I’ve previously posted on this site about the endorsements that have been made in legislative races by current City Managers. It is my belief that it violates the spirit of the code of ethics of the International City Managers Association.

Certainly city managers are individuals with first amendment rights like anyone else. However, most reasonable local government types would conclude that a truly professional city manager would want to avoid directly being involved with political campaigns for candidates in their jurisdiction.

So what about a City Attorney? I think most people would also conclude that a City Attorney would not want to be making contributions to candidates or independent expenditures that would shape the elected body that they serve as legal counsel.

As the hit pieces keep coming in the Victorville City Council race I started to get curious about the Committee Against Corruption. They have been attacking candidate Ryan McEachron, the top challenger to the three incumbents up for re-election on Tuesday.

So after doing a little digging on line I found that one of the contributors to the Committee Against Corruption was… Read More

Joe Baca, a Democrat Member of Congress from the Inland Empire has drawn the wrath of citizens and local elected officials from within his district. These days, when you see negative advertisements on television or cable, they are typically either paid for by some Beltway interest, or funding by the campaign of a candidate’s opponent. Not so in this case, where local elected officials have come together to fund the two ads below blasting “Working” Joe Baca.

… Read More

The election campaign is still not over but the use of the popular word "rebranding" of the Republican Party is becoming as recurrent as the word "Obama" in my private discussions with conservatives. Conservative leader and fundraiser Richard Viguerie is holding a well known "secret" meeting of Beltway conservative organizations next Thursday to assess the results of the election and what must be done to make the GOP a dominant force again. One of my prominent conservative clients is holding his own set of meetings before and after the election. In a conversation I had yesterday with a New York City-based lawyer/GOP activist, the major point of the discussion was, "I don’t see how Duncan can stay on as the Chairman of the Party." There is a palpable tendency this weekend among the people I talk with to not look at what is going to happen on Tuesday, but beyond.

To be honest, we have been here before. I took a quick look through my files this morning and found a copy of the Orange County Register’s "Orange County Voices," published on Sunday, March 14, 1993, a full… Read More

The African-American community overwhelmingly supports Proposition, the Restore Marriage Initiative.

So it stands to reason that the venerable NAACP — the nation’s oldest African-American organization — would also be supportive of Proposition 8.

You’d think…

…but NAACP President Alice Huffman has come out against Proposition 8.

Now why would she go completely counter to the strong sentiment of the community whose interest she purports to advance?

Perhaps the answer is here. Alice Huffman’s public affairs consulting firm, AC Public Affairs, has recieved $198,000 by the No on * campaign.

Huffman has, in the past, accepted huge consulting fees to assist ballot measures that the NAACP has endorsed.

But for the NAACP president to take money to work against an initiative that is overwhelmingly supported by the very community for whom she holds herself out as a spokesperson?… Read More

From today’s Wall Street Journal Political Diary E-mail…

‘Election Deception,’ California-style

The profligate spending of California’s local governments means pols are going to extreme lengths to grab revenue. Voters in more than two dozen California jurisdictions, including Los Angeles and San Francisco, will be asked next week to approve telephone tax increases. Thanks to misleading summaries on local ballots, many will actually think they’re voting for tax cuts.

The California Taxpayers’ Association calls it "Deception 2008." Only two jurisdictions, Eureka and Seaside, appear to have legitimate phone tax repeals on the ballot.… Read More

MYTH: Prop 6 will fill our jails and prisons.

FACT: While California’s prison system is certainly impacted, compared to other states California is about in the middle when it comes to prison population according to a study by the very liberal Pew Institute.

What’s great about Proposition 6 is that itincludes provisions to help the prison and county jail populations: It would allow counties that have population caps on jail populations – like LA, Fresno and Sacramento – to operate emergency jails for low-offending in-mates.

Proposition 6 takes great strides in providing meaningful prevention and intervention measures as well, such as funding GPS for gang members released from jail or prison.

Many counties are already using GPS – with great success – to monitor gang members. Not only does GPS allow law enforcement to know the whereabouts of gang members, it changes the behavior of the offender.

Napa County’s probation department is in the midst of testing GPS on a handful of juvenile offenders. Chief Probation Officer Mary Butler said the youths have now become law-abiding citizens; they are attending school and thus, have… Read More

The Fresno County Republican Party, through a last minute push in voter registrations, held off the Socialist Workers Party of America, other wise known as the Democrats, by maintaining a 10,000 vote registration advantage as of the close of registration. Rumor has it that the Democrats have 110% of their eligible voters registered, slightly lower than Cleveland, Columbus, Philadelphia, Las Vegas, Richmond and other cities where their subsidiary, ACORN, has been actively registering.… Read More

Last week John McCain started utilizing an aptly descriptive title when referring to Barack Obama: “The Redistributor.” In two words, McCain accomplishes the dual goals of summarizing Obama’s communist plans and ridiculing them. With more and more focus now on Obama’s Marxist view of government (Thank you, Joe the Plumber), it should come as no surprise that the California Teachers Association is pouring money into electing Obama.

Earlier this year the CTA actively lobbied in favor of Senator Alan Lowenthal’s SB 1322, which would have prohibited schools from firing Bill Ayers-type teachers when they indoctrinate students with communist propaganda. By endorsing and campaigning for Barack Obama, the CTA continues their streak of supporting candidates and policies that are distinctly anti-American.

The following mailer is being dropped throughout California by the CTA and it bears an eerie resemblance to the disturbing “Obama kids” YouTube video featuring young children singing the praises of their great leader. Bill Ayres, Barack Obama and the CTA—are these the people we want in charge of… Read More