In what was a not-so-great election year for Republicans in 2008, the election of Danny Gilmore to the Assembly in the Central Valley stuck out as a big win — a Republican pickup in a seat where Democrat Assemblywoman Nicole Parra had "termed out" after serving six years.

In what is perhaps the least unexpected announcement possible, as this has been "going around" the Capitol for some time now — after serving only one term, Gilmore will be retiring from office?

It goes without saying that this is not great news for Republicans, who would undoubtedly be in a stronger position "defending" this seat as opposed to what will now be a competition for an "open" seat.

Below is a release put out by Gilmore this morning, that also includes him endorsing a replacement for his seat.

Assemblyman Gilmore Announces Retirement… Read More

California’s Attorney General Jerry Brown wants to know: Are you on Team Coco or Team Leno? This morning the presumed gubernatorial candidate tweeted: @JerryBrown2010 Big debate at the campaign office… Where do you stand? http://www.jerrybrown.org/node/590.

The link takes visitors to the Brown for Governor 2010 Exploratory Committee web site, where there is the following poll:

Pick a Team: Team Coco or Team Leno?

Big debate at the campaign office… Where do you stand? If you provide your name, zip code and e-mail, you’ll be entered into a drawing for a vintage 1974 "Brown for Governor" bumper sticker signed by Jerry.

Since the NBC debacle is the most interesting contest in California right now, it was only a matter of time before politicians began weighing in. How convenient and environmentally conscious for Brown torecycle his “vintage” 1974 bumper stickers…… Read More

The new year brings us some new great places to get insightful news and observations on the California political scene. We’ve seen the arrival of non-profit investigative journalism organizations Cal Watchdog and California Watch, both with blogs. They are already producing great content and we’ll link to their best stuff.

Today brings a new big player from the main stream media blogging front — the Los Angeles Times has partnered with the venerable Capitol Weekly newspaper to create a new California Politics blog housed on the Los Angeles Times website. You can check out the new blog page at the LA Times website here. We’re expecting big things from Anthony York (pictured), Shane Goldmacher, and more on this site. Again, we’ll link to the best of the… Read More

Do people have a constitutionally protected right to dislike someone? "Associational rights" spring from the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, and the U.S. Supreme Court says this right includes both the right to associate with others, and the right to not associate with others.

The debate in the current Federal trial in San Francisco on the constitutionality of Proposition 8, the initiative that bans same-sex marriage in California, has gone well beyond resolving the question of whether gays and lesbians have a straightforward "right" to marry. The case has included allegations by the homosexual plaintiffs that the ballot proposition passed by majority vote, was stimulated by an "animus," or dislike for gay people, and therefore constituted an illegal conspiracy against them, rendering the Proposition null and void. The plaintiffs have sought to "discover" private internal memos and emails of Prop. 8’s political consultants, hoping to find disparaging remarks against homosexuals, to help prove their contention.

In the meantime, supporters of… Read More

UPDATE: 12:30PM — The transition from Assembly Republican Leader Blakeslee to Martin Garrick will take place in early February.

Just moments ago the Assembly Republican Caucus members gathered in the State Capitol and elected Assemblyman Martin Garrick (of San Diego County) to be their new leader.

Joining Garrick in leadership of the Assembly Republican Caucus will be Assemblywoman Connie Conway, who will serve as caucus Chairman.

As the story… Read More

After listening to a clip (thanks www.calcliptv.com ) of the hearing on Assemblyman Logue’s bill to suspend the state’s Anti-Global Warming Act (AB 32) until the economy is better, I am convinced that there is no more perfect issue for politicians than global warming. Strike that –than global climate change. Now strike that — than man-induced global climate change. Unlike early childhood education programs where you have to wait 13 years to measure if they worked or not, with the man-induced global climate change issue you will have to wait a century or two to know who was right. No politician voting today will ever be held accountable for being wrong on this issue.

It is really a faith-based issue. One side places their faith in the principle that man has caused a terrible problem that the planet is unable to accommodate, and that man must fix it. The other side places their faith in a planet that has absorbed planet-wide catastrophes in the past and will continue to do so in the future. Science is being used by both sides to justify conclusions, but in reality legislators’ positions are more… Read More

Scott Baugh has served as Chairman of the Orange County Republican Party for over five and a half years. Prior to that he served in the California State Legislator for nearly as long, and was elected by his peers as Assembly Republican Leader. In all of that time, Baugh has given hundreds, if not thousands of speeches.

Tonight, to use Baugh’s own words, he will deliver, "The most important speech of my life."

At 7pm this evening, hundreds of Republicans will converge on the Hyatt Hotel in Irvine for the first meeting of the year for the Orange County Central Committee. Everyone is buzzing as word has spread that Chairman Baugh has been cloistered away — writing, honing and perfecting a speech that… Read More

A Great Choice for Haiti Relief… With the tragic devastation in Haiti on just about everyone’s mind, many may still be deciding how they can help. There are of course several outstanding entities through which contributions can be sent. If anyone is looking for a homegrown organization with very low overhead and a great track record, California-based Rescue Task Force has my highest recommendation.

Started in 1988, RTF was led for many years by two Congressman Duncan L. Hunter staff members. Wendell Cutting passed away a few years ago, but many will remember him from his days as mayor of San Jacinto, president of California Republican Assembly, and — more recently — Hunter’s Congressional district director. Cutting is branded in the San Diego area as the namesake of a handful of continuing awards, given annually to those in the community exemplifying humanitarian efforts and high ethical standards.

RTF continues its relief efforts under the leadership of founder Gary Becks and his daughter Andrea Stone, in most cases with… Read More