FLASHREPORT

A few moments ago the Senate Rules Committee voted 4-0 to approve Senator Abel Maldonado's nomination to fill the Lieutenant Governor position vacated by John Garamendi. All of the Democrats on the committee and one Republican voted for the confirmation: Steinberg, Oropeza, Cedillo and Dutton. Senator Sam Aanestad announced at the beginning of the hearing that he would recuse himself because of his run for Lieutenant Governor. 

The almost three-hour hearing began with Maldonado tearing up during his opening statement as he thanked his immigrant parents for their support. Maldonado also took the opportunity of his opening statement to restate his opposition to offshore oil drilling in California. The nominee announced that his first priority as LG would be jobs, even stating that he wants to be the "Chief Job Creator of California"—a title most business owners would find quite humorous considering any politician's ability to create real jobs. In fact, Maldonado would better serve California in this capacity by returning to the private sector. 

Maldonado went on to state that he also wants to be the "Expediter in Chief," helping people cut through red tape. Again, Maldonado had his chance to do that in the state legislature by repealing onerous regulations.

Senators then peppered Maldonado with several questions—to "understand his thought process"—about his actions during last year's budget negotiations. The focus of most of the questions was Democrats' obvious dissatisfaction with spending cuts for education and social welfare programs. Maldonado stated that he continues to support the 2/3 vote requirement for passing budgets in the state legislature, but mentioned he would be open to a constitutional convention—as a last resort if the legislature wasn't able to implement reform itself. When asked about his votes for spending cuts last year, Maldonado passionately proclaimed that he "hated" making the cuts. 

Throughout the committee hearing, Maldonado appeared to be trying to tout his liberal credentials with the majority party, sympathizing with their anger over budget cuts. In fact, there wasn't a lot of reason for any Republican to vote for Maldonado's confirmation other than the (R) next to this name. Even Senator Dutton acknowledged his vote came down to a coin toss. Prior to their votes, each Democrat emphasized that their vote to confirm was "not a political endorsement."

The confirmation vote now heads to the full Senate. It will be interesting to see how Republicans and Democrats—who were both held hostage by Maldonado's Ben Nelson-like demands last year during the budget battle—will respond to the Governor's choice for his lieutenant.

California's Attorney General Jerry Brown wants to know: Are you on Team Coco or Team Leno? This morning the presumed gubernatorial candidate tweeted: @JerryBrown2010 Big debate at the campaign office... Where do you stand? http://www.jerrybrown.org/node/590.

The link takes visitors to the Brown for Governor 2010 Exploratory Committee web site, where there is the following poll:

Pick a Team: Team Coco or Team Leno?

Big debate at the campaign office... Where do you stand?
If you provide your name, zip code and e-mail, you'll be entered into a drawing for a vintage 1974 "Brown for Governor" bumper sticker signed by Jerry.

Since the NBC debacle is the most interesting contest in California right now, it was only a matter of time before politicians began weighing in. How convenient and environmentally conscious for Brown to recycle his "vintage" 1974 bumper stickers...

On his Fox News Channel show yesterday Glenn Beck had an interesting conversation with Columbia University professor David Buckner about the similarities between Dubai's economic meltdown and California 's financial crisis. It's an interesting exchange and reiterates the fact that California cannot continue on its current path without impacting the rest of the world economy. 

Much will be said about the appointment of moderate State Senator Abel Maldonado to be California's next Lt. Governor.  His appointment was not a surprise.  I didn't read one article or column that pondered the Governor's potential LG picks that didn't prominently mention Maldonado.

That said, I only read one commentary that looked at the Governor's LG pick that 100% "nailed it" as to the timing of the appointment.

In his November 5 column, And The Next Lt. Governor Is... (Envelope Please), Fleischman said, "One thing is certain, Arnold Schwarzenegger will make his selection soon.  How soon?  Doesn't he have a scheduled appearance coming soon with Jay Leno?"

Very precient, Flash!

Gavin Newsom has just announced that he is dropping out of the race for Governor. According to the Sacramento Bee, Newsom said "'young family and responsibilities at city hall' made it 'impossible' to commit time needed to complete effort the way it should be done.'" Newsom had trouble with fundraising and wasn't making much headway in the polls so it looks like he decided to get out before wasting too much donor money. This is certainly big news and clears the way for Jerry Brown as the Democrat nominee. Read Newsom's full statement here.

First, they banned our cell phones (with the exception of First Lady Shriver), now they want our GPS, satellite radio and garage door openers. The California Air Resources Board has approved a "Cool Cars" regulation that will require car windows to have an advanced glazing in order to block the sun's heat, supposedly reducing the need for air conditioning. This was the same government agency that earlier this year floated the idea of banning black cars in California for the same reason.

Unfortunately, as with so many brilliant government ideas, the regulation was adopted before this window glazing technology was completely tested. Turns out the glazing can interfere with GPS, garage door openers, cell phones and satellite radios. The regulation will even be imposed on soft-top vehicles, leading to speculation Jeep may stop selling its soft-cover vehicles in the state. Sun roofs would be tinted so dark they would essentially be black (forget driving PCH with that California sunshine beaming down on you). Read more here.

Did I mention that ankle tracking bracelets for convicted criminals may also not work when the new window glazing rules are implemented? As long as he's in his car, any parolee can forget that pesky piece of hardware strapped to his leg. On the bright side, conspiracy theorists will feel a lot safer knowing the government can't track them in their cars...

Waiting until the last minute, late yesterday Governor Schwarzenegger took action on the hundreds of bills sitting on his desk. Each of the bills signed into law will have an impact on our state, but two in particular will impact our society and our children. SB 54 (Leno) will require California to recognize all out-of-state same-sex marriages performed before Proposition 8 was passed last year. SB 572 (Leno) will require the governor to declare every May 22 Harvey Milk Day.

Proposition 8 was such a controversial and emotional topic, you'd think the governor would be wise enough to step back from the issue for a while. But instead, he flouted the will of the people who have twice overwhelmingly declared that they intend only traditional marriage be recognized in California. By signing SB 54, Governor Schwarzenegger told Californians that he has no regard for their decision. That is a dangerous precedent to set for the governor and his successors. Distrust of elected officials is already running high and the governor just reinforced the out-of-touch, despotic perception many now have of their government.

The governor's signing of SB 572 is rather puzzling given the fact that he vetoed identical language last year. In his veto message the governor clearly stated that he though Milk should be honored in San Francisco, where he had his most impact and is regarded as a local historical figure. Parents were rightfully outraged when they discovered that Harvey Milk Day includes celebratory exercises in public schools for all school children. The public expression against this bill was so great that the governor's office actually had a special phone line dedicated to calls regarding the topic. Obviously the governor changed his mind on Harvey Milk Day, but in changing his mind, he violated the trust of thousands of parents who will undoubtedly pull their children from school every May 22.

By signing SB 54 and SB 572, the governor also sends the message that he doesn't take seriously the monumental economic problems facing our state. Neither of these two bills will help pull our state out of its current nosedive. Instead, focusing on Harvey Milk Day and undermining Proposition 8 tells voters that the governor and legislature are more intent on promoting a social agenda than solving the state's real problems. That is a violation of the public trust.