Who Will Get Garamendi’s Old Job?
Now that Tuesday night’s 10th CD primary election has put Democratic Lt. Gov. John Garamendi on the fast track to Washington, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is likely to find his phone ringing pretty regularly from now until Nov. 3.
The governor, you see, will get to appoint a new lieutenant governor if Garamendi wins his expected victory this November and there will be plenty of people with names to suggest.
Now the governor’s office, in true “keep moving, folks, nothing to see here” fashion, is declining any comment on a possible appointment, arguing, not unreasonably, that there’s still an election to be won first.
But while strange things can happen in politics, they usually don’t. And it doesn’t take a political genius to notice that four of the top five finishers in the Contra Costa County-area primary were Democrats and that they outpolled the GOP candidates nearly 2-to-1 in a district where Democrats have a 47 percent to 29 percent registration edge.
The Traveling Constitutional Convention Show Hits Orange County
I went to Orange County yesterday to see if the reaction to a constitutional convention was similar there to what I witnessed in Sacramento a few months ago.
The Sacramento event filled a hotel ballroom with hundreds of people and the support for constitutional change was strong. It was also clear that the reforms most favored by the majority in that room would be those making it easier to raise taxes and pass the budget.
The Orange County crowd, a bit smaller in numbers to Sacramento, also brought out people who agreed California governance was a mess and needed reform. However, what to fix and how to fix it took on a different hue.
Color it orange, shading toward red.
California: No Love for Jobs
Politics, like romance, involves interest, commitment, and an active pursuit. Unfortunately, for California, there seems to be no love for private sector jobs. If California intends to recover from its own economic and fiscal problems, problems that started before the national recession, then the California Legislature needs to show some interest and action to retain employers and encourage new employers to come to the state.
The advertising campaigns by other states are gaining a lot of attention and even generating responses from our elected officials. These states are clearly interested in luring California companies to relocate to their state. They use the national surveys of business leaders that rate California as one of the worst states for business. California leaders are responding to this perception problem by denying that quality jobs are leaving the state and claiming that once the national recession is over, California will once again become the magnet for companies that want to build and produce. However, the facts just do not support that contention.
Give the economy a boost by supporting California Wine Month
It’s not often that the responsible thing to do is eat, drink and be merry.
But this September, one of the most sensible things you can do to support the state’s tourism economy is to take advantage of more than 75 California Wine Month special offers. Whether it be enjoying a gourmet getaway at a California inn, a special winemaker dinner, a unique wine country tour or event, or a special menu at a local hotspot — you can enjoy the incredible lifestyle we often take for granted without stressing your wallet.
California is the leading destination in the U.S. for wine and food travel, which is not surprising. After all, the Golden State offers more than 2,800 wineries and 108 American Viticultural Areas, which produce more than 90 percent of American wine and are responsible for $18.5 billion in U.S. retail wine sales and nearly $1 billion in U.S. wine exports. This, combined with the fact that we’re one of the top agricultural producers in the U.S., makes us a playground for the culinary arts, which translates to a gourmet paradise for foodies yearning for a deeper connection with California’s great wine and fresh produce.