Showing posts with label Gavin Newsom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gavin Newsom. Show all posts

Saturday Politics: Field Poll Says Newsom Leads; Harris Tied With Cooley

The latest Field Poll shows that in the Lieutenant Governor race Gavin Newsom is leading Abel Maldonado 42-37 while Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley and San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris are basically tied 39-38 for California Attorney General.

I'm pretty sure Gavin will win the LG race but I'm worried about the AG race. The internal details from Field are below:
Cooley and Harris are obtaining broad support of rank-and-file voters within their own respective parties. Among Republicans, Cooley is preferred 71% to 6%, while Democrats are supporting Harris 68% to 13%. Non-partisans and those registered with minor parties, who represent 17% of likely voters, are narrowly backing Harris by a 34% to 32% margin.

Cooley is maintaining large preference leads among voters in the traditionally Republican-leaning regions of Southern California outside of Los Angeles County (47% to 28%) and the Central Valley (44% to 30%). In his home county of Los Angeles, Cooley narrowly trails Harris 43% to 37%. Harris is preferred by a nearly two-to-one margin (52% to 27%) in the San Francisco Bay region where she lives. She also leads in less populated areas of Northern California outside the Bay Area (45% to 23%).

There is also a big coastal county-inland county divide in voter preferences in the A-G race. Cooley leads by eighteen points (46% to 28%) among voters in the state’s less populous inland counties, while Harris is preferred by six points (42% to 36%) among voters living in counties bordering the Pacific Ocean or San Francisco Bay.
Women are backing Harris by eleven points, 43% to 32%. Men are supporting Cooley by twelve points (45% to 33%).

Voters age 65 or older are backing Cooley by five points (44% to 39%). He leads among voters age 40–49 (39% to 34%). Harris is leading Cooley by four points (40% to 36%) among voters 50–64. Voters under age 40 are about evenly divided in their preferences.
White non-Hispanics favor Cooley by eight points (43% to 35%). Harris is preferred by large margins among Latinos and African-Americans. Each of the three Asian-American voter segments examined by the poll were dividing their preferences fairly evenly between the candidates, although large proportions remained undecided.

Cooley is preferred by two points (40% to 38%) among the 55% of voters who either already have voted by mail or intend to do so in the coming days. Among the 21% of voters who have already voted Cooley’s lead is even wider – 46% to 38%. Voters intending to vote at their local precinct on Election Day are evenly divided, 37% for Cooley and 37% for Harris.

SD-15: Openly Gay John Laird Loses Special Election

John Laird will not be rejoining the California LGBT Legislative Caucus this year after all. He lost Tuesday's 15th District State Senate Special Election against Republican Sam Blakeslee. The 15th district seat was previously held by Republican Abel Maldonado, who is now Lieutenant Governor of California and running to hold on to this new post against San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom in November.


The official results were
Jim Fitzgerald 8014 5.1% 



Mark Hinkle 3162 2.0% 



John Laird 69649 44.1% 



Sam Blakeslee 77107 48.8%

Unfortunately, the seat will not be up for a vote again until 2012, so that leaves Democrats 2-votes away from the 2/3rds (27 votes) they need in the Legislature's 40-member upper House to pass a budget and raise taxes.

2010 CA Statewide Primary Results

Yesterday was the statewide primary election. Results for Los Angeles County are available here, and statewide results are available here.

Statewide Races

Constitutional Offices
MadProfessah was correct in every statewide constitutional office except Superintendent of Public Instruction, where the top two (non-partisan) candidates were Larry Aceves and Tom Torlakson, who are both registered Democrats just squeaked ahead of my endorsed candidate Gloria Romero.

Propositions

MadProfessah was correct in 3 of the 5 propositions, although it was a scary night, because initially it looked the pro-business scams Prop 16 (PG&E) and Prop 17 (Mercury Insurance) looked like they were passing, but happily they were rejected. Sadly, Proposition 15 failed and Proposition 14 passed. This means that from now on, all June primary races will be a "jungle primary" where the Top 2 candidates will face each other, REGARDLESS of which party they are a member of. ONLY those two names will be allowed to appear on the November ballot, with no write-in option.

Proposition Number (Topic)        MadProfessah     RESULTS  
13 (Seismic Retrofit Assessment) YES YES
14 (Top 2 "Open" Primary Amendment) NO YES
15 (CA Fair Elections Act) YES NO
16 (PG&E Utility Monopoly Protection) NO NO
17 (Mercury Insurance Premium Change) NO NO

Statewide Constitutional Officers MadProfessah DEMOCRATS REPUBLICANS
U.S. Senate                            Boxer*        Boxer*    Fiorina 
Governor                               Brown         Brown     Whitman 
Lieutenant Governor                    Newsom        Newsom    Maldonado
Attorney General Harris Harris Cooley
Secretary of State Bowen* Bowen* Dunn
Treasurer Chiang* Chiang* Strickland
Controller Lockyer* Lockyer* Walters
Insurance Commissioner Jones Jones Fitzgerald
Superintendent of Public Instruction Romero Aceves(D) Torlakson(D)

Statewide Legislative Races
You can click on the Assembly District number for the actual vote counts. MadProfessah endorsed candidates are in italics, with winning candidates in bold. Incumbents are marked with an asterisk*.
AD-43. MadProfessah-endorsed Mike Gatto won the special election to replace Paul Krekorian and won the Democratic primary election.
AD-44.
Anthony Portantino* .
AD-45.
Gil Cedillo.
AD-46.
John Perez*.
AD-47.
Holly Mitchell, won a tight race over CA Democratic Party Secretary Reggie Jones-Sawyer 43%-37%.
AD-48.
Mike Davis*.
AD-49.
Mike Eng*.
AD-50.
Openly gay Ricardo Lara won his primary to and will become the second openly LGBT person of color elected to the California Legislature in November (after John Perez).
AD-51.
Steve Bradford*.
AD-52.
Isadore Hall*.
AD-53.
MadProfessah endorsed openly gay, African-American Mitch Ward in this huge primary to replace Attorney General hopeful Ted Lieu, but former Equality California board member and registered lobbyist Betsy Butler won the primary and will be elected in November.
Los Angeles County

Los Angeles County Assessor. MadProfessah endorsed openly gay John Noguez becomes the first openly gay County Assessor of Los Angeles County.

Measure E. MadProfessah endorsed a Yes position on this County measure to benefit Los Angeles Unified School District. The measure leads 53-47, far less than the two-thirds needed to be enacted.

Superior Court Judges.
5 of the 6 judicial candidates endorsed by MadProfessah won, the same ratio as the Los Angeles Times, although we got different races wrong. Click on the office number for the vote counts.
              RESULTS     LA TIMES          MadProfessah
Office 28: Hammock Randy Hammock Ameli
Office 35: Bruguera* Bruguera Bruguera
Office 73: Matz Matz Matz
Office 107: Salkin Tony de los Reyes Salkin
Office 117: Schneider Schneider Schneider
Office 131: Nelson* Nelson Nelson

Get ready to vote again in November!

Saturday Politics: CA-33, AD-43, SD-15, CA-AG and CA-LG

Kamala Harris

In today's edition of Saturday Politics we have stories about Karen Bass's run for Congress, developments in the California Attorney General race and details about the new (and the next) Lieutenant Governor of California.
CA-33. Assemblymember Karen Bass path to the United States House of Representatives has been cleared by the decision by a deep-pocketed rival named Howard C. Mandel to not challenge the former Speaker of the Assembly for the Democratic nomination for the 33rd Congressional District, currently represented by retiring Diane Watson. Multiple sources tell MadProfessah that the good doctor, who had been prepared to spend up to $500,000, has been quietly convinced by leaders in the Jewish community that they support Ms. Bass's run for the Congressional seat. This leaves Bass' only remaining challenger the perennial candidate Felton Newell.

AD-43. Following his decisive win in the April 13th special primary election and his primary opponent's withdrawal from the race, Mike Gatto has secured the endorsement of the Stonewall Democratic Club in both races happening June 8, 2010: the special election run-off and the Democratic primary election.

CA Attorney General. While MadProfessah endorsed San Francisco District Attorney on Wednesday, the same day that former Facebook Chief Privacy Officer Chris Kelly wrote a check for $4 million to double his campaign war chest for the Democratic nomination for the Attorney General.

CA Lieutenant Governor. The race between Los Angeles City Councilmember Janice Hahn and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has gotten pretty tense. The two ad elaborate, duelling parties at the California Demorcratic Convention in Los Angeles, where neither was able to gather the state party's official endorsement. At the Equality California statewide candidates forum last Sunday, the two refused to share a stage. Interestingly, Hahn easily earned the endorsement of the Stonewall Democratic Club on Monday, despite the fact that Newsom is well-known in the LGBT community as an early champion of marriage equality.

SD-15. In other Lieutenant Governor news, State Senator Abel Maldonado was sworn in this week as the new Lieutenant Governor after winning confirmation a few months after the Assembly rejected his nomination, giving the Republicans 3 of the 8 statewide constitutional offices (including Governor and Insurance Commissioner). Maldonado's ascension leaves his seat in State Senate District 15 open, and openly gay former Assemblyman John Laird has made no secret of his desire to switch the seat to the Democrats. If he wins, he would become only the second openly gay man to serve in the State Senate, following Mark Leno.
That's it for this week. Feel free to send tips for future Saturday Politics stories by twitter (@madprofessah), email or in the comments!

π Calculuated to 2,700,000,000,000 Digits!

Big news, y'all! The number π has just been calculated to 2.7 trillion digits!

According to the Mathematical Association of America news story:
Computer scientist Fabrice Bellard has computed Pi to nearly 2.7 trillion digits, breaking the record by 123 billion places.

It took him 131 days to do it.
The old record had been set in August, 2009, by Daisuke Takahashi(University of Tsukuba, in Japan), who needed just 29 hours on a supercomputer 2,000 times faster than Bellard's desktop.

"I got my first book about Pi when I was 14 and since then, I have followed the progress of the various computation records," Bellard told BBC News.
Pretty cool, huh?

CA-GOV: Gavin Newsom Drops Out!

David Cannon / Getty Images

San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom sent an email to his supporters dropping out of the race for the California Democratic Party gubernatorial nomination:
It is with great regret I announce today that I am withdrawing from the race for governor of California. With a young family and responsibilities at city hall, I have found it impossible to commit the time required to complete this effort the way it needs to and should be done.

This is not an easy decision. But it is one made with the best intentions for my wife, my daughter, the residents of the city and county of San Francisco, and California Democrats.

When I embarked on this campaign in April, my goal was to engage thousands and thousands of Californians dedicated to reforming our broken system and bringing change to Sacramento.

I would like to thank those supporters, volunteers, and donors who have worked so hard on my behalf. I have been humbled by their support and am indebted to their efforts. They represent the spirit of change and determination essential to putting California back on the right track.

I will continue to fight for change and the causes and issues for which I care deeply - universal health care, a cleaner environment, and a green economy for our families, better education for our children, and, of course, equal rights under the law for all citizens.

Newsom's departure leaves the field wide open for Attorney general (and 2-time former Governor) Jerry Brown to run mainly uncontested. Will this give Dianne Feinstein something to think about? Or Loretta Sanchez?

CA-GOV: Brown Has Huge Lead In Field Poll

A recently released Field poll confirms that Jerry Brown is leading all his potential rivals for the California governorship.
Jerry Brown (D): 47
Gavin Newson (D): 27
Undecided: 26

Meg Whitman (R): 22
Tom Campbell (R): 20
Steve Poizner (R): 9
Undecided: 49
(MoE: ±4.5%)

Jerry Brown (D): 50
Meg Whitman (R): 29
Undecided: 21

Jerry Brown (D): 48
Tom Campbell (R): 27
Undecided: 25

Jerry Brown (D): 50
Steve Poizner (R): 25
Undecided: 25

Gavin Newsom (D): 40
Meg Whitman (R): 31
Undecided: 29

Gavin Newsom (D): 38
Tom Campbell (R): 33
Undecided: 29

Gavin Newsom (D): 39
Steve Poizner (R): 30
Undecided: 31
(MoE: ±3.2%)

This poll was conducted between September 18-October 6 and confirms the huge lead which was previously revealed in the Rasmussen poll.

CA-GOV: Brown Beats All Republicans, Newsom Trails All Of Them

California political junkies are buzzing about the new Rasmussen poll which shows former Governor and current Attorney General Jerry Brown handily leading all the major Republican gubernatorial contenders (Meg Whitman, Steve Poizner and Tom Campbell) while Brown's rival for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination trailing the same three possible Republicans. Here's the data:
Brown (D) 44%, Whitman (R) 35%
Brown (D) 45%, Poizner (R) 32%
Brown (D) 44%, Campbell (R) 34%
Whitman (R) 41%, Newsom (D) 36%
Poizner (R) 40%, Newsom (D) 36%
Campbell (R) 42%, Newsom (D) 36%
This is definitely NOT very good news for the Governor Gavin movement. That's too bad, because MadProfesah has been leaning towards Newsom, especially since Gerry Brown hasn't announced whether he wants the job (again) yet, and acting as attorney general, Brown was responsible for the devastatingly incompetent presentation by an Assistant Attorney General during the Proposition 8 California Supreme Court oral argument.

CA-GOV: Whitman Donates $15M To Own Campaign

Former eBay CEO and Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman announced that she is donating 15 million dollars of her own money to her campaign to be California governor.

Whitman has now self-funded her campaign to the tune of $19 million, raising $6.7 million by June 30th.

Whitman's main Republican rival for the gubernatorial nomination (State Insurance Commisioner) Steve Poizner has raised $1.2 million and given his own campaign $4.2 million.

CA-GOV: Brown Leads Newsom By 20 Points In Poll

A new poll showing a huge lead for former Governor Jerry Brown over San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has California politicians buzzing.

With Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa declining to enter the California Governor's race it is now less than a year before the June 2010 primary election, the race seems to be pretty set. Dianne Feinstein is not expected to run, and the entry of Jack O'Connell or even Loretta Sanchez is unlikely to upend the Brown versus Newsom dynamic.

CA-GOV: Villaraigosa Decides Not To Run in 2010

Big political earthquake in California politics. Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has announced that he will not be a candidate for California Governor next year. He went on CNN and spoke with Wolf Blitzer:

The mayor, who was re-elected earlier this year, told Blitzer "the answer's no. I make that decision, as I've said many times, because I love the city I was born and raised in."

"I can't leave this city in the middle of a crisis, it's as simple as that," added Villaraigosa. "I was elected mayor are re-elected by the people of this city. They've given me the honor of a second term and I feel compelled to complete the promise that I've made to them."
Villaraigosa's exit leaves the race on the Democratic side between announced gubernatorial candidate San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom and unannounced candidate (former Governor and current California Attorney General) Jerry Brown. Newsom quickly issued a statement:
As a fellow big-city mayor, over the past four years I have gotten to know and respect Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. He is a dedicated public servant who is making a difference for the people of Los Angeles every day.

His leadership is valuable to the people of California and the nation, regardless of the office he chooses to hold. His life story is an inspiration to millions of Californians and especially to Latinos everywhere.

I look forward to continuing to work with him, sharing our experiences as mayors, and collaborating on innovative solutions that will take California in a new direction.

As Mayor Villaraigosa has said so eloquently recently, state government needs to change and I believe we can work together to make that a reality.
And the plot thickens. MadProfessah has not endorsed a candidate (yet) but has been impressed by Newsom so far.

Newsom, Delgadillo, Villaraigosa at LA Pride

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom ran into his Los Angeles counterpart Antonio Villaraigosa at Los Angeles Pride on Sunday June 14th. Also present is outgoing Los Anegeles City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo, who is one of the masses running for State Attorney General in 2010.

Hat/tip to Karen Ocamb..

CA-GOV: 2010 Republican Candidates Statements on Prop 8 Ruling

There have been dozens of statements and press reactions to the California Supreme Court decision on Proposition 8 today. Two statements that I am very interested in as a Californian voter were made by the leading Republican candidates for Governor.

Current Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger made the following statement about the Proposition 8 ruling today:

"While I believe that one day either the people or courts will recognize gay marriage, as governor of California I will uphold the decision of the California Supreme Court. Regarding the 18,000 marriages that took place prior to Proposition 8's passage, the court made the right decision in keeping them intact. I also want to encourage all those responding to today's court decision to do so peacefully and lawfully.
Meg Whitman, Republican candidate for governor, today issued the following statement on the California State Supreme Court Proposition 8 ruling:
"I believe the California State Supreme Court made the right decision. Last November, the people of California passed Proposition 8, and today the Court upheld their decision. This simple yet powerful fact is the foundation of our democracy. Regardless of one’s position on the measure, this ruling gives people confidence that their vote matters and can make a difference."
California Insurance Commissioner and Republican candidate for Governor Steve Poizner issued the following statement today:

"The California Supreme Court took the appropriate action today in upholding the will of the people by affirming Proposition 8. The people of California have spoken. They voted decisively that marriage should remain between a man and a woman. That is also my personal view.

"There was much more at stake today than even the issue of gay marriage, as important and emotional as it is for so many people on both sides of the issue. If the Court had overturned Proposition 8, it would have had set a terrible legal precedent, divided Californians even further, undermined support for the judiciary and state government itself while serving as a tremendous blow to the fundamental American concept of government of the people, by the people and for the people.

"Regardless of which way the Court ruled today, a particularly shameful element of this issue has been the Attorney General's unethical abandonment of his legal responsibility to the people of California. It is no surprise that Jerry Brown politicized and abused his latest position in an unprecedented way in order to play political catch-up with Gavin Newsom.

"As Governor, Brown opposed marriage for gay Californians. As a candidate for Attorney General, Jerry Brown refused to publicly support gay marriage. But once Gavin Newsom gained the upper hand on the issue with Democratic primary votes, Brown used his office as the state's lawyer to suddenly become an advocate of gay marriage and attempt to subvert the twice expressed will of the people of California. As he enters the fifth decade of his political career, Jerry Brown seems determined to go down in history as the man who was on more sides of more issues than any other California politician."
Note that Poizner attacks both Newsom and Brown for their position on marriage equality while ignoring Antonio Villaraigosa completely. (The Los Angeles Mayor's reaction is here.) It is very clear that the Governor's race in 2010 will be a proxy fight about marriage equality.

CA-GOV: Text of Newsom Speech to CDP

The full text of Gavin Newsom's prepared remarks to the California Democratic Party convention:


Let me get to the most important business first... Art: every single Democrat owes you a debt of gratitude. Thank you is hardly sufficient. But let's start there. Thank you for being a champion for our health, for our kids, for our environment, for California.


I also want to express my appreciation to Art for something else - for that very kind introduction. I certainly enjoyed it a whole lot more than the introduction I got in a few of those TV ads last fall!


Well, whether they like it or not - my name's Gavin Newsom, and I'm here to get things started. I'm here to start taking on the big problems the Republicans want to ignore.


Because I'm with you - I've had enough of politicians who say they care about liberty and then fight to take our freedoms away. I'm done with the excuses. I'm over the finger pointing. I've seen enough of the blame game. I'm tired of California leaders promising the future and delivering the past.


This state is ready for a new direction. And this party is ready to show the way.


Let me ask you - how many times do we need to hear our leaders talk about quality health care - and then spend four years explaining why they can't get it done? How many times? Not this time!


Too many politicians are substituting words for action - confusing motion for progress. We need to stop talking about universal health care and start providing it!


How many "Years of Education" - "Decades of Education" - “Millenniums of Education" are we going to declare and then stand by while our teachers are attacked and our students ignored? It's time to stop declaring our commitment to teachers and schools and start demonstrating it!


How many times are we going to listen to politicians promise to deliver jobs and then wake up and realize all they've delivered is just another tired speech? Millions of unemployed Californians can tell you right now that the old ways of doing business just don't cut it in this tough new world.


They want our leaders to stop bickering with each other and start fighting to put people back to work.


How many times are we going to allow politicians to over promise on the environment and then under deliver when they get in office? It's time to stop testing the waters and start swimming in them!


I've seen what can happen when we stop looking back – and start looking for solutions.


In San Francisco - we're not just talking about quality health care - we're delivering it. We're the only city in America daring to offer quality health care to every single uninsured resident - regardless of pre-existing medical conditions. How can we afford it? We're proving what you already know - it's less expensive to keep people well, and to invest in their health, than it is to treat their sickness. I know what it takes to pass health care reform - because, working with many of you who are here today, we did it.


School districts throughout California are laying-off tens of thousands of teachers. But we're giving our teachers a raise, raising test scores, and protecting teachers from layoffs. How did we do it? We stopped fighting over who was going to be in charge and started working together to find solutions. We refused to blame teachers and we started supporting them.


The State of California is nearly bankrupt and our state bond rating is now the worst in the nation. We have a Governor who promised to "terminate" the state's credit cards - then went on the biggest borrowing binge of any governor of any state in history. But in San Francisco - our bond rating just went up because of our Rainy Day Reserve and sound fiscal policies. And it's because of this rainy day reserve that we were able to rescind teacher layoffs.


What's the difference? We figured out that sound fiscal policy isn't a conservative value or a progressive value … it's just plain smart for everyone.


Our economy is in trouble.


But in San Francisco, our economy is stronger because we made basic investments - in new fields like biotech and life sciences, in green technology, in digital media – in industries that pay more than a minimum wage – they pay a living wage.


We figured it out - the greatest asset we have in this state is HUMAN capital. It's people. It's time to start investing in people again. I know a thing or two about this because I've built a number of small businesses from the ground up, creating nearly one thousand jobs. And I know we can't be pro-jobs and anti-business. But we also can't be pro-jobs without investing in our workforce - our schools, our community colleges, our universities and in life-long learning. In San Francisco, we didn't blame Washington for our economic problems - we got to work solving them with exactly these kinds of smart investments.


Nearly every politician on the planet is talking about the environment. I don't think any city in America is doing more to protect it than San Francisco. We have the most aggressive local solar incentives in America. The highest recycling rates. Pioneering green building standards. Aggressive energy efficiency programs to help wean our city from carbon fuels. We've already rolled back our greenhouse gas emissions to 6% below 1990 levels. And we're putting San Franciscans, those who used to be locked out of the old industrial economy, back to work as part of this new green economy.


How do we get it done - even in tough economic times? We understand that policies that may have been cutting-edge in the past just won't cut it in the future.


We took many smart steps - like becoming the only city in California with a local Earned Income Tax credit - that allows working families to keep more of what they earn and brings in tens millions of dollars in federal tax refunds, that used to go uncollected.


And we're taking big leaps like San Francisco Promise - a pioneering new program that guarantees an opportunity for a college education for every public school child. This is going to open doors and change lives. And we got it done because we opened our minds to a new way of looking at problems.


These are difficult times. And we need bold solutions to get California out of this mess. I haven't been afraid to tackle big problems. I haven't been afraid to offer bold ideas. Because California can't afford to keep returning to the same old, tired ideas and expect a different result.


Many of you know me - you know where I stand on important issues like universal health care, fighting for our schools, creating green jobs, protecting equal rights for every person and fighting for marriage equality for every Californian. I’m not the kind of person who says one thing in private and does another in public. You will know where I stand.


If there's one thing this past year has proven - the old ways of doing business just don't work so well any more. So what are we going to do next year - will we offer the voters of California a stroll down memory lane, or a sprint into the future? Will we nominate candidates who know Sacramento - or leaders who know how to change it? Will we choose the past - or will we embrace the future?


So I am asking you to join us - on GavinNewsom.com, on Facebook, on Twitter, or at one of the many events we're holding up and down California. I hope you'll give your ideas. Share your insights. And help us shape a campaign that can do more than win an election. I hope you'll join a campaign that has set out to change California.


California has always been a land of dreamers and doers. Of entrepreneurs and innovators. We're not a state of memories. We're a state of dreams. We're Californians. We're not content to re-live history. We're going to keep making it. So let's start making a better future for California. And let's do it together.


Thank you.

Hat/tip to Karen Ocamb.

Report from CA Democratic Convention: Day 1

Day 1 at the California Democratic Covention in Sacramento was a bit of a blur.

I joined and attended the African American and the LGBT Caucuses of the CA Democratic Party, although I only voted in the former. The two were scheduled at the same time! I also attended and voted in the Progressive Caucus.

So far I have seen at close quarters:

Attorney General Jerry Brown
SF Mayor Gavin Newsom
CA Lieutentant Governor John Garamendi
SF Attorney General Kamala Harris
Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson
Speaker Karen Bass
Many state legislators...
In addition I met and spoke privately with two openly gay African American men who are both running for political office: Manhattan Beach mayor Mitch Ward
(state assembly) and "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" casualty Anthony Woods who is running for the soon-to-be-open 10th Congressional district seat curretly held by Ellen Tauscher (CA-10).

That's it for now!

CA-GOV: First Polls Released

Over at the excellent Calitics blog, they have reposted the results of the first polls in next year's California gubernatorial election. The Field poll asked potential voters about races with and without ``California's most popular politician" Senator Dianne Feinstein, colloquially known as DiFi.
Dianne Feinstein: 38%
Jerry Brown: 16%
Antonio Villaraigosa: 16%
Gavin Newsom: 10%
John Garamendi: 4%
Steve Westly: 2%
Bill Lockyer: 1%
Jack O'Connell: 1%
Undecided: 12%


[...]

Without DiFi in the race, it's a packed field. Here's Field's poll:

Jerry Brown: 26%
Antonio Villaraigosa: 22%
Gavin Newsom: 16%
John Garamendi: 8%
Steve Westly: 2%
Bill Lockyer: 2%
Jack O'Connell: 2%
Undecided: 22%


DiFi's votes are, then, basically evenly distributed. Lake's primary poll (they didn't poll with DiFi) was similar:

Jerry Brown: 27%
Antonio Villaraigosa: 20%
Gavin Newsom: 14%
John Garamendi: 8%
Steve Westly: 3%
Jack O'Connell: 1%
Undecided: 27%

Interesting that more than a year out, Jerry Brown is in the lead.

CA-GOV: Whitman Begins To Reveal Positions On Issues

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, California gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman
revealed her positions on a wide array of social issues:

Explaining her support for Proposition 8, the November measure that banned same-sex marriage, she called it a "matter of personal conscience and my faith."

But Whitman, a Presbyterian who supports gay civil unions, said the thousands of same-sex marriages that took place last year before the ban should be legally recognized -- a sentiment opposed by many Proposition 8 backers. Moreover, she said, gay and lesbian couples should be able to adopt children.

Whitman's approach on fiscal matters -- a key element of her pitch to voters -- rested on other seeming contradictions.

At a time when California has frozen tax refunds and halted highway construction to preserve solvency, Whitman, who described herself as a billionaire, said the state should not ask even those in the highest income-tax bracket to pay more.

"One of the things which I'm sure you know," she said, "is that 1% of the people in California pay 50% of the taxes, right? And I am not in favor of raising taxes on anyone right now."

[...]

Besides objecting to higher taxes -- which along with program cuts formed Wilson's solution to the 1990s budget mess -- Whitman also said she would have voted against Proposition 187 had she lived in California when it passed in 1994. The measure, pressed by Wilson as he sought reelection that year, was intended to deny education, healthcare and other public services to undocumented immigrants.

"I would not have been prepared to strip all of those services away from children," she said.

At the same time, however, Whitman said Tuesday that schools, hospitals and law enforcement agencies should be required to report undocumented immigrants to federal authorities. She later backtracked on schools, saying, "I want to think about that a little bit." She also said she opposed the issuance of drivers' licenses for those in the country illegally.

Whitman also called herself a champion of the environment. But she voiced qualms about California's efforts against global warming, mainly the attempt under Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to force car makers to adopt emission standards tougher than the federal government's.

[...]

Whitman said she supported the 2003 recall of Gov. Gray Davis -- and regretted not casting a vote in that historic election.

As an "extraordinarily busy" mother and traveling executive, she said, she "didn't vote as often as I should, and it's something I regret. And no good excuses for it. Wish I had. Should have."

As for restoring California's fiscal health, Whitman said that holding the line on taxes and scaling back state regulations would spur economic growth and pump new money into the treasury -- an agenda that Schwarzenegger pursued with no success. Whitman also called for steps that would seem to deepen the budget hole: higher salaries for math and science teachers, along with new cuts in corporate income taxes.

At the same time, she said voters should repeal ballot measures that dedicated money solely to mental health and tobacco-related healthcare programs so that revenue could be diverted elsewhere.

She offered no specifics on programs she would cut.


Doesn't the last line just say it all? I'm sure they are doing the Macarena over in the Mayoral offices of San Francisco and Los Angeles over this interview. Or maybe we should be hoping that she is the Republican nominee because she'd be so much easier to beat than Poizner....

National Freedom To Marry Day is Thursday


Thursday is February 12th, which has been celebrated as National Freedom To Marry Day since 1999. This year it is also the 200th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin and the 5th anniversary of San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom's decision to start allowing same-sex couples to get marriage licences in 2004 which led to 2008's California Supreme Court case In Re Marriage Cases legalizing same-sex marriages in California (as well as Proposition 8 banning them).

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CA-GOV: Brown Leads Money Race


Attorney General Jerry Brown has the most amount of cash on hand of all contenders for the 2010 election for California Governor, according to reports filed with Secretary of State.


The top fundraiser overall among likely candidates for governor was Attorney General Jerry Brown, a Democrat who collected $3.4 million. He was followed by fellow Democrats Gavin Newsom, the San Francisco mayor, who raised nearly $1.2 million; and Lt. Gov. John Garamendi, who reaped about $1.1 million.

[...]

Of the five contenders, only Garamendi has filed the official paperwork to run for governor. Poizner, Campbell and Newsom have formed exploratory committees.

Others have talked about running but either haven't filed the necessary paperwork — such as former eBay Chief Executive Meg Whitman, a Republican — or haven't raised much money, including state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell, a Democrat. Or, they've done neither, such as Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, a Democrat running for re-election to his current job.

Among the announced Republicans, State Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner has self-funded his campaign to the tune of nearly half a million dollars while former U.S. Representative Tom Campbell raised just over $200,000 in 2008. As for cash on hand as of January 1, 2009:


Brown has amassed a total of $4.1 million in his account, including the $3.4 raised last year, but reported spending only $173,000 in 2008. Newsom spent $641,000 last year and has nearly $719,000 in cash on hand. Garamendi spent nearly $557,000 and has $756,000 left. None of the three loaned their campaigns any money.

Campbell used up more than $40,000 last year and had a cash balance on Dec. 31 of about $173,000. Poizner, who leads the Republican field in endorsements, gave himself $460,000 in cash as well as a loan for $100,000; he spent nearly $592,000 and kept $739,165 in the bank.

Mad Professah is an elected member of the California Democratic Party State Central Committee and will be voting to choose the party's nominee for Governor in 2010.
Who do YOU think it should be?