There they were. My guys. Congressmen George Radanovich and Devin Nunes. Our Central Valley dream team. On TV, State of the Union. The President has just said this: “We hear claims that immigrants are somehow bad for the economy – even though this economy could not function without them”, and my two Congressmen were on their feet, standing and clapping.

Don’t get me wrong. I love these guys. You’ll see my name on their FEC reports. But I realized at that moment how badly big ag is beating them up. I mean, I’ve not ever heard any complaint about immigrants. So I don’t know what the heck the President was talking about. But illegal immigrants are a different story. The GOP base as well as the rest of America have a legitimate complaint about this issue, for reasons of Homeland Security alone. And what the farmers really don’t want to happen is the flow of illegal immigrants to stop because labor shortages are MURDER right now in the ag industry. So, George and Devin, if the issue is illegal, not legal, immigration, exactly what were you clapping about anyway?… Read More

Gotta love this line of work…you wake up with your opponent thinking that they got over on you…and that was me today…but rather than hurt my client….theirdirty work backfired…today I had an opponet not only help me…but they helped me raise money…solidy my support….ugh…what a life…thank you…thank you…oh thank you myold friend…a flood of outpouring support ….and speaking of floods….

You know I was all alone in my evangelizing about the levee thing….well…. Mr. Dan Walters…a real reporter…columnist…or whatever he is….is hanging with me…that levee politics is still with us Post Katrina….… Read More

ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION BATTLE GOES LOCAL Just about anyone you talk to agrees that the federal government is not dealing adequately with the huge illegal immigration problem facing our country. The proportions of the problem and its impact are profound. Probably one of the most challenging aspects of the immigration problem with which to deal is the fact that millions upon millions of undocumented aliens are living within America now, and it is dealing with that part of the illegal immigration dilemma that is the most controversial of all issues surrounding this debate. Second to that would be border control issues. I was intrigued to read that a local city councilman from Santa Clarita (home of Magic Mountain, in northern Los Angeles County) has proposed that local governments get more proactive in discouraging illegal immigration by making it harder for undocumented aliens to get work. Some of his proposals include… Read More

ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION BATTLE GOES LOCAL Just about anyone you talk to agrees that the federal government is not dealing adequately with the huge illegal immigration problem facing our country. The proportions of the problem and its impact are profound. Probably one of the most challenging aspects of the immigration problem with which to deal is the fact that millions upon millions of undocumented aliens are living within America now, and it is dealing with that part of the illegal immigration dilemma that is the most controversial of all issues surrounding this debate. Second to that would be border control issues. I was intrigued to read that a local city councilman from Santa Clarita (home of Magic Mountain, in northern Los Angeles County) has proposed that local governments get more proactive in discouraging illegal immigration by making it harder for undocumented aliens to get work. Some of his proposals include… Read More

San Jacinto City Councilman Jim Ayres, one of the leading GOP candidates for the 65th Assembly District that straddles the Riverside & San Bernardino County line, has announced he is having a headquarters grand opening Tuesday, February 7th from 5:30 to 7:30 pm at 109 Ramona Blvd in the City of San Jacinto.

Jim is a good solid conservative and I have scheduled a one-on-one interview for the FlashReport with him early next month. I am thinking of taking advantage of my generous expense account here at the FlashReport, renting a limo ( don’t worry Jon I will get the one without the hot tub) for the evening and checking out the happenings at Ayres headquarters opening on the 7th. If you want to learn more about Jim Ayres, his campaign web site is www.Ayres4Assembly.com.… Read More

Reading Stanton’s new forced home inspection policy reminded me of a protection racket.

On one hand, you have mobsters who inform local merchants that henceforth they’ll be the beneficiaries of protection they neither need nor asked for. Unfortunately, the mobsters tell them, such protection cannot be provided for free, so a fee is imposed to cover the cost of the unsolicited protection.

On the other hand, you have the City of Stanton informing Stanton home sellers and prospective buyers they’ll be the beneficiaries of protection they neither need nor asked for. Unfortunately, such protection cannot be provided for free, so a fee is imposed to cover the cost of the unsolicited protection.

Granted, Stanton inspectors won’t break the legs of recalcitrants who refuse to cough up the dough, but they have the force of government at hand to compel payment. Otherwise, is there any real moral difference between Stanton’s intrusive home inspections and a protection racket?

I’m sure the great majority of FR Blog readers would agree this is a foolish, onerous… Read More

Don Reagan announced today that he is not running for CD 23 due to a primary challenge from Victor Tognazzini. This comes as a surprise to many in Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties as Reagan had been gathering support, raising money and planning his campaign for quite some time. CD 23, currently held by Lois Capps, is also known as the “Ribbon of Shame” as the district is so narrow in some places that at high tide it is completely under water! Reagan ran against Capps in the 2004 cycle and planned to run until Tognazzini announced his candidacy. You can find his letter of withdrawal here.

CD 23 is exactly the kind of district Prop 77 would have corrected. The district is 210 miles long, does not take into account natural borders or communities of interest and overwhelmingly (44% Democrat, 33% Republican) favors the Democratic Party. And let’s not forget that at high tide parts of it are completely submerged. Here’s to redistricting reform…… Read More

Today the Fair Political Practices Commission issued an advice letter clarifying that local elected officials can use their campaign committee account to pay or be reimbursed for legal expenses incurred by the elected official bringing suit to stop the city from releasing personal email pursuant to a Public Records Act request. This is a significant clarification in whether it is proper to use campaign funds to pay for legal fees incurred as a direct result of an elected officer’s official duties, especially since the law suit was commenced by the councilman and was for the purpose of asserting that certain communications were not public records.

The Political Reform Act prohibits campaign funds from being expended for anything other than political or governmental purposes.

You can read the full text of the advice letter at the bottom of this message.

Of course, I should mention for disclosure purposes, that I was the attorney seeking advice on this matter for the councilmember, and my firm, Rutan & Tucker, represented the councilmember in connection with the litigation.

This is good news for elected officials in that the advice… Read More