"First-term Assemblyman John Perez, an ally of organized labor
and cousin of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa,
has secured commitments from members of his caucus
that could make him the next Assembly speaker.
"Perez entered the race after a number of
his Assembly colleagues mounted an effort to draft
him as a speakership candidate. Capitol sources said
if Perez is able to secure a majority of his caucus,
the vote on a new speaker could come by next week,
when the Assembly reconvenes to vote on education legislation.
"On Wednesday, incumbent Speaker Karen Bass endorsed
Perez. She said she expects the full Assembly Democratic
Caucus to vote on a new speaker next week."
Capitol Weekly has its new legislative salary data posted, and John Howard analyzes the numbers.
"The 2,129 staff members of the California Legislature earn an
average of about $61,728 a year, which places them in the upper range
of private-sector salaries and higher than the state’s average
per-capita income.
"A review of legislative salaries through November shows
a trend that has developed over the past five years: The staff of the Senate, which has half the elected
members of the Assembly, continues to move toward payroll
parity with the larger house. The total legislative
payroll for both houses is $131.4 million, reflecting roughly a $6 million increase since 2005.
"Assembly payroll is about $67.4 million, while the Senate’s is $64 million."
Malcolm Maclachlan looks at the Arizona signature gathering firm that failed to
qualify the Anthony Adams recall for the ballot.
"The head of a signature-gathering firm behind the failed attempt to recall
Assemblyman Anthony Adams has been involved in several
controversial campaigns in the past. And now, recall
advocates hint, they may take him to court.
"Signature gatherer Derrick Lee has numerous satisfied
customers in his home state of Arizona, California
and elsewhere. He has also been involved in several
failed and near-failed signature drives. Several people in his home
state of Arizona also charge that he has led efforts
to obstruct opposing petition gatherers.
“What we know is that either something irregular happened
there [during signature gathering], or something very irregular happened at the San Bernardino
Registrar’s office,” Schroeder said. “I don’t want to cast aspersions or point a finger at anybody
until we have more information.”
"But, he added, “I’ve never seen a 42 percent verification rate from a professional signature
gathering firm before.”
John Howard looks at complaints over the Air Resources Board's rule-making process.
"Top ARB officials, including the executive director
and the chairwoman of the board, learned on the night
of Dec. 10, 2008, that the project leader of a crucial study on diesel
pollution-related fatalities had falsified his credentials, claiming
he had a Ph.D. He didn’t.
"Emails reviewed by Capitol Weekly indicate that three
other board members also were aware of the concerns
prior to the vote.
But nobody informed the full, 11-member board before it began to deliberate on the regulation
the following morning – a regulation that was based, at least in part, on
the findings of the study."
E.J. Schultz looks at Tom Berryhill's entry into the race in the 14th Senate district.
"Tom Berryhill is in and Mike Villines is out of the race to replace
state Sen. Dave Cogdill, R-Modesto, who is leaving the upper house
after one term.
"Berryhill, a second-term Republican Assembly Member from Modesto,
announced his Senate campaign in a statement issued
Wednesday. First on
his to do list is moving, or at least finding an address
to register to
vote in the 14th Senate District. He now lives just outside the
district.
"He's in the process of moving now," said his campaign consultant, Steve Presson.
"Villines,
a GOP Assembly Member from Clovis, had toyed with entering
the race,
but opted against it to continue his run for state
insurance
commissioner.
Looks like Jose Solorio is no longer so keen on selling the Orange County Fairgrounds.
The LAT's Tony Barboza reports, "In a letter to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger today, Jose Solorio
(D-Santa Ana) said that while he had voted for the July bill that
authorized the state to sell the fairgrounds, a public
hearing he held
in Costa Mesa with fellow Assemblyman Van Tran (R-Garden Grove) last
month raised serious concerns that convinced him it
should be halted.
"The process for carrying out this sale has been tainted
by
misinformation, misrepresentations, conflicts of interests,
questionable legal and ethical activities, and a potential
constitutional barrier regarding the sale of the property," Solorio
wrote.
"Solorio also introduced legislation today that would
repeal the law that prompted the sale, according to
a news release."
And finally, tis the season for, well, for this..."A man dressed as an elf is jailed after police in Georgia
say he told a mall Santa that he was carrying dynamite.
"Police say Southlake Mallin suburban Atlanta was evacuated
but no explosives were found.
"Morrow police arrested 45-year-old William C. Caldwell III, who was being held without bond Thursday in the
Clayton County jail. He was not part of the mall's Christmas staff."
