My friend Nathan Barankin who works for Attorney General Bill Lockyer has to be having a good chuckle after reading the latest post on the Los Angeles Times Political Muscle Blog, penned by veteran political reporter Bob Salladay.

From the Tales of the Bizarre comes this story about some long-ago history on Claude Parrish, the GOP nominee for State Treasurer. Apparently once upon a time back in the ’80s, when Parrish owned an ice-cream company, he bought a pricey sports car, and according to records unearthed by the Times, he proceeded to not make his payments. The story of what happens from their is, like I said, bizarre. I would try to summarize it here, but I have to say that Bob Salladay does a delightful job of sharing the story. But with players like Claude Parrish, the "Cheap Detective Agency." and a Mercedes-Benz SL380 Roadster — we know it will be interesting.

I will make two observations, and then send you on to read the sordid details…

… Read More

Many politicos in San Diego and Riverside are chuckling over Monday’s SDUT story indicating that Democrat challenger Mark Hanson hopes to raise $1.6 million to unseat Senator Dennis Hollingsworth in the 36th SD.

Uh huh, right. The district is 50% Rep, 27% Dem, and elected Bush over Gore in ’04 by 30 points. Hollingsworth initially won the seat over the more moderate Charlene Zettel, even though he had way less money. Even SDUT reporter Phil LaVelle had to have written Hanson’s claim while smirking about such gravitas.

By all standards, SD 36 is a suicide seat for any Democrat.Hanson, who doesn’t seem to have any significant personal resources, raised $80k thru September 30, with $11k cash-on-hand.His unrealistic hopes may be based on the fact that Hollingsworth has only raised twice that and has a mere $56k on-hand.

OK, for some fun, email me and take a stab at how much Hanson will actually raise for the… Read More

Here are some things to look for when reading today’s political news on the FR main page: *Apparently an audit has found that voter-approved bond money have been misused. The Contra Costa Times has the story. Yet another reason for FlashReport readers to VOTE NO on Propositions 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E and 84.

* San Bernardino County FR Correspondent Brad Mitzelfelt makes big ink in the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin with a recent post on the FlashReport… * With four weeks until election day, Phil Angelides is finally airing a "this is who I am" commercial? Earth to Phil: You’ve already been defined — you are the TAX MAN. * Bill Bradley takes today’s Golden Pen Honors with his in-depth look at the California Republican Party’s Victory ’06 Get-Out-The-Vote operations. * Anyone with a doubt on how to vote in the Attorney General’s race today should check out Marylee Shrider’s column today in the Bakersfield Californian. * 28 days until the ill-advised proposed sales tax to subsidize the Sacramento Kings is up for a vote. So far, reports the… Read More

If you don’t already, you should pay frequent visits over to the San Francisco Chronicle’s Politics Blog. There is often times good intel to be gathered there. I was just on the site and was reading the latest post by ace reporter Carla Marinucci, Schwarzenegger ducks web cast of his meeting with Chronicle editorial board.

The reason for my bringing attention to Marinucci’s post isn’t really about the main thrust of her piece (which in essence is that Schwarzenegger doesn’t want his pending editorial board meeting video or audio-taped – the Chronicle is taping them and then putting them up for the public to see). I was actually more intregued by something that Marinucci mentions at the very bottom of the post:

Only the race… Read More

The Lincoln Club of Fresno County goes up on KMJ 580 tomorrow with one of the more significant ad buys of the campaign season. Our goal is to drive turnout and traffic to our web page, where voters can download our ballot recommendations, listen to our ad campaign or request a membership application.

In the first ad, we urge voter participation for the sake of electing Chuck Poochigian Attorney General, Tom McClintock Lt. Governor, Cal Minor for Fresno County Sheriff and Scott Miller for Fresno City Council District 1. We also mention our opposition to the tax increases on the ballot.

The second ad, to air starting next week, will highlight our opposition to the bonds, and will feature Assemblyman Mike Villines. We haven’t worked out the third ad yet.

All of this is due to our loyal, dues paying membership and our webmaster, Fresno City Councilman Jerry Duncan, whom we greatly appreciate. I hope you get a chance to visit our simple website and take a look.

With the down ballot races… Read More

Here are some things to look for when reading today’s political news on the FR main page: *Apparently an audit has found that voter-approved bond money have been misused. The Contra Costa Times has the story. Yet another reason for FlashReport readers to VOTE NO on Propositions 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E and 84.

* San Bernardino County FR Correspondent Brad Mitzelfelt makes big ink in the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin with a recent post on the FlashReport… * With four weeks until election day, Phil Angelides is finally airing a "this is who I am" commercial? Earth to Phil: You’ve already been defined — you are the TAX MAN. * Bill Bradley takes today’s Golden Pen Honors with his in-depth look at the California Republican Party’s Victory ’06 Get-Out-The-Vote operations. * Anyone with a doubt on how to vote in the Attorney General’s race today should check out Marylee Shrider’s column today in the Bakersfield Californian. * 28 days until the ill-advised proposed sales tax to subsidize the Sacramento Kings is up for a vote. So far, reports the… Read More

With the Gubernatorial debate now a part of history (in case you missed it, my take is here). Phil Angelides, down by double-digits in every public opinion poll that has been published, desperately needed to have something, anything happen in this one and only debate that would change the horrible position in which Angelides finds himself.

For the last few months, Phil Angelides has been flailing as a candidate, failing to gain any momentum or traction. Angelides has been unable to convince many core Democrat voters that he is capable of running the complex government apparatus of this large state. At the same time, Governor Schwarzenegger has been on top of his game, coming across as capable and effective.

The Governor has been appealing to his core Republican base with his emphasis on his pledge to oppose any new taxes or fees, and he has been appealing to many Democrats and centrist voters by making a big deal out of… Read More

With the Gubernatorial debate now a part of history (in case you missed it, my take is here). Phil Angelides, down by double-digits in every public opinion poll that has been published, desperately needed to have something, anything happen in this one and only debate that would change the horrible position in which Angelides finds himself.

For the last few months, Phil Angelides has been flailing as a candidate, failing to gain any momentum or traction. Angelides has been unable to convince many core Democrat voters that he is capable of running the complex government apparatus of this large state. At the same time, Governor Schwarzenegger has been on top of his game, coming across as capable and effective.

The Governor has been appealing to his core Republican base with his emphasis on his pledge to oppose any new taxes or fees, and he has been appealing to many Democrats and centrist voters by making a big deal out of… Read More