First pitch

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has been the chief advocate and fundraiser for the six measures on the May 19 special election ballot. But the governor, who has prided himself on being a populist spokesman, may play a limited role in the paid media campaign that is about to begin," reports Capitol Weekly.

"Four years ago, the governor appeared in ads for four ballot measures that were squarely rejected by voters. This time, campaign advisers say, images of the same teachers and firefighters who were used to defeat Schwarzenegger’s 2005 proposals may be used to sell the governor’s initiative package .

"'This campaign is about reforming California, and it’s about ending Sacramento’s bad behavior. So, it’s as much about the governor as it is about real people and fixing California,' said Adam Mendelsohn,  Schwarzenegger’s former communications director who now serves as his campaign strategist.

"Opponents of the measures say their private polling has shown linking the initiatives to the governor drives down support of the measures. That has been echoed by some supporters of the ballot measures, who have also started testing potential campaign messages.

"Schwarzenegger clearly will not sit on the sidelines. The governor is planning an address to the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco Thursday to begin to make the case for the package.

“'Governor Pat Brown had to raise taxes,' the governor will say according to exerpts of the speech sent out by the Yes campaign. 'Governor Ronald Reagan had to raise taxes. So did George Deukmejian and Pete Wilson and Gray Davis. And Arnold Schwarzenegger—even though I try to make myself feel better by noting they’re temporary and expire in four years.'”

CW also looks at the implications of what happens if the special election measures fail.

"There are two answers. One is financial, the other is political. Both are not pleasant.Failure of Propositions 1A through 1F would blow an immediate, $5.8 billion hole in the state’s budget, which would lead to more tax increases or spending cuts. Ironically, both of those scenarios might appeal to dueling constituencies that would offer those possibilities during the looming political campaign. Either one could drive down support for the ballot measures. Thus far, the governor joined by some business groups they fear new taxes if the propositions go down are traveling the state pushing the package."

And the political consequences for the governor could be disasterous.

"'If this goes down, the governor is badly hurt,' said political historian Tony Quinn, co-author of The Target Book. 'It’s his plan, he was the one – to his credit – to force the Legislature to buy his idea. When he came around to support tax increase, which hurt him with the right, that made it viable. It wasn’t viable before that.'”

John Howard reports attorneys for former Sen. Don Perata are fighting back against the U.S. attorney's office in Sacramento.

"Former Senate Leader Don Perata filed a formal request with the U.S. Justice Department Wednesday for an investigation into the conduct of the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s office in Sacramento, who he contends abused their authority by resurrecting a lengthy ethics investigation of Perata.

"The request was submitted by George O’Connell, Perata’s lawyer and a former U.S. Attorney in Sacramento, to the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General. The office, among other things, conducts investigations into complaints against Justice Department personnel, including FBI personnel. The request was filed with Inspector General Glen Fine.

"They don't care how you slice it: Californians think the idea of splitting up the state is still baloney," reports Steve Wiegand in the Bee.

"In fact, they are less in favor of bisecting the Golden State than at any time since 1981. And it doesn't matter much whether the proposal to make two states out of one is proposed along longitudinal or latitudinal lines.

"At least that's what today's Field Poll results say. A survey taken during the last week of February found that a whopping 82 percent of those polled disapproved of splitting the state into Eastern California and Western California.

"A hefty 71 percent didn't like the idea of formally dividing Northern California from Southern California."

CW's Malcolm Maclachlan reviews the public finance documents of the state's lawmakers. 

 
"Determining a legislator’s wealth from the paperwork is an imperfect science. The Form 700—also known as a “Statement of Economic Interests,” or SEI—that each state elected official files every two years is not a precise description of wealth. Assets are listed broadly via checked boxes stating “$10,001-$100,000,” or “$100,001-$1,000,000” Listing a personal home is optional, as is saying how much is still owed on it.

"Still, when these assets are added up, clear trends emerge. Seventeen Republican legislators have assets of at least $1 million. This includes six out of 15 Senators and 11 out of 30 Assembly members. On the Democratic side, there are only nine clear millionaires—four out of 24 Senators, and five out of 50 Assembly members."

"Former Assembly Speaker Robert Hertzberg is becoming the Democratic co-chair of California Forward, a bipartisan, foundation-underwritten group that promotes state government reform," posts Dan Walters on Capitol Alert.

"Hertzberg succeeds Leon Panetta, a former congressman and White House chief of staff whom President Barack Obama named head of the Central Intelligence Agency. And he joins the Republican co-chair of California Forward, Thomas McKernan.

"The organization supported Proposition 11, the 2008 ballot measure that shifted legislative redistricting, and is studying other proposals for reform, including an open primary system."

Capitol Weekly continues its profiles of legislative rookies with a look at Tulare County Republican Connie Conway. 

"There isn’t much subtle about Assembly freshman Connie Conway. The Tulare County Republican who describes herself as “a well-known workaholic” seems to approach her new job the way she approached her old one.

“I was a certified aerobics instructor and personal trainer,” says Conway. “I taught high school P.E., and used to be the health and fitness director at the YMCA.”

"Driven by global warming, the ocean is expected to rise nearly 5 feet along California's coastline by the end of the century, hitting San Francisco Bay the hardest of all, according to a state study released Wednesday," reports Jane Kay in the Chron.

"Nearly half a million people and $100 billion in property, two-thirds of it concentrated around the bay, are at risk of major flooding, researchers found in the most comprehensive study to date of how climate change will alter the state's coastal areas.

"Rising seas, storms and extreme high tides are expected to send saltwater into low-lying areas, flooding freeways, the Oakland and San Francisco airports, hospitals, power plants, schools and sewage plants. Thousands of structures at risk are the homes of low- and middle-income people, the study said.

"Vast wetlands that nourish fish and birds and act as a buffer against flooding will be inundated and could turn into dead pools. Constructing seawalls and levees, if needed, could cost $14 billion plus an annual maintenance cost of $1.4 billion, the study said.

"The study shows a greater sea-level rise for California than previous studies because it takes into account recent changes in glaciers and ice sheets in Antarctica and Greenland."

The Merc News's Mike Swift reports on a grassroots effort to address the gay marriage fight by replacing the word "marriage" with "domestic partnership" in state law.

"Fox News, NBC, The Associated Press and many of the state's largest newspapers were on the phone wanting to discuss the unusual initiative launched by [Ali] Shams and his friend Kaelan Housewright, a 21-year-old senior at the California Institute of the Arts. More to the point was Queerty.com, a gay issues blog which marveled: 'Straight Dudes File California Gay Marriage Ballot Initiative.'

"The measure would overturn Proposition 8's ban on same-sex marriage, and have California treat all unions — opposite-sex or same-sex — as domestic partnerships. It would also allow churches, synagogues and mosques to decide whom they want to marry in a social, rather than civil, ceremony.

"The domestic partnership initiative might be an extreme long shot to pass — or even make it to the ballot. In what may be a first, the warring sides in the Proposition 8 campaign agree on something — they both hate the idea."

Speaking of love and marriage, we turn to our Sex on Skates File:  "The engagement is off for the teenage daughter of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and the father of her baby. Levi Johnston told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he and Bristol Palin mutually decided "a while ago" to end their relationship. The 19-year-old Johnston declined to elaborate," reports the AP's Rachel D'Oro.

"Eighteen-year-old Bristol Palin says in a statement to the AP that she is "devastated."

"The two are the parents of a boy named Tripp, who was born Dec. 27.

"Sarah Palin revealed her daughter's pregnancy days after being named John McCain's running mate on the Republican presidential ticket."

Now that that's over, we're hoping Levi "f**king redneck" Johnston will be our friend on MySpace again.