SENATE GOP LEADER ACKERMAN ON 34TH SD: "THE LIKELY CANDIDATE IS LYNN DAUCHER" Yesterday it was announced that Assemblyman Van Tran (from north/central Orange County) would be forming an exploratory effort at a potential run for State Senate in the 34th District, currently held by Democrat Joe Dunn. This seat is in play because voter registration there has closed considerably (less than 2 points) thanks to the leadership of Orange County GOP Chairman Scott Baugh, and heavy financing from The New Majority, an elite GOP funding group. You can read about Tran’s efforts (along with who is helping him) here where I spoke with him, as well as more analysis from FR Orange County Correspondent Matt… Read More

In his first interview to the press, former State Senator Dick Mounjoy outlined the conditions and reasons for running for United States Senate. See the story by political reporter Mike Sprague in the Whittier Daily News here.. You can read my quick analysis here and FR contributer Phil Paule’s ishere.… Read More

A seemingly slow day on the FR blog. The other correspondents must be Christmas shopping.

In the effort to post something of a holiday nature, how about the following missive from Richard Rider’s San Diego Tax Fighters … somewhat of a Christmas present to Faulconer and Acle, to go along with their Union-Tribune endorsement … as long as they don’t mind being the lesser of evils. It’s fun reading, however you look at it:

San Diego Tax FightersE-mail: RRider@san.rr.com 22 December, 2005

SDTF Announces San Diego City Council Endorsements

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Richard Rider, author

San Diego – San Diego Tax Fighters has made its endorsements in the two January special elections for San Diego City Council. As is often the… Read More

I’ve said before that I don’t see the world from the same perspective as columnist William Bradley, who writes for the Los Angeles Weekly. But I have also said that he is an extremely talented writer, who continues to produce some well-written and thought-provoking columns. I just read his latest one, and feel it is worth sharing. In it, he pens a version of how he believes Governor Schwarzenegger began his rightward/Republican shift (which, of couse, Bradley characterizes as "wrong"). Did it all happen the way Bradley pens it? Well, perhaps only the Governor, and advisors Mike Murphy, Pat Clarey, Rob Stutzman, and Richard Costigan know the answer. Nevertheless, fun reading:

You surf over 40 webpages each morning, and you are bound to miss something. I’ve always been annoyed that the Sacramento Bee carries one of their political columnists, Dan Walters, on their online politics page, but they ‘hide’ the other prominent political columnist, Dan Weintraub, over on their opinion page.

Well, today Weintraub has an excellent column that I totally missed. It will appear on the main page tomorrow, but it is definately worth a read. In it, he looks at whether the issue of reformining the abuses of the emminent domain system here in California (this is where government can take property from a private citizen over their own objection) will becom the next Proposition 13, in terms of being a rallying issue for property owners all around the state. The column takes a particular look at the efforts of State Senator Tom McClintock at putting forward a ballot measure that may appear on the ballot next year (coincidentally when McClintock himself will appear, as a… Read More

This time of year we often reflect upon the things and people we are most thankful for. Given that traffic is the number one issue among voters in just about every Southern California community, most voters are thankful for just about any proposal to build new freeway lanes. And don’t be surprised if the voters, even the most conservative of the bunch vote for a massive bond measure or sales tax hike if they are promised more lanes.

Orange County Supervisor and OCTA Chairman Bill Campbell is pushing a good idea that would not cost nearly as much as widening a freeway. He along with his colleagues are urging Caltrans to allow carpool lanes in Southern CA to be used by all vehicles regardless of the number of passengers on off-peak hours. Additionally, the proposal is… Read More

Since it’s been a couple of months since we last updated you on Jessica’s Law, here’s the latest. The legislative package (SB 588 and AB 231) has run into Democrat opposition in Sacramento (as mentioned by Jon Fleischman in a recent commentary), most notably by Senate President Pro-Tem Don Perata (D-East Bay) and Senator Dean Florez (D-Bakersfield). The Press-Enterprise editorial page last week called the Democrats’ position "disingenuous," adding that the Democrats’real objection is to the "harshness of the bill." Read it here. The editorial points out that "the Democrat-controlled Senate and Assembly Public Safety Committees killed nearly 30 measures last session that would have placed greater restrictions on high-risk offenders."

Meanwhile, the proposed legislation, which would make California’s laws against sexual predators the most… Read More

Not to debate either Duane or Jon (see their posts below), but perhaps to "moderate."

Using Jon’s ACU ratings, Hunter scores a 92, one less than Issa. Bilbray comes in at 71. Self-described moderate Mike Castle is at 59, which our fearless FR leader describes as "considerably more to the left than Bilbray." Some, maybe many,would call Castle a liberal.

I know I went to public schools, but the difference between the scores for Castle and Bilbray is a mere 12 points. Between Bilbray and Hunter? … 21 points. If Castle is considerably to the left of Bilbray, then clearly Bilbray is significantly to the left of Hunter and Issa. But, who’s counting (besides me)?

Who, then, is the moderate? It depends on where you draw the line.

My gut indicatesthat a conservative will win the 50th … or someone who convinces the voters they are such. Any consultant worth their salt will claim their candidate fits the mold of the district.… Read More