November 20th, 2009, 2:35 pm by Martin Wisckol, Politics reporter
The effort of two Orange County GOP activists to recall Assemblyman Anthony Adams, R-Hesperia, was thrown out today by Secretary of State Debra Bowen after it was determined that insufficient signatures had been gathered to qualify the measure for the ballot.
Corona del Mar attorneys Mike Schroeder and Lee Lowrey were leading the charge to recall their fellow Republican because Adams was one of six state legislators who joined Democrats in approving a February budget update that included tax hikes. Recall advocates say Adams betrayed his signed pledge not to support more taxes.
To place the measure on the ballot, activists needed the valid signatures of 35,825 voters in the district, which is consists of parts of Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties. A total of 58,384 signatures were gathered but a random sampling of 1,839 signatures found that only 988 were valid. Bowen’s office projected that the total number of valid signatures would be 24,579, well short of the number needed.
State Elections Code says that if the projected number is less than 95 percent of the number needed, “the recall effort shall be deemed to have failed.”
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Posted in: Assembly • Anthony Adams • Mike Schroeder | Post a Comment »
November 20th, 2009, 1:43 pm by Martin Wisckol, Politics reporter
A new Rasmussen Reports poll shows Republican Meg Whitman in a dead heat with Democrat Jerry Brown in the race for governor, a big swing from less than two months ago when Rasmussen showed Brown 9 percentage points ahead and this Field Poll showed him 20 points ahead.
The vagaries of polling methodologies likely have something to do with the differences, as they have in surveys concerning the GOP primary in the race (click here for a rundown and my analysis of those polls). But the trend in Whitman’s favor is giving the campaign something to crow about.
“This is more clear evidence that Californians are attracted to Meg’s focused vision for California,” wrote senior campaign advisor Jeff Randle in a “state of the race” memo sent out to the press today.
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Posted in: Elections 2010 • Polls • Jerry Brown • Meg Whitman | 1 Comment »
November 19th, 2009, 1:14 pm by Martin Wisckol, Politics reporter
Tuesday’s dismal turnout at the polls added fuel to the call to do away with polling places and conduct elections entirely by mail, as is done in Oregon, two small California counties and at least one California city.
Just 9,172 - 4 percent - of the 72nd Assembly District’s voters went to the polls. But 30,745 voted by mail, accounting for 77 percent of all ballots cast. (Overall, a scant 18 percent of the district voters cast ballots.)
More people still make the trip in big elections - 55 percent of the county’s ballots last November were cast at the polling place. But that number shrinks a little each time around as more voters opt for the convenience of voting from home.
Fred Smoller is leading the call in Orange County for all-mail elections. He says it saves money and can increase turnout.
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Posted in: 72nd Assembly • Elections office | 8 Comments »
November 19th, 2009, 11:25 am by BRIAN JOSEPH, Sacramento Correspondent
Over on the OC Watchdog blog, we’ve got a report about Democratic State Senator Lou Correa’s mysterious new challenger, Sue Perez, who has filed paperwork with the California Secretary of State’s office to run in the 34th Senate District, but who is still registered to vote in the 33rd.
Loyal Total Buzz readers will recall how Linda Ackerman just recently took heat for this sort of thing in her run for Mike Duvall’s Assembly seat. They say Orange County is one contiguous district, so it doesn’t really matter where you live, but carpetbagging does seem to anger some voters.
Posted in: California Legislature • Elections 2010 • Senate | 2 Comments »
November 18th, 2009, 7:11 pm by Dena Bunis, Washington Bureau Chief
Majority leader Harry Reid and Senate Democrats unveil health bill.
The long-awaited Democratic health bill that Majority Leader Harry Reid will bring to the Senate floor was unveiled tonight after the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the bill would cost $849, within the $900 billion ceiling set by President Barack Obama.
The bill is a melding of the bills voted out by the Senate’s Finance and Health, Education Labor and Pension committees. Click here to read the full bill.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle responded as expected. Republican Sen. John Thune of South Dakota called it a “monstrosity.” In a statement she issued soon after the bill went on line Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., called t he release of the measure “an important moment for our country.”
More on the bill and health reform:
Senate health bill is outlined by Reid
Posted in: Congress • Health reform • U.S. Senate | 28 Comments »
November 18th, 2009, 3:31 pm by Dena Bunis, Washington Bureau Chief
Former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina announced her candidacy for U.S. Senate on November, 4, 2009 at Earth Friendly Products in Garden Grove. Photo by Jebb Harris, The Orange County Register
Carly Fiorina made her Washington debut today as an official contender for the Republican nomination to take on Sen. Barbara Boxer next spring. And she made it clear that she doesn’t think Irvine Assemblyman Chuck DeVore could gather the wide swath of voters needed to beat the incumbent Democrat.
“Chuck DeVore is the opponent that Barbara Boxer hopes she faces,’’ Fiorina told a group of Washington reporters during her first trip to the nation’s capital since announcing her Senate candidacy in Garden Grove. “I can and will beat Babara Boxer and winning matters. Winning is also about being able to find common ground with a broad spectrum of voters and being able to talk with them in terms that makes sense to them.”
DeVore has painted Fiorinaas not a true conservative and hopes to bring that point home during the campaign. Recent polls have the two running neck and neck for the nomination.
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Posted in: Elections 2010 • U.S. Senate | 9 Comments »
November 18th, 2009, 12:57 pm by Martin Wisckol, Politics reporter
The allegations that Barack Obama is not a natural-born citizen and so is not legitimately president continue to percolate, with an appeal filed Monday with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
U.S. District Court Judge David O. Carter on Oct. 29 dismissed without trial a civil suit seeking to disqualify Obama as president. Click here for the story. Laguna Niguel attorney Orly Taitz, on behalf of 42 of the 44 plaintiffs in the case, then filed with Carter a fiery motion for reconsideration. Click here for the story.
The two remaining plaintiffs, Buena Park Pastor Wiley Drake and American Independent Party Chairman Markham Robinson, had a falling out with Taitz and hired lawyer Gary Kreep to represent them. Kreep has filed the appeal on their behalf.
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Posted in: President Obama • Gary Kreep • Orly Taitz • Wiley Drake | 146 Comments »
November 18th, 2009, 11:48 am by Jennifer Muir
Of course we’ve got to wait out the democratic process to play out Jan. 12 to find out whether county Supervisor Chris Norby will be elected to the state Assembly. And yes, Democrat John MacMurray could still beat out Norby in the runoff election, although party registration in the district is stacked against him.
But if Norby wins, there’s a chance that the new year lead to an empty supervisors seat in the fourth district. As we reported earlier, voters won’t cast their ballots to find Norby’s replacement until June, and Norby’s replacement might not be permanently resolved until after a runoff election in November. Still, the race could start heating up soon.
So here’s a quick recap of the five candidates who have filed paperwork with the Registrar of Voters saying they intend to run.
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Posted in: Elections 2010 • Supervisors | Post a Comment »
November 18th, 2009, 10:46 am by BRIAN JOSEPH, Sacramento Correspondent
The nonpartisan and highly respected Legislative Analyst’s Office released a report this morning projecting that the state Legislature will have to address a new $21 billion budget deficit by the start of the new fiscal year on July 1, 2010.
This comes, of course, after a brutal year of budget shortfalls in Sacramento. Just four months ago, the Legislature and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger agreed on a budget that closed a roughly $26 billion deficit. And that was just five months after they had closed a $42 billion deficit.
The LAO reports that this new problem is the product of a projected $6.3 billion deficit in the current fiscal year and a $14.4 billion gap between revenues and spending in 2010-11.
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Posted in: Assembly • California Legislature • Gov. Schwarzenegger • Sacramento • Senate • State budget | 105 Comments »
November 18th, 2009, 8:44 am by Dena Bunis, Washington Bureau Chief
Sen. Dianne Feinstein
Sen. Dianne Feinstein told Attorney General Eric Holder this morning that she fully supports his decision to bring the masterminds of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks to New York City for federal trials.
“I happen to believe that our federal judges are our best and I happen to believe that New York City is able to handle this in a very professional and definitively legal matter,’’ said Feinstein, D-Calif., who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee.
Holder was questioned by the Judiciary Committee about his decision to send five 9/11 conspirators to a court that is just blocks from World Trade Center ground zero. Click here for Holder’s statement.
“The attack in New York was both a major attack of war and a major and horrific criminal event,’’ said Feinstein, who said in the past seven years only three cases were tried by military commissions.
Republicans on the panel criticized Holder’s decision, saying these terrorists should be treated as war criminals and tried under military justice.
How should we bring the 9/11 terrorists to justice?
Posted in: Foreign policy • Total Buzz poll • U.S. Senate | 31 Comments »
