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

OK, the main page was up late this morning.

Blame the captivating Anthony York over at Capitol Weekly. He called me and we got absorbed into a conversation and then… well… late… sorry…

Jon… Read More

Although there has been no announcement (and I have no inside information here) the Republicans of the River City endorsed Doug Ose for Congress at their meeting tonight (1-15-2008).

Ose is member of the club, which meets in the Ose room at KVIE (local public TV station) , so it’s hardly breaking news that they would endorse him. But if he was not running, he could probably have stopped it as well.

Word on the street is that Ose has put a team together – headed by McNally Temple Associates – and has lined up his media spokesperson, fundraiser and pollster.

Ose, who was first elected to Congress after a tough race against then-Assemblywoman Barbara Alby, is the former California Chair of the Republican Mainstreet Partnership — a moderate group headed by Charles Bass (former NH Congressman) that frequently tangles with the… Read More

In three match ups on the GOP side, there have been 3 different winners – Huckabee in IA, McCain in NH, and now Romney in MI.

If Thompson pulls off a win in SC, and Giuliani wins in FL (either is possible) – then I’ll have to take back my early comment about CA’s early primary being just about the Legislators Job Protection Act (also known as Prop 93), because CA and NY might be the bi-coastal "deciders" on the GOP side…but still…to quote the Bakesfield Californian, "No on Prop 93 – don’t swallow this Baloney."

Here’s an excerpt from C&E:

Romney Wins Michigan Primary Shane D’Aprile, Jan 15, 2008

In what amounted to a must win for his… Read More

David Freddoso from the "The Corner" on National Review Online posted this today. I had to share it, because California is so incredibly impacted by the immigration debate, and this letter makes an important point about McCain’s stance on immigration:

From a reader in the active-duty military:

Put me in the camp of those who have reluctantly come to believe that McCain is the candidate to support in the Republican primary. If I could annoint a candidate, it would be The Fred. I actually care passionately about immigration and free speech, and I really didn’t think I could forgive McCain for his positions on those issues, but here is my reasoning:

1) McCain-Feingold: while it seems like it should be unconstitutional, in practice, it has proven to be pretty easy to work around. Even a poorly financed candidate like Huckabee has been able to get his message out.

2) Immigration: for all his faults, I think McCain will be a man of his word in this respect: he has agreed to… Read More

I have to admit that it gets depressing to cover the Bay Area for the Flashreport. Sure, there are funny stories to pass along, mostly political antics from San Francisco, where the inmates run the asylum.

But is also terribly frustrating to live here, where ever ballot initiative includes multiple local tax increases (February’s proposes three tax increases for Oakland homeowners and I can assure you that they will all pass. These people have never met a tax they didn’t like.)

I knew it was bad when Jerry Brown was the most conservative mayoral candidate on the ballot. But I never imagined that they replace Mayor Moonbean with Ron Dellums! I’ve been waiting for him to open a district office in Cuba ever since he took office.

But then again, as much as I can’t stand him or his politics, the man won the election. Clearly the people of Oakland wanted him.

And now they are enjoying the fruits of his liberal labors.

Late last week, a 10-year-old boy was shot during his… Read More

This morning FR friends and anti-tax stalwarts Lew Uhler and Jon Coupal spoke to a crowded sidewalk full of reporters in front of the belly of the beast (the YES on Prop 93 headquarters!) about their opposition to Prop. 93, the Nunez-Perata power grab.

Coupal, President of the Howard Jarvis Tax Association, spoke about the sham of Prop. 93. He let reporters know that although Nunez and Perata are telling voters that this measure shortens term-limits, the fact of the matter is that it will really lengthen them for the majority of officeholders in Sacramento. He also pointed out that Núñez and Perata broke their promise to the people of California by not including redistricting in this proposal, which makes it an incomplete attempt at reform.

Following that, Uhler laid into the real reasons behind this measure. As the author of the original bill that created term-limits in California, I can think of no one more qualified to speak on the issue.

FR’s very own… Read More