I just left the Governor’s visit to San Diego, one in a series of around-the-state meetings to discuss the budget crisis and state fiscal reform, ala "spend what you take in and no more."

About 50 folks at Mission TrailsRegional Park Visitors Center,including Mayor Jerry Sanders, SD Councilmembers Scott Peters and Jim Madaffer, County Supe Greg Cox, Escondido Mayor Lori Holt Pfeiler, Solana Beach Mayor Joe Kellejian, and various board members from Taxpayers Association and area chambers of commerce, as well as a handful of firefighters.

A good overall presentation by the governor on living within means. An interesting response to a question about the reason for pushing forward with healthcare reform during a budget crisis: "Healthcare reform is revenue neutral and nothing to do with the budget." Many might argue that point, but the overall message was loud, clear and reiterated:

"One thing I don’t recommend is taking care of this budget problem with increased taxes….that would be the complete wrong approach."… Read More

There have been a lot of questions raised since Governor Schwarzenegger introduced his proposed 2007-2008 budget last week. First and foremost, the Governor is to be firmly commended for coming out of the gate with a verbal commitment not to raise taxes to deal with the huge overspending problem facing California state government. As most FR readers know, the Governor directed his agency and department heads to work on a state budget that cuts state spending across the board by 10% (well, actually, it was really a 10% decrease in what the anticipated budget would have been… I know, it’s confusing.) When the proposal was unveiled, it contained in it some very "high profile" cuts that would be very impactful on Californians — two that immediately come to mind are the closing of a great number of state parks, and everyone has heard about the Governor’s proposal to grant an early releases to tens of thousands of "non-violent" felons. It was all very dramatic when announced, and definitely drove home the message that Californians all around the state were going to be negatively impacted by the "austerity… Read More

There have been a lot of questions raised since Governor Schwarzenegger introduced his proposed 2007-2008 budget last week. First and foremost, the Governor is to be firmly commended for coming out of the gate with a verbal commitment not to raise taxes to deal with the huge overspending problem facing California state government. As most FR readers know, the Governor directed his agency and department heads to work on a state budget that cuts state spending across the board by 10% (well, actually, it was really a 10% decrease in what the anticipated budget would have been… I know, it’s confusing.) When the proposal was unveiled, it contained in it some very "high profile" cuts that would be very impactful on Californians — two that immediately come to mind are the closing of a great number of state parks, and everyone has heard about the Governor’s proposal to grant an early releases to tens of thousands of "non-violent" felons. It was all very dramatic when announced, and definitely drove home the message that Californians all around the state were going to be negatively impacted by the "austerity… Read More

A busy day in NorCal as the Guv visited Redding this afternoon, an event put together in conjunction with Rotary Club and Redding Chamber Of Commerce. I wasn’t there as we had Ag Committee this aft, but the reports were that the Guv talked approx 90% about the budget, the need to curtail spending and amend the budget process, essentially driving the points made in State of the State and the Budget release press conference. Those conservative points played well with the very fiscally wise north state audience. The Q & A wasn’t too rocky for the Guv but one restaurateur that I know wondered with the employer health care tax and mandates on menus, etc."when will it end?" Also, a question about dumb gun control law solutions in search ofa problem. [I love my constituents.]

Earlier, the No On Prop 93 Trojan Horse visited Chico in my home county of Butte. Now we didn’t have any Greeks such asFabian Nunezethenes or Don Peratapoulos leap out and attack the Chico City council chambers or such, but we [Butte County supervisor Curt Josiassen, the FR’s own Brandon Powers who isa No On 93 staffer, and myself] did talk… Read More

Despite California’s prominent role in this year’s Presidential nominating process for the GOP, I have yet to receive any mail from a Presidential contender. But my good friend Paul Hegyi, who is a candidate for Assembly, and Chief of Staff for Assemblyman Van Tran, did. It wasn’t from Rudy Giuliani, nor Mitt Romney. It wasn’t from John McCain nor was it from Fred Thomspon.

Check out the links below to see the front and back of the mailing from… Aww, we’re not going to spoil the surprise. Look yourself!… Read More

Cross posted at Red County San Diego….

San Diego City Councilmember Brian Maienschein just confirmed with me he will run for SD city attorney. This after a rumor that he was introduced as a candidate at a Rancho Bernardo Chamber of Commerce mixer last night.

"I have been encouraged for awhile to run and I will be doing so," Maienschein said, "The important thing is to beat Mike Aguirre. I think I have a good chance."

He further indicated that a formal announcement is planned in the next two weeks.

I’ll leave any analysis for later. As a recap, however, Deputy D.A. Bill Gentry dropped out of the race earlier in the week, opting to endorse Judge (and former Assemblyman) Jan Goldsmith. Goldsmith has been endorsed by the County Republican Party. Former SD Unified Schools Superintendent Alan Bersin is still analyzing his chances.

Maienschein, as well as Goldsmith are Republicans.… Read More

Oakland likes to dub itself, “The Bright Side of the Bay.” But, recent activities lead me to wonder exactly how bright Oakland’s government officials are. With former Oakland mayor and Attorney General Jerry Brown’s skewed view of the city’s rising crime rate, Oakland continues to be the home of political denial.Oakland City Attorney John Russo seems to have taken a trip down the same river of “denial” by giving himself a good-sized kickback. According to The San Francisco Chronicle (December 19, 2007), the City Attorney gave himself a significant raise withoutpermission:“John Russo boosted his $207,000 salary by $28,000 this year by giving himself management leave and vacation pay typically reserved for non-elected department heads and managers, city records show.” The rules for vacation pay are simple: “Unelected Oakland … Read More

Today the proponents of the California Property Owners and Farmland Protection Act announced that their initiative has been officially qualified for the June 2008 ballot! This is OUTSTANDING news as this measure, if passed, would provide REAL and MEANINGFUL protections for the rights of property owners against egregious "takings" by government agencies through the use of eminent domain proceedings.

If you are keeping crib notes, this measure is the GOOD Kelo reform measure, sponsored by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, the California Farm Bureau Federation, and the California Alliance to Protect Private Property Rights.

This would be as opposed to the EVIL faux-reform measure, being promoted by the very people who current use eminent domain to the detriment of private property owners — local governments at the state redevelopment lobby. They are pushing their own measure, which actually strengthens their ability to subordinate the rights of property owners to the "master planning" of government.

694,354 valid signatures were needed to qualify for the ballot.… Read More