George Radanovich’s retirement announcement has sent the Central Valley into a feeding frenzy on news of candidates looking to run to replace him. A solid Republican seat, all of the action for this one will be in the June primary.

So far I have heard from all of the campaigns of the major candidates. There are two potential candidates from the Fresno area, former Secretary of State Bill Jones, and former Fresno Mayor Jim Patterson. To the North, there are former Congressman Richard Pombo, and State Senator Jeff Denham. Truth be known, any of them would be a fine Member of Congress. Having four of them in the race will make it a real barnburner.

In this election, however, my sense is that old paradigms don’t matter. I don’t think fundraising is going to matter as much, and some of the issues that should really matter a lot won’t matter at all.

As everyone knows, the Central Valley here is the victim of a man made drought, fueled by outrageous Endangered Species laws, and the resulting unemployment is staggering. Hundreds of thousands of acres of fertile ag land remain fallow, threatening and endangering our… Read More

When we broke the news on FlashReport last July that Steve Danon was in the race for San Diego County Supervisor in 2012 — whether or not incumbent Pam Slater-Price would seek her own sixth term in the Third District — some political watchers raised eyebrows about the timing. After all, the election was still three years away.

However, Danon’s apparent "early foray" has done nothing to hurt him, it seems. His campaign is attracting support from a mix of influentials that haven’t shown a willingness to oppose a sitting supervisor since perhaps the mid-1980s. In fact, Danon could be demonstrating more progress in a 2012 effort than some of the current challengers are displaying in this year’s races.

No surprise that Danon has the support of his boss, Congressman Brian Bilbray. It was also announced several weeks ago that the Deputy Sheriffs’ Association was backing him (early even for them).

As the press release below notes, Danon is garnering some additional support. Campaign statements will show the chairs of both the… Read More

2010 is already here and it’s looking like it’s going to be another grim year for California’s economy. As we look ahead and try to find solutions to our state’s problems, it’s easy to forget about the decisions that brought us to our current plight.

Americans for Prosperity of California has produced a 5-minute video detailing 12 of the decisions California’s government made in 2009 that completely lacked common sense. It’s actions like the 12 listed in the video that explain how government intrusion has led to so many of our current problems.

… Read More

While the recall effort against Aseemblyman Anthony Adams may have failed to qualify, apparently proponents of it will be able to claim victory anyways…

Today Adams announced with little fanfare that he will not be seeking reelection this year.

While Adams did not specify exactly why he is retiring early, one can likely conclude that the specter of a tough reelection in a June primary would weigh heavily on such a decision.

Adams rather brazenly and infamously was one of a handful of Republicans last February who “reneged” on their written pledge to oppose tax increases — and not cast a vote to enact $16 billion in higher sales, income and car taxes — but also voted to place billions more in higher taxes on the ballot (these were soundly defeated by voters).

Adams' district is a “safe GOP” seat. Look for his successor to make it clear that the next Assemblyman from the 59th District will not vote to raise taxes.… Read More

Since our last day of officially publishing the links to top stories in California politics was Friday, December 19 — I thought I would provide FR readers with a quick summary of some of what took place while our FR elves were taking some much needed R&R.

Click through on any links to read the full stories!

The Center for Investigative Reporting has been around for a long time — but their new endeavor, California Watch, is new the California political scene. At a time when we see MSM newspapers devoting fewer and fewer resources to investigative journalism — especially in politics — California Watch represents an effort at serious watchdog journalism not by the media, but by a non-profit foundation. A longtime friend of this website publisher is the Editorial Director of California Watch — Mark Katches. I met Mark when he used to work at the Orange County Register. It is also noteworthy that another longtime FR friend, Bob Salladay (formerly an ace reporter and blogger with the Los Angeles Times) is onboard advising this endeavor.

I’m quite certain that everyone at California Watch would agree with my observation that this is no right-of-center endeavor. Hardly. That said, shining the light into the farthest, darkest corners of state government is an endeavor that should be applauded, even if many of those shining the flashlights voted for President Obama. I reached out to Mark and asked… Read More

As the New Year begins, I have been reflecting on politics, my role in it, and the direction of the state. About a year ago, right after the election of Obama, I was approached by a fellow who said he could make me President, and he asked for me to give me a plan to accomplish that. I showed him the plan, and although he failed to meet the benchmarks I set for setting up a run (there goes my Presidential ambitions), a lot of the presumptions I made for such a run to work have been coming true.

First, I am convinced 2010 will be a Republican year IF (and I mean a really big IF) Republicans don’t screw things up. It will have nothing to do with the ascendancy of those principles that many Republicans espouse in office in American society (because sometimes it appears that Republican officeholders don’t believe in those principles), it will be because Democrats overrreached. I have a number of "truths of American politics" (which I should write down sometime), but one of them is this–Democrats really believe in the principles they espouse, and they… Read More

Today former Congressman Richard Pombo confirmed to the Fresno Bee that he will be running for Congress in the 19th District seat that will be open next year due to the announcement by Rep. George Radanovich. The Bee is also reporting that former California Secretary of State Bill Jones is making calls to supporters and weighing a potential run.

I have known Richard Pombo for over two decades, and he’s a rock-solid conservative and a good man. He joins a field of candidates that already includes State Senator Jeff Denham and former Fresno Mayor Jim Patterson (so I am told).

Look for Pombo to try and leverage Denham’s and Jones’ pre-primary support for the Presidential campaign of John McCain last year against them with grassroots types. McCain is one of the least popular politicians (save perhaps for the man that bested him for President) with conservatives.

It will be interesting to see how Pombo’s entrance into the race impacts endorsements from the state’s Republican Congressional delegation. Then again, there is so much anger towards Congress these… Read More