Strickland: Community events are the cornerstone of our democracy Previously published at the Ventura County Star.

Like all Americans, I was shocked and heart-broken when I heard the events of this past weekend in Tucson, Ariz. My thoughts and prayers go out to Rep. Giffords, the Green family and all of the victims of this horrible act of violence.

It’s times like this I can’t help but think about the hundreds of community events and town hall meetings I, as well as all of my colleagues in Sacramento and Washington, D.C., hold every week and how it could have been one of us or our constituents.

Rep. Giffords was doing what every great elected official does — getting input from the district he or she represents. In my short time in office, I have always made this a priority because I believe the best elected officials are not the ones who give the best speeches, but rather, the ones who listen to their constituents and take those voices… Read More

It came as no surprise that Gov. Jerry Brown’s first budget plan included a proposed tax increase that requires a vote of the people.He was very clear in his campaign that he would not increase taxes without a vote of the people and a balanced budget without a tax increase would be just so…un-Democratic!

Reaction from the right side of the aisle also was not surprising. Senate Republican leader Bob Dutton immediately said that there was “zero” support in his caucus for increased taxes. After Brown visited with the Assembly GOP caucas, theirleader Connie Conway described the meeting to the Los Angeles Times: "It was cordial. It was conversational. I don’t think anyone changed their mind about raising taxes."

Jerry Brown unveiled his budget. I haven’t had a chance to review it all, but I will before tomorrow. However, I thought I would first start with principles to guide my Republican friends in the Legislature on how to analyze and deal with the budget issues they will face. What I propose here is a little outside the box, but it can work in their favor if they choose to follow it.

The first thing for most legislators to understand is the lingo used by budget gurus. What people hear from these budget types is noises that sound like English words, but those words don’t have English meanings. For instance, a cut is not a reduction in spending, as most people would think. It can be a fund shift, or it could be a decrease in the amount of projected spending increases. Republicans cannot fall into the trap of using the words of the left or the budgeters. Republicans must use real English to describe what is going on in the budget process.

A couple of important words:

(a) "Base" or "Current Year Budget" – That is how much money the state is spending on programs this year… Read More

Back in late December I told you that Beth Gaines, wife of newly minted conservative State Senator Ted Gaines, would be a candidate for the 4th District Assembly seat, now vacant with Gaines’ being sworn into the Senate. Well, this morning Beth will make it official and formally launch her campaign!

Yesterday afternoon I ran into Beth near the State Capitol and she shared with me that today she would be making a formal announcement. Her campaign will be putting out a press release later this morning, but were here at the FlashReport were able to snag an early copy… (Her campaign website is here). Beth Gaines Announces Assembly Candidacy ROCKLIN, CA — Conservative Republican Beth Gaines today… Read More

Pretty soon state government employees won’t be able to take that call outside the office—at least not on the taxpayers’ dime. Governor Jerry Brown announced today that he’s ending cell phone plans for 48,000 state employees and confiscating their phones by June 1. Apparently that’s just half of the cell phones currently in use by government workers. It’s hard to imagine why 40% of state employees have taxpayer-financed cell phones. For the governor’s first executive order, cutting government spending is an encouraging sign. It’s estimated nixing the cell phone usage in half will save the state $20 million. Governor Brown should be applauded for taking his first swipe at cutting government waste. But, as evidenced by his budget proposal yesterday, it’s going to take more than token cuts to solve the $25 billion+ deficit.

Pension reform and ending collective bargaining for state… Read More

I have great respect for tax-fighters like Grover Norquist, Jon Coupal, Ted Costa and others, but I don’t believe Republicans should be afraid to take our issues to voters – and that includes fighting reckless tax increases.

In fact, we should push for it.

I believe raising taxes – particularly when so many families and small businesses are struggling – is unconscionable and reckless. And I think most voters agree with me.

State government spends billions of dollars on meaningless boards and commissions, duplicative bureaucracy, wasteful contracts and overly generous salaries and pensions. Over-regulation, over taxation and meaningless paperwork are choking business and preventing job-recovery. And I think most voters agree with me.

The state needs to cut waste and abuse; eliminate duplication; cut regulation to free up business to create jobs and boost the economy; ratchet down costly salaries, pensions and benefits; and… Read More

Once again Californians are confronted with a huge budget crisis. The fact is for too many years we’ve been spending more money than we should. More money has been going out than revenues coming in.

The real answer to this problem isn’t about how much we can cut. The real answer is getting Californians back to work.

We can solve our budget problem and the best way to do that is by getting Californians jobs, not by raising taxes.

Watch a video of my budget comments here.… Read More

Governor Brown today rolled out a proposed budget, which you can see summarized here (from the Governor)…

Here are responses from our Republican leaders in the legislature:

From Senate Republicans… Senate GOP Leader Dutton Responds to Budget Proposal Sacramento – Senate Republican Leader Bob Dutton (R-Rancho Cucamonga) issued the following statement on the budget Governor Jerry Brown proposed today: Governor Brown’s budget proposal contains difficult but necessary spending reductions, which Republicans have supported in the past as the best way to address our state budget… Read More