The contest for the 34th Senate District is the most contentious election contest in Orange County (with arguable exception the Diane Harkey-Tom Harman race for John Campbell’s old Senate seat).

I think our readers know how it is lining up: Assemblywoman Lynn Daucher versus Assemblyman Van Tran on the GOP side, and Assemblyman Tom Umberg and OC Supervisor Lou Correa on the Democratic side.

Since the 34th SD is at parity in terms of partisan registration, Daucher’s candidacy is being sold as giving the GOP a better shot at picking it up — the argument being that her moderate makes her a stronger general election candidate in a toss-up district like the 35th.

Although I strongly disagree with her on several issues, I like Lynn. I got to spend some time with her and her husband Don at the Republican National Convention in 2004. She’s a very gracious person.

However, part of the problem with moderate politicians is they tend to… Read More

A new tentative agreement between the Deputy Sheriffs Association and SLO County is going to cost county taxpayers over $8.7 million! According to the article:

A tentative agreement between the county and the Deputy Sheriffs Association would cost county taxpayers $8.7 million in the next four years and would let union members retire at age 50 with up to 90 percent of their pay.

That means a deputy with 30 years experience can retire with an income of up to $66,000 a year.

That guarantee is more than three times the county’s average retirement income of $21,314, according to the latest U.S. Census data, from 2004.

Under the new plan, the county would fund half the cost of the accelerated retirement package and workers would fund the other half.

Employee unions across the state have negotiated

I know. My first reaction was of course some of the Governor’s consultants ripped him off. They gave horrible advice and got paid very well for it. We can all name names.

This is different. LA Weekly is carrying a story that the Governor’s consultants defrauded his campaign using kickbacks and commissions. Apparently it was looked into and nothing was found.

Really?

Read the article here.I do wan’t to point out to all those that send emails to me correcting spelling errors. I’m not responsible for linked articles.… Read More

Former Assemblyman and candidate for the 50th Congressional District Howard Kaloogian is speaking at a Murrieta-Temecula Republican Assembly dinner tonight. That is great; this is what a candidate for Congress is supposed to do, meet with voters. Folks that attend the Murrieta-Temecula Republican Assembly are defiantly primary voters. The problem is THESES PEOPLE DON’T LIVE ANYWHERE NEAR THE 50TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTIRCT. Now Kaloogian is a smart guy, ( hell he even has some believing that he alone re-called former Gov. Gray Davis) so why would he waste an evening driving an hour North of the Congressional District he wants to represent to talk to people that can’t vote for him, all with less then 70 days before the election. Some might say that he wants to get volunteers, and yes the Murrieta-Temecula Republican Assembly is a… Read More

Watch next week for the return of the very popular OC Power Broker Series. The next list will feature: members of the media

I have pretty much made up my mind on who will be included but feel free to submit desperate appeals for consideration.

Wait for it…… Read More

From today’s Political Diary e-mail from the Wall Street Journal:

Fools for Reform

House Republicans scrambled Wednesday to get ahead of the Abramoff lobbying scandal by passing a change in House rules that will now prohibit former members who are registered lobbyists from strolling onto the House floor or using the House gym.

The change is almost completely cosmetic: Few lobbyists are foolish enough to ply their trade in those locations. But the panic that compelled House Rules… Read More

In collegeI wanted to go out one evening with some friends, but was short of cash. Being an enterprising young man, I looked under the sofa cushions and found a couple bucks in change. That provided as you can imagine some good eatin’.

Los Angeles City Controller Laura Chick has issues an audit of theLA’s transportation department that found over$12 million in funds that could be used for transportation. See the press release here and the news article here.

Shouldn’t local and state government look for these kinds of funds under the seat cushions before forcing taxpayers to foot more of the bill?… Read More

GIVE ME A BREAK There is an article today in the Los Angeles Times injecting some controversy into the hiring of Susan Kennedy. It is easy to find the whole thing on the main page. I will say that I know Governor Schwarzenegger to be an honorable and ethical person, and so I think any implication of being ‘for sale’ is without merit.. I don’t know Susan Kennedy, though I am troubled with the central role that she played in the Gray Davis administration. Especially when you factor in her close friendship with uber-slick lobbyist/developer Darius Anderson, who was widely known to be the fundraiser-in-chief for the recalled and disgraced former Governor.

That said, if you look at the volume of contributions that come into a Gubernatorial-level campaign, the money comes from all over the place — and especially from interests that do business with or are regulated by the… Read More