I served from 2002-2006 as a member of George W. Bush’s Administration. Because of this, I am completely biased in my opinion. However, I believe that sharing my perspective on events I personally saw might lend clarity to those who saw the Bush 43 Presidency only through their television screen and the lens of the [...]

Since I served in the leadership of several national business associations and was formerly the Regional Representative at the U.S. Department of Labor, I’m often asked about the power of unions vs. the power of business. I always answer the question the same way: There is no such thing as unorganized labor. Unions almost always out-organize [...]

I’m aware that this seems an unlikely headline given the antics of the fiscal cliff and the bickering about taxes and spending between the President, U.S. House Speaker Boehner, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Reid, U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and U.S. House Minority Leader Pelosi. But sometimes there is a silver lining and it happened last [...]

Residents of Contra Costa County in California learned this week of the sad passing of a giant in public service – retired Sheriff Warren Rupf.  He was only 69 and had been diagnosed with myeloid leukemia just six weeks ago. I got to know Warren four years ago during my campaign for state assembly. His [...]

This week, Danville Mayor Candace Andersen trounced Community College Board Director Tomi Van de Brooke (60% to 27%) in an election for Contra Costa County Supervisor in District 2.  Sean White, who didn’t raise money but ran on election reform, gained nearly 12% of the vote. Incumbent Supervisor Gayle Uilkema passed away in May after [...]

I love working on domestic policy issues and solving problems.  I do not consider myself either a liberal RINO (Republican in name only) or an ultra-right conservative.  I hate labels but if I had to own one, I’d say that I am a Ronald Reagan Republican and that I believe that someone I agree with [...]

Gayle Uilkema, a woman who served as a Contra Costa Supervisor in District 2 for 16 years, passed away this past weekend from ovarian cancer.  She was only 73. Gayle’s record of public service is well known – her 16 years as a Supervisor was preceded by 19 years on the Lafayette City Council.  She [...]

Crossposted on California Political Review “Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.” – P.J. O’Rourke Quite a bit has been written about Jeff Neely, the federal government bureaucrat at the center of the GSA taxpayer boondoggle in 2010.  Neely serves the Pacific Rim at the General [...]

Efforts supported by countless business organizations to promote greater flexibility to employees’ schedules have once again failed in California.  This week, two measures authored by Senator Bob Dutton (R-Rancho Cucamonga) were killed legislatively by Democrats during a hearing of the Senate Industrial and Labor Relations Committee. Both bills were listed as “job creators” by the [...]

Two weeks can be an eternity in politics with ups and downs, twists and turns, and oftentimes weird and wonderful results. A new Survey USA poll released Thursday shows that Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher has surged since his party switch on March 27th – he is in a virtual dead heat with front runner Carl DeMaio. [...]