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:

Despitethe FR Publisher’s attempt to delete my post. See below. Here is the post Jon didn’t want you to see :).

In a move upsetting the long held assumptions about this race, Harry Scolinos dropped his bid for the Republican nomination in 59th Assembly District.

For my past report on this race click here.

Scolinos’s campaign needed to get get going in order to win this race. A successful lawyer and bisinessman, it looks like he liked making money instead of running for Assembly. (BTW nothing wrong with that)

This changes the dynamic in the raceinthree ways.

This self funding conservative dropping his bid should help front runner Anthony Adams. Clearly Anthony Adams looks like the most conservative candidate.

But in this district geography is an issue. You have the San Gabriel Valley in Los Angeles County and the High Desert in San Bernardino County and a forest in between. Scolinos and the other two major candidates hail from the San Gabriel… Read More

In response to yesterday’s post on retired NFL cornerback Scott Turner making a run for Duke’s former congressional seat, which apparently resulted in a few media inquiries, I received a call from Congressman Duncan Hunter’s office this morning.

Scott Turner, although he has interned for the Congressman and assisted the office with support-the-troop efforts, is not an aide to, or in any way a paid employee of Duncan Hunter.

He is, however, running for Congress. (You still read it here first.)

I stand corrected, as does this blog, and I apologize for my reference to Scott as an "aide to Congressman Duncan Hunter."

I am, however, glad to know the media and congressional staff are reading the FlashReport.… 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