Ok, nowfor the real analysis on Orange County…(other than the treasurer’s race for which I did a public poll, all predictions are based on my best guess)

-Appointed Sheriff Hutchens will either win re-election or be the top vote-getter

-District Attorney Tony Rackauckas is re-elected (he has no opponent)

-Clerk-Recorder Tom Daley is re-elected

-Public Administrator John Williams is re-elected or will be the top vote-getter

-Auditor David Sundstrom wins re-election

-Assessor Webster Guillory will fend off a challenge from former BOE member Claude Parrish

-Shari Freidenrich will be in a run-off with Keith Rodenhuis will face each other in a run-off for Treasurer

-5th Dist. Supervisor Pat Bates wins re-election (no opponent)

-2nd Dist. Supervisor John Moorlach wins re-election (no opponent)

-Fullerton Councilman Shawn Nelson will win the Special and Primary Elections for 4th Dist. Supervisor and probably face Harry Sidhu in a run-off on November (but Nelson will be seated immediately to fill the unexpired term of now Assemblyman Chris Norby)

There are some other less interesting offices like… Read More

The race to watch for Republicans in tomorrow’s statewide primary election is actually the Democrat primary for Lt. Governor. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is battling it out with Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn. Hahn has great name identification from years of her family’s public service in the county, a far bigger media market than San Francisco. But Newsom is spending money and can probably do more to light up the core Democratic Left voters in the primary than Hahn.

The race is now very important because it will define some of the more obvious differences for voters in the Democrat and Republican statewide tickets in November. The odds are that Jerry Brown will win his primary for Governor in the Democrat party, and Meg Whitman and Abel Maldonado will most likely win theirs for Governor and Lt. Governor in the Republican primary. A “Whitman/Maldonado” ticket will look a lot different to California voters than a “Brown/Newsom” ticket from the standpoint of pure winnability. “Whitman/Maldonado” will look more like California to statewide voters, while “Brown/Newsom” will look more… Read More

Survey USA just released poll results that show Proposition 14 is “positioned to pass” tomorrow. I know the Flash Report contributors have been vocal about the dangers posed by Proposition 14 and its “top two” primary system. Although the measure is being sold as way to lessen the influence of “special interest”—especially the political parties—Proposition 14 will actually create even more of the backroom political deals that voters despise. The latest political scandal creating headlines is the allegation by Democrat U.S. Senate candidate Joe Sestak that the White House privately pressured him to end his challenge against incumbent Arlen Specter. Amazingly, Sestak actually rebuffed the emissary sent by the White House: former President Bill Clinton. In the end, it worked out pretty well for Sestak when he defeated Specter in the Pennsylvania Democrat primary. Voters are … Read More

As an elected officer of the California Republican Party, my least favorite part of the job (by far) is that under the party’s rules I am obliged to “sit out” contested Republican primaries for partisan office. That having been said, with the election taking place tomorrow, I would not be able to live with myself if I did not take at least a few minutes to talk about a candidate running for State Senate. Let me preface my brief comments by making it clear that this is not a formal endorsement – consider it more of an “informational item” – as it were.

Joel Anderson, who is currently serving in the State Assembly, is seeking the GOP nomination for the State Senate tomorrow – in the 36th District, where Dennis Hollingsworth is retiring due to term limits.

It is has been my good fortune to know Joel Anderson for over twenty years – and to call him a friend. When I think about Joel in terms of his attributes, the thoughts that come to mind are integrity, conservatism, courage, activism,… Read More

They say that anyone who actually visits a sausage-making factory will never eat sausage again. Assembly Republican Leader Martin Garrick and his 43 other fellow Republican legislators have a similar plight – they have to be so close to the process of watching out-of-control liberals pass horrific legislation that it probably makes them ill.

In this video, Garrick lays it out…

… Read More

I’ve not seen much coverage of this issue in the U.S. press, but according to the U.K.’s Guardian, Steve Jobs is committed to keeping pornography off his i-products.

In April, he said at a press conference: "You know, there’s a porn store for Android [phones using Google’s software]. You can download porn, your kids can download porn. That’s a place we don’t want to go – so we’re not going to go there."

In late May, according to The Guardian, he had the following exchange with a writer for Gawker website (a New York news & gossip website):

In an email exchange with Ryan Tate, a writer for the Gawker website, Jobs set out his stall very clearly. Tate, annoyed by an iPad advert calling it a "revolution", challenged Jobs: "If [Bob] Dylan [one of Jobs’s childhood heroes] was 20 today, how

FlashReport readers are very familiar with Peter Foy. You’ll recall that in addition to being Chairman of the Americans for Prosperity California chapter, Peter is an elected Ventura County Supervisor. What you may not know is that Peter was elected to the Board of Supes four years ago by taking on and defeating an incumbent RINO (Republican In Name Only). Since then, Foy has been a solid conservative leader in Ventura County, and he is coasting towards a big re-election this Tuesday night.

Foy does have an opponent, however nominal, who would not even be worth writing about, except for his big-time blunder in for all I know is his only mail piece. Foy’s opponent is a Moorpark School Board Trustee by the name of Bruce Thomas. A mail piece just dropped for Thomas (the entire piece is viewable through the link below) but check out the clip from… Read More

It’s that time again. Stop what you are doing and take a stab. Send your picks to me here. (do not post them as a comment).

Deadline is 7:55 p.m. on June 8 (or anytime before).

Winners will be announced after the election, when I can get to it, or later in the case of any hand counts or other chads-like determinations by the Registrar, especially if followed by protracted lawsuits and court battles.

The contest victors get the ultimate prize – their fellow hacks’ amazement at their prowess.

On yes, in the past, some FR readers have complained that this contest is too "San Diego oriented." Well, yes, I do write about San Diego area politics. It is your choice to participate. Or not.

So, here we go, eleven questions and a couple of tie-breakers, if needed…

1. Chula Vista Fair and Open Competition Initiative: Will Measure G win or lose?

2. Oceanside Charter City question: Will Measure K win or lose?

3. Poway (two part question, must get them both correct):

a) Will Betty Rexford… Read More