Sharon Runner is one of the most respected among the California State Assembly’s Republican members, and she will be re-elected.

Assemblywoman Runner has represented the 36th District for the past two terms after succeeding her husband, now-Senator George Runner, in 2002. She serves as Assistant Republican Leader and asVice Chair of the powerful Appropriations Committee.

So why would Palmdale Mayor Jim Ledford file to run against Runner in the upcoming Republican primary? Well, I believe it’s time to shed some light onto the man who wouldchallenge someone who recently co-wrote the Jessica’s Law initiative andconvinced 713,000 California citizens to signpetitions to put Jessica’s Law on the November ballot.

Most of the 36th District’s elected officials, including Congressman Buck McKeon, L.A. County Supervisor Michael Antonovich and San Bernardino County Board… Read More

Winston Churchill once said, "In wartime, truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies."

Perhaps that is how professional environmentalists see themselves: eco-warriors whose cause is so noble it permits them to say ahything that advances their cause.

But whatever truths they once fought for, they only part of Churchill’s aphorism that still applies to environmental extremists like the National Resources Defense Council is the "bodyguard of lies" part.

What sparked this thought is this anti-241 tollway op-ed in Sunday’s Orange County Register. It is bylined by Irvine Ranch heiress Joan Irvine Smith and "co-written" by NRDC senior litigator Joel Reynolds. Since this column is nearly identical to a Feb. 18 Reynolds-bylined column in the Los Angeles Times, it is fair to assume Reynold’s penned it and Orange Countian… Read More

This writer is bearish on the Governor’s chances this November and I have written extensively about his struggles. In today’s Fresno Bee I made some commentsabout why our GOP base is depressed. Its quite simple, and not entirely Arnold’s fault.

First, the federal budget deficit and immigration reform are not being addressed. Bush and Congress have created this mess and are failing, while in the majority, to tackle other problems. This negatively impacts the passions of Republican voters in California – and hurts Arnold.

Second, Arnold has allowed State spending to careen only marginally less out of control than under Gray Davis. He has lost his moral authority as a fiscal conservative and doesn’t appear to care. We understand that he would never run his companies this way, yet he runs the Government with structural deficits. Where is the business acumen?

Third, the base doesn’t like borrowing and spending and this is the centerpiece of Arnold’s program. We view borrowing and… Read More

Martin Wisckol of the OC Register reported earlier today that Assemblyman Tom Umberg has filed suit to removeopponentLou Correafrom the Secretary of State’s list ofcertified candidates forthe Democrat nomination for the 34th SD. (Read Wisckol’s article here.)

The suit, which was filed in Sacramento County Superior Court, names the Secretary of State and the OC Registrar of Voters as respondents and Correa as real party in interest. The suit can be read here. Umberg alleges that Correa should be removed from the list of qualified candidate because Correa submitted more than the permitted number of nomination signatures.

SD 34 is one of the few competitive districts in California. And given that Republicans actually have a registration edge in the district and given thatUmberg has been reported to have some character problems stemming from his admitted extra-marital affair, this hardball tactic may have some interesting… Read More

It is being reported today by Fresno Bee editorial board member gail Marshall that in an interview that the Bee Ed Board conducted with Governor Schwarzenegger, he told them that he will not fire Rob Reiner as Chairman of the California Children and Families Commission. Marshall, in her blog post, says that: "Schwarzenegger said there is only an "appearance" of a problem with Reiner, and he sees no reason to remove him at this point. The governor said it isn’t right to dump Reiner without evidence of wrongdoing."

First and foremost, this is bad news. Bad because the reason to appoint a new Chairman of the Commission (remember, Reiner’s term of four-years to which he was appointed by Gray Davis has long expired) is because there should be someone in charge of this Commission who shares the Governor’s vision and philosophy. Specifically, Reiner has decided to go ahead and put a massive tax increase measure on the upcoming ballot. Reiner has made himself the issue by being such an outspoken, partisan… Read More

We sadly note the passing today of two prominent political figures: Ontario City Councilman Gerald Dubois and former Assemblymember Marco Firebaugh. Firebaugh had been involved in the heavily contested 30th Senate District Democratic Primary (Escutia termed out). Read more here.… Read More

Arnold Schwarzenegger is less likely to raise taxes than either of the Democratic candidates for governor. He is more likely to crack down on child molestors than they are. For a conservative Republican, is that good enough?

The recent collapse of the infrastructure bond negotiations makes it clear that Schwarzenegger needs something else to motivate his party’s base. When he needed rank-and-file GOP legislators to compromise for him, there was little incentive to do so. They all support him, but few were willing to sacrifice for him. The question is what can be added to Arnold’s agenda that will get their blood stirring for him again.

He’s promised not to raise taxes and he supports Jessica’s Law. That’s a decent enough start. But it looks like the governor may need one more issue in his arsenal that can get conservatives more enthused for his candidacy. What’s it going to be?

Dan Walters suggests illegal immigration, but that’s not going to happen. The governor seemed surprised by the public reaction to his support of the Minutemen border patrol movement last year and doesn’t seem to have… Read More

The Metropolitan Greater Oakland Democratic Club met last week to make endorsement in the mayor’s race and statewide primary races. According to the Oakland Tribune, Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown could not get enough votes to capture the local Democratic club’s endorsement in his primary fight against Los Angeles City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo. It boggles that mind that Brown, who should not only benefit from being the local homeboy, but also from the Bay Area’s anything-but-LA attitude, couldn’t get enough support to get an endorsement from a bunch of Bay Area Democrats.

It does not bode well for City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente that he came in third in the race for the club’s endorsement. Although members couldn’t agree on a mayoral candidate either, the top two vote getters were former… Read More