Those of us who live and work in the political scene are more likely to remember which of the board members on a random school district are up for re-election next year, than our mother’s birthday.

It is in that spirit that I launch the OC Power Broker Series and encourage my fellow FR contributors to do the same in their region. If you landed in Orange County and needed to get a quick lay of the land of government and politics and media or you needed help on a political/government related issue here is the beginning of the list of go to people (in no particular order).

1. Me. I say this not because I am the solutions to your problems/answer to your dreams, but I know one thing for sure–my limitations. Like most of the people listed below, I would never take on a project that was outside their sphere of expertise. Rather true power brokers know when to refer to the right talent.

2. Scott Baugh. As chairman of the… Read More

Rarely is there actually some exciting floor debate to watch on C-SPAN but Thursday and Friday were exceptions.

Thursday was the debate over the Deficit Reduction Act, a bill to reduce federal government spending by $50 billion. If you saw the debate around midnight, you saw Arkansas Democrat Marion Berry (no, not the former DC mayor) call Texas Republican Jeb Hensarling “Howdy Doody” and youthful Florida Republican Adam Putnam “boy.” That exchange led to a flurry of back-and-forth involving Rep. David Dreier who did receive some criticism for failing to call for Berry’s remarks to be stricken from the record.

But last night was something to behold. Republican leaders, who previously committed to bring Rep. Bill Thomas’s tax reconciliation bill to the floor withdrew the bill. Instead, they chose to call the bluff of Pennsylvania Democrat John Murtha’s proposal for an immediate withdrawal from Iraq. Rep. Duncan Hunter, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, introduced… Read More

GOVERNOR & LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR SHOULD RUN AS TICKET The California State Constitution provides for the electorate to vote on the offices of Governor and Lieutenant Governor separately, each then being independently elected officials. Often times, this has led to our top two officeholders not only being from different political parties, but it has also resulted in their being virtually no professional relationship between these two top constitutional officeholders. Fresno Bee political writer and columnist John Ellis pens a column today illustrating the lack of relationship between Arnold Schwarzenegger and Cruz Bustamonte.

This is a tragic waste of what could be a key position in the state government. I often cite Florida as a state from which California could learn many things. In the Sunshine State, the candidate for Governor picks a Lieutenant Governor… Read More

Former GOP Assemblyman Steve Samuelian was back in the news today, although I think unfairly so. Those of you who follow State politics know that Samuelian was a long time GOP political operative, District Director for Congressman Radanovich, and then served one term in the Assembly before electing to not run for re-election. I will not go into the issues which led to Samuelian’s decision to not seek re-election. They are widely known and if you don’t know do a Google search and learn for yourself. Although he was one of my very good friends and political allies for several years, I have not seen or spoken to him for almost three years.

Since his decision to leave the Assembly he has started a lobbying firm and has been hired by many of the Central Valley’s top companies to represent their interests to State and local government. This isn’t surprising to me. For all of his previous difficulties, he is one of the hardest workers I have ever met, and he deserves a chance to make a living and support his family. The… Read More

Here is how Orange County’s legislators stack up as rated by the various Sacramento interests groups. A special thanks to Chuck DeVore for compiling these results and for being a conservative superstar. Mimi, way to go!

California Chamber of Commerce Ratings – this is a basic measure of how pro-business a lawmaker is, defined here as against higher taxes and more regulations. A higher percentage should be considered an indication of votes for free-enterprise.

State Assembly R- Bob Huff: 100% R- Chuck DeVore: 100% R- Mimi Walters: 100% R- Lynn Daucher: 92% R- Todd Spitzer: 92% R- Van Tran: 92% R- Tom Harman: 91% D- Tom Umberg: 33% D- Rudy Bermudez: 17%… Read More

I was inspired by Adam Probolsky’s post this morning and did a little comparison of our San Diego legislators. If Chuck DeVore has the time to compile the results, then I can find the time. With no reference to my public school upbringing, thanks to most of the rating organizations for already having figured the percentages.

San Diego shares Mimi Walters and Bill Morrow with The OC, in case you noted them on Adam’s list already. (Denise Ducheny, Ray Haynes and Dennis Hollingsworth have also been sighted in other counties at times.)

If these limited numbers mean anything other than fodder, Haynes scored the highest overall from a conservative standpoint, with Hollingsworth a close second. Although she was a strong contender as a freshman, Lori Saldaña did not quite dethrone Chris Kehoe for liberal dominance in San Diego. And, what’s up with Shirley Horton’s rather high 46% rating from Lambda? Must be the district.

By the way, Orange County has more legislators – and Republicans, for that matter – than does San… Read More

So Carly Fiorina wants to be Lieutenant Governor. Or more accurately, somebody wants the former CEO of Hewlett-Packard to be LG. Whether that person is someone who knows Fiorina, advises Fiorina, or is Fiorina is unknown. But since we like unsubstantiated gossip just as much as any group of self-respecting political bloggers, let’s think this through.

First of all, she’d be running against Senator Tom McClintock, who is almost certainly the most respected conservative officeholder in California. It’s hard to imagine the amount of money it would take Fiorina to win a closed primary. In fact, that sum probably does not exist. So she’d lose and tear the party into pieces in the process. Since nobody actually ever wants to be LG unless it’s a stepping stone to another office, this wouldn’t be the best way for Fiorina to begin her political career.

But Fiorina also represents exactly the type of candidate Republicans need to recruit and run to become a majority on California. She’s smart, she’s tough, she’s articulate, and she brings a solid set of private sector and communit service credentials to… Read More

PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION VICTORY Congratulations to attorney Harold Johnson and the other friends of the FR at the Pacific Legal Foundation. Yesterday a judge ruled in their favor in a lawsuit filed to stop the State of California from, in essence, borrowing $550,000(ish) by deferring required pension payment obligations. The judge ruled this borrowing unconstitutional do to a very strict cap in the State Constutition on how much the state can borrow without approval from the electorate. It’s GREAT that we have an orgaization like PLF out there looking out for the rights and packetbooks of taxpayers! You can read three articles on this court ruling on the FR main page, and read the PLF release here.

MEATHEAD’S LATEST SOCIALISTIC PLAN… Read More