A bill introduced by Assemblymember Alyson Huber to require a full legislative vote to approve any proposed peripheral canal around the California Delta was killed in its first policy hearing today for lack of a second motion to take a vote.
"Today, California lost the opportunity to ensure accountability and oversight of any proposed peripheral canal," said Huber. "The intention of AB 1594 was not to reopen the debate about last year's water package, but to add a critical piece missing from the process - legislative oversight and a fiscal analysis of any conveyance proposal."
The bill, heard in Assembly Committee on Water, Parks and Wildlife, was supported by Senator Mark DeSaulnier (Co-Author) Assemblymember Wes Chesbro (Co-Author) Assemblymember Paul Fong (Co-Author), Assemblymember Ted Gaines (Co-Author), Assemblymember Tom Torlakson (Co-Author) and Assemblymember Mariko Yamada (Co-Author).
"I appreciate the tremendous bipartisan support the bill has received from environmental, business and local government groups. I look forward to continuing the fight for the Delta as the water plan moves ahead."
The broad coalition that supported the Bill included Restore the Delta, Delta Counties Coalition, Sierra Club, Stockton Chamber of Commerce, Hispanics for Political Action, North San Joaquin Water Conservation District, Lodi Chamber of Commerce, Reclamation District 999, California Delta Chambers & Visitor's Bureau, Stockton East Water District, Planning and Conservation League, Save the Delta, Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District, South Delta Water Agency, Central Delta Water Agency, San Joaquin Board of Supervisors, Amador County Democratic Central Committee, Friends of the River, East Bay Regional Park, Campaign for Common Ground and El Dorado County Democratic Central Committee.
Supporters of AB 1594 are very disappointed that such a simple, straightforward bill, designed to stop Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's peripheral canal from being built without legislative oversight and a fiscal analysis, was killed in Committee.
Assemblymember Mariko Yamada (D-Davis), a co-author of AB 1594 who made the motion to vote on the bill, praised Huber for authoring the bill. She said was not surprised the bill failed to pass out of Committee, but was disturbed that it didn't receive a second motion.
"I commend Assemblymember Huber for her courage and competence in continuing her advocacy on this important issue," said Yamada. "As the only member of the Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee who represents the Delta Primary Zone, I am not surprised that this bill did not pass out of our policy committee. However, without the bill even being given the courtesy of a 'second' motion, the committee did not have to go on record with a yes-or-no vote."
She also criticized Legislative critics of AB 1594 for continuing to leave the voices of Delta residents "on the sidelines."
"Today's critics testified that AB 1594 would re-open last year's difficult and painful water negotiations," said Yamada. "The bill would have simply provided transparency and accountability to those residents who will be most affected by the changes to the Delta. Without a single Delta legislator as an author of any part of the five-bill policy and bond package, there is little confidence in the middle-of-the-night water deals now chaptered into law. This bill would have allowed Delta residents to use the legislative process as a means to express their concerns about a peripheral canal. Without that, their voices continue to be left on the sidelines.""
Assemblymember Alyson Huber (D-El Dorado Hills) has reintroduced a bill, AB 1594, that would prevent construction of a peripheral canal around the California Delta without a full fiscal analysis and a vote of the legislature.
Huber's bill prohibits the construction of a peripheral canal - defined to include any facility or structure that conveys water directly from a diversion point in the Sacramento River to SWP or CVP pumping facilities south of the Delta - unless expressly authorized by the Legislature. It further requires the Legislative Analyst's Office to complete an economic feasibility analysis prior to the enactment of a statute authorizing the construction of a peripheral canal, according to Jane Wagner-Tyack, Policy Analyst for Restore the Delta.
The bill would also require that the construction and operation of a peripheral canal "not diminish or negatively affect the water supplies, water rights, or quality of water for water users within the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta watershed."
"Last November's water package completely omits legislative oversight, merely leaving it to the Delta Stewardship Council to decide whether the BDCP is consistent with the co-equal goals of water supply and ecosystem restoration for the Delta," said Wagner-Tyack.
Rollout of the bill is scheduled for Monday, April 26. The bill is scheduled to be heard by the Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee on April 27.
The co-oauthors of the bill are Assembly Members Wesley Chesbro (D-Eureka), Paul Fong (D-Mountain View), Ted Gaines (R-Granite Bay), Tom Torlakson (D-Martinez), and Mariko Yamada (D-Davis).
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Senator Diane Feinstein and Legislative Leaders are campaigning for the construction of a peripheral canal and new dams to facilitate increased water exports to corporate agribusiness and Southern California water agencies. Delta advocates fear that the canal, estimated to cost $23 to $53.8 billion, will push collapsing populations of Central Valley salmon, Delta smelt, longfin smelt, green sturgeon and other species over the edge of extinction.
On November 9, 2009, Assemblymember Huber delivered to the Governor's office 2000 postcards from Delta residents who are opposed to Schwarzenegger's plan to build a peripheral canal.
"I have heard from my constituents - residents of the Delta region - and they have said loud and clear they oppose the construction of a peripheral canal," said Assemblymember Alyson Huber. "The Governor showed how out of touch he is with my communities when, just hours after the water package was passed, he touted his plans to build a canal through the Delta at a business event in Stockton. He just doesn't get it - he might as well walk into a Giant's game wearing a Dodger jersey."
Assemblymember Huber said she opposed the water package because "it creates a new layer of bureaucrats who will make decisions on water" that will impact the communities in her district, including the details of a canal.
To counteract proposals to give all authority to a group of unelected appointees, the Delta Stewardship Council, Huber offered up a simple bill (AB 13 7x) one to require a full analysis of the peripheral canal and require legislative approval - a common sense approach. Unfortunately, that bill was killed without a hearing.
Opponents of AB 1594 argue that it is a threat to achieving the co-equal goals of ecosystem restoration and reliable water supplies in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta as passed in the water legislation package in 2009.
The opponents include the Desert Water Agency, Eastern Municipal Water District, Municipal Water District of Orange County, The Chamber Alliance of Ventura & Santa Barbara Counties, The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, Valley Ag Coalition and Westlands Water District.
Assemblymember Alyson Huber deserves kudos for reintroducing her bill to prohibit the construction of "Arnold's Big Ditch" without a full fiscal analysis and a vote of the legislature.
First, Wi-Fi on a plane is the best thing since the flash drive. I am currently cruising at about 20,000 feet over Salt Lake on my way to Orlando, Florida for the 2009 Young Democrats of America Fall conference (apparently Chicago seemed like a logical connection point for the airplane to go first...this is the type of logic that is probably at the root of the airline industry's financial problems, but I digress).
For those who missed it, earlier this year Crystal Strait, the past California Young Democrats President and former Political Director for the California Democratic Party, was elected as the first Californian to become President of the Young Democrats of America (amusingly at the YDA convention in Chicago). Taking the reins of YDA is at best going to be a challenge for Crystal and this conference will be the first public view of her leadership.
She is going to need to balance the needs of a country trying to defend the blue wave of 2008 as well as the needs of her home state which has historically received significant financial support from YDA and will be looking for help in the upcoming election. It is yet to be seen how a Californian at the helm of YDA will impact the California Young Democrats fundraising.
Just wanted to use the term "President Obama" at the beginning of this. Has a ring to it.
• A few days old, but this is an important story. We talk a lot about the Capitol news bureaus being thinned out, but if you think that's bad, look at the almost non-existent pool of reporters covering county governments, in particular the country's largest, LA County. The budget is bigger than most states, and yet the Board of Supervisors has five members and only FOUR reporters. There's a direct line that can be drawn between media invisibility and the current crisis in California government.
• Gil Cedillo, running for Hilda Solis' Congressional seat once it's vacated, has a website. Calitics hopes to talk with all the CA-32 candidates in the coming weeks.
• Here's a story about the political tightrope being walked by newly-elected candidates Alyson Huber and Joan Buchanan. Legislators like this are always given the bad advice to act like the more conservative elements of their districts even though they won election promising something wholly separate from that. The bias is that the campaign consultants of their OPPONENTS set their governing strategy. That's bogus. Make your case and the voters will respond.
• If you're into the deathly important business of which gubernatorial candidate talked to which inaugural ball participant, this is the article for you. I have to say that I cannot work up even a little bit of enthusiasm for the 2010 race, especially considering that "leader of a failed state" is about as praiseworthy an honor as "perpetrator of the smallest genocide." So you may be able to find 18-month-in-advance horse-race stories elsewhere. Go get them. Because the next Governor of this state is not likely to be a movement candidate and as such is probably destined for failure, and so any investment of my time seems foolhardy.
Well, this has been a tight race for a long time, but at this point I think there have been quite a few people that were writing this off. Well, as of 7:06 this evening, Alyson Huber holds a lead of 531 votes. That's about .3% for you folks looking to see if we'll get to the .5% automatic recount. If this holds up, the Central Valley will have themselves a fine Assemblywoman next week.
You can find this info at the SoS's "close election" page. On the disappointing side, Hannah-Beth Jackson remains 1717 votes behind and Charlie Brown is 1578 votes back.
UPDATE: AD-10, Meet your new Assemblywoman, Alyson Huber. I've heard from somebody close to the Speaker that there are relatively few votes remaining. Alyson Huber will be sworn into the Assembly next week.
As TINS posted yesterday, Hannah-Beth Jackson has now fallen behind in the latest count of her race in SD-19, and according to local reports the remaining votes to be counted are mainly in Strickland-friendly areas. This one looks grim. At this hour Strickland leads by 1,560 votes, and it's actually outside of the 1/2 of 1% required for a partial recount.
Hannah-Beth Jackson (Dem) 186,071 49.7%
Tony Strickland (Rep) 187,631 50.3%
The other two races we're monitoring are actually in better shape than Hannah-Beth's. In AD-10, the latest numbers from the Secretary of State show Jack Sieglock leading Alyson Huber by just 506 votes.
Alyson L. Huber (Dem) 80,507 46.4%
Jack Sieglock (Rep) 81,013 46.8%
This is currently inside recount territory. According to Randy Bayne, the remaining ballots left to count are mainly in Sacramento and San Joaquin Counties. The ballot count is done in Amador County and mostly done in El Dorado County. With some luck, the Sacramento County ballots will swing for Huber; she beat Sieglock 52-41 there. Sieglock won San Joaquin County 51-42.
In CA-04, Charlie Brown is within 569 votes of Tom McClintock.
Charlie Brown (Dem) 168,378 49.9%
Tom McClintock (Rep) 168,947 50.1%
The question is how many ballots are left in Nevada County, where Brown won big. According to the unprocessed ballot report, there are still 10,000 left up there, but I think that's outdated information. It's probably more like 5,000, if not less. Still, we are well within the .5% required for a partial recount. So that's where that's likely to be headed regardless of what happens with the final numbers.
Again, counts and recounts cost money, so if you can chip in a couple bucks for these Democrats at the Calitics ActBlue page, I'm sure they'd be grateful.
UPDATE: I just learned that Hannah-Beth Jackson had to evacuate her house today, owing to the Montecito fire. Hopefully everything will work out OK.
Everyone should bookmark this site monitoring the close races that haven't been called in California. There are four such races within 2% at the moment. There's Prop. 11, which is trending toward passage with a 131,000 vote lead. There's SD-19, which has some breathing room now, as Hannah-Beth Jackson leads by 1,203 votes.
And then there are the two Sacramento-area races. Alyson Huber's race in AD-10 has really tightened up. She now trails Jack Sieglock by just 319 votes out of 154,000 counted. That is well within the 1/2 of 1% territory that would trigger an automatic recount. Which brings up an interesting question which perhaps some election junkie could answer. The Secretary of State certifies the count on December 2. But the new legislature is sworn in on December 1. If there's a race with no clear winner at that point, what happens?
Finally, we have CA-04, the race between Charlie Brown and Tom McClintock. This has bounced around a bit, but we're now looking at an 889 vote lead for McClintock. There are anywhere between 48,000 and 55,000 votes left to count, based on this chart (which you can also bookmark) of unprocessed ballots. This race also appeared headed to a recount, and if you believe this Daily Kos diarist, Brown has a good shot at making up ground, because there are so many outstanding votes in Nevada County, where Brown did best.
We know these counts and recounts are expensive, and now two groups have stepped up with their support of Charlie while we sort this out. Wes Clark sent an email to his list today:
Our friend Charlie Brown needs our help. The margin in California's 4th Congressional District is razor thin, and they're still counting votes. After more than 300,000 ballots were cast in CA-04, the race is tied. The current difference stands at less than half of 1% (less than 500 votes).
With 40,000 vote-by-mail and provisional ballots still to be counted, the race is way too close to call. That's why it's critical for us to make sure all the votes are counted in CA-04.
Charlie's opponent, Tom McClintock, has hired an election attorney and brought in a team of lawyers to "watch" the locations where absentee and provisional ballots are being counted. McClintock's team is doing everything they can to challenge the votes of thousands of people who faithfully cast their ballots.
Charlie needs our help to fight back.
And DFA has done the same:
In 2000, we lost the election when the Bush campaign beat us in the legal and media fight that followed. In 2004, we had to force a recount in the Washington State Governor's race and we won because you delivered the resources to make it happen.
We need to raise at least $40,000 by Monday to back up these races with the resources they need right now.
In 2004, we raised over $250,000 for the Washington State recount. This year, we need $40,000 right now to keep the GOP dirty tricks at bay and make sure every vote is counted fairly.
DFA's Grassroots All-Star Charlie Brown needs resources to fend off a team of Republican lawyers who, as I write this message, are challenging every Democratic ballot before the FIRST count has even been completed. Charlie is down by less than 500 votes with over 15,000 votes still to be counted. He needs our help to make sure every vote is counted.
(Note: it's now 889 votes with over 48,000 votes left to be counted)
The governor said "the only solution for our healthcare crisis" is a complete overhaul of the state's healthcare system along the lines of his $14.9-billion plan that the Legislature rejected last January as too expensive.
"We supported wholesale health reform, but this is a population that has nowhere else to go, and he's leaving them high and dry," said Elizabeth Landsberg, legislative advocate for the Western Center on Law & Poverty, a Los Angeles nonprofit. (LA Times 10/28)
Disgusting.
• A fascinating legal case is going to trial in San Francisco. A group of Nigerian villagers are suing Chevron over a protest on one an oil rig in the Niger Delta. The plaintiffs accuse Chevron of drastic human rights violations. Oh, and Chevron is now the #3 oil company in the world.
As I mentioned last week, I made a trip out to Stockton yesterday. The weather was beautiful, warm and sunny. It made for a nice day to walk a precinct. The CDP Rural Caucus couldn't have chosen a nicer day.
I got to Stockton at around 10, after a gorgeous drive over the Altamont pass and through the sea of wind turbines (and the "Jesus Saves" cross burned into the side of a hill). It really is beautiful, when you see the hills with a smidge of foggy haze over them. As I walked into the building, a former movie theater, you can see a few things. One, this wasn't fancy. There wasn't even a restroom, you had to use one at the sympathetic coffee shop next door. There was insulation and old movie theater seats in the back room that was now housing a proliferation of lawn signs from local candidates.
And there are a lot of strong local candidates. The event was designed to support Assembly candidates Huber and Eisenhut as well as State Senate candidate Lois Wolk. (Note: I do some work for Wolk's campaign.) However, it went further than that. We had the CDP's flyer with the Obama Highway picture that contained some pretty good recommendations for the props (except that the CDP couldn't come to a recommendation on Prop 10...vote no on 10!) and a flyer for Stockton mayoral candidate Ann Johnston.
I walked with CDP Rural Caucus Chair Jamie Beutler and Region 4 Chair Owen Jackman. Well, I'll put "walk" in quotes there. It's weird, because for all I complain about the huge hills in SF, there are advantages to walking precincts here. Namely, everything is close. So, we drove around talking to voters. We were in a pretty mixed neighborhood, with a bunch of students from University of the Pacific as well as some working class families. Overall, the impresion of the voters we spoke to was very positive.
I was, once again, impressed with Alyson Huber. For a political newcomer, she has run a great campaign. While I might have tweaked a few tactics here and there, overall she has managed to stay competitive in a tough district. In the next 8 days, she has a better shot than anybody has had in this district for a long time to put a Democrat in this seat. Her opponent, Jack Sieglock, is a longtime politician. He's been a city councilman, a supervisor, and generally hanging around GOP politics in the region for a while.
At this point, Sieglock's running a pretty negative campaign. (Even using a quote from the Calitics podcast out of context on a mailer). But all that's just the name of the game in politics, but more troubling are all the lies. Namely, Sieglock is alleging that Huber is some sort of McClintock-esque carpetbagger. Trust me when I say that Huber is no McClintock, carpetbagger-wise or in any other stretch of the imagination. Huber was born and raised in the Central Valley. She graduated from Lodi High School and attended Cal State, Chico before finishing up at Cornell. She attended one of our fine state law schools, Hastings, and now practices from her home in the Valley. Huber deserves respect for working her way up, and she should be the next Assembly member from AD-10.
It really was a great experience, and I topped it off with a stop in Tracy to stand at a street corner to oppose Prop 8. We got a lot of great support, honking horns and the sort. It was a great group that turned out, a lot of young newly energized Californians opposing the joke that is Prop 8.
I've been talking a lot about Stay for Change. Well, I've got a chance now to put my time, gas, and energy where my mouth is. The CDP's Rural Caucus and Take Back Red California are putting together a great event in Stockton (1825 Pacific) on Sunday morning at 10AM.
Assembly Majority Whip Fiona Ma will be there to rally the 'roots, joining several other local elected officials. Oh, and me! Come and say hi!
Once we hear some good speechifying, we'll break off to to do some work for Calitics favorite Alyson Huber as well as Lois Wolk (for whom I do some work) and Jerry McNerney. Details:
What: Blue Wave Action event
Who: CDP Rural Caucus, Take Back Red California, Asm. Fiona Ma, Brian Leubitz (That's me) and tons of fun people...plus you!
When: Sunday, October 26, 10AM
Where: Stockton DCCC, 1825 Pacific Why: Because California needs you to build a better, more responsible budget.
More information: Cool JPG with info
A couple of days ago I wrote a diary entitled Stay for Change. I am encouraging Californians to stay in the state. Walk precincts and make calls here in California. And despite all the text messages and emails you get, please we need you here!
We need you here to defeat Prop 8, so that we retain marriage equality and we aren't stuck with a second class citizenship. We need you here at home, so that we can defeat Proposition 4 to preserve the safety of our teens and choice in California. We need you here to help kick start the greatest public works project in a generation with California's High Speed Rail project (Prop 1A).
And we need you here to elect More And Better Democrats. Across California we are fighting for a reasonable budget. A budget that doesn't get defined by the race to the bottom Republicans. To do that, we need 2/3 majorities in both the Senate and the Assembly. Admittedly that will be tough, perhaps even impossible in the Senate. But the closer we get to 2/3, the easier it is to pass a reasonable budget. In the Senate, Hannah-Beth Jackson (19th) is our best shot to pick up a seat. In the Assembly we have some great candidates. You'll find two, Alyson Huber (AD-10) and Manuel Perez (AD-80) on The Calitics ActBlue Page.
But while the need for money is omnipresent, we need boots on the ground. So, Stay for Change so that California can be the first state to stand up for equality. Stay for Change. Let's tell the Republicans that they can't just cut and cut and cut into the heart of our budget, and expect to find a solution.
This is California. We have the people right here in this state to defeat these terrible props, and accomplish our goals. But we need some progressives to stay here in California.
So, if you would like to travel, I have provided a list of exotic locales where you can help some great candidates right here in California. And if you would like to help right at home, well there are offices for No on Prop 8 across the state. You can find events to protect teen safety by defeating Prop 4 right here.
I have nothing but respect for the Obama campaign, its staffers, and the many, many volunteers that have given their blood, sweat, and tears to this campaign. It is because of their hard work that we are in a position to win the White House. We should never let off the gas pedal in following through on this election. While the nominee must attend to his personal affairs, we must pick up the slack.
That all being said, I can't say that I agree with this email that I just got (and video):
With only 15 days left and early voting already beginning, you can make a big difference by Driving for Change. Watch this video and sign up now to let us know you're coming to Colorado:
I understand this perspective from the Obama campaign. After all, their job isn't to fight for Democratic principles or anything high-minded like that. It's to win the presidential election for their guy, Barack Obama. And that's great. But this election is more than just one race. It's about more than just Barack Obama. A couple of weeks ago, Robert said something similar over at Big Orange. He spoke of an election that's slipping away from us, right here at home. A historic chance that we are squandering.
So these next two weeks, why don't you consider just Staying for Change. Now that doesn't mean staying for change and spending two hours into a phone bank and that's it.
Really stay for change. Stay for change by traveling to a new county for Change. You're in LA? WHy don't you help Debbie Cook, who is running in a district that starts in Southern LA County and extends into coastal Orange County. She's got a debate, well, very soon. It's her only shot at Dana in person, because he's been skittish to be seen in person with her. Or if you'd like to go further, how about helping Marty Block in AD-78 or Manuel Perez in AD-80.
Want to really Stay for Change in the Bay Area? Why don't you head up to the Sacramento area. They have several races that you can spend your weekend working on. You can walk and doors for Alyson Huber (AD-10) and Bill Durston (CA-03) and help out two great candidates at the same time. You can drive a few miles east and help out Charlie Brown (CA-04) as he seeks to defeat the carpet-bagging Tom McClintock. Or if you want to stay closer to home, Joan Buchanan (AD-15could use some help in the Contra Costa County area.
And then there are our propositions. We are in very tight races on some of the most important issues of our day: Propositions 4 & 8. Both are slightly ahead in the polls. While turnout is likely to be high this year, we need to ensure that people follow the ballot down the many, many pages and make those important votes against Prop 4 & 8. And on the Yes side? Well, in Prop 1A, we have a tremendous opportunity to steer development in our strength in the right direction.
So, while I don't frequently suggest ignoring emails from Barack Obama, I'm going to do it this time. Don't leave the state, but dedicate your time to ensuring that California makes the right decisions this November. And if you want to help Barack Obama, you can make calls right here from the Golden State without pumping all those carbon emissions into the atmosphere. It's easy and simple to start, just click here and you'll be making calls for Obama in no time. Your local county committee can also help you get set up to both make phone calls for Obama as well as Staying for Change.
• A KPIX poll shows Jerry McNerney cruising in CA-11, up 52-41 over Dean Andal. What a golden boy. The D-Trip needs to bug out of this race and put the resources where they're needed, like CA-03, CA-46, CA-50 and CA-26.
• Alyson Huber received the endorsement of the Sacramento Bee in her AD-10 race. In other newspaper endorsements, the LA Times went with some guy named Barack Obama for President. This is their first endorsement in a general election in 30 years.
• The OC toll road agency, which has been pushing the San Onofre State Beach road for years because it would provide such an economic boost, now wants a billion dollar federal bailout because commuters are using their roads less. Roads are costly and no longer profitable. Transit, yes; more roads, no.
• Here's an interesting read from Amanda Marcotte on Prop. 4 and the new rhetoric taken up by the anti-choice forces.
• A reminder: Jim Dean will be in Southern California Sunday appearing with the campaigns of Debbie Cook (CA-46) and Bill Hedrick (CA-44).
8:30 AM: Breakfast fundraiser for Debbie Cook for Congress, $25. At the International Association of Machinists Union Hall, 5402 Bolsa Avenue, Huntington Beach, California 92649.
10 AM: Precinct walking and rally also at the International Association of Machinists Union Hall. For more info, call the Cook campaign at 714-842-6358.
6 PM: Fundraiser for Bill Hedrick with Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez, $75. At the Historic El Adobe de Capistrano Restaurant, 31891 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675. Please RSVP to Karen Hinks at 714-848-9395 or khinks-at-verizon-dot-net.
UPDATE by Brian: one more for you. Lane Hudson has an open letter to DiFi on HuffPo challenging her to campaign against Prop 8 in the context of the upcoming Harvey Milk movie. Check it out.
So we raised nearly $3,000 in about two days, and combined with our $2,500 in matching funds we contributed around $5,500 to five great candidates: Charlie Brown (CA-04), Debbie Cook (CA-46), Hannah-Beth Jackson (SD-19), Alyson Huber (AD-10), and Manuel Perez (AD-80).
Great work, everyone. Thanks so much for participating. You rock.
OK, we're over $2,600, but we still need to get $500 per candidate to reach our matching goal. Thanks so much, everyone. If you want great Democrats like Hilda Solis in Washington and in Sacramento, please do what you can to help us out.
The most remarkable quote of the week came from a backbencher Yacht Party Republican named Mark Wyland, commenting on the historically late state budget. If the California Democratic Party had a locker room, this would be serious bulletin-board material:
Voters are unlikely to punish lawmakers for the budget delay in any substantive way on Nov. 4 unless it's to pass a ballot measure that would change how political districts are drawn, said state Sen. Mark Wyland (R-Carlsbad).
"My experience with voters is that they really don't care how long it takes to get a budget," Wyland said, following his participation in a panel discussion at an event on reforming state government.
According to Wyland, prolonged budget stalemates like this year's sometimes encourage voters to keep their incumbents. Because districts are usually heavily skewed in registration to one party or another, he said, sitting legislators are more likely to hear encouragement for their party's ideological position than disfavor.
And voting against the party - in Wyland's example, for tax raises or to reinstate the unpopular vehicle-license fee - is an invitation to face a primary challenge in the next election cycle, he said.
This is the calcified opinion from the Yacht Party, and why they'll never be moved from their ideological perches. They believe that they have more to fear from internal challenges on the grounds of insufficient fealty to failed conservative policies than from the consequences of those policies. And there's a lot of evidence on their side, although not as much as they think.
But the most glaring point made in this statement is one of contempt. It shows contempt for voters to act in the best interest of an ideology than in the best interest of the state. It shows contempt for voters to hold the budget hostage, causing extreme hardship in the lives of state employees, community health centers, policemen and firefighters, and public schools, and expect nobody to notice. It shows contempt for voters to use the tyranny of the minority to advance a cause completely at odds with the prevailing opinion of the state. Real people were affected and harmed by this budget, and all of us will be in the future as the bills of conservative borrow-and-spend economics and systematic destruction of government come due.
And the thing is, Wyland is relying on a failed model. Demographic shifts and a reckoning of the failure of conservatism has made no district safe. Indeed Californians can punish Yacht Party Republicans for their intransigence and obstructionism. There are a number of races at the federal and state level where Democrats have more than a chance to unseat Republicans and turn seats blue. In fact, with some luck and proper resources we can get very close to that 2/3 majority needed to pass budgets and fix the structural revenue deficit. That's where you come in.
The Calitics Editorial Board has identified five seats which strike a balance between winnable races and progressive leadership. We've decided to start a major fundraising push for these five candidates between now and the end of the quarterly reporting requirement on September 30. That gives us only a few days, but here's the kicker - Calitics will match every donation made to these candidates up to $500 each, for a grand total of a $2,500 candidate match.
Charlie Brown (CA-04): A recent Research 2000 poll showed Brown leading perennial candidate Tom McClintock 46-41 in this deep red district. Brown, a retired Air Force Lt. Colonel, nearly defeated indicted Congressman John Doolittle in 2006 and has shown tremendous leadership on veteran's issues and the FISA fight before even coming to Congress. He's a better Democrat we can all be proud of.
Debbie Cook (CA-46): Running in a tough district against certifiably crazy Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, Debbie Cook is running with an unabashedly progressive message. The Mayor of Huntington Beach, Cook is an expert on peak oil and energy issues, and would instantly be one of the most knowledgeable voices in the Congress on how to move toward a post-carbon future. She also believes in ending the Iraq occupation responsibly and achieving the goal of quality and affordable health care for all.
Hannah-Beth Jackson (SD-19): A former Assemblywoman and creator of Speak Out California, a blog and resource for Golden State progressives, Hannah-Beth Jackson has proven her progressive bona fides time and again. Running in rapidly changing Ventura County against the former state director of the Club for Growth, Tony Strickland, Jackson can prove that even Tom McClintock's old seat is not safe from the progressive wave. She would lead in the State Senate on issues of economic justice and the environment.
Alyson Huber (AD-10): AD-10 is another district where the demographics are changing, and Alyson Huber is perfectly suited to take advantage of this and turn the seat blue. Huber, an attorney and working mother, is focused on increasing access to health care and education for all Californians. She would help tremendously in bringing us closer to that needed 2/3 majority.
Manuel Perez (AD-80): A transformative leader, Manuel Perez is ready to take that leadership to Sacramento. Part of a growing group of Hispanic-Americans in the Coachella Valley who are leading a major progressive challenge to the typical politics of the region, Manuel has created community health clinics, served on the Coachella School Board as a trustee, taught classes, and organized his community to fight for change. He is uniquely suited to take his varied experience and lead in the State Legislature.
The time is tight, but we need to make Mark Wyland and the Yacht Party Republicans he represents cry. Please contribute to our Calitics Match fundraising effort before Tuesday!
You do not see Flash Report's Jon Fleischman, who represents nothing if not the internal voice of the California Yacht Party (he's the Vice Chair, after all), this concerned about a Republican-held seat. Not every day.
The Democrats have moved the 10th Assembly District near the top of their wish-list, and for good reason. First, the seat is open, which always makes for a more interesting contest. Second, a once six-point Republican partisan voter registration advantage has shrunk to just two points.
The 10th District is located in the San Joaquin Valley, split over four counties -- El Dorado, Amador, Sacramento and San Joaquin.
Compounding matters for Republican strategists, not only was there a pretty brutal GOP primary contest back in June, but this seat overlaps several U.S. House seats that will likely see action -- CD 3 where Dan Lungren is seeking re-election, CD 4 where Tom McClintock is running, and, of course, CD 11 where Dean Andal is trying to take out freshman Democrat Jerry McNerney (this is a top tier seat).
What Fleischman is correctly describing is what I would call the "Carol Shea-Porter effect." In 2006, Paul Hodes got a lot of establishment and netroots support in his Congressional race in New Hampshire, while the neighboring Carol Shea-Porter got virtually none. However, the state of New Hampshire all resides in the same media market. So Hodes' ads pummeling his opponent and Republicans in general ended up resonating on Carol Shea-Porter's side of the district. In the end, both Democrats won, with Shea-Porter's victory a major upset.
The same is true for Alyson Huber in AD-10 and her race against Yacht Party member in good standing Jack Sieglock. With contested elections throughout her area - in CA-11, CA-03 and CA-04 - Huber's message of change and fighting failed conservative values and ideas will be amplified. In addition, the GOTV programs from those candidates will snag voters for AD-10 (and Joan Buchanan in AD-15) as well. With 82% of voters seeing the budget as a major problem, this is a teachable moment for Democrats, who can tie the burdensome 2/3 requirement and Republican ideological intransigence to a state falling behind, and drive home the need for fundamental change.
Sieglock's bitter primary has given Huber a head start up here. Even his consultant agrees: "Jack is a very good candidate, but he's had a tougher road through the primary than his opponent, and that puts us behind." Add that to the more sophisticated GOTV program for Democrats this cycle, and AD-10 is well within reach. With some good bounces, we can get to a 2/3 majority.
This is our first attempt at endorsements on a broad scale in the legislature. It is not comprehensive, we simply don't have the resources to get to every seat. But, we tried to get to most of the competitive seats. We'll provide a bit of commentary on some of these over the flip. State Senate races tomorrow, and Congressional races on Wednesday. But, today, Assembly races:
AD-08: Mariko Yamada
AD-10: Alyson Huber
AD-15: Joan Buchanan
AD-27: Emily Reilly
AD-37: Ferial Masry
AD-40: Laurette Healey
AD-78: Any Democratic candidate other than Auday Arabo.
AD-80: Manuel Perez
Jim Cook, in his third attempt at winning the 10th Assembly District, is beginning to realize that the third time isn't always a charm. He hasn't quite given up, but in an interview with the Stockton Record, Cook's answers to questions seemed resigned and even bitter.
Cook was asked why he is running for a third time after a bruising defeat (61% to 34%) in which votes for Cook didn't even reach the Democratic registration in the district. His answer was a stock answer from someone who sees a campaign slipping away. To "force" the agenda, "force other people who are running to hold up their end of the bargain…" He added, "I'll just do my best."
As has become our custom for the last few weeks, we are going to have yet another Calitics radio show today at 3:30. We have taped interviews from Rick Gonzales, the final interview from AD-80, and from AD-10 candidate Alyson Huber. I quite enjoyed the chance to talk to both of these outstanding candidates.
So, check out the Calitics Show today...or later via the podcast here or at iTunes.
Jim Cook, in his third attempt at winning the 10th Assembly District, is beginning to realize that the third time isn't always a charm. He hasn't quite given up, but in an