Effective January 1, 2006, a new state law will require members of local agency legislative bodies who receive any type of compensation, salary, stipend or reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of official duties to attend ethics training. The new law is codified at Government Code section 53254 and defines “local agency legislative bodies” to include the governing body of the agency (i.e., the city council, board of supervisors or board of trustees) as well as all committees, commissions, or other boards of a local agency, whether permanent or temporary and whether advisory or decision-making. Members of such bodies will be required to attend 2 hours of training every two years.

This new law may lead to some confusion because while it requires members of advisory and temporary local agency commissions to attend ethics training, state ethics laws draw distinctions between permanent decision making bodies (like city councils and planning commissions) and temporary advisory bodies (like ad hoc committees). For instance, unless a local jurisdiction’s code requires otherwise, members of purely… Read More

Some tidbits of commentary from the long weekend:

In his post below, Jon Fleischman asks if the upcoming State of the State will be good for conservatives. Here’s the San Diego Union-Tribune commentary from Monday…A defining moment Bond will show if governor has lost his way

Jan. 5 is setting up as one of the defining moments of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s time in office. That is when he is expected to unveil his proposed bond measure to pay for state infrastructure needs. If he introduces a relatively lean plan that focuses on roads and levees and that requires users and beneficiaries to help shoulder the cost – not just shovels the tab on all taxpayers – he will reassure the millions of voters who trusted him to bring fiscal responsibility to Sacramento.

But if… Read More

In 2003, Orange County’s top cop Sheriff Mike Carona started to look at a piece of legislation passed into law in the the 90’s by then-Congressman Christopher Cox (pictured to the right), who until his appointment by President Bush to head the Securities and Exchange Commission, had served as an Orange County Congressman since his election in 1988. Cox’s legislation allowed for local law enforcement officers, with proper training, to be cross-designated by the federal government with the authority to enforce national immigration laws. Keeping in mind the days when authorities used federal tax code violations to go after mafia gangsters, Sheriff Carona (pictured to the left) wondered if there was not a way to use… Read More

With each of Orange County’s seven countywide elected officials up for re-election in the June Primary I thought it would be helpful to take a look at each of the elected officials, their plans and any potential challengers.

NOTE: There are no term limits on countywide offices in Orange County.

ASSESSOR Webster Guillory has been in office since ’98. He generally avoids politics and the media. He is one of only a couple Black elected officials in Orange County. He is registered as a Decline to State. There is no hard evidence that he will see anyone challenge him in ’06. Although I was at a Christmas party last week and met a guy who works for the LA County Assessor who express interest in Webster’s job.

AUDITOR-CONTROLLER David Sundstrom was also first elected in 1998. He too stays out of the limelight. Not a peep from anyone about challenging him. He is a registered Republican.

CLERK-RECORDER Tom Daly was elected in 2002, the year he was termed out of his… Read More

For over a decade Republicans have controlled the House of Representatives; Republicans also now control the Senate, and for nearly five years we have also had a Republican president. You would think that the “fiscal conservatism” that ALL Republicans (including self-styled moderate GOPers) purportedly espouse would have lead to a meaningful reduction in the size and scope of the federal government. But no. Things haven’t improved with respect to federal spending. In fact, federal spending is arguably worse than before the Republicans took over the reigns of government.

For instance, back in 1994, Newt Gingrich campaigned for a House majority, in part, on the basis that the federal government should have less of a role in education policy. This was a uniting principle for Republicans, since many of us believe that local school districts are best able to determine the needs of local school children. Enter George W. Bush, one of the biggest presidential spenders since the likes of FDR. Throwing out the localism of the 90’s, Bush increased federal involvement in education. And the Republican controlled… Read More

This time of year I get about a hundred Christmas, Hanukkah and general holiday cards from friends, family, clients, vendors and of course every elected official I have ever given money too or who thinks he can be president some day and somehow thinks I can be of help in the endeavor.

This year I placed a piece of double-sided tape to the back side of each card and stuck it to a bare white wall (most of my walls are bare–I am not big on hanging things that require more effort than two-sided tape).

While it wasn’t entirely a fair or for that matter a well regulated contest because the cards were placed on the wall at different times, they are different shapes and sizes, etc, we do have a winner: U. S. Senator George Allen

I am not necessarily supporting the senator at this point for President, but I felt some obligation to report the facts.

All the cards from the other POTUS hopefuls have fallen down, over time. Granted NY Governor Pataki failed to send me a card at all so he has been disqualified from the outset and I used the Kathy Tavoularis/Sen. John McCain card as a substitute for the Senator since I am not on his list… Read More

In a week and a half, FR San Diego Contributor Barry Jantz and I will be traveling to Sacramento to hear the Governor deliver his State of the State Address. When we are there, we will be listening carefully for Arnold Schwarzenegger to remind us why we recalled Gray Davis, and elected the Terminator to head up our State Government.

Media-spin going into this big speech is that the Governor is going to embrace the Democrats in some sort of "let’s grow government" love-fest that includes tens of billions of dollars in borrowing, and a notable tack to the political center.

(Lest anyone forget, Arnold is already in the political center, as a fiscal conservative and socially liberal Governor. Yes, those items he pushed in the Special Election represented his fiscally conservative views, but that is because the legislature already embraces his socially liberal views.)

As conservatives, we will be there, waiting to hear if the speech that is given is one that tells the GOP base… Read More

Here are a couple of interesting stories from a quick glance at today’s papers. I’ll be out of town through New Years, and unable to spend much time on the site. But perhaps highlighting a couple of stories today will inspire one or more of the blog team to do the same in the coming days. Maria Shriver Recasts ‘First Lady’ as a Powerful Role in California What her friends see as beneficial projects, her critics see as self-promotion A lengthy piece in today’s Los Angeles Times on California’s First Lady... … Read More