Author: Chandra Sharma

By all accounts, the California Republican Party State Convention this past weekend was a successful one – Republicans from throughout California packed into the Sacramento Hyatt to do their part in setting the direction of a party that was thrust into a rebuilding mode after getting trounced in the November elections. This past weekend was a stark contrast from the September convention in Anaheim – one of the most uneventful and under-attended conventions in a long while according to a number of party veterans.

Most visible throughout the weekend was the conservative wing of the party, out in full force to voice their disapproval of those legislators who broke their anti-tax pledges to join Democrats in passing a budget laden with tax increases. Attendees at the convention’s general session overwhelmingly voted to discipline those who broke ranks, denying them any party funding in the 2010 election cycle. Whisper campaigns spread about possible primary challengers for those who would be up for reelection.

Some Odds and Ends from the past week:

• New York Governor David Patterson is proposing that his state adopt an iTax to deal with their growing deficit. You might recall that we examined this bad idea ourselves in CA not too long ago.
   
• Is there a bias against women in elected office among California Republicans? The SF Chronicle seems to think so as they examine Meg Whitman’s run for Governor.
   
• Freedom Watch, a conservative watchdog group, has in an attempt to have details of how the first $350 billion of the financial services bailout was spent.
   
• A UC San Diego professor has developed a new technology that might play a huge role in the expansion of wireless broadband in the coming years.
   

It’s beginning to look like an NFL return to Los Angeles within the next two years is but a formality as the City of Industry Planning Commission has approved developer Ed Roski’s plan for a privately financed stadium and retail complex. The plan is now set to go before the Industry City Council in two weeks, where it will likely be approved. I wrote in greater detail about the project and its likelyhood of success this past June — CA will benefit overall as Roski and NFL move toward LA Stadium deal.

In related news – Citizens Against the Stadium, a group formed in opposition to the project in the neighboring City of Walnut, has initiated recalls of the city’s newly sworn in Mayor and a City Councilwoman for not publicly opposing the stadium project. Am I the only one who thinks it’s a bit crazy to see people opposed to a private investment likely in excess of a billion dollars into their local economy, particularly during a recession?

Some other odds and ends from the past week:

Some odds and ends from the past week:

• A thoughtful commentary from Debra Saunders of the San Francisco Chronicle as we approach the conclusion of George W. Bush’s presidency: Bush showed U.S. is no paper tiger
   
• Insurance Commissioner and GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Steve Poizner (via FlashReport): COMMON SENSE GOVERNMENT: DOING MORE WITH LESS
   
• More detail on the hardships faced by California homeowners via the San Jose Mercury: California residents among those with highest homeownership burden
   
• Environmental regulations taking effect amid tough economic times? Los Angeles Times: California emission waiver looms for carmakers

The Bee reported yesterday that the state has terminated its 2006 contract, with a going rate of $69 million, for the modernization of the state’s payroll and personnel computers. $25 million of the contract was already fulfilled at the time of termination.

It’s clearly a good thing to see the state hold a vendor accountable for not doing their job properly. The part that gets me is the company in question, BearingPoint, is based in Virginia. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for interstate commerce and saving money by going to a low bid, but could we seriously not find one company in California, the technology capitol of the world, to handle modernizing our state’s aging computer systems?

The performance of the Virginia firm was clearly deficient given the recent ‘computer troubles‘ we’ve seen from payroll and personnel, but performance aside, the state should not be sending $69 million out of the California economy when that same investment can be made within our own state, particularly within these troubling economic times.

Here are some odds and ends from the past week:

• Fox&Hounds Editor Joel Fox is quoted in Debra Saunders’ column on the state budget.
• FlashReport speculaates about California Republican Party Chairman Ron Nehring making a possible push for RNC Chairman: Is Ron Nehring Going National?.
• The Hill reports that Governor Schwarzenegger is ready to help President-elect Obama, but thus far is denying that he will accept a cabinet position in an Obama administration.
• An article in the Wall Street Journal tells of a Republican effort to challenge aspects of McCain-Feingold, and speculates on how that legislation may have ironically hurt Senator McCain’s campaign.

After gaining mention yesterday by announcing his opposition to the lottery proposal in this year’s budget deal (first reported here on F&H by Joel Fox), CA State Treasurer Bill Lockyer made waves earlier today by announcing his support of Proposition 11, the Schwarzenegger-backed redistricting measure.

Lockyer spokesman Tom Dressler is quoted by Capitol Alert as saying, "allowing the Legislature to set its own district boundaries presents an untenable conflict of interest, and on that principle he supports Prop. 11."

Although the measure has gained the backing of a handful of Democrats, most notably Governor Gray Davis and former State Controller Steve Westly (who blogged about his support for the measure here on Fox&Hounds in June), Lockyer has become the first statewide elected Democrat to endorse the measure.

Governor Schwarzenegger’s recently released positions on the election’s twelve ballot measures have been added to the Fox&Hounds Endorsement Grid. Positions taken by the San Diego Union-Tribune editorial board have been added as well.

The Fox&Hounds Endorsement Grid has been updated to include positions from Senator Tom McClintock, the Orange County Register, the California Manufacturers & Technology Association and the San Diego Tax Fighters.