What now for Meg and her Money?
Another wealthy candidate has failed to gain political office in California and you have to wonder what Meg Whitman will do now when it comes to politics and public affairs. Will she pull an Al Checchi, one time Democratic candidate for governor, and chalk up her run for the state’s top spot as an interesting experience and move on, making an occasional newsworthy comment now and again, or will she stay in the political game one-way or another?
I don’t know Meg Whitman well and don’t presume to know what she is thinking about her future in politics, but given who she is and what she recently endured during the campaign, there are certainly many ways she could stay involved in California politics if she so chooses.
If Whitman is considering a future run for office she might establish a record of working on public issues and coming up with solutions for California’s many problems. This suggests perhaps funding a think tank or financially supporting on-going efforts on reform, such as those being conducted by California Forward or the newly announced Think Long Committee funded by fellow billionaire Nicolas Berggruen.
The Benefits of Bilingual Polling
Pardon me while I trumpet our poll’s accuracy.
According to the secretary of state’s office, the semi-official results of the races for governor and the U.S. Senate give Jerry Brown a 12-point victory over Meg Whitman and Sen. Barbara Boxer a 9-point edge over Carly Fiorina in the Nov. 2 elections.
As has been reported, of the 14 pre-election polls released within 10 days of the vote, the two that came closest to predicting the actual outcomes were the USC College/Los Angeles Times and Field polls. The most accurate poll on the top two races was the USC/L.A. Times October poll, which had Brown 13 points ahead and Boxer up by 8 points.
First Evidence that “Green Jobs” were a White Lie
Didn’t the opponents of California’s Proposition 23 promise there would be a Green jobs revolution if they got their way?
Just one day after environmental advocates achieved victory in protecting their $140-billion Energy Tax at the ballot box, one of California’s prominent solar companies announced plans to close its solar panel factory and lay off workers in California. According to Todd Woody at the New York Times, that’s not all. The Silicon Valley solar company also declared they will cancel plans for further expansion to a second, new facility in California.
Wait, weren’t we supposed to become the perfect market for Green jobs?
Mostly Good News On California Pensions
Cross posted CalWatchdog.com
Those of us who applauded the national backlash against the Obama administration’s big-government overreach have been straining to find good news in California, which defied the national trends by electing a slate of liberal Democrats and approving an initiative that makes it easier for the state’s Democrats to raise taxes and pass budgets without Republican help.
To make matters more depressing, a much-celebrated city initiative in San Francisco to rein in the crushing costs of pensions was handily defeated on Tuesday. The city’s progressive Democratic public defender, Jeff Adachi, sponsored Proposition B because public employee pensions were sapping the life out of other programs. I saw a grand opportunity to build a coalition between conservatives/libertarians and old-fashioned liberals who understand that lush and underfunded pensions threaten their values, too.