With Redistricting and Top-Two Primary, Republicans Likely Will Decide Which Veteran Democrat Goes Back to Congress in CD 30
The combination of
a newly drawn congressional district in a heavily Democratic area along with
California’s experimental top-two primary probably means Republican voters will
determine whether Congressman Howard Berman or Congressman Brad Sherman will
represent the newly drawn 30th Congressional District.
Fourteen year
Congressional veteran Sherman will likely face off with Berman, who has been in
Congress twice as long, unless either one decides to seek a different seat,
which appears unlikely.
The two
heavyweights have plenty of connections to the San Fernando Valley where the
new seat is drawn. They each have big
name supporters in their corner. Sherman recently touted the endorsement of
former President Bill Clinton while Berman received fundraising support from
the DreamWorks trio of Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen.
Assembly to decide on future of strong budget reforms
It is now up to members of the
California Assembly to decide whether two of California Forward’s important fiscal
reforms will move forward.
Yesterday, the Assembly
Budget Committee approved SB 14
(performance-based budgeting) and SB 15 (multi-year
fiscal forecasting), which will bring a new budgeting system to California that
increases stability, focuses on program results and looks to the future.
AmericanJobCreators.com Dispatches from the Road
Editor’s Note: Congressman Darrell Issa has staff from his Oversight and Government Reform Committee in California right now meeting with local job creators at their places of work to hear their stories of how federal regulations are impacting their ability to hire/grow/provide for their families.
Businesses were selected from among the nearly 1500-and-counting participants who’ve logged into www.AmericanJobCreators.com to tell Congress how they’ve been bearing the burden of federal regulation.
This is the first in what will be a series that gives a real-life look at what federal regulations mean for California’s Job Creators.
The White House announced a host of initiatives designed to
save American businesses $10 billion over five years. The target for
the savings? Overly burdensome federal government regulations, which
cost small business owners as much as $10,500 per employee. The news
is welcome for job creators struggling to survive in the Obama
Economy, and shows that months of House Republican efforts to shine a
light on these job killers are yielding gains for American families
and businesses.
State Government Must Enact Meaningful Pension Reform
UPDATE: AB 1247 unanimously passed the Assembly and heads to the Governor’s Desk for signature
Just like local governments throughout California, it is clear that state government must enact meaningful pension reform, and it must happen soon. In many ways, the current system is unsustainable. It’s costing taxpayers billions of dollars, and it threatens stable, secure retirement for workers over the long term. The required employer contribution rate for the State Miscellaneous Tier 1 plans has gone from 0% in 2000-2001 to 19.92% in 2010-2011.
While the debate continues over how best to reform our state pension system, I have proposed a first step to reform the existing system by providing greater transparency and pave the way for broader reforms moving forward.
Regardless of our positions on pension reform, we should all agree on the need for greater transparency. Opening up the books is a valuable first step that will enable lawmakers and policy makers to better understand how the pension system is performing, and how it might impact the contributions of governments and their employees in the future.
Remembering “Gib” Marguth – A True Leader in State Government
Gilbert R. "Gib" Marguth, Jr. was born in Oregon in
1934. He passed away a few days ago
after a 9-year battle with leukemia and lymphoma at age 77.
Assemblyman Marguth represented the 15th Assembly
District with distinction in the 1980’s.
He was a straight, common sense talker with a rye sense of humor and a
smile that lit up any room he was in. He
served as Mayor of Livermore and also on the Zone 7 Water Board locally and
left the Assembly due to appointment as the State’s Deputy Superintendent of
Public Instruction.
I had the chance to work with Assemblyman Marguth this past
year when he attended several of our events with former Assembly Leader Martin
Garrick in the Brentwood and Walnut Creek area. I didn’t know "Gib" well but I
wish I had known him better. He was a
gracious gentleman who enjoyed people and believed that public service was tied
to representative government. He was the
embodiment of a true public servant.