Most FR readers probably are not familiar with what is called the "Sinclair Paint" decision — and it would take an entire column to go into all of the details. But suffice it to say that this court ruling smashed a big hole in the taxpayer protections of Proposition 13, saying that unlike general tax increases that require a 2/3rds vote of the legislature, raising taxes for a specific program where there is some (often dubious) nexus between the tax and the program is no longer called raising taxes, it is called a "fee" — and requires only a majority vote.

For example — hypothetically — a tax of $.25 on every plastic bag in a grocery store that is sold, which then goes into "public education" about how plastic bags can damage the environment would be sold as a "fee" requiring a majority vote.

Over the years, this egregious "loophole" has been used raise vast amounts of taxes (disguised as fees) on the people of California.

The campaign to Stop Hidden Taxes today has turned in the signatures necessary to place an initiative on the November ballot that would close the loophole, and… Read More

Yesterday former Alaska Governor and GOP Vice Presidential nominee turned national grassroots conservative phenomenon Sarah Palin endorsed the candidacy of Carly Fiorina for United States Senate.

This endorsement is a big boost to Fiorina’s candidacy amongst conservatives — and is a significant blow to the campaign of Chuck DeVore. Fiorina has been striving hard to make the case to voters that she is a conservative candidate — but there is no doubt that she is not as conservative as one of her opponents, Assemblyman Chuck DeVore. Of course, Tom Campbell completely occupies the moderate end of the GOP spectrum, based on his record on fiscal and social issues.

One of the key necessities of a DeVore primary victory is to paint Fiorina as more of a moderate, and there is no doubt that a Palin endorsement of Fiorina makes that task significantly more challenging.

**There is more – click the… Read More

Yesterday former Alaska Governor and GOP Vice Presidential nominee turned national grassroots conservative phenomenon Sarah Palin endorsed the candidacy of Carly Fiorina for United States Senate.

This endorsement is a big boost to Fiorina’s candidacy amongst conservatives — and is a significant blow to the campaign of Chuck DeVore. Fiorina has been striving hard to make the case to voters that she is a conservative candidate — but there is no doubt that she is not as conservative as one of her opponents, Assemblyman Chuck DeVore. Of course, Tom Campbell completely occupies the moderate end of the GOP spectrum, based on his record on fiscal and social issues.

One of the key necessities of a DeVore primary victory is to paint Fiorina as more of a moderate, and there is no doubt that a Palin endorsement of Fiorina makes that task significantly more challenging.

The DeVore campaign did respond to Palin’s endorsement which you can check out… Read More

Apparently Riverside County District Attorney Rod Pacheco (the former Assembly Republican Leader) is in the midst of a pretty serious re-election challenge from a conservative Superior Court Judge and former County Prosecutor Paul Zellerbach. Check out the message that Zellerbach is pushing out to voters — ouch!

… Read More

OK, having been "cast" by my friend and fellow FR blogger Jim Battin in previous JibJab online movie productions, it’s my turn to return the favor…

So we present to you The Empire Strikes Back starring…

As Han Solo — Supervisor John Benoit… As Princess Leia Organa — Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack… As Lando Calrissian — Gary Jeandron and… in his starring role… As Luke Skywalker — Jim Battin!

(Our apologies to Jim’s Coachella Valley neighbors for being cast in this feature, but if it goes viral, maybe there will be residuals!)

The link to the short movie is under this outstanding screen shot of it’s star…

LINK TO THE MOVIE… Read More

Yes, I know, it’s become cliché but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t apply.

The 43rd Assembly District, which includes Glendale and Burbank, has not been held by a Republican since my former boss, Jim Rogan, left the seat for Congress in 1996. Rogan was elected in a special election succeeding former Assembly GOP Leader Pat Nolan. In those years, this seat was a bedrock Republican district but an influx of new Americans, primarily Armenian and Latino, have changed the demographics and ideological bent of the district. Additionally, this has become a bedroom community for entertainment industry workers who also sit on the left of the political spectrum.

Today, the district is 2-1 Democrat with another quarter of voters decline-to-state. On the surface, Republicans should not be in the game here but due to a special election triggered by incumbent Paul Krekorian’s election to the L.A. City Council, we have a very unique opportunity.

On April 13th, Republican Sunder… Read More

Yes, I know, it’s become cliché but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t apply.

The 43rd Assembly District, which includes Glendale and Burbank, has not been held by a Republican since my former boss, Jim Rogan, left the seat for Congress in 1996. Rogan was elected in a special election succeeding former Assembly GOP Leader Pat Nolan. In those years, this seat was a bedrock Republican district but an influx of new Americans, primarily Armenian and Latino, have changed the demographics and ideological bent of the district. Additionally, this has become a bedroom community for entertainment industry workers who also sit on the left of the political spectrum.

Today, the district is 2-1 Democrat with another quarter of voters decline-to-state. On the surface, Republicans should not be in the game here but due to a special election triggered by incumbent Paul Krekorian’s election to the L.A. City Council, we have a very unique opportunity.… Read More

Yesterday the Poizner for Governor campaign held a press conference via telephone to share their news with reporters (and some bloggers that at least included the CalBuzz boys and yours truly) where they paraded out the principals of their very reputable polling firm, Public Opinion Strategies, to announce that their poll shows that the GOP primary campaign has closed to a ten point race, with Whitman at 38%, Poizner at 28% and the very large remainder of voters being undecided.

Being that this is an internal poll, there is a tendency for those of us who are not affiliated with either campaign to perhaps want to wait for a the next non-candidate sponsored statewide poll to come out. Sacramento Bee reporter John Chang on the conference call even brought this point up. That said, I decided to do some nosing around and I was able to confirm, from solid sources, two other statewide surveys that show this race even closer — in single digits! I was told about a… Read More