Politics and Elections
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Why do Dems nominate Pelosi, Feinstein, Boxer?
California is supposed to be a liberal state, with the most liberal Democratic Party in the country. Yet its top honchos back the bombing of Syria that is overwhelmingly opposed by Americans — left, right and center. Those honchos: House
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Audit: Secretary of State wastes $22 million on voting machines
When Debra Bowen was a candidate for California secretary of state in 2006, two of her top three priorities, according to SmartVoter.org, were to: Ensure that the state’s voting systems are accurate and secure by introducing strict auditing requirements so
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Capitol Weekly Top 100 List snubs women
No sooner had Capitol Weekly announced its list of “the most powerful movers and shakers in California politics” than Sacramento insiders were griping about who’d been snubbed. The list is considered the barometer of Capitol power, and as such, it’s
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Will man of all parties end up San Diego mayor?
On Friday, the San Diego City Council will vote on a proposed settlement in which it is believed that scandal-plagued serial groper and pay-to-player Bob Filner will resign as mayor in return for some city help with his legal expenses
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Election reform Part 2: ‘Dark money,’ vs. public money
Editor’s note: This is Part 2 of 2. Part 1 is here. Two election bills caused a stir in the Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee last week. The first, SB 27, I covered in Part 1 of this series. A
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Bullet train: Judge shows taxpayers may be saved by Prop. 1A
The Friday ruling by a Sacramento judge that the California High-Speed Rail Authority was violating the 2008 state law providing funds for the bullet-train project was the first good news that the many foes of the project have had in
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Campaign committees fund life of luxury
The political chicken dinner has gone upscale. In the first half of the year, legislative leaders, political parties and political action committees lured campaign contributors with limousine rides, gourmet meals and swag bags loaded with booze and iPad Minis, a
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Bills address campaign donations from private parties, not unions
Editor’s note: This is Part 1 of 2. California lawmakers object to “dark money,” a term for campaign contributions used to pay for an election campaign without disclosing the source of the money. But while Democratic lawmakers object to “dark
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Why Chris Christie won’t be president
As his speech before GOP honchos this week showed, Chris Christie obviously is running for president. The New Jersey governor likely will be re-elected next year, then begin campaigning in earnest for the White House. He attacked potential opponents, meaning
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