First up: Ami Bera has taken the lead over challenger Doug Ose in the 7th Congressional District. Bera is ahead by 711 votes, but lots of ballots still left to count. In Ventura County, Democrat Julia Brownley has declared victory over Republican Jeff Gorrell in a close – 2400 vote margin of victory – race.
As the dust settles from the announcement that China and the United States will work together on landmark climate change action, the Associated Press’ Don Thompson notes that they can learn from California, which already has some of the toughest air quality standards in the world.
“The state's cap-and-trade program, launched nearly three years ago, offers one of the few real-world laboratories on how to reduce carbon emissions. The state has opted to impose extra costs on businesses that emit pollutants.
“Next year, the program will be expanded to include companies that produce gasoline and other fuels, prompting predictions that consumers will see a spike in prices to cover the costs.”
Public interest groups are crying foul as California legislators fly to Hawaii to attend conferences with special interests and lobbyists. Patrick McGreevy has the story at the Los Angeles Times:
“With the dust still settling from last week's election, two dozen state lawmakers are flying to luxury resorts in Hawaii for conferences subsidized and attended by interests that lobby the Legislature: oil companies, public employee unions, drug and tobacco firms, and others….
"’Outside the partisan atmosphere of Sacramento, legislators get to know each other, find common ground and return to Sacramento with a commitment to work together,’ said Daniel Howle, an executive with pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly and an organizer of a five-day conference set to begin Sunday at the Fairmont Kea Lani Hotel in Wailea….
“The annual conferences have become an ‘unwelcome tradition,’ said Sarah Swanbeck, a legislative affairs representative of California Common Cause who called for stricter limits — even a ban — on such conferences.”
By all counts, last week’s election marks a low point in California voter turnout. Mark Baldassare, President of the Public Policy Institute of California posits that voter disengagement may stem, in part, from the comparative lack of high-intensity ballot propositions. He makes his case in Fox and Hounds:
“The search for the cause of voter apathy has mainly focused on the governor’s race, but I would like to call attention to another exceptional feature of this election: the drop-off in state propositions and citizens’ initiatives, which have often captured media attention and voter interest in the past. It may mark the beginning of a trend with profound implications for voter engagement and state policymaking…
“This year, there were only eight state propositions on the June and the November ballots… To place this year in context, there were 100 state propositions on state ballots between 2003 and 2013…"
A 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that would loosen requirements for concealed gun permits moved closer to taking effect Wednesday as judges blocked an anti gun-violence organization and two police groups from joining to case to continue the appeal. From Josh Richman in the Contra Costa Times:
“The state is one step closer to removing the concealed weapons permit decision from police chiefs and sheriffs, said Sam Paredes, executive director of Gun Owners of California. ‘We're starting to smell the hint of freedom in the air, and it smells good,’ he said.
“But the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, which like California Attorney General Kamala Harris had tried to intervene in the case, said Wednesday's ruling was "incorrect and contrary to 9th Circuit and Supreme Court precedent."
And, while California pundits are struggling to understand how voters may have elected Patty Lopez, an almost unknown candidate, she does have one distinct campaign advantage: she’s still alive. In Kern County, voters appear to have elected a dead man to office. Steven Mayer at the Bakersfield Californian has the story.
“Michael Hill, 68, whose two-seater T-67 Firefly crashed Oct. 24 near Randsburg, was on the ballot for one of two short-term positions on the Mojave Air and Space Port board of directors….
“As of Monday afternoon, incumbent David Evans and Hill, a challenger, were ahead in the race for the two seats, with 1,610 and 1,229 votes, respectively. In third place with 1,106 votes was S. JoAnn Painter, current president of the governing board.
“The results are not yet final, said Kern County Elections Chief Karen Rhea, although it was unclear how many votes are outstanding in this small race.
"’If he is elected,’ Rhea said of Hill, ‘the seat will be considered vacant.’"
