Chairman runs the day-to-day operations of the party. The Republican National Committee meets from time-to-time as the policy-setting body of the RNC. Under party rules, they are involved with budgetary issues, matters concerning party rules, the… Read More

The Republican National Committee is made up of about 165 or so members (a rough estimate), which includes the 50 State Republican Party Chairmen, and a Committeeman and a Committeewoman from each of the 50 states and the U.S. Territories. So California’s three representatives to this body are CRP Chairman Duf Sundheim, Tim Morgan, and Barbara Alby. As a practical matter, when there is a Republican in the White House, the RNC members, in practice, defer the running of the National Committee to the President, who exercises this faith by naming the Chairman of the Party (in this case, Ken Mehlman), who goes through a ratification vote by the full committee (but I don’t think the committee has ever turned down the pick of a President). The Chairman runs the day-to-day operations of the party. The Republican National Committee meets from time-to-time as the policy-setting body of the RNC. Under party rules, they are involved with budgetary issues, matters concerning party rules, the… Read More