Politics and Elections

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Will Prop. 14 kill third parties?

Feb. 19, 2010 By JOHN SEILER Californians keep tinkering with the state’s elections system. That’s understandable given the low esteem in which Golden State politicians are held. A January 2010 Field Poll found just 16 percent of voters approved of how

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Prince of a governor?

Prince Frederic von Anhalt, 65, wants to be Governor of California. He believes in legalizing marijuana, Cuban cigars and prostitution and then taxing them. He wants to lower car registration fees for good drivers and then tax bad drivers. Apparently running as an

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New speaker's FPPC troubles

Feb. 16, 2010 By ANTHONY PIGNATARO One of John A. Perez’s first acts as a state assemblyman was to introduce AB 9, which partially amended the Political Reform Act of 1974. In fact, the official bill history says Perez introduced

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Shy Meg

Nine days ago on this blog I noted that Meg Whitman was wrong in being afraid to debate opponent Steve Poizner. The meme has gone viral, and my favorite California columnist, veteran Dan Walters, writes: Tellingly, too, Whitman has shunned

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Poizner plays Iran politics

Feb. 15, 2010 One of the best ways to evaluate the merits of any politician’s proposed new rule or power grab is first to consider whether it’s something you would support if your political foes were in power. Unfortunately, Republican

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Good side of Maldonado comedy

Everyone’s getting a hearty horse laugh over the Abel Maldonado lieutenant-governor comedy. The latest episode in “As the Capitol Turns”: Arnold is re-submitting Maldo’s nomination to the Legislature. There’s a good side: the governor’s $500 million “jobs” bill is being

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Just one question

If the Governor, Assembly and Senate can’t agree on whether Sen. Abel Maldonado has actually been confirmed to be our state’s lieutenant governor — our state’s most useless public office — and may, in fact, just toss the whole thing

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Is Tom Campbell a "fiscal conservative"?

Whatever else it’s done, Carly Fiorina’s “Demon Sheep” ad against rival Tom Campbell has sparked the first widespread interest in the campaign for Republican nominee to replace Barbara Boxer in the U.S. Senate. The ad, which has generated a lot

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UPDATED! Maldonado rejected!

Well, maybe. The vote on his appointment as lieutenant governor was 36-34 in the Assembly, which is five votes shy of the 41-vote majority needed for confirmation. That’s what Capitol Weekly is reporting here, though there’s apparently been some sort

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Bankrupt candidate

I am not a genius. I possess few marketable skills and little management experience. I don’t speak a bunch of languages or pile awards on my desk. But I’m smarter than Carly Fiorina, and that really bothers me. I’ve known for

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