John, Author at CalWatchdog.com

Posts From John

John

Controller 2014: 7 reasons why John Perez should quit while he’s behind

The “sunk cost fallacy” — a self-destructive quirk of human behavior — explains why we persist in losing. We hold onto loser stocks, attend concerts we’d rather skip and demand recounts of decided elections. The sunk cost fallacy is alive and

Brown signs defense industry tax break with hidden Tesla perk

John July 11, 2014

Governor Jerry Brown signed into law Thursday a special $420 million corporate tax break for defense contractor Lockheed Martin. If that wasn’t controversial enough, now word has surfaced that the bill also included a hidden perk for electric auto maker Tesla

Fresno water rate referendum headed for ballot

John July 10, 2014

Fresno residents will have the final say on the city’s controversial plan to double water rates in the coming years. On Tuesday, election officials certified that the petition drive spearheaded by former Fresno County Supervisor Doug Vagim has enough valid

Perez requests recount in controller’s race

John July 7, 2014

California’s never-ending race for state controller entered a new phase Monday, as election officials are expected to begin recounting ballots in at least two counties. On Sunday afternoon, Democratic Assemblyman John A. Perez, who finished just 481 votes behind Board

CA vs. FL dogfight over stealth plane subsidies

John July 3, 2014

Like a professional sports team in search of a new taxpayer-funded arena, two defense contractors are playing California and Florida lawmakers against each other in a bid to win more tax breaks and, in turn, a $55 billion federal contract. The

Betty Yee declares victory in controller race

John July 1, 2014

It isn’t over till it’s over, as Yoga Berra famously said. A recount still is possible. But Betty Yee has declared victory in her race for state controller over Assemblyman John Perez, D-Los Angeles. Entering the California Democratic Party’s spring

Controller 2014: Why the cost of a recount favors Betty Yee

John June 27, 2014

The too-close-to-call race for state controller remained unchanged Friday morning — as Lake County has yet to count its 6,053 unprocessed ballots. San Mateo County, the only other county in the state with unprocessed ballots, has just four provisional ballots

Fresno taxpayers submit signatures for water rate referendum

John June 25, 2014

A group of Fresno taxpayers, who’ve been thwarted at every turn by city leaders, is expected today to submit thousands of signatures to qualify a water rate referendum for the November ballot. This morning, shortly after 10:30 a.m., the group Citizens

Controller’s race headed to recount ‘crap shoot’

John June 25, 2014

The day after an election, if a race remains too close to call, every Republican’s first call is to Jimmy Camp, the best GOP ground organizer in the state. He’s pictured at right. While the rest of us nurse our election night hangovers,

Late ballots keep controller’s race cliffhanger

John June 23, 2014

As more Californians turn to absentee voting, election officials have seen an uptick in the number of potentially valid ballots that aren’t being counted. That’s because, under state law, ballots must be received by the local registrar of voters by