There is virtually no quieter week in political news coverage, barring a major incident, than the week of Thanksgiving right after a general election. While some political reporters take some deserved time off right after the election, virtually every one of them takes this week completely off. There are some exceptions, and there will be some special interest stories that show up that were penned last week — but expect to see a lot of very short news summaries from us this week. Of course, the FlashReport will be published throughout the holiday week, including Thanksgiving Day. One advantage to slow news days is that it takes less time to pull together them main page. Actually, we are using this quiet holiday week to work with a group of new contributors who will be joining our FR Blog — spicing up things for the upcoming year! This is a great opportunity for us to ask for FR reader feedback. It was a great election season for the website — our first election year as a website. By all accounts, we seemed to have a notable impact on California politics. Is there anything that you would see changed on the… Read More

I am very pleased to introduce FlashReport readers to our new Political Law Correspondent James Lacy. For many of you, Jim may not need any introduction, as he has been engaged in the ‘contact sport’ of politics for quite a long time now.

If I had to make a list of the top ten political law experts that I know, Jim Lacy would definately be on that list. So I am very excited that he has accepted our invitation to write for our website. Jim will be able to offer all of us some great insight and perspective on legal issues facing California elections (and all of our various political subdivisions). This will include legal issues on a national level that will have a significant impact on us here in the Golden State.

Jim’s experience is extensive, and you can read more about his background right here.

Of course, Jim’s political insights and expertise will allow him to provide insights on many aspects of… Read More

In the final weeks of the election when Lynn Daucher and family should have been focusing singularly on their own election, they were distracted.

An old grudge with a council candidate in Daucher’s home base of Brea took valuable time, money and energy away from here all-important state senate bid.

I’ve attached a flier that was produced and distributed by the Daucher clan attacking former Council Member Steve Vargas who was running again for his old seat after sitting out a few years tending to his wife who recently made a full recovery from breast cancer. It has yet to be determined whether the flier was illegally distributed by Daucher since there is no disclaimer on the piece and there are reports that paid walkers blanketed the city delivering them.

A couple months ago there was another instance of Daucher’s being distracted from the prize. At the OC GOP Central Committee she had her alternate stand up against Vargas’ endorsement (he was the lone no vote)–an embarrassing blow.

Its too bad we didn’t add another Republican State Senator to our ranks this election cycle. But its not like Lynn Daucher… Read More

I have gotten a few inquiries from folks who have seen that there are anonymous bloggers listed in our ‘blog pen’ to the left, or a fleeting post by "Blogger One" or some such title.

Rest assured that we are not converting to anonymous blogging – we are still proudly attributed-blogging only. But we are transitioning a whole group of new bloggers to the site, and they are listed as being anonymous while they test out the functionality of the site. Once they are comfortable on how to post up on the FR Blog, we will be "revealing" their identities. This morning we introduced one of the new contributors — FR Political Law Correspondent Jim Lacy…

Stay tuned for more… We remain committed to bringing you the very best perspective on California politics from the center-right to the very-right.… Read More

In a decision that has dark implications for all advocacy groups that distribute information about Congressional votes to the public, last week the Federal Election Commission voted in favor of an enforcement action resulting in a $28,000 fine to the Sierra Club, to settle charges regarding a voter guide distributed in Florida in 2004 by the Club. The voter guide purported to inform the public of the comparative environmental records of President Bushand Senator John Kerry in the Presidential race, and also the candidates for U.S. Senate in Florida.

The voter guide predictablywas slantedin favor of Kerry, but it stuck to specific Congressional legislation and the actual position of the candidates on such legislation. It did not contain the traditional words of "express advocacy" as defined by the historic Buckley v. Valeo case, such as "vote for," "vote against," or "support," which generally mark the difference between acceptable "issue advocacy," and regulated "express advocacy" during a campaign. Instead, the voter guides reported on the issues, depicted natural scenes, and then… Read More

I’m in San Francisco for the weekend. I ran into FR friend Jim Dimartini from Stanislaus County (he’s on the Board of Supervisors there) in front of the Ghiraradelli Chocolate Ice Cream Parlor in Fishermens Wharf.

He shared with me that everyone “back home” is waiting on remaining ballots to be counted to see who will win a seat on the Board of Supervisors there – two Republicans battled it out and less than 30 votes separate the candidates…

With the growing numbers of absentee voters, unless Registrars of Voters around the state significantly beef up operations, this kind of waiting in close races will be the norm…… Read More

According to the Sec of State website, the SD 34 was updated Saturday at 5:15 to show that Lou Correa added a few more votes to his lead over Lynn Daucher. Up from 783 to, now, 821.

Lou 55234 Lynn 54413 lead821

Otto Bade 899… Read More

Where the heck is McGonigle Canyon?… Not many in SD had heard of this spot a couple of weeks ago, until reports that hundreds of illegals had turned it into a shanty-town, complete with no running water, basic toilet facilities (read: the ground), and even visiting prostitutes. Apparently, local officials have been ignoring it for some time, and the owners of the property have been turning a blind eye as well. A local official was even heard to say, "It’s private property, there’s nothing we can do about it."

Excuse me? Local government can’t do anything about health and safety violations, probable vermin, illegal encampments, sub-standard "housing," prostitution…need I say more? Since when did local bureaucrats become Libertarians?

Apparently, in a politically correct world, anything goes.

Well,… Read More