Updated 5-29-10 When the race for the GOP nomination for Congressional District 19 began, I thought we had four pretty upstanding candidates in the race. I knew that Fresno Council Member Larry Westerlund was an unlikely contender, and that former Congressman Richard Pombo would have a tough time as a former incumbent, but the race started off strong on the issues, and has since degenerated into a mess.

Between State Senator Jeff Denham and former Fresno Mayor Jim Patterson, it was easy to understand that Denham would have a massive money lead due to power of incumbency in fundraising. What I didn’t expect is that Denham would push the limits of campaign finance law to the brink – and perhaps violate those laws in the process.

With $700,000 in his non federal accounts to start this race, money he is prohibited from spending by law in his Congressional run, Denham and his advisors instead opted for a more "curious", and perhaps illegal way to get those soft dollars into his campaign.

As his… Read More

In the continuing battle in the 11th Congressional District (Full Disclosure: My client is Brad Goehring), the recent revelations of David Harmer taking his TARP golden parachute while making six figures (over $400K) and receiving unemployment benefits has rocked the campaign. The problem probably wouldn’t be so bad for him except for the fact that in recent debates, David Harmer whined incessantly that running for Congress was the most difficult decision he has ever had to make in his life and that he wished he could own a home instead of just renting. I guess when you’re a silver spoon politician’s kid life can be pretty tough.

True to form, David Harmer shows his mettle once again by sending out his wife to respond. The Elizabeth Emken campaign has mercilessly attacked Harmer on this issue and a recent Stockton Record story highlighted the Harmer hypocrisy for decrying bailouts while stuffing dollars in his pocket. The Harmer campaign earlier sent out Elayne Harmer to decry an attack on their faith after a mailer from Emken included excerpts of Harmer declaring in the… Read More

FR friend Seth Unger, who serves as Director of Communications for State Assembly Republicans hits it out of the park with his comments on this news story about the latest "Nanny State" measure passed by the liberal Democrats who control the state legislature (and apparently yearn to replace parents with government)…

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Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, fresh on the heels of landing LA as the site of the big Microsoft World Partners Conference, has set his sights on bringing Comic-Con — the world’s largest convention for comic book enthusiasts — to the City of the Angels and to the downtown LA Convention Center. Bringing this massive gathering to Los Angeles would be a big feather in the cap of the beleaguered Mayor and welcome news as he and his City Council cope with a massive shortfall in the city’s budget that is dominating the news.

Unfortunately for Antonio, he has two well known Angelinos working at cross-purposes with him … Read More

Tom McClintock endorses conservative businessman Mike Morrell for 63rd Assembly.

What does McClintock say in endorsing my conservative client, Morrell?

“Mike Morrell is the conservative choice in the 63rd District. As a businessman, he values honesty and integrity and takes pride in his reputation. Those principles have served him well in business and I know they will guide him as an effective leader in Sacramento. I highly recommend him on the June 8th ballot.”… Read More

Believe it or not, in what is yet another whacked-out idea from ultra-left wing State Senator Alan Lowenthal, he has introduced legislation (SB 1299) that would establish what he calls a "VMT Fee" — which to the rest of us means he is proposing to tax Californians based on how much they drive their cars! (VMT = Vehicle Miles Traveled). I know, hard to believe that this is for real… Below our in-house cartoonist, Eric Eisenhammer, draws a cartoon about this bill… Here is his cartoon, "Odometer Tax…"

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Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, fresh on the heels of landing LA as the site of the big Microsoft World Partners Conference, has set his sights on bringing Comic-Con — the world’s largest convention for comic book enthusiasts — to the City of the Angels and to the downtown LA Convention Center. Bringing this massive gathering to Los Angeles would be a big feather in the cap of the beleaguered Mayor and welcome news as he and his City Council cope with a massive shortfall in the city’s budget that is dominating the news.

Unfortunately for Antonio, he has two well known Angelinos working at cross-purposes with him … Read More

As we get close to the June primary, we thought we would check in on Audra Strickland’s campaign for Ventura County Supervisor. FR readers may recall that Strickland is challenging an incumbent Supervisor who, while a "registered" Republican actually endorsed and supported liberal Democrat Hannah Beth Jackson for State Senate against Audra’s husband, now State Senator Tony Strickland.

As a State Party officer, I am well aware that the Ventura County Republican Party and the California Republican Party have both endorsed Strickland, and are engaged in a substantive member communications effort to GOP voters on her behalf. But here’s a more "on the ground" perspective from FR friend Eric Ingemunson…

AUDRA STRICKLAND – CLOSING STRONG IN THE CLUTCH Eric Ingemunson

Audra Strickland has a date Friday night, but it looks like she… Read More