Since I have left politics to try to earn an honest living, and become a profit center for the state, rather than a cost of doing business (that is, actually paying more taxes than I get paid), I have not gotten to involved in many campaigns. However, when Linda Ackerman called, I said I would do what I could to help.

I didn’t know Dick Ackerman when he ran for office in 1994. It goes without saying that I didn’t know Linda either. For the twelve years that I served with Dick, I got to know Linda, and spent more than a few hours talking with the both of them about politics, the Legislature, and the California Republican Party. During that time, on more than one occasion, I came to believe that Linda should have been the candidate in 1994, not Dick (only kidding, Dick). But it is true, Linda knew and understood policy, the Legislature and politics. Quite frankly, there are few people more suited to serve in the Legislature than Linda Ackerman.

First, she knows the right policy solutions, and knows how to work those solutions in the Legislature. Life is difficult for a Republican in the Legislature, and especially difficult for a… Read More

Yesterday FR blogger Jim Lacy put up on this blog page the results of a survey he commissioned in AD 72. FR blogger (and Linda Ackerman’s pollster) Adam Probolsky offered a critique of Lacy here.

Below are some thoughts on the Lacy survey from State Senator John Lewis (Ret’d) who is the lead consultant for the campaign of Supervisor Chris Norby…

LATEST 72nd AD POLL – AWFUL NEWS FOR LINDA ACKERMAN COULD NORBY WIN IT ALL ON NOVEMBER 17TH? By John Lewis… Read More

Did you hear the one about dogs causing more damage to our environment than a Ford F-250 crew cab? If you are waiting for a punchline, keep waiting. Because this claim is true in a new book, "Time to Eat the Dog: The Real Guide to sustainable living."

Brenda and Robert Vale, Victoria University professors who preach sustainable living, say pet owners should swap cats and dogs for creatures they can eat, such as chickens or rabbits.

By "swap" they mean…?

Another question is: How long will it take before the Liberal block of the California Legislature introduces a bill that outlaws dogs? OK, on a more serious note, I wouldn’t be surprised if one of my Liberal colleagues authors a bill that requires dog owners (and cat owners for that matter) to pay for a carbon off-set fee. Now I’m not kidding.… Read More

"Circulation fell 10.1% to 212,293 at the Orange County Register and dropped 10% to 242,705 at the San Diego Union-Tribune. In the Bay Area, the circulation of the San Francisco Chronicle fell 26% to 251,782, while the Oakland Tribune recorded a 7.3% increase in subscribers to 68,067 — one of the biggest percentage gains among the handful of dailies that reported increases."

Read more in the Los Angeles Times.… Read More

Jim Lacy, aslatemaker,released some polling data today that suggests OC Supervisor Chris Norby is winning the race for AD 72 in the November Special Election. And at first glance you might think the results have some relevance. But take another look:

The poll he contracted for only surveys Republican voters

Special Elections in California are not governed by typical Primary Election rules that exclude cross-party voting. Therefore the Lacy poll is way off baseand has little relevance in the grand scheme of electing someone to replace Duvall. Leaving out Democratic and Decline to State voters and even third-party members who represent a small portion of the electorate, totally and unforgivingly skews the results to meaninglessness.

Moreover, the poll fails to select any turnout model even just among the Republican voters surveyed. So in a low turnout Special Election where (you pick a number 20%, 30%, 19% 34%) will actually cast a ballot, the Lacy poll chooses to survey everyone who happens to be registered to the GOP regardless of their voting history. If you believe the Lacy poll, 90% of Republican voters will turnout in… Read More

Sacramento Bee’s crack reporting staff has posted another break-through investigative piece with the revelation that all three GOP candidates for Governor have had some kind of tie to Democrats over the past half-century.

The Bee features a photo and quote of FR publisher Jon Fleischman – another indication of the increasingly higher profile respected blogs are playing in shaping, as well as commenting on, public opinions. Maybe the Bee was hoping a quote from a well known conservative would make them look like they did their homework this time.

A quick overview of the story is that Campbell was a Democrat 40 years ago, Whitman gave money to Boxer in 2003, and Poizner gave money to the Democrat National Committee, Al Gore and John Kerry.

While the Bee wonders if these stunning (albeit well-known) revelations are making Republican voters question the candidates partisan loyalties; Fleischman hits the more salient issue of the lack of track record from Poizner… Read More

Chris Norby has a strong lead on Linda Ackerman in a new scientific poll of Republicans in the 72nd Assembly District special election. Norby beats Ackerman among Republicans 27.7% to 17%. Most Republican voters, 51.3%, remain undecided.However, Norby has very good positive/negatives at 38.4/13% (a ratio of 3 to 1 positive);while Ackerman has bad positive/negatives at 19.3/15.7% (a statistical ratio of 1 to 1) with 65% no opinion, never heard of her. In contrast, Norby is known by over a majority of the voters in the district, according to the poll. The poll, which surveyed 300 representative Republican voters in the district this last weekend from October 22 to 25th, was conducted for my company, Landslide Communications, by Salt Lake City-based NSON Opinion Research. NSON is a well-respected consumer, political and marketing research company that has been in business since 1992 and was founded by its President, Ronald T. Nielson. The poll focused only on a representative sampling of Republican voters in the district. Republican party registration is dominant in the 72nd Assembly District, at over… Read More

For weeks now I have been delving into the new Commission on the 21st Century Economy report on taxes. I have praised its recommendations to reduce and eliminate taxes, and I have encouraged legislators to study the research into the many problems with the current tax structure. Now I need to move on to the worst part of the report: the recommendation to abolish the Board of Equalization. Without hearing from any Board member (including me), they concluded that our appeals process for taxpayers is unfair. While I do not always vote with the majority on the Board, I do know that of all tax appeal systems this is the fairest.

Members of the Board of Equalization are elected by the people. Voters still trust their own vote more than they trust the political appointment process. Judges or hearing officers who are appointed by a Governor or some department head are much more likely to answer to the one who gave them the job than to the people of the state. It is true that the BOE also administers the collection of sales taxes and dozens of other taxes, but our appeals process is independent of our auditors. The department must present its own case to the Board… Read More