Sen.
Don Perata dropped a bombshell about what a post-
Kevin Shelley world might look like, and they include the words
Ross Johnson.
"Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, the gatekeeper for any Shelley successor, said he would 'do anything I could' to help former state
Sen. Ross Johnson win confirmation if Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger taps the Orange County Republican to take over the elections office."
"Johnson could not be reached for comment, but a Republican source said he is interested in the job. Other possible Republican names mentioned as replacements are former U.S. Sen. candidate
Rosario Marin and former insurance commissioner nominee
Gary Mendoza."
We're guessing that either: A) The deal would include a guarantee from Johnson that he would not run for the post in 2006 or B) That Democratic SOS candidate
Debra Bowen is one unhappy Senator this morning.
In a press conference Thursday, Speaker
Fabian Nuñez hinted there had been talks of a potential deal to get Shelley out of office, indicating
he would shut down the JLAC hearings if and when Shelley steps aside. But Assembly Republican leader
Kevin McCarthy has apparently not signed off. ''There are no get-out-of-jail-free cards here," McCarthy said, (apparently speaking literally). "From my perspective, he needs to testify even if he resigns."
Meanwhile, arrows started flying at Shelley from the
California Association of Clerks and Election Officials, which represents the county clerks and election officials. Los Angeles'
Connie McCormack heads the group and claims that Shelley
California Association of Clerks and Election Officials favored Sequoia Voting Systems over Diebold.
Last year, the Fair Political Practices Commission ruled that candidate-controlled committees were subject to the same fundraising limits as candidates themselves. This eliminated the use of the governor's California Recovery Team PAC as a fundraising vehicle, and brought on a new drive spearheaded by
Bill Hauck and
Alan Zaremberg. But is this new committee violating the letter, or simply the spirit, of the new FPPC regulation? The LA Times'
Peter Nicholas takes a look.Here's the he-said, she-said from the piece:
"
Karen Getman, a former chairwoman of the Fair Political Practices Commission and now an elections attorney, said Schwarzenegger "is clearly coordinating with" Citizens to Save California. 'If you would tell me people aren't giving money to that committee to curry favor with the governor,' she said, 'you would have to be naive.'
Rob Stutzman, the governor's communications director, said: 'It's very clear the governor can encourage donors to contribute money. That's his free speech right to do so. But the governor or his agents cannot control how the funds are spent…. And we'll take every painstaking precaution to make sure that does not happen.'"
One of the two private prisons set to open for business this year
will not be opening its doors after all.
Dan Morain reports: "In a sudden reversal, the state has abandoned plans to reopen a private prison in Bakersfield, citing an unexpected dip in the inmate population, officials said Thursday. The move came less than a month after state corrections officials issued a written justification for granting no-bid contracts to two companies by citing 'a drastic increase in the prison population.'"
Dan Walters
picks apart Kevin McCarthy's redistricting proposal, particularly "a passage that seeks 'a level of competitiveness that would result in a difference of no more than 7 percentage points between the number of voters in each district who are registered with the two largest political parties in the state.'" We wonder if the provision would require San Francisco districts to stretch to Truckee.
Senators
Elaine Alquist and
Abel Maldonado are carrying the water for the
Silicon Valley Manufacturers Group by introducing a bill to
exempt purchases of telecommunications, manufacturing and other equipment from sales tax. Alquist claims it's not a loophole. "We want to see growth, and that requires an investment." It'll be up to
new Rev & Tax chairman Mike Machado to define
"loophole."The
California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, otherwise known as the "stem cell board" is
ready to hand out its first grants as early as May, according to the board's chairman,
Bob Klein.
From our "If a Tree Falls in the Forest Files:" Congratulations to
Nick Velasquez in Speaker Nuñez's communications shop for drafting The Roundup's choice for
Weird Press Release of the Day, the full text of which appears below.
"The California Assembly met today at 9:30 a.m., for those in the State Capitol who may not be aware."
Thanks for sharing, Nick!
In a much more direct press release minutes later Nuñez announced the
hiring of Vince Duffy as his new press secretary. Duffy joins former
Gray Davis teammate
Steve Maviglio in heading up the Speaker's communications shop.
Speaking of press flacks, a belated congrats to
Nicolle Devenish, the former spokeswoman for the Assembly Republican Caucus who was just named White House Communications Director. We can say we knew her when ...
Here Comes Bobzilla! For you political advertising connoisseurs, check out the
Hertzberg for Mayor ad, starring the former speaker as the man who towers over Los Angeles. Does that make Jim Hahn
Mothra?Do users get a "Free Personality Profile?" At least one sex offender has been
using the state's web-based sex offender database to set up dates with other sex offenders. It's a no-no, and cupid faces six months in county jail, a $1,000 fine or both.
