John, Author at CalWatchdog.com

Posts From John

John

Amid Capitol’s gift extravagance, Gatto sets standard for ethics

Mike Gatto’s life is an open book. Last January, his daughter, Evangelina, received a $50 gift certificate from a family friend. During the summer recess, he enjoyed dinner with a star of CSI: Miami. In October, one stock in his investment

CalWatchdog.com story spurs San Diego lawmakers to introduce bill

John March 6, 2014

Two San Diego legislators are calling on the federal government to end the practice of paying people with disabilities less than minimum wage. Democratic Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez and State Sen. Ben Hueso have introduced Assembly Joint Resolution 36 to increase pressure on

Gov. Brown announces re-election bid under rain

John March 3, 2014

Last Friday, Gov. Jerry Brown officially launched his re-election campaign. Of course, filing the paperwork was a formality for a man who already has raised more than $17 million towards that end. But Brown’s campaign announcement coincided with what the National

Lawsuit: Assemblyman forced staffers to work for his law firm

John February 27, 2014

A former employee of Assemblyman Steve Fox alleges that the Democrat lawmaker forced employees in his taxpayer-funded state office to work for his private law practice. The allegations are contained in a lengthy complaint filed last Friday in Los Angeles

Democrats mostly silent on UC strike amid declining union approval

John February 25, 2014

As public opinion in California turns against labor unions, few Democrat politicians — most of whom rely on union support to win elections — have publicly embraced workers at the University of California. 21,000 members of AFSCME 3299 are planning a five-day

UC workers approve strike vote

John February 17, 2014

More than 21,000 workers at the University of California have voted to go on strike. An overwhelming 96 percent of the university’s service workers and patient care employees approved the strike authorization after three days of voting, union officials announced on Friday. The

Gov. Brown maintains sizable fundraising lead over GOP opponents

John February 13, 2014

California Governor Jerry Brown begins his re-election campaign with $17 million in the bank. The incumbent Democrat governor, according to state disclosure reports released recently, raised $9.9 million last year — with the overwhelming majority of those funds coming from big corporations,

Gov. Brown under fire for rail firm campaign contribution

John February 5, 2014

Governor Jerry Brown is under fire for the timing of a max-out contribution from a high-speed rail contractor to his re-election campaign. Brown recently asked the California Supreme Court for an expedited review – and reversal – of two lower court rulings that

Same-day voter registration law delayed until 2016

John February 5, 2014

Californians can expect to wait at least two more years for the state’s same-day voter registration law to take effect. Secretary of State Debra Bowen, the state’s chief elections officer, says that the state won’t meet the legal requirements to implement

UC workers schedule strike vote

John January 30, 2014

The University of California system’s largest union, AFSCME 3299, announced last Wednesday that it’s scheduled a mid-February strike vote for its 8,300 Service Unit members and a sympathy strike vote among its 13,000 Patient Care Technical Unit members. The union, which