Although they brought in the
Robert "The Hugginator" Hertzberg to negotiate between the two sides, "[l]ast-minute talks on a possible compromise over Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger's special election initiatives
collapsed Thursday night with the Republican governor vowing to take his government overhaul measures directly to voters."
"I'm actually very sad that we were just told by Secretary (of State)
Bruce McPherson that we ran out of time and we passed the deadline," [Gov.
Arnold] Schwarzenegger told reporters who waited outside his office for the two-hour negotiating session to end."
Hold on, let me get a tissue.
"'We were very close, very close,' Schwarzenegger said. 'As a matter of fact, if we would have had another two, three days, we could have done it.'"
Meanwhile,
the speaker says there's still time. "People said today’s the deadline, but there’s still room here.
We still think (we have) seven or eight more days to do this."
The campaign against the Proposition 77 redistricting initiative
won a unanimous ruling before the Federal Elections Commission yesterday, allowing congressional opponents (led by Democrat
Howard Berman and Republican
John Doolittle) to raise unlimited amounts of money to fight the measure.
"Schwarzenegger did not comment on the ruling, but
Todd Harris, one of the governor's political consultants, called Berman and Doolittle '
virtual poster children for safe seats' and accused them of 'leading the charge to prevent real competition in our elections.'"
The Republican party is not happy with GOP members of Congress raising funds against one of the governor's cornerstone ballot measures,
reports the Bee. "I ask that every Republican elected official in California ... support the fundamental principles of fairness and competition and not provide financial aid to defeat Proposition 77,' [GOP chairman
Duf Sundheim] said. 'These are principles that the Republican Party holds dear and principles that the CRP will not turn its back on - no matter whose job is put at risk."
Meanwhile, Assembly Speaker
Fabian Núñez and
Arnold Schwarzenegger have found common ground on a tax issue for Hollywood, writes Dan Walters. "No matter how it may be decorated like a Hollywood soundstage, however, the Núñez bill (
Assembly Bill 777) is
just a handout to some of the state's wealthiest residents. And it's not one whit more justifiable than any of the corporate subsidies that Núñez and other Democratic politicians routinely denounce as robbing the state treasury of money that's sorely needed for schools, health, welfare and other vital programs."
After San Francisco Mayor
Gavin Newsom telling Capitol Weekly he's "thinking about" a possible run for governor, the mayor officially stepped out of the race he was never in. "'I am not running. Period,' he said, during an interview with the Chronicle in Yosemite National Park. 'I can barely get through the day-to-day travails of running San Francisco. I don't want to start worrying about the macro-economic challenges of the state.'"
The Chron's John Wildermuth takes a looks at
some of the other names being bandied about by Democratic activists as possible nominees for governor. "Prominent Democrats ranging from San Francisco Mayor
Gavin Newsom and former Rep.
Leon Panetta to non-politicians such as businessman
Steve Jobs and comedian
Robin Williams are mentioned in the quiet conversations of Democratic activists, although no one is saying anything -- at least publicly -- about jumping into the race."
"'People don't say it to us directly, but I know there's talk out there,' said
Jude Barry, Westly's campaign manager. 'It's not a huge surprise. Neither Westly nor Angelides are household names, although I guarantee you they will be by election day.'"
"'It's not a concern or a surprise,' said
Dan Newman, a spokesman for Angelides. 'People will always consider running.'"
From our
Shameless Self Promotion Files: We told you it was a work in progress. Yesterday, with the launch of the new
www.capitolweekly.net, we launched the web site without the paper's new gossip column,
The Skinny. Readers can now
find the column online. And look for copies of the first issue on the streets in Sacramento now.
In Oakland, councilman
Ignacio de la Fuente has long been the favorite to take over for Jerry Brown as mayor. But the Chronicle reports former Congressman
Ron Dellums may jump into the race. From our
War of the Words files: Attorney General
Bill Lockyer won a trial court ruling yesterday
upholding his title and summary of a ballot measure that would limit rights granted to same-sex couples.
From our
"He Ain't No Hodad, Squidlips" Files: The battle over the municipal moniker "Surf City" has made its way to Sacramento, with
Joe Simitian now pushing a
resolution to
proclaim Santa Cruz as"Surf City." "The news riled people in Huntington Beach, where tourism officials have filed nine trademark applications for "Surf City USA" and in July rolled out a new logo and Surf City merchandise line replete with bicycles and T-shirts."
Allowing Huntington Beach to monopolize the name would be "a sham," Simitian said Thursday. "I think the commoditization of Surf City is really unfortunate. Surf City is as much a state of mind as it is a place, and you can't trademark a state of mind."
Is that Senator Simitian, or
Senator Spicoli?
