Like most of the California political community that has heard that the Secretary of State has said that the proponents of the Adams Recall did not have a high enough percentage of valid signatures in the random count to move forward with the election, or even to move forward with a manual count, I am shocked.

My initial thought was, "How could this happen?"

It seems like there are only three obvious possibilities, all of them extraordinarily lucky for Anthony Adams, who should by rights be facing a recall over his taking of the no new taxes pledge only to turn around and vote for the largest tax increase in the history of any state.

1) A really unlucky pull of random signatures. It’s not likely that all of the "bad apples" (invalid signatures) in the bunch would be all stuck together — but it is not impossible. Probably more likely that the Governor’s veto letter to Tom Ammiano was a coincidence.

2) Fraud by one of both Registrars of Voters. This isn’t likely. From what I’ve heard, the ROV in San Bernardino is as honest as the day is long. While I have little faith in the LA County ROV… Read More

Mayor Ashley Swearingen today announced the first round of major budget cuts for the City of Fresno as part of a predicted restructuring due to plummeting tax revenues.

I have a lot of confidence in Ashley. She”s a tough, smart pragmatic leader who listens well and does her homework. While we might not agree on some issues, she’ll never be accused of being unprepared, and she doesn’t back down from her positions with nuanced explanations.

For these economic times, the City of Fresno, along with City Council Members Lee Brand, Andreas Borgeas and Larry Westerlund (all Fresno County Lincoln Club Members) is in good hands. Stay tuned.… Read More

Well respected political analyst Charlie Cook has issued his latest assessment of which U.S. Senate and House races are in play.

In the Senate he places Boxer in the "Leans Democrat" column.

For California House races, most of the seats are either "Safe Democrat" or "Safe Republican."

Here is a breakdown of those in-between (seven seats "in play" – 4D, 3R):

Likely Democrat Cardoza (CA-18) Costa (CA-20) Sanchez (CA-47)

Lean Democrat McNerney (CA-11)

Lean Republican Lungren (CA-3) Calvert (CA-44)

Likely Republican Mary Bono Mack (CA-45)… Read More

[Cross-posted from RedCounty.com]

Former Anaheim Councilman Tom Tait’s campaign for Mayor is metastasizing into a freight train of momentum.

Current Mayor Curt Pringle, who is close friends with Tom (whose last two years on the council overlapped with Curt’s first two as mayor) organized a kick-off Tait fundraiser at The White House in Anaheim that was monstrously successfully, raising $190,000 for Tom’s campaign.

You heard that right:$190,000.

There are candidates who have been running for legislative offices for more than a year who haven’t raised that much money. For a city council candidate to raise that much is practically unheard of. Curt Pringle raised more than $300,000 at a single event for his 2006 re-election drive.

In this case, the candidate has ben out of elected office for almost six years. The massive haul is testament not only to Curt Pringle fundraising prowess, but to Tom Tait’s popularity, which cuts across… Read More

November 19, 2009

It’s a Tax, stupid.

by Acquanetta Warren

Halloween is over, but the fright is just beginning. At a time when taxpayers are struggling with a faltering economy, plummeting home values, declining retirement investments and education savings, salary cuts or job losses, and reduced public safety services, the state is there to help by adding to the burden. Talk about dumb.

It shouldn’t be allowed to happen, but it is – and at the worst possible time.

I’m talking… Read More

UC students in Los Angeles almost shut down a UC Board of Regents hearing this morning on the UCLA campus. The board was considering a 32 percent increase in undergraduate fees and students were so outraged by the increase that they flooded the meeting, chanting, interrupting and holding a raucous protest outside. The estimated cost per student if the fee is passed will be $2,500. That’s an enormous increase, especially for students who already face loan balances making them indentured—but educated—servants. The students’ frustration is understandable. In fact, most taxpayers can completely sympathize. The state government just started withholding an additional 10 percent from our paychecks. And the legislature continually passes new taxes and fees to pay for their pet projects. College students … Read More

Meg Whitman’s credibility with voters in the Central Valley was destroyed today by yet another revelation about her effort to protect the Delta smelt over the needs of our farmers in the Central Valley. To make matters worse for Whitman’s candidacy, she is proudly standing by her past donations to defend the Delta smelt.

This morning, the San Jose Mercury News reported that after contributing $100,000 to the EDF in 2007, Meg Whitman contributed an additional $200,000 to the Environmental Defense Fund’s efforts to protect the Delta smelt as recently as a year ago in 2008.

… Read More

We received the following volley from longtime FR friend Bob Haueter. Bob is the Chairman of the Meg Whitman for Governor Campaign in Los Angeles County…

Californians know well that our state is in a fiscal meltdown, with new budget deficit projections running as high as $25 billion.

Each of us is feeling the pain of the failure of Sacramento politicians to rein in spending and make state government live within its means.

Between budget years 1998-99 and 2007-2008, state general fund spending grew an astonishing 80 percent, from $58 billion to $103 billion. And in the past few years, while Californians faced layoffs, home foreclosures and higher taxes, state government continued to hire.

This must stop.

We need real leadership in Sacramento. We need someone who will watch out for Californians. And we… Read More