Late last evening the Bob Whalen campaign filed his end of year finance reports. The numbers themselves are shocking with only $7000 on hand and bills totaling $9000.

The Whalen campaign has less than zero dollars. Meanwhile the only other candidate in the race is Madera farmer Don McKinney who (disclosure: client) will report over $120,000 in cash on hand when his reports are filed.

McKinney has continued to impress with his work ethic, knowledge of the issues and focused campaign that has continued to build momentum. Meanwhile Whalen’s campaign has been a train wreck and without the ability to compete financially it makes one wonder just how long that campaign will continue. Word on the street is he no longer has the services of his fundraiser and the wheels are coming off.

McKinney is now in a position to drive this race and lock down the primaryto save resources for the GOP in the fall. The momentum has clearly been moving McKinney’s way. Now it should grow even stronger.… Read More

We talk about how 2010 is going to be the "It Year" for politics — and it’s already started. Between the policy changes facing Sacramento including a projected $20 billion shortfall (and those predictions always seem to be low), and what will be a staggering year for politics – what, with Gubernatorial, U.S. Senate and down ticket races, and an expectation of a few thousand ballot measures qualifying for November, there will be no shortage of material to write about here on FR.

But not to be missed as a critical happening in 2010 will be the outcome of legislative elections up and down California. Right now Democrats enjoy a 25-15 majority in the Senate, just two shy of the 2/3 vote necessary to pass taxes increases, and in the Assembly Democrats sit at 51 seats, just three shy of the 2/3 mark.

There is no doubt that Senate President Darrell Steinberg, and Assembly Speakers Bass and Perez, along with their public employee union allies will be working overtime to try and pick up those five critical seats.

**There is more – click the… Read More

I try to be creative here on the FR, but I can’t tell you how many times I want to start my post with "only here in the Bay Area." Yesterday’s "No Pants" day on BART is a great example. Although since the silly stunt was sponsored by a New York performance art group, I guess we’ll just have to categorize it as an "only in New York or San Francisco" event.

Thank goodness, I didn’t plan to take my kidsinto the City yesterday. I don’t think my 11 year has recovered from the time we were trapped on a cable car outside of the St.Francis whenUnion Square was taken over by bicyclists taking part in the once-a-month, anti-carCritical Mass bike event. On that day, everyone on the cable car lost their appetite when an extremely large, extremely white and extremely naked man rode by on his not-quite-large-enough bicycle. Truly an image that no one needs to have in their head.

Here’s an image from yesterday’s stunt:

… Read More

This just came in as I am out the door… So my apologies as we usually don’t reprint press releases. Good news for this candidate I suppose, they get their "exact" spin.. Take it for what it is, Fiorina’s take on her own finances… Carly Fiorina Kicks Off 2010 With More Than $2.7 Million In The Bank For Senate Bid Banks $232,000 in online donations Sacramento, CA – U.S. Senate candidate Carly Fiorina today announced that, after a strong first 60 days as a declared candidate, her campaign enters the 2010 election year with more than $2.7 million cash on hand. … Read More

State Senator Tom Harman has to be feeling a little crowded about now. Heck, just a few days ago there was nothing standing between him and the Republican nomination for Attorney General except the technical need to be nominated by GOP voters in the June primary. A few days ago I reported that Dean John Eastman of Chapman University’s Law School had started making calls and will be formally announcing his candidacy very soon.

Today brings the (anticipated) formal entry into the race of Los Angeles County’s 9-year top prosecutor, District Attorney Steve Cooley. In a prepared statement announcing the formation of his Exploratory Committee, Cooley had this to say: "Many people from law enforcement and throughout the political spectrum are urging me to run for Attorney General. I am proud of my crime fighting record as District Attorney. As a career prosecutor and District Attorney of Los Angeles County I have the experience and drive to be California’s top law enforcement… Read More

(Courtesy of ProtectMarriage.com) Just minutes ago, U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy stayed the order of Judge Vaughn Walker that would have allowed for streaming video in the case challenging Proposition 8, Perry v Schwarzenegger. Walker previously had agreed to provide a video stream of the trial on a daily basis through YouTube. The Perry case would have been the first trial ever in the Ninth Circuit where cameras had been allowed in the courtroom. ProtectMarriage.com vigorously fought Walker’s order by appealing to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and then filing an emergency appeal with Justice Kennedy.

The stay order is in effect until Wednesday, January 13th at 4:00pm eastern time to permit the Supreme Court time for further consideration.

Andy Pugno, General Counsel for ProtectMarriage.com said, "The temporary stay of Judge Walker’s ruling to allow broadcast of the Perry v Schwarzenegger trial is a good sign that the full United States Supreme Court will… Read More

Assemblyman Dan Logue’s AB 118, The Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, which would have suspended AB 32, went down in global warming flames this afternoon. It seems not even a timely Wall Street Journal editorial or the citizens who testified at the hearing about their AB 32-created problems could persuade thezealots on the Assembly’s Natural Resources Committee.

Like every other committee, the numbers are stacked against Republicans (Steve Knight and Danny Gilmore are the only Republicans on Natural Resources). After brief testimony on the bill, Democrats launched into their typical condescending speeches about how the citizens who testified for AB 118 don’t understand the ramifications of global warming.

Fresno City Councilman Larry Westerlund announced his intention todayto run for the Republican nomination for the 19th Congressional District seat currently held by retiring Congressman George Radanovich. Westerlund become the 4th candidate, and the3rd candidate from outside the District, toseek the nomination. Former Fresno Mayor Jim Patterson is the only declared candidate that lives inCongressional 19, and is joined by former Congressman Richard Pombo (Tracy) and State Senator Jeff Denham (Salinas).

Westerlund’s run is interesting, to say the least. The Lincoln Club of Fresno County has supported him for his Council campaigns twice, but even the most casual observer knows he has no chance to win the Republican nomination for CD 19. So what is his candidacy all about? Time will tell, but it is far from a wild conspiracy theory to believe he is part of a strategy to deny former Fresno Mayor Jim Patterson votes in the Fresno area.

For now, Patterson’s greatest asset is strong name id locally, and a popular following among KMJ 580 radio listeners. Pombo, if he is to be succesfull, will ride the endorsement of Congressman… Read More