As the debate takes place in Sacramento about whether to move the California Presidential primary to the first Tuesday in February, there seems to be widespread consensus amongst the Sacramento-Insider crowd that the legislative primaries should stay in June. As is being reported in the San Francisco Chronicle, the cost for holding an additional statewide election is somewhere in the neighborhood of $90 million smackers. So why not move the legislative primaries to February as well? I can think of a practical consideration — which is that it would cause folks to have to decide pretty early if they want to run for office. But, heck, everyone seems to decide awfully early right now! But moving off of that logistical challenge for potential candidates, I think that it is obvious that many politicians in Sacramento see a statewide Presidential primary in February of ’08 as one last opportunity to place a measure on the ballot to somehow loosen term limits. What is $90 million bucks compared to the opportunity to keep such amazing legislators in office for a few more years! (Not!) I look at the legislation that passed before we… Read More

On Monday I featured a letter from Assemblyman Chuck DeVore advocating Tom Bordonaro for Vice Chairman of the California Republican Party. Below, Tony Strickland weighs in on behalf of another candidate, Tom Del Becarro…

Dear California Republican Party Member, As you know, CRP elections are approaching. Please join me as well as seven past CRP Chairs, over forty past and present County Chairs and more than 1000 party activists around the State in endorsing Tom Del Beccaro for CRP Vice Chair. … Read More

Much of what was in the President’s SOU speech tonight we’ve heard before – there wasn’t a groundbreaking idea anywhere to be found. But the tone, always the tone, was one of magnanimity. Contrast this with Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats constant pounding of the President, and its a wonder to me why average citizens follow the left, as it is akin of following hatred.

The President is dead RIGHT on on the War on Terror. He must be supported. Arguing with the left on this is like taking candy from a baby – and conservatives don’t engage them nearly enough. If we don’t engage this enemy our cities will be burning within this decade. Jim Webb’s rebuttal was the usual classless claptrap.

It’s no wonder most Americans have tuned out.… Read More

25th district Assemblyman Tom Berryhill took office in January. Come January 2008 there could be two Berryhills taking the oath of office on the Assembly floor.

With 26th district incumbent Greg Aghazarian term limited, Ceres Unified School Board Member Bill Berryhill (Full disclosure, he’s a client) has filed a committee to seek his seat. With a solid base in Stanslaus County, ability to raise money and contacts from a political family that goes back to his father’s previous service in the Assembly and Senate and as state Secretary of Agriculture, Bill Berryhill has a head start on what could be a large field of Republican candidates.

His tenure on the Ceres School Board will be a strong selling point and gives him a solid background on educational issues to go along with his career as a successful farmer. The real question in this race will be if San Joaquin can find a credible candidate who can counter Berryhill’s solid support in Stanislaus County. With a majority of voters residing in San Joaquin County it will be one of the few advantages an opponent will have to compete effectively.… Read More

Get ready to get the heebie jeebies…

The San Francisco Chronicle relates a story of public policy that takes us back to the middle ages. Evidently, in order to ensure Oakland schools don’t miss ADA (average daily attendance) funding, they have relaxed their policy on allowing kids with head lice in school. Formerly, if a child were found to have lice, a parent or caregiver was immediately summoned to remove the child from campus, and did not allow the child to return until they were lice free. Now, children can stay in school, and happily spread lice to their friends and teachers, who will spread it to their families, and ensure there is never a chance to break the cycle of lice infestation in a school environment. A working parent is quoted in the article as being “thrilled” that she will never have to worry about being called away from work for lice again. Whew, what a relief for her! Now her child is free to be infected, and to infect others, with blood-sucking parasites, and she can stay at work and finish up that power point presentation. A health “expert” is also… Read More

On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that California’s Determinant Sentencing Law (DSL) was unconstitutional. The current DSL allows a trial court judge to determine issues of fact during the sentencing hearing for the purpose of establishing aggravating and mitigating factors. The judge can then use these factors in establishing whether a criminal defendant should get the short, medium, or long sentence as established by current sentencing guidelines. In short, the Court reasoned that allowing the judge to determine issues of fact violates a defendant’s 6th Amendment right. The net consequence of the Court’s ruling will very likely be reduced sentences of some of California’s most violent criminals.

As such, Assemblyman Todd Spitzer, a longtime advocate for all things public safety, and I will be introducing legislation to remedy the constitutionally invalid process. While the “fix” probably is not as complicated as some would have us believe, the process to get there is likely to meet with much political positioning. In particular,… Read More

Almost everyone has heard and commented about Assemblywoman Sally Lieber’s bill to ban spanking – but as a new father I couldn’t resist weighing in. First disclosure: my mother spanked me a few times as a child – and for those who have heard stories of my childhood, it’s good thing she did. Second disclosure: I am a new father of twin girls and I cannot imagine spanking either one of my daughters. But I surely do not need a Legislator to tell me how to raise my children. Let’s be clear: there is no excuse for and no punishment strong enough for abusing a child – but there is a bright line between abuse and a swat on the behind. (Another disclosure: for years I volunteered for FamiliesFirst – a non-profit foster care agency that dealt with severely abused children.) Lieber’s bill does nothing to address the problems of child abuse or child exploitation – it’s more pomp and fluff to make a do-nothing legislature feel like it’s doing something. Perhaps Leiber can explain why she supported legislation that allows landlords to rent apartments… Read More

Assemblywoman Sally Lieber is proposing legislation that would prohibit schools from admitting female students into the 6th grade unless the girl has received the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. Remember, Lieber is the same legislator who is grabbing headlines these days with her spanking legislation.

This HPV vaccine push is coming from the Planned Parenthood types who believe that most children become sexually active around 11 or 12. Certainly, there are those children who do starting having sex that young–but they are not the mainstream. Moreover, even if they are, we do not need the schools to be requiring this vaccine. This should be between the student, her parent(s) and her physician.

I’m sure that Lieber and others will argue that it is the norm to have schools require students be vaccinated, but these vaccines are generally for highly communicable diseases that have posed major threats to the public health in the past.… Read More