Wednesday, May 23, 2012 – 09:45 a.m.

More independent money is continuing to flow into the race to represent the 8th Congressional District this week.

The Spirit of Democracy America PAC threw another expenditure of $16,655 in support of Assembly Paul Cook (R-Yucca Valley).

The committees second expenditure this week.

The Jobs Opportunity and Freedom PAC also spent another $23,115 in support of County Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt (R-Wrightwood).

Ramos

Wednesday, May 23, 2012 – 09:30 a.m.

It sure looks as if San Manuel Band of Mission Indians Tribal Member and San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors candidate James Ramos’ campaign is pulling out all the stops in the final days running up to the June 5 primary.

Ramos is seeking to unseat Supervisor Neil Derry in the three-way contest.

Defense Department employee Jim Bagley is the third candidate.

Polls, in both Derry and Ramos camps, indicate Ramos may be in for some level of embarrassment in two weeks.

What level remains to be seen.

But weak support for Ramos in the low thirty-percent area won’t cut it in any way.

One thing is for sure. Ramos will be the first candidate, since bill former Assessor Bill Postmus, to spend upwards of $1 million in a primary contest, place second, and possibly face a runoff at best.

Postmus was successful in his bid.

But Ramos has many demographic factors working against him.

The largest of which is partisan party registration.

Ramos has been frantically trying to appeal to republican voters to throw Derry out.

A move that’s not working.

First. Republican registration dwarfs democrat by large 13% in the Third District.

Second. Ramos’ preferential tax treatment, because of his soverign tribal status, pisses people off.

Third. Ramos has no clue as to what a county supervisor does.

The latest sign of desperation in Ramos land?

Ramos had a information tent at Cal State – San Bernardino on Tuesday.

Not that there are really any votes to garner at the college campus. But I guess it makes for a good waste of time.

The message from the likely-paid Ramos representatives?

Neil Derry is a convicted felon!

Yep! That was the big message being conveyed to class go-er’s.

Desperate times do require desperate measures.

BY BEN GOAD
WASHINGTON BUREAU
bgoad@pe.com

Published: 22 May 2012 06:56 PM

A high-stakes showdown with national implications is brewing in the San Bernardino Valley, where six candidates are vying to represent California’s newly drawn 31st Congressional District.

No House race in the country on the regular 2012 election schedule has attracted more outside spending than the 31st, which stretches from Redlands to Rancho Cucamonga and includes San Bernardino, Loma Linda, Grand Terrace, Colton and parts of Fontana and Rialto. Special interests have pumped more than $900,000 into the race.

Democratic Party leaders in Washington see the seat as key in their quest to win back control of the House, and Republicans say they are resolved to stop them.

“It’s a must-win for Democrats,” said David Wasserman, an analyst specializing in House races for the Cook Political Report. “It’s not as critical a hold for Republicans, but they’d like to keep it.”

Two Republicans are running for the seat: Rep. Gary Miller, R-Diamond Bar, and state Sen. Bob Dutton, R-Rancho Cucamonga. On the Democratic side, there are four candidates: Redlands Mayor Pete Aguilar, Loma Linda attorney Justin Kim, nonprofit founder Renea Wickman and retired educator Rita Ramirez-Dean.

Under California’s new primary system, the top two vote-getters will advance past the June 5 primary, regardless of their party affiliation.

THE NARRATIVE

Reps. Joe Baca and Jerry Lewis, who together have represented the San Bernardino Valley for more than a decade, both reside in the 31st district. But neither is running for re-election there.

After California’s redistricting commission drew new political lines last summer, Baca, D-Rialto, opted to run in the adjacent and more solidly Democratic 35th district. In January, Lewis, R-Redlands, announced plans to step away from politics at the end of the year.

Lewis’ departure created an opening for Miller, whose home district had been redrawn. He quickly jumped into the race, saying he planned to move to Rancho Cucamonga anyway.

Dutton, who will be termed out of the state Senate, also announced a bid for the seat, creating an intra-GOP tussle. Dutton has the advantage of living in the district, and voters there are used to seeing his name on the ballot.

Miller, meanwhile, has a large fundraising advantage and won endorsements from both the National Republican Congressional Committee and the state Republican Party, thanks in part to his status as an incumbent.

Both candidates have also received support from Super-PACs and other outside groups that have injected large sums of money into the race. While state and federal law sets limits on contributions to candidates, Super-PACs are allowed to raise and spend unlimited amounts through independent expenditures.

The National Realtors Association has spent more than $700,000 on TV ads, polling, consulting and other services in support of Miller through its congressional fund and political action committee. A Super-PAC known as Inland Taxpayers for Jobs has spent more than $50,000 in support of Dutton.

To read entire story, click here.

Kristina Hernandez, Staff Writer
Posted: 05/22/2012 08:55:18 PM PDT

MENTONE – The economy and possible tax increases under Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration were two hot topics Republican Party Chairman Tom Del Beccaro addressed Tuesday night at the Mill Creek Cattle Co.

The talk was part of the party’s bus stop tour to address voters in other counties throughout the state and answer their questions and concerns about government on a state and local level.

Del Beccaro was joined on stage by KTIE 590 personalities Lou Desmond and Heidi Harris as the discussion was broadcast simultaneously on the station.

The chairman started the discussion by addressing the two proposed tax increases on the June 5 ballot. He believes that the current job market has caused such a huge budget deficit because there are no jobs available to those who could be paying taxes or sales taxes the state desperately needs.

“We have so many people not working and they’re not part of the system anymore,” he said. “So we have these deficits because Jerry Brown does not have an idea to bring back jobs to California.”

Del Beccaro blamed over-taxing and over-regulation from the state government why the demand for jobs will not return to the state. Another factor is that, home values which have been “destroyed.”

Del Beccaro said it was important for him to leave Sacramento and travel the state to hear from concerned voters whose voices are not being heard up north and he was tired of hearing the voices of only politicians. Many in the audience shook their heads in agreement.

Terry Klenske, owner of Dalton Trucking, addressed Del Beccaro and the audience by answering questions about his business, and jobs that have been affected.

He purchased the company in 1977 as a hobby with three trucks on his fleet. Today, he has 250 employees and 140 trucks.

He talked about how the passing of Assembly Bill 32 hurt his business when regulations were put in place regulating cement manufacturing.

To read entire story, click here.

Sandra Emerson, Staff Writer
Created: 05/22/2012 12:15:41 PM PDT

UPLAND – Planning commissioner and real estate broker Bill Velto has announced his intention to run for City Council in November.

Velto, vice president and managing broker for Tarbell Realtors, is seeking to fill a council seat that will be left vacant when Councilman Ken Willis retires at the end of his term.

“I’m certain my relationships within the Inland Empire will lead to additional business coming to Upland. With additional business comes additional revenue,” Velto said.

He has lived in the city for more than 50 years and has been in the real estate industry in Upland for more than 20 years.

Velto employs more than 105 agents in Upland and his escrow company employs an additional 14 people.

To read entire story, click here.

Dan Walters

By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com
Published: Wednesday, May. 23, 2012 – 12:00 am | Page 3A

As the state budget’s deficit widens, Gov. Jerry Brown is being thrust into a three-front political battle.

He must not only persuade voters to pass his sales and income tax package, but, implicitly, persuade them to reject a rival tax measure just for schools.

Meanwhile, Brown is pressing liberal Democratic legislators to ignore their political DNA by making deeper cuts in health and welfare programs, not only to close the deficit but to bolster appeals to voters for new taxes.

“It’s not easy,” Brown told hundreds of business and civic figures gathered Tuesday in Sacramento for the annual Host Breakfast.

“We’re getting there,” Brown continued. “We’re making the cuts. But we also need the revenues.”

Brown had been cultivating business groups to support his original tax plan, but they cooled when he shifted gears to satisfy rivals on the left, reducing the sales tax element and sharply boosting income taxes on high-income taxpayers, including many attendees at Tuesday’s event.

Despite Brown’s assertion, cuts in welfare benefits, medical care for the poor, child care, developmental disability services, and in-home care for the aged and disabled are a tough sell among liberal legislators who support those services.

Brown’s new budget counts on those reductions to narrow the deficit by more than $1.5 billion but legislative leaders have said that softening their impact is their highest priority, characterizing them as “life-and-death” issues.

Past efforts to make cuts in those areas have been difficult. Most involve federal funds as well as the state’s money, and some have run afoul of Washington’s unwillingness to grant waivers, while others have been blocked in court.

To read entire column, click here.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012 – 08:30 a.m.

Another Super-PAC committee has weighed in on the hotly-contested 8th Congressional District.

This time the beneficiary is Assemblyman Paul Cook (R-Yucca Valley).

The Spirit of Democracy America PAC has reported to the Federal Election Commission that it has spent $17,137 for campaign literature mailings supporting Cook.

The consultant handling the production is Temple McNally Associates, Inc.

The only other candidate in the race to receive outside help is San Bernardino County Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt.

Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Posted: 05/21/2012 07:12:18 PM PDT

There’s no shortage of choices for San Bernardino County voters this election season when it comes to the First District supervisor’s race.

Seven candidates are vying for the seat vacated by Brad Mitzelfelt, who is making a bid for Congress after only one term in public office.

The First District is the largest of the county’s five supervisorial districts, spanning the bulk of the high Desert, from Trona to Needles, and the town of Wrightwood in the San Gabriel Mountains.

Up next for the candidates is the June 5 primary.

A number of factors are at play that make this county supervisor race unique, said Doug Johnson, a fellow at the Rose Institute of State and Local Government at Claremont Mckenna College.

“First, there’s no incumbent, and second, there’s a lot of good candidates who have a shot at winning this, and none of them emerges as dominant in any way,” Johnson said. “It will all come down to who can get their supporters out on election day.”

Candidates include the Hesperia Mayor Russell Blewett, sheriff’s lieutenant and Apply Valley Councilman Rick Roelle, San Bernardino County Fire Capt. Bret L. Henry, Adelanto school board trustee Jermaine Wright, businessman Robert A. Lovingood, businessman Michael Orme and retired sheriff’s detective Bob Smith.

They all promise to fight hard to bring to the High Desert more jobs, more government transparency and more sheriff’s deputies to thwart crime and gang activity that has proliferated in recent years.

Incumbent Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt, now vying for the new 8th Congressional District seat, said he hopes that whomever is elected to succeed him understands the magnitude of the job and will provide good leadership and think long-term.

“And certainly I hope they will continue with some of the policies and projects I have started,” Mitzelfelt said. “Whomever my successor is, they will receive all the information they need . . . .”

A high unemployment rate, much of it attributed to the soured economy, and low education retainment levels are among the biggest problems Mitzelfelt’s successor will have to grapple with.

To read entire story, click here.

Published: 21 May 2012 08:42 PM

For the first time in more than a decade, High Desert voters will choose from a field of candidates without an incumbent in the 1st District San Bernardino County supervisor race.

Seven candidates are vying to replace Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt, who is running for the 8th Congressional District seat, in the June 5 election.

Unless one of the candidates wins more than 50 percent of the vote, the top two finishers will go to a runoff election in November.

The vast district covers more than 17,000 square miles and includes the cities of Victorville, Apple Valley and Hesperia and stretches to the Nevada and Arizona borders.

Though Mitzelfelt is not making an endorsement in the race, he has ties to some of the candidates. Bob Smith, a retired county sheriff’s detective, has worked as a community liaison for Mitzelfelt. Michael Orme, a political and business consultant, is his former deputy chief of staff. Hesperia Mayor Russ Blewett served as Mitzelfelt’s appointee to the county Planning Commission.

The other candidates are Apple Valley Councilman Rick Roelle, Adelanto school board trustee Jermaine Wright, businessman Robert Lovingood and Bret Henry, a county fire captain and president of the union representing county firefighters.

The candidates have emphasized similar themes in their campaigns — jobs, repairing the county’s battered image and support for public safety. They have sought to distinguish themselves through their backgrounds.

Orme and Smith have touted their experience working in county government, while Roelle and Blewett cite their background in city government.

“I don’t think you need somebody who’s going to be learning on the job,” Smith said. “I think you need somebody who has shown the background and gets the job done.”

Campaign issues

The county corruption scandal that led to the arrest of several former county officials, including former 1st District Supervisor Bill Postmus, topped the list of concerns for candidates.

“I was tired of the corruption,” Wright said. “I was tired of my community being undervalued and people’s voices not being heard.”

Henry, Smith and Roelle, a sheriff’s lieutenant, have pointed to their backgrounds in public safety or the military as a sign that that they will bring integrity to the office.

All seven candidates say they want to see greater transparency in county government. All of the candidates except for Orme said they support a proposal to enact campaign contribution limits that the Board of Supervisors is considering.

Orme said he believes contribution limits don’t work and only increase third party expenditures.

When it comes to reducing unemployment in the district, several candidates emphasized the need for a more business-friendly environment. Wright, Smith and Lovingood said they’d like to see fewer fees and less regulation.

To read entire story, click here.

THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE
Published: 20 May 2012 07:52 PM

You know that old political joke, “Vote early, vote often”?

Yeah, Riverside City Councilman Mike Gardner’s heard it. And he’s been hearing it more lately, after his first mailer in his mayoral campaign assured people their vote counts … on June 4. (The election is June 5.)

“That’s a typo,” was the age-old explanation Gardner gave when reached Wednesday. “I signed off on (the mailer) and didn’t see it.”

He’s been kidded by a few people, he said, but hey, these things happen — there’s even another minor typo/grammatical error in the mailer.

And actually, as Gardner pointed out, it is possible to vote early — and many people are. In Riverside, 48,308 voters have been issued mail ballots for this election, according to assistant county registrar Rebecca Spencer — that’s 40 percent of the 118,473 registered voters. (As of May 16, the registrar has received 315 ballots back.)

Early voting also will be offered from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 1-3 at the Galleria at Tyler in Riverside. Gardner said he’ll send out at least one more mailer before the election. Which is June 5, by the way.

BALLOT STATEMENTS CHANGED

Some San Bernardino County candidates have had their ballot statements toned down in order to comply with state election law.

County Registrar of Voters Michael Scarpello said his office has been strict about enforcing a provision of the law that does not allow candidates to make disparaging comments about other candidates in their ballot statements. Under election law, ballot statements are supposed to include only information about a candidate’s own background and qualifications, he said.

Fourteen candidates, including those running for three congressional seats, three Assembly seats and the 1st District supervisorial race, had parts of their statements edited to remove such references.

All of the candidates were informed of the changes before the voter guides were sent out earlier this month. They were not allowed to make any changes themselves.

“None of the candidates were happy about it, but every candidate understood our position and appreciated the consistency of our position,” Scarpello said.

To read entire column, click here.

Published: 20 May 2012 05:38 PM

In San Bernardino County’s safely Democratic 47th Assembly District, Joe Baca Jr. wants to return to the job he held for a single term several years ago.

And in the county’s safely Republican 33rd Assembly District, Assemblyman Tim Donnelly is trying to avoid becoming a one-term lawmaker himself.

Opposing Baca Jr. and Donnelly are a mix of elected officials, business owners and others running on the June 5 ballot. The districts’ strong partisan leanings and new, top-two primary system make it possible that the November elections will be a repeat of the primary campaigns.

The redrawn 47th Assembly District closely resembles the current 62nd Assembly District and includes Rialto, Colton, Fontana and part of San Bernardino. The new district, though, picks up Grand Terrace, drops the area around San Bernardino International Airport and reaches north to Devore.

Baca Jr., the son of Rep. Joe Baca, D-Rialto, represented the 62nd from 2004 through 2006, when he lost the Democratic primary for state Senate. He successfully ran later that year for the Rialto City Council, where he still serves.

In his candidate questionnaire for The Press-Enterprise, Baca Jr. said his top priorities as a lawmaker would be to encourage the creation of jobs through repealing “overly burdensome” regulations, increasing funding for community colleges, and approving public-works projects.

Newspaper publisher Cheryl Brown, of Rialto, a fellow Democrat, is Baca’s main rival. Brown is backed by the lawmakers who represented the area in the Assembly before and after Baca Jr.: John Longville and Assemblywoman Wilmer Amina Carter, D-Rialto.

Fixing the state’s chronically imbalanced budget is paramount, Brown said in her candidate questionnaire for The Press-Enterprise. She said she also wants to attract businesses and improve education and health care in the district.

Also running for the 47th are two Republicans, Thelma E. Beach, of Grand Terrace, a retiree, and Jeane Ensley, of Rialto, a retired fraud investigator.

To read entire story, click here.

Neil.Nisperos and Benjamin Demers, Staff Writers
Created: 05/20/2012 07:05:00 AM PDT

Donna Lowe will have her work cut out for her if she wants to represent the newly redrawn 41st Assembly District.

The Claremont resident and Tea Party supporter will be going up against three well-connected and better-funded Democrats – Pasadena Councilman Chris Holden, South Pasadena Mayor Michael Cacciotti and businesswoman Victoria Rusnak.

Lowe will also have to make sure GOP voters don’t cast ballots for Republican Ed Colton, who has experience as a business executive.

Lowe said the way to garner those votes is by bringing attention to the state’s economic business climate.

“People are moving out of the state, it is simply because of California’s insatiable thirst for spending and not being able to curtail its spending even during these hard economic times,” Lowe said.

“What we need to concentrate on doing is repealing a lot of the business regulations that make it unstable for businesses to relocate or start here.”

Lowe is an information technology manager for Safenet, Inc. She is the founder of the Claremont Conservatives Tea Party and a former Mountain View Republican Club board member. She has the support of the state GOP and lawmakers such as Assemblyman Tim Donnelly, R-Hesperia.

The 41st Assembly District includes Upland, Claremont, La Verne and San Dimas as well as much of the southern San Gabriel Mountains and into Pasadena. Democrats hold a 43 percent to 34 percent edge over Republicans among registered voters.

The strong Democratic district, though, won’t be the only hurdle facing Lowe.

In a campaign finance report for January to March, Lowe had about $15,000 in her war chest. It put her available campaign contributions well behind the three Democrats.

At the conclusion of the January to March period, Cacciotti had about $46,000 and Holden had about $97,000.

Those figures though were no match to money that Rusnak had in hand – $232,000.

In recent weeks, residents in the 41st Assembly District have seen their mailboxes peppered by advertisements touting Rusnak. The Rusnak name will ring a bell with any car-conscientious voter in the region. She is the chief operating officer and president of the Pasadena-based Rusnak Auto Group.

While running as a Democrat, Rusnak’s campaign is also touting an anti-Sacramento sentiment. Her ads have splashed phrases such as “Results. Not Politics” and “Spending alone won’t improve our schools. We need to spend smarter.”

“I’m running because I think our state is in crisis. We need people from the private sector to participate in the Legislative process and bring a sense of reality to Sacramento,” Rusnak said.

Rusnak, a former environmental attorney, said she would not vote for any government program that does not have a previously identified revenue source.

The Democratic-dominated Legislature may be pleased if they see Holden make his way up north. The former mayor of Pasadena is the choice of the Democratic Party as well as the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO.

Holden’s campaign has highlighted his work in supporting the expansion of the Metro Gold Line to Pasadena. The work, his campaign says, has created jobs and helped businesses.

The Gold Line will expand into more cities in the foothills in coming years. For Holden, the foothills isn’t quite far enough. The commercial real estate consultant wants to see the line go all the way to LA/Ontario International Airport.

“I think one of the important projects we can continue to support is the completion of the Goldline out to Ontario airport,” Holden said. “It goes beyond a regional transportation project. It becomes a real job stimulator for the region.”

To read entire story, click here.

BY JIM MILLER AND BEN GOAD
STAFF WRITERS
jmiller@pe.com | bgoad@pe.com

Published: 19 May 2012 06:16 PM

Fueled by new political boundaries and court rulings, campaign committees representing special interests have revved up spending this election cycle, and much of that largesse is focused on Inland Southern California candidates.

Independent expenditures committees, known nationally as super-PACs, have been a fixture of legislative and statewide elections in California since 2001. The Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision brought the same type of unlimited spending to federal contests, from president to Congress.

While state and federal law sets limits on contributions to candidates, super-PACs are allowed to raise and spend unlimited amounts of money through independent expenditures. Super-PACs are prohibited from coordinating their efforts with candidates or their campaigns.

As of Friday, May 18, independent groups’ spending this year in California congressional and state contests totals at least $5.5 million, according to government filings. That’s on top of millions of dollars that state and federal candidates have poured into races from their own campaign coffers.

Last year’s redistricting process created several competitive congressional, state Senate and Assembly districts in the region that are drawing big money from special interests.

Through mid-Friday, San Bernardino County’s 31st Congressional District had more than $818,000 in super-PAC spending, the most of any House race in the nation in the regular 2012 election cycle, according to federal records.

The spending was dominated by the National Association of Realtors, which has shelled out more than $709,000 to support the candidacy of Rep. Gary Miller. The money went for polling, consulting, mailers and advertising.

Scott Reiter, the group’s political director, pointed to Miller’s background in real estate and development and record as an advocate for housing in Congress, where he serves on the Financial Services Committee and has worked to protect the mortgage interest tax deduction and tax credits for homebuyers.

“He’s a longtime supporter of homeownership, and he’s got a tough race so we wanted to help,” Reiter said.

Miller, R-Diamond Bar, is running in a new district representing much of the San Bernardino Valley. The five other candidates include state Sen. Bob Dutton, R-Rancho Cucamonga, and Redlands Mayor Pete Aguilar, a Democrat.

With at least three serious candidates competing for two spots in the general election, Reiter said the group, which usually focuses on November, thought it best to help Miller in his primary race. The fact that the group’s spending put the 31st above the other 434 congressional districts in terms of outside money is probably just a temporary situation, he said.

“I just think it’s a matter of timing,” Reiter said. “I would suspect you’ll be seeing a lot more from other groups very shortly.”

Other independent groups have spent money to help Dutton and Aguilar.

“Me and some friends of Bob Dutton wanted to help out … beyond what the law says we can give directly to candidates,” said former Inland lawmaker Bill Leonard, who helped organize the pro-Dutton Inland Empire Taxpayers for Jobs.

The group has spent about $50,000, records show. The money has come from several Inland donors, including Dutton’s father, Ted.

Leonard said the super-PAC was conceived as a way to help Dutton hold his own against Miller, a seven-term incumbent whose campaign committee had $1.2 million in cash on hand as of March 30.

“That was our hope and expectation a few months ago. But I didn’t expect the large amounts of Washington-interest money coming in. We’re kind of being swamped,” he said.

A super-PAC called Restoring Our Community has given more than $60,000 to Aguilar’s campaign. The identities of the donors have not been reported.

The only super-PAC spending on Inland congressional races outside the 31st took place in the High Desert’s 8th Congressional District, where the Jobs Opportunity and Freedom Political Action Committee has spent more than $30,000 on behalf of San Bernardino County Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt, a Republican.

SENATE CONTEST

In Riverside County, a vaguely named independent expenditure committee with unclear sources of money has injected itself into the 31st Senate District race.

To read entire story, click here.

Supervisor Neil Derry left. San Manuel Tribal Member James Ramos right.

Election 2012

Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Posted: 05/19/2012 06:01:36 PM PDT

Things don’t appear to be slowing down one bit in the contentious race for San Bernardino County’s 3rd District supervisorial seat in the June 5 primary election.

Outspoken incumbent Neil Derry has sharply criticized one of his two opponents, former San Manuel tribal Chairman James Ramos, saying Ramos doesn’t have the political background to serve a constituency of roughly 407,000 people.

Jim Bagley, a former Twentynine Palms councilman and three-time mayor, is the third candidate in the primary race.

The geographically diverse district includes parts of the San Bernardino Valley, the San Bernardino Mountains and the High Desert. Redistricting based on new Census figures has expanded the district to include the Morongo Basin and the cities of Twentynine Palms and Barstow.

Derry doesn’t believe Ramos, whom he calls a “liberal Democrat,” is a good fit in a district with a heavy conservative base.

“If you don’t have the right message and the right background, it doesn’t matter how much you spend. I fit the district well. Mr. Ramos does not,” Derry said. “Ramos has no municipal government experience.

“His only experience is being chairman of the San Manual Band of Mission Indians and serving on the (San Bernardino Community College District) board, and that’s it. He has no land use experience.”

Ramos’ camp has criticized Derry, saying Derry has not led by example and arguing he campaigned for supervisor in 2008 on a platform of government transparency and ethics, but was charged by the state Attorney General’s Office last year with three felonies for allegedly laundering a $5,000 campaign contribution from a Highland developer.

Derry pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor for failing to report the contribution and prosecutors dropped the felonies, allowing Derry to retain his seat on the Board of Supervisors.

Derry denies doing anything wrong, and said he pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor to put the matter behind him so he could get back to serving the citizens he represents.

Ramos announced his candidacy for supervisor the day after prosecutors announced that Derry had been charged.

“I believe if the voters want to stop the corruption in San Bernardino County, they’re going to have to start choosing people who are basically ethical in their very nature, and that is James Ramos,” said Betsy Starbuck, Ramos’ campaign manager and the county’s former assistant auditor-controller-recorder.

Mudslinging aside, Ramos’ wealth from income generated by San Manuel Indian Bingo & Casino has allowed him to spend generously on his campaign, which makes the 3rd District supervisorial race unique.

To read entire story, click here.

BY ALICIA ROBINSON
STAFF WRITER
arobinson@pe.com

Published: 18 May 2012 05:39 PM

Besides choosing one of seven candidates for mayor, Riverside voters on June 5 will say yea or nay to seven proposed amendments to the city charter.

The proposals include creating a sustainability commission, changing to whom the city auditor reports, shortening the time between council elections and runoffs, and a number of minor adjustments.

The charter, the city’s governing document, determines how the city is run and the powers and duties of its officials. It was reviewed in 2011 as part of a regular process to suggest changes or additions and put those before voters.

After the new environmental commission and auditor issue, when runoffs are held may be the most substantive change. Currently, elections for the city’s seven council seats are held in June of odd-numbered years. If no one candidate wins at least 50 percent plus one vote, the top two vote getters go to a November runoff.

Measure G would push runoffs from early November into late August, cutting about two months off candidates’ campaigns.

A ballot argument in favor of the change, signed by charter review committee member Wendel Tucker, says the change will shorten the period of uncertainty over who will represent voters, lower the cost of campaigns and make it more likely voters will stay engaged in the process. Tucker acknowledges an August runoff would cost slightly more, because it can’t be consolidated with a statewide general election.

But a ballot statement in opposition, signed by Mayor Ron Loveridge and Councilman Mike Gardner, cites the higher cost as a drawback and argues that the shorter cycle favors incumbents, who generally have better name recognition and more fundraising clout than challengers. The summer months, they argue, are a bad time both to meet voters and to expect turnout for an election.

Measure H would remove the city manager’s authority over hiring and firing of employees of the city clerk and city attorney; the city manager now has authority over nearly every city employee except the clerk and attorney, as all three are directly appointed by the council.

To read entire story, click here.

Neil Nisperos and Benjamin Demers, Staff Writers
Created: 05/19/2012 07:08:49 AM PDT

Democrats Cheryl Brown and Joe Baca, Jr. could easily be considered the favorites to make it though June’s primary for Assembly District 47 and face each other in November.

The have name recognition in local communities.

They have funding from significant donors.

They have support from high-profile politicians.

But first, they will have to get by two Republicans, including a 95-year-old woman intent on helping her peers.

People who are lucky enough to reach their ninth decade might be grateful to take it easy. For Thelma Beach, she wants to take a seat in Sacramento.

“Age is a just a number. The years are just numbers,” Beach said. “Grant you, I don’t have the strength or stamina when I retired or when I was working but I’m up at 4 in the morning hitting the desk and the paperwork, catching up on all of the mail that I get.”

Beach’s platform centers on helping out fellow senior citizens. Recent budget adjustments have included cuts to public services that help the elderly such as in-home support care.

If elected, Beach said she would steer more public funds towards programs that would provide better care for the elderly.

The Grand Terrace resident was a senior administrative staff analyst and budget chief for the New York City Department of Corrections. She is for strict immigration control as well as improving the state’s school systems.

Beach and fellow Republican Jeane Ensley are running for office in an overwhelmingly Democratic – 50 percent to 28 percent – district.

District 47 includes Rialto, Bloomington, Colton, Grand Terrace and parts of Fontana.

Ensley, who is a retired fraud investigator for a credit card company, echoes a familiar Republican platform: The state has too many business regulations.

“In San Bernardino County, a lot of our tax base comes from mining,” Easley said. “There are so many restrictions – we are not allowed to mine as much as we use to and that would be a great source of income.”

Easley has slammed Assembly Bill 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act, which mandates that the level of emissions of greenhouse gases must return by 2020 to levels last seen in 1998. She said the environmental law hinder job creation and forces business out of the state.

To read entire story, click here.

Saturday, May 19, 2012 – 11:00 a.m.

USPS delivery of campaign mail improves

Something must have happened at the USPS earlier this week.

The delivery of campaign mail changed from roughly five to six days to a much improved time frame of two to three days.

Hotly contested congressional races likely caused the change in mindset.

Facebook IPO not so hot after all

The long awaited initial stock offering of Facebook was a flop Friday. The shares had to be support by the offerings underwriters to keep the price from falling below the initial sale price of $38.

The weak reception is not a good sign for markets going forward.

Some candidates mustering up campaign mail in CD 8

8th Congressional District candidates Phil Liberatore, Brad Mitzelfelt, Ryan McEachron and Paul Cook have managed to get out campaign mail in the race to head to Washington D.C.

Nothing from the remainder of the vast field of candidates.

Cook might want to have a word with his consultant though.

His mail is being addressed to individual voters instead of households. A much costlier approach.

BY ALICIA ROBINSON
STAFF WRITER
arobinson@pe.com

Published: 15 May 2012 06:30 PM

Riverside’s seven mayoral candidates are entering the home stretch, meeting Tuesday for a final forum hosted by a downtown business group.

After the opening stump speeches they’ve been giving for at least six weeks, candidates answered questions about how they’d support the arts, balance eco-friendly goals with economic development, and retool the downtown development plan.

The election to replace five-term Mayor Ron Loveridge is June 5. The candidates are former councilman Ed Adkison, Councilman William “Rusty” Bailey, nonprofit CEO Peter Benavidez, community volunteer Aurora Chavez, Councilman Mike Gardner, Councilman Andy Melendrez and teacher Dvonne Pitruzzello.

Tuesday’s event was at the Marriott hotel and sponsored by the Riverside Downtown Partnership. It drew about 35 people.

Candidates gave the most specific answers to how the downtown plan should be tweaked. Chavez said public transportation should be improved so people can get to and from downtown. Melendrez said where the city puts a planned transit center will be important.

Bailey, Gardner and Adkison all mentioned housing, with Bailey pointing out that young people are waiting longer to marry and start families, and some are looking for amenities such as loft-style housing and an arts colony.

Gardner said the downtown plan doesn’t allow student housing, but it should. Adkison said higher-density development is a must for a successful downtown.

Benavidez and Pitruzzello criticized the introduction of parking meters a few years ago, which some people think have discouraged business.

Regarding the arts, Benavidez suggested privatizing the Fox theater.

To read entire story, click here.

Outgoing Congressman Jerry Lewis (R-Redlands) left. Former San Manuel Band of Mission Indians Chairman James Ramos right.

Friday, May 18, 2012 – 10:00 a.m.

The sauce pan is simmering in the race for San Bernardino County Third District Supervisor.

The three-way race consisting of Supervisor Neil Derry, Former Twenty-Nine Palms City Councilman Jim Bagley and Former San Manuel Band of Mission Indians Chairman James Ramos is heating up heading into the home stretch to the June 5th primary.

If no candidate receives fifty percent, the top two contenders will face a November runoff.

Four years ago Congressman Jerry Lewis (R-Redlands), District Attorney Michael Ramos and then-Sheriff Gary Penrod all recorded radio spots and automated dialer messages supporting Supervisor Dennis Hansberger, a republican.

The result? Hansberger lost to Derry, who is also a republican.

Lewis was reportedly bitter over his friend Hansberger’s loss and has been privately disparaging Derry, non-stop, since his election to the board.

Well it looks as if Third District voters are being treated to more of the same.

However this time the support is being bestowed upon Ramos, a lifelong democrat.

Automated dialer calls with a message from, the republican-in-name-only, Lewis have started peppering republican voters.

Somehow someone, likely Lewis, must feel he has sway with voters.

An arrogant assumption to make.

But it appears republicans are growing irritated as they learn Lewis is backing a democrat.

As many voters can recall. This is the same Jerry Lewis who;

• Spent his entire campaign war chest defending himself from an FBI probe into earmarks and influence peddling.
• Couldn’t regain the chairmanship of the Appropriations Committee after republicans took control of the U.S. House of Representatives in 2010.
• Led the charge in accelerating the growth in U.S. debt, by way of out of control spending under his previous appropriations chairmanship.
• Is retiring because of uncertainty surrounding his reelection potential.

And now Lewis is trying to shove a democrat down the throats of republicans.

The House leadership must be glad to see this guy leave.

But you never know. Lewis may be looking for a job at the casino.

Another bottle of scotch sounds more appropriate right about now.

Friday, May 18, 2012 – 09:45 a.m.

San Bernardino County Third District Supervisor Neil Derry has received the endorsement of the Barstow Police Officers Association in his reelection bid.

Derry is being challenged by Former San Manuel Band of Mission Indians Chairman James Ramos and Defense Department Employee Jim Bagley.

Recent altering of supervisorial boundaries placed Barstow inside the Third District.

The election is June 5.

Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (AP Photo/The Wilmington News-Journal, Suchat Pederson)

BY BEN GOAD
WASHINGTON BUREAU
bgoad@pe.com

Published: 17 May 2012 01:23 PM

Presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney is planning a fundraising stop in Riverside next month, according to Republicans close to the campaign.

The former Massachusetts governor has penciled in an event on the afternoon of June 1 at the Victoria Club, though details about the event or his visit have not yet been finalized. Romney’s campaign has not publicly announced a California trip.

To read entire story, click here.

Riverside County Supervisor Bob Buster

BY JEFF HORSEMAN
STAFF WRITER
jhorseman@pe.com

Published: 17 May 2012 08:27 PM

It’s easy to see who Riverside County’s public employee unions want for First District county supervisor.

They’re knocking on doors, offering endorsements and spending thousands of dollars to help Mike Soubirous oust incumbent Bob Buster in the June 5 primary. Assemblyman Kevin Jeffries, is the third candidate, setting the stage for a possible two-man runoff in November.

Soubirous, who retired last year after 29 years with the California Highway Patrol, counts heavily on unions to fill his campaign coffers.

Of the almost $255,000 in donations he received between November 2011 and March, 98.8 percent came from labor, campaign finance records show. The Riverside Sheriff’s Association alone gave him two checks for $100,000 each.

Soubirous, 54, defends his union support.

“If anything, I’m honored to represent hard-working county employees that give us many years of their lives,” said Soubirous, whose wife, Linda, had union backing in her unsuccessful 2004 supervisor campaign against Buster.

All three candidates are well-funded. Campaign finance reports for January through March showed each had at least $200,000 in reserve.

Buster, a 67-year-old citrus farmer and the county’s longest-tenured supervisor – first elected in 1993 – said unions are targeting him because he supported much-needed reforms to the county’s pension system.

The unions “enjoyed more than 10 years of great gains to the point where they became a little arrogant and they didn’t really understand how severe the situation is for this county,” he said.

Jeffries, 51, R-Lake Elsinore, hopes his record in Sacramento and endorsements by business and taxpayer groups will carry the day. The property owner/manager said he turned down a state Senate run because “local government is where my heart is.”

The trio is competing for the right to represent 433,000 people in a district encompassing most of Riverside, Lake Elsinore, Canyon Lake and Wildomar. Each of the five supervisors earns $143,031 annually and are entitled to a $550-a-month car allowance, pensions, health insurance and other benefits.

The First District race will be a test of unions’ ability to sway the electorate, said Shaun Bowler, a UC Riverside political science professor.

Even though the county is politically conservative, public safety unions have avoided voters’ scorn out of respect for police and firefighters, Bowler said. “The more the sheriff’s and some of the unions are open and politically active, the less special they’re seen,” he said. “That’s the risk they’re taking.”

Pension showdown

The county’s two largest unions, Laborers’ International Union of North America Local 777 and Service Employees International Union Local 721, represent more than 12,000 of the county’s 17,700 or so employees. The Riverside Sheriff’s Association has about 2,500 members.

Buster, a former Riverside City Council member, used to get along with unions. LIUNA gave him $5,500 from 2007 to 2009, records show.

Relations soured in 2004, when the sheriff’s union issued a no-confidence vote in Buster, partly to protest low staffing levels. Association President Robert Masson declined to comment.

Tensions rose in 2010 and 2011, when the county faced an $800 million shortfall to cover $4.5 billion worth of pension obligations over 30 years.

Buster and other supervisors called for lower pension benefits for new hires. Union members protested the move and complained Buster was vilifying them.

The sheriff’s union and supervisors accused each other of spreading falsehoods during the 2010 campaign for dueling pension ballot measures. Measure L, backed by the union, would have required voter approval to cut public safety pensions. Measure M, supported by supervisors, authorized the board to cut those benefits.

Measure M got more yes votes than Measure L in 2010. Buster spent his campaign dollars to back Measure M.

In separate talks, the unions and county have reached deals that call for lesser pensions for new employees and increased pension contributions by current workers. In exchange, the county agreed to pay raises.

‘Fresh approach’

SEIU Local 721 President Bob Schoonover said his union is “just looking really for a fresh approach and new ideas and we think Mike Soubirous … is a step in the right direction for us,” he said.

In an e-mail, LIUNA Business Manager Stephen Switzer wrote that Buster is more interested in demonizing union members than finding real solutions. The average LIUNA member’s pension is less than $19,000 a year, while Buster will enjoy an annual pension exceeding $100,000, he wrote.

The annual county portion of Buster’s pension could reach $110,340 by Dec. 31, 2016, if he is re-elected, according to county records. Buster also will receive credit in the state pension system for his Riverside council time and military service.

Buster called talk about his pension “really irrelevant” and “rhetoric.” He noted that Soubirous, who retired as an acting commander, draws a public pension worth nearly $122,000 a year before taxes.

Soubirous said he took the pension terms and conditions offered at the time.

To read entire story, click here.

Michael Scarpello

Michael Scarpello
Posted: 05/16/2012 02:48:21 PM PDT

An effort to address the significant problem of provisional balloting resulted in the unintended consequence of many voters receiving their mail ballots several days before receiving their sample ballots.

Although very few voters cast their mail ballots before seeing the sample ballot, I understand why some candidates who placed candidate statements in the sample ballot are unhappy. I apologize for that, and I will correct this situation in time for the November election. However, please rest assured that this situation has not in any way compromised the election. All laws have been followed to the letter as the deadline to mail sample ballots is 10 days prior to the election, and these documents will have been delivered well before that time.

Any mail voter who has not yet received their sample ballot but wishes to consult it before voting the ballot can go to our website at www.sbcountyelections.com to view their sample ballot. Or, they can simply wait for their sample ballot to arrive in the mail.

My goal was to provide sample ballots as close to Election Day as possible to reduce the number misplaced by voters in the days leading up to the election. When voters misplace their sample ballots, they often end up not knowing where to vote. When voters show up at the wrong polling place, they must use a provisional ballot.

Provisional balloting is a significant problem in San Bernardino County.

To read entire column, click here.

Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Created: 05/16/2012 06:35:01 PM PDT

San Bernardino County voters need to know where their designated polling locations are come primary election time on June 5 and also be aware their ballots will look a little different, county Registrar Michael Scarpello said Wednesday.

A state law approved in June 2010, the Top Two Open Primary Act, requires that all candidates for a voter-nominated office be listed on the same ballot.

Voter-nominated offices are state legislative offices, U.S. congressional offices, and state constitutional offices.

Essentially, it means that all candidates running for office, regardless of their party preference, will appear on a single combined ballot and voters can vote for any candidate they want.

It changes the way elections are conducted for all state offices and the offices of U.S. senator, U.S. representative, the state Senate and Assembly.

“Everybody votes for everybody,” Scarpello said Wednesday.

County supervisorial district boundary changes necessitated by 2010 Census figures has also forced precinct lines to change.

With those changes sometimes comes a change in polling location, so Scarpello is encouraging voters to check their sample ballots or the county Elections Office website, www.sbcountyelections.com, to see where their polling site is.

“It’s really key that people go to their assigned polling place. This is critical,” Scarpello said, adding that the county has seen a 10 percent reduction in its polling locations since 2008, from 413 in 2008 to 375 in 2012.

That’s due mainly to the county’s high number of provisional voters, which in 2008 comprised nearly a third of the county’s 600,000 registered voters at roughly 150,000, Scarpello said.

To read entire story, click here.

Head of ICR Staffing loans his campaign committee $150,000
May 16, 2012 9:09 AM
Beau Yarbrough, Staff Writer

So far, the best financial friend for the campaigns of San Bernardino County 1st District supervisor candidates have been the candidates themselves.

The largest single campaign contribution for four of the seven candidates have been loans from the candidates themselves to their own campaign committees. It’s likely a reflection of lean financial times for political contributions: Only one of the seven men seeking to replace Brad Mitzelfelt as the 1st District’s representative on the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors — businessman Robert Lovingood — has a campaign fund in the six figures.

Far and away, the biggest pile of campaign cash belongs to Lovingood. The president of ICR Staffing loaned the Lovingood for Board of Supervisors 2012 committee $150,000, bringing his campaign to a total of $150,099 as of March 26. Lovingood had yet to spend any of those funds by the end of the filing period.

In distant second place is firefighter union president Bret Henry. The Committee to Elect Bret Henry for Supervisor 2012 had $31,000 in its war chest as of March 21, with $30,000 of it coming from the San Bernardino County Professional Firefighters organization. During the same period, Henry’s campaign spent $36,200, including $10,250 to campaign consulting firm Steve Presson & Associates of Gold River

In the first three months of 2012, Hesperia Mayor Russ Blewett raised $17,450 for his campaign commit- tee, Russ Blewett for Supervisor 2012. His largest donations included $5,000 checks from Desert Valley Medical Group and dentist Ronald Cunning of Montclair and $2,500 donations from Lewis Investment Group of Upland and Robertson’s Ready Mix Concrete of Riverside. He spent a little more than half of his funds during that period, spending $9,670 by March 17, almost all of it ($7,712) on administrative fees paid to the San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters.

As of March 26, Bob Smith, a community liaison for Mitzelfelt, had raised $14,300 for his Bob Smith for Supervisor 2012 campaign committee. However, like several of his competitors, he’s his own best contributor, having loaned his campaign $13,700 of his own money. So far, he’s spent $12,037 of that, including $3,500 to campaign consultants Tab Communications of Fair Oaks.

Apple Valley town councilman Rick Roelle had $14,058 in the Committee to Elect Rick Roelle 1st District Supervisor 2012 war chest, including $12,058 through a loan from himself. As of March 22, he’d spent $11,661 of it, including $7,727 to the registrar of voters and $3,370 for signage.

The Michael Orme for Supervisor 2012 committee had raised $8,300, with $6,700 of that coming from a single political action committee: Children for a Safer Community. Orme, a field representative for Congressman Buck McKeon, spent $9,464 as of March 28.

As of April 6, Adelanto school board member Jermaine Wright had neither collected nor spent any campaign funds.

State law requires any candidate who has raised or spent more than $1,000 to file California Form 460, the Recipient Committee Campaign Statement. The most recent set of forms filed by candidates cover the period between Jan. 1 and March 17 of this year and had to be filed by March 22. The next set of forms, covering March 18 through May 19, must be turned into the registrar of voters by May 24 in advance of the June 5 primary

Beau Yarbrough may be reached at (760) 956-7108 or at beau@HesperiaStar.com. Follow us on Facebook at Facebook.com/Hesperia.Star.

Get complete stories every day with the “exactly as printed” Daily Press E-edition, only $5 per month! Click here to try it free for 7 days. To subscribe to the Daily Press in print or online, call (760) 241-7755, 1-800-553-2006 or click here.

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Capitol Alert
The latest on California politics and government
May 16, 2012

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, and Democrat John Coffey on the June 5 ballot in the 33rd Assembly District.

To read entire story, click here.

Wednesday, May 16, 2012 – 10:30 a.m.

The National Association of Realtors is approaching the $750,000 mark in its independent expenditure campaign supporting Congressman Gary Miller (R-Diamond Bar) according to current filings with the Federal Election Commission.

Both of the Association’s Super-PAC committees, the National Association of Realtors Congressional Fund and National Association of Realtors Political Action Committee, have collectively deployed the money.

Sources say the Realtors association will spend upwards of $1 million for Miller.

Congressman Joe Baca left. State Senator Gloria Negrete-McLeod right.

BY BEN GOAD
WASHINGTON BUREAU
bgoad@pe.com

Published: 15 May 2012 06:03 PM

Neither U.S. Rep. Joe Baca nor state Sen. Gloria Negrete McLeod has had trouble getting elected in San Bernardino County, where the Democratic stalwarts have held public office for a combined 50 years.

Now Baca, D-Rialto, and Negrete McLeod, D-Chino, are set to do battle in territory both have represented before: California’s newly drawn 35th Congressional District.

The Green Party’s Anthony Vieyra of Pomona also is running for the seat, which covers Ontario, Chino and Pomona, as well as parts of Fontana and Rialto.

With greater name recognition and significant war chests, Baca and Negrete McLeod are considered front-runners in the race. And both could wind up in November’s general election, thanks to California’s new primary system, under which the top two vote-getters advance — even if they belong to the same party.

Baca’s Rialto home was drawn into the adjacent and less Democratic 31st Congressional District when the state’s redistricting panel created new political lines last summer. But there are no rules prohibiting him from running in a district where he doesn’t live and, since no other member of Congress resides in the 35th, Baca chose to run there instead.

Baca, whose current district includes about 60 percent of the 35th, touts his tenure in Washington in telling voters what separates him among candidates.

“As the incumbent running in the 35th Congressional District, I have the seniority and experience necessary to achieve important victories for families in the Inland Empire,” Baca wrote in his responses to a questionnaire The Press-Enterprise asked candidates to complete.

Baca said that, as a member of the fiscally moderate “Blue Dog” congressional caucus, he is able to forge agreements with GOP lawmakers in Congress. He noted occasions when he worked with Republican members of the Inland area’s congressional delegation on transportation, public safety and water projects.

Negrete McLeod also pointed to what she describes as a record of bipartisanship during her 12 years in the Legislature. She noted that, unlike Baca, she lives in the 35th.

To read entire story, click here.

Some demand refunds for $11K paid for candidate statements
May 15, 2012 9:10 AM
Natasha Lindstrom, Staff Writer

SAN BERNARDINO • Candidates in the June 5 election are irate that vote-by-mail ballots arrived at the doors of High Desert residents before the guides that include candidate statements — the carefully crafted remarks that cost candidates nearly $11,000 to file.

San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters Michael Scarpello said by phone Monday the delay seems to stem from a delivery problem at the post office. He hadn’t heard complaints about the voter’s guides not arriving outside of the High Desert.

“We’re investigating, but at this point I don’t see any large-scale issues,” said Scarpello, confident that all voters should receive the guides within the next few days. “We’re just working with the post office to find out what the issue is.”

The county voter information guides, which include the sample ballots and candidate statements, should have gone out to voters Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to arrive by Saturday. Those guides are separate from the presidential primary guides that went out several weeks ago. Vote-by-mail ballots went out Friday and Saturday, according to Scarpello.

But as of Monday, residents from Apple Valley, Hesperia and Victorville reportedly had received only the vote -by-mail ballots. There was a printing error that postponed the delivery of some guides until Monday, Scarpello said, but that only accounted for about 1,000 out of 800,000 guides countywide.

“In talking with several of the other candidates that are in the race, both at the congressional level and the Board of Supervisors level, it is my belief that the registrar of voters just completely messed up,” Ryan McEachron, Victorville mayor and 8th Congressional District candidate, said. “No one seems to know what’s going on down there, not even the registrar of voters himself.”

The big fear among candidates is that absentee voters will cast and return their ballots without ever seeing the candidate statements. For many, those statements were a crucial part of campaign strategy.

“My biggest concern is equality for the candidates because this could obviously favor somebody with deep pockets,” said Rita Vogler, a former Hesperia councilwoman who’s not running in the election but has been helping run two anti-candidate campaigns. “This can be very, very damaging to the ones that have the least amount of resources.”

To read entire story, click here.

Dan Walters

By Dan Walters
Published: Wednesday, May. 16, 2012 – 12:00 am | Page 3A

Poker players often use the phrase “betting on the come” to describe a willingness, if instincts and odds indicate, to wager big on the hope that they will draw winning cards.

That’s a perfectly valid tactic when one is playing with one’s own money and therefore bearing the risk.

But is it appropriate for California politicians to bet on the come by approving many billions of dollars in spending on very shaky assumptions that the money will be there when it’s needed to pay the bills?

Risk was the underlying theme of two hearings in the Capitol on Tuesday.

One dealt with Gov. Jerry Brown’s newly revised budget, which assumes that voters will approve new taxes, and the other with the Brown-sponsored bullet train project, which assumes that the federal government will finance completion once it’s started.

Brown and his minions respond to doubts about those assumptions with assurances that if the taxes are not approved or the feds don’t provide bullet train money, they’ll have coping mechanisms that mitigate the risk.

He proposes “triggers” that would automatically cut spending if taxes are rejected, and to simply halt construction if the bullet train lacks financing. But those are fail-safe mechanisms only on paper, not in realpolitik terms.

Under Brown’s budget, the schools would suffer nearly all of the spending cuts were taxes to be rejected. He’s clearly doing that to push voters toward his tax plan, since schools are the single most popular category of state spending, but it’s very unclear that the very powerful education lobby and Democratic legislators would be willing to make that gamble.

To read entire story, click here.