The Travails of Scandal-laden San Diego Mayor Bob Filner

Former San Diego Councilwoman Donna Frye, at a press conference last week, described what sounds like sexual battery by Mayor Bob Filner saying that the Mayor grabbed a woman and, “rammed his tongue down her throat.”  It’s pretty sickening that Mayor Filner has just decided to give a keynote address at a benefit for victims […]

GOP Senators Vote For $2.3 Billion Car Tax

A massive car tax (actually a collection of various taxes and fees) that was signed into law in 2007 (with no GOP support except, of course, then-Senator Abel Maldonado), billed as “temporary” at the time, is currently set to expire in 2015. Given that Californians face some of the highest levels of taxation in the […]

AB 667: The “WalMart” Bill — Using Government For Political Purposes

You don’t need another example of how the Legislature wastes time and taxpayer dollars, but here’s a great one: AB 667. This bill is nothing new. A version of it is introduced almost every session. Last go-‘round it was SB 469 by Juan Vargas, and it’s such a bad bill that even Governor Brown vetoed […]

North Folk Tribal Gaming Compact Deserves Ratification

If you have never heard of the roughly 2,000 member North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians, than I can assure you that you are not a member of the State Legislature.   Last year Governor Brown signed a gaming compact with this tribe, which is up for ratification by the legislature in-short order. In March of […]

Kevin James’ Endorsement of Eric Garcetti a Huge Let Down

I grew up in Los Angeles. My parents still live in the same home in which I was raised on the Westside. I have an affinity for the city that was my home for nearly half of my life. After watching with gross fascination for eight years as Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has diminished the City […]

Republican Kevin James can Make the Runoff for LA Mayor. If…

With the city elections in Los Angeles just over a week away, I have been getting asked by a lot of our readers whether I think it is possible for there ever to be another Republican Mayor of California’s largest city? The answer is — it depends.  It depends on whether Republicans voters turn out […]

Vote Delay would Thwart Bad Deals

A Viewpoints article from political consultant Steve Maviglio (“Vote delay sounds good – but isn’t”; Viewpoints, Feb. 2) blasted a bipartisan proposal to require that legislative bills be in print for 72 hours before they can be voted on by lawmakers. This legislation, co-authored by Democratic Sens. Lois Wolk and Lou Correa and Republican Assemblywoman […]

Look for More McClintocks in the Future

I read with interest, but little surprise, the column yesterday penned by Sacramento Bee columnist Dan Morain where he rhetorically skewers Congressman Tom McClintock for being… an ideological conservative.  To sit and have coffee with Dan, he is quite pleasant in his demeanor — I enjoy the time I spend with him (perhaps because sarcasm […]

And Then There Were 36. What Now, GOP Legislators?

It’s a somber day for Republicans, and a foreboding one for California taxpayers.  Today is the official swearing-in day for the California legislature.  When the final counts were all done, Democrats now have a whopping 29 members of the California State Senate — while only ten Republicans will occupy the upper chamber, with reinforcements on […]