This campaign memo has been buzzing around Team Whitman, and has made its way to the public square (clever technique, mentioning "prominent bloggers" by name in the memo — nice — it was forwarded to me many times over by FR friends on Meg’s campaign team)! TO: Campaign Leadership FROM: Jeff Randle, Senior Advisor, Henry Gomez, Senior Advisor DATE: November 20, 2009 RE: State of the Race Update With less than a year until Californians vote to elect the… Read More

The latest from FR correspondent Bradley Benbrook, who is keeping a close eye on the redistricting process as we move closer to the redrawing of legislative lines… One Step Closer To The Prop 11 Redistricting Commission Bradley Benbrook

California’s new redistricting process took another step forward this week with the selection of a three-member “applicant review panel,” comprised of three CPA’s from the Bureau of State Audits (one Republican, one Democrat, and one decline-to-state) who will review a mountain of applications for Proposition 11’s Citizen’s Redistricting Commission. Next year this panel will publicly interview applicants and ultimately narrow the field to three… Read More

The latest from FR correspondent Bradley Benbrook, who is keeping a close eye on the redistricting process as we move closer to the redrawing of legislative lines…

One Step Closer To The Prop 11 Redistricting Commission Bradley Benbrook

California’s new redistricting process took another step forward this week with the selection of a three-member “applicant review panel,” comprised of three CPA’s from the Bureau of State Audits (one Republican, one Democrat, and one decline-to-state) who will review a mountain of applications for Proposition 11’s Citizen’s Redistricting Commission. Next year this panel will publicly interview applicants and ultimately narrow the field to three groups of 20 Republicans, 20 Democrats, and 20 unaffiliated applicants they… Read More

The Secretary of State has determined that the random sample of signatures for the recall of Assemblyman Anthony Adams indicates that 24,579 are valid.

The proponents of the recall needed 35,825.

Recall fails to qualify.… Read More

Mayor Ashley Swearingen today announced the first round of major budget cuts for the City of Fresno as part of a predicted restructuring due to plummeting tax revenues.

I have a lot of confidence in Ashley. She”s a tough, smart pragmatic leader who listens well and does her homework. While we might not agree on some issues, she’ll never be accused of being unprepared, and she doesn’t back down from her positions with nuanced explanations.

For these economic times, the City of Fresno, along with City Council Members Lee Brand, Andreas Borgeas and Larry Westerlund (all Fresno County Lincoln Club Members) is in good hands. Stay tuned.… Read More

Well respected political analyst Charlie Cook has issued his latest assessment of which U.S. Senate and House races are in play.

In the Senate he places Boxer in the "Leans Democrat" column.

For California House races, most of the seats are either "Safe Democrat" or "Safe Republican."

Here is a breakdown of those in-between (seven seats "in play" – 4D, 3R):

Likely Democrat Cardoza (CA-18) Costa (CA-20) Sanchez (CA-47)

Lean Democrat McNerney (CA-11)

Lean Republican Lungren (CA-3) Calvert (CA-44)

Likely Republican Mary Bono Mack (CA-45)… Read More

[Cross-posted from RedCounty.com]

Former Anaheim Councilman Tom Tait’s campaign for Mayor is metastasizing into a freight train of momentum.

Current Mayor Curt Pringle, who is close friends with Tom (whose last two years on the council overlapped with Curt’s first two as mayor) organized a kick-off Tait fundraiser at The White House in Anaheim that was monstrously successfully, raising $190,000 for Tom’s campaign.

You heard that right:$190,000.

There are candidates who have been running for legislative offices for more than a year who haven’t raised that much money. For a city council candidate to raise that much is practically unheard of. Curt Pringle raised more than $300,000 at a single event for his 2006 re-election drive.

In this case, the candidate has ben out of elected office for almost six years. The massive haul is testament not only to Curt Pringle fundraising prowess, but to Tom Tait’s popularity, which cuts across… Read More

November 19, 2009

It’s a Tax, stupid.

by Acquanetta Warren

Halloween is over, but the fright is just beginning. At a time when taxpayers are struggling with a faltering economy, plummeting home values, declining retirement investments and education savings, salary cuts or job losses, and reduced public safety services, the state is there to help by adding to the burden. Talk about dumb.

It shouldn’t be allowed to happen, but it is – and at the worst possible time.

I’m talking… Read More