George Skelton
bemoans the use of wealth by the three leading candidates for governor.
"My preference is taxpayer financing — the politicians being bought by the public rather than the special interests."
And we would like a
GI Joe with a kung-fu grip, but we can't all have everything we want. We digress...
"Two public financing measures — called 'Clean Money' and modeled after a successful system in Arizona — currently are being considered in the state. One is a proposed ballot initiative sponsored by the California Nurses Assn. The other is a bill by Assemblyman
Loni Hancock (D-Berkeley). The annual cost would be around $150 million.
"The bill has passed the Assembly and is stuck in the Senate Elections Committee, where the chairwoman — Sen.
Debra Bowen (D-Marina del Rey) — so far is the lone supporter. "I expect it to get out of the committee," she says confidently."
Phil Angelides is pulling out all stops this week in hopes of getting the support of 60% of Democratic convention delegates for the party's endorsement. Yesterday, he sent a plea from former Massachusetts governor and presidential candidate
Michael Dukakis.
Rumors of Angelides cruising down J Street in a tank are unconfirmed.
But he did
sit down with Capitol Weekly to talk about the race.
Meanwhile,
Steve Westly's campaign is expected to
file a complaint with the FPPC today about the pro-Angelides independent expenditure committee. And we all know how fierce the FPPC can be...
The Bee's Dan Smith gives the treatment to the
independent expenditure ad for Angelides, while Amy Chance reviews
Steve Westly's
ad pledging a greener government.
With Democrats ready to descend to Sacramento for their convention this weekend, CW's Shane Goldmacher dares to go where Democrats do not tread --
The Hyatt.
"The seriousness with which legislative Democrats take the Hyatt moratorium varies from member to member. Almost no Democratic legislator holds events there."
"But the passage of time and the advent of term limits have softened the opposition of many Democrats to the Capitol's most convenient hotel, as fewer and fewer legislators and legislative staffers remember the contentious pickets of the 1980s."
"'I admit, I have sinned,' says Assembly Speaker
Fabian Núñez, who started his political career as a labor organizer in Los Angeles."
"'
I have gone to the Hyatt on a number of occasions, but only to meet the governor at his suite. Beyond that, I don't go there.'"
So, so busted...
Malcolm Maclachlan looks at the Lt. Gov's race and asks,
why would anyone want to be lieutenant governor? "It has an incredible potential to influence public policy," [
John] Garamendi said. "It has the power of persuasion and advocacy."
What it doesn't have is the power to directly create policy. Garamendi outlined a strategy using the lieutenant governor's role on various commissions--such as the University of California (UC) Board of Regents, California State Universities Board of Trustees and the State Lands Commission--as "footholds" in order to publicize problems and push legislative solutions. Some of his top issues include universal health care and guaranteeing school funding."
Meanwhile, the Public Policy Institute of California is out with a
new poll. The survey finds voters "
increasingly frustrated and dissatisfied with their public school system," writes the LAT's Mitchell Landsberg. The poll finds education to be the second biggest issue to voters in this year's election, behind only immigration.
"That could provide an opening for Democratic contenders
Steve Westly and
Phil Angelides. Only about a third of likely voters in the November election believe Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger has done a good job on education, and poll respondents supported Democratic policies on education spending by nearly a two-to-one margin over those of Republicans."
Dan Weintraub
also takes a look at the poll, finding "substantial support for raising taxes and giving the money to education, but only if the taxes raised were not paid by a broad segment of the population."
Well, someone's been paying those taxes, as
revenue is pouring into the general fund. "Sharply improving the state's financial condition, April income tax collections already are $1.5 billion higher than expected by the Schwarzenegger administration, with two more days left to open returns," writes Greg Lucas in the Chron.
"Collections for the month stood at $9.7 billion on Wednesday, a day in which $1.65 billion flowed into state coffers. Veteran budget officials say that one-day total could be the highest in state history."
"'I think by the end of the month, we'll be well above the administration's estimates as well as ours,' said
Brad Williams, director of fiscal forecasting for the legislative analyst's office. 'We've already exceeded the administration's estimate, and there's still two days to go.'"
Ahhh, there's nothing better than walking around money in an election year!
"Assemblyman
Ray Haynes, R-Temecula, has reintroduced a bill that would allow judges to
require certain repeat drunken drivers be issued their very own license plate -- a bright red plate with white letters printed down the left side spelling out DUI," writes Steven Harmon in the Merc News.
"Haynes said the plates would warn other motorists and deter those who might consider driving under the influence."
"But
his bill -- versions of which he has pitched since 1997 -- is not universally welcomed. A similar version failed recently in a committee, and some opponents, in addition to having privacy concerns, do not believe that shame changes behavior."
No word yet whether the special plates will be available in the retired legislator variety...
Dean Singleton has
succeeded in his efforts to purchase the San Jose Mercury News and Contra Costa Times, with financial support for a minority stake from the Hearst Group, which publishes the Chronicle.
"Before Hearst's involvement was announced, most observers thought the deal would set up a showdown between MediaNews and The Chronicle, the region's biggest newspaper with a daily circulation of 400,000. Instead, it appears that The Chronicle's parent company and MediaNews will cooperate in ways that are still to be fleshed out."
"'To the extent we can do things legally (with Hearst), we're open to them,' MediaNews President
Jody Lodovic said in an interview. 'For antitrust reasons, you obviously can't do a lot of things together that might make sense. We will be very careful. We have a long, good relationship with Hearst. We see eye-to-eye on Internet strategies and a lot of things of that nature.'"
No need to worry,
antitrust is so 1980s.
Among those who have bid for some of the new McClatchy papers is
Ron Burkle. But Capitol Weekly reports Burkle
has been tangling with the very publishers he hopes to join.
"Burkle has been sparring in the courts and in the Legislature with the very organization he's trying to join. The California Newspaper Publishers Association (CNPA) recently intervened against Burkle in his divorce case and helped get a law ruled unconstitutional that Burkle tried to use to keep his financial records private."
"Burkle also is said to be the major motivation for the fast-tracking of SB 1015, the bill authored by Senate Appropriations Chairman
Kevin Murray, D-Culver City, which would restrict public access to divorce records. "This guy could be sitting on my board some day," said
Tom Newton, the CNPA lobbyist that is heading up the fight against SB 1015, who was fully aware of the irony of his group's opposition to SB 1015."
"Capitol insiders say Murray's bill, aggressively opposed by the CNPA, has been 'speakerized,' which means that Assembly Speaker
Fabian Núñez, D-Los Angeles, is using his political clout to put the bill on the legislative fast track."
Speaking of
SB 1015, the bill miraculously
sailed through Assembly Appropriations yesterday on it's non-stop flight to the governor's desk. Catch it while you can.
From the ridiculous to the sublime, Shane Goldmacher updates us on
the big fight over Surf City. "Last summer, Sen.
Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, quietly slipped a resolution across the Senate desk to officially proclaim Santa Cruz, California, as "Surf City USA." It was a simple resolution, he thought."
"But eight months, three legislative resolutions, three angry cities, two competing museums and one pending trademark later, it is clear that however laid back the state's surfer culture is, the legislative wrangling for surfing bragging rights is anything but."
Finally, from our
Spank You Very Much Files,
bad news for bosses who want to use corporal punishment in the office.