Let’s hope that Governor Brown and his people are taking note of the education debate raging in Illinois.An article in today’s Wall Street Journal sums up the plan under debate:teachers would not earn tenure until they’ve been rated "proficient" or "excellent" by their principals for four years; tenured teachers rated "ineffective" for two years could lose tenure, districts would have an easier time dismissing ineffective teachers and layoff decisions would be made based on teacher performance—as opposed to seniority.The final piece of the proposal would restrict teacher unions’ ability to strike by requiring them to take part in mediation (and give school boards the power to accept the mediator’s solution) before striking. According to the WSJ, this deal is being rushed because state officials want to offer this up in exchange for a tax increase. … Read More

Sometimes when you read about the discussions taking place within Sacramento’s political class, you just have to shake your head. It has been widely reported that Governor Brown is planning on asking the legislature, in some bipartisan fashion, to place on a special election ballot an extension of the largest tax increase in the history of California (or any state, for that matter). If there is a little deja vu factor here, that’s because this has happened before in the not-so-distant past…

In 2009, in what has been characterized as the worst political move in state history, the Governor and the legislature first enacted what was called a "temporary" increase in income, sales and car taxes (yes, Virginia, right in the midst of a recession when families are trying to make ends meet on tight budgets). These taxes, it is estimated, sucked about $1,500 annually for two years from every family in the state, to provide about $15 billion in additional tax revenues to state government. In addition, in this same terrible "deal" for taxpayers, the legislature also placed on a special election ballot a two year… Read More

As the administration of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger comes to a close, this a is a great opportunity for me to express my appreciation and admiration for two hard working Republicans in his administration with whom I have worked fairly closely the last few years — Deputy Chief of Staff and Communications Director Matt David and Press Secretary Aaron McClear.

I first met Matt when he was working on Governor Schwarzenegger’s re-election campaign in 2006. Brought in as a part of then campaign manager Steve Schmidt’s team, working as Deputy Communications Director, Matt really drove a lot of the messaging on Democrat Phil Angelides. In that capacity, he and I worked together a lot. Matt did some time on the McCain for President campaign and for Freedom’s Watch, before returning to take his current position as Communications Director.

Personally I can’t imagine anything more challenging than trying to coordinate messaging for a Governor who is a… Read More

Earlier tonight I had a lengthy conversation with Beth Gaines. Beth’s husband Ted is currently a member of the California State Assembly and is the Republican nominee for State Senate in a special election to take place next Tuesday. The Senate District, formerly held by Senator Dave Cox who unfortunately passed away after a long bout with cancer, is considered a "safe" GOP seat.

Beth and I talked about Ted’s campaign — she and Ted feel very good about the election, on which they are both working hard, taking nothing for granted. (Ted and Beth are pictured to the right.) Then our conversation turned to the pending vacancy in the 4th district where it was rumored that Beth has been contemplating a run (h/t to Linda Hunter at… Read More

Last week I blogged about the Governor’s ability to fill a lucrative vacancy on the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board (CUIAB). Actually, I spoke too quickly. Apparently there are several vacancies on this commission that is made up in its entirety by former, now termed-out legislators. The position pays a cool $130,000 or so a year and comes with Cadillac benefits. You can read more about the CUIAB and who is currently on it by checking out my previous post.

The FlashReport has learned that Ex-State Senator Roy Ashburn ("R" – Bakersfield), who notoriously disregarded the no-new-taxes pledge he signed when running for office, and who was the deciding vote last year for massive increases in the income, sales and car tax — has been secretly appointed to fill a vacancy on the CUAIB (secret in that he was appointed but there has been no public release of that… Read More

THE GOLDEN PEN: JON COUPAL, HOWARD JARVIS TAXPAYERS ASSOCIATION Exclusive Debut: OOPS AND OPM: THE TRAGEDY OF HIGH SPEED RAIL

BONUS OPINION COLUMN Some Advice For New Legislators — OCRegister (Jon Coupal, Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association & Jon Fleischman, FlashReport)

SOME LINKS: Arnold’s Budget Legacy: The Problem Persists – … Read More

Here are some news links from yesterday and today. Preceded, of course, by a Golden Pen selection (and in this case, a bonus column as well)… THE GOLDEN PEN: PROFESSOR STEVEN HORWITZ CONSUMERISM IS KEYNESIANISM – Foundation for Economic Education This relatively short, thoughtful column from Steven Horwitz is an excellent reminder that those who support free market solutions should be focused on getting government out of the way the private sector creating an environment for production. It has been an egregious and fallacious focus by those in government on spurring consumption that is making our situation worse. A brief excerpt:… Read More

A few links from stories that ran today, Christmas Day…

THE GOLDEN PEN: PAUL JACOBS Productive Politicians Ignore Voters… Townhall

More links…