It is an outrage and of supreme concern to me and to many other people that the legislature stands poised to vote on a budget today — and still the budget and its trailer bills have not been made public.

I know the broad strokes, as it were, as those have been released. But so much of this massive document is in its details. Doesn’t the public deserve to see and understand the details in a budget before it is adopted? Shouldn’t legislators have the benefit of feedback? The benefit of perspective from those a little further away from the negotiating table?

As an anecdotal example of the devil being in the details, I am fairy sure that this budget includes the "expansion of a fee" that amounts to smacking over two-thirds of seniors in nursing homes that are NOT on government assistance to the tune of $4600 or so every year. This is a harder hit on these seniors than the massive tax increases in last year’s budget. This little "nugget" is in hiding, has not been vetted and legislators should ask… Read More

Two pieces today in the mail.

#1 Meg Whitman "A New California". As a writer of mail myself I can be a bit picky. I like this piece. It’s clean and to the point. Job well done.

#2 COPS Voter Guide. I particularly enjoyed the statement by the President of the organization (who I know, and usually like) "PORAC endorsements are non-partisan and CANNOT BE BOUGHT nor influenced by political or special interest pressures" (my bold). Then in the official disclosure "Appearance is paid for and authorized by each candidate and ballot measure designated by an *". Several in fact have the * in question. But not Jerry Brown. He’s a free bee. Sigh. Isn’t Jerry Brown the guy who appointed Rose Bird?… Read More

As the horse races for the top of the ticket races continue to see-saw every few days – one candidate ahead, then the other – Attorney General candidate Steve Cooley continues to lead Kamala Harris day after day, in every measurable way.

Throughout the summer, Cooley has been racking up public safety endorsement after public safety endorsement – even among labor groups that often traditionally tilt left – a result of Harris’ inescapable record as a soft-on-crime DA in San Francisco.

Then last Saturday, the Field Poll came out showing Cooley with a 4-point lead over Harris among likely voters. This, despite the fact that the Field Poll didn’t test Cooley with his proper ballot designation identifying him as Los Angeles County’s District Attorney – a geographic addition to his ballot designation that will only further help Cooley by cutting into what should be a reliably vote-rich region for Harris.

With Cooley ahead in endorsements and ahead in the polls, the release of updated financial reports showing Cooley with a significant financial advantage only completes the trifecta. In the numbers just released… Read More

Less Than One Month To Go!

We are now less than one month from Election Day and our campaign is traveling from Eureka to San Diego to speak to you, the voters, about your concerns with how state government is being run in Sacramento. I wanted to share some exciting news from the campaign trail with you and let you know how you can get involved in taking back Sacramento on November 2nd.

Today, the National Federation of Independent Business awarded me a 100% approval rating for my work… Read More

Marketing 101: Product Differentiation. It’s a basic principle of marketing. You can’t expect to sell a product, and especially compete sucessfully with an established one, if you’re selling the same thing. You need to tell people why yours is different.

Politics 101: How can you expect to win against established forces if you aren’t giving the public any reasons to do so? That campaign theme of, "This is a great community and/or public agency, and it does a great job," is perfect for an incumbent’s effort. For a challenger, it’s a non-starter. The public’s simple assumption will be that if things are so great, the powers-that-be must be doing something right.

Such a failed theme (usually seen in local "non-partisan" campaigns, where challengers are hesitant about saying anything negative about their community)is typically followed by, "…yet, I am the better candidate." Uhh-huh. All you’ve done is educate folks to why you’re qualified, instead of why the person being challenged is not — or no longer — suited… Read More

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This just in from our friends at the Foundation for Educational Choice, who will be holding a press conference today on this subject at 11:30 near the State Capitol (send an email here to get details)…

California’s public retirement systems are more than three times underfunded than state officials projected, a total of $326.6 billion when combining the state’s teachers’ and public employee programs, according to a new study released today by the Foundation for Educational Choice. [You can see a .pdf of the study by clicking on the link at the bottom of this post.] Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and Orange County, local pension systems… Read More

A little after midnight last Wednesday, Congress, both the House and Senate, adjourned until after Election Day. Apparently, we will come back for a "lame duck" session starting November 15th. This adjournment occurred earlier than had originally been planned, as a majority of Democrats were desperate to get home and campaign.

Normally, and particularly with this Congress, any time the House and Senate are out of session, the nation is much better off than when we are in session spending money, raising taxes, restricting freedom, and killing jobs. However, Congress left town last week leaving one major piece of work undone. On January 1, 2011, the largest tax increase in American history will occur unless Congress acts. All Republicans and dozens of Democrats in both houses have publicly stated that they support extending the current tax rates for ALL taxpayers, at least for a couple of years. Based on these announcements, it is pretty clear that a bill to extend all of those rates would pass both houses should a vote be taken today. But, in a demonstration of the importance of who it is that holds the gavel of Speaker and Majority Leader, Pelosi… Read More