FR friend and blogger Doug La Malfa (I think he grows rice for a living) is running for the State Senate. He’s got a new commercial running in the sprawling northern district in which he is running, featuring conservative Congressman Wally Herger… … Read More

It has come to our attention that staff of the Governor’s Office has sent Campaign materials from their State e-mail accounts in attempt to solicit Endorsements and support for their Political activity as it relates to their opposition of the California Jobs Initiative – the ballot measure which is expected to appear on the November ballot.

Simply put, using Taxpayer funds to support Political activity is a violation of Campaign Law (FPPC rules).

Below is a copy of one such e-mail from the Governor’s staff (Chief Deputy Director Lisa Kalustian) on state government e-mail system, unmistakably soliciting political activity in opposition to the California Jobs Initiative, along with the forwarding of campaign literature. Also included in the e-mail is an Endorsement Form from the official Campaign Committee that was formed to oppose the ballot measure. The name of the person receiving the e-mail has been removed in order to protect the whistle blower’s anonymity.

To further investigate the matter, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association has filed a Public Records Act request with the Governor’s office, and has cc’d the Fair Political Practices… Read More

The SacBee’s Capitol Alert blog is reporting that Democrats are busy rejecting the Governor’s proposed cuts in the budget. Of course they are. Because the Democrats believe that when the economy is in bad shape, that’s the time you want to raise taxes. Actually, to be more accurate, the liberals in the legislature pretty much want to raise taxes any time.

At some point, the Democrats in Sacramento have to understand that when the economy is humming along, then the private sector grows, and the GDP goes up, and also the money available to government at every level increases. But the opposite is also true — and when the economy restricts, it is not just the private sector that has to go through proverbial belt-tightening, it is also government that must do this. Adding more taxes is problematic for many reasons, but a great pragmatic reason is that doing so will damage economic recovery efforts.

Fortunately the State of California, unlike the Feds, cannot print money. And since the resolve of the Governor and legislative Republicans… Read More

Republican voters will have no doubt who the former Alaska Governor and 2008 GOP Veep nominee is supporting for U.S. Senate…… Read More

Lonely day in the mailbox. COOPER FOR SHERIFF “Endorsements” pretty clean, good piece… doesn’t point out he is a Democrat.… Read More

Who is on my mid-week flight to Sacramento? I'm hanging with 20 year FR friend and Assemblyman Van Tran. Also on the flight are Jonathan Choi of Dart Enterprises (need a LOT of plates or cups? He's your man – also Judy Legan is off to advocate for Apartment Owners, and my buddy former Orange County Assistant Sheriff Charlie Walters is on his way to a state criminal justice commission meeting. That's a wrap!… Read More

This appears in today’s online Wall Street Journal… (An entirely separate question, after reading this, is how Crane could be a major donor to the Gubernatorial campaign of Jerry Brown… But that is for another day…) Dow 28,000,000: The Unbelievable Expectations of California’s Pension System Because Calpers failed to disclose pension costs and liabilities 10 years ago, taxpayers will be on the hook for hundreds of billions. By DAVID CRANE In 1999 then California Governor Gray Davis signed into law a bill that represented the largest issuance of non-voter-approved debt… Read More

Hopefully it did fall through the cracks for California political observers that last week liberal Democrat Congresswoman Grace Napolitano of Los Angeles County was very blunt in comments to the San Gabriel News Tribune that she thinks that the $11 billion water bond currently slated to appear on this November’s ballot is going to be defeated by voters.”

According to the News Tribune, Napolitano said, “They should support it, but I don’t think they will… People are very upset with legislators. And since it’s (legislators’) idea, I don’t think (voters) are ready to put out any more money.”

Napolitano’s comments are very significant because she is a supporter of the bond, and she also has some gravitas on the water issue, serving as the Chairman of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water and Power.

**There is more – click the link**… Read More