Saturday’s Union-Tribune front-page-local-section news was that the current top fundraiser in next year’s campaign for San Diego County Sheriff is also vying for the police chief position in Chula Vista. Political watchers are buzzing about the impact on the sheriff’s race.

Yet, the persistent rumors of David Bejarano being interested in the chief’s job have been swirling for weeks. Kudos to Tanya Sierra and her colleagues at the UT for getting someone to confirm it for the record.

Despite the rumors, it was clear to me and others — or so we may have thought — that no one at the City of Chula Vista would be confirming any such thing. Personnel matters are, after all, private for a reason, even in the public sector. Just as many of us have at one time or another applied for a job while not wanting our current employer to know we are "looking," applicants are typically protected from such disclosure. As well, it should be noted that appropriate protocol would also dictate that if Bejarano were… Read More

Chris Cillizza, a well respected Beltway Pundit, handicaps the CA Gov Primaries thusly:

4. California governor (Republican primary): Handicapping this race is next to impossible. Supporters of former eBay chief executive Meg Whitman point to her fundraising success, her wealth and her business profile as evidence that she is a national star in the making. Backers of state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, who also is wealthy, argue that Whitman is all show and no substance, and that voters will see through her consultant-heavy campaign. Still others believe that neither Whitman nor Poizner is the sort of candidate that California Republican primary voters are looking for and believe that a true conservative could get in the race and win the primary. 3. California governor (D): The story lines in the Democratic gubernatorial race are the stuff of great fiction. One candidate is running for the job he held more than three decades ago and… Read More

It’s hard for me to think of a job more exhausting that being a candidate for Governor. But the one that I can think of that comes the closest would be that of being a Press Secretary for a candidate for Governor. Today the Steve Poizner for Governor campaign will announce that they have hired GOP veteran communications specialist Bettina Inclan to serve in that critical role for the Insurance Commissioner’s bid for the top elective office in California.

As campaigns go, the press secretary is ultimately responsible for the day-to-day interaction between the campaign and the media, as well as facilitating interactions between the candidate and members of the media. Given Poizner’s philosophy of making himself very accessible to the press corps, this will make Inclan’s job that much more chaotic!

Most recently, Inclan has been handling communications and outreach for Citizens In Charge – which is a national voting rights group dedicated to protecting the ballot initiative and referendum… Read More

With all of the focus on the donnybrook between Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner and Meg Whitman and the anemically funded Tom Campbell) for the GOP nomination for Governor, little attention it seems is being paid to the Republican primary for Lieutenant Governor. Maybe that’s because, at least as of today, there isn’t one. State Senator Jeff Denham, who achieved celebrity status within Republican ranks when he successfully fended off an attempted recall election orchestrated by former Senate President Don Perata, continues to have the Republican field all to himself.

Denham has recently racked up two new endorsements – one being the Ventura County Republican Party (which inexplicably has decided to weigh in on the primary elections – unusual for a GOP County Committee) and the other being the California Small Business Owners Association (who also endorsed Poizner).

Denham has been working hard at fundraising, and has nearly $1.1 million cash on hand – which is only a fraction of what he… Read More

With all of the focus on the donnybrook between Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner and Meg Whitman and the anemically funded Tom Campbell) for the GOP nomination for Governor, little attention it seems is being paid to the Republican primary for Lieutenant Governor. Maybe that’s because, at least as of today, there isn’t one. State Senator Jeff Denham, who achieved celebrity status within Republican ranks when he successfully fended off an attempted recall election orchestrated by former Senate President Don Perata, continues to have the Republican field all to himself.

Denham has recently racked up two new endorsements – one being the Ventura County Republican Party (which inexplicably has decided to weigh in on the primary elections – unusual for a GOP County Committee) and the other being the California Small Business Owners Association (who also endorsed Poizner).

Denham has been working hard at fundraising, and has nearly $1.1 million cash on hand – which is only a fraction of what he… Read More

This is a really funny video focusing on John Garamendi’s residency (or lack thereof) in Congressional District 10… or is that 3? (h/t to Lisa V. at the CC Times Politics Blog, who in turn gives a h/t to Halfway to Concord)… … Read More

For some time now, Tustin Councilman Jerry Amante has been the prohibitive frontrunner in the race to succeed Chuck DeVore in the State Assembly in the 70th District in the heart of Orange County. Actually, to be more accurate, Amante came out of the gate early with an impressive array of endorsements, and really had created a “presumptive Assemblyman” status for himself. We were certainly prepared here at the FlashReport to call it that way. But it would appear that Amante’s “lock” on the GOP nomination in AD 70 is not as certain as I would have predicted.

The latest campaign filing reports show that Amante, who has been impressive in his ability to garner endorsements, has had a rather lackluster go of raising funds – according to filings Amante raised around $43,000 in the last period and had less than $12,000 cash on hand as of June 30th. That is a very poor showing. Especially for someone running in a district that includes many of Orange County’s wealthiest enclaves. And as we like to say, in districts like these, there are literally thousands of potential candidates one mortgage away from… Read More

There’s nothing new about the State of Nevada wooing California business. Who can blame the Silver State? California business, after all, is ripe for the picking with its status of being one of the worst states to conduct business and its excessive taxation and stifling regulations.

Now Nevada is using the fodder of California’s issuance of IOUs rather than cash as another excuse to ramp up efforts to pursue Golden State businesses. And by ramping up efforts I mean spending $1 million in TV ads in Southern California markets – beginning this weekend.

Read more here.… Read More