I’m off to Anaheim’s State of the City address to hear Mayor Curt Pringle lay out his 2006 vision for OC’s second largest city (full disclosure: the City of Anaheim is a client).

The Freedom Revolution that Curt Pringle launched after his election as Mayor is comforting and compelling evidence that cities can thrive through policies that embrace liberty and individuals acting in the market place — and stands in stark contrast to retrograde policies like Stanton’s intrusive home inspection boondoggle.

Anaheim’s freedom virus is spreading. Costa Mesa recently completed a 4-month home improvement holiday — modeled after Anaheim’s program — during which permit fees were waived. Anaheim’s program catalyzed $28 million in home improvements, and Costa Mesa’s program led to $15 million in home improvements. These cities physically improved their communities without spending a nickel, simply by removing government-created obstacles.… Read More

It’s said that "idle minds are the devil’s playground."

The same might be said about government bureaucrats.

Here in Orange County, we have a classic case of a bad solution in search of a non-existent problem, courtesy of the bureaucrats at the City of Stanton.

I doubt many FR Blog readers have been to Stanton, a 3.1 square mile city of 38,305 souls located along Beach Boulevard in central OC. It is an unappealing, often overlooked micropolis: I’ve… Read More

Veteran Democratic operative and LA Weekly political columnist reports at New West Notesthat the media buyers for another type of veteran, Swift Boat Veterans for Truth are asking for ad rates and time slots. Does this portend the influx of 527’s campaigns that can circumvent campaign finance laws or is it an old fashioned Independent expenditure? Like a gubernatorial campaign can run on at a little over $20,000 a donation.Read the article here.… Read More

The big mystery announcement that was supposed to be forthcoming the other dayturned out to be not much of a shock…Encinitas Councilman Jerome Stocks decided not to enter the fray in the 74th, the Wyland seat.

Jerome, a great guy who — among other things — drove his city’s rightful pro-property rights reaction to the Kelo eminent domain decision (perhaps the first local elected official to do so), would be a great face in the legislature, but he was going to have an uphill battle against Garrick and Waldron…and now Packard.

The SD Politics Blog had mention of Stocks dropping a few days ago…consultant Jack Orr indicates Stocks confirmed it at the monthly North County National Albondigas Political Society luncheon (ask me what the heck that is, and I’ll turn you over to Jack).

So, I check to see if the North County Times picked it up over the… Read More

At today’s Vista Chamber of Commerce lunch Mayor Morris Vance spent well over a half an hour describing how he favors either a 1/2 cent sales tax increase or a property transfer tax to build a new civic center. Of course, there would be a new City Hall in the civic center. Morris Vance, for those of you not from North San Diego County was the former Vista city manager. The City of Vista is a largely Republican, conservative turf with representatives like Darrell Issa, Bill Morrow, and Mark Wyland. Hardly tax and spend turf… particularly if the taxing and spending is for new government buildings.… Read More

When the smoke cleared, there was no fire on this particular rumor…

Over the weekend, I reported on the rumor that Governor Schwarzenegger’s Deputy Chief of Staff for Legislative Affairs, Richard Costigan, was leaving soon to take a position in the private sector. As I said, I’d received a half a dozen different contacts on this, and so I reservedly shared the rumor with FR readers. Well, this morning I had an opportunity to "ping" that rumor with someone who would definately know if this is true or not. It’s not. While invariably Richard will leave the Governor’s staff at some point (he is in one of those "24/7"… Read More

People in positions of power inevitably attract the ‘crazies’ people who 1) have a lot of time on their hands, 2) passionately believe in something, however misguided their belief is, and 3) take action to show the world how crazy they are.

Well our own Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona is no different from any other high profile elected official. Last week the crazies came out to protest him. It wasn’t clear why they were protesting although the wife of a candidate who is opposing the sheriff was there according to the Orange County Register.

Outside of that handful of crazies, the rest of Orange County is solidly behind the Sheriff. Illustrating my point: Diane Harkey who is running for 35th Senate District brags about her endorsement from the Sheriff in the same column in today’s OC Register. As Harkey’s pollster you can bet I only advise her to promote endorsements who play well with the voters.

Also on the Carona front, the Register points out he has $340,000+ in the bank. I will let the Carona campaign… Read More

FR FEATURED IN THE CHRONICLE Yesterday, San Francisco Chronicle reporter Carla Marinucci penned a very flattering piece on this website, which appeared on the front page of the second section of the paper! It is a great read, and a lot of folks say some very flattering things. Please take an opportunity to check it out! (This photo to the right is me working on this site – a photographer came to my home in the early hours of last Wednesday morning!)

MARK LENO: PRO-CRIMINAL Today’s lead feature column in the FR is an eye-opening piece from Assemblyman Todd Spitzer (pictured to… Read More