Wright’s Ticky-Tack Foul Doesn’t Deserve Expulsion
The holier-than-thou crowd is pushing for Rod Wright to be forced from office as soon as possible, even though state law is clear that it shouldn’t happen until trial court sentencing (Gov’t Code 1770). Yes, by fibbing about where he “domiciled,” the senator did the equivalent of driving 65 in a 55 zone, which turns out to […]
Brown Gets to Appoint New Supreme Court Justice
Joyce Kennard will be stepping down from the California Supreme Court effective April 5. Kennard was appointed by Governor George Deukmejian in 1989, and is the longest serving justice on the Court. Born of Eurasian ancestry, she currently helps make up both the majorities of Asian and female justices on the seven-member bench. The timing of the retirement […]
CA’s Job Picture: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
California has added 826,500 non-farm jobs since the low of February 2010, but is still short 541,400 non-farm jobs from California’s July 2007 high. However, there are also 692,511 more workers than in July 2007, meaning there is a gap of 1.2 million jobs (8.2%). This also doesn’t include those individuals who have left the […]
Loading Ammunition to Beat the Recalls Over Guns
On Friday, I wrote about the effort of gun rights supporters to recall a sampling of legislators who voted for legislation regulating access to guns and ammunition. I further wrote that the proponents erred in selecting five Democrat legislators who are all Latino, providing ample, uh, ammunition, against the effort. None of the targets were authors of […]
Poll Shows CA GOP Congressmen in for a Re-Elect Fight
If you were near the Interwebs this weekend, you undoubtedly saw that left-leaning Public Policy Polling firm conducted a survey for MoveOn.org that found 17 vulnerable Republicans–enough for Democrats to take back the House in 2014–and four more that might be vulnerable if the voters were deciding next November on the basis of the shutdown. In each of […]
The CA GOP’s Conundrum
There’s an internal debate within the California Republican Party about where to dedicate resources in 2014. Some believe that it’s essential for the party to compete in the gubernatorial race, even though Jerry Brown’s reelection is essentially signed, sealed and delivered. Others argue that it’s hopeless and the party’s limited resources should be spent in […]
With Filner Reportedly Out What’s Next for San Diego?
Let’s review the special election calendar in San Diego’s city charter (Article XV, Section 265(e)). Upon the creation of a vacancy, the council will call a special election within 90 days. If a candidate does not receive a majority (50%+1) of votes in that election, the special runoff election will be within 49 days of […]
Legal Question Hangs Over San Diego Recall
As signatures start being gathered this weekend to recall San Diego mayor Bob Filner, the big question is whether the recall process of the city is constitutional. In San Diego, like in California law up until 2003 (first in the constitution and then in statute), a voter is required to vote either “yes” or “no” on […]
Lawsuit Means Filner Ordeal Won’t End Soon
If anyone thought the Bob Filner ordeal would resolve itself because a bunch of adults came to town and played dress-up in the slow month of July, they were wrong. We now have a Gloria Allred-led lawsuit, and this will be ugly. The lawsuit is against both the City of San Diego and Bob Filner. I would […]
The Importance of the SD 16 Election
Who would have thought that the epicenter of California politics in 2013 would be found in Delano? Political parties and their allies are in the midst of an intensive get out the vote drive after a surprising comeback by Leticia Perez (D) kept Andy Vidak (R) from receiving 50% of the vote, forcing a runoff. […]