The Bee's Dan Smith looks at the
name recognition of elected officials running for down-ballot office. The numbers come from a new
Field Poll released today.
"'It comes as quite a shock to many elected officials, especially members of the Assembly and Senate,' [Field Poll director
Mark] DiCamillo said. 'This is a huge state, and people underestimate the size and number of voters involved.'"
Here are the feelings of the people with opinions about potential gubernatorial candidates:
Arnold Schwarzenegger: 38% favorable/54% unfavorable
Rob Reiner: 25% favorable / 41% unfavorable
Warren Beatty: 16% favorable 48% unfavorable
Phil Angelides: 23% favorable / 12% unfavorable
Steve Westly: 18% favorable / 11% unfavorable
John Hill writes in the Bee that two newspapers and a nonprofit have
filed suit to obtain the daily calendars of gubernatorial aides
Patricia Clarey and
Bonnie Reiss.
"The lawsuit is a test of the reach of Proposition 59, a 2004 initiative that puts the public's right to get government records and attend meetings in the state constitution."
Meanwhile, the
California Coastal Commission is taking on the Navy, recommending curbs on the use of sonar off the California coast.
Amid rumors that the Congressional race in
Duke Cunningham's seat may be losing a front-runner, the
Capitol Weekly takes a look at next year's Senate races. All told, there are
no more than two competitive seats, but
lots of competitive Democratic primaries.
The San Francisco Chronicle looks at the
two competing tobacco tax initiatives headed for the 2006 ballot.
"Hospitals are pitted against doctors, nurses and health advocates, and even divided among themselves. Cancer-fighting groups can't agree with lung disease organizations."
Eric Garcetti has enough votes to
become the new president of the Los Angeles City Council. Current president and State Senate candidate
Alex Padilla announced his support for a transition to Garcetti January 1.
From our
Not Helping the Cause Files,
Jesse Jackson and
Bianca Jagger visited Stanley "Tookie" Williams at San Quentin yesterday and called on the governor to grant clemency.
And finally, if the governor is considering overhauling his communications strategy in the wake of the special election, he may want to take a few pointers from
Shinawatra Thaksin, the prime minister of Thailand. First,
the PM brought a buzzer with him to press conferences that he set off whenever he felt a question from the press "unconstructive." Now, it appears,
the king won't be holding any press conferences at all because, essentially,
Mercury is in retrograde.
"'Right now Mercury ... is in a corner perfectly aligned with my star. Mercury is no good, so if it's not good, I am going to request not to speak. I'll just wait until next year to talk,' Thaksin told reporters Sunday after returning to Bangkok from a trip to South Korea and China."
Just a publishing note that The Roundup's mercury will be in retrograde Thursday and Friday, and we will resume publishing after Thanksgiving.
