I would appreciate any thoughts you may have (potentially for attribution) on the following, for a possible follow-up piece on the issue. See the questions at the end…. California law is pretty clear. Public funds can’t be used for political campaign purposes. So, yesterday’s article in the Union-Trib, "Activists fault two cities over sales-tax brochures," again raises an interesting and ongoing issue of debate – the use of public funds in advance of a potential ballot measure to educate and solicit public opinion, although technically not for campaign purposes.

As a former La Mesa City Councilmember and current San Diego County Taxpayers Association (SDCTA) board member, my interest is heightened due to my city’s situation as noted in the article, yet my purpose in querying you the reader goes beyond my past and current involvement with the two entities.

Although some public agencies have no doubt exceeded a "gray area" threshold by using public funds for campaign purposes, let’s… Read More

This afternoon the Associated Press reported that Proposition 8’s ballot description has been changed—and traditional marriage supporters should be up in arms over this political ploy. Initially, Prop. 8 was described as limiting marriage to a man and a woman. Readers will be shocked to learn that Prop. 8 is now officially described as “a constitutional change to eliminate the right of same sex couples to marry.” According to Secretary of State Debra Bowen’s office, the description change came as the result of the recent California Supreme Court ruling overturning Proposition 22.

This flimsy excuse for so blatantly siding with Prop. 8 opposition is ludicrous. The so-called “right” of same-sex couples to marry was created by the California Supreme Court just two months ago and voters have yet to decide whether they will participate in this judicial charade. This biased description of Prop. 8 demonstrates the challenge supporters will face this election—not just in the campaign, but from a supposedly-unbiased… Read More

In 2003, Oakland Unified School District went into state receivership. In other words, it went bankrupt, and the state had to bail it out. Today, the school district is still under state control and, incredibly, continues to experience financial problems. Given Oakland Unified School District’s history of scandals and fiscal mismanagement, it comes as no surprise it is still in financial chaos. Unfortunately, taxpayers have been footing the bill for the district’s incompetence and ill-advised financial moves. According to the Oakland Tribune (July 7, 2008), “Five years after the state assumed control of the nearly bankrupt Oakland school system, the district’s finances remain on shaky ground, an investigation by the Alameda County Civil Grand Jury has concluded.” The article continues, “The brief report…… Read More

Few blacks get elected outside of African-American neighborhoods. The last and only black Republican assemblyman was Frederick Roberts (pictured below, left), in the AD 62, Los Angeles, [1918 to 1934]. Roberts was the first black to serve in any California state office.

Abram Wilson is the Republican nominee in AD 15. Wilson was elected as San Ramon’s first Mayor in 2003. He competedfor the Guy Houston seat against several other well financed challengers.Three candidates… Read More

The buzz on cable news and national talk shows this week is the tragic murder of San Franciscan Tony Bologna and his two young sons at the hands of an illegal alien. The brutal and senseless slaying occurred June 22 when El Salvadoran Edwin Ramos (allegedly) shot the three men after their car accidentally blocked his car’s path at an intersection. Such a crime would normally be chalked up as another big-city-violence statistic except that the perpetrator is an illegal alien with a long criminal record.

It’s probably no coincidence that Ramos was hiding in the Bay Area; San Francisco is a sanctuary city, refusing to cooperate in deporting those who have broken the law to enter our nation. That means San Francisco’s government publicly and proudly defies its very purpose for existence: to protect its citizens from criminals. Outside of this fundamental purpose, government should play a very limited role in citizens’ lives. But instead of protecting its residents from savages like Edwin Ramos, the city has actually… Read More

Sometimes they’re easy. A bill comes to the floor and you just instinctively know how you will vote. Either it’s something you’ve always supported or always opposed or the bill is just clear-cut.

Such was not the case this week with the Housing Bill (H.R. 3221). This bill has been cooking all year and there were lots of moving pieces. In the end, it was over 700 pages long and was a grab bag of housing, regulatory and tax provisions. Some of these provisions I supported. Others I opposed viscerally. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do. So, I broke out the major provisions of the bill into the categories of things I hated, things I was okay with and things that could go either way. Here is how I saw those things:

Provisions I can’t stand:

The bill requires that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac contribute 4.2 basis points of each new mortgage they make to an "affordable housing trust fund." This is a nearly $1 billion per year "slush fund" that would go primarily to organizations and community development agencies to promote low-income housing. This is just a huge handout to a small number of … Read More

Few blacks get elected outside of African-American neighborhoods. The last and only black Republican assemblyman was Frederick Roberts (pictured below, left), in the AD 62, Los Angeles, [1918 to 1934]. Roberts was the first black to serve in any California state office.

Abram Wilson is the Republican nominee in AD 15. Wilson was elected as San Ramon’s first Mayor in 2003. He competedfor the Guy Houston seat against several other well financed challengers.Three candidates… Read More

Barack Hussein Obama may have supported the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reforms in the U.S. Senate, but his decisionto reject "public financing," which gives him a significant financial edge in the Fall election, is surely not in keeping with his prior statements of support for campaign finance reform.

Regardless of his flip-flop, I don’t blame him, as I think public financing of Presidential campaigns is amisuse of taxpayers funds and I can understand a candidate wanting to build every edge they can in their campaign. I’m glad the requirement is optional. However, the "opt-out" is a loop-hole that BHO is taking advantage of, and because of McCain’s association with campaign finance reform, it is a loop-holeMcCain can’t use himself.

But the biggest loop-hole for BHO, (or "BO" for those who think using "Hussein" is too alarming) isn’t opting out of public financing. Rather, it is the Federal Election Commission’s regulation, known as the "News Story Exemption," that is giving Obama a very big media edge at the moment, and it is… Read More