Another day passes, and still no resolution in the
speaker's race. John Perez says he has the votes, but Kevin De Leon refuses to budge.
Capitol Weekly takes a look at Karen Bass's role in putting the Perez movement together
"Hurt feelings and allegations of treachery are de rigeur
when it comes to the politics of the speakership. But
the story of Assemblyman John Perez’s rise as a candidate for speaker reveals the little
talked about Machiavellian side of Karen Bass, a speaker
who is often cited for her calm personal demeanor and
affable political style.
"Bass, D-Los Angeles, came out publicly in support of Perez’s speakership bid Wednesday, telling the press about
her decision before the caucus had formally chosen a new leader.
But Bass’s press conference has angered some Assembly Democrats, who complained
that they had the idea of a Perez speakership forced
upon them with no time to coalesce as a group."
"Bass used the press as a weapon to generate momentum
for Perez’s speakership this week. And while she says she was
John Perez’s “29th vote” for speaker, Bass has been orchestrating Perez’s takeover of the caucus for weeks, and was among his
earliest supporters."
CW also reports Gil Cedillo is flaunting a new poll
showing him with a big lead over John Perez in a primary.
"Forty-three perecent of those who responded said they would
favor Cedillo, compared to 17 percent for Perez. Another 40 percent of those surveyed were undecided.
"Cedillo’s potential challenge of Perez is being used by
allies of Assemblyman Kevin De Leon to try to slow
down Perez’s momentum in the
battle for Assembly speaker. De Leon and Perez both
seeking the speaker’s job.
De Leon’s backers have cautioned Assembly Democrats from electing
a speaker who
could potentially lose a primary, or have to spend
heavily to protect his own
seat.
"Perez’s political consultant Douglas Herman dismissed the
survey results, saying surveys at this stage of a campaign
measure nothing but name identification. “Polling is like any statistic," said Herman. "You can make polling numbers say
what you want them to say.”"
The speakership wars were also subject of this week's podcast.
Meg Whitman gets the Time Magazine treatment.
"Against a backdrop of a crippling statewide financial
crisis and a
national Republican Party civil war, Whitman is attempting
her greatest
balancing act yet: running for governor of the country's most populous
state as a fiscally conservative, socially moderate
woman. As an
accomplished business executive, she claims she is
in the best position
to create jobs and control spending in California,
while playing down
her pro-choice, socially moderate views. But at a time when
GOP
elements are conducting a witch hunt to purge moderates
from the party,
she may have to pass ideological litmus tests in order
to get the
Republican nomination."
Sounds about right.
The LA Times reports Rod Wright is now the subject of an FPPC investigation.
"The state’s political ethics agency has launched an investigation
into whether state Sen. Roderick Wright (D-Inglewood) violated campaign
laws when he formed a legal defense fund without reporting the
legal
issue for which he is raising money, an official said
today.
"Elected officials may create legal defense funds and
raise unlimited
funds to defray expenses, including representation
by attorneys, but
are required to disclose the purpose for which the
money is being
raised, said Roman Porter, executive director of the
state Fair
Political Practices Commission.
The papers filed to form Wright’s committee said only that the money would be used
for "any lawful purpose."
Dan Walters looks at this round of California's initiative wars.
"The state's economic and political turmoil has spawned a flood
of
potentially far-reaching ballot measures for the 2010 elections,
ranging from calling a constitutional convention to
overturning the ban
on same-sex marriages.
"Thirty-seven initiatives have already been
cleared for signature-gathering and at last count 44 more were awaiting
official title language. Not all will make the ballot; many are virtual
duplicates of others and some are just shots in the
dark with no chance
of qualifying. It's not inconceivable, however, that voters will face
a
couple of dozen measures with serious political and
financial backing
next year, harkening back to the 1980s and 1990s, when the initiative
trade was thriving.
"The unions want to strangle two pending measures, one
barring public
payroll deductions for political activities (a California version of an
Idaho law that recently won Supreme Court blessing) and the other
overhauling public worker pensions. But the groups
sponsoring the two
are immune to direct retaliation. So unions and their
allies may be
attempting to choke off their money by filing measures
that would
repeal $2 billion in state tax breaks for business enacted last
February, virtually prohibit corporate political contributions
and
sharply raise property taxes on business."
And finally, from our political technology files, the Chron's Carla Marinucci reports, "The Ronald Reagan iPhone app, introduced this week,
promises to
"deliver Ronald Reagan right to your fingertips," offering the
speeches, sayings and photos of the "Great Communicator" to a
potentially wider and younger audience, thanks to the
popular mobile
technology.
"The efforts of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library
in Simi Valley
(Ventura County) mean that five years after his death, Reagan's
appearance on the iPhone may break new ground, political
insiders say.
"What's smart about it - and why you'll see it happen more and more
- is that people are just living on their mobile devices," says Wade
Randlett, a Silicon Valley Democratic activist and major fundraiser
for
President Obama. "They're giving up on laptops because the mobile
device does everything you need."
