• Assemblyman (soon to be Senator) Mark Leno takes on a Liberty Council wingnut on marriage equality. And I think you'll agree with me that the Assemblyman is the winner here.
• Asm. Dave Jones announced that he'll seek the post of insurance commissioner, the one statewide office that the Republicans currently hold. Good, we need somebody who's focused on that position, and not posturing for the Republican primary. Jones is a smart guy, and would do a good job. It will be interesting to see if there are others angling for the gig.
• George Skelton sees a mandate in a 4 tenths point victory for Prop 11. You know, I just can't beat my head against this wall any more. The so-called reformers have no, I repeat ZERO, evidence that this will make any additional districts competitive. If this wins, perhaps one or two more districts become competitive, but the underlying demographics do not bear this out. Skelton claims he wants "geographically logical and competitive districts". Well guess what, I want my tree to give me lumber and apples. (Read the Giving Tree). You have one, or you have the other.
In California, we have self-sorted along political lines. Add that to the fact that California is trending toward greater control for the majority party, and you don't have the recipe for a lot of newly competive seats, save the regions where the GOP seats are already trending Dem.
And crowned with his big success of helping Prop 11 to victory, he's already pumping up the big Washington state style "Top 2" election, as if that will somehow be terrific. Great more opportunities for moneyed interests to dominate.
Listen, George, you want real reform? It's called Clean Money. That's the REAL reform that we need.
• Do Republicans even bother with lipservice to representative democracy anymore? Or are we totally over that in favor of putting everything to the ballot. Or perhaps better defined, they are just simply obsessed with the government employees unions. Why must the OC voters now approve government employee contracts? Because the Republicans are all about a new PR stunt to go after dedicated civil servants. Sad.
• I don't know what to make of this, but a senior aide to Barbara Boxer is facing child pornography charges. Jeff Rosato has been fired.
UPDATE by Robert:Major fire breaks out in Santa Barbara - threatening Westmont College and cutting power to most of downtown. These unseasonably warm November temperatures do have their cost.
The Assembly Dems have pumped out a couple of videos on the budget in the last week. Sure, I'm partial to Mark Leno, so I thought I'd share his speech from the Assembly floor on Sunday.
Hey, did you know FDR caused the depression? Pretty amazing that he did that in 1929, 3 years before he became president in 1932. It's cool what you can learn from the Republicans! And, you know, FDR did some pretty darn bad things like establish the social security system. Man, what was that guy thinking, providing a safety net for our nation's seniors?! That pretty much ruined America, right?
The important part here is that the Republicans don't want to lay their cards on the table. Why not? Well, could you imagine a true cuts only budget? It would be horrific, with massive cuts to education and healthcare services.
I suppose they just want to let the next generation pay for operating expenses of today. No better way to show you love your kids than saddle them with debt.
As you've all seen by now, Al Gore is saying we need to go clean within 10 years. That is why he showed up at Netroots Nation. Today, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is launching his campaign for Governor online at the Netroots Nation conference in Austin. But the big question for Newsom is whether he is a third as committed as to fighting Global Warming as Gore. You see, there is a potential ballot initiative in San Francisco to go 100% green, not in 10 years, but by 2040: The Clean Energy Act. Sounds common sense for a gubernoratorial candidate to support you think, but Newsom's consultant is already blanketing the city with lies about the idea of San Francisco kicking the habit. Tim Redmond says in this week's San Francisco Bay Guardian:
A progressive measure that would make San Francisco one of the greenest cities in the nation will be on the ballot this fall. It's designed to lower energy costs, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and promote green-collar jobs. It has all the elements that Mayor Gavin Newsom has been talking about in his high-profile speeches, press conferences, and celebrity appearances. It's a perfect vehicle for a mayor who wants to stand out as a candidate for governor of California. It has the backing of some of Newsom's close allies, like state Sen. Mark Leno.
That's why Newsom ought to support the Clean Energy Act.
Indeed. As a young San Franciscan who will deal with the fallout of Global Warming, I hope Newsom will follow the best practices of hundreds of cities. Cause you do what you've done and you'll get what you've got -- PG&E has shown they are far more interested in greenwashing than green jobs and green energy. I want to see this pass, I'd even be willing to work on it despite not working on a citywide in SF since working for Newsom's first mayoral election. Will he greenwash today or lead 1/3 as much as Al Gore?
UPDATE: So Newsom gave a great speech supporting exactly what the Clean Energy Act will do. So will he side with his political consultants or with his beliefs on moving towards clean energy? Will he support the Clean Energy Act?
Big election eve for Mark Leno. Jim Dean of Democracy for America flew into town to help get out the vote (he's phone banking right now). Also, here is video of Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey and Assemblyman Jared Huffman from earlier today. All three candidates were also on Forum with Michael Krasney (mp3).
Woolsey video and pictures from both events over the flip.
Tomorrow's the big day (depending on your perspective I suppose), with local, legislative and proposition votes going on all over the state and the Montana and South Dakota primaries wrapping up the Presidential calendar. There's speculation that Sen. Clinton will suspend her campaign tomorrow night, plus an easy dozen congressional primaries to watch, the Leno/Migden/Nation battle royale, I'm masochistically fascinated by the San Diego mayoral race- the list goes on.
It looks like I'll be holing up for a bit at the Obama watch party at the W Hotel here in San Diego. I've also heard that local Young Dems will be at The Shore Club and City Council candidate Todd Gloria will be gathering with supporters at The Local. So that's a random and incomplete collection of spots around San Diego...What city/bar/restaurant/corner of your house will you be reporting from as we all obsess tomorrow evening?
In just a couple of hours, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will be officially endorsing Assemblyman Mark Leno. At 9:30, Pelosi will be appearing at the Leno campaign office at 2344 Market St. Of course, GOTV efforts will commence immediately afterwards.
In other news from SD-03, check out the SF Bay Guardian blog post about a deceptive "Guardian" slate featuring Carole Migden. The Bay Guardian endorsed Leno, and their real slate is here.
UPDATE: The event went quite well, with Speaker Pelosi highlighting some of Mark Leno's great accomplishments in the Assembly. My full flickr set here.
Before we get into the next round of endorsements, we have a few comments in here about how we envision this working. The endorsements are the opinion of the board, not the community as a whole - we would hope they generate a good discussion about the various candidates in every district.
Furthermore, these are primary endorsements, so somebody is not going to be happy about them. We apologize for that, but if you don't like our opinions, you should let us know that. Write a comment here. Post a diary about the candidate of your choice. Let the community know why you think your preferred candidate is the best choice in the Democratic Primary. Unlike newspapers, this is a two-way medium. We not only accept comments on these endorsements, we encourage it. So, feel free to tell us how wrong we really are.
And with that said, here are the State Senate Endorsements. Explanations over the flip.
SD-03: Mark Leno SD-05: Lois Wolk (UPDATED) SD-09: Loni Hancock & Wilma Chan SD-12: Simon Salinas / Yes on Recall SD-15: Dennis Morris SD-19: Hannah-Beth Jackson SD-23: Lloyd Levine and Fran Pavley SD-25: No Endorsement SD-33: Gary Pritchard
Today is the last day to register to vote. Personally, I'd like to see same-day registration. After all, we are living in the era of cheap and tiny computers. This is a fundamental fairness issue, legal voters simply should not be turned away. Nonetheless, here's the voter reg SoS page. Other interesting stuff:
Frank Russo writes about a S-USA poll in the Rumble in the Bubble (SD-03). (I do some work for Leno.) Leno leads overall 42 -22(Nation)-21(Migden). Besides the fact that Leno is the only candidate with net favorables, a number of note is the breakdown for "liberal" voters. Leno leads that category 47-21(Migden)-17(Nation).
The Bay Guardian has released the audio of their endorsement interviews at their 2008 spring election center. I'm a big fan of news media outlets releasing such interviews. Good work SFBG!
The elected delegates met yesterday in Sacramento. They talked, chose more delegates, and generally had a good time. The media seems to want to make this some sort of bloodbath, but it seems there was more about unity than anything else.
Another item to be slashed in the next budget: Aid for California's disabled. Perhaps the legislators will go and help some of these Californians themselves? Maybe set up an oxygen tank here, help in the process of dressing there. I think Roger Niello and Mike Villines would be excellent at that. After all, they want to cut these funds, so why not provide a bit of their time in leiu of the money that is so desperately needed. That would help, right? Ok, not so much.
Democrat Lockyer, a former state Senate leader and attorney general, traces California's budget woes back to the 1978 passage of Proposition 13 -- the historic property tax cut -- and Sacramento's subsequent decision to bail out revenue-short local governments and schools.
"We've been bailing the sinking ship ever since," he says. "This may be the year when we have to say, 'OK, we're going to make these awful cuts and voters are going to see what the consequences are.' That's kind of a scorched-earth approach, but people somehow think that the budget is going to be balanced by the tooth fairy.
"I don't like it, but there are days when I think that voters need to persuade themselves and reluctant legislators that cuts like these are unacceptable. It's time to do whatever needs to get done to escape this annual torture."
I'd start by placing a measure on the ballot allowing budgets to be passed by a majority vote -- as they are in 47 other states.
But a two-thirds vote is what's ludicrously required today. So the legislators and governor must deal with it.
As of tonight, it looks like it is indeed a two-way race for the State Seanate District 3. A new Survey USA poll gives Mark Leno a strong lead over with Joe Nation and Carole Migden tied for a distant second place.
Over the flip, I'll be posting some legislator's remarks on the marriage decision. I'll only get a few now, so any editors should feel free to add some or throw them in the comments.
Senator Barack Obama:
"Barack Obama has always believed that same-sex couples should enjoy equal rights under the law, and he will continue to fight for civil unions as President. He respects the decision of the California Supreme Court, and continues to believe that states should make their own decisions when it comes to the issue of marriage."
On the issue of constitutional amendments, Senator Obama has been on record for some time: He opposes all divisive and discriminatory constitutional amendments, state or federal. That includes the proposed amendments in California and Florida.
Greg Pettis, in his 14th year as Cathedral City Councilman, former-Mayor Pro-Tem of Cathedral City, and Candidate for the CA 80th Assembly District, has now received the endorsements from every member of the California Legislative Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Caucus in Sacramento. Pettis has widespread support in the LGBT community Nationally, State-wide, and locally because of his progressive stands on issues important to the LGBT communities: Pettis fully supports the HIV/AIDS communities, universal healthcare, a strong local economy, good local schools and responsible academic oversight, a healthy environment, equality and justice for all Californians, and mentoring other members of the LGBT community.
Although there have been reports that the California LGBT Legislative Caucus is in danger of extinction the truth is that in January 2009 it is very likely that it will be as large as ever.
The only current members of the LGBT Caucus who are not termed out are State Senators Christine Kehoe and Carole Migden. However, Migden is facing a tough primary fight which she is very likely to lose.
Here is a table showing the members of the LGBT caucus for the current legislative sessiob and a projection of what the caucus will look like after being sworn in in January 2009.
January 2007January 2009Assembly
Mark Leno (AD-13) Tom Ammiano (AD-13)
John Laird (AD-27) John Perez (AD-46)
Chris Cabaldon (AD-8)
State Senate
Christine Kehoe (SD-39) Christine Kehoe (SD-39)
Carole Migden (SD-3) Mark Leno (SD-3)
Sheila Kuehl (SD-23)
In addition, there's the possibility that Laurette Healey may win her primary to replace
Assemblymember Lloyd Levine in the 40th Assembly District and it's possible that Greg Pettis will win his primary in the 80th district (but it's unlikely he will win the general election in this Republican-leaning district).
The Marin Firefighters joined volunteers this weekend as they took to the streets and phone lines to help elect Mark Leno to the State Senate. Phone bankers and precinct walkers enjoyed barbeque tri-tip, curtsey of the Marin Firefighters, as well as delicious homemade chili. Mark Leno fired up the crowd of more than 50 energized volunteers before they talked to voters about his unparalleled legislative record— fighting for universal single-payer health care, better schools, a cleaner and sustainable environment, improved transportation and renewable energy. Thank you to the Marin Firefighters and our dedicated volunteers!
Ok, so last week, I thought all this hubub about the Light Brown Apple Moth was much ado about nothing. I hadn't even seen one, and they didn't seem to be bugging me. So, I didn't get what Arnold's big rush to spray pheremones or what not on to the Bay Area.
Things have changed. Last week a friend of ours was over at our house. It was a fine afternoon, the weather was nice, so we spent the time chatting outside. We get to the conversation of this little moth. Turns out that our friend, a big shot lawyer at a video game company to remain nameless, is the patient zero of the Light Brown Apple Moth scourge upon her city. She claimed they were all over her apartment, and sure enough, we went down there, and there they were. Sneaking around her place. I put the pieces together, she travels all over the world for work, and she has tons of them in her house. How much more evidence do we need? Well, how much more was answered the next day when we saw some of the little buggers around our house. Now the things are all over our house. Apparently the've really taken to the Bay Area, and I'm pretty sure she's the vector.
Now, they don't seem to be really bothering me at this point here in SF, they're just annoying. But, I say, get some helicopters or bush planes, or whatever it takes, in the air, and let's get to dumping all sorts of chemicals on my fair city. What's a little caplet of inhaled pseudo-moth pheremones compared to some bugs in my house? What could possibly go wrong when we drop a chemical on to heavily populated urban areas? Really, I can't think of anything. Sure, some judge said the state can't spray, but whatever, let's do it anyway.
The SF Bay Guardian released their endorsements for local races and state propositions. These tend to be some of the most influential endorsements in the City, and to a lesser extent, in the region. As always, they do a laudable job presenting a thorough analysis of each race and the relative merits of each position. Hats off to Tim Redmond and the crew at the SFBG. Here's a summary of their positions, and I'll discuss some of them over the flip.
Prop 98: No, No, No
Prop 99: Yes, Yes, Yes
SD-03: Mark Leno
SD-09: Loni Hancock
AD-13: Tom Ammiano
AD-14: Kriss Worthington
CA-08 (Pelosi): No Endorsement
With today being Earth Day, I thought readers would enjoy reading my article about Joe Nation's environmental record.
Ex-Marin Assemblyman and State Senate candidate Joe Nation is working to stay above the fray between Mark Leno and Carole Migden. Despite his moderate record on other issues, he speaks earnestly about the environment and climate change. But why hasn't the Sierra Club endorsed him, and why is he not popular with environmentalists in Marin County? It may be because when Nation was on the Marin Municipal Water District in the late 1990's, he proposed bottling water from Mount Tamalpais, voted for a pipeline to siphon water from the Russian River and supported widening the US-101. Today, Nation is a climate change consultant for ENVIRON, where he primarily advises Coca-Cola - whose environmental record has spawned protests across the globe. Now Coca-Cola runs a corporate green-washing campaign that pushes "water stewardship" - which is code for privatization of a natural resource, while running bottled water plants in California.
Yesterday, ASA’s chief counsel, Joe Elford, and I traveled to Sacramento to attend the Assembly Labor Committee hearing on AB 2279, ASA’s medical marijuana employment rights bill. AB2279, which protects the rights of hundreds of thousands of medical marijuana patients in California from employment discrimination, was introduced in February by Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) and co-authored by Assemblymembers Patty Berg (D-Eureka), Loni Hancock (D-Berkeley) and Lori Saldaña (D-San Diego). The bill reverses a January California Supreme Court decision in Ross v. RagingWire. Joe argued argued the case before the court.
After sitting through discussions of several other labor bills, Chairman Sandre Swanson called for AB 2279 to be heard. Assemblymember Leno stepped down from his committee seat to speak about the merits of the bill. He spoke about the intent of the voters when passing Proposition 215 and the intent of the legislature when passing SB 420 - clearly, they intended for patients to have the right to work. Mr. Leno also clarified that AB 2279 does not cause employers to violate federal law and preserves the rights of employers to take action against employees that come to work impaired or consume medical marijuana at the workplace.
At a press conference this morning, San Francisco Police Commissioner and former Democratic candidate Joe Alioto Veronese threw his support to Mark Leno for State Senate.
Veronese was joined by Mayor Gavin Newsom, Assessor Recorder Phil Ting, School Board President Mark Sanchez, Supervisors Bevan Dufty and Sean Elsbernd, former Treasurer Susan Leal, and Firefighters Union President John Hanley.
Leno also announced the weekend endorsements of the California Nurses Association and the California Teachers Association. Leno spoke on how this is clearly a two person race between Leno and former Assemblyman Joe Nation. The campaign's momentum since the CDP convention highlights how the progressive community is uniting to keep this seat from falling into the hands of a candidate who doesn't even support single-payer health insurance and voted against Sheila Kuehl's bill.
"As we look forward to the election of former State Senator Jackie Speier to congress tomorrow -- fingers are crossed, we think she'll do very well -- I'm reminded that when Senator Speier was moving forward her landmark privacy legislation, consumer privacy legislation, that Joe Nation again not only would not support it, but was carrying legislative water for the banking and credit card industry that Jackie was trying to reform."
Leno went on to remind people of Nation telling the papers that it was a "mistake" for Mayor Newsom to courageously advance marriage equality. As the sponsor of the first resolution in the country opposing invading Iraq, Leno also reminded voters of Nation's opposition to a timetable for withdraw.
Campaign finance reform has been bubbling as an issue for a number of years. And any time someone manages even a small step forward, you know you're going to have the big money corporations, the Club for Growth, and all other manner of rich righties lining up to defend their right to freely spend their money on as much questionable propaganda as they can muster. Normally the battle lines are pretty clear on this, ideologically speaking. That is, of course, unless you subscribe to Sen. Carole Migden's particular brand of "progressivism".
After the Fair Political Practices Commission barred her from accessing more than $640,000 from an old campaign account because, well...she didn't transfer it out of her Assembly campaign account before she left the Assembly (whoops), she sued to get it back. Free political speech, her argument goes, trumps playing by the rules.
And today, a District Court judge agreed. U.S. District Court Judge Edmund Brennan granted a temporary injunction against the FPPC's locking of the account:
