Even one of the most prolific writers has to take some time for himself. So I will not be penning a lengthy commentary for today. I would simply suggest that you should definitely read several of the articles featured on the main page today:

* The Chronicle looks at the controversy surrounding the Governor’s Chief of Staff, Susan Kennedy, being simultaneously on the government payroll and the campaign payroll. Carla Marinucci, the piece’s author, delves into this growing controversy. * In the Daily News, there is an article highlighting that Senate Democrats, lead by President Pro-Tem Don Perata, see ‘no need’ for the Governor’s proposed 6% spending cap. That it could tie the hands of future efforts at borrowing. Actually, the cap is one of the positive things in the Governor’s proposal. Perhaps their opposition to the cap will nix the whole borrowing scheme and we can focus on the Assembly Republican pay-as-you-go plan. * Debra Saunders has secured today’s "Golden Pen" award as she looks at a controversial issue – which… Read More

As the famed, late Assembly Speaker Jesse Unruh (pictured) was famed for saying, "Money is the mother’s milk of politics."

For years now, Matt Rexroad over at Meridian Pacific has been known for producing some of the best information to keep track of how much folks have raised and spent on their campaigns. Hopefully Matt will continue with his great tracking of late-expenditures when we get to that season. But for now, you can direct your browser over to Meridian’s Cal-Races website and download an Excel Spreadsheet for your computer, that will allow you to look up any statewide or legislative races, and see the current snapshot of latest numbers filed with the Secretary of State.

THANK YOU to Matt and the team at Meridian for providing this resource!… Read More

THE WATER "FEE" IS A TAX. PERIOD. Jon Coupal, the President of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association penned a piece that appeared in the FlashReport, drawing the distinction between a tax and a fee. Given that he is an authorative source on the matter, let’s make no mistake about it. There is a currently a proposal on the table to increase the tax burden on Californians by several billion (yes, with a "B") a year. This proposal would place a mandatory fee of $3/month ($36/year) on every parcel of property in the state, and then these funds would go towards water-related infrastructure investments. But the key is that there is no nexus to an individual’s payment and a project nearby that directly benefits them. Instead, all of these billions of dollars collected locally will be shipped to Sacramento and spent there by politicians. If this isn’t a tax increase, I don’t know what is. This tax increase is in the fine print of a… Read More

THE WATER "FEE" IS A TAX. PERIOD. Jon Coupal, the President of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association penned a piece that appeared in the FlashReport, drawing the distinction between a tax and a fee. Given that he is an authorative source on the matter, let’s make no mistake about it. There is a currently a proposal on the table to increase the tax burden on Californians by several billion (yes, with a "B") a year. This proposal would place a mandatory fee of $3/month ($36/year) on every parcel of property in the state, and then these funds would go towards water-related infrastructure investments. But the key is that there is no nexus to an individual’s payment and a project nearby that directly benefits them. Instead, all of these billions of dollars collected locally will be shipped to Sacramento and spent there by politicians. If this isn’t a tax increase, I don’t know what is. … Read More

I don’t think Susan Kennedy is a Communist sympathizer. I don’t think she’s a spy for Gray Davis or Phil Angelides. I don’t know much about her politics, although it sounds like she’s somewhere to the left of most Republicans and somewhere to the right of most Democrats. Which, as most of the participants on this website have decided, is pretty much where her boss is.

But after reading Friday’s Los Angeles Times’ story on the payment Kennedy received from the Schwarzenegger campaign committee, I have an entirely different set of concerns than most of my fellow bloggers. My worry is less about ideology than it is about ethics. Or at least, the appearance of ethical questions in an administration that promised to clean up Sacramento when it came to power.

There’s all sorts of revisionist history about what elected Arnold Schwarzenegger in the first place. There are those who think it was his celebrity that pulled him into office, an opinion that not only drastically underestimates the intellectual capabilities of California voters but ignores the fact that Arnold’s campaign didn’t really catch fire until… Read More

The FlashReport started hearing a buzz yesterday that first-term Assemblyman Van Tran, who is now seeking the GOP nomination for the 34th State Senate seat being vacated by the term-limited Democrat Joe Dunn, had endorsed Garden Grove Councilwoman Janet Nguyen to replace him in the Assembly.

The source of the rumors was a mailing that has gone out from Nguyen’s campaign inviting people to a February 9th fundraising event with special guest Assemblywoman Sharon Runner, on which Tran is listed at the top of the Host Committee.

Knowing how close Van is with both Nguyen and the other GOP candiate vying for his seat, businessman Jim Righeimer, I put a call into Van so that I could try to sort this out.

Van told me that, "Both Janet and Jim are friends of mine – long standing friends. Janet asked me to lend my name to be on the host committee [for this event] in early January, at least a couple of weeks before I made my announcement for State Senate, and before Jim Righeimer had let everyone… Read More

I recently read that our Senator Dianne Feinstein, along with Senater Trent Lott of Mississippi were introducing legislation aimed at getting rid of this process of Congressional ‘earmarking’ where individual Members of Congress insert their pet programs into spending bills. It was this process that allowed the discraced and soon-to-be-jailed former Congressman Duke Cunningham to slide contracts to the folks that padding him with millions in return.

I came across the analysis below from Human Events that really shows that Feinstein and Lott are trying to make the earmarking process more ‘transparent’ but are doing nothing to try and curb it, unlike two of their colleagues, John McCain and Tom Cobern.

If anyone knows if any California Members of Congress are serious about stopping this practice of earmarking, and are willing to talk about it — please have them contact me.

Here is the HE piece from their… Read More

Here’s a quick update on San Bernardino’s county races. All six countywide offices are up for election. Of the countywide races, the one to watch will likely be Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Postmus’ run for County Assessor. With the incumbent, Don Williamson, showing $7,455 in the bank and talking about either retiring or running for the 3rd District BOE seat, Postmus (my boss) might have anticipated skating to victory on his support base, list of accomplishments and warchest of $726,946. But there is a potential challenger in Michael Willhite, an Appraiser III from the Assessor’s Office who has yet to raise any money for his campaign.

Postmus’ Assessor Campaign website went live Friday at www.billpostmus.com.

Regarding the other countywide offices, Sheriff Gary Penrod ($180,906), District Attorney Michael Ramos ($317,299), Auditor/Controller-Recorder Larry Walker ($114,410), Treasurer-Tax Collector Dick Larsen ($141,037), and Schools Superintendent Herb Fischer ($221,457), don’t expect tough challenges this go-around. But you never… Read More