I told you so.

Yeah, I know, that is rude, but now that I am no longer in the Legislature, there are very few people who will relate the tale.

I voted for the 2004-05 budget, the Governor’s first budget, because I thought it was a responsible budget that dealt appropriately with the fallout from the Davis spending spree from 1999-2001. In those budgets, Gray Davis and the Democrats (with way too many willing Republicans), increased spending from $58 billion (general fund) to $79 billion (general fund). The next three budgets, 2001-04 moved spending from about $79 billion to $78 billion, and created a $13 billion debt, while revenue went from $66 to $76 billion over those same years. The voters passed the $15 billion bond to cover the Davis mistakes.

Governor Schwarzenegger, with the able help of his then Finance Director, Donna Arduin, brought spending under control in his first budget, increasing spending by only $100 million (as proposed in the May revise and passed by the Legislature). It was the right thing to do. Arduin then left, the Governor began his initiative campaigns, and, in the next six months, the wheels fell off the fiscal… Read More

In the weeks leading up to the well-advertised CNN/YouTube GOP Presidential Debate, I was actually getting pretty excited. What a great way to merge modern technology and politics, and get lots of people, especially younger ones, engaged in the process. Recently I gave a keynote address at a Junior Statesmen of America conference, and they had a room set up so that high school students could record debate questions, and I must have seen a hundred e-mails cross my desk referencing the debate, and people sending around their video taped questions for others to see. There was a great deal of buzz, and, for me, a hightened level of expectation.

As it turns out, this debate was totally hijacked by the MSM — and I don’t know whether to blame CNN exclusively, or apply some of the bad credit to the folks at YouTube. That is because I am not sure who was responsible for sifting through the thousands of video clips of questions, and choosing which ones would be asked of… Read More

TheCity Council in Rancho Mirage recently voted5-0 to outsource it’s next council election in April 2008. The city is spending about $37,000 for a private company to count the votes, about $2,000 more than the County of Riversidecharges them. I am confident they will find it to bea well spentextra $2,000. Barbara Dunmore, County Registrar says," The decision does not effect our relations."She’s wrong, it will improve the relations because the city will not have to deal with the Registrar’s office on election night. Unfortunately, outsourcing can only be done in local, not state or federal elections

The City of Riverside, led by Councilman Frank Schiavone is also considering privatizing the process. Good for them. Good for the voters.

Ms. Dunmore and many others in authority seem to have forgotten that they work for the citizens.

The past few elections in Riverside County have been disasterous as far as getting votes counted and results posted on election night. This months semi-final results came in around 1:40 AM in the Coachella Valley region. Around 10:00PM in the City of Riverside.

This… Read More

When the Orange County Lincoln Club endorsed the CalCounts Initiative, you knew it was only a matter of days before the big shoe would drop – a major contribution towards qualification. This is because the Lincoln Club has a long tradition of not just talking, but DOING. If you look back over the history of the Orange County Lincoln Club, you will see that they have spent a generation being at the forefront of great things. Of course, the other shoe was a six-figure one — a six figure check…

It’s actually worth taking a few minutes to read this great profile of the O.C. Lincoln Club penned by FR Blogger/OC Blog Proprietor Matt Cunningham for Red County Magazine.

We reached out to FR friend Rich Wagner, the President of the Lincoln Club, and asked him if he would put pen to paper (or more likely fingers to keyboard) and share with our readers why his organization, which is quite selective about which battles it chooses to wage, has weighed in to give the CalCounts Initiative a huge push towards qualification…… Read More

When the Orange County Lincoln Club endorsed the CalCounts Initiative, you knew it was only a matter of days before the big shoe would drop – a major contribution towards qualification. This is because the Lincoln Club has a long tradition of not just talking, but DOING. If you look back over the history of the Orange County Lincoln Club, you will see that they have spent a generation being at the forefront of great things. Of course, the other shoe was a six-figure one — a six figure check…

It’s actually worth taking a few minutes to read this great profile of the O.C. Lincoln Club penned by FR Blogger/OC Blog Proprietor Matt Cunningham for Red County Magazine.

We reached out to FR friend Rich Wagner, the President of the Lincoln Club, and asked him if he would put pen to paper (or more likely fingers to keyboard) and share with our readers why his organization, which is quite selective about which battles it chooses to wage, has weighed in to give the CalCounts Initiative a huge push towards qualification… … Read More

Most candidates running for office usually are on their best behavior during the run-up to their election. They attend their meetings, skip the junket circuit, and generally try to avoid getting sucked into anything controversial.

Like I said, that’s MOST candidates.

Recently, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association and the Citizens Against Government Waste released their annual Piglet Book highlighting example after example of waste in government around the state at its worst.

Pretty safe to say, on either side of the aisle, the Piglet book is not a place a candidate would want to appear prior to their race.

“While those responsible for the worst acts of waste, fraud and abuse may believe that the public is not watching or does not care, most are capable of being embarrassed when they are caught behaving badly. They should feel a sense of humiliation as their incompetence and misconduct receives this additional public scrutiny.”

Amen!

And given that, I could barely believe my eyes when I saw the name of a… Read More

If his website and this morning’s email are any indication, the lingering question of "Will he or won’t he?" seems to be answered by Steve Francis. (Of course, the GOP is in a bit of a panty-twist over the prospects of a Republican taking on a sitting GOP incumbent like Jerry Sanders.)

The following email message, including links to an endorsement form and bio, sure looks like a campaign to me….

I am writing to you to seek your early endorsement in the race for Mayor of San Diego. I recently formed the Francis For Mayor Exploratory Committee to meet with my fellow San Diegans to hear their views about what they need and want in local government, regardless of their political affiliation. I’ve met with Democrats who think City Hall has become a haven for partisan policy making. Some Republicans worry that the current administration has lost its way, while Independents feel their voice has been silenced by the lobbyists who seem to control everything. Most have voiced concerns about the influence of special interest groups in our local government. Although I have not formally announced my… Read More

Our publisher Jon asked me to comment on the recent $50 million out-of-court settlement by the City of Dana Point and its insurer, the California Joint Powers Insurance Authority (“CJPIA”), in favor of two joggers who were hit and very seriously injured by an uninsured drunk on Pacific Coast Highway last year. They were jogging in the clearly defined bicycle lane of PCH when the drunk driver swerved over the line and hit them. I was on the City Council when the accident occurred in April of 2006, and Jon thought my insight would be valuable regarding what the implications are of a $50 million liability payout by a city and its insurance company.

Well, the primary implication of this huge payout, characterized by Orange County-based personal injury guru Mark Robinson as “one of the top settlements in the county’s” history, is that basically the City of Dana Point has blown the limits of its insurance coverage, (the Dana Point annual budget itself is around $25 million, half the amount of the settlement!), it very likely has no liability insurance left for the rest of its current policy, the CJPIA now has blown a huge chunk of… Read More