CA GOP Bench Just Got Shorter
With Congressman Kevin McCarthy’s selection as Majority Leader in Congress, the chance of McCarthy being a California gubernatorial or senatorial candidate soon has diminished. McCarthy is a very capable politician and richly deserves his new post. He can be very helpful to California in Congress, as Kevin Klowden explains on this page today. And, while […]
California Does Poorly in Small Business Friendliness Survey
The most enthusiastic applause for political speakers who addressed Monday’s California’s Small Business Day celebration came when Assembly minority leader Connie Conway expressed her vision of dealing with California’s budget. She said both sides of the aisle would like to see revenue grow to meet budgetary needs, only her political opponents want to raise taxes […]
Top 5 Taxes You May See on 2016 Ballot
Like meteorologists tracking distant storms heading their way, some folks in Sacramento are watching for signs that tax increases are building momentum for the 2016 ballot when the Proposition 30 temporary taxes begin to fade away. Now that this year’s state budget is done with increased spending in place, and the promise for more spending […]
Tug of War Over Bullet Train Funding
A lot of news on funding – or stopping funding – for the bullet train last week. First the U.S. Congress voted to stop funding the California high-speed rail. The idea that the money will be stopped was brushed aside because the Senate and the president would not go along. At least, the senate won’t […]
Pirates of the High Speed Rail
In the original Pirates of the Caribbean movie, the governor’s daughter Elizabeth Swann is kidnapped and brought aboard the pirate ship where she demands of the pirate captain Barbossa that she be returned to shore according to the Code of the Order of the Brethren, to which Barbossa responds: “The code is more what you’d […]
Why is the Controller’s Race So Often Close?
This is not the first time in recent memory that the state Controller’s race went into overtime to determine a winner. In both the state Controller’s race of 1994 and 2002 Republican Tom McClintock had to wait until after Election Day to see if he won the job. He lost both times, first to Kathleen […]
June 6
In military terms, today is D-Day plus 70 years. Today is a date to remember in American and world history when the forces of freedom began the liberation of Europe in World War II. With fewer and fewer veterans left from that conflict, as President Barack Obama said today in Normandy, “We have to tell […]
“Who Are Those Guys” and Other Offbeat Notes on the Election
Remember when the super posse relentlessly chased Butch and the Kid through towns, across plains and up mountains in the movie, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid? The pair repeatedly asked aloud: “Who are those guys?” Political junkies were asking the same question election night when two unknowns – David Evans and Ronald Gold – […]
No Party Preference is No Key to Elected Office
The idea that candidates can escape the two party system with independent runs for office fell flat in Tuesday’s election. While a growing number of California voters declare themselves unaffiliated with any political party – No Party Preference is the official label – candidates that chose NPP as their ballot designation did not break through […]
Judging Judges on Election Day
An attorney I know sends out an email when judicial elections are on the ballot. He says he gets many inquiries from friends about the candidates who are running for judge so he lists whom he is voting for – at the same time writing that voters should make up their own minds but don’t […]