The next several days on this blog will probably devote a lot of time to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s relationship with the Republican Party. But before we descend into this weekend’s state GOP convention bubble, it’s worth taking a quick look at this past weekend’s news coverage of the two Democratic candidates. Both Phil Angelides and Steve Westly have had great fun riding the coattails of the nurses and the public employees’ unions for several months of sustained Arnold-bashing. But over the last few days, both have taken their turn in the barrel. Which probably wasn’t nearly as enjoyable for them.

The Sacramento Bee went after Angelides, describing how the environmentally conscious candidate wasn’t nearly as green during his days as a developer, when he fought with local, state, and federal agencies over threatened species and wetland protection to the point where the EPA threatened him with criminal penalties.

Westly took it on the chin… Read More

NRDC attorney Joel Reynold’s op-ed in Saturday’s LAT was so rife with error that a single post is insufficient to rectify it.

For example, Reynold’s claimed the TCA "now proposes to bisect Reagan’s legacy from top to bottom, closing 60% of the park."

Where did Reynold’s get that figure? Who knows? In reality, the toll road will require about 300 acres — and mind you that San Onofre State Beach the park covers 3,036 acres.

And the land is owned by the US Marine Corps, which has the right and has agreed to grant TCA an easement for the tollway. Furthermore, the Marines insist on the tollway being located in the state park lease area, since it is Camp Pendleton’s northern-most border and subsequently has the least impact on their mission.

Reynold’s lambastes the 241 tollway completion for "destroying [San Onofre State… Read More

THREE AND A HALF CONTENDERS FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL I am a huge fan of contested primaries. I think that the whole argument that a candidate is better off because they have "cleared the field" is a misnomer and misplaced. Of course the challenge of winning a party primary means that resources will need to be raised and spent in order to do so. But it is this process that makes a candidate the best they can be for the general election. A primary hones a candidates speaking skills and fundraising skills. A primary allows a candidate to understand who really supports them. A primary also causes candidates to have to make some very real decisions and choices that allow party members to appreciate the candidate who becomes their nominee. I think the same holds true whether we are talking about candidate for the Democrat or Republican nomination. Arnold Schwarzenegger is a stronger candidate for re-election this… Read More

I recently sat down to lunch with San Jacinto City Councilman and Candidate for the 65th Assembly District Jim Ayres. Jim is a retired career air force veteran. He has long been involved with Republican politics in Riverside County. When you first meet Jim you can tell he is a serious type guy and full of energy. He knows the issues and where he stands on them. But let’s cut to the chase, knowing the issues and have strong convictions are just a starting point when running for the State Assembly. Winning a Republican primary is about communicating to voters and that takes lots of dough-rey-me. For 2005 Jim raised $412K and has a healthy $310K Cash On Hand, which is twice as much as his two other leading competitors in this race, that tells me that he is serious about winning this race.

Here is my interview with Ayres

PAULE: You are a good conservative what do you want to do think you can accomplish the Democratic controlled Legislature?

AYRES: Well I have worked on a city council so I am used to working with folks that I don’t agree with on every issue. However one… Read More

In the post immediately below this one, I talk about the newest hire of the California Republican Party, Patrick Dorinson. Dorinson replaces Karen Hanretty, who did a great job in that difficult post. Here is what she has to say:

"I have a great deal of respect for Patrick Dorinson and consider him a good friend and Republican colleague. I met him on the recall campaign when he came to work in the press office, booking Schwarzenegger on conservative talk radio shows. Almost immediately we forged a bond as only two people who can’t stop ranting about Democrats can forge. Since then, we’ve exchanged countless email and phone calls about how the world is versus how it ought to be. Patrick is always good for advice on a pithy soundbite and has a talent for putting current … Read More

FR friend John Howard, the Editor over at Capitol Weekly just shot me an email, apparenly having scooped the MSM and the cyber-core on the newest hire over at the California Republican Party. Apparently the CRP has hired Patrick Dorinson (pictured at the podium in the photo to the right) to fill the very large shoes left behind with the departure of Karen Hanretty, who decided to stand up her own public relations firm. I don’t know Mr. Dorinson – I don’t believe that he or I have ever met. That said, I will tell you that he certainly represents an ‘out of the box’ hire for the State GOP. I have to admit, before going over to Capitol Weekly, I did what so many others do when they are trying to find out something – I "googled" Patrick Dorinson. The third item that came up was some… Read More

Conaway Ranch is a 17,000 acre parcel in Yolo County. It has been held privately for over a century and serves as sanctuary for a vibrant waterfowl habitat. The owners of the land have made it clear numerous times that they are dedicated to preserving the sanctuary but Yolo County wants to take the land using eminent domain to protect it. That’s right, the government wants to take land from private citizens and do nothing different than those citizens.

Add to the mix, the county can’t afford the land, so they struck a deal with a local Indian Tribe (which does have the money because of its casino) to take the property. The price that the county (and tribe) will have to pay will be determined later this year in a jury trial.

Fellow Flashreport blogger Joe Justin was on this story last October with his post — She Takes Sanctuary.

There has been some recent news on the taking of Conaway Ranch that you can bet will drive up the cost of the taking.

Two weeks ago, another water deal in the… Read More

I have written several times about the Governor’s seemingly inability or I think unwillingness to appoint Republicans to the bench in Los Angeles County. While, LA County is one of the worst in terms of GOP to Dem ratio, the rest of the state isn’t that great either. On Friday the “Republican” Governor appointed three judges to the LA Superior Court. Jon the masterful owner of FR posted about them here. He asked for counts on judges appointed by Arnold. I did have an unofficial count at one time. See it here. An alert FR reader alerted me to the fact I had under counted some of the appointments. Her count is accurate and she had some releases I did not. … Read More