In my last two years in the Senate, I used to take responsibility for everything the Republicans did wrong in California. It started when, in December, 2000, then President Pro Tem John Burton asked me to preside over the swearing in of the new Senate members that year. About a month later, the electricity crisis hit California in a big way, and Democrats in the Senate spent the whole time trying to blame Republicans for the collapse of the grid. Since they, at that time, controlled both houses of the Legislature and the Governor’s office, it was hard for me to figure out how we could have done anything to cause the problem. Then it hit me. I presided over the Senate for twenty minutes in December. Sure it was just the swearing in ceremony, but, if as the Democrats said, the electricity crisis was Republican’s fault, and I was the only Republican in any position (in that case, the presiding officer of the Senate for 20 minutes) to do anything, I must have done something then to screw up electricity in California. I apologized for my error, and assumed full responsibility for it from that point forward. It was a fun joke for a couple of years, and it… Read More

For those not following the interesting politics of our neighboring state, Nevada, United States Senator John Ensign, a Republican, suddenly announced he is quitting from office, effective Friday. He cited ongoing personal costs of an ethics investigation, the details of which are suitable for People magazine… It is widely anticipated that Republican Governor Brian Sandoval will appoint Congressman John Heller (yep, an “R) to fill out the remaining 20 months or so of Ensigns term. Heller is the leading GOP candidate for that seat at this time. When that happens, it will set into motion a special election to fill the Heller seat…

Native Californian and FR friend John Fund, an editorial writer for the Wall Street Journal, penned this very interesting analysis that reveals an interesting twist. One of the candidates (some would say the leading candidate) for the GOP nomination for Heller’s seat is Sharon Engle (yes, the controversial conservative GOP nominee for U.S. Senate in Nevada last year who came up short in her efforts to knock off Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid). However, it’s not Republican voters who get to pick the GOP… Read More

Drafts of the remapping of California’s congressional seats and state legislative districts will be unveiled by the state Redistricting Committee on June 10. Final lines will be approved after public comment by August 15, according to the Committee.… Read More

Assemblywoman Yamada helps out

What is Assemblywoman Yamada (D-Davis) doing in Otay Mesa on a Wednesday night? Touring the border? Offering Northern California’s help on water issues?

Nope, she was here to support her embattled daughter Midori Wong, the Executive Director to the San Diego Redistricting Commission. For the FlashReport readers around the state not familiar with the… Read More

The Bee’s latest rant against Amazon.com was heavy on rhetoric but light on substance. It accused the online retailer of being a dishonest “scofflaw” with “questionable ethics” for allegedly refusing to abide by the same rules as “honest retailers.”

Why only Amazon is singled out as a scofflaw isn’t clear. Like Amazon, thousands of out-of-state companies make sales into California each year without collecting and remitting sales tax. Californians are supposed to pay use tax on these purchases, but according to The Bee’s logic, these retailers are the real scofflaws for failing to do “good deeds” by collecting taxes they aren’t legally required to collect.

Does The Bee really think California’s retailers should collect sales taxes for 44 other states plus the District of Columbia even though the law doesn’t require them to do so?

And does The Bee’s parent company McClatchy out of the goodness of its heart pay sales tax for subscribers who live in other states? For instance, does… Read More

Some random thoughts on the passing California political scene…

There are a great many politicians waiting to see what the new political boundaries will be for our federal and state legislative seats. The two Congressional delegation members who are clearly the most prepared, financially, to fend off any potential interlopers (read: neighboring Members of Congress who may want to run in the same district as them) are Orange County Republican Ed Royce, whose war chest is sitting at over $2.5 million, andDemocrat Brad Sherman of the San Fernando Valley who has stockpiled over $3 million bucks in his re-election kitty. Royce is likely to see a North and East Orange County seat that will be very well suited for his him, though neighboring Reps. David Dreier and Gary Miller may be a tad jealous — and in need of seats. Sherman’s challenge is that his currently-quite-gerrymandered seat is likely to become populating with many more Latino voters, which may invite a “healthy discussion” over whether Sherman is still the “right fit” for the district. No matter what, Royce and Sherman are well armed in the currency of politics –… Read More

I happened to be in Tucson for a series of business meetings this last weekend, however, I noted with interest that California GOP activists Celeste Greig, Placer County’s Tom Hudson and Orange County trial lawyer Craig Alexander were all re-elected to their positions in that volunteer organization at its Sacramento convention, by about 40 votes each, after about 125 delegates were disqualified from voting by the credentials committee controlled by the trio. I believe there are some legal issues hanging out there about disenfranchising all those delegates, almost 40% of the total submitted, but unfortunately none of it is good for the future credibility of a CRA endorsement. Candidates beware!… Read More

An interesting political drama has been unfolding in the troubled city of San Diego for several months. The debate centers around pension reform, and mayoral politics.

On one side, City Councilman Carl DeMaio, a candidate for mayor, was beating the drums of “comprehensive” reform. He released a detailed proposal in November that outlined a series of policies that would flatline the city’s skyrocketing pension obligations.

On the other side, Mayor Jerry Sanders and Councilman Kevin Faulconer attempted to tackle the issue with a more moderate approach that excluded all public safety employees (who make up half of the pension debt) and allowed pension “spiking” to continue.

At the peak of the drama, Sanders and Faulconer declared much of DeMaio’s proposal to be illegal, banned him from participating in discussions, and then publically released their own proposal. The media, business community and DeMaio harshly criticized their plan and forced them back to the negotiating table.

Earlier this month, all three parties released a “unity” ballot initiative, brokered by the Lincoln Club and San Diego Taxpayers… Read More