In the continuing saga of what some might describe as "Which Republican candidate’s history can top the others in the surprising category," Carla Marinucci at the SF Chronicle has the news that Meg Whitman both endorsed and contributed big bucks to Senator Barbara Boxer in 2003.

Absent from the Whitman spokesperson response in the article is any acknowledgement from the candidate she now considers the Boxer support a mistake. So, does she stand by it?

I wonder what Bill Jones must think?… Read More

California’s 10th Congressional District is "Ground Zero" right now — with voters in that East Bay District preparing to choose between either Democrat John Garamendi or Republican David Harmer to replace Rep. Ellen Tauscher who vacated the seat to take a position in the Obama Administration.

The question is whether this seat, carved out to be held by a Democrat, is vulnerable to a GOP pickup or not. The Harmer for Congress campaign has just released some new polling data that suggests that this race is going to be a lot more competitive than Lt. Governor Garamendi or the DCCC want it to be.

Let’s preface the new polling data with a look at the generic Republican vs. Democrat numbers from a survey taken August 2/3 (350 person sample). When voters were asked would they vote for a Republican or a Democrat, 29% said Republican, and 52% said Democrat.

Fast forward now to just a few days ago, and a survey conducted by the… Read More

Assembly Speaker Karen Bass has sent water policy novice Assemblywoman Anna Caballero to Washington D.C. to as one of the Democrat's “chief negotiator” for California's water crisis.

Why does the Assembly Speaker Karen Bass believe Asm. Caballero is one of the top negotiators on water for the Golden State, when Asm. Cabellero has only introduced two water related bills and the one that seeks to improve the Central Valley water crisis, Asm. Caballero lifted 90% of the language from Senator Cogdill's bond bill?

This doesn't make Asm. Caballero and expert in water. It makes her an expert in photocopying and taking other people's ideas.

With Asm. Caballero in Washington D.C., what immediate actions will our damaged region receive? Will the pumps be turned on, or will there be another study, more delay and empty promises, and more lost jobs? The people in the Central Valley were hopeful when the Assembly Leader Alberto Torrico stated the that Latino Caucus in supporting a proposal that puts the people over politics and improves the Central Valley, not special environmental interests. … Read More

According to Forbes Magazines just-released "Top 400 Wealthiest People" list, Margaret "Meg" Whitman of Atherton, California, comes in at #326 with an estimated worth of $1.2 billion.

Well, you may have to subtract a couple of bucks from that as she recently bought me a cup of coffee. Though I suspect it won’t bump her down to #327.… Read More

I’m pleased to report that my long-time friend, Laura Cunningham, is seriously exploring a run for Orange County Clerk-Recorder. She received encouragement to run after Sup. Chris Norby jumped into the 72nd Assembly District special election, instead.

Laura has already racked up some significant endorsements, such as OC Supervisors Bill Campbell and Pat Bates, District Attorney Tony Rackauckas, former Supervisor and current Assemblyman Jim Silva, as well as a number of local elected officials. John Lewis and Matt Holder, who have run a number of successful county-wide races, have agreed to serve as her consultants.

I’ve known Laura for many years, and think she would make a tremendous Clerk-Recorder. She brings leadership skills, political savvy and organizational and operational experience from both business and government. Given her breadth of political experience and connections, Laura will make a formidable candidate."

This may be déjà vu for some long-time OC politicos: Laura ran for the post 12 years ago when incumbent Gary Granville decided to retire. She… Read More

Affecting my old Assembly district, Siskiyou and Modoc Counties, comes todays news that the PacifiCorp group, who owns a series of dams on the Klamath River which runs basically parallel to and near the Oregon-California border, has agreed to surrender its ability to produce clean renewable Hydro power, which does not bode well for new projects of any kind in California.

This settlement agreement has been a long time in process, about nine years, with farmers, fishermen, local tribes and a plethora of environmental groups all wrestling along with many government agencies of 2 states and the federal level and the actual owners of the dams. 4 dams now are slated to be destroyed and removed if the provisons ofthe agreement come to fruition. Indeed there are 29 signers to this settlement agreement draft. The net loss to Californians and Oregonians will be low cost, renewable, green hydroelectric power that serves about 75000 customers, power that will have to be replaced. With theever tightening noose of regulations of how and where electricity is sourced for… Read More

Republicans are big supporters of law enforcement. We believe in the fair and just application of the law and support our men and women in law enforcement. However, Republicans also have a healthy distrust of big government and irresponsible prosecutors. Prosecutors wield immense power and this power can do severe damage to the average citizen when it is not exercised justly.

The recent case of the State of California v. Joel Angeles is a perfect example of how unjust the system can be when corrupted by an irresponsible prosecutor. The case surrounded events which occurred outside the June 18, 2008 Tony Strickland fundraiser featuring Mitt Romney. The race to replace State Senator Tom McClintock was hotly contested. Both sides spent nearly 6 million dollars each and when the dust settled Tony Strickland had prevailed by less than 1500 votes (or as Strickland likes to say, he won by about one vote per precinct).

It was in this environment that a group of Democrat protesters arrived at the Strickland event. It became clear that the intention of the group was to engage with the Strickland supporters who were gathered in front of the hotel.… Read More

Republicans are big supporters of law enforcement. We believe in the fair and just application of the law and support our men and women in law enforcement. However, Republicans also have a healthy distrust of big government and irresponsible prosecutors. Prosecutors wield immense power and this power can do severe damage to the average citizen when it is not exercised justly.

The recent case of the State of California v. Joel Angeles is a perfect example of how unjust the system can be when corrupted by an irresponsible prosecutor. The case surrounded events which occurred outside the June 18, 2008 Tony Strickland fundraiser featuring Mitt Romney. The race to replace State Senator Tom McClintock was hotly contested. Both sides spent nearly 6 million dollars each and when the dust settled Tony Strickland had prevailed by less than 1500 votes (or as Strickland likes to say, he won by about one vote per precinct).

It was in this environment that a group of Democrat protesters arrived at the Strickland event. It became clear that the intention of the group was to engage with the Strickland supporters who were gathered in front of the hotel.… Read More