Five Contests to Watch on Election Night
Yes, yes. The gubernatorial and U.S. Senate primaries look like snoozers. Which is why one must dig a little deeper for election night intrigue.
In that spirit, here are five results to watch on election night to keep things interesting:
1. Abel Maldonado vs. the top two primary. Who wins a higher percentage of the vote — Maldonado in the Republican primary for lieutenant governor or the measure he spawned, Prop 14?
Why Prop 15 is Good for the Public’s Interest
California has among the weakest campaign finance rules of any
state in the country. As a result, 97% of the time in our last general
elections the candidate who raised the most money was elected, and
nearly all of the money came from big donors who gave more than $250 a
piece. In today’s economy only well-healed interests can afford to
have that kind of influence.
When big money funds elections and big money decides who wins, is it
any wonder that legislators listen to big money interests instead of
their constituents back home? To get California back on track, we need
to change the way we finance campaigns to put elected officials out of
the fundraising game.
Proposition 15 repeals existing barriers to campaign finance reform and
establishes a Fair Elections pilot program of public financing for
Secretary of State elections. Candidates would qualify by showing broad
grassroots support. They would then be barred from raising any private
campaign funds and instead receive a limited amount of public funds for
their campaigns.
An Open Letter to District Attorneys Jan Scully and Ed Jagels
In response to Monday’s piece, "The Evidence is Clear: Steve Cooley is Right Choice for AG," by Sacramento County District Attorney Jan Scully and Kern County District Attorney
Ed Jagels.
Dear Jan and Ed,
It is unfortunate that you let your good names be used by Steve Cooley’s campaign hacks to distort my record in the article published over your names on the Fox and Hounds website this morning. Jan-we’ve worked together on the Masters in Law program for prosecutors that I established at Chapman with the collaboration of the California District Attorneys Association, and you know that the breadth of my relevant experience is much broader than the article attributed to you conveys.
Ed, your own brother is supporting my candidacy after hearing about the significant constitutional appellate experience I will bring to the office of Attorney General, including involvement in over 50 cases before the Supreme Court of the United States-experience that no other candidate in the race, Democrat or Republican, has.
HJTA & CA Pension Reform Win Another One for Taxpayers
As campaigns were busy heading
into their final GOTV weekend on Friday, the ever-vigilant watchdogs –
Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association (HJTA) and California Pension
Reform – were winning another one for the gipper.
HJTA and CA Pension Reform struck pay dirt on Friday in the battle
against out-of-control pensions, as a Judge ordered the Orange County
Employee Retirement System (OCERS) to turn over public records
detailing lavish government employee pensions. As a result, the O.C.
retirement system must release the names, gross pension amounts (and
believe me, they are gross), and the last employing agency from which
the worker retired.
HJTA’s crack attorney Tim Bittle represented Marcia Fritz in the case.
Many know Marcia from her tireless work on behalf of Taxpayers to shed
light on California’s runaway pension crisis over the past year.