Orange County has a 1/2 cent transportation sales tax called Measure M that was passed in 1990 and expires in 2011. It created the Orange County Transportation Authority and has greatly improved OC transportation infrastructure (and I say that as someone who voted against it).

Now, the OCTA has been preparing a draft ordinance for the November 2006 ballot that would extend Measure M for 30 years. A very good case can be made for Measure M’s renewal, and I’m open to being persuaded.

However, it’s hard to be persuaded when you see OCTA spending taxpayer monies on thinly-veiled marketing efforts to build support for Measure M.

Which is why were are lucky to have several elected officials on the OCTA Board of Directors who are exercising responsible stewardship on behalf of the taxpayers.

A couple of months ago, OCTA awarded a $1.5 million contract to Townsend, Raimundo for a three-part countywide "informational mailing" on the draft Measure M renewal… Read More

See attached invitation below for Tuesday nite Election Central.

This may be the first and last time I do this. FR Publisher and Big BloggerJon Fleischman, and therefore hisBaby Bloggers like me, have a general rule that we won’t post information in advance of events on these pages…and for good reason.

As Jon puts it, "we have a pretty steadfast policy of NOT promoting events. The reason is actually very simple. As soon as I publish something about an upcoming event, or attach an invitation to an email from me as publisher, I LITERALLY get bombarded with HUNDREDS of invitations to events. Everyone from the State GOP, candidates for state office, federal office, local office, even non-CA events, debates, rallies, women’s fed meetings, etc."

Sounds like loads of fun. With that said, I am going to make an exception, PLEASE NOTE, in this ONE case only, because 1) there is only one race in town, 2) there is only one election central tomorrow, and 3) the entire wheelbarrow full of Republican candidates in the 50th have been invited and will… Read More

The City of Carmel will have the opportunity to elect a new city council and mayor on Tuesday. The City of Carmel is one of two 100% Republican cities in Monterey County (the other being King City) and no major shakeup is expected. Incumbent Mayor Sue McCloud is running for re-election and should win handily. Mayor McCloud works well with county and regional government officials and has provided the City of Carmel with strong leadership and has done an excellent job maintaining communication with her constituents throughout her tenure as mayor. She is challenged by Dogman McBill (yes, you read that correctly) who promised not to raise or spend more than $1000 on the campaign which hasn’t allowed him to connect with voters via mail or ads. In the city council race, incumbents Gerard Rose and Paula Hazdovac are challenged by newcomer and Democrat Ryan Walbrun. Walbrun, a meteorologist,has not articulated any specific vision for the City of Carmel nor has he attended any City Council meetings or served on any… Read More

In just about any race for office, the endorsement of the incumbent politician who is retired is usually coveted. Clearly one race where NO ONE wants the endorsement of the former incumbent is in the Special Election taking place in San Diego — after all, former Congressman Duke Cunningham is serving time in the federal pen for using his office to make millions to line his own pockets, while doling out government funds in returns.

One of the candidates in the race has managed to reach back to the conservative Congressman who represented the area BEFORE Cunningham — retired Congressman Ron Packard (pictured). Packard’s biggest claim to fame is that he actually won his first election as a write-in candidate. Now that is no longer recent history — as a matter of fact, it has been a long time since Packard served in Congress as all (though he served nearly two decades).

Anyways, Packard has endorsed businessman Eric Roach for this seat, and… Read More

I just read Governor Schwarzenegger’s commentary in the Wall Street Journal opinion section.

In the first paragraph, the Governor mentions Ronald Reagan’s sensitivity on subject: "Perhaps because he’d been a border state governor, Reagan understood the challenges and the opportunities presented by immigration. He believed, as I do, that we can have an immigration policy that strengthens our borders and welcomes immigrants."

To me, that’s both a naive interpretation of the California of 40 years ago and a bad example of a Republican overplaying the Reagan card (one of the first things you learn in GOP Speechwriting 101: feel free to plagiarize Reagan, Lincoln, and Teddy Roosevelt).

Was illegal immigration a hot-button topic during Reagan’s gubernatorial years (1967-1975)? Of course not — certainly not compared to Vietnam or student unrest at Berkeley.… Read More

Click here to see Arnold Schwarzenegger’s second commercial of the season. This one is touting his image on environmental issues. Click here to see Arnold Schwarzenegger’s first commercial of the season.… Read More

At the top of today’s main page is a link to column written by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in today’s Wall Street Journal. In it, he basically calls for tough border-security measures but also for "a policy of compassion" towards those millions of illegal aliens who are already living in America. It’s worth a read as the opinion of California’s Governor matters a lot in this debate.

Also leading the main page is a reminder that the FlashReport has some recommendations for voters in San Diego’s 50th Congressional District and Orange County’s 35 State Senate District, where special elections will take place tomorrow. It is clear that LOW VOTER TURNOUT will be impacting both races.

If you’ve been following the 50th Congressional District race, there is a chance for you to get some notoriety on the FlashReport. One of our San Diego Correspondents, La Mesa Councilman Barry Jantz, is inviting FR Readers to weigh in with their PREDICTIONS. He writes:

**There is more – click the link**… Read More

At the top of today’s main page is a link to column written by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in today’s Wall Street Journal. In it, he basically calls for tough border-security measures but als a "a policy of compassion" towards those millions of illegal aliens who are already living in America. It’s worth a read as the opinion of California’s Governor matters a lot in this debate.

Also leading the main page is a reminder that the FlashReport has some recommendations for voters in San Diego’s 50th Congressional District and Orange County’s 35 State Senate District, where special elections will take place tomorrow. It is clear that LOW VOTER TURNOUT will be impacting both races.

If you’ve been following the 50th Congressional District race, there is a chance for you to get some notoriety on the FlashReport. One of our San Diego Correspondents, La Mesa Councilman Barry Jantz, is inviting FR Readers to weigh in with their PREDICTIONS. He writes: Pick the winner in the 50th…… Read More