The State Personnel Board
plans to release its report on embattled Secretary of State
Kevin Shelley at 9 a.m. SOS Spokeswoman
Caren Daniels-Meads said yesterday "We believe we have legitimate responses to several things in the report. We will be prepared to answer those questions tomorrow."
While Daniels-Meade insists "He certainly has no intention of resigning," other associates close to him report that he's waivering between quitting now and just announcing that he won't run for re-election next year.
The Chron reports that
Gloria Romero said
she expects and wants Shelley to resign, saying it would be good for the party. "'I don't even know why he would want to stay," Romero said, saying publicly what other Democrats said privately Monday."
While opening the door for Shelley, Romero also was criticizing the governor's plan to
reopen two private prisons in Kern County, claiming that the no-bid contract for one of them "smells bad." We'll respect our Kern County readers and not play with the senator's remark.
Meanwhile,
Jack O'Connell (otherise known as "Curly" in the governor's office), used his State of California Education speech to
tee off on another, more traditional target -- Gov. Schwarzenegger. " O'Connell also indicated he would support whatever kind of pre-school funding initiative
Rob Reiner is currently cooking up, coming soon to a ballot near you.
The governor
continued his editorial board parade yesterday with the Orange County Register, at which he admitted that the proposal to eliminate the state's pension programs "is a national battle, like the recall was." Political consultants dreaming of a long ballot measure campaign were relieved when he backed off the previous suggestion of an early summer special election, suggesting that the reform discussions will last "the next nine months, ten months." This may confirm the rumors that the idea of a special election has been shelved, leaving the big ballot fight for June 2006.
The Press-Enterprise
takes a look at the California Medical Board, one of the boards on the governor's hit list, and concludes
the state may be better off without it. "Starved for funds, short-staffed and stymied by the physicians it is supposed to police, the Medical Board of California too often leaves patients at the mercy of dangerous doctors". Advoates for the board, and the others slated for elimination, will have a chance to plead their case to the Little Hoover Commission this week.
From our
The Truth is Out There files: Is
Yvonne Burke planning to
leave her seat on the LA Board of Supes early so that the governor can appoint
Herb Wesson to the Board? That's one of the top two wackiest conspiracy theories we've seen in print all week. Maybe
Rick Orlov and
Assemblyman Bill Maze should go bowling.
(Incidentially,
Vic Pollard follows up on the
Bill Thomas rumors with a story in the Bakersfield Californian today.)
In other Disgruntled Assemblyman news, Assemblyman
Joe Canciamilla continues to get good press by being on the wrong side of his party's leadership, even though his spokeswoman has returned to the private sector. The latest installment is
this Lisa Vorderbrueggen column from the Contra Costa Times. Vonderbrueggen writes, "Assembly Speaker
Fabian Núnez named fellow Democrat Joe Canciamilla to the naughty list and refused to reward him this Christmas with a committee chairmanship or top party post.
"Canciamilla blames the loss of his
Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee chairmanship on his unwillingness to make hefty donations to the Democratic party and its candidates. 'I wasn't willing to buy a chairmanship. That's not what the people who donated money to my campaign expected me to do with the funds.'"
Maybe Bill Maze and
Canciamilla should go bowling.
And we want to wish everyone a very happy and healthy
No Name Calling Week. Well, we wanted to before we realized that what may appear on its face to be a simple plan to instill the basic rules of the playground is actually a secret ploy to convert us all to homosexuality. How do we know? Read on, gentle reader...
"I hope schools will realize it's less an exercise in tolerance than a platform for liberal groups to promote their pan-sexual agenda," said
Robert Knight, director of Concerned Women for America's Culture and Family Institute. Closer to home,
Steve Maviglio says of the no-name-calling rule: "I just hope the governor can make it through the entire week."
For what it's worth, we're betting we at The Roundup won't even last a day.
Ugly and Expensive? A new report from the Legislative Analysts Office claims the governor's cost-saving plan for the Bay Bridge
could actually cost more than building a suspension bridge.
In
That Changes Everything news, we're sure the governor is convinced
now, what with
Diane Keaton and
Carlos Santana joining the push for
driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants. Who thought this was a good idea?
In other
Campaigns Doomed to Fail news, the campaign to amend the Constitution in time to allow Schwarzenegger to run for president
opened an office in Menlo Park. If it takes as long to get this amendment ratified as it did for the last ratified amendment,
No. XXVII, Schwarzenegger will be eligible to run for president in the year 2208, when he is 260 years old. We remain optimistic.
