Assemblyman Chuck DeVore penned this response to a column that ran Monday on this site, in support of Prop. 22.

The King of Green, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, is requesting CEQA exemptions for his City by the Bay to attract a major regatta race. Hey Mr. Mayor, why not just comply with the act? After all, living “green” is the centerpiece of your campaign for Lieutenant Governor, and you expect all the little people to live by your example. Oh, that’s right; CEQA is arduous, complicated and often leads to litigation not to mention being a leading job killer. But get rid of CEQA and San Francisco stands to gain $1 billion in economic stimulus and the creation of 9,000 jobs.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m in favor of true economic stimulus and job creation (and I love a good regatta and San Francisco). But I am opposed to elected leaders who exempt themselves or the communities they represent from state laws. If an official is going to ask for exemption from CEQA, they should go a step further and work with conservatives to simplify the law and make it more amenable to economic growth, giving every city, county and small business person a fair chance to attract business. This “do as I say, not as I do” mentality is obnoxious and… Read More

Money from the ill-concieved $1 trillion stimulus bill is still pouring out. Remember that since we were already in deficit before the stimulus, 100% of these funds are being borrowed. So, just what are they being spent on? Well, Vice President Biden is kind enough to send each member of Congress a periodic statement of what stimulus money has been spent on in that member’s congressional district. Last year, the VP’s list to me included $2.6 million to install a "green roof" on a nearly vacant building which was being considered for demolition. The list he sent me this year had a total of 15 items totaling $24,878,506. By far, the biggest single award was to UCI for $14,090,736 for "pell grants" which are tuition subsidies for low income students. The remainder included $3.8 million to 4 local governments for "energy efficiency" in government buildings and "community development". There’s $1.7 million to CalTrans for "pavement upgrades”, $99,986 to a private company named Metrolaser, Inc. for an Army research contract, and$4.5 million for 3 colleges for "energy efficiency" or further tuition… Read More

Yesterday we broke the news here on the FlashReport that longtime GOP activist and leader Steve Baric was running for Vice Chairman of the California Republican Party. Baric’s decision to run came right on the heels of the announcement that CRP Treasurer Keith Carlson, who had been seeking the party’s #2 post, had instead decided to look at a run for the State Assembly in 2012.

Steve Baric is well respected in the California GOP for being both a thoughtful leader, but also a strong conservative voice. Baric is currently the President of the California Republican Lawyers Association, and is the elected Secretary of the CRP.

Today Steve will formally announce his candidacy, and in doing so, will release a list of Republican Assemblymembers who have endorsed him (look for a rollout of Senators, County Chairmen… Read More

Yesterday Republican Assemblyman Roger Niello officially jumped into the State Senate Special Election in District One, the Republican-dominated district in the greater Sacramento Area that had been represented for many years by the late Dave Cox, who recently passed away after a long bout with cancer.

Niello has been serving as a member of the State Assembly since 2004, and served for some time as Vice Chairman of the Assembly’s key Budget Committee. Neillo talks about his campaign priorities in the video at the bottom of this blog post.

It is clear that a major theme of Niello’s will be carrying on the work of Dave Cox. Cox, just before he passed away, endorsed Niello and made major contributions to Niello’s campaign committee — and the press release announcing Niello’s candidacy contained a quote from Cox’s widow, Maggie:

“Dave knew that Roger would be the only choice to continue on his legacy of public service – of ensuring that every person that lived in his district would be listened to, cared for, and represented. This feels very personal to me, and Dave and I endorsed Roger… Read More

I am happy to support Meg Whitman for CRP Chair. I know many maybe confused because Whitman has been running ads touting her candidacy for Governor. But perception is not always reality. The Governor’s campaign could just be a way to build name identification and contacts for the coveted CRP Post!

Of course I’m kidding, but recent actions by Meg Whitman’s campaign staff are very puzzling. Whitman’s people have joined some others in the usual intra-party squabbles that no one cares about except those of us that attend conventions. I’ve seen the emails with the Meg Whitman campaign on it asking and organizing proxies for this weekends CRP Convention in San Diego .

Why would any candidate for Governor divert resources from a closely contested campaign to gather proxies for rules changes and resolutions?

I have two theories both troubling.

1. Meg Whitman doesn’t know her resources have been diverted. In October 2001 I got a phone call asking me if I was supporting the “Parsky reforms” that would bring prestige, power and wealth untold to the State Party. (Results may have varied). I told the person,… Read More

Endangered House Democrat Loretta Sanchez of Orange County, according to premiere DC Political Analyst Charlie Cook, is officially flying into the "danger zone" as her re-election, along with that of nine other Democrats around the country, has been shifted in an unfavorable direction. In the case of Sanchez, up to this point, Cook had rated her reelection "likely Democrat" — but as of today, that has been downgraded (or from our perspective, upgraded) to a "lean Democrat."

You can expect Sanchez and the DCCC to try to downplay this to the media (got that, Dena?) while simultaneously trying to shamelessly use it to press for campaign cash.

This reassessment of Sanchez’ chances comes as the campaign of Assemblyman Van Tran swings into high gear — with his fundraising going very well, and his ground operation already at full throttle.

Those familiar with stick shift cards know that you have to put a car that… Read More

Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg has been pitching his budget plan (the one that calls for a big tax increase on the middle class) to the several newspapers in hopes of getting more support. I wrote about that plan recently, sharing with readers what a bad idea it truly is.

In today’s Sacramento Bee, Steinberg was asked how he can support higher taxes when California voters rejected Proposition 1A at the ballot box in May 2009. Amazingly, Steinberg answered the question by saying “I don’t think voters rejected 1A because of the taxes,” and then blamed its failure on those who saw it as a “spending cap.”

It’s bad enough that Steinberg would speak on behalf of the 65% of voters who voted against Proposition 1A, and… Read More