First it was hand-wringing over Jerry Brown's failure to announce his gubernatorial candidacy. Now, Michael Rothfeld looks at Steve Poizner's strategy of waiting to unload his campaign arsenal on Meg Whitman.
"Poizner is now about 30 points behind the former EBay chief in
mainstream polls with three months to go until the
primary election
that will determine which GOP candidate faces off against
Democratic
Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown in the fall. Poizner has mostly
been sitting on
a $19-million campaign war chest while Whitman has outspent
him
dramatically in an effort to put him away.
"As state Republicans prepare for a party convention
in Santa Clara this
weekend, Poizner has been attempting to fight off the
story line that
his campaign is all but over. He has vowed not to drop
out and to stick
to his plan to use his money for an advertising blitz
closer to the
election on the theory that voters will start paying
attention then.
"But Poizner, 53, will have to overcome a campaign narrative that has
already developed. Beyond the poll numbers, a string
of Republicans who
had lined up behind him, including many officeholders,
have recently
defected to support Whitman."
But that hasn't stopped Team Poizner from producing cheap Web sites, targeting Whitman's apparent unwillingness to press questions.
"Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Poizner has seized on Meg Whitman's penchant for skirting open news conferences, mocking Whitman in a new Internet video.
In the video released Wednesday, Poizner's campaign team seized on reports from Bay Area media outlets about Whitman's refusal to take questions at a campaign stop in Oakland on Tuesday, and set some carefully edited clips to music to make their point.
"Whitman has conducted several one-on-one interviews with California political reporters in recent days, but often shies away from taking questions from the media at her events.
"Poizner's team seized on Tuesday's critical coverage of Whitman in an effort to close a wide gap between him and Whitman in most opinion polls. "Whitman’s campaign has escalated from simply canceling interviews and requiring pre-scripted questions to the absurd tactics of physically removing press and hiding beyond a screen," Poizner spokeswoman Bettina Inclan said in a statement Wednesday."
Malcolm Maclachlan looks at the fallout from Roy Ashburn's announcement that he is
gay.
"“It’s unique that he came clean so quickly, in such a classy way,” said Fred Karger, an openly gay Republican and founder of Californians Against Hate, a pro-gay marriage group. “It was such an emotional radio interview he did.”
Capitol Weekly reports few customers who had their health insurance cancelled have sought repayment through a state settlement.
"More than a year after a settlement was reached between state lawmakers and health plans over restitution for 6,000 health insurance customers who had their policies improperly cancelled, only 170 people have recouped costs from the companies that terminated their coverage.
"The figures were released at a hearing held by an
Assembly
committee that has put the rescission settlements in
the spotlight. The committee’s chairman, Assemblyman Hector De La
Torre, D-South Gate, has been the lead advocate in the Legislature
to strengthen the state’s laws surrounding rescissions of health
insurance.
De La Torre also is a candidate for state insurance
commissioner, who has jurisdiction over part of the
health-insurance industry.
According to figures provided by the Department of
Managed Health Care and the Department of Insurance,
about $1.6 million has been paid out to the 170 people who have received compensation for having their
health insurance wrongfully cancelled."
But Republicans at the hearing agreed the state should adopt a true third-party review process before health plans cancel a customer's insurance.
Assemblyman Mike "Villines said he is interested in ensuring that a meaningful independent review process is in place for both the Department of Insurance and the Department of Managed Health Care. “We took a step today to say we would have an independent third party review process in place. That’s the first step, and it’s good for everybody involved,” he said. Villines noted health plans may balk unless the review process is crafted properly. “The health plans are going to resist if they think it’s a tribunal against them,” said Villines. “But at the end of the day, we should come up with a fair process and embrace it.”
George Skelton looks at the legal skirmish over the open-primary initiative on the June ballot.
"The fate of an open primary proposal on the June ballot
may well hinge
on the outcome of a bitter court fight this week over
a dozen or so
words.
"The words will be seen by millions of voters -- everyone who casts a
ballot in the June 8 primary. They will summarize what Proposition 14
is all about and undoubtedly influence more votes than
any endorsement
or mail piece. It's language that will be used in the
"ballot label" printed
right on the ballot, and the "title and summary" included
in the
secretary of state's official voter guide mailed to
households.
"If we win the case, we win the election," says David
Townsend, a
strategist for the Prop. 14 side. "If they get their language, we lose
the election."
Margot Roosevelt reports on the rift between opponents of the state's greenhouse gas law.
"Opponents of the state's landmark greenhouse gas reduction law have split over a proposal to repeal the law, which may be on the November ballot. Ted Costa, chief executive of People's Advocate, a Sacramento-based anti-tax group that was an original sponsor of the measure, said out-of-state oil companies have bigfooted the initiative campaign, and have "come in and shut out the people."
"I wanted to do a grass-roots operation and involve a lot of people," Costa said. "But they believe they can run this thing out of the country club and to hell with the little people of California. If they have half a million dollars, how come they haven't reported it?" he asked.
In Sacramento today, Speaker John Perez (D-Los Angeles) and Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) will join members of California Forward to push new budget and government reforms for the November ballot. The Air Resouces Board will hear testimony from business group who want to suspend the board's new diesel regulations.
In San Francisco, the Public Utilities Commission will hear a proposal to install smart meters for natural gas users in Southern California.
And finally, in a sign that the economy is tough for everybody, consider the plight of this California thief. "Authorities in Riverside County say a woman with a gun robbed 11 customers at a market and got away with $6.
A Sheriff's Department statement says the woman was armed with a semi-automatic pistol when she went to La Chicanita Market in the town of Thermal on Tuesday afternoon. Deputy Herlinda Valenzuela says the woman confronted 10 customers in the store and also demanded money from one person who was entering the market. She then fled in an old car."
Talk about a tough day at the office...