I’d like to see a debate between Mark Leno and Pete Wilson. Not on the subject of Jessica’s Law, which will be decided in November when California voters pass a ballot initiative that, reasonably, separates child molestors from children. No, the debate I’d like to see is a larger one on government spending priorities that is not going to be settled anytime soon.

In today’s Los Angeles Times, Leno tells George Skelton that the peculiarly named Assembly Public Safety Committee that he chairs is not too liberal. Rather, his committee "kills ‘a lot of bad bills’ that are just too costly." He goes on to say that: ""The percentage of our general fund spending on corrections is out of control. Growing, growing, growing. After all, we’re dealing with a Legislature that refuses ever, ever to raise a tax."

So Leno is a fiscal conservative, which is heartening. Except that it is completely and totally at odds with his voting record since the day he arrived in the state… Read More

Anyone reading my posts knows by now (yeah, ad nausem, you may say) that the San Diego County Board of Education will fill Ernie Dronenburg’s vacancy Monday night. The Union-Tribune this morning runs a detailed list of the 11 candidates, as well as another story, "Education board to fill seat," on the recent history and responsibilities of this sometimes enigma-of-a-body.

The latter-mentioned story, although not crediting the FlashReport (every other newspaper around seems to be lately), does make mention that "Conservative blogger and La Mesa Councilman Barry Jantz and online newspaper Voice of San Diego both raised questions about the county Office of Education’s failure to post news of the board vacancy until just days before the Jan. 27 deadline to apply." Factual, althoughI didn’t know that a strong belief in fully transparent government processes was something conservative. I thought it was common sense,… Read More

The City of Torrance is nestled in the South Bay of Los Angeles County. The population is about 140,000. Michelle Kwan hails from there and I love eating at the nearby Alpine Village. It has a conservative reputation, even though two of the last three Assemblymen from the area were Democrats on the Torrance City Council.

i was wrong about the 100K it is actually more that you would need. The Daily Breeze has an article about the upcoming June 6 election for Mayor. The challenger has loaned his campaign 100K and expects to get outspent by current GOP registered Mayor Dan Walker. See the article here.

Remember the days when 110K meant you were a leading Assembly candidate?… Read More

Even one of the most prolific writers has to take some time for himself. So I will not be penning a lengthy commentary for today. I would simply suggest that you should definitely read several of the articles featured on the main page today:

* The Chronicle looks at the controversy surrounding the Governor’s Chief of Staff, Susan Kennedy, being simultaneously on the government payroll and the campaign payroll. Carla Marinucci, the piece’s author, delves into this growing controversy. * In the Daily News, there is an article highlighting that Senate Democrats, lead by President Pro-Tem Don Perata, see ‘no need’ for the Governor’s proposed 6% spending cap. That it could tie the hands of future efforts at borrowing. Actually, the cap is one of the positive things in the Governor’s proposal. Perhaps their opposition to the cap will nix the whole borrowing scheme and we can focus on the Assembly Republican pay-as-you-go plan. * Debra Saunders has secured today’s "Golden Pen" award as she looks at a controversial issue – which… Read More

Even one of the most prolific writers has to take some time for himself. So I will not be penning a lengthy commentary for today. I would simply suggest that you should definitely read several of the articles featured on the main page today:

* The Chronicle looks at the controversy surrounding the Governor’s Chief of Staff, Susan Kennedy, being simultaneously on the government payroll and the campaign payroll. Carla Marinucci, the piece’s author, delves into this growing controversy. * In the Daily News, there is an article highlighting that Senate Democrats, lead by President Pro-Tem Don Perata, see ‘no need’ for the Governor’s proposed 6% spending cap. That it could tie the hands of future efforts at borrowing. Actually, the cap is one of the positive things in the Governor’s proposal. Perhaps their opposition to the cap will nix the whole borrowing scheme and we can focus on the Assembly Republican pay-as-you-go plan. * Debra Saunders has secured today’s "Golden Pen" award as she looks at a controversial issue – which… Read More

As the famed, late Assembly Speaker Jesse Unruh (pictured) was famed for saying, "Money is the mother’s milk of politics."

For years now, Matt Rexroad over at Meridian Pacific has been known for producing some of the best information to keep track of how much folks have raised and spent on their campaigns. Hopefully Matt will continue with his great tracking of late-expenditures when we get to that season. But for now, you can direct your browser over to Meridian’s Cal-Races website and download an Excel Spreadsheet for your computer, that will allow you to look up any statewide or legislative races, and see the current snapshot of latest numbers filed with the Secretary of State.

THANK YOU to Matt and the team at Meridian for providing this resource!… Read More

I don’t think Susan Kennedy is a Communist sympathizer. I don’t think she’s a spy for Gray Davis or Phil Angelides. I don’t know much about her politics, although it sounds like she’s somewhere to the left of most Republicans and somewhere to the right of most Democrats. Which, as most of the participants on this website have decided, is pretty much where her boss is.

But after reading Friday’s Los Angeles Times’ story on the payment Kennedy received from the Schwarzenegger campaign committee, I have an entirely different set of concerns than most of my fellow bloggers. My worry is less about ideology than it is about ethics. Or at least, the appearance of ethical questions in an administration that promised to clean up Sacramento when it came to power.

There’s all sorts of revisionist history about what elected Arnold Schwarzenegger in the first place. There are those who think it was his celebrity that pulled him into office, an opinion that not only drastically underestimates the intellectual capabilities of California voters but ignores the fact that Arnold’s campaign didn’t really catch fire until… Read More

The FlashReport started hearing a buzz yesterday that first-term Assemblyman Van Tran, who is now seeking the GOP nomination for the 34th State Senate seat being vacated by the term-limited Democrat Joe Dunn, had endorsed Garden Grove Councilwoman Janet Nguyen to replace him in the Assembly.

The source of the rumors was a mailing that has gone out from Nguyen’s campaign inviting people to a February 9th fundraising event with special guest Assemblywoman Sharon Runner, on which Tran is listed at the top of the Host Committee.

Knowing how close Van is with both Nguyen and the other GOP candiate vying for his seat, businessman Jim Righeimer, I put a call into Van so that I could try to sort this out.

Van told me that, "Both Janet and Jim are friends of mine – long standing friends. Janet asked me to lend my name to be on the host committee [for this event] in early January, at least a couple of weeks before I made my announcement for State Senate, and before Jim Righeimer had let everyone… Read More