What $111 million will get you

According to most recent Field Poll, all of that money will get you 75% of the Republicans and only 38% of the Decline-to-States.

Running at 41% of likely voters for both Brown and Meg, you must conclude that the ROI on such an investment is far too high for comfort.

Advantage Jerry. He has yet to spend and understands that timing is everything.

Meg and her nose

From the Brown campaign:

How is Zapf paying for it all?

She's out of default but what is she doing for a living?

From Dave Maass at CityBeat:

City Council candidate Lorie Zapf is no longer in default on a home loan according to records filed with the San Diego County Recorder’s Office.

As CityBeat originally reported (here and here), Wells Fargo filed a notice of default (often called a foreclosure notice) against Zapf’s home in Clairemont. According to the March document,  Zapf and her husband Eric had not made their mortgage payments in about six months.

At the time, the campaign said the Zapfs were renegotiating the home loan and that these notices of default were just part of the process. Experts disagreed, however, as the Zapfs predicted would happen, the notice of default was removed.

The document is called a Notice of Rescission and it was filed with the Recorder on August 27.

The question now is how are the Zapfs paying their mortgage.  Although Lorie Zapf describes herself as a small business woman, her company, Zapf & Associates, was dissolved in April.

Click here for the article.

Brown Campaign ad is up

Finally!

How is Zapf making her mortgage payments?

Inquiring minds what to know what it is that Lorie Zapf does for a living.

See CityBeat

The longer she remains silent, the larger a campaign issue this becomes.

Boxer vs. Fiorina Senate Debate Watch Party

Bamboo Lounge - 1475 University Ave. San Diego, CA 92103

Don't miss the first and ONLY televised debate between Democratic U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer and her Republican challenger and former CEO of Hewlett Packard, Carly Fiorina.

What does Lorie Zapf do for a living?

For someone who claims to care about business, it looks like she should find one.

From CityBeat:

City Council candidate’s small business was dissolved months ago
District 6 candidate Lorie Zapf listed only one business interest: “Zapf & Associates, Inc.,” a corporation engaged in “consulting, creative, sales” activities. She listed herself as the president and CEO.

CityBeat has learned that Zapf & Associates Inc. has gone out of business.
According to records on file at the California Secretary of State’s office, the corporation was dissolved on April 6, 2010, which means it no longer exists. The corporation had been registered to Zapf’s home address in Clairemont—the same address against which a bank filed a “notice of default” in March that said she and her husband, Eric, were behind on their mortgage payments by several months.

And
On the campaign trail—and on the ballot—Zapf describes herself as a legal advocate and a small-business owner. However, it is unclear what happened to her small business and what, exactly, she now does for a living.

Zapf has also publically described herself as the regional director for Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse, a non-profit organization that advocates for tort reform. This position was not disclosed on her Form 700 (as is usually required) and instead Zapf listed CALA as one of her company’s sources of income.

Sudberry and Kvaric know how to pick their candidates. "So long a they look good on camera, there's no need to vet them." Gotta love these conservative values.

California Democratic Party To File Complaint Against Shady Whitman Front Group “Small Business Action Committee”

From the CDP:

SBAC Using Its 501(c)(4) Status to Hide Donors While Engaging in 527 Advocacy

Sacramento – The California Democratic Party today announced it will file an official complaint with the Internal Revenue Service against a group supporting Republican Meg Whitman’s run for governor by waging dishonest attack ads against Jerry Brown. The complaint will allege that the “Small Business Action Committee” is spending hundreds of thousands more on political activities than is permitted under its 501(c)(4) status, and that as a possible consequence, SBAC may have to disclose the identity of its donors who are currently anonymous.

“If Meg Whitman and her Wall Street cronies want to fund a dishonest and deceitful ad that’s certainly their business,” said John Burton, Chairman of the California Democratic Party. “But they do not get to abuse the tax system to do so. People have a right to know who’s behind these sleazy ads.”

The “Small Business Action Committee” endorsed Meg Whitman just two days after receiving a $10,000 check from her campaign.

SBAC’s treasurer, James Lacy, is the co-founder of the National Campaign Fund, which runs the website ExposeObama.com , a site that devotes significant space to “news” and commentary questioning the validity of President Obama’s birth certificate and citizenship by relying on the thoroughly discredited claim that the President was not born in the United States.

San Diego Realtors reconsider their endorsement of Zapf

From Jim Abbot at the Gay and Lesbian Times:

Like Lucille Ball after any number of harebrained schemes gone awry, The San Diego Association of Realtors (SDAR) “has some ‘splainin’ to do” over its recent endorsement in the Sixth District San Diego City Council race of on-the-record mega-hater Lorie Zapf.

As reported by SD Citybeat reporter Justin MacLachlan on March 9, 2010, Republican Zapf’s opinions range from goofy to illegal given the protected status of GLBT Californians. Here are excerpts from emails she wrote to notorious “ex-gay” James Hartline.

“I absolutely want to keep homosexuals out of public office and not be allowed to influence our schools, textbooks, altering marriage, children and on and on.”

“...I do believe homosexuality is a sin. I have three homosexual first cousins. I love them all and would ‘be seen’ in a photo with them. I believe they all live in sin and frankly all are very unhappy people and had horrible childhoods as well. “

“...for whatever reason God allowed people to choose homosexuality. So there must be a reason for it, although I don’t get it, like so may (sic) other things that don’t make sense.”

And

I thought nothing more of it until Friday afternoon, when I suddenly recalled the recent disagreeable money solicitation Zapf inflicted upon me. Having not yet seen her hater-stripes, I politely confessed that I had already endorsed a competitor to which she snapped, “I guess you really don’t care about your business, do you?” Before I could advise this total stranger of my 25 years as an agent/broker and of my years of volunteer service to the profession, she showed me… by hanging up. I guess Zapf’s skin is as thin as her qualifications.

SDAR’s leadership must rescind Zapf’s endorsement. The Realtor imprimatur cannot be applied to a candidate who hasn’t the faintest notion of equality, especially when a strict Code of Ethics and a commitment to Equal Housing Opportunity guide everything we do as Realtors.


So only Zapf cares about business? That's not very business-like.

Irony and Zapf

From Tom Blair at the UT:

Lorie Zapf, in a tough campaign for San Diego City Council, cites her experience as local director of Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse, which aims to stop frivolous lawsuits. Now, her opponent’s backers are citing her experience with lawsuits, too. According to Howard Wayne’s camp, Zapf and her husband filed nine lawsuits between 1992 and 2002 — including two against her in-laws. Says Zapf, conceding the nine suits, “We’ve never filed a frivolous or abusive lawsuit. These were business disputes, and that’s what courts are for.” The suits against her in-laws? “They were disputes over the value of shares in our company. And they were very painful to the family.”

Of course. Everyone who files a lawsuit will say their lawsuits have merit. I'm willing to bet the average San Diegan doesn't have nine lawsuits under their belt especially if they direct a group dedicated to reducing the number of lawsuits filed.

A definition of irony is "the full significance of a character's words or actions are clear to the audience or reader although unknown to the character."

I think that sums up Lorie on this issue.

Burton Nominates GOP Senate Candidate Carly Fiorina for Hypocrite of the Year Award

From the CDP:

CDP Chairman John Burton released the following statement:

If there is an award for Hypocrite of the Year, Carly Fiorina has laid claim to it after her shameless performance at the GOP convention this weekend in San Diego.

It’s simply amazing to hear talk of “job creation” coming from someone who is directly responsible for laying off 33,000 workers at Hewlett Packard during her disastrous tenure as CEO. The only jobs she created were in India and China where she outsourced thousands of American jobs.

Fiorina has no credibility on the issue of jobs, and even less on the issue of job creation. California voters know that we can’t afford Fiorina’s brand of failed-CEO leadership and backroom dealing.

Statement of California Democratic Party Chairman John Burton on the Passing of Latino Civil Rights Pioneer Mario Obledo

From the CDP:

Mario Obledo will be remembered as a tireless advocate for justice and equality whose contributions had a direct impact on the lives of millions of Latinos in the United States. As founder of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF), the Hispanic National Bar Association, and the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, he leaves behind a lasting legacy of advancement and accomplishment that continues to benefit all Americans.

Mario never stopped fighting, and his place among the great American civil rights champions was assured long before President Clinton awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1998.

Our condolences go out to his wife and his nine brothers and sisters.

Bounties

It says a lot when the only way Republicans can register voters is by paying them.

From KPBS:

The California Republican Party is paying out $5 bounties for each validated new registration.

San Diego's Democratic Party chair, Jess Durfee, doesn't think the county is likely to go red this year though. And even if it did, he said registration bounties can't ensure new voters are dedicated to one party.

"I always question the loyalty of a voter who is registered by somebody who is getting a heavy bounty like that because there's an awful lot of coercion coming from the person doing the registration," he said.

Meg Whitman says she would defend Proposition 8

From Capitol Alert:

Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman said this afternoon that if elected governor, she would defend Proposition 8, which prohibits same-sex marriage, by appealing a recent federal court ruling declaring the proposition unconstitutional.

And
“The issue right now is, as I understand is 'Will Proposition 8 have the appropriate support to actually make an appeal to the circuit court of appeals?' " Whitman said. "And I think the governor, the attorney general today has to defend the constitution and has to enable the judicial process to go along and has to enable an appeal to go through. So if I was governor, I would give that ruling standing to be able to appeal to the circuit court."

Statement of California Democratic Party Chairman John Burton on Court Ruling Overturning Prop 8 Marriage Ban

“Ninth Circuit Judge Vaughn Walker upheld the constitution and thus made the right decision in overturning Proposition 8, the ban on same-sex marriage. For Californians fighting for equality and the thousands of same-sex couples who have been striving for the basic right to marry their partner, this was also the morally correct decision. Prop 8 was nothing more than a divisive and mean-spirited way to elevate one class of people above another.

When it comes to fighting for constitutional rights, equality and fairness, Democrats have been at the forefront of the battle. We relish in this hard fought victory and celebrate that as Californians we have reached another milestone in securing equal rights for all.”

# # #

Senator Feinstein Statement on Proposition 8 Case

This was released yesterday.

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today issued the following statement in response to Judge Vaughn Walker's ruling that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional:

"This is an enormous victory for the equal rights of gays and lesbians. Judge Vaughn Walker's ruling today confirmed what many of us had felt was clear all along: that it is unconstitutional to take away the rights of gays and lesbians to enter into the institution of marriage.

Most likely this verdict will be appealed and will go to the Supreme Court. The journey is not over, but today is a day to celebrate this historic victory for equal marriage rights. This is very good news."


# # #

Statement of California Democratic Party on Court Ruling Overturning Same-Sex Marriage Ban

Today’s ruling is a victory for equality and an affirmation for all Californians who believe that our state must never be party to keeping committed, loving couples apart. This is but the latest victory in a long march toward full equality that has yet to be realized for the majority of LGBT couples and families in the United States. California Democrats will continue to fight on the side of basic fairness and equality under law until the right to marry is extended to all couples.

Jess Durfee
Southern California Chair, LGBT Caucus
California Democratic Party

Does Meg’s Money Matter?

Meg Whitman has spent nearly $100 million so far to become the next Governor.

Jerry Brown has spent $663,000 with $23 million in the bank.

Any other candidate would be down by at least 10pts if they had to endure the attacks that Meg has launched against Jerry. Yet the polling numbers aren’t moving much.

I don’t believe that Brown can win by standing still, but he’s doing great so far.

Wayne gets $17K from the SDCDP

From Today’s UT:

After complaining about a loophole that allowed the local Republican Party to give $20,000 to a City Council candidate, the San Diego County Democratic Party did the same thing just before the window of opportunity closed.

The party gave $17,000 to District 6 council candidate Howard Wayne on June 16 ahead of the city formally adopting a $1,000 limit on political party contributions.


Good job, Dems! About time the SDCDP does something real to help their candidates besides supplying volunteers. The SDGOP didn’t do the same for Zapf after the election. If the local Dems continue acting like this, they may become a real force in this city. Stay tuned.

Frye wins

The battle isn’t over but the Voice of San Diego has summed up what happened last week:

Their 2005 campaign, for all its hoopla and circumstance, eventually became a rather unromantic affair. It was a battle of financial plans, after all.

Frye chose a more radical approach of the two. She wanted to stop paying what the city attorney had said were illegal pension boosts and ask voters to give her authority to go around the City Council and unilaterally negotiate with unions and put the city in bankruptcy. Her goal: Have the clout and authority to put a comprehensive reform package of labor cuts and a temporary sales tax on the 2006 ballot.

Sanders on the other hand disavowed taxes as a solution and seized on Frye's tax plan accordingly. He wanted to streamline, outsource, renegotiate with unions and wait for a judge to decide the legality of employee pension boosts.

The strategies underscored a subtle but key difference between the two politicians: Frye saw a systemic problem that needed a shock to the system. Sanders saw a single problem that could be addressed through incremental change.

But, in the end, it was the mayor that got the ball rolling on a comprehensive reform package a month ago, though he didn't publicly admit it until after he had given up hope.

Sanders would rather be popular than effective. It’s nice to see Frye finally wield her power in a grand way.

Vargas Victory Speech

From Capitol Alert:

"The time has come to take a stand -- to blaze a bold new trail and once again make California the state of possibilities.


"I know we can do this if we work together.


"As one of 10 children, born and raised on a small farm, I leaned from my parents at a young age that anything is possible and that no dream is too big if you work hard to achieve it...


"As your senator, I will passionately promote policies that reflect a vision for the future in which we measure our progress not merely in the quantity of our goods but in the quality of our lives - the purity of the air we breathe and the water we drink; the safety of our streets and the excellence of our schools and healthcare system.


"Thank you once again for joining me in this cause. Let's win in November and turn California around."

Councilmember Donna Frye and Former Candidate Steve Hadley Announce Endorsement of Howard Wayne

July 1, 2010


(San Diego, CA). District 6 Councilmember Donna Frye and her Chief of Staff, Steve Hadley, a former District 6 candidate, announced today that they are endorsing Howard Wayne to replace Frye on the council.

“We have a very clear choice in this race,” said Frye. “Howard is a long-time member of this community, a Deputy Attorney General and a legislator who has already proven his commitment to us. Lorie Zapf, in contrast, has shown herself to be intolerant and to lack the kind of financial management skills it takes to run a large City.”

Steve Hadley also expressed confidence in Howard Wayne and concern about the direction Zapf might take the City. “This is a critical time for San Diego,” he said. “We can’t afford any big mistakes in who we elect.”

Howard Wayne is running on a platform of improving City services through economic improvement, better fiscal management and pension reform.

Howard Wayne has served the public throughout his professional career as a San Diego area California State Assembly Member and as a California Deputy Attorney General. A San Diegan since early childhood, Howard attended Marvin Elementary School, Lewis Junior High School, Hoover High School, San Diego State University, and University of San Diego. He has lived in San Diego Council District 6 neighborhoods for 38 years.

The Problem with Better Courts Now

This year, a group called “Better Courts Now" put up four candidates to challenge sitting judges on the California Superior Court in San Diego. The challengers claim to be running to impose what they consider “Christian values” on the courts. An AP story reported one of the challengers claimed that “God has called upon us to do this only with the judiciary.”

The incumbent judges all won handily against these challenges.

I recently debated a supporter of Better Courts Now on a local morning news show.The approach of Better Courts Now, to impose a specific religious perspective on judicial elections, seems inappropriate to many observers. It’s unsettling to people of faith, myself included.

But why? In most elections for public office, we usually tolerate interest groups jockeying for influence. It’s a part of our pluralistic democracy. It’s just politics.

I accept that anything with an election is inherently political. But I do not believe that just because something’s inherently political, then every political act within it is fair game.

There are some campaign tactics that are inappropriate, even if they’re entirely legal under the system. For example, we object strongly to race-baiting, or spreading salacious and false rumors about candidates. Campaigns may be allowed to do so, but they still shouldn’t do so.

Similarly, it’s inappropriate for judicial candidates to assert that they’ll impose specific views on the administration of justice (religious or otherwise). The office is intended to be impartial and fair-minded.

The problem with Better Courts Now is that they are trying to bring in a specific narrow set of values to an office that is supposed to be neutral. Sure, judges are human beings, and they carry the same biases and weaknesses as all of us. But a judge has an obligation to strive for impartiality. Neutrality may ultimately be a fiction, but it’s a useful fiction.

Better Courts Now chucks the idea of impartiality out the window. The whole basis of their campaign, to impose a set of values on a body of neutral arbiters, is antithetical to the function of a judge. Voters are appropriately left to wonder who are these candidates running for judge, who so fundamentally misunderstand the very nature of the offices they seek.

The supporters of Better Courts Now also make the incongruous claim that judges who apply their particular set of religious and social values, are better able to render impartial legal decisions. This idea is inconsistent, if not incoherent.

A judicial activist is a judge that allows their own set of values to supersede other more legitimate legal policies. In the same breath, Better Courts Now claims they will prevent the imposition of personal values in the administration of justice, by imposing personal values in the administration of justice.

Voters don’t like this kind of double dealing, and they appropriately rejected it.

One week left: Predictions

Things always change the last week before the election. Today, this is where I see things:

San Diego City Council District 2 & 4 - Yawn
Faulconer and Young win. Finucane becomes the front-runner four years from now in D2.


San Diego City Council District 6 - Popcorn!
The egos of Kvaric and Sudberry have chained them to the flawed candidacy of Zapf. Thanks to the "gift" of $20K from the SD Republican Party, the Lincoln Club's oversized hit pieces and this being a Republican leaning primary, in spite of the candidate, Zapf gets dragged across the finish line into the runoff.

Wayne makes the runoff to take out face Zapf. With Labor focused in Chula Vista and the local Dem party tilting at the windmill that is the 4th Supervisorial seat, Wayne gets in the old-fashioned way; he worked at it. His relentless campaign should grab enough of the electorate to make it.

Hadley has the Donna-heads on his side but that's it. They will deny Wayne the outright win but will make it easier for him to unify the party in the fall. Hadley's natural volunteer base has fled for Whitburn and, as of this writing, his campaign has not shown much of a pulse since their SDSU interns graduated.

Tran has loaned herself $20K but it remains to be seen how she will apply this to campaign (more signs?). This is her best chance to make the runoff: five candidates and a wounded Republican frontrunner reduce the number of votes needed. It could happen.

Huckabone may receive more than single digits. He has been quiet during the Zapf brouhaha which implies that he is being the good soldier for a future shot at office. Keep your eye on this guy. With some direction and money, he could be dangerous.


San Diego City Council District 8 - Kettlecorn!
D8 is the the kind of place where the total votes garnered by the 3rd or 4th place finisher in D6 could win outright due to the low turnout numbers. Polls have been done showing Inzunza with a solid lead but his runoff opponent remains unknown. One poll has BD Howard as number two and in another it's Alvarez. UFCW launched a hit on BD but it may result in elevating Nick to an outright victory. With Felipe and Ben Hueso sharing resources and people, it appears unlikely that any prediction for the second spot can be credible.

What I will say is that he who has the better ground game will win.


State Assembly District 79 - Tequila poppers!
Conventional wisdom (the same wisdom that gave Peters the nod over Aguirre, Morrow a chance a against Sanders, etc) gives this to Hueso but he's never had to run against a class warrior like Quinones and an experienced veteran like Doyle. The Hueso camp has cobbled together an operation in the last month to compete with the other two which have been in operation for months.

It appears that he didn't realize he had to run a real campaign until May rolled around. Word on the street is that Hueso is planning a hit involving comments from some of Quinones's fellow boardmembers. Hueso also doesn't acknowledge Doyle probably because Doyle is set to take a chunk out of the votes that would be going to Hueso.

Either way, this race is turning into a streetfight between Ben and Pearl. I would have given this to Hueso but his inability to take the race seriously until the last minute may cost him. It will be close.


Prop G Chula Vista - Jaggersahots!
Talk about streetfights and close results. This will be decided by last minute voters and whichever side can yank people out who care about this in June. Chula Vistans have been flooded in the mail and on TV (watched MSNBC or the History Channel recently?). Labor needs to win this. Too close to call.


State Senate 40 - Vodka!
After sending and receiving Molotov cocktails, fire-bombs, and other incendiaries at eachother for months, the Salas and Vargas campaigns will reap the fruits of their labors. Will the insurance industry buy their seat for Vargas? Will Salas be able to raise her head to fight another day? Elements of this race had Spy-vs-Spy qualities.
Winner wins by 2-3 percentages.


Congressional District 50 - Peanuts
Emblem and Busby have been locking horns for over a year now. Emblem is running with Labor in an area where Labor is not popular. Busby gets it on name ID.


Extra! Republican Primary Congressional District 53 - Pretzls
This has been a fun one to watch! Fink gets it because she has good signs and is nowhere near as batty as her opponents.

SDUT picks up on Zapf mess

It's finally here:

Council candidate Zapf defaults on loan

Blog of San Diego picks up Zapf's "strategic fraud"

Blogger Pat Flannery tears apart Zapf's case.

Would Lorie Zapf bring "strategic fraud" to City Council?

And just where is the UT on this?

D6: Tran hits Zapf over Home Default

As the SDUT ignores the story about Lorie Zapf's inability to maintain financial discipline at home, Channel 10 News has picked up on it with quote from Kim Tran, one of her opponents and fellow Republican:

Regardless, Tran is questioning her opponent's judgment, especially since Zapf is campaigning on promises to bring fiscal responsibility, balance the budget and bring common sense back to City Hall.

"You spend the money you don't have," said Tran.

Check out the story here.

Zapf news blackout at the UT?

From the Voice of San Diego this weekend:

Unpaid Debt of the Week: If you're running for City Council on a platform of fiscal responsibility, it can't help your case to default on your mortgage. But will CityBeat's revelation about the tangled mortgage situation of Lorie Zapf, a leading candidate for City Council, actually damage her campaign? CityBeat's readership is small, so it may depend on whether bigger local media like the U-T jump on the story and keep it alive. Or her rivals could spread the news themselves.

I think the UT will ignore the story or run it when it can be buried with the rest of the campaign reporting. They did endorse her and it would be a poor reflection on the UT if they didn't research her background. After all, it is a matter of public record.

Zapf can't make ends meet

I don't like going personal in campaigns unless an element of the person's identification is used as a pillar of their campaign. Then it is fair game.

Lorie Zapf is running as a successful business-woman who is all about fiscal discipline.

From yesterday's CityBeat:

Publicly, Lorie Zapf is campaigning for San Diego City Council on a platform of fiscal responsibility. Privately, however, the Zapf family has defaulted on a loan that could result in the foreclosure of their home.

As of March 30, 2010, Lorie and Eric Zapf were six months behind in payments on a $230,000 line of credit, according to a Notice of Default (NOD) that Wells Fargo filed with the San Diego County Recorder’s Office. It’s the second loan the Zapfs have taken out using the house as collateral.

And there's more. Read the article.

Running for office is never easy but you should make sure you have a home to go back to before setting out on such a life-altering journey. Especially with a family.

DeMaio, Sudberry, and Krvaric really know how to pick their candidates.

District 6 for Sale!

District 6 for Sale!


Republicans trying to buy, hijack, or steal elections is nothing new.
This from today’s UT:


A federal appeals court has lifted a ban placed on political party donations in the city of San Diego ahead of the June 8 election, which could open the door to unlimited party contributions to City Council candidates in the next few weeks.


The ruling is the latest in a lawsuit filed by the county Republican Party and others to change the city’s campaign finance laws, which they say are restrictive and infringe on free-speech rights.




Now the Republicans can do what their own candidates can’t seem to do for themselves: raise money. The more insidious side is now coordination between the parties and campaigns can go forth without regard to spending limits. Who benefits?


Made explicit in the Voice of San Diego:




It is clear who benefits the most from the decision.


Businesswoman Lorie Zapf, the endorsed Republican candidate vying to replace termed-out District 6 City Councilwoman Donna Frye, will receive a $20,000 contribution from the Republican Party prior to the election, Republican Party Chairman Tony Krvaric said.


"That's the first thing on the docket," Krvaric said.


Zapf is locked in a five-way primary fight and has $27,000 less in cash on hand than the Democratic Party's endorsed candidate, former state Assemblyman Howard Wayne. Also in the race are Frye's chief of staff Steve Hadley, businessman Ryan Huckabone and paralegal Kim Tran. If no candidate wins more than 50 percent of the June vote, then the top two finishers will compete again in November.


Political observers widely see the District 6 race as the only one this election cycle that could change the 6-2 advantage Democrats currently hold on the City Council. District 6 includes the city's Mission Valley, Clairemont, Kearny Mesa, Serra Mesa and Linda Vista neighborhoods.


So now a woman who thinks homosexuality is a sin and that supporters of hers, like Demaio, shouldn’t be in public office will be able to have her ground and mail campaign paid for by the Republican Party because she can’t do it herself.


All I can say is that you get what you pay for. It’s obvious that Zapf crumples before Huckabone in person and has been depending on others to do her campaigning for her. Tran signs are everywhere and Zapf is fading. Enter the egos of Krvaric and Sudsburry who don’t like the idea of having their handpicked choice cut to ribbons because she is so inept at running for office. They need something to show people that they back up their boasts. If that means filing lawsuits to benefit the regional director for Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse in order to buy the seat for her, so be it.


I hope Wayne kicks their collective asses. They so deserve it.

STEINBERG RESPONSE TO GOVERNOR'S MAY REVISION

STEINBERG RESPONSE TO GOVERNOR'S MAY REVISION

(SACRAMENTO) – Senate President pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) made the following comments today in response to the Governor’s May Revise:

I could speak for a long time about the past and where to point the finger.

I could talk about sledgehammers, and automobiles and torn up credit cards.

I could talk about blowing up boxes.

I could talk about one of many silly metaphors.

But I will leave it at this: I am disappointed that the Governor has chosen to surrender.

That he sees California as unfixable and that he proposes a budget that kills the economy and harms so many.

It is a non-starter.

If God forbid this budget became a reality, California would be the only state in the union to not have a safety net for children.

Leadership is not about blaming others. It’s about finding solutions to tough problems to preserve the state and its people.

In their comments throughout the day the Governor’s representatives have described the cuts he proposes as quote “terrible.”

I believe him …but his actions say it would be more terrible to delay $2.1 billion in corporate tax breaks than to save children, the elderly, and the most vulnerable.

His actions say it is more terrible to impose a tax on oil profits than complete elimination of county mental health services and child care.

He appears to have decided that the solutions are too difficult to achieve so he will accept these “terrible” cuts.

We refuse to wave the white flag.

California’s elected leaders- including myself- and the governor and the others need to stand up.

Given the choice between enacting $6 billion in cuts to services for the elderly, children and the disabled, or delaying corporate tax breaks, I’m for delaying corporate tax breaks.

Given the choice between cutting education by nearly $3 billion or seeking revenues from oil companies extracting oil in California, I’m for getting revenues from oil companies profiting handsomely in this state.

But I want to go beyond I think what you expect here which is sort of the give and take.…

And [provide a] the recitation of our genuinely held beliefs and philosophy.

I want to state my perspective on the overall situation very clearly.

In my view—having now my tenth year in the legislature, second year as leader, having served on numerous budget conference committees—we have come to the end of trying to prop up this failed structure.

There is no more triage.

The status quo is unsustainable.

Our government is not structured to quickly and effectively respond to an economic crisis of this magnitude.

We are so balkanized that the people don’t know who collects the taxes and who provides the services.

Yes we need revenue, and we will fight for revenue, but not to prop up this outdated structure.

We must use this crisis now, not next year, not another report, not another study.

We need to bring government closer to the people.

The inside term is “realignment.”

What it means to the people of California is that we must take many of these state programs that otherwise may be decimated, and give them to the locals and the school districts. Give them restored revenue and the ability to raise revenue themselves.

This is not theory. This is not academic. This is not a luxury.

Those who say – “too difficult, too complicated”, I challenge you to do this:

Bring forward an alternative that balances the budget, preserves essential public investments, and does not rely on gimmicks.

Finally, I do want to respond to one thing that the Governor highlighted in his comments about the tax structure.

I think we all agree that California’s tax structure needs updating. But to say that we are living through this budget crisis solely or primarily because of the tax structure is just plain wrong.

The Legislative Analyst said clearly that if we had adopted the Parsky Commission’s recommendations . . . revenue would actually drop $10 billion.

[The] Governor has this theory about GDP that he keeps talking about, but this is what we know about California:

Personal consumption in California has fallen by the largest percentage since 1980.

Home prices have plunged dramatically since 2007 from an average of $484,000 a home to $250,000.

The share of corporate income tax paid in California has fallen by nearly half since 1981.

So this idea that if our tax structure had only kept up with some phantom robust growth in our economy over the last couple of years . . .

This country, the world, and this state are living through the most precipitous drop in revenue, and it would be precipitous no matter what tax system we had.

The real answer here is we must restructure and realign this outdated structure that we have here in California and we need to provide the revenue to the entity that is.

Stop Wall Street Favors

From the CDP:

Tell Congress to stop doing favors for Wall Street, and pass the Stop Tax-Haven Abuse Act now! The Stop Tax-Haven Abuse Act would crack down on the use of offshore tax-havens, the abuse of tax shelters by the super wealthy, and make it more difficult to avoid taxes by funneling money through foreign corporations.

Here's the video.

Someone save the sheep!

They need help!

SD 40: Thuggary doesn’t play

The race between Salas and Vargas has been soiled for the last month ever since Salas began launching hit pieces against Vargas for being a tool of the insurance industry.

The Vargas camp responded with physical intimidation. From CityBeat:


Vargas dispatched several campaign staffers to crash Salas’ press conference—emphasis on “crash.” A skirmish between the two staffs resulted in one Salas worker falling, banging his head and taking a trip to urgent care, which the Salas campaign characterized as hospitalization in a press release sent immediately after the event.


Where I come from, boys get physical as a schoolyard response to an out of control situation. Press conferences aren’t out of control but making them such becomes the story. In other write-ups of this incident, the scuffle has been the lead to the make point that Salas was trying to make.


And more:

The Vargas campaign retaliated by e-mailing CityBeat several documents, including flyers accusing Salas of being “hypocritical and deceitful” because, over the course of her political career, she has accepted $75,000 from CJAC members.



We’d like to point out that a) that’s still roughly a 10th of what CJAC has spent on Vargas just this cycle, b) accusing your opponent of being just as corporate as you are is not a winning argument and c) replacing the first S in Salas’ name with a dollar sign is just weak.


Salas wins this one. The Vargas campaign’s attempt to thwart a story only made it larger.

GOP loses court bid to fund S.D. candidates

By Craig Gustafson,
Thursday, April 29, 2010 at 12:08 a.m.

A federal judge has rejected a push by the county Republican Party that would have allowed political parties to give money to San Diego City Council candidates ahead of the June 8 election.

Instead, parties will have to wait until late June when a council-approved measure takes effect that sets a cap on such contributions at $1,000 per election.

The judge’s decision Wednesday is the latest ruling in a case that could have wide-ranging implications for how local elections are run in San Diego County and across the country. The case began in December when a group of Republicans, including the local party, sued the city claiming its restrictive campaign finance laws were infringing on their free speech rights. Specifically, they targeted the city’s $500 limit on individual contributions to candidates and restrictions on when candidates can begin collecting and spending money on a campaign.

U.S. District Judge Irma Gonzalez shelved three of the city’s laws in a Feb. 16 ruling, most notably its ban on political party contributions. But she also said parties couldn’t donate money until the city set an appropriate limit.

The council voted Tuesday for the $1,000 cap, based on a recommendation from the Ethics Commission, which monitors city campaigns and helps shape election laws.

The Republican Party accused the city of dragging its feet and asked Gonzalez to lift her stay so it could help candidates immediately.

In her ruling Wednesday, the judge said she didn’t feel compelled to rush the city’s process of adopting new laws, which requires a second reading and a 30-day waiting period before going into effect. That process likely won’t be finished until late June, well after the coming election.

Joe La Rue, the attorney leading the case against the city, said he was disappointed with the judge’s decision because it “eliminated the ability of the party to do what the judge said they ought to be able to do.” He said the judge made it clear in court Tuesday that she felt uncomfortable lifting the stay immediately, a decision that would have allowed parties to donate unlimited amounts of money to candidates because no cap exists.

La Rue said his clients haven’t decided whether to appeal the decision. The rest of the lawsuit’s campaign finance challenges are expected to go to trial later this year.

D6: Republican Desperation

From this week’s CityBeat:

Strategy session

The Republican Party of San Diego County revealed its campaign strategy for the San Diego City Council District 6 race in a document filed last week in federal court.

The filing—a declaration from the party’s treasurer, April Boling—says the party wants to double candidate Lorie Zapf’s war chest with a $20,000 contribution, which would put her on equal footing as “frontrunner” (Boling’s words, not ours) Howard Wayne, a Democratic former Assembly member. The GOP plans to pay workers to go door-to-door on Zapf’s behalf and use its offices to phone-bank for the candidate.


What does it mean when the endorsed candidate of the GOP Central Committee, the Lincoln Club, and the Associated Builders and Contractors of San Diego cannot compete financially with the leading Democrat in the race? Two things come to mind:

1) The Republicans in San Diego can’t raise the money for Zapf which betrays a weakness at the heart of “machine” they wish to be.

2) The Republicans in San Diego don’t want to raise the money for Zapf which makes sense if she says hateful things and then denies ever saying them even when presented with evidence. Or files lawsuits when she’s representative of a lawsuit abuse group.

Kudos to Team Wayne for putting the Republicans in a position that they have to go to court to do what they cannot do politically; raise money for their candidate. So much for being opposed to an activist judiciary.


All of that is contingent on whether the court lifts the city’s restriction on donations from parties to candidates. The court already knocked down the rule but left it temporarily effective until the City Council approves new rules allowing donations with caps. That hasn’t happened, but the council was set to discuss it after our deadline on April 27.


As of yesterday, the City Council placed a limit of $1,000 per party per candidate.


“We are 110 percent committed to Lorie Zapf and will vigorously support her in every way that we can,” County GOP chair Tony Krvaric tells CityBeat—a silly remark, really, since it implies that the Republicans will violate any limit set by the city by 10 percent.


Given the desperation of the local GOP, violations of limits by 10% may be too kind.

D6: Zapf’s and DeMaio’s Troubles with Numbers

This CityBeat article sums it up fairly well. Carl’s agenda only involves advancing Carl and he seems to have found an easy ally in Zapf who also is very eager to please.


Number soup

San Diego City Councilmember Carl DeMaio earns a fistful of turds this week for introducing Lorie Zapf, a candidate for the open District 6 seat, on stage at the Fiorina event.

These turds aren’t because DeMaio’s a gay Republican and Zapf has made statements in the past that homosexuals should be kept from public office. No, this time it’s another form of hypocrisy: DeMaio, who’s backing a ballot measure to revamp the city’s contract-bidding system, prides himself on his number-crunching integrity, and Zapf has proven she’s willing to bend tax data for political points.

Here’s a statistic Zapf blurted out when it was her turn at the podium:

“Did you know the average American will be paying more in taxes this year than we spend on food, clothing and shelter combined?”

No, we did not know that—because it’s bullshit.

Zapf’s claim is a bastardization of a claim made by The Tax Foundation, a think tank based in Washington, D.C. By its calculations, the government will collect more in tax revenue this year than Americans, collectively, will spend on those basic necessities. The fact is, this has been the case since 1976.

But, because America’s tax system is progressive—the more you make, the higher your tax rate—an average cannot be accurately extrapolated, and any attempt at correlation is bogus. One cannot simply take the total for the nation and apply it to the individual citizen. If you could, you’d also be able to make claims like:

“Did you know that the average Californian will spend 40 hours in a state prison this year?”

“Did you know that the average Californian is 12.5 percent Asian?”

“Did you know the average Californian produces six barrels of crude oil per year?”

The Tax Foundation itself suggests that the average individual’s tax burden is about 26 percent. That’s still lower than the 28.5 percent of earnings the U.S. Department of Labor estimates the average American family spends on clothing, food and shelter.

SDCDP to Charge ROV and SDGOP with Violations over Postage Subsidy

Official Election Mail to Include Campaign Material at Taxpayer Expense

The San Diego County Democratic Party will be reporting a violation to the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) over the plans of the County Registrar of Voters to insert partisan campaign literature into the official sample ballots it will be mailing to Republican voters next month.

An obscure section of the state Elections Code allows a county party organization to pay to include a fundraising letter in the voter guide sent to that party’s voters. However, the San Diego Republican Party is exceeding the scope of the law -– in a way unprecedented in California –- by placing a full-color page with its slate of endorsements directly into the booklet that will be mailed at taxpayer expense.

Through their County Counsel, the all-Republican County Board of Supervisors authorized the Republican insert –- which praises the “leadership” of Supervisors Ron Roberts and Bill Horn, who are up for election on the same ballot.

After a recent lawsuit supported by the Democratic Party, a San Diego judge forced the Republicans to alter the format of their campaign insert, but allowed them to include it because they are paying for the additional cost of printing. An appeal, while likely, will come too late to affect the printing schedule.

However, the court did not address a different law under FPPC Regulations (Sections 18420 and 18420.1) that requires government agencies paying for campaign-related communications to report the value of their expenditure as a contribution.

The Republican Party would have to pay about $50,000 in postage alone to send its slate mailer to the voters who will receive the insert. Instead, the Party and its campaigns won’t pay a dime in postage –- thus the benefit they will be receiving is a clearly reportable contribution from the Registrar of Voters.

“If the County government is now in the business of sending partisan propaganda under its official seal, it must register as a campaign committee and report those contributions under California law like any other committee,” said Jess Durfee, Chair of the San Diego County Democratic Party.

“The intrusion of partisan politics into government-funded activity is not only an affront to the other candidates and propositions that will be on the ballot in these nonpartisan races,” added Durfee. “It is an outrage to the voters and taxpayers of San Diego County and a sickening blow to the integrity of our election system. We will pursue every recourse until it is stopped.”

# # #

D6: Before the Storm

Anyone with a political crystal ball should look at this race. This race could be ground zero for a hyper-partisan war in the fall. The elements are all here for political Superbowl showdown; no incumbent, a possible pick up for the Republicans, and a district that has more independent voters than the rest. Polling was done two weekends ago anticipating a Wayne-Zapf smackdown. We’ll see.

Zapf
The anointed Republican candidate looks good but has been doing herself no favors by dueling with CityBeat and hanging out at Teabagger rallies For those late to the game, Zapf said one thing about homosexuals and then claimed something else only to be proven wrong. As such, she’s been lying low and only shows up when she has to like the candidate forum at Clairemont H.S. She gained some sympathy after a joke by Hadley went wrong (he was booed) and lost it after a few seconds of silence in response to a question from Wayne about her public service. She’ll have ABC, the Lincoln Club, and the SD GOP all trying to buy the seat but it will be hard sell with this candidate.

Hadley
Donna’s COS has his work cut out for him. At the moment, Frye seems focused on defeating Strong Mayor and, with Whitburn making a run for Supervisor, Hadley’s natural allies and supporters don’t seem to be there. His sparring with Zapf was unexpected but necessary if he is going to establish himself as his own man and not Donna Frye II.

Wayne
For being the perceived front-runner, Wayne has been spared (so far) the back-and-forth that Zapf and Hadley appear to be doing. With the endorsements of the San Diego police, firefighters and League of Conservation Voters, all Wayne needs to do is keep on keeping on. He has the most money, the best endorsements and has been seen walking precincts. The only thing to fear is that Democrats will succumb to the “Marti Emerald Syndrome” where, like Marti, they assume this is a done deal and wake up the day after the election to discover the Democrat came in second.

Huckabone
This Republican has also been walking precincts and he seems to be gaining a following. He is not Zapf and he is willing to meet voters to make his case. His platform is simple and his signs are a bit much but he knows what he doesn’t know and, unlike Zapf, can speak beyond talking points. This race would be radically different had the GOP establishment gotten behind this guy.

Tran
Word on the street is that Tran, the woman who files yet doesn’t do anything to run for office, is walking precincts as well. With Zapf’s self-inflicted wounds it looks like both Huckbone and Tran are moving in. Can they topple Zapf? They lack the funds and resources but if they knock on enough doors, anything can happen.

District 8: The Never-ending Story

D8 has always attracted its share of characters. Maybe it’s the low voter turnout that allows anyone with a passable campaign to get elected. Maybe it’s the opportunity for graft because of the low levels of oversight. Maybe it’s the elusive change to build a machine.

Maybe there is something in the water. Whatever the reasons are here’s the roundup.

Huseo
Ben’s brother Felipe is campaigning on his family name. I say this because it is so prominent on his signs. Felipe is rough where Ben is smooth. He’s more personable than Ben and it’s convenient that they can share consultants and staff. It’s only a matter of whether Felipe can survive the Inzunza attack machine.

Inzunza
The family is out for blood. As they see it, Ben disrupted the establishment of a landed political dynasty. Now, creating an aristocracy in a democracy isn’t easy to pull off. Things happen (strippergate). As both the Inzunzas and Huesos know, real estate only gets you so far. At some point, you’ve got to pull the trigger. Nick’s doorhangers are nice and glossy although you can easily surmise that he never went to Vietnam. What will be fun to watch will be the piles of mail that will come flooding into mailboxes in the 8th. If the Inzunzas learned anything from Remer, it’s that over-saturation of mail won’t hurt your case, only your treasury.

Alvarez
As the family feud explodes onto the streets, only Alvarez has the room to capitalize on the bloodshed. He has made it into the ring and just needs to avoid direct hits by the other two and he could make the runoff. He’s scrappy and that may put him into the final.

Howard
Initially, I was ready to dismiss B.D. but he has been working the ground like nobody’s business. Granted, when you lack the funds you do what you can. He has gone places other candidates have avoided and, although he may not make the final, I think he’ll do well.

Lt. Gov Race Part II

On behalf of the Hahn Campaign:


TO: Interested Parties
FR: Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates
RE: Democratic Primary Voters Say Hahn is Better Running Mate for Brown than Newsom
DATE: April 6, 2010


A recent survey[1] shows that Democratic Primary voters throughout California understand that Janice Hahn will strengthen Jerry Brown's candidacy by providing a better-balanced ticket to face the Republican nominees in November. After hearing the statement below, 55 percent of Democratic Primary voters consider Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn a better running mate for Brown than her opponent, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom:

This year, Meg Whitman will likely to be the first female Republican nominee for Governor. In addition, Republicans are expected to nominate a Latino to run for Lieutenant Governor for the first time in 130 years, and their first-ever woman for the U.S. Senate. Some people think that with two women and a Latino candidate on the Republican ticket, Janice Hahn, a woman from Southern California, is a better running mate for Jerry Brown. Janice Hahn provides better balance for the Democratic ticket because Gavin Newsom and Jerry Brown are both white men from San Francisco.

This sentiment is shared across age, media, ethnicity, and ideology:

* 63 percent of Sacramento media market
* 55 percent of Los Angeles media market (representing 36 percent of the entire primary electorate)
* 62 percent of Men ages 18-49
* 61 percent of ages 75 and older
* 61 percent of Democrats ages 18-49
* 60 percent Democratic women 18-49
* 60 percent of African Americans
* 57 percent of Latinos
* 57 percent of Conservatives
* 55 percent of Liberals

And even

* 51 percent of San Francisco media market

Democratic Primary voters recognize that nominating Gavin Newsom, another San Francisco-based white male, will not help Jerry Brown win the gubernatorial election. A solid majority understands that Janice Hahn, a woman with a Southern California base and long family political history in Los Angeles County, will be a valuable asset to Jerry Brown's gubernatorial campaign in the November General election.

[1] Between March 31-April 1, 2010, Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates conducted 500 telephone interviews among likely June 2010 Democratic primary voters (including Decline to State registrants who are likely to vote in the Democratic Primary election). The margin of error for these results is +/-4.4 % at the 95% confidence level.

Lt. Gov Race Part I

From the Newsom campaign:

***PRESS RELEASE***
April 6, 2010


GAVIN NEWSOM ANNOUNCES ENDORSEMENT OF SENATOR DIANNE FEINSTEIN

Two-term Mayor of San Francisco Newsom endorsed for LG today by California's Senior Senator Dianne Feinstein
San Francisco, CA -- The Gavin Newsom for Lieutenant Governor campaign announced today the endorsement of California's senior Senator Dianne Feinstein. Feinstein was elected to the Senate in 1992, and she was Mayor of San Francisco for two terms.

"I'm proud and honored by Senator Feinstein's endorsement of my campaign for Lieutenant Governor," said Newsom. "As the first woman to serve as Mayor of San Francisco and the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate from California, Dianne Feinstein has been a trailblazer and a passionate advocate for Californians. Her tremendous accomplishments in environmental protection, public health, and safety have benefitted us all."

"Mayor Newsom's stellar record in my hometown of San Francisco proves his drive for innovative reform, smart budgeting in tough times, and his commitment to ensuring health and prosperity for every Californian," said Senator Feinstein. "We need his kind of solutions-based leadership in Sacramento more than ever to fulfill the promise of our great state."

Senator Feinstein joins the large and increasing number of key California leaders who endorse Mayor Newsom, including:

· U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

· State Senate President Darrell Steinberg

· Assembly Speaker John Pérez

· U.S. Representatives Mike Thompson, Judy Chu, Anna Eshoo, and Bob Filner

· State Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez

· State Senator Alex Padilla, Campaign Co-Chair

· State Senator Elaine Alquist

· State Senator Ellen Corbett

· State Senator Mark Leno

· State Assemblymember Mary Hayashi

· State Assemblymember Jerry Hill

· State Assemblymember Jared Huffman

· State Assemblymember Ira Ruskin

· State Assemblymember Sandré R. Swanson

· Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson

· Former Assembly Speaker Robert Hertzberg

· Former Lieutenant Governor and Assembly Speaker Cruz Bustamante

· Former State Senator and State Party Chairman Art Torres

Leading labor organization endorsing Newsom include: the United Farm Workers (UFW), the California Teachers Association (CTA), the California Nurses Association (CNA), United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Western State Council, and Northern California Carpenters Regional Council.

###

CDP Pre-Primary Endorsement Results

No real surprises except in the two hot races (79th Ad and the 40th SD) Here are the results from the balloting that took place last Saturday

Assembly Districts
76 – Atkins
77 – Mark Hanson
78 – Marty Block
79 – Going to the CDP Convention
Huseo fell 2 votes shy of the endorsement. Pearl Quinones and jack Doyle will face off with Ben next month in Los Angeles

Senate Districts
36 – Pal Clay
40 – Mary Salas. She took it 84 to 0 against Vargas with one No Endorsement.

Congressional Districts
51 – Bob Filner
52 – Ray Lutz
53 – Susan Davis

Zig Zag Zaph

This article from CityBeat is a classic. Featured is Lorie Zaph, the local Republican Central Committee and Lincoln Club choice for City Council in Donna Frye’s District 6.

http://www.sdcitybeat.com/cms/story/detail/zig_zag_zapf/9037/

A class act. Wayne should walk away with this one.

Jerry Brown: California needs a governor with knowledge

From Today's Sac Bee:

Published Tuesday, Mar. 02, 2010
jchang@sacbee.com


Attorney General Jerry Brown made it official this morning that he's running for California governor, putting to rest months of speculation about his political intentions.

Brown, who served two terms as governor from 1975 to 1983, said in an online video posted on his Web site, "At this stage of my life, I'm prepared to focus on nothing else but fixing this state I love."

He pledged in the video that under his leadership, "there will be no new taxes unless you the people vote for them."

He also said the state could not take a risk on "an outsider who knows virtually nothing about state government.'

"We've tried that, and it doesn't work," Brown said. "We've found that not knowing is not good."

Brown does not have any scheduled public events today.

Brown will likely be the sole Democratic nominee and will face one of two wealthy, largely self-financed Republican candidates, Meg Whitman or Steve Poizner. Candidates for governor have until March 12 to file with the Secretary of State's office.

For months, Brown has avoided taking explicit positions on major issues such as the state's budget crisis, prisons or schools, arguing that he was not yet a candidate.

With today's announcement, Brown must start filling in the blanks with voters, said Democratic strategist Andrew Acosta, whose business partner Roger Salazar is helping to run an independent expenditure committee targeting Whitman and other Republicans.

"At some point, voters are going to want to know the vision that Jerry Brown has for the state moving forward," Acosta said. "Jerry Brown still conjures up a lot of images in the past because of his (history) in public office. This is an opportunity for him to articulate that."

Brown has revealed his views on some issues in recent months, such as saying tax increases are not politically feasible and supporting AB 32, which commits the state to cutting its greenhouse gas emissions.

Brown claims a 40-year political career in California, having served as California secretary of state, governor, California Democratic Party chairman, mayor of Oakland and attorney general. He's also run unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate and president.

The 71-year-old enters a race that's already costing tens of millions of dollars, with the Whitman campaign saying she's prepared to spend up to $150 million of her personal wealth on the race.

Poizner, the current state insurance commissioner, has also put in $19 million of his own money into his campaign.

Brown's announcement caps a long-in-the-works political comeback after his career flamed out after his unsuccessful 1992 presidential run.

Brown retrenched in the mid-1990s, hosting a talk show on liberal radio network Pacifica and running a political action and spirituality center out of his warehouse loft near Oakland's Jack London Square.

He re-entered the public sphere in 1998 by winning election as mayor of Oakland and serving two terms there. Brown was elected attorney general in 2006.

Ernest Dronenburg Dazed and Confused in San Diego Assessor Race

The Union-Tribune is reporting that GOP Ernest Dronenburg, who is running for County Assessor is having problems understanding the campaign reporting laws. While many would agree the campaign laws are complex, but he has run five times for a multi-county office, been in elected office since 1978. So, he should have a better handle with some of these laws.

Questions: Two of the infractions were he did know you can't use PO Boxes for donors and collect interest on those donations. If he is making these types of mistake and wants to run an office he has no previous experience, then what issues can we expect from him there?

One Year Later California Democrats Praise Recovery Act

Bill Has Funded Thousands of Jobs in California and Saved Economy From Total Collapse


Sacramento — One year ago this week, President Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Since then it has funded up to two million jobs nationwide, including 70,745 jobs in California, and saved the nation’s economy from total collapse. As a result of the Recovery Act, California has received $21.5 billion in additional federal funding, with more than $7.7 billion received thus far.

“The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, signed into law by President Obama a year ago this week, has brought tens of thousands of jobs to California and helped to save our economy from total collapse,” said Timothy Paulson chair of the labor caucus for the California Democratic Party.

“California’s working families have seen a tax break because of this bill, and small businesses have received loans to help them build their businesses and create more jobs. President Obama and our Democratic leaders in Congress are working around the clock to get our economy back on track. There is still much work to be done to create more jobs here in California but it’s clear that the Recovery Act is doing its job.”

Democrats Endorse Term Limits Initiative

Reform Would Curb Political Free Rein on the Board of Supervisors

SAN DIEGO –- Joining a growing coalition of San Diegans who demand more accountability from their County government, the Democratic Party has endorsed a ballot initiative to impose term limits on members of the Board of Supervisors. Voters will decide the issue in the June 8 election this year.

More than 70% of the County Democratic Central Committee voted Tuesday to support the endorsement, which would restrict Supervisors to two four-year terms in office. Although Democrats now outnumber Republicans in San Diego County, such is the power of unlimited incumbency on the Board that it has consisted of the same group of five Republicans for the past 15 years.

Proponents of term limits argued that as a result, the Supervisors are disconnected from their constituents and have been derelict in their responsibilities to provide adequate health and social services, fire protection, environmental oversight, and transparency in government.

“This Board of Supervisors simply does not represent the interests of San Diegans,” said Jess Durfee, Chair of the San Diego County Democratic Party. “They have set up their own fiefdoms for life through slush funds, redrawing their own districts, large staffs, and keeping voters in the dark.

“Passage of term limits will lead to more competitive elections and a more responsive Board to tackle the County’s longstanding problems –- like a weakened social safety net, an outdated general plan, and an inadequate regional fire protection system,” added Durfee.

A list of all the County Democratic Party’s endorsements to date is available at www.sddemocrats.org/endorsements.

# # #

Does something smell rotten: Dumanis doesn't want to get into endorsement

Did you read the voiceofsandiego.org article about District Attorney Dumanis had urged her deputies to remain neutral in the 2010 Sheriff race since her office deals with the Sheriff's Department regularly. Yet she endorsed appointed Sheriff Gore. Well, I started looking at their articles about Dumanis and found the article - She's Got Power and She's Willing to Use It where Dumanis admits she told her employees to stay out of the Sheriff race due to their working relationship with the Sheriff's office and she endorsed in it. What was really disturbing was the exchange the reporter had with the President of the San Diego Deputy District Attorneys Association. When president was asked whether Dumanis had asked the association to stay neutral he said no, then when confronted that Dumanis told the reporter yes, he then suddenly remembered it.

Exchange from voiceofsandiego.org article: The president of the San Diego Deputy District Attorneys Association at first said Dumanis has made no attempt to influence the association on the sheriff's race.

"She hasn't said a peep to us about the sheriff's race," said David Hendren, the association's president.

When a reporter told him later that Dumanis acknowledged asking the association to remain neutral, he said he'd forgotten about her comments. "Now that you say that, I do think she made a comment to that effect on a meeting on something else. That was my mistake then."

Question: I don't think this guy is so forgetful about these things. Shouldn't there be an outside investigation into whether Dumanis used her position in her office over her staff for political purposes?

San Diego County Democratic Party Votes to Endorse County Term Limits

This evening it is reported that the San Diego County Democratic Party voted to support placing term limits on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors. It should send a shock wave about the determination the San Diego County Democratic Party has on challenging the status quo. You remember there are now more Democratic registered voters in the county, then Republicans.

Everyone at the meeting could agree one important thing, the Board of Supervisors are completely out of touch with the people they should be helping and do not represent the majority of the people of San Diego County.

Members talked about the supervisors $10 million a year slush fund (hmm, where did the previous community project fund lists go on the county website?) to reward their contributors, the large campaign war chests, the failed North County mental health outsourcing, need for campaign finance reforms, real redistricting reforms removing the Supervisors from directing the drawing of their personal fiefdoms and most importantly educating the voters about the real responsibility of the County Board of Supervisors - fire, social safety net and the topic missed, but still needed, was the badly needed revision of the outdated general plan for land use.

This evening the endorsement is already making the rounds on Facebook pages and status updates in the era of social networking. Interesting was the question about the Republican Party endorsing the term limits .

QUESTION:Does anyone know a term limit measure the San Diego County Republican Party or even the California Republican Party didn't support and were not asking about measures that would alter existing term limit lengths?

Controversy erupts over California GOP chairman's private life

From today's Sacramento Bee:

Controversy erupts over California GOP chairman's private life
By Charles Piller
cpiller@sacbee.com
Published Friday, Feb. 05, 2010

A long-simmering controversy about the private life of California Republican Party Chairman Ron Nehring has erupted into a divisive conflict within the party.

This week the San Diego Republican Party executive committee, led by Tony Krvaric, chair of the San Diego party, called a meeting for Feb. 8 to discuss the removal of Michael Crimmins, an ex-officio member of its central committee. The executive committee recommended Crimmins' expulsion, in part for sending an e-mail to state party leaders that raised concerns about behavior by Nehring and Krvaric.

Crimmins, a retired Marine Corps officer and congressional candidate in the 53rd District in San Diego County, referenced allegations, initiated in an anonymous e-mail broadly disseminated to the party and media last fall, that Nehring brutalized a former romantic partner.

In a memo mailed to central committee members this week, the executive committee called Crimmins' claims "malicious rumors and false charges."

A separate, anonymous counterpunch was distributed via e-mail Thursday among party activists announcing a news conference after the Feb. 8 meeting that purportedly would call for the removal of Krvaric and Nehring from their posts. One justification, the e-mail stated, was that the two men allegedly harassed Nehring's former partner for considering bringing her story to legal authorities.

Nehring and Krvaric have not yet responded to Bee requests for interviews. Barrett Tetlow, a San Diego Republican Party spokesman, said that the Monday press conference was not a party event and that he would have no comment about it.

Statement of CDP Chairman John Burton on Whitman campaign’s attempt to coerce rival Republican candidate Steve Poizner to drop out of governor’s race

For Immediate Release
Tuesday, February 2, 2010


This extortion attempt is only the latest display of arrogance and lack of character on candidate Whitman’s part. This is clearly someone who is used to having things her own way and has come to rely on her vast wealth to buy off any and all opposition.

The Craigslist trial documents opened a window into how Meg Whitman operates. Then as now, a simple pattern emerges: first, attempt to buy off all competition and if that fails, threaten, bully, and intimidate until she gets what she wants.

Whitman’s attempt to buy off her main rival ultimately shows a weakness in her campaign. If she’s up by thirty points, and has billions of dollars at her disposal to outspend her chief rival, what is she afraid of?

Clearly Whitman is having a difficult time closing the deal with Republican primary voters and if she emerges from the primary she’ll find that California voters of all parties will reject her brand of strong-arm politics.

Press Release: Peraza raises more than $45,000 for Chula Vista City Council

[Poster's note: Wow! Go Humberto!]

humberto Peraza Raises

More Than $45,000 for council race

Outraises all other candidates combined

Chula VISTA -- Humberto Peraza’s campaign for Chula Vista City Council has reported raising $45,595 in contributions in 2009, according to the semi-annual campaign finance report filed yesterday.

Peraza raised more than any other candidate for any office in Chula Vista and more than his three opponents for Seat 2 combined. Through a grass roots effort with dedicated volunteers, more than 300 individuals contributed to the Peraza campaign since the campaign committee was formed in August of 2009.

“This is a great sign of the strong and early support for our campaign,” said Peraza. “I’ve gotten such a positive response to my platform of creating jobs and keeping our neighborhoods safe.”

Peraza has earned the endorsements of the San Diego County Democratic Party, San Diego – Imperial Labor Council, Sierra Club, San Diego Democratic Club, San Diego Unity League and the League of Conservation Voters.

Community leaders and elected officials endorsing Peraza include Congressman Bob Filner, Assemblymember Mary Salas, State Senator Denise Ducheny, Chula Vista Councilmember Pamela Bensoussan, former Chula Vista Mayors Tim Nader and Steve Padilla, Chula Vista Elementary School Board member Russell Coronado, Chula Vista Elementary School Board member Doug Luffborough, Sweetwater Unified School District Board member Bertha Lopez, Sweetwater Authority Board member Jose Preciado, State Senator Christine Kehoe, San Diego City Council President Ben Hueso, San Diego City Councilmember Sherri Lightner, San Diego City Councilmember Todd Gloria, San Diego City Councilmember Tony Young, San Diego City Councilmember Marti Emerald, National City Vice-Mayor Alejandra Sotelo-Solis, SDUSD School Board Member Richard Barrerra, and Port Commissioners Scott Peters and Steve Cushman.

The primary will be held in June 2010 and the runoff, if necessary, will be held in November 2010. Humberto Peraza is running for Chula Vista City Council Seat 2, currently held by Councilmember John McCann. McCann is unable to run for reelection due to term limits.

Peraza lives in East Chula Vista with his wife, Lisa, and sons Ben, 5, and Dylan, 2.

###

Response of California Democratic Party Chairman John Burton to Governor Schwarzenegger’s State of the State Speech

“For the last three years the budget has been balanced on the backs of the aged, the blind, the disabled, the poor and those who are without a strong voice in Sacramento.

“Our sincere hope is that the governor’s call for teamwork extends to members of his own Republican Party in the legislature. California Republicans should at least consider, if not agree to, a tax on oil company profits instead of insisting on what amounts to wholesale divestment from California.”

San Diego County Term Limits

I was reading other blogs this evening (Sorry, San Diego Politico) and came skimmed through SD Rostra and a post by Jill Sims.

It seems Jill considers herself to be a political intellect and not one to question others, but I had to post my responses to her post.

1) She thinks county supervisors will retire when they are in their 70's. How many congressional members retire in their 70's or have stayed on way passed that point and were wheeled into the chamber for votes - Strom Thurmond.
2) She thinks county counsel write proponent ballot measures. I'm sorry, but they get their own lawyers and county counsel review them.
3) She thinks the proponents should target sheriff, assessor, district attorney and tax collector or as she says, county treasurer, because they are in office for long times. Maybe Jill should just look back and find facts to support her wild theories then the true facts; Bonnie beat the incumbent, Kolendar beat the incumbent, McAllister beat the incumbent and Butler is not running.
4) She thinks it might be illegal to place term limits on only a certain group of elected officials at a level of government. Just look at the President of the United States, term limited and Congress no term limits.
5) She thinks the Sheriff, District Attorney, Assessor and Tax Collector don't effect employee contracts and the budget. Wrong.
6) She tried to make the case the proponents were doing this to get revenge on the supervisors with regards to their contract, but she seems to unravel her own theory by showing it isn't retroactive and would not kick them out now.

I hope this will answer the many items Jill tried to hypothesize and kind of missed the mark.

San Diego County Term Limits Qualify for June Ballot

It has been reported the term limit measure for the San Diego County Board of Supervisors has been qualified by the San Diego County Registrar of Voters. The Board of Supervisors will have to place it on the Jan 12th agenda and vote to place it on the June ballot.

Below is the press release I was sent:

Term Limits Qualified

San Diego County Board of Supervisors Term Limits is guaranteed to be on the June 2010 ballot

SAN DIEGO -- (December 15, 2009) – The campaign to reform San Diego County government announced today it has passed the next crucial milestone for appearing on the June 2010 ballot when the San Diego County Registrar of Voters qualified the signatures this week.

Registrar of Voters Deborah Seiler found that the measure qualified for the ballot after her office projected the campaign to have submitted 118 percent of the required 77,837 signatures needed to appear on the June ballot.

The ballot measure would limit the County Board of Supervisors to serving no more then two-terms. Voters from all over San Diego County signed petitions to qualify the measure after County Supervisors have had a lock on winning re-election after re-election. This has been due to a yearly $10 million in unrestricted slush funds that Supervisors have doled out as political favors, campaign accounts in the hundreds of thousands of dollars from previous uncontested races and supervisorial districts that the Supervisors get to draw themselves.

Every member of the current Board of Supervisors has served at least 14 years on the Board. The last time incumbents lost their re-election was in 1984, now more then 25 years ago.

“I find it difficult to fathom, that in a county of over 1.4 million registered voters, a select few would believe only five individuals can run our county government,” said Margarita Johnson, a worker at the Sheriff’s Department. “We are lucky to live in San Diego, and I know we have a wealth of individuals with the background to do this job and will step up, once there is an equal playing field and who have the needs of all the San Diego residences.”

Dave Roberts Drops Out of the 50th

From the Desk of Dave Roberts
Thanksgiving Day 2009


Dear Friend,

This past Monday was one of the happiest, yet saddest days of my life. As many of you know, Wally and I have been foster parents for abused children for well over a decade. Years ago, we adopted our first two sons from the foster care system and we are in the process of adopting our third son. About five weeks ago, we were unexpectedly contacted by the San Diego County Department of Children's Services and offered two additional foster children, ages two and one year old, to bring into our home. These children are the half brother and sister of our youngest son. On Monday, we learned that these two young, foster children may become available for adoption and a permanent part of our family. In a short time, our family has almost doubled in size and we have come to love these two children, and they have quickly become an integral part of our family.

Keeping families together is an important value to us and we consider it important that we rescue these two children from their prior environment into one that offers love, a chance for a good education and healthy lifestyle. With our young children so new to our family, my campaign absences are unfair to them and Wally. While we could have hired people to help us, spending time with our newly expanded family cannot be done by anyone else. Parents all over the world are postponing their dreams for their children. I am in good company.

Therefore, after much deliberation and discussion with my family and advisers, I have decided to suspend my campaign for Congress. This decision was made after much thought and many sleepless nights. I thank each one of you who worked so hard to help launch and grow our campaign, particularly our oldest son Robert who accompanied me to many of our campaign events. I thank my advisers, supporters and other volunteers who have been with me from the start, opened their homes for events, and for Wally who shared my dream.

I have decided to refund contributions to all my supporters. Going forward, I will continue to work to build a strong Democratic Party in the 50th Congressional District and use my unique talents to forge bipartisan solutions whenever possible. I will continue to do this in my role as a Solana Beach councilmember and my other local, state and national positions. My hat goes off to both Francine Busby and Tracy Emblem who are still in this race. Once the voters decide next June who our Democratic nominee will be for 2010, I will work with them to defeat Brian Bilbray.

The mission goes on and our work to create jobs, reform healthcare and protect our environment does not cease with the suspension of my campaign for Congress. I will be working tirelessly with each of you to achieve our vision. My best wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving! We truly have much to rejoice in my family with our children this year - it will definitely be a table full of lots of love and laughter.


With my sincere best wishes and appreciation,
David W. “Dave” Roberts

DeMaio’s Proposal Creates Open Season for Government Contractors, Harms Local Economy

Press Release from Labor:

DeMaio’s Proposal Creates Open Season for Government Contractors, Harms Local Economy
Proposal would ban policies to help local workers and veterans; repeals living wage; could hand contracting power to unelected city manager

SAN DIEGO – (November 23, 2009) – A proposed ballot measure supported by government contractors and Carl DeMaio handcuffs the City of San Diego from creating policies that promote hiring local workers or veterans for public works projects and hands over authority to the city manager to enter into contracts “at his discretion” without safeguards for nepotism, cronyism or favoritism.

Included in the proposal, which is supported by big-dollar government contractors, who filed a lawsuit earlier this year against CalTrans for its minority contracting program, are several provisions that hurt local taxpayers and workers:
• Bans local hiring policies.
• Bans policies to promote the hiring of veterans.
• Bans agreements that prevent strikes on public works projects.
• Bans policies to hire qualified workers.
• Bans policies that promote the payment of health care benefits to workers
• Bans policies that promote the hiring of ex-city workers who have experience providing a recently outsourced service, such as the policy the North County Transit District put in place when it voted to outsource its services this month.
• Allows the City Manager to enter into contracts “at his discretion” without safeguards for nepotism, cronyism or favoritism. If initiative to make strong mayor form of government permanent is defeated in June 2010, this authority would be in the hands of an unelected city manager.
• Repeals the City of San Diego’s Living Wage Ordinance.
• Creates new anti-competitive “Direct Outsourcing” process that would force services like trash or landfill management to be outsourced without letting city employees compete for their jobs. This new process conflicts with Managed Competition process approved by voters in 2006 and supported by Mayor Jerry Sanders.

“The only thing ‘transparent’ about Mr. DeMaio’s proposal is how badly he wants to hand out contracts to his friends in the government contractor industry,” said Lorena Gonzalez, Secretary-Treasurer and CEO of the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council. “After making a fortune himself as a government contractor during the Bush Administration, Mr. DeMaio is trying to pass along his tricks to other big-dollar government contractors. But he’s doing it at the expense of San Diego’s taxpayers and local workers.”

The San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council, AFL-CIO, representing 189,000 firefighters, teachers, nurses and other workers who are making the region a better place to live and work. For more information, visit www.unionyes.org.

Union Members support Humberto Peraza for Chula Vista City Council

The San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council announced last week their endorsement for Humberto Peraza for City Council in Chula Vista for the June 2010 elections.

In their press release, the Labor Council described Humberto as committed to rebuilding Chula Vista’s economy by creating good paying local jobs and by promoting the city as a destination for potential business. Peraza has experience in tackling regional issues for Chula Vista and the South Bay as an aide to federal and local elected officials such as Congressman Bob Filner and San Diego Council President Ben Hueso.

Now let me take a bit of license here to talk about Humberto. I know Humberto. He hired me as an intern for Senator Barbara Boxer’s office when I was a senior in college at UCSD, back in 2002. And now I serve with him on the board of the League of Conservation Voters San Diego.

Besides being a nice guy, a committed progressive, and a policy encyclopedia, Humberto’s one of the rare people in San Diego that looks out for young folks and actively helps to promote them. When I was first starting work after college, he set me up with a political interview, and he wrote me a fine law school letter of recommendation. After I returned back home after NYU Law, he was responsible for getting both me and Patrick Finucane connected with the League of Conservation Voters.

The San Diego area needs leaders like Humberto. We need people who’re team players, and who understand that the success of our region depends not just on one person’s career, but on a community of stakeholders. Chula Vista is the new frontier of progressive politics in San Diego, and I rest comfortably knowing that Humberto is a part of its bright future.

California’s Constitution: Time for an Overhaul: Town Hall

You are invited to join us in San Diego to discuss California's drastic need for reform and Repair California's Constitutional Convention ballot measures.

California’s Constitution: Time for an Overhaul
Friday, November 13, 2009
8:30 a.m. Registration | 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Program
NTC Events Center (directions)
Truxton & Dewey Roads
San Diego, CA
Refreshments served
Cost: Free

Register here

Speakers will include:
-Jim Wunderman, President and CEO, Bay Area Council
-Bob Edgar, President of Common Cause
-Scott Peters, Former San Diego City Council President
-Matt Regan, Repair California
-John Grubb, Repair California

Topics will include:
-Delegate selection process -Limited scope -Balancing expertise with shared values -Lessons from other states -The initiative, referendum and recall -The alternatives -And more!

Brought to you by: Repair California, Common Cause and the League of Women Voters.

We hope to see you on the 13th!

Best,
Repair California

Statement from Chairman John Burton on Gavin Newsom’s Decision to Withdraw from the California Governor’s Race

I have known Gavin Newsom since before he was born and I have watched him become a fine man and a skilled political leader.

As San Francisco Mayor, Newsom has been a champion for marriage equality and innovative new environmental and health care efforts.

But Gavin does not define himself by politics alone. He is also a successful businessman, a loving husband and a proud new father.

Gavin would have been a strong candidate for governor had he won the Democratic Party’s nomination. And he will continue to be an energetic, effective mayor of San Francisco and a powerful voice in the California Democratic Party.

I continue to wish Gavin and his family every happiness. And I remain confident that California Democrats will have a strong nominee for governor in 2010.