Capitol Alert

The state's most heated legislative primary contest may be in Southern California's very wealthy, movie star-heavy, very liberal 50th Assembly District.

First-term Democratic Assemblywoman Betsy Butler now represents just a tiny slice of the 50th AD but has Democratic Party leadership support as she seeks re-election there, opposed by well-known liberal activist Torie Osborn.

The regions many political factions, including the large and influential gay community, have divided sharply, and LA Weekly newspaper lays out the dynamics of the Butler-Osborn duel in a lengthy article.

With its overwhelmingly Democratic voter registration, it's possible that Butler and Osborn will both survive the state's new "top-two" primary on June 5 and face each other again in the November election.

Competing radio ads spotlight wealthy Stanford physicist Charles T. Munger Jr.'s deep-pockets support for incumbent Assemblywoman Beth Gaines against challenger Andy Pugno in a Placer County-based Assembly district.

Spirit of Democracy, an advocacy group funded largely by Munger, has poured more than $175,000 into a radio and mail promotional campaign for Gaines this month. Pugno is attempting to create a backlash by painting the GOP activist as a liberal.

Munger is a major GOP donor and was a key financial backer of redistricting reform. He has pushed to moderate the Republican Party by downplaying divisive issues such as abortion, gun rights and same-sex marriage.

Munger's sister, civil rights attorney and Democrat Molly Munger, is pushing a measure for the November ballot that would generate about $10 billion annually by raising income taxes on a sliding scale for all but the poorest California workers for 12 years.

In his 60-second radio ad for Gaines, which began running last week, Munger's Spirit of Democracy touts the Rocklin Republican -- who has pledged not to raise taxes -- as a fiscal conservative:

"Feeling like an ATM for government?" Munger's radio ad says. "You have a friend in Republican businesswoman Beth Gaines for state Assembly. 'I'm appalled at the way state government handles our tax dollars,' she says. And it's not just talk."

Pugno counters with a 60-second ad, beginning this week, that promotes himself as a conservative who served as lead attorney for Proposition 8, a voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage.

"Don't let a liberal Bay Area billionaire buy the election for Beth Gaines," Pugno's ad says.

Commenting this week about the Munger-funded radio ad, Pugno said it demonstrates that the GOP activist "does not want a strong, effective conservative holding this seat."

Dave Gilliard, Gaines' political consultant, said the campaign has no idea why Munger is supporting Gaines, but added, "Perhaps he has a problem with trial lawyers?" The jab is a reference to Pugno's ownership of a small law office.

Munger's group and other independent expenditure committees can spend unlimited sums for political advocacy but are barred by state law from coordinating their efforts with a particular candidate.

Richard Temple, campaign consultant for the Spirit of Democracy group, said that Pugno's attack on Munger is laughable because the latter is a Republican leader in California who has done more to elect GOP candidates than "Andy Pugno will ever dream of doing."

Temple said that Munger's Spirit of Democracy is looking to assist in races "where there's a dramatic difference between the two candidates on their ability to be a good legislator and also (where) they have a broader appeal that will attract voters, not only Republican voters but independent voters so that we can broaden the Republican Party appeal."

* Updated at 3:35 p.m. to add quotes from Richard Temple and from Andy Pugno.

StudentsFirst, the education advocacy group formed by former Washington D.C. public schools chancellor Michelle Rhee, has poured $2 million into a campaign committee created to influence state legislative races ahead of the June 5 primary.

The "Parents and Teachers for Putting StudentsFirst" committee reported its first contribution late Tuesday, spending more than $400,000 on television buys, polling and consulting services to support Democrat Brian Johnson, a charter school executive running in the open 46th Assembly District. That Southern California seat has become a hot spot for political spending, as pro-charter interests supporting Johnson battle the California Teachers Association.

Rhee, who is married to Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson (no relation to Brian Johnson), expanded StudentsFirst's California presence last summer, hiring lobbying firm Gonzalez, Quintana & Hunter and opening a committee to make candidate contributions. A spokesman for StudentsFirst, which is a nonprofit, declined to identify specific donors to the group.

The organization has aimed to raise $1 billion to further its efforts of countering the influence of teachers unions in campaigns and state policy.

RELATED:

Michelle Rhee sets up California PAC, hires Sacramento lobbyist

PHOTO CREDIT: MIchelle Rhee speaking at a May 2010 Sacramento Press Club event. Manny Crisostomo, Sacramento Bee.

Editor's note: This post has been updated to reflect a $350,000 television buy included in the campaign report.

Democrat Xochitl Paderes is dropping out of the race for the open 13th Assembly District.

The community activist told the Stockton Record that she was worried about the effect campaign attacks could have on her family. She had recently been targeted by expenditures made by a committee backed by the California Chamber of Commerce.

The Record reports:

The 36-year-old candidate said she doesn't have the money to fight negative campaign mailers and was concerned that future personal attacks could jeopardize completion of a lengthy adoption process for her 9-year-old son.

"Any kind of misrepresentation of the facts ... could compromise our fight," Paderes said Monday. "It is just ridiculous that politics has to be so nasty and dirty and negative. I don't have the kind of money to tackle them or rebut them or do anything like that."

Paderes will still appear on the ballot and more than 20,000 voters in the Stockton-area district have already cast a vote via vote-by-mail ballots, the Record reports.

But her exit from the race could give Stockton City Councilwoman Susan Eggman, also a Democrat, a clearer shot at securing a spot in the November runoff. The two had been locked in a battle for the runoff, with Cal Chamber chipping in for Eggman and some labor unions that were upset about Eggman's actions on the council backing Paderes.

One other Democrat and two Republicans are also in the running for the seat. The top two vote-getters in the June 5 primary will advance to the November runoff, regardless of their political party affiliation.

Click here to read the full Stockton Record story.

RELATED POST:

California Chamber of Commerce spends to support Democrats running for Assembly

The California School Boards Association has endorsed both Gov. Jerry Brown's tax initiative and a rival measure on the November ballot, calling the dual backing "an unprecedented move."

Brown had hoped that his multibillion-dollar tax hike on sales and wealthy earners would be the only major tax initiative this fall. But wealthy attorney Molly Munger filed signatures this month for her initiative raising income taxes on all but the poorest residents to raise money mostly for schools.

In a statement, CSBA executive director Vernon M. Billy said, "While each initiative presents a different funding scenario for our schools, the bottom line is that both will generate billions of dollars in much-needed revenue for public education."

Despite endorsing Brown's measure, CSBA leaders said they "want to make it clear to the public that the governor's initiative does not provide new funding for schools. Instead, it bolsters the General Fund with new revenue."

"Under the governor's plan, schools would get back some of the billions of dollars that were redirected away from them and used to shore up the state's funding gap in the last budgetary cycle," Billy said. "The governor's initiative only restores some of the funds already owed to schools."

Opponents of a term limits measure on the June ballot kicked off a campaign tour today using a carved 10-foot "Trojan Horse" -- named Mr. Ed -- to spread their message that Proposition 28 is deceptive.

"We've got to stop this scam that's going to be perpetrated on the citizens of California," said Assemblyman Shannon Grove, R-Bakersfield, at a Capitol press conference today.

Though Proposition 28 is touted as a reduction in terms, opponents contend it would lengthen most lawmakers' time in office.

Controversy over Proposition 28's impact centers on provisions that would cut from 14 to 12 the number of years future lawmakers could serve in the Capitol, but allow all of them to be served in one house.

Currently, legislators can serve no more than six years in the Assembly and eight in the Senate. To reach the maximum 14 years, they must switch from one house to another - and only a small percentage do so.

Only two of 26 lawmakers who were termed out of the Assembly or Senate in 2010 had served in both houses to reach the 14-year cap. Five others switched from one house to another that year, however, records show.

Gabriel Sanchez, spokesman for Yes on 28, characterized the Trojan Horse campaign as deceptive itself.

"That's completely inaccurate," he said of the contention that supporters are misleading voters.

"(Proposition 28) reduces time in office from 14 to 12 years," Sanchez said. "What we have now is a broken status quo where lawmakers are constantly campaigning for the next office. This measure is a sensible reform that will put the focus on policy, not politics."

Opponents of the term limits measure said they named their wooden horse "Mr. Ed" in reference to Ed Roski, whose firm contributed $300,000 to the initiative several months after the Legislature provided environmental exemptions for his planned NFL stadium in the City of Industry.

Sanchez noted that Proposition 28 applies only to future legislators, not existing officeholders

"It does not extend the terms of any current or past lawmakers," he said.

PHOTO CREDIT: Ted Costa, president of People's Advocate, speaks near "Mr. Ed," a Trojan horse opponents of Proposition 28 are using to represent Ed Roski. The Sacramento Bee/Jim Sanders

A new Super PAC has started airing television ads in support of independent candidates running in California's June 5 primary.

icPurple announced today that it is backing four candidates running for office with "no party preference," including 26th Congressional District contender Linda Parks, who is running strong in a district targeted by both major parties.

The group is already running one ad in support of San Diego mayoral candidate Nathan Fletcher, an assemblyman who recently dropped his Republican registration

It is looking at buying airtime for the spot supporting Parks, as well as one for Chad Condit, the son of former Democratic Rep. Gary Condit, in the Central Valley's 10th Congressional District. It has also endorsed Chad Walsh, the only candidate running against Democratic Assemblyman Paul Fong in the Silicon Valley-based 28th Assembly District.

The committee was created by Gateway founder Ted Waitt, who put up $300,000 in seed money to get the ad buys started.

Waitt said in a statement that voters are "demanding pragmatic and problem-solving behavior from our elected officials once again."

"We believe independent minded voters will see this as an opportunity for more than just a statement vote, but as a chance for real political change," he said.

Online versions of the ads are posted at this link.

Supporters of a proposal to give state regulators power to reject health insurance rate increases say they are submitting 800,000 voter signatures to election officials in hopes of qualifying for the November ballot.

"We will give California voters the chance to decide their own fate in November and stop out of control health insurance premiums," Consumer Watchdog President Jamie Court, whose group is sponsoring the initiative, wrote in an email to supporters today.

Under the proposed initiative, changes to heath insurance policy rates would need approval from the state insurance commissioner. Voters approved a similar process for auto insurers, also backed by Consumer Watchdog, in 1988.

Consumer Watchdog launched the initiative qualification campaign after heath insurance rate regulation legislation stalled in the state Legislature last year. The measure also targets provisions of a rate-related initiative sponsored by auto insurance agents.

Supporters say the measure will protect consumers from excessive rate hikes. A coalition formed to oppose the measure, which includes the California Medical Association and the California Hospital Association, blasted the move as bad for patients.

"This measure will create another duplicative and expensive bureaucracy when we can
least afford it, ultimately paid for with higher health insurance premiums." California Chamber of Commerce President Allan Zaremberg said in a statement released by the opposition campaign.

Supporters are holding a press conference in Los Angeles this morning to begin submitting petitions to election officials there. They need roughly 504,000 valid voter signatures to qualify for the ballot. All measures headed for the November ballot must be certified by June 28.

RELATED POSTS:

California group files health insurance regulation initiative

Dan Walters: Feud colors clash over California's health care rates

Editor's note: This post was updated at 10:49 a.m. with comments from the opposition.

A group that set out to hold an online nominating convention for the presidential contest has thrown in the towel on its goal of selecting an alternative, bipartisan ticket for the 2012 election.

"There is a desire among Delegates and millions of Americans who have supported Americans Elect to see a credible candidate emerge from this process. However, the rules, as developed in consultation with the Americans Elect Delegates, are clear. As of this week, no candidate achieved the national support threshold required to enter the Americans Elect Online Convention in June. The primary process for the Americans Elect nomination has come to an end," a statement released by the organization today reads.

Despite wealthy backers, Web infrastructure and ballot access in all 50 states, the movement was unable to attract serious candidates to compete in its primary process.

Though its ticket will not be on the ballot this November, the statement released today said the group is "continuing the Americans Elect mission of creating more choice in our political system, giving candidates unaffiliated with the nominating process of either major party an authentic way to run for office and giving the American people a greater voice in our political process."

RELATED POSTS:

Americans Elect backing effort for nonpartisan Web-based presidential convention

Dan Morain: Online alternate campaign is flagging

Americans Elect gets OK to put ticket on California ballot

Republican Leroy Ornellas is airing his first television spot in the targeted 5th Senate District.

The San Joaquin County supervisor is battling Assemblyman Bill Berryhill, R-Stockton, for one of two November runoff spots in the swing district, which encompasses all of San Joaquin County and part of Stanislaus County. The third candidate on the ballot, Democratic Assemblywoman Cathleen Galgiani, is expected to make it to November by carrying the Democratic voters in the primary.

The 30-second ad, which is running on cable stations through the June 5 primary, is centered on the Tracy dairy farmer's "no more bull" appeal as the only candidate who is not currently serving in Sacramento.

"I've been a dairy farmer all my life and I know bull when I see it and I see a lot of it in Sacramento," he says in the spot, which is posted below. "I see politicians fighting, not solving problems, raising taxes, not cutting waste."

Berryhill, who had to move into the district to be eligible to run, has the backing of the Senate Republican Caucus and some powerful Sacramento interests. A committee funded largely by the California Medical Association, for example, recently reported spending $33,500 on mail pieces opposing Ornellas. The Senate GOP believes Berryhill has a better shot of defeating Galgiani in the seat.

A political committee that Service Employees International Union California created to support moderate Republican candidates for the Legislature reported its first expenditure of the 2012 election Wednesday, dropping more than $15,000 on mail pieces opposing Republican Assemblyman Tim Donnelly's bid for re-election.

Donnelly, a conservative first-term assemblyman known for his vocal opposition to illegal immigration, is facing Republican Bill Jahn, the mayor of Big Bear Lake, and Democrat John Coffey on the June 5 ballot in the 33rd Assembly District.

The mailers were reported in a campaign filing posted on the secretary of state's website.The committee also reported spending about $20,000 on a survey in the safe Republican district.

SEIU California launched the Golden California Committee last year as part of an effort to elect more moderate Republicans to the Legislature. Leaders said the new district lines and top-two primary system allow more opportunities to influence the outcome in conservative districts.

The union says 87,000 of its 700,000 members are registered Republicans.

RELATED POSTS:
SEIU California launches Republican PAC to back moderates

A political advocacy group funded largely by wealthy Stanford physicist Charles T. Munger Jr. has poured $83,000 this week into an independent push to re-elect Republican Assemblywoman Beth Gaines.

Gaines, of Rocklin, is running against attorney and fellow Republican Andy Pugno in the 6th Assembly District, a newly drawn district based in Placer County but extending into Sacramento and El Dorado counties. Democrat Reginald Bronner of Lincoln rounds out the field.

A radio advertisement and campaign literature supporting Gaines was funded by Spirit of Democracy, whose coffers consist of $727,000 from Munger and $150,000 from the California Dental Association, records show.

Of the money spent to benefit Gaines, $54,000 was for radio airtime and production costs, $15,000 for campaign consultants, and $14,170 for printing and mailing campaign literature.

Spirit of Democracy was created for the purpose of supporting and opposing candidates for state office. The group also is backing Republican Leslie Daigle against incumbent GOP Assemblyman Allan Mansoor of Costa Mesa in the 74th Assembly District race.

Munger is a major GOP donor and was a key financial backer of redistricting reform. He has pushed to moderate the Republican Party by downplaying divisive issues such as abortion, gun rights and same-sex marriage.

By supporting Gaines, Munger is taking aim at Pugno, the author of and chief counsel for Proposition 8, the initiative passed by voters in 2008 to limit marriage to a man and woman.

Munger's sister, civil rights attorney and Democrat Molly Munger, is pushing a measure for the November ballot that would generate about $10 billion annually by raising income taxes on a sliding scale for all but the poorest California workers for 12 years.

An anonymous site attacking Republican congressional candidate Sam Aanestad has sparked legal action, allegations of campaign violations and calls for staff firings in the 1st Congressional District contest.

Voters who came across the site Sam4Congress.com in the past month would find unflattering pictures, criticisms and a banner reading "Sam Aanestad NOT for Congress," instead of the typical endorsements and biographical information they might expect to find at a URL carrying the candidate's name.

"Unlike the real deal -- the real Sam Aanestad has had a long history of bad votes and out of touch elitism," the site said on Monday. It has since been taken down.

The website originally carried the disclaimer "Free Thinkers for D'Acquisito," apparently a reference to another Republican candidate running for the open seat, according to a screenshot that the Aanestad campaign provided. But candidate Michael Dacquisto says he had no part in the site, and records released by the company hosting the site show that the domain name was registered in the name of Mark Spannagel, the chief of staff of yet another Republican candidate, state Sen. Doug LaMalfa.

The Aanestad campaign obtained the domain records as part of a lawsuit it filed to find out who was behind the site. Today, the campaign issued a press release accusing LaMalfa's campaign of violating a litany of federal campaign and disclosure laws, including failure to disclosure campaign communication or independent expenditures and fraud "in disclaiming its own campaign communication to that of another candidate."

The Sacramento-based Criminal Justice Legal Foundation petitioned the 3rd District Court of Appeals today to remove from the November ballot a proposal to abolish the death penalty in California, arguing it violates the state's "single-subject rule" for initiatives.

The foundation said abolishing the death penalty while also authorizing the distribution of $100 million to local law enforcement agencies to help solve murder and rape cases violates a requirement that ballot measures address only one subject.

"This kind of manipulation, forcing the people to vote on two different measures as an all-or-nothing choice, is exactly what the single-subject rule was put in the Constitution to prevent," the foundation's Kent Scheidegger said in a prepared statement.

Supporters of abolishing the death penalty said the litigation is baseless. Former San Quentin Warden Jeanne Woodford said in a prepared statement that the ballot measure is "about one thing and one thing only: ensuring that those who commit the most serious crimes in our state are caught and held accountable. Every aspect of the initiative is connected to that goal."

RENO - President Barack Obama, appearing in a swing state still reeling from the foreclosure crisis, called on House Republicans this afternoon to enact a mortgage-relief plan that has failed for months in Congress to gain traction.

"You're going to have to pressure Congress," the Democratic president said outside the Reno home of a couple who refinanced their mortgage through a program Obama is seeking to expand. "The pool of folks who can refinance right now, when their homes are underwater, is still too small."

A measure to expand a program for government-backed mortgages to those backed by private institutions is part of an election year "to-do list" Obama is pushing on Congress.

"I need all of you and everybody who's watching to push Congress on their "to-do list," Obama said. "Nag them until they actually get it done. We need to keep moving this country forward. Send them an email. Tweet them. Write them a letter if you're old-fashioned like me."

PHOTO CREDIT: President Barack Obama meets with Val and Paul Keller in their Reno home Friday. Associated Press//Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

JobsPAC, the political action committee of the California Chamber of Commerce, has recently shelled out more than $150,000 on independent efforts backing two Democrats running for the Assembly.

About $121,000 went to consultants,research, polling and mailers to support Orange County Democrat Tom Daly's run for the Assembly District 69 seat, according to the PAC's latest filings with the Secretary of State.

Daly, a moderate who OC Weekly tagged "the Joe Lieberman of Orange County politics," has a long history in public office that includes 10 years as Anaheim's mayor.

Other contenders for the Democratic-leaning seat currently held by termed-out Assemblyman Jose Solorio , D-Santa Ana, include Santa Ana City Councilwoman Michele Martinez and labor activist Julio Perez, both Democrats. Another committee backed by labor has been spending heavily for Perez.

Closer to Sacramento, the chamber supported Stockton City Councilwoman Susan Eggman's candidacy for the Assembly District 13 seat with $33,000 spent independently on consulting, research, and mailers.

Although three Republicans are on the AD 13 June primary ballot, the primary race is focused on Eggman and labor-backed Democratic community activist Xochitl Paderes, whose campaign has received nearly $20,000 from labor organizations, state records show.

The Stockton Record recently reported that the fight between the candidates is centering on Stockton's well-known fiscal problems and how the city council on which Eggman serves decided to enter confidential talks with creditors, hoping to avoid bankruptcy. That has angered unions, which have endorsed Paderes.

The Federal Election Commission this week struggled again with Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein's request for a loosening of the usual fundraising limits, in the wake of the massive embezzlement by former campaign treasurer Kinde Durkee.

The upshot: Feinstein didn't get the go-ahead she sought, but neither did the six-member FEC come to a official consensus decision on the key question. There could be more discussions to come.

Feinstein asked the FEC for permission to raise more money from contributors who had already maxed out under federal campaign limits, arguing that Durkee's admitted embezzlement meant the money was never really received.

A revised draft opinion debated Thursday would have denied Feinstein's request to seek replacement contributions from individuals whose money had been deposited in a campaign account. But with one Republican commissioner recusing himself from the deliberations, the 3-2 vote adopting the draft opinion fell short of the four votes needed for approval.

The FEC's general counsel will be redrafting an opinion that would allow more money to be raised only from those individuals whose prior contributions were never actually deposited in a campaign account. This may not cover very many donors.

Three California Republicans running in targeted congressional races have been named "Young Guns" by the National Republican Congressional Committee.

Ricky Gill, state Sen. Tony Strickland, and Assemblyman David Valadao were among the 12 candidates to reach the top status of the candidate recruitment and training program.

Gill is running against Democratic Rep. Jerry McNerney in the Central Valley's 9th Congressional District, Strickland is vying for the open 26th Congressional District in Ventura County, and Valadao is seeking the open 21st Congressional District, also in the Central Valley.

NRCC Chairman Pete Sessions, a Texas congressman, praised the candidates for "leading the pack as Republicans continue to send a loud and clear message that we will hold Democrats accountable for their job-destroying agenda."

The program was founded before the 2008 election by California Rep. Kevin McCarthy, Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., and Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisc.

A California proposal aimed at curbing sex slavery and other forms of human trafficking has qualified for the November ballot.

The initiative increases penalties for human trafficking violations, upping the maximum sentence to 15 years to life in prison and fines of up to $1.5 million. It would also require that sex offenders, including people convicted of human trafficking crimes, report information about their online accounts, such as email addresses or social media pages.

Validity checks by county election officials showed that proponents submitted enough voter signatures to meet the 504,760 minimum for making it on the ballot, Secretary of State Debra Bowen said today.

The signature-gathering effort was funded with $1.4 million from Chris Kelly, a former Facebook chief privacy officer and 2010 Democratic attorney general candidate who lobbied unsuccessfully for legislation that would have created similar online identity reporting requirements for sex offenders.

The anti human trafficking initiative is the sixth measure to qualify for the November election. Upwards of a dozen measures, including three separate tax proposals, could make ultimately make it on the ballot.

Less than a month before California voters decide on tobacco-tax and term-limits initiatives, Gov. Jerry Brown remains unlikely to take a public position on either one.

The Democratic governor, who submitted signatures this morning for his November ballot measure to raise taxes, declined to discuss the ballot measures on the June 5 ballot.

"Focus, focus," he said, telling reporters he is "sticking to the measure that we're filing signatures for today."

Proposition 28 would alter legislative term limits, allowing lawmakers to serve 12 years either in one house or divided between the Assembly and Senate. Lawmakers are currently restricted to eight years in the Senate and six in the Assembly.

Proposition 29 would impose an additional $1-per-pack tax on cigarettes to pay for cancer research and smoking cessation programs.

Brown's November initiative would raise income taxes on California's highest earners as well as the state sales tax rate.

"As governor, my responsibility is to balance the budget, protect our schools, protect public safety," he said today. "That's what I'm doing. I need to get this initiative passed, so that's my focus."

Philip Morris USA is among the most recent large contributors to Brown's re-election campaign, donating $26,000 last month.

PHOTO CAPTION: Gov. Jerry Brown and his wife, Anne Gust Brown, delivers signatures for his ballot tax measure to the county registrar's office in Sacramento on Thursday, May 10, 2012. Sacramento Bee / Randall Benton.

A week after announcing that he had collected enough signatures to qualify his tax initiative for the November ballot, Gov. Jerry Brown's campaign to pass the measure appeared this morning to take shape.

The Democratic governor, appearing at the office of the Sacramento County Registrar of Voters to submit the first of about 1.5 million signatures collected statewide, was accompanied by political consultant Ace Smith, whose company, SCN Strategies, will run the campaign.

Smith managed Brown's bid for attorney general in 2006, and SCN oversaw California Attorney General Kamala Harris' run in 2010.

Brown proposes to raise the state sales tax and income taxes on California's highest earners.

"It's balanced, it's fair and it will take a major step forward in putting California in a very solid position," Brown said, leaning into a podium outside the registrar's office flanked by boxes of signatures and about two dozen supporters. "We are facing a world that is full of economic uncertainties, but with this tax measure, and with the cuts that I'll be proposing on Monday, California will put itself in a very, very strong position."

Brown is expected to propose further spending reductions in a revised budget proposal on Monday. He declined to discuss his proposal in detail but said it "will be a difficult day in Sacramento."

Brown was joined at the press conference by his wife and special counsel, Anne Gust Brown, and his dog, Sutter. Following his brief remarks, Brown said to his supporters, "That's it? All right guys, let's get 'em filed."

Billionaire hedge-fund manager Tom Steyer will donate $20 million toward an initiative that would raise $1 billion annually from multi-state corporations for green building projects and the state budget, proponents said today.

That brings Steyer's contributions to $21.9 million so far in the campaign, one of the highest amounts ever by one individual for a California initiative effort. Steyer is an environmentalist who founded San Francisco-based Farallon Capital Management in 1986. Forbes magazine lists his net worth at $1.3 billion as of March.

Only one contributor in recent memory gave more to a statewide initiative: real estate heir and businessman Stephen Bing, who gave $48.6 million to Proposition 87 in 2006, according to state records. The failed effort would have raised taxes on oil production for alternative energy projects.

Steyer has formed a coalition of environmental groups that dubs itself the "Californians to Close the Out-of-State Corporate Tax Loophole." The committee filed signatures last week to put their initiative on the ballot.

After rubbing elbows with George Clooney at a fundraiser in Los Angeles on Thursday, President Barack Obama will fly to Reno to push his economic agenda in a battleground state.

The Democratic president is scheduled to meet with a Reno-area family and speak about his "to-do list" for Congress, including a proposal to help homeowners refinance mortgages at lower interest rates.

Obama's campaign has been promoting the Clooney fundraiser for weeks, soliciting small donations online by offering a chance to win tickets to the otherwise high-dollar event.

The Washington Post reported the fundraiser at the actor's home may be one of the largest presidential fundraisers in U.S. history.

Looking to catch up with a who's who of California Republican power players in late August?

Head to the The Tradewinds Island Resorts on St. Pete Beach.

That's where California's delegation for the Republican National Convention in Tampa will be staying during the party's nominating convention.

Expected Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney's campaign has submitted to the office of Secretary of State Debra Bowen a list of delegates to represent the former Massachusetts governor on the floor of the convention.

The list, first reported on the conservative FlashReport blog, includes former Gov. Pete Wilson, 2010 gubernatorial candidate and Romney surrogate Meg Whitman Griff Harsh, former Secretary of State Bill Jones and former California Republican Party Chairman Duf Sundheim. Reps. Kevin McCarthy, Darrell Issa and Mary Bono Mack, state Sen. Mark Wyland and Board of Equalization member George Runner. also made the cut.

Also tapped as potential delegates are several spouses of elected officials, including Senate GOP leader Bob Huff's wife Mei Mei Huff and former Assemblywoman Audra Strickland, who is married to Sen. Tony Strickland.

Backers of a tobacco tax initiative responded today with a trio of ads that seek to undermine the credibility of their tobacco-funded opposition, including two ads featuring cyclist and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong.

The 15-second television spots began airing in Northern California markets this morning, according to the Yes on 29 campaign. The initiative would add a new $1 tax per pack of cigarettes to fund cancer and heart disease research.

Proponents are trying to respond specifically to an ad featuring San Joaquin General Hospital physician La Donna Porter, who criticized the initiative while wearing a doctor's smock in an ad that aired statewide for the past two weeks. The opposition campaign has raised nearly $40 million so far, nearly all from tobacco firms R.J. Reynolds and Philip Morris USA.

Seeking to qualify for the November ballot, backers of a constitutional amendment to make major changes in California state budgeting and governance announced Monday that they have submitted more than enough signatures to place their measure before voters.

Spokesman Roger Salazar said that more than 1.2 million signatures have been collected. The California Forward Issue Action Fund proposal needs 807,615 valid voter signatures to qualify for the November ballot.

The measure includes a requirement for a two-year, performance based state budget, legislative transparency measures, and a new process for local governments to opt out of state laws or regulations that they feel hinder their ability to work efficiently.

More than 50 groups signed a letter last week stating plans to form an opposition campaign if the proposal reaches the ballot.

Salazar said negotiations with legislative leaders are continuing, but meanwhile, the petition signatures were submitted to ensure verification in time for the November election.

If a deal is struck with legislative leaders and a compromise measure is written, Salazar said that his group will not campaign for its proposal and will ask voters to support the alternative.

Two tobacco giants chipped in another $15 million against a tobacco tax initiative on Friday, bringing their running tally to $38 million in the Proposition 29 campaign, state records show.

The new donations by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, Philip Morris USA and their affiliates came as the No on 29 campaign launched a new television attack ad featuring an unnamed researcher in a lab.

Of note, the latest campaign finance report showed nearly $700,000 in non-monetary contributions from the cash-strapped California Republican Party. Altria Group, the parent of Philip Morris USA, gave the state GOP $205,000 between September and January.

Update (11:50 a.m.): California Republican Party spokeswoman Jennifer Kerns said the party's non-monetary contribution involved sending an e-mail and print mailer to its members against Proposition 29. The initiative would impose a new $1-per-pack tax on cigarettes to pay for cancer and heart disease research and related facilities. She said the party opposes the tax and wanted to get the word out to its members.

Of the Altria donations, Kerns said, "it's not uncommon to have donors who are like-minded on a number of issues, taxes being first and foremost."

An environmental coalition led by hedge-fund manager Tom Steyer is submitting more than 900,000 signatures today to place before voters an initiative to raise more than a billion dollars from out-of-state companies for schools and green building projects.

The measure, pushed by "Californians to Close the Out-of-State Corporate Tax Loophole," needs 504,760 valid voter signatures to qualify for the November ballot.

"We think we're on the ballot for sure," Steyer said in announcing that his group will file its petitions today in all 58 counties.

For the first five years, the initiative is projected to raise about a billion dollars per year, with about half going toward energy conservation efforts at schools and other public buildings. The remainder would go toward the state's general fund.

"With the unemployment in this state, the best thing we think we can do is create clean energy jobs," Steyer said.

After five years, the entire amount raised by Steyer's initiative would go toward the state general fund.

Steyer is teaming with former U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz and with Democratic State Sen. Kevin de Leon to push the initiative, which targets a provision of California tax law that was part of the state's 2009 budget deal.

Current law allows companies to choose the more beneficial of two tax formulas - one based solely on sales in California in proportion to sales elsewhere, the other accounting for sales, payroll and property in California.

Steyer's measure would eliminate the choice and require use of the "single sales factor" - the formula tied to California sales. Democratic lawmakers have pushed for the change, while Republicans have branded it a tax increase.

Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez, D-Los Angeles, is pushing a two-bill package of legislation, Assembly Bills 1500 and 1501, that also would alter state tax law to require the "single sales factor" -- but his plan would earmark the billion dollars for a different purpose -- college scholarships.

Pérez's proposals are pending in the Assembly.

Proponents of the initiative will "stand down" and step aside in favor of Pérez's bills if they pass the Legislature, Steyer said.

"We'd stop campaigning immediately," Steyer said.

SAN JOSE - Gov. Jerry Brown said this afternoon that he has collected enough signatures to qualify his tax initiative for the November ballot.

"We should have them all," the Democratic governor told reporters after speaking to a business group in San Jose.

Constrained by a short timeline, Brown and his supporters raced to collect more than 800,000 valid voter signatures by early this month, relying on robotic telephone calls, mailers and payment of as much as $3 per signature for signatures gathered on the street.

The measure would raise the state sales tax and income taxes on California's highest earners.

Brown's remarks came just hours after Republican leaders assembled at the Capitol to kick off their campaign against the measure. Brown had no comment about the Republican effort, except to say it wasn't news.

In his speech to business leaders, Brown suggested he will propose additional spending cuts in his May budget revision. His tax proposal, he said, is "reasonable."

"Vote for the tax," Brown said. "Suck it in."

SAN JOSE -- Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said again this afternoon that she has no interest in being a candidate for vice president, but she had some advice for Mitt Romney about the kind of person he might choose.

"Somebody who actually wants to run for office would be a good start," Rice said.

The Republican told a conference of business leaders hosted by the Bay Area Council in San Jose that Romney would make a "fine president."

"I think he'll find a fine vice president, too," she added.

Rice ha occasionally been mentioned as a potential Republican vice presidential pick, but she has said for months that she is not interested.

PHOTO CREDIT: Condoleezza Rice, Associated Press file photo, 2009.

Supporters of a measure that would make major changes to California's budgeting and governance processes are starting to turn in petition signatures as talks continue with political interests that don't want to see the entire package on the ballot this November.

The California Forward Issue Action Fund proposal includes a requirement for a two-year, performance based state budget, legislative transparency measures and a new process for local governments to opt out of state laws or regulations they feel hinders their ability to work efficiently. Labor and environmental interests have expressed concerns about parts of the proposal and Gov. Jerry Brown's allies fear including the plan on the November ballot could complicate strategy for his own tax initiative.

More than 50 groups, including the California Labor Federation, the California Federation of Teachers, the California Nurses Association and the Western Center on Law and Poverty, signed a letter this week stating plans to form an opposition campaign if the California Forward Issue Action Fund continues with its plans to place its measure on the ballot.

"We have pointed out numerous substantive and drafting flaws in the measure, an analysis that many Board members share," the letter to board members of the action fund and California Forward's nonprofit think tank arm reads. "At a time when we should be focused on recovery, locking in these flawed provisions.... would permanently scar California."

Campaign spokesman Roger Salazar issued a statement Wednesday saying supporters have collected enough signatures to qualify and will begin turning them in on a staggered schedule "to allow the maximum time for negotiations in hopes that a full deal can be reached."

"We recognize the concerns raised by some parties and interests and have worked in earnest to reach a possible compromise," the statement said. "While a workable framework is on the table, an agreement has not yet been realized."

The nonprofit think tank California Forward's campaign arm attempted to qualify a pair of measures that included some similar components for the 2010 ballot, but were short on cash to collect the needed signatures. This time around the effort was boosted by more than $1 million from Nicolas Berggruen, a billionaire investor who has pledged to spend $20 million to reform California government.

Editor's note: This post was updated at 11:22 a.m. with comments from the letter from the opposition.

Supporters of a tax measure backed by wealthy civil rights attorney Molly Munger have started submitting the voter signatures they've collected in their qualification campaign.

The campaign announced late today that it is submitting 241,049 signatures to elections officials in Los Angeles County. Backers hope to submit signatures of 775,000 voters in all. Roughly 504,000 valid signatures are needed to qualify the proposal for the November ballot.

Campaign spokesman Nathan Ballard said supporters are wrapping up signature-gathering efforts this week. He said he is "optimistic" that they will hit that target.

Munger's measure, which is supported by the California State PTA, would raise income taxes on a sliding scale on all but the poorest California workers for 12 years, with most of the estimated $10 billion in revenues going directly to schools and early development programs. A portion of the money would be used to pay down school bond debt for the first several years.

Supporters of the tax measure backed by Gov. Jerry Brown, which would temporarily hike the sales tax and increase income taxes for Californians making more than $250,000 a year, sought earlier this year to persuade Munger to drop her effort so there would not be more than one tax measure on the same ballot. That campaign has not yet announced turning in petition signatures.

Munger contributed $6 million of her own money to fuel the signature-gathering campaign and run two television ads supporting the measure, which she argues does the most to help schools. The measure has not fared as well as Brown's plan in recent statewide polls.

Supporters of a proposal to require labeling for genetically engineered foods sold on California shelves took a step toward qualifying for the ballot by submitting nearly a million signatures today.

Initiative proponents announced today that they submitted 971,126 signatures to county election officials across the state. Roughly 504,000 valid voter signatures are needed to qualify for the November ballot.

"We're very confident that we'll be on the ballot in November," spokeswoman Stacy Malkan said.

Under the measure, raw foods and products made primarily from genetically engineered ingredients and some processed foods could not be advertised or labeled as "natural." It includes some exceptions, including for organic products, foods sold in restaurants and animal products supplemented with genetically engineered ingredients.

"This is about the right to know," Malkan said of the push for labeling. "It's a fundamental right, a bedrock American value."

Opponents, which include the California Farm Bureau Federation and the California Chamber of Commerce, say creating a California-specific labeling requirements will raise prices for consumers and lead to lawsuits. They also argue that the number of exemptions will end up misleading voters.

"Proponents want you to believe this measure is simply about labeling foods with GE ingredients. The truth is that this measure goes far beyond labeling and contains extreme provisions that will cost us all," Jamie Johansson, an Oroville farmer who serves as second vice president of the California Farm Bureau Federation, said in a statement.

Supporters of the initiative disagree, claiming it would not raise food prices substantially or spark a wave of lawsuits.

California law says voters have up to 10 minutes to mark their ballots -- but it also says they do not.

A conflicting provision of the state elections code sets the limit at five minutes, creating a discrepancy that has sparked legislation, headed to the Assembly floor, to resolve the matter.

The setting of a time limit decades ago was designed to help elections officials keep voters moving on election day, lowering prospects that long lines form and discourage Californians from casting ballots.

The issue potentially could be significant in a presidential election year, such as 2012, in which turnout is expected to be high and perhaps a dozen initiatives will be decided, along with state, federal and local races.

Assembly Bill 1724, by Cupertino Democratic Assemblyman Paul Fong, would repeal the five-minute limit, thus setting the bar at 10 minutes.

Under current law, neither the five- nor the 10-minute limit could be enforced unless necessary to avoid inconveniencing other voters.

AB 1724 takes a different tack, eliminating the mention of inconvenience and simply stating that voters can stay in the booth for longer than 10 minutes if they tell a precinct board member that they need more time.

Concerns were raised this week at a meeting of the Assembly's elections committee, which passed AB 1724 by a vote of 5-1, that such an open-ended provision could enable a group to disrupt an election by occupying voting booths indefinitely. Fong is considering amendments to address that issue, aides said.

Then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed legislation similar to AB 1724 in 2009, saying in his veto message that "there is no evidence that the discrepancy in current law has resulted in a significant problem for voters."

A court fight erupted over the issue of a time limit in 1988, however, when Marin, Sonoma and Santa Clara counties announced that they planned to enforce some measure of the 10-minute limit because of a lengthy ballot that included 27 state propositions. Civil rights activists sued, saying enforcement could hamper voting by people who read English slowly.

A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order against enforcing the 10-minute limit, but the ruling was overturned by a federal appeals court, which said there was no evidence that the statute would be enforced rigidly or in a manner that unduly restricted any group.

Redding City Councilman Rick Bosetti got a six-figure boost from an independent committee supporting his candidacy for the open 1st Assembly District seat.

An independent committee called Northstate Farm and Business PAC spent nearly $115,000 to produce and air a cable television ad supporting the Republican's candidacy, according to an independent expenditure report filed with the Secretary of State over the weekend.

The committee reported in the same filing receiving $160,000 in contributions from the California Real Estate Independent Expenditure Committee, which is funded by Realtors, developers and marketing companies, and $5,000 from Pacific Gas & Electric. A request for comment made through the committee's treasurer has not been returned.

Bosetti, a retired Major League Baseball player, is one of five candidates running for the newly-drawn seat, which spans all or part of ten counties in the northeastern region of the state. Also on the ballot in the safe GOP district are Lassen County Supervisor Brian Dahle, also a Republican, Plumas County Supervisor Robert Meacher, a Democrat, water ecologist David Edwards, a Green Party member, and biotech consultant Charley Hooper, who is running with no party preference.

Voter Guide: Check out all the area legislative and congressional candidates with The Bee's Voter Guide.

Television stations in California's major media markets, including Sacramento, will have to post information about political ads airing on their channels online before the November election because of a new policy adopted by the Federal Communications Commission today.

Information about political ad rates is already available for public viewing at the stations themselves. The Associated Press is reporting that the FCC will now require stations to also post that information on the Web, with stations in the top 50 media markets making the change within the next six months. All other stations will have until 2014 to begin posting the information online.

Four of the country's top 50 media markets are in California, according to Station Index. They are Los Angeles, San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose, Sacramento/Stockton/Modesto and San Diego.

The Associated Press has more on the vote at this link.

A drive to convert the California Legislature to part-time won't make it onto the ballot this year.

The campaign will continue to collect voter signatures, however, in hopes of placing the issue before voters in 2014, said Ted Costa of People's Advocate, a co-leader of the drive.

Costa said the petition drive has collected between 200,000 and 300,000 of the 807,615 voter signatures needed to qualify the constitutional amendment for a California ballot.

The deadline for gathering signatures is July 2, but that would be too late to qualify for this year's elections. The secretary of state's office recommended that signatures be submitted by April 20 for the November ballot.

Costa said that other campaigns have driven up the price for signature-gathering this year, hurting his drive, which has been bankrolled by relatively small donations rather than by a wealthy investor or major political party.

Costa characterized his campaign as in a "fall back, regroup and charge ahead" mode. The effort is spearheaded by Costa and by Assemblywoman Shannon Grove, R-Bakersfield.

Signature-gatherers for various other initiative drives should be off the streets in a week or two, which should create more opportunities for the part-time Legislature campaign, Costa said.

His measure calls for lawmakers in the nation's most populous state to meet three months per year, and for lawmakers' pay to be cut from $7,940 per month to $1,500 per month -- or $18,000 annually.

Steve Maviglio, a Democratic political consultant helping to lead opposition to the part-time Legislature initiative, said that he is not surprised that the measure won't qualify for the November ballot because it was not popular with voters or potential donors.

"First of all, there was no money behind it whatsoever," Maviglio said. "And it's something that sounds good on right-wing talk radio, but when voters think about it, they realize it makes little sense. You don't solve the problems of the Legislature by cutting down the amount of time they're here."

* Updated at 4:45 p.m. to add comments from Steve Maviglio, leader of a group opposing the initiative proposal.

Gov. Jerry Brown, campaigning at a Sacramento church this morning, called on California's religious leaders to engage in a "campaign of civic activism" to pass his ballot initiative to raise taxes.

"We've got to take this message to the schools, to the colleges and, yes, to the churches, to the faith community that knows that man doesn't live by bread alone," the former seminarian told about 200 clergy members from throughout the state at Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament.

The event comes as the Democratic governor moves to broaden support for his tax campaign even before the measure is qualified for the November ballot. Brown is expected to submit signatures early next month.

Members of PICO California, a network of faith-based community organizations, said they will embark on a campaign to urge 100,000 new and infrequent California voters to support the tax initiative.

"For far too long we have disinvested in our communities," the Rev. George Cummings, founding pastor of Imani Community Church in Oakland, told the crowd. "The time has come for us to begin to reinvest in our schools, and in the programs and services that will restore fiscal stability to our state."

Brown, who proposes to raise the state sales tax and income taxes on California's highest earners, said wealthy Californians have "been blessed, and they must join with us in blessing those that have not been as fortunate."

Church leaders said they are collecting signatures for Brown's initiative at their churches.

California Trailblazers today named the first two legislative candidates to reach its first level of recognition under the new GOP candidate recruitment and training program.

Assembly District 5 candidate Frank Bigelow , whose rivals include fellow Republican Rico Oller, and Assembly District 49 candidate Matthew Lin, who's competing in a heavily Democratic Los Angeles district, reached "Pathfinder" status, the first of three levels set for candidates participating in the program.

Their designation was based on meeting unspecified fundraising and organizational benchmarks. Candidates who reach different levels in the program will be eligible for additional training on fundraising and other campaign skills.

The Trailblazers program is modeled after the National Republican Congressional Committee's Young Guns program. It was launched ahead of this year's election by Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy, who founded the Young Guns program, and Republican leaders Bob Huff and Connie Conway.

A proposal to revise California's "Three Strikes" sentencing law appears headed for the November ballot.

Initiative proponents announced today that they are submitting to election officials more than 830,000 voter signatures in support of the proposal. They need 504,760 valid voter signatures to qualify for November ballot.

Under the proposal, only offenders convicted of a "third strike" felony that is violent or serious would face a minimum sentence of 25 to life in prison. The measure, which is modeled after proposed legislation, would also allow some offenders currently behind bars for a "third strike" that was a minor crime to seek a re-sentencing.

Voters rejected a similar measure, Proposition 66, in 2004.

San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon, who has endorsed the new measure, said in a statement that the initiative "saves California taxpayers money and restores the original intent of the law," which was approved by voters in 1994, "by focusing on truly dangerous criminals." A fiscal analysis estimates the measure could reduce prison costs by up to $100 million a year in the future.

The effort's signature gathering drive was fueled by six-figure contributions from Stanford University professor David Mills, a proponent of the measure, billionaire George Soros and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

RELATED POSTS:

Billionaire George Soros donates $500,000 to three-strikes drive

Shirtless young men and bikini-clad young women toss Frisbees and footballs, workout and frolic on the beach in a new television spot soon hitting Southern California airwaves.

The tanned and toned beach-goers aren't promoting a new brand of suntan lotion or the latest rum drink.

They're backing Republican presidential candidate Fred Karger.

"I wanted to make it fun and sexy," Karger said outside the Capitol as he swung through Wednesday to tout the new spot, which he launched online ahead of his upcoming cable buy, and kick off the final leg of his campaign.

The Web version of "Sexy Frisbee," which ends with two men sharing a kiss, has already caused a bit of a stir for Karger's shoestring campaign. The 60-second version, posted below, had been flagged as inappropriate and taken off YouTube by late last night. It "magically reappeared" this morning after he shot off complaints to YouTube and parent company Google.

"A little racy, but nothing compared to 'Baywatch,' " he acknowledged of the ad's content.

But Karger, who is the only openly gay candidate in the GOP contest, thinks the spot will strike a chord with young Republicans, his target demographic for California's June 5 primary. He says he got a good response from other videos featuring his campaign's signature swag, including a spoof of the 2010 "Demon Sheep" video called "Demon Frisbee."

"One of my great appeals has really been to younger people," he said. "They don't care about the gay thing. They're much more interested in jobs and education reform, foreign policy, so it messages to them."

While his chance of winning the state slim to none, the moderate Republican said he wants to serve as a "voice of opposition" to expected Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney.

"There are many people that are unhappy with his far-rightward move, with the far-rightward move of the Republican Party, that want a reasonable, moderate Republican who's looking to the future," he said.

Karger said he plans to spend the coming weeks touring the state in a decked-out luxury van (a full bus is out of his budget), conducting precinct walks complete with bagpipe music and speaking to "anybody who will have me." He's focusing on turning out GOP voters in heavily Democratic congressional districts in hopes of picking up some delegates to use as leverage to secure a speaking slot at the Republican National Convention in Tampa.

"If I can get three delegates, or six or nine, I could be more of a force or factor in the Tampa convention," he said.

Californians voters going to the polls in November will again decide the fate of the death penalty.

A measure to abolish the death penalty and replace it with a maximum sentence of life behind bars without parole has qualified for the Nov. 6 ballot, the Secretary of State confirmed today. The measure, backed by a coalition that includes the American Civil Liberties Union and some law enforcement and victims rights groups, would apply to inmates currently on death row.

Supporters say capital punishment, which voters added to the state's books in 1978, costs California more than $100 million a year while leading to very few executions because of the time it takes to go through the appeals process.

Proponents had submitted to election officials nearly 800,000 petition signatures earlier this year. The measure officially made the cut after a random signature check conducted by counties projected that at least 555,236 of those signatures were from registered voters.

The death penalty initiative is the fifth ballot measure to be added to the November ballot. Voters are also set to consider a measure banning the use of automatic payroll deduction to collect money for political spending, a measure on auto insurance rates, a referendum to overturn the newly drawn state Senate district maps and a $11 billion in bonds for water infrastructure projects and conservation.

Allan Hoffenblum, one of the state's most experienced political campaign consultants and handicappers, says that nearly three dozen congressional and legislative contests could be runoffs between candidates of the same party, thanks to the state's new "top-two" primary system.

For the first time, candidates from all parties will be listed on the June 5 primary ballots and the two top vote-getters, regardless of party, will face each other in the November election.

There are 80 Assembly seats, 53 congressional seats and 20 state Senate seats up this year, and Hoffenblum, publisher of the California Target Book, a bible for election handicappers, says as many as 34 could wind up with same-party contests in November.

Hoffenblum, writing for the Fox & Hounds political website, sees a potential for 22 Assembly districts falling into that category, plus eight congressional seats and four in the state Senate.

By far, Hoffenblum writes, the greatest potential is for Democrat vs. Dermocrat duels due to low Republican voter registration in coastal and urban areas.

The California Taxpayers Association handed ammunition Monday to opponents of this year's proposed tax increases - a report that outlines $7.3 billion in operational savings and non-tax "revenue enhancements" in state and local governments.

That's roughly 5 percent of annual state and local tax collections and approaches the revenue estimates for Gov. Jerry Brown's sales and income tax boost and a rival income tax increase sponsored by wealthy attorney Molly Munger. Brown's measure would address the state's budget deficit while Munger's would boost spending on schools.

"This report makes tangible, pragmatic recommendations that will yield long-term savings to address our current fiscal constraints and get state and local governments back on solid financial footing," CalTax president Teresa Casazza said in a statement that accompanied the report's release.

CalTax is a Sacramento-based organization, supported mostly by business groups, that tracks state and local government tax and budget matters and generally opposes tax increases. Its report lists $4.01 billion in permanent savings items, another $104 million in one-time savings and $3.19 billion in revenue increases.

None of the individual proposals involves big money, as the Capitol defines it; they are a grab bag of operational changes, such as reducing lease costs and privatization of some public services, many of which have kicked around the Capitol for years, mostly as Republican suggestions.

The "revenue enhancements" are fewer and larger, such as cleaning up delinquent tax accounts that, CalTax says, could produce $2.3 billion in one-time revenue,

Jeff Randle sure can pick a toughie. With the Republican presidential primary race all but locked up for Mitt Romney, it was announced today that the Sacramento-based GOP strategist will be a senior adviser to Romney's California campaign.

"Jeff Randle is one of California's most respected and accomplished political leaders, and his expertise is critical as we work to highlight Mitt Romney's vision for the Golden State," Romney political director Rich Beeson said in a prepared statement.

The California primary is less than seven weeks away. Romney led the field of Republicans here even when the race was competitive.

The general election is another story. California is so heavily Democratic that no Republican candidate is expected to campaign seriously here against President Barack Obama.

"I am honored to be part of what is an incredibly organized, focused and determined campaign team," Randle, who previously volunteered for Romney, said in the statement. "The team reflects Mitt Romney's leadership and mirrors his focus on building a winning organization that is primed to win the general election."

After three years of Twitter posts, fundraising pleas and a YouTube debut, the man behind the attempt to create a new California Moderate Party is moving on.

"Knowing when to call it quits is one of the most important decisions we make in all facets of our lives," California Moderate Party founder Ash Roughani wrote in a message to supporters that was posted via Twitter. "Having turned 30 this past February, I can't help but feel that this was a manifestation of my entire life's experience. Yet, people weren't taking me seriously."

Roughani wrote that organizers of the effort "simply weren't generating the results we needed" to keep going. The effort has long struggled to raise money and gain traction in the state.

Buddy Roemer, the one-time congressman and Louisiana governor, was bound for Sacramento this morning to promote his long-shot candidacy for president when, at Reagan National Airport, in Washington, D.C., he crossed paths with a former presidential hopeful, John McCain.

"I heard this shout," he said. "'Roemer!'"

The Republican senator from Arizona has endorsed Republican Mitt Romney this year, but Roemer said he told him his campaign is "awesome," too.

After running as a Republican but failing to qualify for a single debate, Roemer is running as an independent. He is trying to become the nominee of Americans Elect, which will hold an online primary in June, and he is focusing this week on college students, with appearances Tuesday at University of the Pacific, UC Davis and UC Berkeley.

"They're less entangled with the current parties," Roemer said over a BLT at The Big Salad Shop in Sacramento. "They're freer."

Roemer feels he is freer, too. But the 68-year-old, who was a Democrat before he became a Republican many years ago, has some paperwork to catch up on to reflect that. In Louisiana, he is still a registered Republican.

"I will change that when I discover my state again, when I get back there," he said. "I'm not sure when I'm going back. I'm in California all this week."

Roemer had a newspaper in front of him, and he borrowed his campaign manager's red pen. The Republicans and Democrats are in their own circles, he said, pulled further and further apart by special interest money.

"I think the two parties are corrupt. I think they're joined at the billfold," he said. "Tell me what the difference is?"

He pointed to a space on the newspaper between the two circles he'd drawn. That's where he is, he said.

"They just don't know me," he said. "They will."

Roemer was planning to rest tonight, before his three events Tuesday. He had been up since early this morning, and for the first time in his campaign he said he was coming down with a cold.

He said: "I'm a long-shot, obviously, but I run to win."

PHOTO CREDIT: Former Louisiana Gov. Buddy Roemer in July 2011. Associated Press/Jim Cole

Molly Munger, the wealthy tax proponent whose initiative has frustrated Gov. Jerry Brown, has launched a second ad portraying her measure as an outsider effort.

With upbeat music and a young girl as narrator, the 30-second "Our Children, Our Future" ad attacks Brown's plan without ever referencing it. Munger's initiative would hike income taxes on all but the poorest residents along a sliding scale to raise $10 billion annually.

Of efforts to fix schools, the ad says, "We've waited years for the politicians to do it. Now, we can do it ourselves. Our Children, Our Future sends every K-12 dollar straight to our schools, not to Sacramento."

Munger has contributed $6 million so far to the campaign, which must gather 504,760 signatures to place the initiative on the November ballot. The campaign said the $1.2 million ad buy will air on broadcast and cable stations in the Bay Area and Los Angeles.

Spokesman Nathan Ballard said the campaign is "on track" to qualify its measure.

"The environment out there is crowded with the governor's measure and various other measures that are being shopped around," Ballard said. "There's quite a bit of noise, and we believe this ad will cut through the noise."

Republican Rep. Dan Lungren took in more than $500,000 for his re-election campaign in the first three months of the year, outraising rival Ami Bera for the first time since the Elk Grove Democrat emerged on the fundraising scene in mid-2009.

Lungren, of Gold River, ended March with just under $900,000 on hand, according to a report filed with the Federal Election Commission. Bera, whose filing has not yet appeared on the FEC website, said in a release issued last week that he raised $366,000. He ended the quarter with a cash advantage over his rival, saying he has roughly $1.15 million in the bank heading into the June 5 primary.

Bera, who lost to Lungren in 2010 by seven percentage points, had outraised Lungren in every quarterly filing period since the July 2009 reports. Lungren consultant Rob Stutzman said while both candidates took in significant sums, the latest numbers reverse "what has been what has been a mostly two-year streak."

"He's finding a lot of support and he's working very hard to gather the resources to take on Bera," Stutzman said of Lungren.

Bera's campaign, meanwhile, touted its own numbers as a sign of "grassroots" support, saying in a release that 60 percent of donors this quarter were giving to the campaign for the first time.

A close registration split has made the newly drawn 7th Congressional District a top target this election. Lungren and Bera have huge fund-raising advantages over the other two candidates running in the primary and are expected to face off in a rematch in November.

It's all hands on deck as the deadline approaches for supporters of Gov. Jerry Brown's tax measure to turn in the hundreds of thousands of signatures they need to qualify for the November ballot.

In addition to calling and mailing voters pleas to send signatures in, campaign supporters have asked some Democratic staff members in the Legislature to circulate petitions for the constitutional amendment on their time off.

The volunteer effort is organized by the political, non-state arms of the Assembly and Senate Democratic caucuses, which are funded and staffed by the California Democratic Party, both the Assembly and Senate Democrats say.

Gov. Jerry Brown said this morning that the Legislature should "man up" and make spending cuts, acknowledging the state budget deficit is likely larger than he previously thought.

The Democratic governor, in an interview on the Bay Area talk radio station KGO 810, said the deficit is "probably bigger now" than the $9.2 billion he estimated earlier this year.

"We're trying to be as prudent as we can," Brown said. "That's why the Legislature has to man up, make the cuts, and get some taxes and we'll make it."

Legislative Democrats have resisted many of Brown's proposals to reduce spending, and his demand that cuts be enacted by March fell flat.

Brown's "man up" remark was reminiscent of when Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called legislative Democrats "girlie men" in 2004, also in a budget dispute.

"Uh-oh ..." Aaron McLear, Schwarzenegger's former press secretary, said on Twitter, "sounds a lot like 'Girly Men.'"

Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher received oodles of media attention when he left the Republican Party and re-registered as an independent amidst his campaign for mayor of San Diego.

And it may be paying off.

A San Diego television station reported Thursday that its poll shows Fletcher jumping from third place in the race to succeed Mayor Jerry Sanders into a solid second, just two percentage points behind City Councilman Carl DeMaio, a Republican, with Democratic Rep. Bob Filner dropping into third place.

They and other candidates face a June 5 primary. If none gets more than 50 percent, the top two vote-getters will appear in a runoff election in November.

PHOTO CREDIT: Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher, R-San Diego, speaks during the Assembly session on Jan. 30, 2012. (AP Photo/ Rich Pedroncelli, File)

With just weeks left to gather the signatures needed to qualify for the November ballot, civil rights attorney Molly Munger has poured another $2.15 million into her proposal to raise income taxes to fund schools.

Munger, president of The Advancement Project, is the sole financier of the "Our Children, Our Future Measure." The proposal would raise taxes on a sliding scale for almost all California earners, routing the revenues directly to school districts and early childhood development programs.

Supporters of Gov. Jerry Brown's rival tax measure, which would temporarily raise income taxes on high earners and increase the state sales tax by a quarter percent, have tried to persuade Munger to drop her measure to avoid confusion and mixed messaging that could arise with more than one tax hike in front of voters in November.

The Munger camp must collect roughly 504,000 valid voter signatures by to make it on the ballot. They likely need to submit those petitions signatures to elections officials by mid-May to be certified in time for the 2012 election.

The latest contributions were reported Wednesday in a campaign filing on the secretary of state website.

Nathan Ballard, the spokesman for the effort, said the latest investment "shows that we are serious about getting this measure on the ballot."

"The signature gathering is on track," he said. "We are meeting our goals every week."

Editor's note: This post was updated at 11:20 a.m. with a comment from Ballard.

PHOTO CREDIT: Molly Munger talks to reporters about her proposed ballot initiative on Monday, Feb. 6, 2012. Associated Press/Rich Pedroncelli

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Elizabeth Emken this week defended her work lobbying to include autism coverage in the federal health care overhaul backed by President Barack Obama in 2009, even though she opposed the bill.

Emken, one of 23 candidates challenging Democratic U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein on the June 5 ballot, has come under fire from Republican opponents over records showing Autism Speaks sought to influence the outcome of the legislation when she was listed as a top lobbyist for the nonprofit advocacy group.

The Danville Republican, whose 19-year-old son is autistic, said the organization lobbied lawmakers to include language to ensure that health care companies would provide coverage for medical issues and treatment related to the condition under the new law.

Emken said that while she disagrees with the overall approach of the health care overhaul, the effort to include the language was important for her and the organization because autism is "perfect example of a catastrophic medical event" that some insurance companies will not cover.

"What we were doing is, as everyone was doing when you have a Democratically-controlled Senate, House and president, everyone, Democrats and Republicans are all working on a piece of legislation that's on the table," she said during a Sacramento press availability Tuesday. "That's how it's done. You don't just walk away if you don't like how things are going. You continue to work on it."

Emken said the reference to autism did not make it into the bill, which was signed into law in 2010, and regulatory language emerging on the issue is "extremely nebulous." She said that outcome reinforced her opposition to the law.

"The issues are so long and vast and broad with Obamacare," she said, "I really believe the only solution is to repeal it, but I do believe in replacing it with real health care reform and real health insurance reform."

Emken dismissed the attacks from opponents, saying they are "to be expected" because she won the endorsement of the California Republican Party.

"As you can imagine, it's very natural that I'm sure the other Democratic candidates are going to be making comments about Dianne Feinstein and (Republicans are) going to be making comments about me and they're going to be unified in that because I have the support of the California Republican Party," she said.

PHOTO CREDIT: Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, Elizabeth Emken speaks at a news conference in Sacramento on April 10, 2012. Associated Press/Rich Pedroncelli

Republicans have gained a slight voter registration edge in the targeted 7th Congressional District, closing for now a gap Democrats had argued would help challenger Ami Bera defeat GOP Rep. Dan Lungren.

The two major parties are now neck and neck in the competitive east Sacramento County district, with each representing about 38.7 percent of registered voters, according to updated figures from Sacramento County election officials. The new report shows Republicans outnumbering Democrats by a mere 202 voters.

That margin has closed significantly since January, when registration reports showed Democrats holding a one-point, 3,773-voter lead.

While Republicans were quick to credit voter registration efforts for the change, the number of registered voters in both parties -- and in the district as a whole -- fell in the new report.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein spoke up about being a victim of what's thought to be the nation's largest campaign treasurer fraud ever prosecuted, calling the situation a "very hard thing."

Kinde Durkee, the prominent campaign treasurer used by Feinstein and many other California Democrats, pleaded guilty earlier this month to defrauding clients of at least $7 million. Feinstein's multi-million dollar war chest was one of the accounts that was hit hardest.

While her request to seek more money from donors whose contributions were misappropriated is expected to be rejected by federal elections officials this week, Feinstein said she is not "terribly worried" about the losses hurting her re-election prospects. She has already put up $5 million of her own money to make up for lost cash and is suing the bank where the committee funds were held.

Feinstein said while she had no personal relationship with Durkee, the news was particularly difficult because she had used Durkee for campaigns in the past. She echoed a reporter's characterization of the embezzlement, calling it a "big betrayal."

"She had a big business," she said. "She was the go-to Democratic fiduciary."

Watch a video of Feinstein's full remarks on the subject.

National Democrats are taking their campaign against Rep. Dan Lungren to, well, above, the streets.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee says it has put up a billboard in Carmichael hitting the Gold River Republican on his support for a Republican budget plan that would make major changes to Medicare. The billboard, which was erected by the intersection of Fair Oaks Blvd. and Garfield Ave., accuses Lungren of "Protecting Millionaires Instead of Medicare," according to a photo provided by the committee.

Democrats are hoping to make Medicare a major issue in the 7th Congressional District race between Lungren and Ami Bera, the Elk Grove Democrat who also challenged Lungren in 2010. They argue that provisions in the House GOP budget plan, which Lungren supports, will end up increasing health care costs for future seniors while providing tax cuts for the wealthy.

Lungren's consultant has dismissed the tactic in the past, arguing that voters will be more concerned by the effect the federal health care overhaul could have on the health care program for seniors and the disabled.

RELATED POSTS:

Voters in Sacramento-area district hit with political claims over Medicare

Dan Lungren ramps up re-election efforts in Sacramento Co. seat

Democrats targeting Reps. Jeff Denham and Dan Lungren again

PHOTO CREDIT: Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has put up a billboard targeting Rep. Dan Lungren in the 7th Congressional District. Photo courtesy of the DCCC.

Less than a week after Gov. Jerry Brown started using robotic telephone calls and mailers to gather signatures for his ballot initiative to raise taxes, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association plans to launch its anti-tax campaign today on the conservative "John and Ken" talk radio show.

The taxpayers group this morning posted a red banner on its website inviting viewers to join a "Don't Sign the Petition" campaign. The banner links to a campaign website opposing Brown's effort to raise the state sales tax and income taxes on California's highest earners.

Jon Coupal, president of the Jarvis group, criticized as misleading Brown's characterization of his tax measure as a tax on millionaires. It includes a proposed sales tax increase and higher income taxes on people who earn at least $250,000 a year.

"A second grader," he said, "knows that $1 million does not equal $250,000."

Brown has previously said that people who make at least $250,000 a year will become millionaires if they save.

Coupal is expected to appear at 5 p.m. on the Los Angeles radio show hosted by John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou.

Gov. Jerry Brown is turning to robotic telephone calls and mailers in his race to qualify a tax initiative for the November ballot.

"Hi, this is Gov. Jerry Brown," he said in a recorded telephone message that went out last night. "I'm calling because California really needs your help. We have to save our schools and stop even deeper cuts to public safety. You'll get a petition in the mail very soon. Please sign it, and return that petition so that you can take the first step in preventing even more cuts to schools and public safety.

"Thanks a lot."

The California Democratic Party, which paid for the call, said it reached more than one million households deemed likely to support the measure. It will be followed today by a mailer in which Brown is pictured talking with children beneath a chalk headline, "SIGN UP TO SAVE OUR SCHOOLS."

Brown and the California Federation of Teachers, which originally proposed its own tax initiative, agreed last month to a compromise measure, bidding to increase the state sales tax and income taxes on California's highest earners.

Brown and his allies are now trying to collect more than 800,000 valid voter signatures required to qualify for the November ballot. Time is short, and the use of mail is an indication of how expensive paid signature gathering by clipboard has become for the initiative campaign - at a cost of perhaps $3 per signature on the street.

Facing a "very tight timeline," California Democratic Party spokesman Tenoch Flores said, "we're all doing everything we can to make sure it gets on the ballot."

Slpsa Mailer

Tobacco companies have ponied up another $8.9 million in their bid to defeat a $1-per-pack cigarette tax on the June ballot, bringing total contributions above $23 million.

Proposition 29 would net $735 million annually for research on cancer and tobacco-related diseases, smoking cessation programs and state efforts to combat tobacco smuggling and tax evasion. The initiative is backed by groups such as the American Lung Association and American Cancer Society, as well as cyclist and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong.

The opposition coalition is largely financed by Philip Morris USA, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, and their affiliates who make chewing and pipe tobacco.

The No on 29 campaign, which dubs itself Californians Against Out-of-Control Taxes and Spending, has signed up prominent anti-tax groups and attacked the initiative as a tax hike that does not help the state budget or schools.

Of the $23 million, records show the group has already devoted $5.9 million to reserving television airtime this spring, though its opposition ads have not yet aired. More than half the amount - $3.1 million - has gone toward stations in the Los Angeles market. Expect more of that war chest to fund campaign ads around the state.

The Yes on 29 campaign has raised $2.9 million, including a $1.5 million check from Armstrong's foundation in February.

Central California congressional candidate and former lieutenant governor Abel Maldonado Jr. is haggling with the Internal Revenue Service over some $470,000 in disputed taxes, court records show.

The IRS says the money is owed for errors in some complex deduction and depreciation calculations. Maldonado, in turn, is challenging the agency in U.S. Tax Court, even as he pledges to commit his own funds into a race against Rep. Lois Capps, D-Santa Barbara.

"I believe we paid the correct amount of taxes and followed the rules as we understood them," Maldonado, a Santa Maria Republican, said. "If the IRS finds differently, I will pay the taxes due with interest."

The tax dispute concerns income from a family farming venture, Agro-Jal Farming Enterprises, as well as a rental partnership. After the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee posted an online reference to the Tax Court issue as part of a broader campaign attack, Maldonado said this week that he was filing paperwork to dissolve his involvement in Agro-Jal Farming.

"I'll miss working with my family members in the company I help found, but they don't deserve to have their privacy invaded every time my name is on the ballot," Maldonado said.

Maldonado faces Republican Chris Mitchum, a Santa Barbara resident aligned with the tea party, in the jostling to unseat the 14-year year House veteran Capps. Part of Maldonado's campaign platform is a pledge to "close the tax loopholes while keeping the tax burden down on working people."

Gov. Jerry Brown has stopped collecting signatures for his original ballot measure to raise taxes, satisfied that signature gathering for a compromise initiative is progressing quickly enough to qualify it for the November ballot, an adviser said this afternoon.

"We are confident in the progress the coalition is making towards qualifying the new measure for the November ballot," political adviser Steve Glazer said.

Glazer said the decision to stop collecting signatures for Brown's original initiative was reached today.

The Democratic governor and the California Federation of Teachers, which had proposed its own tax initiative, agreed last month to a compromise proposal that includes a smaller sales tax increase but larger income tax increase on the state's highest earners than Brown originally proposed. Even after announcing the deal, Brown kept collecting signatures for his original initiative.

The chase is over: California Assemblywoman Beth Gaines accepted service today, through her attorney, of a lawsuit filed by fellow Republican Andy Pugno challenging her ballot designation as "small business owner."

Sacramento Superior Court Judge Michael P. Kenny has scheduled a 9 a.m. Monday hearing in the case.

Arguments initially were expected to be heard Thursday, but a judge ruled that Gaines had not been personally served with the paperwork.

The judge's finding prompted a futile, daylong scramble by Pugno's campaign to serve the Rocklin Republican before the close of business Thursday, the deadline for the secretary of state's office to certify ballot titles.

Pugno's lawsuit contends that his rival's ballot designation of "small business owner" is misleading because Gaines and her husband, state Sen. Ted Gaines, incorporated their family-owned insurance firm less than a month before she filed for re-election to the Assembly.

Pugno and Gaines are among candidates for the newly drawn 6th Assembly District, which is based in Placer County but extends into El Dorado Hills, Cameron Park and portions of northeastern Sacramento County.

Gaines' campaign notified Pugno's camp today that she would agree to accept service of the lawsuit through her attorney, Brian Hildreth, of the Bell, McAndrews & Hiltachk law firm, said Dave Gilliard, Gaines' campaign consultant.

Gaines made the decision to end the scrambling after Pugno's representatives scoured the area for her all day, then showed up at a private event in a private home Thursday night, Gilliard said.

"So we just said, 'This is ridiculous,' " said Gilliard.

Pugno countered that Gaines "clearly was in hiding" after Thursday's ruling that she needed to be personally served with papers.

Though Pugno missed the state's deadline for certification of ballot titles, he said there remains time for a judge Monday to order counties to make changes before the material is sent for printing.

Brad Buyse, Sacramento County's campaign services manager, said the county's position is that the deadline for changes in the ballot for the Assembly race has been missed, but "we'll try to comply with whatever the court orders."

"It really doesn't matter," Gilliard said of the deadline, "because she's going to prove quite easily that she's a business owner."

* Updated at 2:30 p.m. to say that Pugno had served Gaines with papers.

By Torey Van Oot

FAIRFIELD - Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum sought to sell his conservative credentials to California Republicans Thursday, using a stop at the Jelly Belly Candy Company to the compare himself to one of the sweet's most famous fans - late President Ronald Reagan.

Santorum told the crowd gathered at the Fairfield company's factory store that the country needs a leader who will emulate the policies and approach of the conservative icon, who was enshrined in two candy-created portraits hanging outside the room where his afternoon rally was held.

"I've been in consistency with the Reagan vision," he said. "He stood for life. He stood for the integrity of the family."

Assemblywoman Beth Gaines, R-Rocklin, had good reason to avoid her office today.

The campaign manager for Andy Pugno, Gaines' GOP rival in the 6th Assembly District, staked out the hallway outside her Capitol office for hours in hopes of serving the Rocklin Republican with a lawsuit.

Pugno, a Folsom attorney, filed a lawsuit earlier this week challenging Gaines' use of "small business owner" as her job title on the ballot. Gaines says it's accurate because she and husband Ted Gaines, a state senator, own their own insurance company. Pugno's complaint says telling voters that is her "principal profession, occupation or vocation" is misleading because the company was just incorporated in late January.

The case was scheduled to be heard this morning in Sacramento Superior Court. But the question was put on hold after lawyers for Gaines successfully argued that the case should not be heard because their client had not been personally served with the paperwork. Pugno said the judge told his attorneys that they can return later today to make their case if they are able to serve Gaines.

With the clock ticking to make changes to ballot language, Pugno campaign manager Jim Dutra headed to the Capitol to try to serve Gaines there, arriving at the benches outside her fourth-floor office at about 11:30 a.m. The assemblywoman had not returned to her office as of 1:30 p.m. An aide said she was expected to be in and out of the office throughout the day but was not currently there.

A Sacramento judge has ruled that Jose Hernandez, who flew in the shuttle Discovery three years ago, can use the ballot designation of "astronaut" in his current congressional bid.

The San Joaquin Valley Democrat is challenging freshman Rep. Jeff Denham, R-Turlock, for California's 10th District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Balloting is in June.

A lawsuit filed by the Sacramento law firm of Bell, McAndrews & Hiltachk argued that a ballot designation of "astronaut" for Hernandez would violate state elections law because he has left NASA.

But Sacramento Superior Court Judge Lloyd G. Connelly disagreed, and ruled this afternoon that Herrnandez can keep the moniker.

Ballot designations must reflect one's current profession or vocation, or one held during the previous calendar year, the lawsuit said.

The challenge was filed after Hernandez sought a ballot designation of "astronaut/scientist/engineer."

Hernandez flew aboard the shuttle Discovery between Aug. 28 and Sept. 11, 2009. He subsequently left NASA in January 2011.

The suit notes that Hernandez reported to the clerk of the House of Representatives that he received $150,000 last year for serving as the "executive director for strategic operations" with MEI Technologies.

Connelly said the fact that Hernandez worked for NASA only two weeks in 2011 does not mean that he cannot be called an astronaut that year, which also included service at MEI technologies that drew upon his scientific and engineering background.

A key question is whether the ballot designation of "astronaut/scientist/engineer" is misleading as to the cumulative work performed by Hernandez during the 12-month period, according to Connelly.

"Given the scope of the work performed in 2011, the court does not believe it is (misleading)," Connelly said.

PHOTO CREDIT: Jose Hernandez, a former NASA astronaut from Stockton, announces his run for Congress on Monday, Oct. 11, 2011. The Sacramento Bee/Hector Amezcua

The influential California Teachers Association reported giving $1.5 million today to Gov. Jerry Brown's effort to raise taxes.

The donation, the single largest yet reported, is a lift for a campaign committee that is racing to collect signatures after Brown and the California Federation of Teachers brokered a deal this month on components of the tax plan.

"I think we have a decent chance to get it passed," the Democratic governor told a luncheon crowd in Sacramento today. "I'm going to do everything I can."

In the same filing, the CTA, which represents some 325,000 teachers and education workers throughout the state, reported donating $1 million to the California Democratic Party.

A court date to enter a plea in the fraud case against Democratic treasurer Kinde Durkee has been set for Friday at 11 a.m.

Durkee, a veteran treasurer who managed the campaign accounts of some of California's top Democrats, is expected to plead guilty to charges stemming from allegations that she embezzled millions from her clients. Politico has reported that prosecutors are expected to seek 11 to 14 years in prison as part of a plea agreement.

The owner of the Burbank-based Durkee & Associates, who was arrested last fall, is accused of stealing millions from her clients to cover personal and business expenses. Prominent clients affected by the scheme include Sen. Dianne Feinstein, state Assemblyman Jose Solorio and Reps. Loretta Sanchez and Susan Davis. The U.S. Attorney's office filed additional charges Tuesday, detailing an embezzlement scheme that resulted in $7 million in losses for at least 50 victims.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California declined further comment on the order granting the calendar request. The arraignment and entry of plea will be heard by Judge Kimberly J. Mueller at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California in Sacramento. Durkee's attorney has not responded to a request for comment.

RELATED POSTS:
Updated charges filed against California treasurer Kinde Durkee
Kinde Durkee to plead guilty in embezzlement case

Even though his tax initiative includes a sales tax increase and higher income taxes on people who earn at least $250,000 a year, Gov. Jerry Brown said this afternoon that he can call it a "Millionaires' Tax" because people who make that much money will likely become that rich.

"Because everybody who makes $250,000 becomes a millionaire very quickly if you save," Brown told reporters after a speech in Sacramento. "You just need four years."

The Democratic governor launched a campaign website today that calls his proposal a "Millionaires' Tax," while explaining the proposed tax increases in detail on a secondary page.

He said this afternoon that he hasn't seen the website and would review it for accuracy. He included a link to the site in a tweet earlier today.

"Yeah, but we, I still haven't seen it," Brown said. "But I do think it is a Millionaires' Tax. It taxes millionaires."

A new appraisal by the National Republican Congressional Committee claims that state-by-state redistricting has enhanced GOP chances of retaining control of Congress by making 16 seats held by Democrats vulnerable, including four in California.

The NRCC memo written by its executive director, Guy Harrison, was revealed in a National Journal article Wednesday.

The memo says that Democrats Lois Capps of Santa Barbara, Jim Costa of Fresno and John Garamendi of Walnut Grove are potentially vulnerable. It also lists the vacant 21st Congressional District in the lower San Joaquin Valley as winnable by a Republican. Costa would have been the 21st District incumbent, but opted to move into the 16th District after Democratic Congressman Dennis Cardoza decided to retire.

One of several new independent committees hoping to influence elections for the California Legislature under the state's new top-two primary system is stepping up its efforts.

Govern for California, an effort to back state legislative hopefuls who display "courage," filed paperwork to create an independent expenditure committee last week.

One of the group's co-founders, former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger adviser David Crane, said the group has identified up to five candidates -- two Democrats, two Republicans and one decline-to-state -- to potentially support in the June primary.

When Gov. Jerry Brown reached a tax compromise with the California Federation of Teachers and liberal activists, apparently their "Millionaires' Tax" slogan was included in the deal.

Brown launched a new campaign website today whose front page calls the proposal a "Millionaires' Tax" even though it contains a quarter-cent sales tax increase and starts hiking income taxes at $250,000 for single filers and $500,000 for couples. The site explains these particulars only on a secondary "frequently asked questions" page.

CFT and its coalition previously circulated a tax plan that taxed only those making at least $1 million or more, single or married. Its initiative had been polling best partly because it had the "Millionaires' Tax" label.

The governor's website does say his tax plan would pay for more than schools. It notes the plan would fund "health and dental care, childcare, police, fire, parks, transportation and programs for seniors, disabled and the poor." Brown had faced criticism since launching his original initiative last year for implying that all new tax money would fund schools rather than other parts of the state budget.

Assembly candidate Andy Pugno has filed suit challenging Assemblywoman Beth Gaines' designation of herself as a "small business owner" for the June primary ballot.

Pugno's nine-page complaint, filed Tuesday in Sacramento County Superior Court, contends that Gaines' ballot designation is misleading.

"The facts reflect that Gaines currently serves as a full-time member of the California State Assembly, and may spend nominal time on the side as a marketing consultant," the complaint said.

Democratic campaign treasurer Kinde Durkee is expected to plead guilty to stealing millions from the accounts she controlled for her California political clients, according to two sources close to the case.

The news came as the U.S. Attorneys Office filed fresh charges against the veteran Democratic treasurer, who was arrested last fall. A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney in Sacramento could not confirm whether Durkee is expected to plea, but said the filing of such documents typically indicate plea negotiations are in the works.

The 17-page complaint, filed Tuesday in the United State District Court for the Eastern District of California, details fraud and embezzlement stretching back more than a decade, accusing Durkee of "routinely misappropriating" funds from clients' accounts and filing false reports with the Secretary of State and the Federal Elections Commission. The document says at least 50 victims lost a combined $7 million-plus due to her actions.

The document says the money, which was transferred between accounts and to her firm, Durkee & Associates, without client authorization, was used to pay personal expenses, including a mortgage and credit card bills, and payroll and other business expenses.

In one 2010 transaction listed, Durkee allegedly used $23,000 intended for U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein's federal campaign account to help pay a $30,000 American Express tab that included charges from the Los Angeles Dodgers, Amazon.com, Disneyland and Trader Joe's grocery store. Other payments made with client money went to health insurance companies and residential services for her elderly mother. In some cases, she allegedly transferred money or diverted deposits to cover for previous unauthorized withdraws from other clients' accounts.

STOCKTON -- Mitt Romney, speaking at a private fundraiser in Stockton this morning, kept up his criticism of President Barack Obama's recent hot mic incident, while mentioning none of his Republican rivals, attendees said.

The event, at the home of billionaire developer Alex Spanos, was one of a series of Romney fundraisers in California this week. His campaign used the occasion to announce its California leadership team, including former gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman and House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, among seven statewide chairpersons.

Former Govs. Pete Wilson and George Deukmejian were listed as honorary statewide chairmen.

Romney also announced the support of the state's Republican legislative leaders, Sen. Bob Huff and Assemblywoman Connie Conway.

"The reception I have received from leading Republicans in California has been overwhelming," Romney said in a prepared statement.

Outside the Spanos estate, the reception was chillier. A handful of Democrats and Occupy protesters strapped crates to their cars and waved signs that said, "Dogs ride inside."

Republican Assembly hopeful Andy Pugno kicked off his campaign today with a pledge that could leave him backing his rival over his own candidacy in November.

The Folsom Republican is challenging Assemblywoman Beth Gaines, R-Rocklin, in the 6th Assembly District. Under the state's new top-two primary rules, voters could send both Republicans to the general election.

But voters in the safe GOP district might be spared a second round of a same-party slug fest if that happens. Pugno said today that he would support whichever Republican gets the most votes in the June 5 primary -- even if he secures the No. 2 spot to advance to the runoff. He said he made the pledge because he believes Republicans "should not be beating up on each other in the general election"

"If I came in behind Beth Gaines, I would honor the expression of Republican voters and endorse her campaign and not actively campaign myself," Pugno said in an interview with The Bee today.

Gaines' consultant dismissed the scenario as unlikely given the presence of a Democratic candidate in the three-way race. But he said his candidate wasn't interested in joining Pugno on the issue.

"She pledges to vote for a Republican in November and it's going to be herself," Gaines consultant Dave Gilliard said.

Pugno filed to run for the office earlier this month, but spoke publicly about his plans to run for the Assembly for the first time today. The 2010 Assembly candidate and author and attorney for Proposition 8, California's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage, told KTKZ (1380 AM) host Eric Hogue that he wants to position himself as a "strong advocate for conservative causes" who would "actually be there out on the frontlines engaging and fighting for us."

He later criticized Gaines as"very passive and totally inaccessible to her constituents" in an interview with The Bee.

Gilliard rejected Pugno's characterization, noting that Gaines has hosted recent town hall meetings in the newly drawn district.

"She's been very accessible," he said "I think it's a non-issue."

With just over two months to go until the June primary, some state legislative candidates are boasting six-figure warchests while others find themselves in the red.

Pre-election campaign finance reports covering money raised and spent between Jan. 1 and March 17 were due late last week. The full reports are posted on the Secretary of State website.

How do the top candidates in some of the state's most hotly contested races stack up? We've compiled a roundup of the numbers for some of those races in the spreadsheet posted below. Click here to view the spreadsheet in a new window. Suggestions for other races to include may be sent to tvanoot@sacbee.com.

Key to victory?

A car key, perhaps.

Michael Arno, whose company is spearheading the drive to qualify Molly Munger's tax measure for the November ballot, plans to give away a car each week in a drawing involving his top signature gatherers.

The weekly winner can choose a favorite vehicle in the $15,000 price range, said Arno, whose firm must gather 504,760 valid voter signatures.

County elections officials must confirm voter signatures by June 28, so the secretary of state has suggested that campaigns submit their petitions to local government by April 20. Clearly, it's pedal-to-the-metal time for initiative drives.

Arno said the car giveaway is an incentive offered by his company, not by Munger or her initiative.

Munger's tax measure would raise income tax rates on all but the poorest taxpayers.

A rival tax proposal, pushed by Gov. Jerry Brown, can offer signature gatherers roughly twice the $1.50-per-signature paid by his firm, Arno said.

"I obviously couldn't afford that, so this is a way to get everybody excited and interested in working that particular petition," Arno said. "This was my choice, to pitch in to help us get signatures."

The first car will be awarded next Friday, he said.

The price of access is going up for top donors attending this weekend's Pro Tem Cup at San Diego's Torrey Pines Golf Course, an annual golf outing held to raise cash for the California Democratic Party.

Contributors looking to spend some quality time with Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg this weekend can expect to pay up to $60,000 -- a $10,000 increase from recent outings, according to this year's invite and event listings from 2011 and 2008.

The top "Two Day Platinum" price includes golf for four on Friday and Saturday, an evening with Steinberg, two nights accommodation, attendance at an awards BBQ and "commemorative gifts," according to an invitation. The "Two Day Gold," which includes the same access for two people, spiked $5,000, to $45,000 this year.

Prices for the cheaper packages, which start at $10,000 for golf for one on Saturday, one night's stay, the awards BBQ and gifts, remained steady. Spa packages are available for interested parties who don't want to golf.

The increased ticket price comes as Senate Democrats prepare for major battles in several swing districts where victory could mean securing a two-thirds majority in the upper house. Those targeted races, including the Stockton-area 5th Senate District, are expected to be costly battles.

The fundraiser, which starts tomorrow, is sponsored by cable industry interests, including the California Cable & Telecommunications Association, Comcast and Time Warner Cable. Jason Kinney, a spokesman for the Senate Democrats, declined to comment on details of the fundraiser, including package prices, ahead of the event.

Former state Sen. Roy Ashburn, who had earlier indicated he might keep his $128,000 per year position on the state Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board if elected to a $120,000 seat on the Kern County Board of Supervisors, is changing his tune.

Ashburn told the Bakersfield Californian newspaper Tuesday that he'll resign from the state board if elected to the county board seat that's opening because incumbent Jon McQuiston is running for the state Assembly.

Republican Ashburn was a Kern County supervisor before going to the Legislature as an assemblyman and later as a two-term senator. In 2010, his last year in the Senate, Ashburn was arrested for drunken driving in Sacramento after leaving a gay bar and later publicly acknowledged his homosexuality. After leaving the Senate, former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed him to the UI appeals board.

Meanwhile, Schwarzenegger's successor, Jerry Brown has proposed to abolish the UI board, whose appointees have often been ex-legislators, as part of a larger reorganization of state government.

Congressional candidate Ami Bera is once again distancing himself from the country's top Democrat as he heads into the first of what could be two election battles with Republican Rep. Dan Lungren.

The Elk Grove Democrat, who is challenging Lungren in the newly drawn 7th Congressional District, was critical of President Barack Obama's record on improving the economic climate in an interview with News 10 this week.

"I don't think the president did enough in his first years in office," Bera said, noting Sacramento County's roughly 11 percent unemployment rate.

Bera, who called job creation "jobs one, two and three," said he believes officials need to look at both cutting regulations to help small businesses and approving shovel-ready projects, such as work on California's roads and levees, to put people back to work.

Bera tried to distance himself from Obama and then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in the 2010 campaign, too, without success.

At one point he declared that "If I thought the Democrats were doing the right job in this country with moving forward, I wouldn't be running," and later said he would have been "reluctant" to vote for the health care law Obama and Pelosi championed

Still, two weeks before the 2010 election, a conservative group with ties to GOP strategist Karl Rove, aired a campaign ad asserting that Bera didn't think the overhaul of the nation's health care system went far enough.

"I've been consistent. I think the Affodable Care Act, the health care reform by President Obama misses the point," Bera said in the News 10 interview. "We've got to address the cost of health care. Far too many families, far too many business owners are paying more and more every year and we're getting less and less."

He said Obama's failure to take on the insurance and pharmaceutical industries to lower the cost of health care is "one of the biggest disappointments" of the overhaul.

Gov. Jerry Brown and the California Federation of Teachers have started gathering signatures to qualify their compromise tax proposal for the November ballot.

The Democratic governor and CFT announced last week that they had reached an agreement to work together to try to qualify a measure that combines parts of their rival tax proposals. CFT had been working with the Courage Campaign to qualify a special tax increase on millionaires.

The state attorney general's office released a title and summary for the new measure, on Friday, two days after the groups filed language agreed upon last week. Brown adviser Steve Glazer said supporters hit the streets with petitions on Sunday.

Californian Fred Karger scored the best performance of his Republican presidential campaign Saturday, winning about 1,700 votes in Puerto Rico's primary.

Karger's share of the vote -- about 1.4 percent -- landed him in fifth place in the U.S. territory, which delivered a landslide win to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

But underdog Karger, the only openly gay candidate in the GOP race, saw much to celebrate in results. In addition to topping his previous finishes for percentage of votes won, he finished ahead of Texas Rep. Ron Paul.

"I had no idea the outpouring of support," Karger said in an interview Monday, calling the results "incredibly gratifying."

Karger attributed his performance in Puerto Rico to the time spent on the ground in the week ahead of Saturday's votes, meeting with LGBT leaders, voters and members of the media, and and a Spanish-language commercial aired by his campaign. Puerto Rico's open primary, which allowed Democrats and Independents to cast ballots in the Republican race, also gave the pro gay marriage, pro-choice candidate a boost.

"The hard work, the media, the contacts and time spent here paid off," Karger, a political consultant who was a major player in the campaign against California's Proposition 8, said.

Two days after Gov. Jerry Brown announced a compromise ballot measure to raise taxes, California's top budget analyst said today that the measure will generate $2.2 billion less next year than Brown has estimated.

The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office estimated in its review of the measure that the tax increase would generate $6.8 billion in fiscal 2012-13. Brown had estimated raising some $9 billion.

The tax initiative, a compromise Wednesday between the Democratic governor and the California Federation of Teachers, would increase the state sales tax less than Brown originally proposed, but include a larger tax increase on California's highest earners. The state Department of Finance has estimated that the revised plan would raise about $2 billion more through June 2013 than Brown's initial plan.

The LAO's analysis is in line with its review of Brown's first tax plan, in which it also estimated lower revenues than Brown did. Finance spokesman H.D. Palmer attributed the difference to the agencies' different revenue forecasts, with the administration anticipating higher revenue from capital gains.

Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg is looking to shore up donor support for Assemblywoman Cathleen Galgiani's bid for Senate, circulating an internal poll showing the Livingston Democrat holding a double-digit lead in the contested 5th Senate District.

The race between Galgiani, Republican Assemblyman Bill Berryhill and San Joaquin Supervisor Leroy Ornella, also a Republican, is expected to be one of the year's top state legislative contests. A slight voter registration edge for Democrats in the San Joaquin County district makes it one of three seats Senate Democrats are targeting as they try to get to the two-thirds mark in the upper house.

The polling memo, which was sent to members of the capital's lobbying community by Steinberg's political director, shows Galgiani leading both Republican rivals, with a strong edge among decline-to-state voters.

Pollster Paul Goodwin called the findings of the telephone survey "quite encouraging" for Galgiani in the memo.

"She is almost certain to finish first or second in the June primary, and has a wide lead over her Republican opponents looking ahead to November," the memo reads.

Berryhill's political consultant dismissed the results, saying other polls have painted a much different, closer picture of the race. Republicans say their efforts in the district have caused Democrats' roughly four-point registration edge to drop to about 2 percentage points, with numbers they say have historically resulted in GOP wins.

"If Steinberg's so panicked that he's walking false polls around, you know that Bill Berryhill is going to beat Galgiani," Berryhill consultant Duane Dichiara said.

PHOTO CREDIT: Cathleen Galgiani, D-Stockton, casts her vote on the budget cuts portion of the Democratic budget plan during the Assembly floor session, Tuesday Dec. 16, 2008.

Editor's note: This post was updated at 5:05 p.m. to correct the town of Galgiani's residence. She is from Livingston, not Livermore.

One day after Gov. Jerry Brown and the California Federation of Teachers announced an agreement to combine forces behind one tax hike proposal, civil rights attorney Molly Munger has dropped another $1.5 million into the campaign to qualify her own rival tax plan for the November ballot.

Munger has now contributed $3.4 million of her own money to her measure, which would raise an estimated $10 billion for schools and early childhood development programs by increasing personal income rates on a sliding scale for Californians making more than $7,316.

Brown's supporters have sought to persuade Munger to drop her effort, arguing that the presence of multiple tax measures on the November ballot increases the chances that voters will reject them all. That argument was central to the agreement between Brown and CFT, which had been circulating petitions for a tax hike on millionaires.

The campaign for Munger's measure, which is collecting voter signatures to qualify for the ballot, showed no sign of backing down after Wednesday's deal, saying in a statement that backers "don't anticipate that it will change our plans."

The new version of Brown's initiative, which was filed with the state attorney general on Wednesday, includes a greater tax hike on Californians making more than $500,000 than the Democratic governor had originally proposed. Those making more than $250,000 will still see an increase under the plan. The tax increases would be in effect for seven years. It also lowers a proposed four-year increase in the state sales tax from a half percent to a quarter percent. The Bee's Kevin Yamamura has more details in this story.

Larry Miles and Chris Parker have decided not to run in the 8th Assembly District, leaving Rancho Cordova Councilman Ken Cooley as the lone Democrat standing in the race for the newly drawn Sacramento County seat.

Cooley will be opposed by four Republicans, elections officials said. They include businesswoman Barbara Ortega, railroad engineer Phillip A. Tufi, technology company president John Flynn and Peter Tateishi, who is chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Dan Lungren.

One minor party candidate also has filed for the race, Libertarian Janice Bonser, a businesswoman.

Democrats hold a two percentage point edge over Republicans -- 40 percent to 38 percent -- in the district, which stretches from Citrus Heights south to the Wilton area.

Parker's and Miles' decisions not to compete for the seat leaves Cooley as his party's flag bearer.

Parker, an attorney with the Franchise Tax Board, ran unsuccessfully for the Board of Equalization in 2010.

Miles, an attorney, is a school board member for the San Juan Unified School District who lost to Richard Pan in the 2010 Democratic primary for the 5th Assembly District. The state later redrew legislative district boundaries.

Miles said he concluded that he could not generate enough support to win the Assembly seat. One consideration, but not the only one, was that he felt Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez was inclined to support Cooley, who is a "marvelous city councilman" and a good Assembly candidate, Miles said.

Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg celebrated a deal Wednesday between Gov. Jerry Brown and the California Federation of Teachers to place a compromise tax initiative on the November ballot.

"We were headed for a real collision course," said Steinberg, meeting with reporters in his office. "If this were a game, this would all be pretty interesting, the machinations. But this is not a game."

The new deal, which Brown is expected to announce shortly, would raise the statewide sales tax by a quarter-cent rather than half-cent per every dollar of purchase. It would retain the governor's three higher tax brackets starting at one percentage point more for single filers making at least $250,000.

But under the new deal, the last two tax brackets would increase at a steeper pace. Single earners would pay two percentage points more on income between $300,000 and $500,000 (income amounts doubled for joint filers), whereas the governor originally proposed a 1.5 percentage point increase.

Singles earning at least $500,000 and couples earning at least $1 million would see their top bracket increase by 3 percentage points rather than the two percentage points Brown originally wanted.

The income tax hike on the rich would also last longer than Brown's proposal, going for seven years instead of five, starting retroactively on Jan. 1, 2012. The sales tax hike would still start Jan. 1, 2013 and expire at the end of 2016.

Steinberg estimated that the new plan would generate about $2 billion more through June 2013, or nearly $9 billion total. But those figures are based on more optimistic Department of Finance projections. The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office believes Finance's forecast is too rosy when it comes to wealthy earners whose tax rates would be higher under the new compromise.

PHOTO CREDIT: Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, March 14, 2012. Photo taken by Kevin Yamamura.

Rep. Dan Lungren is stepping up his re-election efforts this week, raising cash, recruiting volunteers and holding town hall meetings in his Sacramento County district.

The Gold River Republican faces a rematch with his 2010 challenger, Elk Grove Democrat Ami Bera, in the newly drawn 7th Congressional District. A close voter registration split and high turnout in the presidential election are expected to make the race one of the most competitive congressional elections of the year.

Lungren, who has trailed his opponent in campaign cash both this election and in 2010, got some help from Republican leadership for a Monday fundraiser in Sacramento. House Speaker John Boehner flew into town for yesterday afternoon's reception at the California Chamber of Commerce's downtown office. A photo with the Ohio Republican set attendees back $5,000, according to a posting on Capitol Morning Report.

Lungren, meanwhile, took a shot at Democratic congressional leadership in a Monday email seeking money and volunteer commitments from supporters.

"Nancy Pelosi is already pouring money into the district, and every dollar helps," read a Lungren campaign email titled "The campaign begins today."

Pelosi, the Democratic leader, has identified flipping the seat as a top priority in her effort to win back control of the House. House Majority PAC, an independent campaign committee supporting House Democrats, has already been on the air with television ads opposing Lungren.

Lungren is also holding town hall meetings this week in Citrus Heights, Rancho Cordova and Angels Camp. The first event is tonight at 8:30 p.m. at the Citrus Heights Community Center.

Lungren consultant Rob Stutzman said the campaign is "preparing for a huge battle" with this week's events.

"Pelosi has to beat Lungren to retake the Speaker's gavel," he wrote in an email. "We're not going to show up with padded gloves."

Friday was the deadline for candidates to file for the east Sacramento County seat, which stretches from Elk Grove to Citrus Heights. A full list of candidates was not immediately available, but Lungren and Bera, a doctor and former Associate Dean for Admissions at the UC Davis School of Medicine, will likely face off both in the June primary and the November general election under the state's new top-two primary system.

U.S. Senate hopeful Elizabeth Emken won the backing of the California Republican Party over the weekend.

Emken, an advocate for autism research from Danville, is one of at least five Republicans seeking to unseat Democratic U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein. Under the state's new primary system, the two candidates who receive the most votes, regardless of their political party affiliation, will advance to the November election.

The state party's board of directors met over the weekend to consider endorsement recommendations submitted by local GOP committees and make a final decision on which candidates the party will support on the June ballot. Friday was the filing deadline for districts where an incumbent is running. The deadline is extended until Wednesday for seats with no incumbent (click here to see the list).

The board also voted to back Republican Peter Tateishi, a chief of staff to GOP Rep. Dan Lungren, in the vacant 8th Assembly District. At least one other Republican is running for the competitive East Sacramento County seat.

Incumbents in Sacramento region seats, including Lungren, Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Elk Grove, Sen. Ted Gaines, R-Rocklin, and Assemblywoman Beth Gaines, R-Rocklin, secured endorsements in their re-election bids. The party did not make an endorsement in the 1st Congressional District race between Sen. Doug LaMalfa, R-Richvale, and former Sen. Sam Aanestad, R-Penn Valley.

The full list of endorsements is posted below/

Crp Official Endorsement List Update

Editor's note: This post was updated at 11:10 a.m. to include a revised list of endorsements from the CRP. The original list was missing the endorsement made in the 5th Congressional District.

The war over tax increase ballot measures escalated Friday when sponsors of the so-called "millionaires' tax" denounced the Business Roundtable for its opposition.

Terming it "us vs. Goliath," the Courage Campaign, a co-sponsor of the measure that would raise income taxes on Californians with $1 million-plus incomes, accused the corporate leaders of the Business Roundtable of protecting their own wallets.

"Of course the CEOs of corporations like Chevron, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and PG&E would oppose the Millionaires' Tax of 2012 through their umbrella organization, the California Business Roundtable," said Rick Jacobs, founder of the Courage Campaign.

The Courage Campaign, the California Federation of Teachers and the California Nurses Association are sponsoring the initiative measure, one of three major tax proposals that may be headed for the November ballot.

Earlier this week, the Business Roundtable declared opposition to the millionaires' tax measure, which would boost financing for education and social services, and another income tax measure sponsored by civil rights attorney Molly Munger and the California PTA, whose proceeds would go to schools.

The business group did not, however, oppose Gov. Jerry Brown's measure that would raise sales and income taxes to balance the state budget, saying that it wanted to see whether Brown and the Legislature would enact pension reforms and business climate improvements before taking a position.

Brown has been trying to persuade sponsors of the other measures to pull back, saying that if all three are on the ballot, voters will be confused and likely reject all three. He's particularly concerned about the millionaires' tax, which fares the best among voters in recent statewide surveys, saying that it would do little to close the state's budget deficit.

Jacobs' sharp retort to the Business Roundtable indicates, however, that he and other sponsors of are not backing down, despite Brown's private and public pleas.

"Game on," says an "action report" that Courage Campaign sent to its members, denouncing the Business Roundtable's stance.
.

Republican Andrew Pugno, who wrote and served as legal counsel to California's 2008 proposition to ban gay marriage, is laying the groundwork for a possible challenge to Republican Assemblywoman Beth Gaines.

The Folsom attorney, who lost an Assembly bid in 2010, filed a statement of intention to run for the 6th Assembly District on Tuesday, according to the Secretary of State. The move allows potential candidates to open a campaign finance committee.

At least two voters in the district also received a call from a polling firm Tuesday night that asked questions about possible ballot designations and a Pugno-Gaines match up. The owner of Lawrence Research, which one voter said was identified as the polling outfit, declined to comment, citing client confidentiality policies.

Pugno, who has not responded to messages seeking comment on his plans, faces a Friday filing deadline to decide whether to enter the race. Because the period for filing nomination signatures in lieu of a filing fee has passed, he would have to pay a filing fee of roughly $953.

Despite early fundraising success fueled by Proposition 8 supporters, Pugno lost a 2010 race for the top-targeted 5th Assembly District to Democrat Richard Pan, 49 percent to 46 percent. The suburban Sacramento Assembly seat. which had a slight voter registration advantage for Republicans at the time of the election, had been in GOP hands for more than two decades.

Republicans hold a 20-point voter registration in the newly drawn 6th Assembly District, which includes parts of El Dorado, Placer and Sacramento counties. Gaines, who was elected to the Assembly in a 2011 special contest held to fill a vacancy created by her husband's election to the state Senate, had raised about $31,000 for her re-election bid as of the end of 2011. Republican Linda Park and Lincoln Democrat Reginald Bronner have also announced candidacies for the seat.

PHOTO CAPTION: Republican candidate Andrew Pugno talks with supporters while awaiting election returns on June 8, 2010. Randy Allen / Sacramento Bee file, 2010

Gov. Jerry Brown has reported another $631,000 in contributions to a campaign committee formed to support his proposed tax initiative, bringing his fundraising total so far to $3.4 million.

More than half of the contributions to Brown's committee reported in the Tuesday morning campaign filing came from pipe trades' and plumbers' unions. The committee, "Californians to Protect Schools, Universities, and Public Safety," also reported a $100,000 donation from the Pechanga Band of Mission Indians.

The Democratic governor is gathering voter signatures to qualify his tax initiative for the November ballot. His proposal, one of three competing measures in circulation, would temporarily increase income taxes on Californians making $250,000 a year and enact a half percent hike in the state sales tax. The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office estimated that the proposal would raise roughly $5 billion a year to help close the state's budget gap.

Brown's supporters must collect 807,615 valid voter signatures in the coming months to make it on this year's ballot.

Brown also reported $45,000 in contributions to his 2014 re-election committee today. The Washington, D.C.-based Entertainment Software Association gave him $25,000 and software company Intuit wrote a $20,000 check.

Former Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante has decided not to run for Congress in a competitive Central Valley seat, according to The Fresno Bee.

The Elk Grove Democrat, who represented the Fresno area in the state Legislature, was weighing a run for the newly drawn 21st Congressional District. Democrats have been searching for a strong candidate to run against GOP Assemblyman David Valadao in the vacant seat since their top recruit, Democratic Sen. Michael Rubio, dropped out due to family concerns.

Bustamante also cited ""family considerations" in an email announcing his decisions to supporters Sunday night.

The Fresno Bee's John Ellis reports:

In an interview, Bustamante said he "found out in this process that there still is fire, and I don't think that it is over."

He said his short-term plan is to return to Elk Grove and then scout out "where to go and where to potentially run for office next.

The full Fresno Bee piece is posted here.

PHOTO CREDIT: Cruz Bustamante, 2006. Brian Baer/The Sacramento Bee

Capitol oddsmakers have assumed for months that the 39th Senate District, which covers the urban center of San Diego County, would be easy pickings for Democrats in this year's election.

Maybe not.

The district's once overwhelming Democratic registration margin has narrowed to under eight percentage points since it was redrawn by the new independent redistricting commission. And last week, the assumed Democratic candidate, Assemblyman Marty Block, acquired a potentially serious Republican opponent, former Assemblyman George Plescia, declared his candidacy.

Prior to redistricting, Democratic Sen. Christine Kehoe enjoyed a 15-point registration gap but the commission expanded it into more conservative suburban neighborhoods.She's now vacating the seat due to term limits.

One hallmark of the district is it's very large contingent of independent voters. Democrats now have 37.8 percent of its voters, Republicans have 30.4 percent and independents are now 26.7 percent.

Thus, the election could easily hinge on how independents lean, and in Plescia, Republicans have a candidate with a centrist image - so much so, in fact, that he was ousted as GOP leader of the Assembly in 2006 for not being confrontational enough with Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was feuding with GOP conservatives over taxes.

Schwarzenegger later appointed Plescia to the Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board.

The assumption that the 39th Senate District was safe for Democrats has figured in the calculations of whether they could pick up two seats in this year's election and achieve the holy grail of a two-thirds supermajority in the 40-member house.

When Republican Sen. Tony Strickland, R-Thousand Oaks, opted to run for Congress rather than vie with Sen. Fran Pavley, D-Agoura Hills, in the reconstituted 27th Senate District, it appeared that Democrats had a lock on 27 seats. But Plescia's candidacy now creates a shadow of doubt.

California Republican Party spokeswoman Jennifer Kerns suggested on Twitter on Friday that a pundit who criticized Rush Limbaugh for calling a law school student a "slut" is herself one, touching off a flood of criticism on the social networking site.

"Stripper, or strategist?" said Kerns, who posts on Twitter as @CAPartyGirl. "Democratic strategist on MSNBC raging against Limbaugh, her name is supposedly 'Krystal Ball.' Speaking of #sluts ..."

Stripper, or strategist? Democrat strategist on MSNBC raging against Limbaugh, her name is supposedly "Krystal Ball." Speaking of #sluts...

— CA Party Girl (@CAPartyGirl) March 3, 2012

Ball, an MSNBC contributor, was a failed congressional candidate in 2010, in an election in which suggestive photographs of her at a party years earlier surfaced.

On Twitter, Democrats criticized Kerns for her remark and moved swiftly to capitalize on it.

"Wow," wrote Gov. Jerry Brown's press secretary, Gil Duran. "Sure seems like one of those 'apologize or resign' moments to me."

Kerns wrote, "C'mon, it is a sense of humor. Woman to woman, I've never called anyone that. If I offended Krystal in any way, that was not my intention."

California Republican Party Chairman Tom Del Beccaro called the Tweet a "mistake" but came to Kerns' defense.

"She knows she made a mistake," he said this morning. "She apologized for it."

Kerns' Tweet came the same day President Barack Obama made a supportive telephone call to the Georgetown law school student Limbaugh criticized on his radio show. The student, Sandra Fluke, had testified before Congress in favor of birth control coverage.

On Twitter later Friday, Ball addressed Kerns' Tweet.

"I call Rush out for slut-shaming and in response, CA GOP spokesperson @capartygirl calls me a #slut," she wrote. "Ah the irony."

Supporters of a proposed initiative to repeal the death penalty in California plan to begin turning in nearly 800,000 voter signatures today in hopes of qualifying for the November ballot.

The initiative, which is backed by a group called California Taxpayers for Justice, would replace California's capital punishment with a maximum sentence of life imprisonment without parole. Supporters say the change, which would apply to inmates currently on death row, would save the state millions.

A recent Field Poll, however, showed more than two-thirds of California voters continue to support the death penalty.

Proponents need 504,760 valid voter signatures to secure a spot on the November ballot. The campaign said on its Twitter account that it will turn in nearly 800,000 petition signatures. A campaign committee formed to support the measure reported raising more than $1.3 million through the end of 2011. Major contributors include branches of the American Civil Liberties Union, Google executive Robert Alan Eustace, Hyatt Development Corporation CEO Nicholas Pritzker and Netflix CEO Reed Hastings.

Proponents have scheduled press conferences throughout the state to begin filing the signatures. Listed speakers at a 10 a.m. event in Sacramento include Don Heller, the author of the 1978 initiative that reinstated the death penalty, and the mother of two murder victims.

Editor's note: This post was updated at 10:49 a.m. with updated numbers from the campaign's press conference and Twitter account.

Powerful labor leader David Kieffer says proponents of tax measures competing with Gov. Jerry Brown's measure should get out of the way.

Kieffer, head of Service Employees International Union California, has begun breaking his union's silence on Brown's tax plan after the group had quietly pledged support weeks ago.

"I think people do really feel like he's the adult in the room who would take the resources that the state voters have given him and be prudent with it," Kieffer said in a recent interview. "I think they have a really good feeling that this is the guy who goes into a room on Sunday night as kind of the 'Daddy of California' with a checkbook to pay all the bills."

Brown has proposed raising income taxes on the wealthy and hiking the sales tax by a half-cent to help balance the budget and avoid school cuts. He has tried to discourage proponents of two other multibillion-dollar tax measures from qualifying their initiatives for the November ballot, but those groups have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to gather signatures and shown no sign of stepping aside.

Kieffer said that SEIU, which represents government workers and home care providers, sees Brown's plan as the best one to raise money for the entire state budget. The other proposals mostly raise funds outside the state budget to benefit education and county programs.

WASHINGTON - As he lobbied the Obama administration for four days for authorization to enact further cuts to Medi-Cal to help balance California's budget, Gov. Jerry Brown talked frequently about his frustration, the administration having recently turned down his request to charge co-payments for doctor visits, prescription drugs and other services.

After meetings this afternoon with Obama advisers at the White House and, later, with members of California's Congressional delegation at the U.S. Capitol, Brown aide Nancy McFadden suggested he stop.

"There are possibilities that are being examined that will enable California to more tightly manage its Medi-Cal program, and some of that involves co-payments," the Democratic governor was telling reporters.

"But if you talk too much about it, you might hurt your negotiations," McFadden said.

A court date in the federal fraud case against prominent Democratic campaign treasurer Kinde Durkee has been postponed yet again.

Durkee was arrested last fall as federal investigators claimed that she embezzled more than $600,000 from the campaign account she managed for Democratic Assemblyman Jose Solorio. Since her arrest, other political and nonprofit clients, including Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, have accused the Burbank-based treasurer of misappropriating millions more from their accounts.

A preliminary hearing in the case set for tomorrow has been rescheduled for March 16 at 2 p.m., according to a document filed with the U.S. District Court in Sacramento.

The filing cites a need for additional time to continue the investigation as reason for the delay, noting that the "government has seized a significant number of computers which need to be processed" since the last continuance.

"The government needs additional time analyze, and synthesize materials that it has obtained during the course of this investigation," the filing reads.

Durkee delay

Former Republican Assemblyman Anthony Adams is looking to return to politics with a bid for an open inland Southern California congressional seat.

Adams, who recently changed his registration to decline-to-state, plans to run as a "no party preference" candidate on the ballot for the 8th Congressional District. The Republican-leaning seat, which stretches along the Nevada border, has attracted a handful of candidates already, including Assemblyman Paul Cook, R-Yucca Valley, and Minuteman Greg Imus, a former chief of staff to GOP Assemblyman Tim Donnelly.

Adams, of Hesperia, decided not to run for a third and final terms in the state Assembly in 2010 after surviving a recall effort sparked by his vote to temporarily increase taxes as part of a 2009 budget deal. He said at the time that he wanted to try to pass the bar exam and finish a novel he had been working on.

The California Republican Party today voted to endorse a November ballot measure that would allow auto insurers to consider a motorist's coverage history in setting rates for new customers.

Supporters of the measure, which was filed by the executive director of the Alliance of Insurance Agents & Brokers, say it will allow companies to offer "loyalty discounts" currently only available to existing customers, to motorists who want to switch plans. Critics say it will allow companies to raise rates on Californians who experience a lapse in coverage.

The measure is almost identical to Proposition 17, a failed 2010 initiative bankrolled by insurance giant Mercury General. The company has not contributed to this year's version.

The party also endorsed proposed measures that would require parental notification and a waiting period for women under the age of 18 seeking abortions and roll back a new law requiring public schools to include instruction of the historical contributions of gay individuals. Backers of both must collect hundreds of thousands of valid voter signatures in the coming weeks to qualify for this year's general election. Party delegates opposed by voice vote all three tax measures proposed for the November ballot.

The party previously voted to oppose the two measures that will appear on the June ballot, a cigarette tax hike that proponents say will raise money for cancer research and a change to legislative term limits.

Former presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty urged California Republicans to line up behind Mitt Romney's candidacy Saturday night, framing the Massachusetts governor as the party's best bet for winning the White House in November.

"There is one candidate who is competitive nationally with Barack Obama. His name is Mitt Romney," the former Minnesota governor told attendees during a Saturday night dinner banquet at the state GOP's spring convention in Burlingame.

Pawlenty refrained from citing any of Romney's GOP rivals by name, but cautioned the audience that "anybody who tells you who's remaining in this race they're the perfect conservative, I know their records. They're not."

In veiled jabs at former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who had addressed the convention earlier in the day, he stressed the need for a candidate with a "strong compass and integrity" who can do more than deliver a good speech. He said voters would never wake up to see Romney and his wife in the news for doing something "stupid" or "scandalous."

"The best sermons aren't preached, they're lived," he said.

He also took aim at the rivals' experience in Congress, saying "if the problem is Washington, D.C., don't send Washington, D.C., people to do the job." 

Still, Pawlenty called on the sparring camps to come together once the primary process is complete.

"When the process is over, we have to be a team. We have to be united," he said. "We've got social conservatives, fiscal conservatives.... we don't have a big enough party nationally or in California to be in the business of throwing people overboard. We're in the business of bringing people on board."

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

WASHINGTON - Gov. Jerry Brown doesn't think much of the Republicans running for president, but he encouraged them this morning to keep fighting through the summer nominating convention.

"I certainly think Ron Paul's going to keep going, and why not?" the Democratic governor and former three-time presidential hopeful said on NBC's "Meet the Press." "The campaigns are to illuminate the issues, give voters a real insight into the character of the candidate. So, yeah, I say, keep going all the way."

Brown, in Washington for the winter meeting of the National Governors Association, accused Republicans of making an "extreme move to the right." He said of a match-up between President Barack Obama and any of the Republican candidates, "What we're looking at is a reasonable man versus reckless men."

Brown appeared on the show with Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer. Her state's tough immigration law came up, as did Brown's signature of legislation allowing undocumented immigrant college students to receive public financial aid. But no sparks flew between them.

Brewer, a Republican, stole some of the spotlight, using the occasion to announce her endorsement of Mitt Romney for president.

Brown referred to his November ballot initiative to raise taxes only indirectly, when asked if California is less governable now than it was when he was last governor, from 1975 to 1983.

"No," he said. "It's different. But I think it actually will be more governable, and one thing we have in California that you don't have in the United States government, we can appeal to the people through the initiative process. So when we have a breakdown of the two parties, we can go directly to the people as the tie-breaker, and I think that's the way we're going to break the logjam."

Brown said on his way into the studio that he last appeared on "Meet the Press" in 1992, the year he last ran for president.

"Hopefully they're going to put on the old pictures," he said.

Host David Gregory didn't have pictures, but he read briefly from a transcript from an appearance Brown made in the 1970s. Brown took it with him when he left.

"The politician was the star then," Brown said. "Now the interviewer is the star."

What sort of issues would Callista Gingrich champion as first lady?

The wife of GOP presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich said today that she counts promoting cancer research, music education and the teaching of American history in schools as causes close to her heart.

Here's a brief video of Gingrich, who introduced her husband before his speech to California Republican Party convention attendees, describing her interests after her husband's address. Newt Gingrich did not stop or respond to questions from the media after the luncheon.

Don't expect members of the Senate Republican Caucus to write big checks to back the referendum of the district lines they fought to qualify for the ballot.

Senate GOP leader Bob Huff said today that the caucus probably won't finance the November campaign asking voters to reject the maps drawn by the Citizens Redistricting Commission.

"We have seats to defend. That's a higher priority," the Diamond Bar Republican said.

Senate Republicans, who are expected to lose seats under the new maps, were the major force behind the effort to qualify the referendum, which was certified for the ballot yesterday. The caucus and the state GOP had poured millions into qualifying the measure in hopes that the state Supreme Court would rule that new maps should be drawn in time for 2012 if the effort was headed towards the ballot.

But with the Supreme Court's ruling that the current districts should be used for this year's elections, questions have emerged about whether anyone will step up to fund the measure in the November election. California Republican Party Chairman Tom Del Beccaro would not commit to providing money to the campaign during a Friday press conference to open the state party convention in Burlingame.

"What we're going to do is look at our resources, look at the issues in front of us, like the spending cap, and over the next six months, we are going to decide on exactly how far we should push each individual thing we're facing," he said.

When it comes to the November elections, California Republican Party Chairman Tom Del Beccaro is banking in part on a poor performance by majority Democrats in Sacramento to push California voters to the polls.

Del Beccaro told reporters as the party kicked off its three-day convention in Burlingame today that the state's ongoing budget problems and a failure to enact pension reform will be a "black eye" for Democrats in the November election.

"They had the projections of how much money would be coming in, they had the obligation to pass a responsible budget that matched those forecasts and if they run out of money, its not going to be any one Republican's fault," he said of the state's budget deficit. "It's going to be squarely on the people in charge and that should send a signal to California voters on the issue of who's a good stewardship of thier money." 

A Republican-backed referendum to overthrow California's newly drawn Senate districts qualified Friday for the November statewide ballot.

The secretary of state's office announced that 511,457 of the 711,307 referendum signatures submitted by the group were those of registered voters, more than the 504,760 needed to qualify.

Because legislative primary elections will be held before November ballots are cast, however, the Supreme Court ruled last month that the contested Senate districts will be used in this year's balloting.

Twenty of the Senate's 40 districts are up for grabs this year in districts drawn by an independent citizens commission consisting of five Democrats, five Republicans and four independent or minor-party voters.

Republican leaders contend that the new districts give Democrats a good chance of capturing the two seats necessary to gain a two-thirds supermajority, the margin needed to approve tax or fee increases in that house.

Political analysts of both parties say the lines are not likely to result in a two-thirds majority in the Assembly, so Republicans conceivably could block tax increases there and keep them from reaching the governor's desk.

Nonetheless, a Democratic supermajority in the upper house would significantly increase that party's leverage in the Legislature.

U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein's attorney has asked the Federal Elections Commission to allow the California Democrat to collect more cash from donors who gave her campaign money that was allegedly stolen by her former treasurer.

The Feinstein campaign is seeking to recoup about $4.5 million that was found to be missing from her campaign account in the wake of the arrest of prominent Democratic Treasurer Kinde Durkee. Durkee, who was arrested last fall, faces federal fraud charges for allegedly misappropriating more than $600,000 from a campaign account she managed for Democratic Assemblyman Jose Solorio. Other political and nonprofit clients, including Feinstein, have accused her of stealing millions more in statements and court filings.

Feinstein's attorney argued in a document filed with the commission that the longtime senator should be able to ask donors for more cash despite contribution limits. Given Durkee's alleged actions, Feinstein argued, the contributions given for her 2012 re-election bid cannot be considered accepted by the campaign for its use.

"The Committee -- and its donors -- suffered a severe injustice at the hands of Durkee," attorney Marc. E. Elias wrote in the 98-page opinion request. "In the past, the FEC has shown a commendable willingness to rectify wrongful acts, where the law allows it to do so. The law clearly allows it to do so here."

The filing,which was first reported by Politico, cites several examples of cases where replacement checks were permitted by the commission.

Feinstein consultant Bill Carrick told The Bee he believes the campaign can "make a good case that (the money) has been stolen, embezzled and been used to cover (Durkee's) ponzi scheme."

"As a result, we've ended up not having access to this money because it was embezzled and was not available for the campaign to spend in the ways the donors intended it to be spent," he said.

A teacher and political activist from Carmichael announced plans today to challenge GOP Rep. Dan Lungren in the newly drawn 7th Congressional District.

Mario Galvan, who is registered decline-to-state, said his candidacy was inspired by the "Occupy" movement and widespread public dissatisfaction with the politics in Washington, D.C.. He said in a release announcing his campaign that he wants to ""Occupy the government."

Galvan, 64, told The Bee in an interview that a central theme of his campaign will be his commitment to representing the views of district residents of all political leanings, promoting a "democracy that's inclusive rather than adversarial."

"Our politics has become like a war, so polarized," he said. "My candidacy offers an alternative in the form of direct democracy that invites everyone to part in the political decisions on an ongoing basis."

A close voter registration split in 7th Congressional District makes the East Sacramento County seat, which stretches from the Galt area to Citrus Heights, a top target for both Democrats and Republicans in 2012. Elk Grove Democrat Ami Bera, who lost to Lungren in 2010, has already raised more than $1 million for a rematch against the Gold River Republican.

Galvan, whose only other experience running for office was in a school board election in Loomis years ago, said as a "non-traditional" candidate, he does not intend to try to match the fundraising numbers of his rivals for the seat.

"Nobody can raise the money that these super PACS will raise," he said. "If we cannot clear our minds of the 30-second attack ad mentality in politics, then we're doomed."

President Barack Obama rolled out a list of national co-chairs for his re-election campaign that includes some familiar faces from both the political and entertainment worlds in the Golden State.

Seven Californians made the list of 35 co-chairs,including state Attorney General Kamala Harris, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and actress Eva Longoria. Also included on the list were Democratic Rep. Judy Chu, Los Angeles County Federation of Labor Executive Secretary-Treasurer Maria Elena Durazo, actor and former White House aide Kalpen Modi and Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff.

The Obama campaign said in a statement that the co-chairs will "ambassadors for the President, advise the campaign on key issues, and help engage and mobilize voters in all 50 states."

Obama campaign manager Jim Messina said in a statement that the individuals selected "share the President's vision for a future where every American can have a fair shot at success, where hard work pays off and responsibility is rewarded."

Supporters of the tax measure proposed by Gov. Jerry Brown have gone public with their internal polling in their ongoing effort to persuade the backers of competing proposals to ditch their plans.

A memo on the poll, which was conducted over the weekend by Sacramento pollster Jim Moore, backs the Democratic governor's argument that a November ballot stacked with multiple tax measures will increase the likelihood that voters reject all the tax hikes.

"It reinforces the fact that if all three measures on the ballot, it will be a circular firing squad where everyone will lose," said Brown adviser Steve Glazer, who posted the polling memo on Twitter this morning.

Civil rights attorney Molly Munger's proposal to increase income taxes on all but the poorest Californians for 12 years to fund schools and early childhood education programs performed the worst in the statewide survey of 500 voters. Just 31 percent of voters said they would support that proposal, based on the title and summary drafted for one version of her measure. A second version, which sends some of the money to repay bond debt, was approved for signature-gathering yesterday.

The governor's plan, which would temporarily increase income taxes on Californians earning more than $250,000 and raise the sales tax by a half of a percentage point, won support of 53 percent of respondents, while a tax hike on millionaires proposed by the California Federation of Teachers and the Courage Campaign was backed by 55 percent of those surveyed.

Support for each proposal dropped below 50 percent when respondents were asked about the prospect of all three being on the ballot.

Republican Sen. Sharon Runner, who is awaiting a lung transplant for a rare autoimmune disease, announced today that she will not seek re-election in November.

Runner has been absent from the upper house since January, when she disclosed that complications related to her condition required her to work outside of Sacramento. She said today that she expects to make a full recovery and will focus on "business and philanthropic efforts" after leaving office.

Assemblywoman Shannon Grove's proposal to ask voters to cut the Legislature to part time hasn't gotten much love from her colleagues under the dome.

The Bakersfield Republican characterized the reactions and talked about how her own experiences since being elected in 2010 have shaped her views on the issue in an interview with The Bee's Capitol Bureau.

In the videos below, Watch Grove, who filed a constitutional amendment to have the Legislature meet just three months a year, and People's Advocate's Ted Costa, address those issues, as well as criticism that a part-time Legislature would not attract quality candidates.

Jim Sanders has more from the interview at this link.

Backers of a proposed constitutional amendment to reduce the Legislature to part time say they hope to raise $2.6 million for the effort, but records show that contributions have been few and relatively small in the campaign's first few weeks.

Assemblyman Shannon Grove, in a meeting today with The Bee Capitol Bureau, said that even Republican legislative colleagues have been reluctant to help finance the measure thus far.

"No one has stepped forward yet," Grove, R-Bakersfield, said of GOP legislators.

Of $85,000 in contributions reported to the secretary of state, Grove's Assembly campaign committee has been the single largest donor, $30,000. Seven other donations have been reported, ranging from $5,000 to $20,000, records show.

Asked if she expected a wealthy activist with deep pockets to bankroll the campaign, Grove smiled.

"I wouldn't turn it down if they decided to show up," she said.

Taking the gloves off, opponents of a proposal to convert the Legislature to part time took a personal shot today at the measure's sponsor - urging Assemblywoman Shannon Grove to voluntarily reduce her own salary and per diem payments.

"I'd respectfully suggest that (Grove) would be a lot more credible on this issue if she would practice what she preaches," former Democratic Assemblyman Dario Frommer, now leading opposition to Grove's proposal, said in a written statement.

Grove, a Republican from Bakersfield, must collect 807,615 valid voter signatures to qualify her constitutional amendment to have the Legislature meet for only three months per year, rather than nine, for the November statewide ballot.

The measure also would cut lawmakers' annual pay from $95,000 to $18,000, require legislators to adopt two-year state budgets and bar officeholders from accepting state employment or appointment to a state post while serving in the Capitol or for five years afterward.

In a four-minute video released last week, Grove asked voters to help her "take back this great state." Some new laws passed by the Legislature are outrageous - such as regulating shark fins -- and a part-time Legislature would "reduce the damage" it causes to the state, she said.

Since Grove feels that lawmakers should be paid only $1,500 per month, she should lead by example and cut her own $95,291 salary, according to Frommer, of Los Angeles, who also suggested that she turn down $142 per diem payments for the six months that she seeks to slice from the Legislature's annual session.

Grove and partner Ted Costa of People's Advocate are scheduled to be interviewed by The Bee's Capitol Bureau at 11 a.m. today. Readers are welcome to submit questions on the Capitol Alert Facebook page.

Former GOP gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman pulled out her checkbook last month to boost her former boss Mitt Romney's presidential bid.

Whitman contributed $100,000 to the "Restore our Future" committee, an independent campaign fund created to support Romney's presidential bid, according to a report filed with the Federal Elections Commission. Unlike Romney's presidential campaign committee, the so-called "Super PAC" can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money ahead of the election.

The contribution, received January 20, was the Hewlett-Packard CEO's first donation to the super PAC, which raised more than $6 million in the first month of 2012. She had previously given $2,500 to his presidential campaign committee.

Whitman, who spent $144 million of her own cash on her failed 2010 bid for governor, served as a finance chair on Romney's 2008 presidential campaign. The relationship between the two wealthy business executives stretches back to the 1980s, when a young Whitman worked for Romney at the Bain & Company consulting firm. She told The Bee last year that she would consider an appointment if Romney wins election to the White House, but said at the time that the two had not discussed any specific posts.

RELATED POSTS:
Super PAC supporting Romney adds $6.6 million to the coffers last month
Meg Whitman named CEO of Hewlett-Packard

PHOTO CREDIT: California Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman arrives at a fund-raising luncheon, Friday, Sept. 24, 2010 in Fresno, Calif. (AP Photo/ The Fresno Bee, Eric Paul Zamora).

Democratic Assemblywoman Julia Brownley says she'll run for the 26th Congressional District.

The Ventura County Star's Timm Herdt reports:

Brownley, who lives in Santa Monica, has represented much of Ventura County in the Assembly for the past five years. Her district includes Port Hueneme, about half of Oxnard, Westlake Village and Oak Park -- areas that make up about 16 percent of the congressional district.

Brownley said she will move to an apartment in Oak Park this week.

"This is going to be a tough campaign -- no question about it," she said. "I think I'm a very strong candidate with my experience in the Legislature fighting to restore excellence in schools, expanding access to health care and investing in the 'green' economy."

Brownley, who is termed out, enters the race with the endorsement of Ventura County Supervisor Steve Bennett, the top Democratic recruit for the seat who dropped out unexpectedly earlier this month. Sen. Tony Strickland, R-Moorpark, Ventura County Supervisor Linda Parks, a Republican who might identify herself as "no party preference" on the ballot, and four other Democrats are running for the swing seat, which became a top target when retiring GOP Rep. Elton Gallegly announced he would not run for another term in the newly drawn district.

The seat is considered a top target for Democrats seeking to win back the majority in the U.S. House.

Click here to read the full Ventura County Star piece.

A fourth of California's 53 congressional seats could be competitive in this year's elections, thanks to extensive district boundary changes by the state's independent redistricting commission, says a new analysis by the Cook Political Report.

The Cook report is considered to be an objective analysis of national political trends and its list of California districts that loom as potentially competitive is contained in a nationwide rundown.

Many of the 13 California districts on the list are either held by incumbents or have incumbents running after changing addresses, while others are open seats without incumbents.

The incumbent seats are those held by Democrats Jim Costa, Lois Capps, John Garamendi and Jerry McNerney and Republicans Dan Lungren, Gary Miller, Brian Bilbray, Jeff Denham and Mary Bono.

The most threatened incumbents are in the "tossup" districts and Cook sees them as Republicans Lungren, Miller and Bilbray. Others are in districts that are more likely to go to one party or the other.

SAN FRANCISCO - If it was only the Tea Party across the street, the protest, however spirited, might have been small.

But liberals have bullhorns, too - and on this night, glows sticks - and in the bluest of cities in the bluest of states, they aired their own grievances with President Barack Obama.

With the Democratic president scheduled to speak at a fundraiser at the Nob Hill Masonic Center tonight, environmentalists complained about oil drilling and anti-war activists complained about the United States' involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq.

"Cannabis is medicine," signs said, and some protesters managed while protesting to self-medicate.

Though apparently outnumbered, the Tea Party supporters were loud.

"No-Bama," they shouted, and later, "Fox News Rocks."

A protester behind them laughed and yelled, "Hey, pass the Kool-Aid!"

A man told him, "Get out of my country."

Across from the protesters, in a line of ticketholders that wrapped around the block, was Chris Cook, a 25-year-old from Kentucky who supports Obama now but voted for a Republican, President George W. Bush, when he was 18.

"Coming out here from Kentucky," he said, "it opened me up a little bit."

A signature-gathering drive received a $2 million boost today in its bid to place before voters a constitutional amendment that would require the state to transition to a two-year, performance-based budget cycle and make numerous other changes.

The initiative campaign reported a $1.2 million contribution from an institute of billionaire investor Nicolas Berggruen and an $883,567 donation from California Forward, a nonprofit government reform group, secretary of state records show.

The money was contributed to a newly formed committee that is bankrolling the effort to collect 807,615 signatures by May 29 to place the initiative on the November statewide ballot.

Other elements of the measure would require major new programs to have clearly identified funding sources before they are enacted; require proposed laws to be released three days prior to a legislative vote; and require state programs to be reviewed at least once every five years for effectiveness.

Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg said today that it's time to end sparring over competing measures and rally behind Gov. Jerry Brown's tax initiative for the November ballot.

The Sacramento Democrat, in what he characterized as a "clarion call," said that Brown's tax initiative appears to be the state's best alternative. Placing competing measures on the ballot could hurt its prospects, he said.

"It's time to get behind the governor's tax initiative," Steinberg said.

"If you have two or three of them on the ballot at one time, they're all at risk of losing," he said.

Brown's proposal would generate nearly $7 billion in budget relief by raising income taxes on high earners and by enacting a half-cent increase in the sales tax.

Two other revenue-raising proposals are being debated among Democrats supporting a tax hike.

The California Federation of Teachers is pushing a tax increase on millionaires, while attorney Molly Munger, an activist on civil rights and education policy issues, is leading a drive to raise state income taxes for all but the poorest Californians to fund schools and early childhood development proposals.

Steinberg, who led a drive to increase taxes on the wealthy seven years ago, said he is convinced that the newly proposed millionaires tax would spark "significant funded opposition" that could sink it at the polls.

The Senate leader said that he wants to see another round of polling on Munger's proposal but that it is not likely to catch fire among voters because it proposes an income tax hike on most working Californians.

"Her polls and the public polls that I've seen show her initiative as not having great upward trajectory," he said.

"I just don't think this is the time," he said of Munger's proposal. "Because the time is now to get behind one solid proposal that presents the biggest opportunity to both fund education and also to end the deficit in California."

Asked if supporters of the tax proposals competing with Brown's could collect the required number of ballot signatures but delay turning them in, thus qualifying for the 2014 ballot, Steinberg indicated that was a viable option.

"I'm just going to say this: We're looking at that very carefully," he said. "I think all things are possible."

PALO ALTO -- Newt Gingrich, fundraising in California this week to bolster his fading presidential campaign, said this afternoon that he is "on the way to Michigan and Arizona," which hold primaries on Feb. 28.

The former House speaker's campaign characterized his week of California fundraising as necessary to compete on Super Tuesday, when 10 states hold primaries or caucuses March 6.

"We're on the way to Michigan and Arizona, but we're out here doing fundraising, and we scheduled this a couple months ago," Gingrich said as he left a series of meetings at the Hoover Institution, a think tank on the Stanford campus.

He added: "It's been very successful so far."

Gingrich's calendar on his website lists him as appearing in Los Angeles, Thousand Oaks and Beverly Hills on Thursday, followed by events in his former home state of Georgia later this week.

Champion cyclist Lance Armstrong said today that his LIVESTRONG Foundation is making a $1.5 million contribution to support a June ballot measure that would increase the state tobacco tax to raise money for cancer research and anti-smoking programs.

Armstrong, a cancer survivor, previously supported the drive to qualify Proposition 29 for the ballot. He said the measure "will save lives, stop kids from smoking" and support the search for cancer cures.

"We feel that it's worth every penny," he said of the proposed $1-a-pack tax hike.

Backers of the June ballot measure include the American Cancer Society and the American Lung Association.

The Proposition 29 campaign is expected to be a multimillion dollar fight. A campaign committee created to oppose the measure reported $2.67 million in contributions in 2011, all from tobacco company Philip Morris USA and its parent company Altria. A committee to support the measure reported raising $1.39 million in the same period.

California Taxpayers Association President Teresa Casazza, who is part of the opposition coalition, responded to the donation news in a statement saying "now is not the time for Lance Armstrong to come into our state and ask us to support a flawed measure like Prop. 29."

Editor's note: This post was updated at 10:45 a.m. with a statement from Casazza.

PHOTO CREDIT: Lance Armstrong looks out at the fans prior to the start of the 2010 Amgen Tour of California in Nevada City on Sunday. Jose Luis Villegas, Sacramento Bee.

Republican Assemblyman Cameron Smyth has decided not to run for the state Senate this year.

Smyth had been mentioned as a possible GOP candidate to butt heads with Democratic Sen. Fran Pavley for a Ventura County swing seat, the 27th Senate District.

"I just felt the seat wasn't right for me at this time - not the right seat, not the right time," Smyth said.

The Santa Clarita resident said he has decided to return to his Southern California home and be a "better husband and better father" after he is termed out of the Assembly this year. He has three children, ages 8, 5 and 18 months.

Smyth, a government relations consultant before entering the Legislature, said he is not sure where or in what field he will work next year.

"I'm a conservative at heart and I've never expected to spend my entire career chasing a government paycheck," he said.

Smyth is the third potential candidate to decide against challenging Pavley for the Senate seat. Former Assembly Speaker Robert Hertzberg, a Democrat, turned thumbs down last month. Republican state Sen. Tony Strickland, R-Moorpark, opted to seek an incumbent-free congressional seat instead.

Democrats outnumber Republicans in voter registration, 41 percent to 34 percent, in the Ventura County Senate district that is considered a key to Democrats' hopes of gaining a two-thirds majority in the upper house.

Fresh off a double-digit loss in his Los Angeles City Council bid, Assemblyman Warren Furutani has decided not to run for re-election this year.

The 64-year-old Gardena Democrat told the Daily Breeze that he won't seek a third and final term in the lower house.

"I felt that my run for the City Council needed to be an all-in situation by sending a clear message that I was in it to win it and not hedging my bet with the Assembly as my fall-back," Furutani told The Breeze.

Furutani lost a special election bid a vacant city council race to police Officer Joe Buscaino by 21 points last month. Under the state's new political maps, he would have to face fellow Democratic Assemblyman Isadore Hall of Compton in the 64th Assembly District.

He told The Breeze, "Isadore is an up-and-coming leader in the community, and so I have decided to support him."

Read the full Breeze story at this link.

PHOTO CREDIT: Assembly member Warren Furutani casts his first vote on the floor of the Assembly after he was is sworn in, Thursday, Feb. 7, 2008. Brian Baer, Sacramento Bee.

Assemblyman Mike Feuer made his candidacy for Los Angeles City Attorney official today.

The Los Angeles Democrat, who is termed out of the Assembly this year, issued a campaign announcement today pledging to "do all I can to bring energy, vision and integrity to the job."

"I'm running to become Los Angeles's next City Attorney because the people of L.A. deserve secure neighborhoods, innovative solutions to our toughest problems, and a city government that inspires confidence and trust," he said in a statement.

Feuer, who had filed papers for a possible run last September, said he has already raised more than $345,000 for his campaign. The election will be held in March 2013.

Republican Rep. Dan Lungren is getting some early help for his re-election bid from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

A new television ad airing in Sacramento area praises the Gold River Republican for "fighting to protect California jobs," singling out his support for repealing the federal health care overhaul.

"He believes free enterprise, not big government, will lead economic recovery," a narrator says of Lungren.

A slight voter-registration edge for Democrats in the newly-drawn 7th Congressional District and high turnout for the presidential election are expected to make Lungren a top target this year. He faces a rematch with Elk Grove Democrat Ami Bera, the doctor and medical educator who lost to Lungren by 7 percentage points in 2010.

The Lungren spot, which is posted below, is part of a national ad campaign rolled out by the U.S. Chamber last week. The new spots, which include negative pieces against Democrats who supported the health care overhaul, target 12 congressional districts and eight U.S. Senate races.

"American families deserve to know who has the courage to fight for job-creating policies in Washington and who is hurting their pocketbooks," said U.S. Chamber President and CEO Tom Donohue. "We're asking the public to hold members of Congress accountable for their positions on Obamacare, job-killing regulations, energy security, and a culture of wasteful spending in Washington."

Chamber spokesman Bryan Goettel said the ad began airing Thursday on both cable and broadcast channels and will run for two weeks. He declined to specify how much the group spent on the ad buy. The "voter education" spots, which urge viewers to call the offices of Lungren and others on the issues cited in the ads and are not subject to the same disclosure requirements as campaign advertisements.

The Bera campaign said it believes the early spending shows the incumbent's vulnerability.

"It's clear that they see him as someone who stands for their interests and that's why they're stepping up so early and spending a lot of money when most voters don't really want to be seeing TV ads this early in the game," spokesman Josh Wolf said.

Editor's note: This post was updated at 12:11 p.m. with comments from the Chamber. It was also updated to clarify that the ads began last week, contrary to the Feb. 13 date on a press release posted online.

Billionaire investor George Soros has given a half-million dollar boost to efforts to overhaul California's three-strikes law.

Soros' $500,000 donation to the "Three Strikes Reform Act of 2012" was reported Friday by the ballot drive's fundraising committee, sponsored by the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, records show.

Stanford University professor David Mills, the measure's proponent, invested an additional $250,000 last week. He cumulatively has contributed $603,000, records show.

The only other substantive donation this year was $100,000 from investor Peter Ackerman of Washington, D.C.

The campaign must collect 504,760 valid voter signatures by May 14 to qualify for the November ballot.

The initiative would amend California law to require that only serious or violent felonies qualify as a third strike punishable by prison sentences of 25 years to life.

The measure also would allow some offenders to appeal if they were sentenced under "three strikes" law after conviction of minor crimes.

A top Democratic recruit for the swing 26th Congressional District shocked supporters Saturday by dropping out of the race, one day after party leaders touted his race as a top pick-up opportunity.

Ventura County Supervisor Steve Bennett, who was the top candidate for a pre-primary endorsement recommendation, announced during the state Democratic Party Convention in San Diego that he will drop his congressional candidacy to run for re-election to the Board of Supervisors.

Signs waved, insults flew and upsets occurred as rival Democratic campaigns went head-to-head for coveted endorsement recommendations at the state party's annual convention in San Diego.

The battle royale of the Saturday night balloting was the vote for the 30th Congressional District, which pits Democratic Reps. Howard Berman and Brad Sherman against one another.

The two exchanged verbal blows in front of a crowd of several hundred delegates assigned to the district gathered to make a recommendation for Sunday's full floor vote.

SAN DIEGO - California Democratic Party Chairman John Burton isn't cursing much this weekend.

But two months after Burton's interview on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" prompted correspondent John Oliver to remark, "You curse more than a West Coast rapper," U.S. Sen. Al Franken suggested tonight that Burton's reputation is intact.

"I used to be in the entertainment business, where you can pretty much say anything you want," the Minnesota Democrat and former comedian told a dinner crowd at the California Democratic Party's annual convention in San Diego. "I have to keep reminding myself that in politics it's very different, and I've just got to keep reminding myself not to say certain things, and I want to thank John for reminding me so dramatically when he was on the 'Daily Show.'"

Franken offered an appreciative audience perhaps more red meat than at any other event so far this weekend.

Praising the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for ruling California's same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional, Franken said, "At one point the majority wrote that the only effect of Prop. 8 was to 'lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians.'

"To which proponents of Prop. 8 replied, 'Yeah, and?'"

Franken cast Republicans as obstructionists only interested in defeating President Barack Obama in November.

"The question is, what are we going to do about it? The answer is simple: It's time for some negative reinforcement."

He said, "If the only thing they care about is winning, the only thing we can do to change their behavior is to beat them."

SAN DIEGO -- U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein expressed disappointment
Saturday in the compromise the Obama administration announced this week on its birth control coverage mandate, but said the decision "can be lived with."

"I regret the fact that the president felt he had to do it, but he had to do it," she told reporters after speaking at the California Democratic Party convention in San Diego.

The Obama administration announced Friday that it would not force certain religious institutions such as Catholic hospitals to comply with a health regulation requiring employers to provide employees with access to free contraceptives. While the faith-based employers will be able to opt out of the rule, insurance companies will be required to provide such coverage at no cost to the employer.

The Feinstein's comment put her in contrast with House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, who defended the administration's move yesterday. Pelosi told reporters that the move demonstrated Obama's unifying leadership abilities and an ongoing commitment to women's health.

The remark came after the 78-year-old Democrat, who is up for re-election this year, told Democrats attending the convention's Saturday luncheon that re-electing Obama must be their "first order of business" in 2012.

"We must re-elect a man who restored America's image abroad, who saved the American auto industry and who has worked tirelessly to bring this county back from an economic catastrophe he actually inherited," she said. "We have to come together like we have never come together before to re-elect Barack Obama to the presidency of the United States."

Feinstein, who is not expected to face a top-tier challenger this year, urged attendees to get involved in issues she has been championing in Washington, D.C., and California, including legislation to ban the military from detaining American citizens on U.S. soil indefinitely and to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act.

She called 1996 federal law restricting rights for same-sex couples, which the Obama administration says it will no longer defend, "diabolical."

"It was wrong when it was introduced, it is wrong today and we must change it," she said. 

Feinstein also made a pitch for a proposed health insurance rate regulation initiative backed by Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones and Consumer Watchdog. She urged attendees to sign the petition to help qualfify the initiative, which would give the insurance commissioner the power to block proposed increases in the cost of coverage.

"Please become part in this movement," she said, directing attendees to signature-gatherers waiting outside. "It is important and you could actually be directly affected by it." 

RELATED POSTS:

Obama compromises on contraception mandate, but reservations remain

Gov. Jerry Brown speaks Saturday at the state Democratic Party convention.
AP photo/Gregory Bull


SAN DIEGO - While supporters of a competing "millionaire's tax" waved banners outside, Gov. Jerry Brown acknowledged today having a "few issues" with his own bid to raise taxes.

But in a speech to California Democrats at their annual convention, Brown said almost nothing more about an issue central to his agenda and to a growing rift between Democrats in this election year.

"Look, we've got some issues. We've got a tax measure, we have a little, few issues there, and we'll be talking about that from time to time," he said. "You'll get your marching orders soon enough."

Backstage, Brown told reporters, "I think you guys have to take each speech one at a time ... We have a good plan. We've laid it out, and now we have our work to do, and we're going to do it."

SAN DIEGO -- Backers of a "millionaire's tax" proposed for the November ballot got a boost from activist and former Obama adviser Van Jones last night.

Jones, the guest speaker at the Friday night kick-off of the state Democratic Party convention in San Diego, told attendees that a tax on top earners would motivate young voters facing large student loan debt and dismal job prospects in a down economy.

"That will get their attention," he said. "The idea that the people who have already climbed that ladder have to give back to them, that's the pathway forward I think to electrify that generation."

The California Federation of Teachers and the California Nurses Association are trying to qualify an income tax hike on Californians earning more than $1 million for the November ballot to fund schools and other services. Jones did not specify whether he was referencing that proposal or the general idea of a millioniare's tax, but the remarks drew applause from the crowd gathered at the Friday night reception. Supporters of the initiative have been out in full force during the annual party gathering, distributing signs and campaign literature promoting the plan.

Gov. Jerry Brown, who has filed his own tax initiative to help balance the state budget, is scheduled to address the convention delegates later this morning. He has argued that a ballot with multiple tax initiatives will increase the chances of failure for all measures aimed at budget relief. His proposal would temporarily raise income tax rates for California's top earners and enact a half-cent sales tax increase.

SAN DIEGO -- Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez may be nowhere more popular than at a labor caucus meeting at a Democratic convention, and so it was that he received a standing ovation here this afternoon and tried out a one-liner on the crowd.

"This year you've seen Mitt Romney and others talk about the fact that corporations are people," the former labor organizer said. "I won't believe corporations are people until Texas executes one of them."

Labor interests are a major force in the California Democratic Party, and as party activists arrived in San Diego today for their annual convention, Pérez said defeating a so-called "paycheck protection" measure is more important than any candidate election this year.

The ballot initiative would block unions and corporations from using automatic payroll deductions for political purposes. Supporters of the initiative say it will curb the influence of special interests in elections, while labor unions say it is a targeted effort to reduce their political clout. Labor unions spent millions of dollars helping Gov. Jerry Brown defeat billionaire Meg Whitman in the 2010 election.

"This ballot measure is a fraud, it's phony and it's a lie," said Art Pulaski, executive secretary-treasurer of the California Labor Federation. "Imagine, just for a moment, a California where your mouths were taped the next time a Meg Whitman ran for governor."

Pérez, D-Los Angeles, said Democrats will "fight like hell" to defeat the measure.

"Thank you, brothers and sisters," he said. "It is good to be in the house of labor."

SAN DIEGO -- California Democratic Party Chairman John Burton agrees with Gov. Jerry Brown that Molly Munger's November tax initiative could hurt the governor's bid to raise the state sales tax and income taxes on California's highest earners.

Too many tax measures on one ballot, the thinking goes, and wide-eyed voters might look at all of them and say, "No."

But the powers of a party chairman are not without limits.

"What are you going to do, you know, go get a hit squad to tell Molly Munger, 'We'll burn down your house if you don't do it?' " Burton told reporters this afternoon in San Diego, where state Democrats arrived for their annual convention.

Munger, the daughter of a business partner of Warren Buffett, has contributed nearly $1 million to her campaign, an initiative to raise income taxes on all but the poorest Californians.

Burton said he hasn't talked to her and wouldn't know her if he saw her. But if he called her about her initiative, he said, he thought the conversation might go something like this:

"You really want to do this?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"'Cause I wanna."

"OK."

Burton should know. He has proposed an initiative of his own, a tax on oil production, though even he said today that he is "of the opinion that more people would look favorably on the governor's proposals than the others."

A reporter asked Burton if he thought Munger's initiative, should it qualify, would doom Brown's.

"That's a good question," he said. "How in the hell would I know?"

SAN DIEGO -- While California may not see much action from presidential hopefuls, House minority leader Nancy Pelosi said today she believes a handful of competitive districts will make the state a "battleground" in Democrats' effort to win back control of Congress.

Democrats could pick up as many as five or six seats here next November under the state's new political maps, according to some political analysts. Victories in a handful of GOP-held districts could help Democrats win the 25 seats they need nationwide to reclaim the majority.

Pelosi said strong candidates and registration edges in some of California's new districts will work to Democrats' advantage in 2012.

"We have many opportunites here because we were able to out-recruit the Republicans to run candidates who are real problem-solvers," she said during a news conference at the state Democratic Party convention in San Diego.

The party has identified nine seats that are potential pick-ups. Pelosi focused on three swing seats that have attracted only one high-profile Democratic candidate, including the newly drawn 7th Congressional District in the Sacramento region.

That race will be a rematch between GOP Rep. Dan Lungren and Democrat Ami Bera, a doctor and public health official from Elk Grove.

Bera attracted headlines for strong fundraising in his 2010 bid, but lost by seven percentage points in the swing district. Pelosi said she believes the now "battle-tested" candidate will be able to win under the new district lines, which give Democrats a one-point voter registration advantage.

"He has a personality and an agenda that really invigorates the grassroots and one of the most positive, enthusiastic grassroots operaitons in the country," she said. "He will have that again, even more so, more Democrats and (this year's) president at the top of the ticket." 

CDP Chairman John Burton said high turnout in a presidential year and voters' disappointment with the GOP majority in the House will benefit Bera and other Democrats running in the state.

"It's just going to be a whole different chemistry this election," Burton said. "In fact, there are some pollsters that say ... this could be an absolute flip of 2010, that the people voted Republican, and they saw what they got, and they're suffering from what they call the buyers' remorse." 

Lungren strategist Rob Stutzman said later that while the new district is more favorable to Democrats than the 2010 lines, he's "very confident still that Lungren is a vote-getter."

"It's going to be a very expensive race, but we're confident in prevailing," he said.

Stutzman said Democrats' pick-up prospects could be dimmed by their need to defend incumbents who are vulnerable under the new lines, such as Reps. John Garamendi and Lois Capps.

Democrats' optimism about the election outcome might not translate to big spending by House Democrats in California's targeted seats. Pelosi said while she expects candidates here to be well-funded, focus and resources will also be concentrated in other states with pick-up opportunities, such as New York, Illinois, Florida and Texas.

Allan Hoffenblum, a former GOP strategist who now tracks California congressional and legislative races, said it's too early to tell whether Democrats will pick up many House seats here next November. Much of the outcome, he said, will depend on which Republican is on the top of the ticket.

"Right now, I (think) it could go either way, depending how strong the Republican candidate for president is," Hoffenblum said. "There is going to be significant turnover, but I don't want to place bets yet on is it going to be plus 'D' or plus 'R.'" 

EDITOR'S NOTE, 4:02 p.m.: This post was updated to add comment from Rob Stutzman.

A fifth candidate has entered the race for a vacant East Sacramento County seat in the California Assembly.

Sacramento Republican Barbara Ortega announced today that she will run to represent the 8th Assembly District, a swing seat that is expected to be a top legislative target this year.

Ortega, who currently owns a Sacramento business consulting and marketing firm called POW Group, said in a statement that she hopes to "bring my business experience and know-how to the Assembly so we can actually get things done to provide relief for California." Her resume includes stints as director and vice president of the California Manufacturers & Technology Association and director of legislative affairs at the the United States Chamber of Commerce.

Her campaign consultant, Dave Gilliard, said she is filing the paperwork to start raising money for her race this week.

The race has become more crowded since Democratic Assemblywoman Alyson Huber decided not to run for re-election after her home was drawn into a new GOP-leaning district.

Three Democrats -- Franchise Tax board attorney Chris Parker, Rancho Cordova Councilman Ken Cooley and San Juan Unified School District Board Member Larry Miles -- and Republican Peter Tateishi, who works for GOP Rep. Dan Lungren, have also announced plans to run for the seat.

Former Republican Sen. Sam Aanestad has decided to enter the race for a vacant Northern California congressional seat, setting the stage for a same-party showdown with Republican Sen. Doug LaMalfa.

Aanestad's newly retained campaign spokesman, former California Republican Party Communications Director Mark Standriff, confirmed today that the former legislator will be a candidate in the 1st Congressional District.

Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Elk Grove, will be Aanestad's campaign chairman, Standriff said.

GOP Rep. Wally Herger, who now represents the area, announced last month that he will not run for re-election in the district, which runs from Yuba City to the Oregon border. Herger, of Chico, endorsed LaMalfa shortly after announcing his own retirement plans.

Aanestad told The Bee last month that he was considering a run for the seat. The 2010 lieutenant governor hopeful said the 12 years he spent representing the region in the state Legislature make him a good fit for the district.

"I already know most of the local issues of each of the areas and the people involved in the history," he said at the time. "It wouldn't be much of a learning process in terms of getting up to date on what the issues are for the district."

Standriff said Aanestad is unavailable to comment on his plans today due to patient appointments at his Grass Valley dental and oral surgery practice. He plans to make a formal campaign announcement tomorrow.

RELATED POSTS:
Former GOP Sen. Sam Aanestad considering run for Congress
LaMalfa 'moving forward' for Congress run after Herger announcement

PHOTO CREDIT: Then-Sen. Sam Aanestad, R-Penn Valley, listens to the debate in the California upper house on Friday, September 11, 2009. Hector Amezcua, Sacramento Bee.

Editor's note, 1:09 p.m.: This post has been updated to reflect that Rep. Tom McClintock will be former Sen. Sam Aanestad's campaign chairman, not his manager.

Presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich is bringing his campaign to California later this month.

The former House Speaker has agreed to speak during a Saturday luncheon at the state Republican Party convention, which runs from Feb. 24-26 in Burlingame.

CRP Chairman Tom Del Beccaro praised Gingrich as "one of the most dynamic figures in GOP politics over the last 50 years" in a statement, saying he will bring "energy and vision to the Convention during a critical election year."

Despite recent losses in Nevada and Florida, Gingrich has pledged to continue his campaign against rivals Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Ron Paul through the national nominating convention. Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, holds a lead in the delegate race as Republican voters in Colorado, Minnesota, Missouri make their picks today. The next contests will be held in Arizona and Michigan on the Tuesday following the CRP convention.

The party's prospects for attracting a presidential candidate had been uncertain given California's late primary date. Gingrich California Finance Chair Eric Beach said in a statement that the decision "illustrates the importance of California as a key Primary state this election cycle."

CRP spokeswoman Jennifer Kerns said the party has also reached out to other presidential contenders with speaking invitations, but has not heard confirmation either way from the other camps.

Presidential candidate and Texas Rep. Ron Paul and Minnesota Rep. and former presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann addressed delegates at the party's fall convention.

RELATED POSTS:
Pete Wilson endorses Mitt Romney, to serve as California chairman
Del Beccaro: GOP 'food fight' will help nominee against Obama
Top Rick Perry surrogate in California now backing Newt Gingrich
See all The Bee's Election 2012 coverage

PHOTO CREDIT: Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich speaks at The River Church, Monday, Jan. 23, 2012, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Molly Munger isn't backing down in her effort to qualify a ballot measure that would hike taxes to provide more money to schools and early education programs.

The wealthy civil rights attorney and education advocate, who has already put $800,000 of her own cash into a campaign committee for the initiative, said today that she's willing to bankroll the qualification campaign, an effort that can cost upwards of $2 million.

"We're going to get this on the ballot and we're going to win," she told reporters.

Munger outlined her proposal, which would raise an estimated $10 billion annually by increasing state income tax rates for most Californians, in a noon address to attendees of a Sacramento conference held by the Parent Teacher Association, which is backing her measure.

She framed her tax proposal, which would sunset after 12 years without reauthorization by voters, as the best way to make sure schools and other early education programs receive the funding they need to serve children throughout the state. The bulk of the tax dollars raised under her proposal would go directly to school districts and early childhood development programs, creating a revenue stream that would come on top of school funding levels dictated by Proposition 98. One version of the initiative language, which she said she is leaning toward pursuing, would use some of those revenues to repay bond debt for the first several years.

The proposal, which the campaign calls "Our Children, Our Future: Local Schools and Early Education Investment Act" is expected to be cleared for signature gathering next week.

Gov. Jerry Brown has sought to clear the field of several proposed tax measures vying for a spot on the 2012 ballot, a move he believes will increase the chance of passage of his own proposal to increase income and sales taxes for budget relief. Munger told reporters that while she has not spoken directly to the governor, her polling shows her measure can pass even with the other proposals in the picture

One of the Democratic governor's top political strategists took to Twitter to challenge that assertion Monday afternoon.

"When u have competing tax measures on the ballot, voters make choice. Likely result- all lose and children u claim to be protecting lose," adviser Steve Glazer tweeted.

Here is a video of Munger's remarks to Capitol reporters:

Former California Gov. Pete Wilson endorsed GOP presidential front-runner Mitt Romney today and will serve as the candidate's honorary chairman in California, the Romney campaign announced
.

In a statement, Romney called Wilson "one of California's most accomplished leaders." Wilson, governor from 1991 to 1999, said Romney "is an enthusiastic believer in American exceptionalism and has been a spectacular example of it: Mitt has been a success in creating American private sector jobs, a success as the rescuer of the Salt Lake City Olympic games, and as a public chief executive as the Republican governor in the challenging environment of heavily Democratic Massachusetts."

Wilson critics immediately trashed the choice. Eliseo Medina, international secretary treasurer of the Service Employees International Union, said Romney's association with Wilson will hurt him with Latino voters.

"Mitt Romney can't leave well enough alone," Medina said in a statement. "Romney can't seem to stop himself from digging deeper and deeper into his hole with Latino voters. Here is what Pete Wilson accomplished: He turned Latino voters against the GOP brand."

Wilson championed Proposition 187 in 1994, a measure -- later overturned by the courts -- that restricted state services to undocumented immigrants.

PHOTO CREDIT: Former California Gov. Pete Wilson give a thumbs up while looking at his PDA during the start of the Republican National Convention in 2008. Brian Baer/The Sacramento Bee

A Democrat running for the state Assembly has agreed to plead guilty to federal bribery charges, according to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.

John Tran, a former Rosemead mayor and City Council member, is accused of accepting $7,000 in payments from an informant with a developer that had business in front of the city during his time on the council. He is a candidate for the 49th Assembly District, an open Southern California seat.

Read the full story at this link.

RENO - Ron Paul told supporters here tonight that his libertarian ideas are gaining traction and that his presidential campaign - despite Paul's inability to break through in early primaries - remains aglow.

"I believe that we will be able to win this," the Texas congressman told several hundred people at the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino. "We must remain in this battle and do our very best."

The Republican candidates were campaigning today in Nevada ahead of the state's caucuses on Saturday. Paul finished a distant second to the frontrunner, Mitt Romney, in the Silver State four years ago.

Paul said to cheers tonight, "The revolution is alive and well."

His appearance came just hours after Romney spoke at an event down the road in Reno. Hundreds of people turned out for each rally, but Paul's had something Romney's lacked. Outside the room where Paul spoke, two supporters propped up an inflatable punching bag with a photograph of President Barack Obama, charging $1 each in a "Ron Paul fundraiser to 'beat' Obama."

They planned to take the cash in to Paul but said they were strictly "unofficial."

A "millionaires tax" initiative spearheaded by the California Federation of Teachers and the Courage Campaign received petition language today, as well as backing from the powerful California Nurses Association.

CFT spokesman Fred Glass said his group expects to begin collecting signatures Monday now that state Attorney General Kamala Harris has issued official petition language today. Harris titled the measure "Tax To Benefit Public Schools, Social Services, Public Safety, And Road Maintenance."

The CFT/Courage plan would raise taxes by three percentage points on income above $1 million and five percentage points on income above $2 million. State fiscal analysts say the proposal would generate $4 billion to $6 billion annually, with a $6 billion to $9.5 billion windfall in the 2012-13 fiscal year because the plan would capture 18 months of taxes.

The plan is competing with Gov. Jerry Brown's tax initiative, which would raise income taxes on earners starting at $250,000 for single filers, as well as increase the statewide sales tax by a half-cent.

The proposals have split the labor community so far. CFT and CNA are backing the "millionaires tax," while the California Teachers Association and Service Employees International Union State Council are backing Brown's proposal.

The governor wants rival campaigns to stop their efforts and join his coalition, but they say they are pressing on. Besides CFT's proposal, civil rights attorney Molly Munger is backing a $10 billion income tax measure, while hedge-fund manager Tom Steyer is pursuing a corporate tax change that would pay for clean energy projects.

CFT donated $500,000 last week to back its signature-gathering efforts.

"We are prepared to spend enough to get a million signatures," Glass said. "It's not just going to be CFT spending the money. We have partners, and we'll be announcing a couple more sizable contributions soon."

Supporters of a tobacco tax slated for the June primary ballot launched the opening salvo today of what is expected to be a multimillion dollar campaign, framing their effort as a battle to beat moneyed "big tobacco" interests.

At a news conference kicking off the campaign, Proposition 29 proponents cast their measure, which would raise taxes on cigarettes by $1 a pack to fund cancer research and anti-smoking programs, as an approach to improve health and save lives.

"It's this simple: A no vote on Proposition 29 supports tobacco companies' strategy of singling out poor people and people of color for addiction and death. A yes vote on Proposition 29 is a vote for better health and live saving research," Joe Debbs of the American Heart Association said, adding: "From our perspective there is no middle ground. You're either with us, or you buy big tobacco's lies."

Supporters marked the official launch of the campaign for the initiative, which qualified for the ballot in 2010, by holding rallies in 21 other locations across the state that featured a bed with the message, "Let's see who's in bed with Big Tobacco."

Early money is already flowing into the campaign coffers of candidates running for legislative seats across the state.

Tuesday was the deadline for state candidates to file their year-end campaign finance reports, which cover cash raised and spent through Dec. 31, 2011.

Wondering which legislative hopefuls are leading the pack and which are starting 2012 in the red? We've gathered the numbers for some of the races on our radar this cycle.

The spreadsheet includes 2011 totals for candidates we're tracking in some of the state legislative races Capitol insiders have been closely watching so far (blank fields mean a report had not been filed electronically at the time this sheet was posted). Full reports can be viewed at this link.

We're open to updating the roundup to include more races, so send any hot contests we might have missed to tvanoot@sacbee.com. Stay tuned for a look at the money flowing in top congressional races in tomorrow's Bee.

Editor's note: The spreadsheet has been updated to correct the cash on hand for Jeff Miller's campaign and add figures for a Southern California Assembly race.

California Democrats are starting 2012 with an $8.7 million fundraising advantage and 13-point voter registration edge over their rivals in the Republican Party.

The cash edge was reported in year-end campaign finance filings released Tuesday. The California Democratic State Central Committee ended 2011 with $9.3 million in the bank, after raising $2.77 million in contributions in the final three months of the year. The California Republican Party came close to matching Democrats in contributions, raising nearly $2.34 million, but reported having just shy of $439,000 cash on hand due to heavy spending on an effort to repeal the new state Senate maps via a referendum drive.

The campaign cash numbers were reported on the same day as Secretary of State Debra Bowen released updated voter registration figures showing that Democrats continue to hold a 13-point lead statewide, 43.63 percent to 30.36 percent. Both parties saw slight declines in registration in the last year, while the percentage of voters registered as decline-to-state rose to an all-time high of 21.24 percent.

CRP Chairman Tom Del Beccaro downplayed the registration numbers in a statement issued by the party, saying that Californians continue to show their support for the party by voting for fiscally conservative measures on the ballot. He said that he expects the party to make gains in closing the registration gap ahead of the 2012 election.

Democrats didn't seem too worried about that prospect.

"With these kind of numbers, I think California Democrats can really start to get used to the Del Beccaro era," CDP spokesman Tenoch Flores quipped.

California Sen. Ron Calderon is abandoning his bid for the newly drawn 38th Congressional District, opting to remain in the state Senate and back Democratic Rep. Linda Sanchez for the Southern California seat.

"I have had the honor of representing portions of the Gateway Cities and San Gabriel Valley for the past nine years and I am incredibly proud of my record as a legislator committed to creating quality jobs, improving our system of public education, protecting frontline services and keeping our neighborhoods healthy and safe," Calderon said in a statement. "I look forward to continuing to represent many of the communities in this Congressional District as a Member of the California State Senate and I look forward to working with Congresswoman Sanchez to champion local job creation and economic development."

The Montebello Democrat's decision comes just over a week after Sanchez emerged as the overwhelming favorite for the state Democratic Party endorsement, winning more than 70 percent of the vote at the party's regional pre-endorsement conferences. Both candidates have yet to file their year-end campaign finance reports, which are due by the end of today.

Calderon, who will be termed out of the Senate in 2014, has also been dealing with personal hardships in recent weeks.The wife of his brother, former Assemblyman Tom Calderon, and his mother-in-law have both passed away since the start of the new year.

It's a Triple-D kind of day under the dome.

That's right, three separate deadlines are looming as California politicos prepare to enter month two of 2012 (Sorry for the false alarm, Guy Fieri fans).

1.) RIP Redevelopment Local Redevelopment Agencies will take their last breaths today. The 2010 law axing the agencies, crafted as part of last year's budget package, takes effect Feb. 1. While some lawmakers have voiced support for reviving the agencies' main functions in new forms, a workable solution has not emerged since the state Supreme Court struck down the Legislature's first attempt at creating a successor to RDAs. A push to delay the dissolution date until April 15 has failed to gain traction in the Legislature. Officials from the Department of Finance and the State Controller's Office will be addressing lingering questions on the termination during an 11 a.m. webinar. Questions can be submitted via email to redevelopment@dof.ca.gov.

2.) Last Call for 2011 bills: Bills introduced in 2011 must clear their house-of-origin today in order to stay alive for the remainder of the two-year session. The Senate plans to gavel in at 10 a.m. to tackle the handful of two-year bills remaining on the file. One measure expected to come up for a vote is Senate Bill 654, Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg's legislation to allow local governments to keep and use redevelopment money earmarked for affordable housing projects. The Assembly, meanwhile, will get back to work at 9 a.m. Assemblyman Mike Davis, D-Los Angeles, is expected to take another shot at winning passage of a bill that would make changes to the state's "Three Strikes" law. Assembly Bill 327 fell five votes short during Monday's floor session.

3.) Campaign cash: Candidates for state and federal office face a midnight deadline for filing campaign finance reports. The reports will cover cash raised and spent through Dec. 31, 2011. Wondering which committee balances to check for state legislative races? Parts one, two and three of Capitol Alert's "Races to Watch" series might refresh your memory of the must-watch match-ups. Also due today are state lobbying reports for the fourth quarter of 2011.

RX FOR NURSING BOARD? The Assembly Budget Committee's agenda for today includes a recently crafted bill to reinstate the Board of Registered Nursing through 2016. The board was technically dissolved at the end of 2011 after Gov. vetoed legislation to extend its sunset date. The Budget Committee is expected to take up this bill and review Brown's budget proposal when it meets after the full session adjourns.

PLANNING AHEAD: The Greenlining Institute will present results of its survey on California's ballot initiative system at a luncheon on Wednesday. RSVP to brucem@greenlining.org or micheller@greenlining.org or call (408) 550-3121. The event begins at 11:30 a.m. at the Capitol, Room 2040.

The head of the California Teachers Association said he anticipates his union will put "considerable" money into Gov. Jerry Brown's tax measure, but funds may be tighter than usual as the group faces different ballot battles.

CTA President Dean E. Vogel said Sunday the union is focused on fighting a November measure that would restrict member dues collection and spending on candidate campaigns. He said CTA is also waiting to see whether a new proposal to cap future state spending will qualify for the ballot, a proposal the group would also fight.

The union officially agreed Sunday to back Brown's plan to raise sales taxes and income taxes on wealthy earners.

CTA previously imposed a $60 annual surcharge on members for three years to raise $50 million to defeat Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger at a 2005 special election, which included measures to restrict union dues and cap state spending. But Vogel said this time is different.

"The last time in this position we did a special assessment to get more money," Vogel said. "but we're not in a position to get more money right now."

Vogel said CTA will probably decide in March how to divide its funds this year.

"We're going to wait and see what things are looking like," he said. "We believe because of the broad-based appeal (Brown's) initiative has, it's going to qualify. We're very concerned about a potential spending cap initiative and how that's going to play out."

"Eventually I would anticipate we would put considerable money in," he said of the tax measure campaign.

Former Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg has decided not to challenge incumbent Democrat Fran Pavley for a Southern California Senate seat.

Hertzberg had expressed interest in running for the newly drawn 27th Senate District, a Ventura County swing seat that includes area he previously represented in the state Assembly. But he said in a statement issued today that he has decided to instead focus on the campaign for a proposed budget and governance ballot measure backed by California Forward Issue Action Fund and the Think Long Committee for California.

"After thoughtful consideration, I have decided not to pursue a campaign for the State Senate," Hertzberg, who has worked closely with both California Forward and Think Long, said. "I believe the extraordinary challenges we face in California can best be met with big ideas and independent voices. Pursuing a partisan campaign at this time would inevitably distract from my top priority -- reforming our government to better serve its citizens."

The announcement comes weeks after Sen. Tony Strickland, R-Moorpark, announced that he will run for an incumbent-free congressional seat instead of seeking re-election to the Senate in the district. Assemblyman Cameron Smyth, R-Santa Clarita, has been mentioned as a possible GOP candidate for the Senate seat, but has yet to make a decision on the race.

Hertzberg's decision allows Senate Democrats to avoid a potentially costly and divisive same-party battle in an election that could deliver the caucus a two-thirds majority in the upper house. Two other potential high-profile challengers to incumbent Democrats bowed out of their respective races in recent weeks. Assemblyman Sandre Swanson, D-Alameda, dropped out of the race for Sen. Loni Hancock's Bay Area Senate seat and Assemblyman Anthony Portantino, D-La Cañada-Flintridge, announced that he will not challenge Sen. Carol Liu, D-La Cañada-Flintridge, this year.

Remap

The California Supreme Court ruled today that state Senate maps drawn by a citizens commission will be used in this year's elections, despite a pending referendum to overturn them.

In a 73-page decision, justices evaluated several proposed alternative maps and concluded that the Senate lines drawn by the 14-member commission were the most appropriate and least disruptive to this year's elections.

Republican State Sen. Mimi Walters of Laguna Niguel, a leader of the referendum drive, blasted the ruling as "shortsighted and disrespectful" of California voters who signed petitions and are awaiting the opportunity to vote on the commission's Senate maps. She characterized the decision as a throwback to a flawed, politically based precedent established by former Chief Justice Rose Bird.

"They kind of gutted the whole idea behind the referendum process," said Dave Gilliard, another leader of the drive to kill the Senate maps.

Peter Yao, current chairman of the commission, countered that use of the commission maps is important to maintain electoral stability and that the challenge is based on "partisan self interest" that has "cost precious taxpayer dollars to defend."

The issue came before the high court after a Republican-backed group, Fairness and Accountability in Redistricting, filed more than 711,000 signatures with county elections offices in a referendum to overturn Senate maps drawn by a 14-member citizens commission.

Californians will decide the fate of the newly drawn Senate districts in November if 504,760 of the signatures are from valid voters. Legislative candidates must file and run their campaigns before then, however, so justices needed to identify district maps to be in effect immediately.

County elections offices face a Feb. 24 deadline for certifying FAIR's referendum signatures. Thus far, they have verified 57,761 of 80,127 signatures checked. If the percentage of valid signatures holds steady, 72 percent, the referendum would qualify for the ballot.

Twenty Senate seats are up for grabs this year - and the results carry high-stakes politically.

GOP officials contend that the new, commission drawn lines would give Democrats a strong chance of gaining two additional seats in the Senate, enough to gain the two-thirds supermajority needed to raise taxes or fees.

"If the current redistricting lines hold with regard to the Senate, the Republicans are going to have an enormously difficult time staying above the one-third threshold," California Republican Party Chairman Tom Del Beccaro told The Bee this week.

"We're going to fight like the dickens to do it," he said, "which is in part why, of course, we went ahead with the referendum process. But it will be enormously difficult."

The Supreme Court noted that the commission met its constitutional duty in drawing the new Senate districts and that submittal of referendum petitions signed by perhaps 5 percent of voters in the last gubernatorial election does not necessarily disqualify them pending a statewide vote.

Justices previously had rejected a FAIR lawsuit that contended the commission's Senate maps illegallydilute Latino voting clout in parts of the state and violate criteria established by voters in a 2008 ballot measure.

The Supreme Court, in today's decision to use the newly drawn Senate maps, considered alternatives that included using former districts in effect from 2002-2010; combining two commission-drawn Assembly districts to form new Senate districts; or amending the commission's approved Senate maps. Its ruling cited timing, constitutional, minority voting rights or other reasons to reject each one.

In selecting the new but contested Senate districts, the high court ruling said that boundary lines seem to comply with voter-approved criteria and are "a product of what generally appears to have been an open, transparent and nonpartisan redistricting process ... We believe these features may properly be viewed as an element favoring use of the commission-certified map."

* Amended at 11:41 a.m. to add reaction from the commission chairman and from leaders of FAIR.

The California Supreme Court will rule Friday on what state Senate district boundary lines will be in effect for this year's legislative elections if a pending referendum qualifies for the ballot.

Justices will post their ruling at 10 a.m. Friday on the court's website, said Lynn Holton, Supreme Court spokeswoman, in a press release.

The matter stems from a referendum attempt by a Republican-backed group, Fairness and Accountability in Redistricting, which opposes new state Senate maps drawn by a citizens commission and has gathered signatures in an effort to overturn them at the ballot box.

Because this year's legislative elections will be held before the group's map challenge could be decided by voters, the Supreme Court must decide which boundary lines will be used if the referendum qualifies for the ballot.

County elections offices currently are counting signatures filed by FAIR to determine whether 504,760 are from valid voters, which would place the newly drawn Senate maps on the November ballot.

The Supreme Court conceivably could order the FAIR-challenged Senate maps to be used this year. Justices also could revive maps that were in effect from 2002-10 or select a special master to draw new districts.

California's legislative and congressional districts were drawn last year, for the first time ever, by a 14-member citizens commission consisting of five Democrats, five Republicans, and four independent or minor-party voters. The Legislature drew political districts in decades past.

* Updated at 2:20 p.m. to add information about the Supreme Court's options and about the structure of the redistricting commission.

An independent committee backed by billionaire investor Nicolas Berggruen announced today that it will support a proposed ballot measure that would make major changes to the state's budget and governance processes.

Berggruen, who previously pledged to spend at least $20 million on the Think Long Committee for California's effort, said the California Forward Issue Action Fund proposal "perfectly reflects both the growing public demand in California for a more accountable government and Think Long's mission of strengthening California's democracy for the long term. "

"We are looking forward to working together with California Forward to take historic steps to increase public confidence in government and are prepared to dedicate ample time and resources to this worthy cause," he said in the statement.

Less than a week after Gov. Jerry Brown claimed widespread business support for his ballot initiative to raise taxes - including donations from big healthcare and oil companies - the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association and California chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business urged business groups this afternoon to resist any effort by Brown to "cajole" them.

"We know that Governor Brown, just through the power of his office alone, can cajole and perhaps even threaten vulnerable businesses," the groups said in an open letter. "It is therefore not lost on us that, under certain circumstances, modest support to help the governor place his measure on the ballot might be viewed a lesser of two evils or, more likely, as an insurance payment. However, on behalf of citizen taxpayers and the small business community, we appeal to your sense of doing what is right for all of California."

The Democratic governor, who is proposing to raise the state sales tax and income taxes on California's highest-earners, has enjoyed a relatively favorable relationship with business interests since taking office, and he met with business groups last week in Southern California. The letter was released on the eve of an appearance by Brown before the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce.

Brown spokesman Gil Duran cited favorable polling for the tax measure - including among Republicans - and dismissed as "a baseless accusation, a hyperventilation meant to generate headlines" the suggestion that business groups might feel threatened by Brown.

The taxpayers association and business federation said the higher taxes proposed by Brown would hurt California's already-shaky economy.

"We also would like to reiterate our belief that when citizen taxpayer groups, small business interests and major corporations stand together for the common good, we constitute a formidable force to prevent a further erosion of California's tax and regulatory climate," the groups said in their letter. "Therefore, representing citizen taxpayers and small businesses in California, we appeal to you and your members to do the right thing and oppose any and all proposed tax increases. As Benjamin Franklin once noted, we must hang together in order to avoid hanging separately."

A preliminary hearing in the federal fraud case against former Democratic treasurer Kinde Durkee has been delayed yet again.

The hearing date, which had been moved from early December to tomorrow at 2 p.m., has been rescheduled for the same time on Feb. 28, according to a document filed with the U.S. District Court in Sacramento.

Durkee has been accused by federal investigators and her former clients of stealing millions of dollars from the campaign and nonprofit accounts she managed. The prominent Burbank-based treasurer was arrested in September and charged with mail fraud for allegedly misappropriating $600,000 from the campaign account of Democratic Assemblyman Jose Solorio. More clients have come forward as potential victims since her arrest, including U.S. Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who says $5 million was taken from her re-election committee account.

A court filing posted today said the delay was requested to give the government more time to sort through evidence collected during its investigation. Durkee, who managed hundreds of accounts, has been accused in criminal and civil court filings of frequently moving money between accounts as part of her embezzlement scheme.

"The parties stipulate that the arrest in this case occurred at a time before the investigation was completed, and that the case is complex given the number of clients of Ms. Durkee and bank accounts involved," the document reads. "The investigation has continued, a significant amount of materials have been acquired, and the government needs additional time to review, analyze and synthesize those materials."

Kinde Durkee hearing delay

U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein has yet to attract a top-tier opponent in her 2012 re-election bid.

California Republican Party Chairman Tom Del Beccaro signaled today that a high-profile GOP challenger to the 78-year-old Democrat could still emerge. He said a "number of people" have expressed interest in the race, with final decisions expected in the coming weeks.

"Right now, point blank, there isn't someone, a major name that has agreed to it," he said in an interview with The Bee Capitol Bureau.

"But I think her polls show that she is vulnerable, and we are hoping to find someone who will break out of the pack," he added. "But as of yet, point blank, I'm not going to snow you, we don't have someone who has made it clear, who is head and shoulders above the rest or a very prominent name."

Santa Monica businessman Al Ramirez became the latest Republican to express interest in the race this week. Ramirez, who ran in the GOP Senate primary last year, announced yesterday that he is opening an exploratory committee and starting to raise money for a run.

Ramirez said that while he is "fairly called a long shot-challenger," he believes the new top-two primary system will help him in his effort to become the state's first Hispanic U.S. senator.

"Hispanic voters, Republicans and Independents understand faith, family and hard work," he said in a statement. "We should come together to uphold the values of freedom that make America great, but there hasn't been a voice to speak to and for each of these sides. It is a void I believe I can fill to put California back on the right track."

Other Republicans currently expected to run are Elizabeth Emken , an advocate for children with autism and 2010 congressional candidate, and Orly Taitz, an activist perhaps best known for her disproved assertions that President Barack Obama is not a U.S. citizen.

Will blue California be a battleground in the November presidential election?

While the Golden State will almost surely go for President Barack Obama in the general election, California Republican Party Chairman Tom Del Beccaro believes that the competitiveness of the race will force the Democratic president to raise -- and spend -- more money in California, diverting time and resources from other key states.

"It will look like a competitive race for a long time, and then I think in the last month things will slip away from Obama, and it's going to require him to spend money in places he otherwise would not want to spend," Del Beccaro said in an interview with The Bee Capitol Bureau today.

"I'm not predicting to you today that we're going to carry California, but I think (Obama) has trouble here, and I think that allows us to provide resources and do other things around the country that will eventually lead to his loss," he added.

Del Beccaro, who has not endorsed a GOP candidate in the presidential race, said he believes it is too early to tell who would give Obama more trouble in California. But the state's top GOP official said that once the "worst of their food fight" for the nomination is over, the battle-tested GOP nominee will be better positioned to defeat the president.

"One of the benefits of this intramural affair is that it forced the Republican candidates to get very definite on what their plans would be, whereas Obama going into the fall is not going to have a plan because his plan is, involves government spending and that's not going to be able to sell," Del Beccaro said.

"He'll have a hodgepodge of we want to do one, or two or three things here, or what you saw last night (during the State of the Union), but it's going to be vague. So I think the detailed plan beats the vagueness in a difficult situation," he added.

That "intramural affair" between GOP frontrunners Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich could extend through California's June 5 primary, giving the state's Republicans more sway in the nomination process, Del Beccaro said.

"If they continue this constant process of debates, then I think it's possible," he said.

Watch a video from Del Beccaro's interview below or check out our Capitol Alert's Facebook page for his answers to questions from our readers. Pick up tomorrow's Bee to read a Q&A with the party chairman.

Former Republican Sen. Sam Aanestad is weighing a run for the Northern California congressional seat being vacated by retiring GOP Rep. Wally Herger.

The Penn Valley Republican said he learned of Herger's decision after returning home from Mexico, where he had been vacationing without access to his cell phone or lap top, several days ago. Since then, he has been "making phone calls to see if there is any support" for a run for the newly drawn 1st Congressional District.

Aanestad, who ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor in 2010, said the addition of a new partner at his Grass Valley oral surgery practice has given him the time and flexibility to run. He said the 12 years he spent serving in overlapping state Senate and Assembly districts makes him a good fit for the House district, which runs from Yuba City to the Oregon border.

"I already know most of the local issues of each of the areas and the people involved in the history," he said. "It wouldn't be much of a learning process in terms of getting up to date on what the issues are for the district."

News that he is considering entering the race was first reported by FlashReport publisher Jon Fleischman on Twitter. GOP Sen. Doug LaMalfa, who succeeded Aanestad in the Senate, has already announced plans to run for the congressional seat with Herger's backing.

RELATED POSTS:

LaMalfa 'moving forward' for Congress run after Herger announcement
Chico Rep. Wally Herger to retire from Congress

Democratic Assemblyman Sandre Swanson has decided not to challenge Democratic Sen. Loni Hancock for the newly drawn 9th Senate District next year, eliminating a potentially costly and divisive same-party battle for the East Bay seat.

In a statement released by the Senate Democratic Caucus, the Alameda Democrat said he would hold off on seeking the Senate seat until 2016, when he plans to run with Hancock's endorsement. Both Swanson and Hancock cited the caucus' efforts to pick up the two seats needed to hold a two-thirds majority in the upper house in the joint statement.

"As Democrats, we must come together to work for the good of all Californians," Swanson, who has now endorsed Hancock, said in a statement. "2012 provides an incredible opportunity for us to achieve a supermajority in the State Senate and that must be every Democrat's top priority."

Swanson, who is termed out of the Assembly this year, had announced in December that he would run for the safe Democratic seat, claiming Hancock had previously promised that she would support him instead of seeking a second term. Hancock thanked Swanson for his support in the statement, saying she "can't think of a better person" to succeed her if she is re-elected next November.

"Nothing is more important," the Berkeley Democrat said in a statement."than having Democrats come together for the greater good."

SD09 Press Release

RELATED POSTS:

Sandre Swanson to challenge Loni Hancock for state Senate

A Democratic candidate for the 18th Assembly District is facing a potential second brush with the law stemming from allegations of violence.

The Oakland Tribune reports that Joel Young, who was accused last year of domestic violence following a dispute with his former girlfriend, is now under investigation for allegedly threatening an Oakland City Council staffer at a Jan. 14 event.

(Jason) Overman, an aide to Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan, filed a police report Friday -- disputed by Young and his girlfriend -- stating that when he greeted Young during the event, Young told him, "Walk away before I beat your (expletive) (expletive), you piece of (expletive)."

Overman, 27, told police that Young, a 34-year-old attorney and former Cal football player, asked him to step outside and then put his face inches from Overman's and said, "You just wait until my campaign is over. I'm going to find you and beat your (expletive) (expletive), you (expletive)."

Young then "made a gurgling sound" and spat in Overman's eye before leaving the bar, according to Overman's account to police.

Young, who had not yet been contacted by authorities Monday, said he had a brief conversation that night with Overman, but denied making any threats. "None of that is true," Young said. "If I wasn't a candidate for the Assembly, I doubt Jason would be doing this."

Young is one of several Democrats expected to run for the vacant East Bay Assembly seat. His current girlfriend, who also attended the event, defended his account, saying Overman was jealous about their relationship, according to the Tribune.

Read the full story at this link.

Republican Tony Amador, a Lodi resident and retired federal marshal, will seek the newly drawn 9th Assembly seat stretching from south Sacramento through Elk Grove to Lodi.

Amador will compete against a field expected to include incumbent Democratic Assemblyman Richard Pan -- who is moving into the district to run - and Elk Grove City Councilwoman Sophia Scherman, a Republican.

Amador said the new district is a perfect fit for him because he lived in Elk Grove for nearly 20 years before moving to Lodi in 2009. Voter registration favors Democrats, however, by 13 percentage points.

Democrats across the state gathered over the weekend to make early picks for candidates the party should support on the June primary ballot.

The pre-endorsement votes, held each election year ahead of the state Democratic Party convention, garnered extra interest this year due to the number of competitive races and the unknowns of running under the top-two primary system, which will send the top two vote-getters, regardless of party, to a November runoff.

A candidate must receive 70 percent of the vote from participants in the pre-endorsement process, which includes Democratic State Central Committee members, county central committee members and representatives of chartered clubs and organizations, to snag a recommendation and a spot on the consent calendar at next month's state party convention in San Diego. Recommendations for districts where one candidate won more than 50 percent of the vote but failed to hit the 70 percent mark will be decided during caucuses at the convention, including the 30th Congressional District showdown between Democratic Reps. Howard Berman and Brad Sherman

In seats where no candidate won more than 50 percent of the vote, such as the Sacramento-area's crowded Assembly District 8 race, no recommendation has been made.

The preliminary results are posted below. A final tally will be released once party officials receive and certify results from the regional meetings.

Preliminary Pre-Endorsement Conference Results

One of former GOP presidential hopeful Rick Perry's most vocal California backers has thrown his support behind former House Speaker Newt Gingrich's campaign.

"I think the people of America want to go back to work more than anything," Assemblyman Dan Logue, R-Penn Valley, said today. "Mr Gingrich has the courage and the intelligence to turn the economy around."

Logue, who founded the Committee to Draft Rick Perry for President last year, had campaigned for the Texas governor in Iowa earlier this month.

He said he decided to endorse Gingrich late last week, after Perry dropped his own campaign and announced he was backing the former House speaker's presidential bid. Logue has now been approached about becoming one of the Gingrich campaign's California chairs.

Logue said he was drawn to both Gingrich's record as House speaker and the fact that he has "gone through many wars."

"He's done some great things, but he has flaws," he said. "I think the times demand a person who has that experience."

While he said he will support the eventual nominee against President Barack Obama in November, he believes Gingrich, who defeated former Massachusetts Gov. and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum in Saturday's South Carolina primary, is the GOP candidate best positioned to "bring the Reagan agenda to the table."

"America needs a bulldog, not a poodle for president," he said.

RELATED STORIES:

California Republicans resign themselves to irrelevancy in the GOP presidential race

GOP lawmakers seek to 'draft' Texan Rick Perry for president

PHOTO CREDIT: Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich speaks at The River Church, Monday, Jan. 23, 2012, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

In the age of smart phones, YouTube and Twitter, a public train car probably isn't the best place to talk campaign strategy.

Assembly candidate Michele Martinez learned that the hard way this week.

The Orange County Democrat, who now serves on the Santa Ana City Council, was apparently dishing on her cellphone about her campaign and other Capitol gossip during a ride from Sacramento to the Bay Area on Thursday morning.

Sitting nearby? Bob Salladay, a veteran political reporter who's now a senior editor for California Watch, a nonprofit investigative news outlet.

When some of her comments suggested that she was "working with" an Indian tribe on independent expenditures -- a potential violation of the Political Reform Act if she was coordinating independent spending that benefited her own campaign, Salladay took notice.

He then began to tweet.

Tax-the-rich measures may be popular, but California fiscal experts can't agree on how much they would raise.

Because wealthy earners have such volatile income streams, the state's two leading fiscal offices already disagree over how much Gov. Jerry Brown's tax plan would generate

The latest example comes from a new state review of the "millionaires tax" backed by the California Federation of Teachers and Courage Campaign. The plan would charge an additional three percentage points on income above $1 million and five percentage points on income above $2 million.

A fiscal review filed last night shows that the Department of Finance believes it would generate about $9.5 billion over 18 months through June 2013. The Legislative Analyst's Office says it would raise only $6 billion. In the next fiscal year, Finance says it would raise $6 billion, while LAO says it would ring in $4 billion.

The two offices submitted their forecasts in a memo they sent to Attorney General Kamala Harris for petition purposes. It was due last Friday, but Harris spokeswoman Lynda Gledhill said the fiscal offices can take more time if they request it. Harris has 15 days to write a title and summary for voters to read before deciding whether to sign a petition.

Brown has a head start on collecting signatures after state officials cleared his measure for signature gathering Wednesday. CFT secretary-treasurer Jeff Freitas said his coalition isn't backing away despite the governor's urging for it to do so.

"We're very much moving forward, securing support," Freitas said. "We have unions and community organizations getting on board. Our initiative is very much the voice of the people. It embodies the Occupy movement going on."

Auto insurance companies will get a second shot at asking California voters to allow them to use a motorist's coverage history when setting rates.

Secretary of State Debra Bowen announced today that the proposed auto insurance pricing initiative has qualified for the November 2012 ballot. Proponents had submitted more than 800,000 voter signatures to election officials late last year.

The measure, backed by the American Agents Alliance, is similar to Proposition 17, the failed June 2010 measure bankrolled by Mercury General. Supporters, who say the change would allow companies to extend existing loyalty discounts to new customers who want to switch providers, have updated this version to address concerns about rates for members of the military and the unemployed.

Critics say the change would result in increased rates for motorists who experience a lapse in coverage.

The auto rate initiative is the third measure to qualify for the general election ballot. The two others are an $11 billion water bond, which was placed on the ballot by the Legislature, and a proposal to prohibit using paycheck deductions such as union dues to collect cash for political spending.

Gov. Jerry Brown can begin collecting signatures on his tax initiative thanks to a timely release by state Attorney General Kamala Harris today.

Minutes before Brown took the podium in the Assembly chambers for his State of the State address, Harris' office issued petition language on his plan to ask voters for a temporary hike in income taxes on the rich and sales taxes.

The governor received a favorable title: "TEMPORARY TAXES TO FUND EDUCATION. GUARANTEED LOCAL PUBLIC SAFETY FUNDING." Brown hopes to frame his initiative as a $6.9 billion increase to pay for schools and public safety, the two highest priority issues for voters.

First Lady Anne Gust Brown and top aide Nancy McFadden said Brown's campaign team would begin collecting signatures today.

The petition language reflects the disparity between the governor's tax projections and those of the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office. Though Brown believes his plan will raise $6.9 billion annually, the analyst thinks it will raise only $4.8 billion in the first budget cycle and $5.5 billion on average at full implementation.

Gov. Jerry Brown scored a tactical victory in his quest to raise taxes Tuesday when the "Think Long Committee for California" decided not to pursue its own tax reform plan this year.

The committee, which was created by billionaire Nicholas Berggruen and counted a number of prominent Californians in its membership, had proposed a massive overhaul of California taxes to reduce revenue volatility. The group was planning for the November ballot.

That complicated Brown's plans to ask voters for a more modest temporary increase in sales and income taxes that he wants to balance the state budget. He and other advocates worried that having a multitude of competing tax measures on the ballot would confuse voters and perhaps lead to rejection of all.

It's still possible, however, that Brown will have competition because Molly Munger, a wealthy civil rights activist, is pursuing a broad income tax increase to bolster public school financing. Brown is trying to persuade her to back away as well.

The Think Long Committee's announcement that it would postpone its measure until 2014 didn't mention the complicated politics of the situation but rather said it was taking more time to refine its tax reform proposal.

"It is clear from public reaction, stakeholder meetings and our own public opinion research that Californians are hungry for real reform and are more willing than ever to support a sweeping plan that is fair and will put an end to California's perpetual financial volatility and suffocating wall of debt," the committee said in a statement. "At the same time, we recognize the practical constraints of the 2012 election calendar - and have come to the conclusion that it will take more time to perfect these proposals, eliminate unintended consequences and provide every stakeholder and everyday Californians a meaningful voice in that process."

Sen. Tony Strickland has made his plans to run for Congress official, launching his campaign at a Camarillo news conference for the newly drawn 26th Congressional District.

The Moorpark Republican decided to enter the race after longtime Rep. Elton Gallegly announced plans to retire. Gallegly, who lives in Simi Valley, had been considering a run in the incumbent-free CD26 after his own home was drawn into the same district as fellow GOP Rep. Buck McKeon.

Strickland, who served three terms in the Assembly before being elected to the state Senate in 2008, cited national security and promoting alternative energy sources as top issues for his campaign.

"I expect the campaign ahead to be spirited but I'm committed to uniting our community; Republicans, Democrats, and Independents behind policies that create jobs and economic opportunity for those struggling to make ends meet," he said in a statement.

The open swing seat has already attracted a half dozen local officials, most of whom are Democrats, as possible candidates, according to an analysis by AroundtheCapitol.com.

Strickland's move opens the door for another Republican to run in the 27th Senate District, a swing seat that is expected to see one of the most contested state legislative races of 2012. Assemblyman Cameron Smyth, R-Santa Clarita, is reportedly considering a run, but is waiting for the Supreme Court to signal what it will do if a referendum of the Senate map qualifies. He would face Sen. Fran Pavley, D-Agoura Hills, and possibly former Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg.

PHOTO CREDIT: Sen. Tony Strickland, R-Thousand Oaks, urges lawmakers to reject a plan to extend a tax increase for another year to help close California's state budget deficit, at the Capitol in Sacramento, June 10, 2011. (AP Photo/ Rich Pedroncelli)

Riverside Democrat Richard D. Roth announced today that he will run for the 31st Senate District, a swing seat that Senate Democrats are targeting as part of their effort to win a two-thirds majority in the upper house.

The attorney and former Air Force officer became the party's choice candidate after efforts to recruit Riverside Mayor Ron Loveridge for the seat were unsuccessful. Loveridge joined local political leaders, such as former state Sen. Robert Presley, in endorsing Roth today.

"As a small businessman and retired Air Force officer, I believe there's one thing our elected leaders can take from our men and women in uniform: public service needs to be about working together to get the job done," Roth said in a statement. "It's time to end the partisan games and focus on the critical mission for Riverside County, creating a climate for real job growth."

Assemblyman Jeff Miller, R-Corona, has emerged as the GOP's top candidate for the seat. Former Democratic Assemblyman Steve Clute also launched a campaign for the seat last year.

PHOTO CREDIT: Richard Roth, courtesy of U.S. Air Force

The political shootout of the year, at least in Southern California, is the duel between two veteran Democratic congressmen who were thrown into the same district by the independent redistricting commission, Howard Berman and Brad Sherman.

Their high-octane contest in the new 30th Congressional District has divided Los Angeles' Jewish and labor communities. As it turns out, it has also stirred the embers of a bitter, 32-year-old battle in the state Capitol over the speakership of the state Assembly.

In 1980, Berman, then a state assemblyman, tried to oust fellow Democrat Leo McCarthy, who had become speaker six years earlier. That led to a year-long conflict that eventually ended in a draw. Willie Brown -- whom McCarthy had defeated for speaker in 1974 -- succeeded his old rival, elected over Berman by McCarthy Democrats and Republicans.

After logging an estimated 500 events and more than 200 days in the Granite State, California Republican Fred Karger has survived the first contest of his presidential campaign.

"I made it," Karger said today. "I'm still standing!"

Karger, who has made headlines for being the only openly gay candidate in the GOP presidential race, came in eighth place in last night's New Hampshire primary, with current counts showing he won 485 votes.

A last-minute surge in the final tally allowed him to meet his goal of edging out Michele Bachmann, the Minnesota congresswoman who dropped out of the race after the Iowa caucuses.

"A lot of people like to vote for someone who has a shot at winning," he said of the results. "But I'm very proud of the votes I got."

Karger plans to return to his home in Southern California for a few days before heading back to the trail to begin campaigning for his next contest -- Michigan's Feb. 28 primary.

"I never intended to be on 50 state ballots because we're a lean, mean machine here, and so I wanted to compete in states where I have a chance," he said.

The pro-choice, pro-gay-marriage candidate is hoping the whittling of the field will allow him to finally secure a spot in a national debate in the coming weeks. While he faces long odds to make it to the White House, the former political consultant to President Ronald Reagan says that as long as there's a race for president, he'll be in it.

"I will not continue forward if it's a done deal," he said of the prospect of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney clinching the nomination. "But if Ron Paul continues or (Jon) Huntsman or (Newt) Gingrich catches fire and there is a two- or three- or four-person race, I am going to be nipping at their heels."

Editor's note. This post was updated to reflect final results putting Karger in eighth place, ahead of Bachmann. An earlier tally had him trailing Bachmann by several votes.

PHOTO CREDIT: Fred Karger. Bryan Patrick / Sacramento Bee file, 2010.

Campaign musical chairs caused by the state's new political maps have put Assemblyman Dan Logue on the move again.

Logue told The Bee earlier this year that he had moved to a home he owns in Penn Valley both to be eligible to run in the newly drawn 1st Assembly District and to improve his commute to the Capitol. Staying put in his current Linda residence would have left him to run against fellow GOP Assemblyman Jim Nielsen.

But Nielsen announced Tuesday that he will pass on running for re-election in the lower house, instead waiting to run for the 4th Senate District, which will be up for grabs in a special election if Richvale Republican Doug LaMalfa wins election to Congress in November.

"Rather than forcing the taxpayers to spend millions on another special election to fill his (Assembly) seat if he is elected to the Senate, he has chosen to forgo his election this year," Nielsen spokesman David Reade said of the Gerber Republican's plans.

That decision opened the door for Logue to change course and run in the 3rd Assembly District, which includes a large chunk of territory he currently represents.

State law requires that candidates be registered to vote in the district they seek to represent, so Logue will have to move yet again ahead of his 2012 campaign. But finding somewhere to live in the new district shouldn't be a problem, said Logue, who will have to re-register to vote at the new address before formally filing his candidacy papers.

"I have 10 houses in the 3rd Assembly District, so I am just going to pick one of the houses that I already own and we will be residing there," Logue said.

Logue hasn't ruled out running for the state Senate if LaMalfa's seat opens up, meaning a Nielsen vs. Logue matchup could still be in the cards for next year.

"It's presumptuous to believe that that seat's available," he said, "If the seat does become available, I would definitely take a hard look at it."

RELATED STORIES:
California redistricting means many lawmakers might move
As Rep. Wally Herger signals retirement, Sen. Doug LaMalfa is poised to move up

PHOTO CREDIT: Assemblyman Dan Logue, R-Linda, confers with colleague Tom Berryhill, R-Modesto, on the Assembly floor onFeb. 8, 2010. Hector Amezcua, Sacramento Bee.

Rep. Wally Herger, R-Chico, announced his retirement Tuesday, ending more than three decades of representing the Sacramento Valley in Congress and the state Legislature.

The 66-year-old staunch conservative said he was prepared to be a homebody after years of traveling.

"We want to spend more time with the grandkids." Herger said in a telephone interview. "We just think it's time to begin spending more time with our family."

Herger and his wife have 11 grandchildren, and a 12th is on the way.

Herger's retirement after 13, mostly low-key terms in the House sets the stage for a congressional run by state Sen. Doug LaMalfa, R-Richvale, among others. LaMalfa starts as a presumptively strong candidate in the safely Republican and newly renumbered 1st Congressional District, which stretches from Yuba City to the Oregon border.

While acknowledging that "I'm sure there will be a number of candidates," Herger said LaMalfa "has my endorsement and full support," and LaMalfa's upcoming campaign will be run by Herger's own consultant, Dave Gilliard.

"We're moving forward with the campaign," LaMalfa said by telephone Tuesday. "We're already in pretty good shape with the (district's) constituents already knowing me."

A native of tiny Rio Oso in Sutter County, where he still owns a house and ranchland, Herger first won election to a school board position before winning a state Assembly seat in 1980. In 1986, he won election to a House seat that he has held ever since; largely, with relative ease.

In 2010, Herger beat his Democratic opponent by a comfortable 57-43 percent margin.

"It's the end of an era," said former Rep. John Doolittle, a Rocklin Republican who first met Herger three decades ago. "Wally's been running for office every other year since 1980, and it's wearing, year after year, to do that. I think his life is about to get much better."

About a month before state Senate candidates must file for the June primary election, the California Supreme Court wrestled Tuesday with which district boundaries should be used if a pending referendum qualifies for the ballot.

A decision by the high court is expected this month on the issue, created by the filing of more than 711,000 signatures by a Republican-backed group seeking to overturn new Senate maps drawn by the state's citizens redistricting commission.

In a 75-minute hearing, justices focused on technical issues, including whether they can only rule if the referendum is "likely to qualify" and what standard should be used to measure that.

Justices also questioned attorneys for the redistricting commission, the secretary of state's office and the Republican-backed group that led the drive -- Fairness and Accountability in Redistricting (FAIR) -- about options if the court decides to intervene.

It's looking more and more likely that former Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg will seek the newly drawn 27th Senate District.

The Sherman Oaks businessman fueled ongoing speculation about his plans in public comments this week, telling the Los Angeles Daily News that the Southern California swing seat is "perfectly suited to me."

"If the lines stay the way they are, I am certainly very interested in running," he told The Bee Tuesday.

Hertzberg's entry into the race would set up a challenge with Sen. Fran Pavley, a liberal Democrat known for her work on environmental issues. That would mean bucking Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, who has already thrown his support behind the incumbent Agoura Hills Democrat.

By Michael Doyle
mdoyle@mcclatchydc.com

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Wally Herger, R-Chico, is announcing his retirement today, ending more than three decades of representing the Sacramento Valley in Congress and the state Legislature.

Herger's retirement after 13, mostly low-key terms in the House sets the stage for a congressional run by state Sen. Doug LaMalfa, R-Richvale. LaMalfa will be the prohibitive favorite in the safely Republican and newly renumbered 1st Congressional District, which stretches from Auburn to the Oregon border.

"He's going to announce that he's retiring, and that he's endorsing Sen. LaMalfa," Herger's campaign consultant Dave Gilliard said an interview Tuesday.

Gilliard said that Herger had begun informing his congressional staff "around Christmas" of his impending retirement plans, and that he anticipates "spending more time with his grandkids."

"He has 11 grandchildren," Gilliard noted, adding that Herger "has been in Congress a long time, and he doesn't want to do the cross-country commute anymore.

With less than six months to go until the June primary, viable Republican challengers to Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein aren't exactly rushing to file nomination papers.

Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the No. 3 ranking House Republican, suggested Monday that fellow House Republican David Dreier could be a formidable challenger.

"He's a good member. He has probably statewide name ID, more so, having served," the Bakersfield Republican told a group of reporters Monday. "I think he's very smart, he's smart on issues. I think he'd be a big contrast."

Few political insiders believe Dreier, whose own congressional re-election prospects have been complicated by redistricting, actually plans to challenge Feinstein this year. He dramatically scaled back campaign operations and posted anemic fundraising numbers last year. A spokesperson could not be reached for comment on his plans Monday.

McCarthy, who was in Sacramento to speak at a Public Policy Institute of California luncheon, shopped short of endorsing a bid by Dreier, saying a "lot of people," including GOP Rep. Darrell Issa, have the name recognition to run against the 78-year-old incumbent Democrat.

"I really believe if you challenged Feinstein, and made a real race of it and go up and down the state, I just don't think she has the same passion she once had. I look at the numbers, her numbers are not where they should be," he said, referring to recent polling numbers putting Feinstein's job approval at under 50 percent.

As for Elizabeth Emken, the nonprofit executive who threw her hat in the ring late last year? McCarthy said she too has a "good chance," despite coming in fourth in a GOP congressional primary in 2010.

"Abraham Lincoln lost a race for the Senate, served one term in the House, became president," he said. "Barack Obama was a state senator, ran, wasn't favored. He actually lost his race for Congress in the primary by 30 percentage points. There's opportunity."

Civil rights attorney Molly Munger has contributed $500,000 toward her tax initiative to raise $10 billion annually for education, the first significant cash backing a measure that competes with Gov. Jerry Brown's tax proposal, according to a campaign statement posted today.

Munger wants to raise income taxes on all but the poorest residents, with progressively higher rates up the income scale. She has filed two versions of her initiative; one would give the money entirely to education, another would provide $3 billion in state budget relief on top of money for schools.

The money flowed in two contributions for $100,000 and $400,000 to the new "Our Children, Our Future," campaign committee.

The Democratic governor and his aides are trying to convince other tax proponents to shelve their proposals, for fear that voters will be confused and vote down all tax plans. But Munger still indicates she will move forward. The donations marking the latest sign. Munger, an attorney and daughter of billionaire Charles Munger, has significant wealth to help finance the initiative.

It remains early. The major tax proponents - Brown, Munger and California Federation of Teachers - must still wait to obtain ballot language from state Attorney General Kamala Harris before they can gather signatures. At that point, each group would likely have to spend $3 million or more on signature gatherers to qualify their measures.

Brown has raised more than $1.2 million so far, campaign statements show.

The state's top fiscal analyst says Gov. Jerry Brown's tax hike would raise $2.1 billion less than he is banking on to balance his new budget, requiring deeper cuts than the governor proposed or more revenues if lawmakers use that estimate.

The Democratic governor is counting on a voter-approved tax increase on sales and the wealthy to generate $6.9 billion for the 2012-13 budget. But the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office says Brown's plan would raise only $4.8 billion in the first budget cycle.

The Analyst's Office and Department of Finance included their separate projections in a joint letter to Attorney General Kamala Harris that is required for ballot preparation.

"The volatility described above makes it difficult to forecast this measure's state revenue gains from high-income taxpayers," stated a joint letter from Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor and Brown's Department of Finance Director Ana Matosantos, after describing how unpredictable state tax revenues have become. "As a result, the estimates from our two offices of this measure's annual revenue increases vary."

GOP Rep. Elton Gallegly announced today that he won't run for re-election in 2012, clearing the way for a possible congressional bid by state Sen. Tony Strickland, R-Moorpark.

Gallegly, 67, told Politico in a statement today that he will end his 25-year run in Congress instead of seeking another term. The state's new political maps had left him with the option of running against fellow GOP Rep. Buck McKeon or seeking the newly drawn 26th Congressional District, a competitive Ventura County seat with a Democratic registration edge.

Strickland, who has been widely expected to jump in the 26th Congressional District race if Gallegly bowed out, told The Bee late last year that he had yet to make a final decision on his election plans. His campaign consultant declined to comment on his 2012 plans in an email to The Bee.

"Congressman Gallegly has served our community with distinction and honor. We are grateful for his service and wish him the very best," Strickland wrote in a tweet.

A Strickland congressional run would be welcome news to Senate Democrats in the current 27th Senate District . Under the current maps, Strickland would likely face Democratic Sen. Fran Pavley in what was expected to be one of this year's top state legislative battles. The Senate maps, which have been targeted by a referendum effort, could still change. The state Supreme Court is holding a hearing on Tuesday on the issue.

Read the full Politico story here.

Democrat Larry Miles is entering the fray in an already crowded race for an open Assembly seat in east Sacramento County.

Miles, an attorney and member of the San Juan Unified School District Board of Education, announced today that he will run for the newly drawn 8th Assembly District. Miles said he decided to run after Assemblywoman Alyson Huber, D-El Dorado Hills, announced that she would not seek re-election to the seat.

The Sacramento Democrat believes his two decades of living in the Arden-Arcade area and the seven years he has spent representing a portion of the new district on the school board will give him an edge with voters in June. He plans to make public education a top issue in his campaign.

"I think that my experience, my background as a mediator, a school board member, as someone who represents small business all come into play," he said in an interview.

Miles ran unsuccessfully in the 2010 Democratic primary for the former 5th Assembly District, losing to now-Assemblyman Richard Pan, D-Sacramento, by about 18 percentage points. He said he believes the ability for Republicans and decline-to-state voters who have supported him for school board to cast a ballot for his primary bid under the top-two primary system will help his campaign this time around.

A roughly two-point registration advantage for Democrats is expected to make the seat a top target next year.

The race has already attracted several other candidates, including Democrats Ken Cooley, a Rancho Cordova councilman, and Chris Parker, a Franchise Tax Board attorney, and Republican Peter Tateishi, chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Dan Lungren. Republican businessman Jon Bagatelos, also a former Assembly candidate, is also weighing a run.

Photo courtsey of Larry Miles.

GOP Sen. Sam Blakeslee has started publicly signaling that he might not run for re-election this year.

The San Luis Obispo Republican told Bee sister paper The San Luis Obispo Tribune that his decision is tied to the fate of the new district maps drawn by the independent Citizens Redistricting Commission.

Democrats now hold a 16-point registration edge over Republicans in the central coast swing seat Blakeslee won in a 2010 special election. But critics of the new Senate maps have collected hundreds of thousands of voter signatures in an attempt to ask voters to reject the districts next fall. If the referendum qualifies, the decision of whether to use the newly drawn Senate map this year will be left up to the state Supreme Court, which is scheduled to hold a hearing next week on the issue.

The former Assembly GOP leader said if the current maps prevail, he is unlikely to run for a second term in what is now the 17th Senate District.

"I want my community to understand that by making this decision, I'm not walking away from a fight," Blakeslee told The Tribune. "But I'm not willing to lose the entire last year in office in (a vain) pursuit of office. I'm 100 percent engaged to make sure this last year is the most impactful as it possibly can be."

Blakeslee's decision not to run, which has been rumored for some time, would ease the path for Senate Democrats to come one seat closer to a two-thirds majority in the upper house. The only prominent declared candidate in the race so far is Assemblyman Bill Monning, D-Carmel, who announced in August his own bid for the upper house.

Read the full Tribune story at this link.

RELATED POSTS:
Interactive map: See your new California legislative and congressional districts

PHOTO CREDIT: Sen. Sam Blakeslee, R-San Luis Obispo at a March 2011 legislative hearing. Hector Amezcua, Sacramento Bee.

Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is teaching at Stanford University these days, and this afternoon she was just getting back from the Fiesta Bowl, which Stanford lost Monday on two missed field goals by a redshirt freshman, one at the end of regulation and one in overtime.

"I felt so bad for the kid, I really did," Rice said in a telephone interview. "But all in all, it was a wonderful ... this has been a great team."

This afternoon, Rice will turn her attention from football to the Iowa caucuses. She is occasionally mentioned as a potential Republican vice presidential pick, but she said she has no interest.

"I'm a policy person, not a politician," Rice said, "and they really are two different breeds."

Rice is a member of the Think Long Committee for California, which has proposed a ballot initiative to raise tax revenue by extending the state sales tax to services and to effect other tax changes, including reducing personal income tax rates and reducing the corporate tax rate.

The proposal is one of a number of tax proposals that Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown is trying to clear from the November ballot, believing his own tax plan will have a better chance of success if it is the only option. Former Gov. Gray Davis, who is also a member of the Think Long Committee, said last week that the group is considering a range of options, including delaying the measure or modifying it to accommodate Brown.

Rice declined to opine upon Brown's tax plan. But she had plenty to say about California elections.

"I think the California ballot is confusing enough," she said. "Every time I vote in California, and the whole referendum process, I really have my reservations about it. Because I tell you, I think I'm an informed voter, and I sometimes have to read the measures six or seven times, and then sometimes I still don't understand them. So, I worry about the complexity of the California ballot, yes."

PHOTO CREDIT: In this Jan. 16, 2009, file photo, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice smiles during her last briefing at the State Department in Washington. (AP Photo/ Lauren Victoria Burke, File)

California's campaign finance and lobbying disclosure database got back up and running in time for the New Year.

Cal-Access went back online at 5:54 p.m. on Friday, according to a spokeswoman for Secretary of State Debra Bowen, ending a month of technical troubles that had blocked online filings and public access to the reporting database for all but 30 hours since November 30.

"Thank you for your patience during the outage," Nicole Winger wrote in an email. "Although Secretary of State staff were able to serve reporters, filers and researchers in many ways while CAL-ACCESS was offline, we understand Internet availability of this system is extremely important and the inconvenience was frustrating. "

Staff at the secretary of state's office had been working since mid-December on three separate routes for restoring access to 12-year-old system. Winger was not immediately available for comment on which approach brought the site back online.

The secretary of state's office has cautioned that a permanent fix would require more funding to build a replacement from scratch. Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, said last month that he will introduce legislation this year to increase filing fees for lobbyists to raise money for the electronic filing system.

RELATED POSTS:

California website's glitches block online tracking of campaign donations
MEMO: Secretary of state staff tries three fixes for Cal-Access

Editor's note: An earlier version of this post incorrectly stated that the site went back online at 5:45. It went live at 5:54.

With just five months until the June primary, legislative contests around California are starting to heat up.

While candidates weren't able to begin the formal process of filing for office until today, when candidate papers can first be pulled, many legislative hopefuls have already spent months raising cash, securing endorsements and plotting their path to potential victory.

The decennial redistricting process and first election under the state's new top-two primary system has produced a new list of competitive state legislative districts that are being closely watched by political junkies on both sides of the aisle. The stakes are high, especially in the Senate, where Democrats see an opportunity to reach a coveted two-thirds majority.

Capitol Alert has compiled a roundup of battles we're keeping tabs on in the early stages of the primary campaign. Because the candidate papers have yet to be filed, we've listed only the declared or expected entrants on our radar so far.

You can send your suggestions for contests or candidates we might have missed, or predictions about the outcome of these races, to tvanoot@sacbee.com.

Read installment five -- on Senate District 25 and Senate District 31 -- after the jump. You'll find previous installments at this link.

With just five months until the June primary, legislative contests around California are starting to heat up.

While candidates haven't been able to begin the formal process of filing for office until today, when candidate papers can first be pulled, many legislative hopefuls have already spent months raising cash, securing endorsements and plotting their path to potential victory.

The decennial redistricting process and first election under the state's new top-two primary system has produced a new list of competitive state legislative districts that are being closely watched by political junkies on both sides of the aisle. The stakes are high, especially in the Senate, where Democrats see an opportunity to reach a coveted two-thirds majority.

Capitol Alert has compiled a roundup of battles we're keeping tabs on in the early stages of the primary campaign. Because the candidate papers have yet to be filed, we've listed only the declared or expected entrants on our radar so far.

You can send your suggestions for contests or candidates we might have missed, or predictions about the outcome of these races, to tvanoot@sacbee.com.

Read installment four -- on Senate District 27 and Assembly District 50 -- after the jump. You'll find previous installments at this link.

With just five months until the June primary, legislative contests around California are starting to heat up. While candidates can't begin the formal process of filing for office until Friday, when candidate papers can first be pulled, many legislative hopefuls have already spent months raising cash, securing endorsements and plotting their path to potential victory.

The decennial redistricting process and first election under the state's new top-two primary system has produced a new list of competitive state legislative districts that are being closely watched by political junkies on both sides of the aisle. The stakes are high, especially in the Senate, where Democrats see an opportunity to reach a coveted two-thirds majority.

Capitol Alert has compiled a roundup of battles we're keeping tabs on in the early stages of the primary campaign. Because the candidate papers have yet to be filed, we've listed only the declared or expected entrants on our radar so far.

You can send your suggestions for contests or candidates we might have missed, or predictions about the outcome of these races, to tvanoot@sacbee.com.

Read installment three -- on Senate District 19 and Assembly District 40 -- after the jump. You'll find previous installments at this link.

With just five months until the June primary, legislative contests around California are starting to heat up.

While candidates can't begin the formal process of filing for office until Friday, when candidate papers can first be pulled, many legislative hopefuls have already spent months raising cash, securing endorsements and plotting their path to potential victory.

The decennial redistricting process and first election under the state's new top-two primary system has produced a new list of competitive state legislative districts that are being closely watched by political junkies on both sides of the aisle. The stakes are high, especially in the Senate, where Democrats see an opportunity to reach a coveted two-thirds majority.

Capitol Alert has compiled a roundup of battles we're keeping tabs on in the early stages of the primary campaign. Because the candidate papers have yet to be filed, we've listed only the declared or expected entrants on our radar so far.

You can send your suggestions for contests or candidates we might have missed, or predictions about the outcome of these races, to tvanoot@sacbee.com.

Read installment two -- on Senate District 9 and Assembly District 39 -- after the jump. You'll find previous installments at this link.

State Sen. Michael Rubio announced today that he will not run for Congress next year after all.

The 34-year-old East Bakersfield Democrat had been eying a bid for the newly drawn 21st Congressional District in which Democrats hold a 10 percentage point advantage in voter registration.

Rubio, elected to the Senate last year, said he looks forward to staying in the Legislature, where he is eligible to serve seven more years and is not slated for re-election until 2014.

In turning thumbs down on a congressional bid, Rubio said in a written statement that the recent birth of his second child, with "Down Syndrome," was "truly a gift" that reminded him of priorities in life. His family needs him more today than Congress does, he said.

Rubio was not available to comment, but issued a brief statement that said, in part:

"When the day comes that (my daughter) may read this statement, all I can say to her is 'thank you,' for she has reminded me that priorities in life should always be God, family and then career."

With just five months until the June primary, legislative contests around California are starting to heat up.

While candidates can't begin the formal process of filing for office until Friday, when candidate papers can first be pulled, many legislative hopefuls have already spent months raising cash, securing endorsements and plotting their path to potential victory.

The decennial redistricting process and first election under the state's new top-two primary system has produced a new list of competitive state legislative districts that are being closely watched by political junkies on both sides of the aisle. The stakes are high, especially in the Senate, where Democrats see an opportunity to reach a coveted two-thirds majority.

Capitol Alert has compiled a roundup of battles we're keeping tabs on in the early stages of the primary campaign. Because the candidate papers have yet to be filed, we've listed only the declared or expected entrants on our radar so far.

You can send your suggestions for contests or candidates we might have missed, or predictions about the outcome of these races, to tvanoot@sacbee.com.

Read installment one -- on Senate District 5 and Assembly District 8 -- after the jump: