Two of the things I am convinced of are:

Jackie Speier was denied the opportunity to be the Lt. Governor of California by Liz Figueroa in the Democrat primary. Had it not been for Figueroa appearing on the ballot with an anemic campaign, the votes she "earned" would have gone to Speier. Further, she was the only one that could have prevented Jerry Brown from returning to the corner office of the State Capitol in 2010. Most of the California Congressional Delegation has lost touch with the politics of California. Out of the 53 of them I would guess less than a dozen are truly active politically any more.

Speier is a formidable political force because of her media presence, compelling story, and shameless pursuit of headlines in a way that makes her appear to be the best friend of the voter/consumer/whatever. Love her or hate her the woman is a really good politician.

The reason for this post is that she is thinking about taking on Congressman Tom Lantos in the primary next year. Here is a story from Matier and Ross,… Read More

Most candidates running for office usually are on their best behavior during the run-up to their election. They attend their meetings, skip the junket circuit, and generally try to avoid getting sucked into anything controversial.

Like I said, that’s MOST candidates.

Recently, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association and the Citizens Against Government Waste released their annual Piglet Book highlighting example after example of waste in government around the state at its worst.

Pretty safe to say, on either side of the aisle, the Piglet book is not a place a candidate would want to appear prior to their race.

“While those responsible for the worst acts of waste, fraud and abuse may believe that the public is not watching or does not care, most are capable of being embarrassed when they are caught behaving badly. They should feel a sense of humiliation as their incompetence and misconduct receives this additional public scrutiny.”

Amen!

And given that, I could barely believe my eyes when I saw the name of a… Read More

If his website and this morning’s email are any indication, the lingering question of "Will he or won’t he?" seems to be answered by Steve Francis. (Of course, the GOP is in a bit of a panty-twist over the prospects of a Republican taking on a sitting GOP incumbent like Jerry Sanders.)

The following email message, including links to an endorsement form and bio, sure looks like a campaign to me….

I am writing to you to seek your early endorsement in the race for Mayor of San Diego. I recently formed the Francis For Mayor Exploratory Committee to meet with my fellow San Diegans to hear their views about what they need and want in local government, regardless of their political affiliation. I’ve met with Democrats who think City Hall has become a haven for partisan policy making. Some Republicans worry that the current administration has lost its way, while Independents feel their voice has been silenced by the lobbyists who seem to control everything. Most have voiced concerns about the influence of special interest groups in our local government. Although I have not formally announced my… Read More

Our publisher Jon asked me to comment on the recent $50 million out-of-court settlement by the City of Dana Point and its insurer, the California Joint Powers Insurance Authority (“CJPIA”), in favor of two joggers who were hit and very seriously injured by an uninsured drunk on Pacific Coast Highway last year. They were jogging in the clearly defined bicycle lane of PCH when the drunk driver swerved over the line and hit them. I was on the City Council when the accident occurred in April of 2006, and Jon thought my insight would be valuable regarding what the implications are of a $50 million liability payout by a city and its insurance company.

Well, the primary implication of this huge payout, characterized by Orange County-based personal injury guru Mark Robinson as “one of the top settlements in the county’s” history, is that basically the City of Dana Point has blown the limits of its insurance coverage, (the Dana Point annual budget itself is around $25 million, half the amount of the settlement!), it very likely has no liability insurance left for the rest of its current policy, the CJPIA now has blown a huge chunk of… Read More

Battle-hardened from his post as Communications Director for Congressman John Doolittle, Gordon Hinkle has a new position – courtesy of a Gubernatorial appointment announced today (see the details below). Perhaps the Congressman will be recruiting a replacement for Hinkle from a crisis-communications firm? Hinkle will be hard to replace – a consummate professional with the work ethic of the Energizer Bunny…

From the Gov’s release: “Gordon Hinkle, 34, of Roseville, has been appointed deputy press secretary for the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. He has served as communications director and senior field representative for Congressmember John Doolittle since February 2007. From 2006 to 2007, Hinkle was senior consultant to the California Assembly Republican Caucus. Previously, he served as communications director for State Senator Jim Battin from 2001 to 2006. Prior to that, Hinkle worked for Hewlett Packard as a logistics process analyst from 2000 to 2001. He is a member of the Roseville Planning Commission. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $87,132. Hinkle is a… Read More

Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez is already trying to use the massive financial shortfall of revenues against budgeted expenditures to make the case for why we have to look at tax increases. His Deputy Chief of Staff, Steve Maviglio, reposted on his blog an article that talks about how taxes need to be increased, and targets the 1978 passage of Proposition 13, lamenting the protection it afforded to homeowners.

One of the more credible voices in Sacramento on state finance is Assemblyman Roger Niello. As the lead Republican on budget issues, he lays out the case for why we do, indeed, have an over-spending problem in California State Government…

Revenues Are Not The Problem… Read More

FEBRUARY WATER BOND EVAPORATING… I spoke with Senate Repubican Leader subsequent to yesterday’s "Big 5" meeting — and he reported that there was no resolution on moving forward with a water bond package for the February ballot. Of course we are right on the timing cusp where soon there would be no ability to place something on the February ballot at all…

FABIAN NUNEZ – MR. CONGENIALITY – NOT! When Fabian "Louis Vuitton" Nunez pushed back this week’s planned Assembly Floor Session (to presumably put up Democrat votes for a terrible government-health care plan) — he moved it to next week. Apparently session is now scheduled to overlap with the joint Senate/Assembly GOP Retreat in San Diego. According to Shane Goldmacher at the Sacramento Bee, Nunez isn’t planning to move the session. Then again,… Read More

I got a call this morning from a radio reporter asking me what I thought about the UCLA study saying illegals don’t use the emergency room that much, because they are afraid of identifying themselves. I read the story.

The last part was interesting. They used a randomized phone survey to get this info. There you have it. Illegals won’t get medical care because they are afraid of identifying themselves, but to strangers calling to ask questions over the phone they always, I mean always tell them they are here illegally breaking the law. That seems like USC thinking to me.… Read More