As the hijinks of the legislative and budget process lurches along, the "day-counts" are becoming a kind of interesting subplot…to me anyway. Now, with all the conventions over and the bill deadline over, it now can become time for the media to focus on why the Republicans should give in to a tax increase. Hey, everyone else is. What I mean by the day-countsis that today is the 70th day since the June 30 fiscal year or "working deadline" came and went. The latest budget ever was signed Sep. 5 so we have that record going for us,70 and counting.

Then, counting down, for us legislators termed out this year, we have79 days until wehave to get our stuff outof our state offices, November 26 at 5 PM, the Wednesday beforeThanksgiving. They want a couple days for the incoming crop to have their offices switched over, ready on the day of their swearing in Monday, Dec 1 at noon.

Our termsare technically until November 30 at midnight [83 days]so I guess my constituents will have tocall me or our staff by cell or at home for case work issues those last 4 days. Or maybe they find a way to do without their… Read More

What’s the opposite of the old saying that a broken clock is right twice a day? Maybe that even normally functioning watches need to have their batteries changed from time to time?

Odd, but interesting that the Wall Street Journal of all places would opine so favorably in Mike Aguirre’s favor given the well-documented troubles of the liberal Democrat Aguirre’s office. A San Diego Retirement

Unfunded public employee pensions are a crisis waiting to erupt across the country, so a

I know Jon likes to keep this as a resource for state political news, and in that vein I guess I’ll point out how this map shows that Obama’s lead in California has dropped from 21-points in July to 11-points currently.

But more so, a)maybe I’m late to the party, but I didn’t know Rove had a website, and b)this scrolling map is pretty interesting, to see how the state-by-state polls have shifted throughout the past 6 months. Definitely something I’ll keep bookmarked for the next 60 days.… Read More

In perhaps San Diego’s highest profile run-off election in the last several years, Judge Jan Goldsmith is taking on incumbent Democrat City Attorney Mike Aguirre. Goldsmith, endorsed by the San Diego GOP prior to the primary, is now pulling in one Democratic endorsement after another.

Goldsmith was clearly a moderate as a state assemblyman. Yet, at a time when many simply desire stability in the city attorney’s office, his call for a lack of partisanship is serving him well as a coalition builder. The Dem support for Goldsmith not only shows an across-the-board respect for his capabilities, it also signifies the overwhelming disdain for Aguirre’s job as the city attorney, regardless of party.

Aguirre, a longtime liberal Democrat, successfully ran four years ago as a reform crusader against the pension-debacle powers-that-be of both parties at City Hall, those responsible for making San Diego the “Enron by the Sea." Once elected, his continuing crusade may have cost him previous big labor support, but he also became something of a darling among many fiscal conservatives and some Republicans. They cheered his willingness to call a spade a… Read More

When I got the news release about Cal-Tax endorsing the tax proposal by the Governor I almost fell over. Here is the Sacramento Bee story.

So I would assume this effort was made to try to provide cover for legislative Republicans to vote to raise taxes. It won’t work. It shouldn’t work.

This is why.

Of the people I am aware of on the Cal-Tax Board, none will come to the political defense of those members that would vote to raise taxes. They will ask them to because they want a budget and want to move on to other things. I don’t think anyone will agree.

When Assemblymember [fill in the blank] is involved in a tough Republican primary for the State Senate or Senator [fill in the blank] is involved in a tough primary for Congress and they are getting pummeled for raising taxes Cal-Tax and the members will sit by and watch.

"We don’t get involved in primaries. It is not worth it to the company unless it is one of our sworn enemies or one of our own members."

They have no history of defending the… Read More

This nugget just in from the CRP:

After the Dem Nat’l Convention in Denver and the temple was torn down, the DNC brain trust trash-bagged up about 12,000 American hand flags [about 8×10 inches on wooden dowels] and a 3 by 5 foot flag, to be disposed of until an Invesco Field worker found ’em and saved ’em from becoming landfill. They will be "recycled" by reportedly being used at the McCain/Palin event in Colorado Springs today. I’m sure their bio-degradability will not be tested after this event.

Thanks to Hector Barajas at the CRP for the heads-up on that one!… Read More

This just in: In solving state fiscal problems, the Governor has called for some new measures, some highlights:

"In these difficult times our state cannot simply afford another "business as usual" budget process. Our government has used that approach far too often in the past. Spending, borrowing, and taxes have increased at unsustainable rates, limiting our ability to provide for our citizens and damaging our business climate. Combined with the impact of high property taxes and a declining manufacturing base, the result…our former neighbors have left the state in search of jobs and opportunities they cannot find here at home.

…There are two problems in particular that we must address to help get spending under control: -First, once a program is added to the state budget, it becomes extremely difficult to remove it, regardless of whether the intiative is effective or essential. Taxpayers are forced to pay for funding decisions that were approved years or decades ago. And spending…has increased year after year, usually beyond the rate of inflation. -Second,… Read More

Use of the term "Mayor" was stricken as a ballot designation for Los Alamitos Councilman Ken Parker in an Order signed yesterday by Orange County Superior Court Judge Jamoa Moberly.

Under California law, a ballot title must accurately state the primary vocation, occupation or profession of the candidate, is limited to three words, and cannot be misleading. A "Mayor" in a general law city and some charter law cities using a city manager form of government, isa position by statute that is essentially ceremonial,and the Mayor’s major statutory function ischairing councilmeetings. A Mayorin these cities is not elected by the public and does not receive any special compensation or have any other specific duties.

For many years courts rejected the use of the term "Mayor" in ballot titles for councilmembers running for reelection during their rotational year as Mayor, until Huntington Beach Councilmember Debbie Cook (and a rotational Mayor), in the faceof a lawsuit filed by some Republican lawyers,convinced a Judge earlier this year to allow her to use the title in her race against Congressman… Read More