There has been lots of e-ink spilled on this blogin the past 10 hoursabout Elton Gallegly’s strategic decision to wait until literally the 11th hour to announce he has no plans to seek another term in Congress. In doing so he has prevented several well qualified candidates from seeking that seat, nonetheleast of which is former Assemblyman Tony Strickland (full disclosure, I am general counsel to his wife, Assemblywoman Audra Strickland).

Here is one solution: Instead of the grass roots getting worked up aboutMr. Gallegly’schicanery and instead of engaging in Quixotic legal efforts to get an extended filing deadline, I say let the voters call Mr. Gallegly’s bluff and elect him to another term. He obviously has high name ID, and he is the "incumbent" (whatever that means given his circumstances). A few well placed mailersshould get him re-elected to another term. If he then decides he isn’t up to serving, he can retire and a special election can be called so that a real campaign can be had to fill his replacement.… Read More

More appointments came over the transom from the Governor’s office:

THE REPUBLICANS

Kim Blackseth, 52, of Oakland, has been appointed to the Building Standards Commission. Susan Dowty, 43, of Laguna Nigel, has been appointed to the Building Standards Commission. Benita Haley, 74, of Manhattan Beach, has been appointed to the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges. Gayle Pacheco, 53, of Walnut, has been appointed to the State Rehabilitation Council. Irene Raymundo, 60, of El Dorado Hills, has been appointed chair of the Agricultural Labor Relations Board.

THE DEMOCRATS

Christina Jamison, 41, of Camarillo, has been appointed to the Building Standards Commission. Michael G. Lee, 54, of … Read More

Today we saw how one can hand off a much coveted Congressional seat to someone totally unknown by the use on the newly coined phrase “The Gallegly Model” Here is how it works. File for your seat and go about your business until the day of the filing cutoff. Then have an unknown friend, relatives etc come in at the last moment and file for the seat. Then in the last hour of filing, say you are not going to run. Oh- La the seat changes hands without a messy election. The best part is that there is no pesky filing extension to upset the apple cart.

The question is who will try and use the Gallegly Model next. It will make for some interesting filing windows in the future. Will more people now file in safe Republican (or Dem) seats on the hope that the incumbent will back out at the last moment. Will this get the Legislature to change the filing extension time? It may since members of the Legislature seem to be ones that could be most affected by “The Gallegly Model”. Stay tuned………… Read More

I’ve been contacted by several people advancing this theory, explaining what happenned today with Gallegly…

Supposedly the Congressman filed for reelection, and THEN decided (due to health reasons) that he would not run again – apparently not realizing that once you file your candidacy, you cannot “unfile” – thus he is on the ballot, and because he (the incumbent) technically filed for re-election, filing closed. I was told that Gallegly had assumed he would be able to “unfile” and this filing would be open for another week….

Now we have this bizarre situation of Gallegly on the GOP ballot but not wanting to be, this unknown guy, Tannenbaum.

Rumor has it that Strickland may seek legal recourse on Monday, asking a judge to extend filing in light of this bizarre thwarting of the democratic process…… Read More

Republicans looking to choose between multiple candidates in a race are going to have to look elsewhere than the Insurance Commissioner’s seat. Six months ago, there was a spirited three-way primary going on between Dr. Phil Kurnzer, wealthy businessman Steve Poizner, and attorney Gary Mendoza. In the intervening months, Poizner’s campaign has been in high-gear, raising tons of cash, and amassing lots of endorsements. Most recently, last weekend, the endorsement of the conservative California Republican Assembly.

In the meantime, a couple of weeks ago, Dr. Phil hung it up, announcing that he was not longer a candidate. Today, I heard from Gary Mendoza’s campaign — he, too, has decided not to run. Mendoza’s departure, while not unexpected, is an example of another great guy who won’t be on the ballot. I’ve known Gary since our mutual involvement in former-Congressman, now SEC Chairman Chris Cox’s first Congressional campaign back in 1988. Gary held up the GOP banner as the nominee for Insurance Commissioner in 2002 — but was not able to win. Anyways, I am sure we’ll… Read More

Elton Gallegly can chuckle over a beer tonight at his apparently successful effort to thwart our representative democracy. Despite a last minute scramble by Strickland and his supporters to get him filed – there was not enough time. So on the ballot is Gallegly (who has filed but announced he is retiring and will not be waging any campaign) and some obscure fellow named Tannenbaum. Strickland has a few days to consider whether he will try to mount a write-in effort, or keep his eye on the State Controller’s seat. In the meantime, if anyone sees Elton Gallegly around town, avert your glance. He has brought shame on himself and the GOP today…… Read More

I can’t imagine a worse way to end a career in Congress than pulling the manuever that Elton Gallegly has in Ventura County today…and it might work…but probably not.

Apparently unlike State Legislative seats, filing does not extend if an incumbent doesn’t file (FR friend and political law expert Chuck Bell verified this for me). Gallegly, by waiting until two hours before the close of filing on the last day to file to announce his plans is really trying to stick it to former Assemblyman Tony Strickland.

Right now, Strickland has dozens of volunteers converging on the Registrar’s office to sign nomination docs in time for him to file for Congress.

Shame on Gallegly for this kind of street theater..is he like four years old? Even the often-immature Bill Thomas retired with a week to give other candidates time to file…… Read More

I just spoke with Strickland Team insider Joel Angeles, who confirmed for me that if it is true that Elton Gallegly is running for Congress, that former Assemblyman Tony Strickland is prepared to retool his run for State Controller into a run for the House of Representatives. You can be very sure that the first endorser that Strickland would get for this race would be that of the local Assemblywoman, his wife, Audra. Right after that, look for the next endorsements to come from two opposite sides of the GOP spectrum — the local State Senator, Tom McClintock, would certainly support his close ally running for Congress — and of course State Senator Abel Maldonado would be pleased as punch to have a free ride to the GOP nomination for State Controller.

There is one legal question running through my mind right now — about whether Strickland can ‘unring’ the bell on his filed candidacy for State Controller — and what happens with that. One thing is for sure, Strickland… Read More