Jeff Burum
Posted: 03/06/2010 05:34:36 PM PST

The first casualty of politics is always the truth. Still, the recent accusations leveled against me and my business partners by politicians in an election year, unsupported by any meaningful evidence, have reached an unconscionable new low and need to be responded to with actual facts.

The Inland Empire has been my home for almost 30 years. I went to college here, worked here, built homes for more than 30,000 families and created thousands of jobs for the people here. I also founded National Community Renaissance, one of the nation’s largest and most respected nonprofit developers of affordable housing. I’ve always played by the rules, striving to do well and do good for my community.

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Bill Postmus

Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Created: 03/06/2010 09:14:16 PM PST

In 2008, the San Bernardino County Grand Jury released a scathing report of the Assessor’s Office, citing egregious hiring practices and a lack of qualified staff under the reign of then-Assessor Bill Postmus.

It triggered a criminal investigation by the District Attorney’s Office that ultimately led to Postmus’ downfall.

Postmus came under fire for hiring political consultant and friend Michael Richman to do public relations work for the office under a no-bid purchase order contract.

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Meg Whitman

By Jack Chang
jchang@sacbee.com
Published: Sunday, Mar. 7, 2010 – 12:00 am | Page 1A

In the thick of a Detroit winter in 1997, Meg Whitman grappled with what she acknowledges was the least successful chapter of her professional life.

She was leaving her first-ever CEO posting, at the floral company FTD, after two disappointing years struggling to turn a profit.

Adding to the burden of the job was the commute to see her young family in Boston and the suspicion of layoff-weary employees.

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Ruby Simpson
Posted: 03/06/2010 05:33:19 PM PST

Being an opponent of limits on campaign contributions is a little like being a porcupine in the balloon store – I better be really careful where I step.

In the face of wide and deep corruption in San Bernardino County, it’s easy to say we should put a limit on campaign contributions. Since I am always painfully aware of the law of unintended consequences, however, I do not think limiting contributions is a good idea. When I heard District Attorney Mike Ramos talk about his plan to clean up political corruption, I was extremely impressed with certain aspects of it, but turned thumbs down on limiting campaign contributions for a number of reasons.

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Robert M. Stern
Posted: 03/06/2010 05:34:36 PM PST

San Bernardino District Attorney Michael Ramos needs to be commended for proposing several new campaign finance proposals covering county elections. While Ramos’ ideas won’t eliminate corruption or venal behavior, they would go a long ways toward restoring some faith in San Bernardino government. But I am skeptical about whether the county supervisors will pass any of these reforms despite the scandals that have repeatedly occurred.

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THE WEEK

Poizner takes a different tack, moving to the right in search of a conservative base.

By Cathleen Decker

March 7, 2010

Their battle for governor joined, front runners Meg Whitman and Jerry Brown raced last week to find the sweet spot that has guaranteed election in all recent California political contests. Although that place has undoubtedly skittered somewhat since the last election, it still resides in the middle ground of California politics, as was evident in the forays of the leading candidates.

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By Dan Morain, Senior editor
dmorain@sacbee.com The Sacramento Bee
Published: Sunday, Mar. 7, 2010 – 12:00 am | Page 1E

Politics can be a good business. Just look at the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.

Jarvis has been dead for a quarter century. But the organization that bears his names occupies a profitable niche, one that includes opposing taxes, promoting initiatives and endorsing politicians.

Jarvis was a tea partier long before the anti-government and anti-tax movement took on its current name. Now, his mad-as-hell message is part of the Republican establishment, almost always aligned with Chamber of Commerce and real estate interests, and often with tobacco, oil, gambling and other big businesses.

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As lawmakers react to a Supreme Court decision that struck down a portion of election funding laws, the fate of U.S. subsidiaries is uncertain.
By Clement Tan

March 7, 2010

Reporting from Washington – Proposed legislation to block foreign companies from contributing money to U.S. elections could end up affecting well-known companies such as Chrysler, Anheuser-Busch and Citgo, according to legal experts and company representatives.

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Furloughs are expected to save the state $1.2 billion this fiscal year. But last year some workers more than offset those cuts with increased overtime.

By Patrick McGreevy

March 6, 2010 | 8:18 p.m.

Reporting from Sacramento – Like many other state employees, prison nurse Nellie Larot was hit last year with furloughs that cut her salary: It dropped $10,000, to $92,000.

But she more than made up for it by working extra shifts, raking in $177,512 in overtime, according to state records. Her total $270,000 in earnings last year eclipsed the $225,000 paid to Matthew Cate, head of the entire state prison system.

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BY BROOKE EDWARDS
STAFF WRITER

VICTORVILLE • Though the two incumbents are off to a slow start, City Council challenging candidate Angela Valles has already raised nearly $16,000 to make a run in the Nov. 2 election.

Neither incumbent Councilwoman JoAnn Almond or Councilman Terry Caldwell raised a penny for their campaigns in 2009, according to finance forms filed with the city, and they didn’t spend much either.

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McEachron

McEachron still brings in the most donations
BY BROOKE EDWARDS
STAFF WRITER

VICTORVILLE • Though he’s not up for re-election again until 2012, Councilman Ryan McEachron easily raised and spent the most money in 2009 of any sitting or challenging Victorville candidate.

McEachron brought in more than $40,000 last year. Most of those funds went to repay more than $50,000 in loans he’d taken from his own ISU-ARMAC Insurance Agency to fund his successful campaign efforts in 2008.

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