Political Notebook
The Madera County Farm Bureau has sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Interior that says it opposes a proposed casino near Madera.
The letter, which the bureau released today, said that the casino would only worsen the water crisis for farmers in the central San Joaquin Valley.
The North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians has long sought to build a 55-acre, $350 million casino four miles north of Madera off Highway 99. Station Casinos also owns another 250 acres of adjacent property where the tribe could expand -- potentially turning Madera into an entertainment mecca.
Because the property is about 35 miles from the North Fork Rancheria, the tribe must first get approval from the Bureau of Indian Affairs before it can build an off-reservation casino. The bureau has approved only a small number of off-reservation casinos in the past 20 years -- and the process is notoriously cumbersome.
In a statement, Julia Berry, Executive Director of the farm bureau, said the bureau is "very concerned that building a mega-casino on this property would overtax the region's already depleted water supplies."
In every election, some races carry a higher profile than others. For better or worse, the race for Fresno County Assessor is usually a political afterthought, lost in the avalanche of the other, higher profile races.
Maybe not this year.
Three of the candidates seeking the seat have loaned themselves money, including an eye-popping $71,500 from current Assistant Assessor Timothy Leming.
Not to be outdone, Peter Filippi has loaned his campaign $41,000, and Paul Dictos has loaned his campaign $8,913. The numbers were all part of recently released campaign finance reports that cover all of 2009.
Then there's the Web site, http://www.anyonebuttim.com, which adds yet another twist to the race. The site primarily slams Leming, but also takes a shot at Dictos.
What the candidates don't seem to be doing is raising much money. Leming's report shows he hasn't raised a dime. Neither has Dictos. Filippi has raised $3,000.
If Leming and Filippi actually spend the money they loaned their respective campaigns, they could each mount fairly aggressive campaigns. All three, along with new candidate Carole Laval -- who filed an statement of intention to run on Jan. 25 -- are seeking to replace current Assessor Bob Werner, who is not seeking re-election.
Another candidate has joined the race for Madera County Supervisor District 2, which covers Chowchilla and a large swath of northwest Madera County. Supervisor Vern Moss said last month that he will not seek re-election.
Former Chowchilla Mayor David Rogers announced today that he will run for supervisor. So far, three other candidates have entered the race: Chowchilla City Councilman Justin White; Phil Janzen, a farmer who has served on the Madera Unified School District board for seven years; and John Silva, a businessman who served two terms as Madera County District 4 Supervisor but lost a re-election campaign in 2004.
Rogers, a businessman, served on the City Council in the 1990s. In a news release, he indicated that he will campaign on a familiar platform: more farm water, less taxes, and more jobs.
"I am tenacious when I believe in something and I am convinced we must take a strong stand against socialistic ideals and elitists who are stripping our farms of water and our state, of jobs," Rogers said in a statement. "Water must be restored to our farms and new water sources identified and developed. Taxes and regulatory burdens must be minimized."
Republican congressional hopeful Jeff Denham today was endorsed by former Fresno Mayor Alan Autry, an important nod of support for the Atwater Republican that could help boost his fortunes in the Fresno area.
Denham is seeking the 19th Congressional District seat currently held by Mariposa Republican George Radanovich, who is retiring. Radanovich has endorsed Denham, but former Rep. Richard Pombo of Tracy is also seeking the seat, as are former Fresno Mayor Jim Patterson and current Fresno City Council President Larry Westerlund.
Denham is currently a state senator, but his Senate district is focused more to the north. As a result, he is better known in Stanislaus and Tuolumne counties -- which make up the northern part of the 19th Congressional District -- and not so much in Fresno and Madera counties, which make up the district's southern area. Mariposa County is also part of the district.
"I think that [Autry's] endorsement of Denham is a bit of a boost, but it's not a game changer," said Tom Holyoke, an assistant professor of political science at California State University, Fresno.
Continue reading "Autry endorses Denham as Radanovich's replacement" »
Only two days after announcing he would run for Madera County supervisor, government watchdog Dale Drozen sent out a mass e-mail today that said he will back out of the race for health reasons.
"It is indeed a bitter pill to swallow when we finally accept our limitations," Drozen wrote. "I have learned over the years that stress is a dangerous thing."
Drozen had planned to move to Supervisorial District 5 and run against Supervisor Tom Wheeler on the November ballot.
He concluded his e-mail with a plea for someone to challenge Wheeler: "I promise you there is lots of support out there, including from me. People are fed up. Please we need someone to step up."
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar sought some credit earlier this week, when he proclaimed that "to assist farmers in the short term...350,000 to 400,000 acre-feet of water will be made available to West Side farmers by March 1."
But instead of credit, Salazar got blasted by Westlands Water District and San Joaquin Valley lawmakers, who accused the department of over-spinning a purely administrative decision. Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, suggested that Salazar might be "trying to dupe the Valley."
Interior must have heard the message. On Wednesday, the department issued what it called a "clarification" of the original statement. The revised and extended statement spoke more of how the water was "confirmed," a different take from the first release, which sounded like new water was coming.
Update: It's now official, the Senate Rules Committee will begin confirmation hearings on Maldonado next Wednesday at 1:30 p.m.
The state Senate as soon as next week could begin confirmation hearings on Abel Maldonado, the governor's pick for lieutenant governor, a leading Democrat said today.
State Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, a top lieutenant for Senate President Darrell Steinberg, said in an interview that the goal is to make a decision on Maldonado by Feb. 12.
"There some semblance that we're going to be making up our minds very quickly," Florez said.
Continue reading "Florez: decision on Maldonado coming soon" »
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has made peace with the State Bar, signing a bill yesterday that restores the Bar's authority to collect member dues.
Schwarzenegger vetoed the bill last year, citing the Bar's treatment of one of his judicial nominees, Chuck Poochigian. The former Republican state senator last year overcame a "not qualified" score from a Bar commission to be confirmed to a state appeals court seat in Fresno. Breaking bar rules, the confidential rating was prematurely leaked to a legal newspaper.
Continue reading "Guv, State Bar make amends" »
Democratic senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein have now split on whether Ben Bernanke should be confirmed as Federal Reserve Board chairman. Boxer is running for reelection. Feinstein is not. Guess who opposes Bernanke now?
On Monday, Feinstein announced her decision to back President Barack Obama's choice. Besides praising Bernanke's skills, Feinstein stressed that "to blame one man for the financial implosion is simply wrong." Contrast this with Boxer, who on Friday declared that "Bernanke played a key role in enacting the Bush administration's economic policies, which led to the current economic crisis."
Boxer's election year opposition to Bernanke aligns her with one of the Senate's most conservative members, Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina. Fears that Bernanke might not win confirmation apparently helped drive the Dow Jones down last Friday, but Senate vote-counters now seem to think Bernanke will survive.
Richard Lake, a certified public accountant and former Clovis Unified school trustee, today announced he would see the Republican nomination in the 20th Congressional District.
Lake, 58, joins an increasingly crowded field of Republicans who are vying to challenge incumbent Democrat Jim Costa.
Already, Fresno businessman Serafin Quintanar, 39, and James Andrew "Andy" Vidak, 44, the owner of Vidak Ranches in Hanford, have said they will seek the Republican nomination.
Lake was born in Montreal, Canada, and became an American citizen in 1969. He is a graduate of California State University, Fresno. He was a Clovis Unified trustee from 1993 to 2008.
Costa has not been seriously challenged since being elected in 2004. In 2006 the Republicans didn't even field an opponent. In 2008, Costa swamped Jim Lopez of Bakersfield, winning almost 75% of the vote.
This year, he'll have to get by a challenge from his own party before moving on to face the winner of the GOP battle between Vidak, Lake and Quintanar.
Local Republicans wasted no time in claiming that Republican Scott Brown's victory in the Massachusetts Senate race showed that San Joaquin Valley Democrats Jim Costa of Fresno and Dennis Cardoza of Merced were vulnerable in their congressional re-election battles this year.
Michael Der Manouel Jr., chairman of the conservative Republican Lincoln Club of Fresno County, says that in the 2008 election, 91 House Democrats won their seats with less than 55% of the vote and therefore are vulnerable.
He then tries to lump Costa and Cardoza into that group. But in 2006 the Republicans didn't even field an opponent against Costa, and in 2008, Costa swamped Jim Lopez of Bakersfield, winning almost 75% of the vote. And Cardoza was unopposed in 2008.
"All of those seats are now in play," Der Manouel says.
Fat chance, experts say. The big reason is that all of California's congressional district lines are drawn in such a way that it is very unlikely any incumbents will lose.
Democrats in Costa's district enjoy a 17 percentage-point voter registration edge, and in Cardoza's district, it is 16 percentage points.
Still, Brown's stunning win is not totally irrelevant to California congressional politics, said John J. Pitney, a government professor at Claremont McKenna College in Southern California.
A year ago, Pitney said, Democrats were talking about going after some vulnerable Republican incumbents. Now, the Democrats will likely move in to a defensive mode.
Overall, it is shaping up to be a really good Republican year, but Pitney says "it does not mean the tsunami will breach the walls built by California redistricting."
Over the years, most of the geographic area currently covered by the 29th Assembly District has been represented -- for the most part, though not always -- by a succession of Republican high achievers.
Stretching back to the 1960s, when north Fresno and Clovis were covered by what was then the 33rd Assembly District, Republican Ernest Mobley held the seat. He eventually rose to become chairman of the Assembly's powerful water committee.
Mobley was followed by Fresno residents Bill Jones and Chuck Poochigian. Then, after two members who didn't reach the ranks of their predecessors, along came Clovis resident Mike Villines. Jones, Poochigian and Villines all rose to leadership positions within the Assembly Republican caucus.
It is now 2010, and with Villines reaching his term limit, the battle is on to replace him.
But so far, the race for the seat that has launched a succession of Republican stars has proven to be low key.
Continue reading "So far, 29th Assembly is low key; new face looks to enter race" »
Tulare's Connie Conway today was named "Assembly Republican Caucus Chair," which makes her the second-highest ranking member of her caucus.
For Conway, it's a consolation prize. She sought to become GOP leader but was beaten by Martin Garrick, who was elected by his peers yesterday. Garrick, R-Solana Beach, announced Conway as his second-in-command in a statement calling her a "problem solver and a fierce advocate for taxpayers."
Conway promised to "hold the line on tax increases, solve our fiscal issues with real solutions and restore California as a jobs-creating machine again."
The GOP has yet to set a date for Garrick to take over from current leader Sam Blakeslee.
A lifelong Democrat, comedian and farm water activist Paul Rodriguez last week proudly declared that he has switched sides.
"I found out I was a Republican. I didn't even know. I had no idea. Wait till I tell my mom," he said at a water forum in Fresno last week.
But days later, he endorsed a Democrat for state Assembly -- Pete Parra, who is running for a South Valley seat now held by Republican Danny Gilmore.
Continue reading "Pete Parra snares endorsement from water activist" »
Former valley Assembly Member Nicole Parra has endorsed (gasp) ... Janice Hahn for lieutenant governor.
Political junkies know that this is no surprise because Hahn, a Los Angeles City Council Member, is squaring off against Parra rival Dean Florez for the Democratic nomination. That is, if Florez stays in the race.
Hahn, who is well known in L.A., but not in the Valley, reached out to Parra, and Parra recently orchestrated a series of meetings for her with Bakersfield business and labor leaders, Parra said.
"Her staff emails me when they need me," Parra said.
When she's not helping Hahn, Parra is helping run her dad's campaign for the Assembly. Pete Parra is taking on Florez's mom for the Dem nomination. While in Bakersfield, Hahn joined Pete Parra at a fundraiser.
Madera County Supervisor Vern Moss is apparently not running for a fourth term in office.
Chowchilla City Councilman Justin White said today that Moss has told him that he will not seek re-election this year. Moss, who was first elected in 1998, did not return calls this week.
Moss represents District 2, which covers Chowchilla and a large swath of northwest Madera County.
White, a legislative assistant for Supervisor Ronn Dominici, said he plans to run for the seat. He said he's relatively sure Moss will endorse him.
In addition to White, two other candidates have said they will run for the seat: Phil Janzen, a farmer who has served on the Madera Unified School District board for seven years, and John Silva, a businessman who served two terms as Madera County District 4 Supervisor but lost a re-election campaign in 2004.
The primaries are in June. If none of the candidates wins more than 50% of the vote, there will be a run-off in November.
UPDATE: Moss confirmed this afternoon that he will not seek re-election. He said that because he is 70 years old, he wants to retire so that he can travel around the world.
"You have to be a little selfish toward the twilight of life," Moss said. "I've been able to do a lot of things and at this point in time I'm going to spoil myself and do a few things I want to do."
He said he thinks White would do a good job as a supervisor, but Moss will not officially endorse anyone until mid-March.
Fresno County has certified its first voter-registration numbers of the year, and the Democratic Party continues to close the gap with the rival Republican Party. The gap is now just 639 voters.
Whether that translates into wins at the ballot box remains to be seen.
Republicans surpassed Democrats a decade ago, and by 2004 had widened the gap countywide to more than 23,500 voters.
Since then, however, the Democrats have been chipping away at the advantage.
In October 2004, Democrats had 140,400 registered voters. Now, they have 157,899. In the meantime, the Republicans have gone from 164,073 in 2004 to 158,538.
Last November, presidential candidate Barack Obama, the Democrat, won Fresno County by more than 5,000 votes over his Republican rival, John McCain.
The other big gainers are those who "decline to state" a political party. Since October 2004, that group of voters has grown by 6,158 voters, and is now the third-largest "party" in Fresno County.
Democrats once again dominate the city of Fresno, after briefly losing it years ago, and lead Republicans in five of the seven City Council districts.
One myth some are perpetuating is that the closing Fresno County gap means that the 19th Congressional District -- where Mariposa Republican George Radanovich is stepping down -- is now in play for Democrats.
The numbers don't show it.
For one, Fresno County has just 129,942 of the congressional district's approximately 350,000 registered voters. In addition, in the Fresno County part of the 19th District, Republicans still hold an advantage of almost 5,000 voters.
The Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians has placed a bet on the governor's race. The tribe, which operates a casino in Madera County, recently gave $12,000 to Democrat Jerry Brown for his expected gubernatorial bid.
Meantime, GOP candidate Meg Whitman got $10,000 from Woolf Enterprises, the west Valley ag company.
State Sen. Dean Florez is re-evaluating his run for lieutenant governor, as his primary challenger racks up key labor endorsements.
In an interview today, the Shafter Democrat emphasized that he is still "100%" in the race. But he said the next few weeks will be critical as he does more private polling on his chances of beating Los Angeles City Council Member Janice Hahn. Hahn, the sister of former Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn, enjoys high name recognition in voter-rich Southern California and has performed well in private polling.
"Janice Hahn is formidable, no doubt," Florez said. "I am going out to poll this next week and I'm anxious to see if the electorate has moved at all since her poll and I'm going to look at the poll and make a very informed decision."
Continue reading "Florez taking a second look at his LG bid" »
Citing inspiration from Tea Party activists, former state lawmaker Phil Wyman on Tuesday launched a campaign to return to Sacramento.
Wyman is seeking the Senate seat now held by Dean Florez, D-Shafter, who terms out at the end of the year. The Democratic candidate is Kern County Supervisor Michael Rubio, a former Florez aide.
Wyman, a longtime resident of Tehachipi -- which is outside the district -- said he recently leased a home in Hanford, which is in the district. He said he also lived in Hanford for a while in the 1990s.
Democrats hold a 17-point voter registration edge in the 16th District, which runs from Mendota to Bakersfield. Wyman, a businessman and rancher, is hoping water politics trumps party loyalty.
Continue reading "Phil Wyman seeks Capitol return" »
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