California is solidly Democratic but the National Republican Campaign Committee is sending signals that it intends to compete in the state next year, and Ground Zero may be the 3rd Congressional District of John Garamendi, a veteran California politician.
From Kyle Trigstad in Roll Call: "The 60-second ad, which launches Thursday and will run on cable for two weeks, ties Garamendi to President Barack Obama and his support for Solyndra, a California-based solar power company that went bankrupt after receiving a $535 million federal loan guarantee."
“John Garamendi supported the Obama policy that loaned Solyndra money,” the announcer says in the ad. “Garamendi backed Obama’s failed stimulus economic policy. John Garamendi and President Obama are making our economy worse.”
"Garamendi’s top GOP opponent is Colusa County Supervisor Kim Dolbow Vann, who raised $125,000 in the third quarter and had nearly all of that left in the bank at the end of September. Garamendi raised just $93,000 and had $113,000 in cash on hand."
Former Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado, a Republican, is moving personal loans in and out of his congressional campaign in an apparent move to inflate campaign resources and appear as a more viable candidate, reports McClatchy's Mike Doyle.
"The rapid cycling of money, timed to fundraising deadlines, could appear like a way to inflate campaign reports and demonstrate political viability. Or, as Maldonado’s campaign consultants say, it could be simple prudence."
“That money is part of our budget,” Brandon Gesicki, a spokesman for Maldonado’s campaign, said Tuesday, “and that is a wise thing to do with our resources.”
Seemingly mirroring campaign moves seen last year in a Northern San Joaquin Valley congressional race, Maldonado loaned his House campaign $250,000 on June 30. Coming on the last day of the fundraising period, the loan, combined with contributions, enabled Maldonado to show a respectable $531,401 on hand."
Maldonado may have money to play around with, but many Californians aren't so lucky: There has been a spike in home foreclosure actions in the state to a level not seen in a year.
From Alejandro Lazo in the LA Times: "The third-quarter jump in notices of default, the first formal step in the foreclosure process, came after such filings had dropped to a three-year low earlier this year. Defaults were up 25.9% from the prior quarter, according to according to San Diego-based DataQuick, a real estate information service."
"Banks have fired up the foreclosure-processing machinery in recent months after a long lull as they tried to negotiate settlements with regulators over faulty foreclosure practices. That slowdown created a backlog after a slew of investigations were launched following last year’s so-called robo-signing scandal, where banks used improper practices and documents to foreclose on troubled homeowners."
“Obviously, some lenders and loan servicers have begun to plow through their backlogs of delinquent loans more aggressively,” DataQuick president John Walsh said in a statement."
The ever-complex 2012 elections are getting even more interesting with the referendum to block moving all ballot initiatives to the November general election ballots. Currently, the initiatives also can appear on special and primary ballots.
From the Bee's Dan Walters: "If the referendum qualifies, it also would appear on the next general or special election ballot. More importantly, until voters decided its fate, SB 202 would be suspended. Referendum sponsors might hope that suspending SB 202 would mean that the paycheck measure would appear on the June primary ballot."
"But would it?"
"The constitution still says that initiative measures are to go before voters in a general election. But the secretary of state's office in 1970 allowed an initiative to appear on a June ballot that combined special and primary elections. When Brown took office as secretary of state in 1971, his office followed that primary-ballot precedent, as did those who came after him."
"The current secretary of state, Democrat Debra Bowen, could overrule recent practice and declare that both the paycheck protection measure and the SB 202 referendum could not go to voters until November 2012. Bowen would certainly be under great pressure from her party and the unions to do that. Even were SB 202 to be overturned by voters, she could simply continue the practice of placing initiatives on the general election ballot, as the constitution says."
Bridges in the San Francisco Bay area are in bad shape, according to a new report, which notes that about a fifth of the bridges and overpasses in the metro area are deficient.
From the Mercury News' Denis Cuff: "About 21 percent -- or 380 bridges or overpasses -- are structurally deficient in the metro area covering most of Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco and Marin counties, according to the report by Transportation for America. That rate is the second highest in the nation among metropolitan areas with more than 2 million residents. The highest was metropolitan Pittsburgh, with deficiencies in 30 percent of its bridges and overpasses."
"Bridges in the San Jose metropolitan area, which includes Santa Clara and San Benito counties, have the highest deficiency rate among regions with populations between 1 million and 2 million people. About 19 percent, or 189 bridges, are structurally deficient, the coalition reported."
"A deficiency doesn't mean a bridge is in imminent danger of failing, but that work or increased inspections are needed, the group said. The report does not name specific structures, but a map on the group's website,http://t4america.org, shows the Carquinez Bridge as having a deficiency rating because of poor pavement. The site also identified the following bridges as deficient because of deck pavement: the Highway 24 bridge over Acalanes Road in Lafayette."
