In one week voters go to the polls in various communities across LA County. As part of the rebuilding of the LA County GOP, they started endorsing canidates in non-partisan races. Here is the list for next week.… Read More

Who does a California conservative support for President?

The top tier of candidates — John McCain, Mitt Romney, and Rudy Giuliani — must all overcome varying amounts of suspicion from the GOP base. The second tier of candidates — Sam Brownback, Mike Huckabee, and Jim Gilmore — have to make a credible case that they can win. Without a natural candidate around which to rally, conservatives are forced to decide which of the front-runners they can trust. The developments so far have been fascinating to watch.

My former boss McCain was the insurgent when I worked for him in 1999 and 2000, when he was anethema to a party establishment had flocked to then-Governor Bush. Eight years later, though, McCain is now the establishment candidate, using his strong support of Bush on terror and Iraq to develop an organizational and endorsement infrastructure that early front-runners have historically used to ward off challengers. Watching this year from the sidelines,… Read More

Who does a California conservative support for President?

The top tier of candidates — John McCain, Mitt Romney, and Rudy Giuliani — must all overcome varying amounts of suspicion from the GOP base. The second tier of candidates — Sam Brownback, Mike Huckabee, and Jim Gilmore — have to make a credible case that they can win. Without a natural candidate around which to rally, conservatives are forced to decide which of the front-runners they can trust. The developments so far have been fascinating to watch.

My former boss McCain was the insurgent when I worked for him in 1999 and 2000, when he was anethema to a party establishment had flocked to then-Governor Bush. Eight years later, though, McCain is now the establishment candidate, using his strong support of Bush on terror and Iraq to develop an organizational and endorsement infrastructure that early front-runners have historically used to ward off challengers. Watching this year from the sidelines, it’s been… Read More

Orange County Superior Court Judge Randell Wilkinson "passed" on ordering the emergency relief Jim Gilchrist, founder of the Minuteman Project, was seeking today to regain control of the website and other assets of Minuteman Project, Inc. Gilchrist had filed an "emergency" request to bar dissident directors, who have concerns about Gilchrist’s management,from controlling the Minuteman organization. The Judge heard arguments from both competing sides about which directors control the organization and decided rather than making an immediate ruling as requested by Gilchrist, to take the matter "under submission." There is no indication of exactly when the Judge will issue a ruling in the case.

Your author represented the dissident directors in court today.… Read More

Rising California GOP political consultant and Flashreport friend Mike Richman has been named the Rookie of the Year by the American Association of Political Consultants for 2007 in recognition of his tremendous work in helping direct Michelle Steel’s successful campaign for a seat on the California Board of Equalization last election cycle. Richman managed Michelle Steel’s race in a very competitive Republican primary.

Mike Richman works now as deputy political director for Sacramento, California-based consultancy JohnsonClark Associates. In addition to guiding Michelle Steel to a win, Mike Richman also assisted in the primary victories of Assemblymembers Anthony Adams and Kevin Jeffries. Nearly a year ago, Flashreport correspondent Phil Paule said of Richman: “Richman is destined to be one of the great political operatives of the next 20 years in California politics. He is bright, very… Read More

On a party line vote, again, the Assembly Appropriations Committee pushed the early presidential primary to our floor, wherethe Assemblywill probably take it up Thursday and send it off to the Governor’s desk. Appropriations Vice-Chair Mimi Walters offered amendments to ensure this bill had language to guarantee reimbursement tocounties up to $88 million that this extra election will cost…the amendment was denied on a party line vote as well. Counties will have to rely on "trust us" intent language in the bill. I’m sure our county sheriff’s, libraries, and mental health departmentswill be happy to reduce their budgets to pay forwhat is really aterm limit extension election. More to come….… Read More

The Empire Strikes Back

Democratic and Republican insiders unveiled their latest attempt to undermine California’s 17-year-old term limits law. Gale Kaufman, who has worked with California teacher unions, and Matthew Dowd, a strategist for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s re-election campaign last year, revealed the initiative in a conference call this month.

To the amusement of reporters, the two strategists insisted their plan, which would have to be approved by voters early next year, actually improves term limits. "We believe it’s a good strengthening of term limits," Ms. Kaufman said, because the proposal would limit legislators to 12 years of total service in the legislature, rather than the 14 years… Read More

Well, sort of. It looks like the Long Beach City Council’s attempt to dictate to hotels what kind of union deals they must sign will be put to a vote of the people. The plan denies workers the right to vote. Today, the hotels will submit the signatures needed for a referendum. See here.Previous FR Post can be seen here.… Read More