Tag "John Hrabe"
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Five CA GOP state senators back $2 billion tax increase
June 10, 2013 By John Hrabe With a Democratic supermajority, Republican votes no longer are needed to increase taxes in the California Senate. Yet in a strange development, five GOP senators backed a tax increase anyway. SB 11 is a $2.3 billion
Read MoreSec State Bowen tweets why she failed to disclose campaign data online
May 1, 2013 By John Hrabe Last week, two nonpartisan organizations interested in government transparency had a seemingly simple request for California Secretary of State Debra Bowen: share the state’s campaign finance database in a single, accessible file. The request
Read MoreShawnda Westly sparks CA Democratic Party victories
Editor’s Note: This is Part Two of a two-part series. Part One is here. April 23, 2013 By John Hrabe In addition to her victorious campaign strategies in 2012, California Democrat Party officials recognize Democratic Party Executive Director Shawnda Westly’s
Read MoreCA Dems’ mega weapon: Shawnda Westly
Editor’s Note: This is Part One of a two-part series. Part two is here. April 22, 2013 By John Hrabe The second night of the 2013 state convention earlier this month, California Democrats shared the downtown convention center with two
Read MoreAssembly GOP members break no-tax pledge
April 17, 2013 By John Hrabe The Assembly Republican Caucus, though small in number, has retained limited power in Sacramento by maintaining a united caucus on one issue: taxes. Not anymore. A multi-billion-dollar tax extension quickly working its way through
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CA Democrat Party Convention: Exclusive access to Friday’s VIP reception
April 15, 2013 By John Hrabe California Democrats kicked off their annual state party convention on Friday night with dinners, parties and hospitality suites to celebrate last November’s historic victories. Riding President Obama’s coattails, California Democrats added six freshmen to
Read MoreFPPC shuns investigation of CA legislators’ Cuba trip
April 9, 2013 By John Hrabe and Katy Grimes After Friday’s report on CalWatchdog.com that at least two state legislators traveled to Cuba with a powerful Sacramento lobbyist, you’d think the state’s political watchdog might be launching a formal investigation. After all,
Read MoreLegislators take secret trip to Cuba with Sacramento lobbyist
April 5, 2013 By John Hrabe and Katy Grimes At least two California state legislators secretly traveled with Sacramento’s “best connected” lobbyist to Cuba during the legislature’s spring break, an exclusive CalWatchdog.com investigation has revealed. State Sen. Cathleen Galgiani, D-Livingston,
Read MoreTop 5 travel tips for Legislators on international junkets
April 4, 2013 By John Hrabe I used to think that I was the world’s most well-traveled Californian. In the past eighteen months, I’ve traveled to more than 70 cities in two dozen countries on four continents. I spent two
Read MoreHow your CA legislators spent spring break
April 3, 2013 By John Hrabe California state legislators returned to the Capitol this week after a week-long spring vacation. The Sacramento Bee’s Capitol Alert already pointed out that spring break is “something California legislators and college students have in
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