While the recall effort against Aseemblyman Anthony Adams may have failed to qualify, apparently proponents of it will be able to claim victory anyways…

Today Adams announced with little fanfare that he will not be seeking reelection this year.

While Adams did not specify exactly why he is retiring early, one can likely conclude that the specter of a tough reelection in a June primary would weigh heavily on such a decision.

Adams rather brazenly and infamously was one of a handful of Republicans last February who “reneged” on their written pledge to oppose tax increases — and not cast a vote to enact $16 billion in higher sales, income and car taxes — but also voted to place billions more in higher taxes on the ballot (these were soundly defeated by voters).

Adams' district is a “safe GOP” seat. Look for his successor to make it clear that the next Assemblyman from the 59th District will not vote to raise taxes.… Read More

State Senator Mark Wyland has just sent a thoughtful and important letter to the Governor and legislative leaders calling for a halt to all of the non-essential gyrations of the state legislature, and for a razor-sharp focus on job creation.

I’ve included the text of the Senator’s letter below. Governor Schwarzenegger would do well to read this, and include this idea in his State of the State Address tomorrow. In fact, I feel comfortable saying that Senator Wyland wouldn’t mind a bit if the Governor embraced this idea and took ownership of it!

The reality is that our fiscal problems are so bad that all of the non-essential work of the legislature during this time amounts to moving deck-chairs around the Titanic. How about focusing on the big hole caused by the iceberg?

Dear Governor and Legislative Leaders … Read More

As we have watched the Governor and legislature go through contortions to try and change California state law in order to qualify for hundreds of millions of dollars in federal payments, I think it is worth stepping back and looking at the tragedy of federal preemption that is taking place, and also the irony of liberals becoming the victim of the larger role for the federal government which they advocate.

The federal government cannot order the states to enact laws in most areas of everyday life, not the least of which is education policy. That is on purpose. When our nation was founded, it was with the idea that our country’s national government would be limited in scope, especially on domestic issues. Remember that the American revolution was all about throwing off the… Read More

Since our last day of officially publishing the links to top stories in California politics was Friday, December 19 — I thought I would provide FR readers with a quick summary of some of what took place while our FR elves were taking some much needed R&R.

Click through on any links to read the full stories!

The Center for Investigative Reporting has been around for a long time — but their new endeavor, California Watch, is new the California political scene. At a time when we see MSM newspapers devoting fewer and fewer resources to investigative journalism — especially in politics — California Watch represents an effort at serious watchdog journalism not by the media, but by a non-profit foundation. A longtime friend of this website publisher is the Editorial Director of California Watch — Mark Katches. I met Mark when he used to work at the Orange County Register. It is also noteworthy that another longtime FR friend, Bob Salladay (formerly an ace reporter and blogger with the Los Angeles Times) is onboard advising this endeavor.

I’m quite certain that everyone at California Watch would agree with my observation that this is no right-of-center endeavor. Hardly. That said, shining the light into the farthest, darkest corners of state government is an endeavor that should be applauded, even if many of those shining the flashlights voted for President Obama. I reached out to Mark and asked… Read More

Today former Congressman Richard Pombo confirmed to the Fresno Bee that he will be running for Congress in the 19th District seat that will be open next year due to the announcement by Rep. George Radanovich. The Bee is also reporting that former California Secretary of State Bill Jones is making calls to supporters and weighing a potential run.

I have known Richard Pombo for over two decades, and he’s a rock-solid conservative and a good man. He joins a field of candidates that already includes State Senator Jeff Denham and former Fresno Mayor Jim Patterson (so I am told).

Look for Pombo to try and leverage Denham’s and Jones’ pre-primary support for the Presidential campaign of John McCain last year against them with grassroots types. McCain is one of the least popular politicians (save perhaps for the man that bested him for President) with conservatives.

It will be interesting to see how Pombo’s entrance into the race impacts endorsements from the state’s Republican Congressional delegation. Then again, there is so much anger towards Congress these… Read More

As the New Year begins, I have been reflecting on politics, my role in it, and the direction of the state. About a year ago, right after the election of Obama, I was approached by a fellow who said he could make me President, and he asked for me to give me a plan to accomplish that. I showed him the plan, and although he failed to meet the benchmarks I set for setting up a run (there goes my Presidential ambitions), a lot of the presumptions I made for such a run to work have been coming true.

First, I am convinced 2010 will be a Republican year IF (and I mean a really big IF) Republicans don’t screw things up. It will have nothing to do with the ascendancy of those principles that many Republicans espouse in office in American society (because sometimes it appears that Republican officeholders don’t believe in those principles), it will be because Democrats overrreached. I have a number of "truths of American politics" (which I should write down sometime), but one of them is this–Democrats really believe in the principles they espouse, and they… Read More

When a seat in Congress comes open people start to scramble. People get so excited they can barely control themselves.

When Congressman Radanovich announced his retirement last week State Senator Jeff Denham announced right away. Former Congressman Richard Pombo has now said he is interested in trying to make a comeback. Now the Fresno Bee is reporting that former Secretary of State Bill Jones is considering the race.

Candidates are pounding their chests and observers are analyzing endorsements, fund raising ability, and conservative credentials.

When I looked at this district I didn’t really think about any of the three candidates above. My first thought was that former Senator Rico Oller was a likely candidate for this seat. He grew up there, he represented part of this district, and he certainly has conservative credentials and funding ability.

So how come no one is talking about an Oller candidacy? Someone tell me what I am missing.… Read More