The State Senate just gave thumbs down to the no tax budget plan advanced by the Republican caucus by a vote of 13 ‘aye’, all Reeps, and 21 ‘no’, all Dems.… Read More

As a follow-up to yesterday’s FR mainpage link to the SFChron Matier & Ross story, here’s today’s announcement as noted by California Special Districts Association….

Correctional Officers Announce Effort to Recall Schwarzenegger

The California Correctional Peace Officers Association (CCPOA) announced today that they will begin the process to recall Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

"It’s about leadership," said CCPOA spokesman Lance Corcoran. "Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is the worst governor in the history of worst governors …" The union is collecting the 65 necessary valid signatures to serve the governor a… Read More

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

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