Over the weekend, the governor's shop challenged the accuracy of Carla Marinucci's story on Friday about the hole dug for the photo op in San Jose last Thursday. The Merc News
picked it up: "'We did not set up the repair work just for the governor,' city spokesman
David Vossbrink wrote in an e-mail to the Chronicle. He further explained that 'San Jose crews were already planned to be at that location to work on scheduled repairs that require removing old pavement and replacing it.'" The Chron stands by its report...
Dan Walters looks into the $80 million question: If you hold a special election in November 2005,
who will turn out? "A reasonable guess would be that 6 million to 7 million voters - fewer than half of those registered - would turn out for a ballot measure-only special election, and it could be lower."
Then again, that's what people said about the recall...
Walters goes on to say that the gov's plan, where he would be the sole focus of the special election, was ruined with the qualification of two measures by the Democrat-friendly Alliance for Better California and of a parental notification for abortion measure by an independent group.
Meanwhile,
the facade of separate-but-vaguely-related campaign operations receded further on Friday, when the state Republican Party announced its endorsement of
Lew Uhler's Paycheck protection initiative. Uhler is quoted in a statement from the party, announcing that the CRP will lend "grassroots and financial support" to the special election.
“I am very encouraged that the California Republican Party is joining a broad-based coalition of supporters who will
provide grassroots and financial support to the ‘Paycheck Protection’ initiative, giving public employees a choice and control over how their union dues are spent. It is fundamentally unfair to force public employees to contribute their hard earned money to politicians or campaigns that they may not support. As taxpayers, we owe our public employees the protection that this initiative provides,” said Uhler in the statement.
Can the governor's endorsement be far behind?
Speaking of press releases,
Speaker Fabian Nuñez and Assembly Budget Committee chairman
John Laird are gathering at a Sacramento school to "
release an Assembly Democratic alternative to Governor Schwarzenegger’s budget." At a press conference two weeks ago, Nuñez expressed some hope that Senate Democrats and pro tem
Don Perata would join Nuñez at the press conference. Guess Perata's too busy positioning himself to make the final deal with the governor...
As for what may be in the proposal, hmmm, well it's at a school ... Here's a link to a recent
Political Pulse story about what may be in the Democrats' plan.
Winemaker and former Assemblyman
Don Sebastiani is helping
bankroll the parental notification measure. "I think it's basic, minimal common sense to have parents at least be notified," Sebastiani said. "We are talking about the taking of innocent human life. What could be more precious?"
Democratic armageddon: Bakersfield Californian columnist Vic Pollard follows-up on
election analysis by Roundup partner site AroundTheCapitol.com discussing the potential of a
Nicole Parra challenge to Dean Florez in the SD16 primary next year. Responding to Pollard, Parra does little to change the perception: "'My first priority is my re-election next year,' Parra said. 'But I have been approached by a number of people to run against him, and I'm not going to rule anything out.'"
Meanwhile, pols in Parra's hometown are considering
limiting the number of cars you can park on your lawn. He wants to pump you up: Tom Torlakson wants California's high school kids to
take at least two years of physical education. He's authored
a bill to close a loophole that allows some high schoolers to get out of one of the years currently required.
Speaking of healthy children, could
fresh fruit be a casualty of Sacramento partisan warfare? The LA Times' Evan Halper takes a look at the food fight. "Some Democrats even suggested that the governor's inclusion of the food program in his budget plan was
a political stunt, an effort to obscure an overall strategy that leaves schools without funding for basic services," Halper reports. "Democrats are so angry at Schwarzenegger over a number of his policies that they appear especially determined to block items that might win him points with the public as he tries to boost sagging approval ratings.
The Fresno Bee gives former Assemblywoman
Sarah Reyes the
"Where are they now?" treatment."The termed-out Assembly member knew she wanted to stay in her hometown just as surely as she had nixed a return to politics. So Reyes opted for a road less-traveled. Today, she is executive director of the Community Food Bank, a nonprofit organization that works with 170 agencies in three counties to help feed the hungry."