"Former eBay executive Meg Whitman has opened up a wide
lead in the Republican race for governor, according
to the latest Capitol Weekly/Probolsky Research poll.
About a third of Republicans and decline-to-state voters who said they intend to vote Republican
said they favor Whitman, who has a 3-to-1 edge over rival contender Tom Campbell, Insurance
Commissioner Steve Poizner remains stuck in a distant
third, with 5.5 percent of Republican support."
You can download the survey here.
As the governor and legislative leaders celebrated
a much-sought policy deal yesterday, Capitol Weekly looks
at how pork loaded into the water bond helped the deal come
together.
"Passage of the package was eased by the $11 billion bond, which will be
on the November 2010 ballot. The bond contains billions in earmarks for
projects up and down the state, including the state
conservancies which are dependent on voter-approved funding.
"The bond contains more than $1.7 billion in water quality and watershed
protection
funding – all of which is earmarked for specific agencies and
groups. The bond includes $100 million for the Lake Tahoe Conservancy,
$100 million for Salton Sea preservation and $250 million for a dam
removal project near Lake Shasta.
"The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy is in line to
receive $75 million to “protect the Los Angeles River watershed,” and
another $25 million for Santa Monica Bay watershed projects. In
Speaker Karen Bass’s backyard, the Baldwin Hills Conservancy is set to
receive $20 million if the bond is approved.
There’s also $125 million earmarked for the California Department of
Forestry for forest restoration and “to provide for climate change adaptation.”
"In short the bond has a little something for everyone."
Those most opposed to the water deal are the people
who live in and around the Sacramento/San Joaquin River Delta, who have long argued this
deal would lead to the construction of a canal that
diverts water out of the delta.
Well, as part of his water victory dance yesterday,
Gov. Schwarzenegger went to Stockton and rubbed a big handful
of salt in the wounds of delta residents.
"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, visiting an area where
sentiment against the Peripheral Canal is intense,
told a business group in Stockton that the state was
"going to fix the delta and to build a canal around
the delta."
"The governor made the comments at a gathering at the
opening of an electric vehicle plant. His statement
was first reported by The Stockton Record. After the
speech, the governor did not take questions from reporters,
the Record said.
"It was one of his most direct comments to date about
the canal, which is not popular in San Joaquin County.
Among those who were surprised and displeased was Douglass
Wilhoit, CEO of the Greater Stockton Chamber of Commerce,
who said the newly approved water package did not address "the very faulty and incomplete water legislation which
we fear does not go far enough to protect and restore
the Delta."
Shane Goldmacher loks at who was conspicuously absent during this week's water voting.
"State lawmakers and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger spent
much of
Wednesday patting themselves on the backs for passing
a "historic"
package of legislation to overhaul the state’s water system. But some
lawmakers had more pressing concerns. Like a Mediterranean
cruise.
"While her colleagues toiled until dawn, Sen. Jenny Oropeza (D-Long
Beach) was on a European cruise with her husband. She received
permission for the absence from Senate leader Darrell Steinberg
(D-Sacramento), according to Ray Sotero, Oropeza’s chief of staff. “It
was a nonrefundable trip,” Sotero said.
"Two Republican state senators, George Runner of Lancaster and Sam
Aanestad of Grass Valley, also were missing. Their offices
refused to
reveal their whereabouts.
"Runner, who regularly chastises Democrats for failing
to follow
protocol on the Senate floor, was at a “previously planned engagement
with family,“ said Will Smith, his chief of staff. Aanestad was
on a
“longtime scheduled” personal trip, said Mark Reeder, his top aide.
Runner and Aanestad are both running for statewide
office next year.
"Carly Fiorina announced her candidacy for U.S Senate Wednesday and
pulled off a magic trick at the same time -- she made Chuck DeVore disappear. At least that was the way it looked as the newly
minted Fiorina campaign and the Barbara Boxer campaign immediately engaged in a public flame war
in the inboxes of political reporters.
Seema Mehta reports, "She mocked Boxer for writing three pieces of legislation during her
17-year tenure and for spending the summer on a book tour
instead of
meeting with voters at town halls.
"What do you say that come
next year, we give Barbara Boxer the chance to become
a full-time
novelist?" said Fiorina, the former Hewlett-Packard chief executive
whose candidacy has been unofficial in name only for
months.
"Let's work together and show our nation that Californians
believe
action trumps talk and problem-solving trumps partisanship," she said.
"In these tough times, hard-working Californians need a senator who
will fight to create jobs, not a millionaire former
executive who laid
off more than 28,000 Americans and shipped jobs overseas," said John
Burton, chairman of the California Democratic Party.
John Garamendi will be sworn in as the Congressman
from the 10th CD today, giving Gov. Schwarzenegger a vacancy to
fill, should he choose. In the mean time, Darrell Steinberg
today finds himself a heart beat away from the governorship...
There is also a vacancy in the state Senate, as Schwarzenegger appointed John Benoit to the Riverside
County Board of Supervisors.
Jim Miller reports, "Benoit had
not resigned as representative of Riverside County's 37th Senate
District as of Wednesday afternoon. When he does, the
governor has 14
days to call an election for the district. A special
primary likely
would be in January, with a special general election
in March, based on
the state elections code.
"Several people have expressed
an interest in running for the Republican-leaning Senate seat, which
stretches from Corona to the Coachella Valley. Possible
contenders
include Inland Assembly members Bill Emmerson, Jeff Miller and Brian
Nestande and former Inland lawmaker Russ Bogh.
And finally, from our Foreshadowing Files, "An Ohio man dressed as a Breathalyzer test for Halloween
found himself blowing into one after police stopped
him for allegedly
driving the wrong way without headlights on a one-way street. Oxford
police said they stopped 20-year-old James P. Miller on Halloween night and found beer in his front seat and in the trunk.
"Police said Miller blew 0.158 percent on a Breathalyzer test. The legal limit for
driving is a blood-alcohol level of .08."
At least he has a mug shot to show his grandchildren...
