Capitol Alert

Among the more interesting findings of the Field Poll released on Gov. Jerry Brown's ballot initiative to raise income taxes on high-income earners is that support for the measure is highest among those who are relatively well off.

While overall support for Proposition 30 is just 51 percent, support for the measure climbs to 59 percent among likely voters whose annual household incomes exceed $100,000, according to the poll.

The measure is supported by 48 percent of likely voters whose annual household incomes fall between $40,000 and $99,000, according to the poll, and by 51 percent of likely voters whose household incomes fall below that lower threshold.

Proposition 30 would raise sales taxes and hike income taxes on those earning more than $250,000 a year, the very people who appear to back it the most.

But Poll Director Mark DiCamillo said support for the measure among California's wealthier people is a reflection less of their income than of their typically higher educational attainment. Among likely voters, 54 percent of college graduates and 61 percent of people who have done postgraduate work support Brown's initiative, according to the poll.

It isn't clear how many of the relatively wealthy voters Field interviewed earn enough to be affected by the proposed income tax increase. DiCamillo said he has a feeling they might oppose the measure, but he said, "I'm just not sure."

The Bee, News10 and Capital Public Radio are sponsoring a debate next Tuesday in the 7th Congressional District contest pitting Rep. Dan Lungren, R-Gold River, against his Democratic challenger, Dr. Ami Bera of Elk Grove.

The hour-long debate will be webcast live on sacbee.com at 3 p.m. with full coverage online and in Wednesday's printed Bee.

Here's where you can help. Send us your questions for one or both of the candidates. We'll sift through them and try to ask one during the debate. Email your question with your name, city of residence and phone number to Dan Smith, Bee Capitol Bureau Chief, at dssmith@sacbee.com.

Rep. Dan Lungren wasn't in Tampa as other members of the GOP gathered for the Republican National Convention last month.

Now, the Gold River Republican is part of a bipartisan push to ensure taxpayer cash skips out on the quadrennial political conventions, too.

Lungren voted aye this week on federal legislation to prohibit the use of public funds for the national nominating conventions, which are currently partially subsidized by taxpayers who elect to send some of their own tax dollars to a public campaign financing fund.

The Associated Press quoted Lungren as calling the events ""weeklong televised movie sets and almost entirely symbolic."

"American taxpayers should not be subsidizing political party conventions," he said.

VIDEO: Dan says Gov. Jerry Brown is "all in" for his tax measure, but the bet may be a loser.

Have a question you'd like Dan to answer? Post it on our Facebook page.

See other Dan Walters Daily clips here.

VIDEO: Dan Walters says Gov. Jerry Brown is betting California's solvency on his ballot tax measure, and it's maybe 50-50.

Most California voters -- about two in three -- who have decided yea or nay on the governor's Proposition 30 intend to vote the same way on Molly Munger's competing Proposition 38, according to a new poll conducted jointly by UC Berkeley's Institute of Governmental Studies and the Field Poll.

The survey looks at trends among voters on those two measures as well as a third tax-related proposal, Tom Steyer's Proposition 39 to hike taxes on multistate companies operating in the state. Of the three, Brown's measure is still faring the best, but support has slipped.

The Bee's David Siders has more details in today's Bee. Want even more numbers? Click here to read the publicly released poll. You'll find the statistical tabulations, compiled exclusively for Capitol Alert, at this link.

Meanwhile, the California Air Resources Board is drawing a crowd today as business groups plan to protest the state's cap-and-trade market, which kicks off on Nov. 14. The board isn't expected to take action at its meeting, which starts at 9 a.m. at 1001 I St. in Sacramento, but the groups say they'll be there anyway. The Bee's Dale Kasler has more in this story. To read the agenda, click here.

Registration is closed for Perspectives 2012, but you might catch a glimpse of former Vice President Dick Cheney, former Mexican President Vicente Fox or Arianna Huffington of the Huffington Post near the dome. They're among the speakers at the Metro Chamber's forum, which runs all day at the Sacramento Convention Center.

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani is also in town for an event with two Republicans -- Colusa County Supervisor Kim Vann, 37, who faces Democratic Rep. John Garamendi in the 3rd Congressional District, and with Ricky Gill, 25, who's up against Democratic Rep. Jerry McNerney in the 9th Congressional District. That presser starts at 8:30 a.m. at Sacramento Chamber of Commerce, 1215 K St. on the 14th floor.

Down in the south state, state schools chief Tom Torlakson participates in a round table discussion with Chris Steinhauser, the Long Beach Unified School District superintendent, and others about recommended new models for evaluating the state's teachers. That event starts at 10 a.m. at Marshall Academy of the Arts in Long Beach.

CAPITOL STEPS: State employees will be walking the mile around Capitol Park today to raise money for the American Heart Association, with a wellness fair from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on the west steps.