Over the weekend voters in the 72nd Assembly District were treated to positive mail pieces from both Linda Ackerman and Chris Norby.

Attached to this post is a letter that went out from Linda Ackerman as well as a brochure.

Expect to see a lot of positive mail from Ackerman’s campaign as, based on the only survey to which we are privy, she has a lot of establishing herself to do with voters — where Norby, as a current elected official has a lead.

There are lots of rumors of independent expenditures in the works on Ackerman’s behalf. If true, look for those to do the "dirty work" of going negative on her main opponent, Chris Norby.

The next post will have a piece of mail from Norby that dropped over the weekend.… Read More

After launching a first attack piece on his primary rival Linda Ackerman, Supervisor Chris Norby over the weekend sent the attached positive piece out to AD 72 voters.… Read More

Back in July, when we at FR broke the news that Brian Bilbray’s Chief of Staff Steve Danon had confirmed he was running for SD County Supervisor in 2012, as well as indicating he was "100 percent in" even if it meant taking on the incumbent, the folks at Supervisor Pam Slater-Price’s office were not the only ones raising eyebrows about how early it was to start a campaign.

Early-schmirlie. In what may clearly be the earliest (that word again) endorsement ever by the Deputy Sheriffs’ Association of San Diego County in a race of such magnitude, today the organization announced it’s support for Danon. In 2012, just so we’re clear.

Keep in mind the DSA hasn’t made many (or any) endorsements for 2010 yet, as far as I can tell.… Read More

Some thoughts penned by FR correspondent Bradley Benbrook…

Why do state and local governments have public employee unions? Normal unions in the private sector organize for the purpose of negotiating with management over pay and benefits. There are two very distinct sides to the negotiating table. Not so with public employee unions. Public employee unions use millions of dollars in member dues to elect (and then strong-arm) the very same politicians who will sit across from them at the negotiating table. In other words, there is no labor-versus-management dynamic when it comes to public employee unions. In the public sector, labor has become management, and labor has predictably rewarded itself with generous pay and benefits. Of course, this only works because public… Read More

Some thoughts penned by FR correspondent Bradley Benbrook…

Why do state and local governments have public employee unions? Normal unions in the private sector organize for the purpose of negotiating with management over pay and benefits. There are two very distinct sides to the negotiating table. Not so with public employee unions. Public employee unions use millions of dollars in member dues to elect (and then strong-arm) the very same politicians who will sit across from them at the negotiating table. In other words, there is no labor-versus-management dynamic when it comes to public employee unions. In the public sector, labor has become management, and labor has predictably rewarded itself with generous pay and benefits. Of course, this only works because public… Read More

According to the latest Field poll, only 13% of Californians approve of the job the State Legislature is doing.

Good luck to those that want to “reward” the polical class in the State Capitol by weakening California's legislative term limits given this “popularity” number.

How about focusing on the real problem in Sacramento, which is not term limits — it is the pervasive and corruptive political influence of public employee unions. We note with some cynicism that the public policy advocacy group California Forward includes no curbing of union influence in their list of needed-fixes for state government. Should we be surprised?… Read More

With a h/t to FR Friend Leigh Wolfe and Patriot Axium, we present this great, short video taken at San Jose State University where the College Republicans protested a small rally in support of raising oil severence taxes, with the guest of honor — liberal State Assemblyman Alberto Torrico.

Torrico claims his legislation will generate $1 billion to fund higher education. The bill would increase gas prices and the final fiscal report on the bill shows it will generate less than half the promised $1 billion. A study of the proposal also found that it will result in the loss of 9,000 jobs in the oil and natural gas industry in California, a state that already has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country.

After he speaks, Torrico is confronted by College Republican activists and pressed on his support of higher taxes in a bad economy. When asked if he was ok with putting 9,000 people out of work he responded with a clear “I’m willing (for this tax) to cost 9,000 jobs."

I should add, as a former Chairman of SJSU College Republicans, that I am particularly proud of their… Read More

Gavin Newsom wants to lower the 2/3 vote threshold so bad that he mentions it not once but twice in his first campaign web-commercial…

… Read More