ITS ALL ABOUT THE LAWYERS… Well, the new candidate on the block for State Attorney General on the GOP side, Pierre Prosper, is finding out that making his case to the GOP faithful will be a tough one. The front-runner for the Republican nomination, Chuck Poochigian, starts with a seemingly insurmountable advantage, whether you look at endorsements (Poochigian enjoys unanimous endorsements from all of the GOP legislators, and a host of others), he had a tremendous amount of grassroots support acquired from years of toiling in the vineyards for causes dear to the GOP faithful, he has raised over $3 million with around $2.5 million cash-on-hand, and has ace political guru Ken Khachigan to make sure those funds are spend wisely. All of that said, it is certainly the case that Poochigian’s substantial support was garnered in the vacuum of an unopposed… Read More

Popular north San Diego Assemblyman Mark Wyland has opted NOT to run for the seat of retiring GOP Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham. Wyland, instead, will seek the open seat of termed-out State Senator Bill Morrow.

This is ‘hot off of the press’ from regular FlashReport San Diego Correspondent Duane Dichiara, who is Wyland’s Chief of Staff. Dichiara, who is having a busy day I am sure, called me long enough to say that Wyland has decided to run for State Senate. I’m sure we’ll hear more from Dichiara later on the FR blog.

As for instant analysis from me, here is something basic, leaving the rest Dichiara, and presumably FR blogger Joe Justin (who is running Morrow’s campaign)…

The field of candidates for the safe Republican Congressional seat is still a crowded one, including State Senator Bill Morrow and former Assemblyman Howard Kaloogian, who are generally considered the conservative candidates — and former Congressman Brian Bilbray and businessman Alan… Read More

I got a lot of comments on my OC Power Broker Series published yesterday. So I am continuing with it today. I want to make a few things clear. 1) These people are listed in no particular order. 2) You can be important, elected and or rich but that does not make you an OC Power Broker. To be one, you have to possess extra-ordinary ability to navigate the political and more specifically the government scene.

So below is the list continued without numbers…

Brett Barbre. Elected member of the Municipal Water District of Orange County and chief-deputy to OC Treasurer John Moorlach. Barbre is a leader in the effort to build a tunnel between Orange and Riverside counties. With Moorlach running up-opposed for OC Board of Supervisor, watch for soon to be COS Barbre to gain influence.

Gary… Read More

Alternative ending to Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back: It’s the climactic laser-sword fight between fledgling Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker and the sinister Sith Lord, Darth Vader. Young Luke is down to one arm, no weapon, and cowering precariously at the end of acatwalk when Vader lays the bad news on him: "I am your father."

Now at this point, instead of bugging out and throwing himself into the abyss, what if Luke had thought it through?

Alternative Scene One, Take One:

Vader: "I am your father."

Skywalker: "Get out. Dad wasn’t black."

Vader: "This is a mask, stupid. Join me."

Skywalker: "Well, o.k., but you’ll need to give me a hand, since you chopped off my other one."

The point is, maybe they could have worked together, as Vader suggested, whacked the Emperor, and Luke could have helped dad with some of his totalitarian and planet-destroying… Read More

NEW VERSION OF PAYCHECK PROTECTION? Lew Uhler, President of the National Tax Limitation Committee, and the ‘father’ of current Paycheck Protection movement is looking towards a new ballot measure for November of next year. This one would have a different twist to it. Here is a pull-quote from an interview that Uhler has in today’s George Skelton column (featured on the FR main page):

Los Angeles City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo is finding out that running statewide has its bumps.

First the story about his favors for "slumlords". Now the LA Weekly is exposing his firing of a tough deputy attorney that may have helped let a child molester go. Read it here.

And there is still 7 months before the primary!… Read More

I’m embarrassed that Congressmen Dennis Cardoza, a Democrat from the Central Valley, would be able to get ‘ink’ in the newspaper attacking the Republican leaders of Congress for running up deficits and poor fiscal management.

"The Republican Party has abandoned fiscal conservatism and embraced a budget system with no accountability," he said. (The short article is linked on the FR main page.)

Why embarrassed? I’m embarrassed for the opportunity lost. That the Republican Party nationally has an elected GOP President and members of our Party hold a majority of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives, yet, there has been growth, not reduction, in federal spending in Washington.

The GOP watched and decried the Democrat controlled Congress who, for years, increased the size and scope of the federal bureaucracy. In 1994, after two years of Bill Clinton, the voters had enough of this irresponsibility, and put Congress in the hands of the GOP. I can understand, with Clinton in the White House for another six years, the challenges of trying to reduce spending (kind… Read More

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