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2012 Elections Begin

December 29, 2011 By

Tomorrow marks the official start of the 2012 election season. Although candidates have been announcing their campaigns for months, California law designates December 30th as the first day on which candidate may begin collecting and filing signatures in lieu of filing fees. The key dates for the June Primary are:

December 30 – February 23: Signatures in Lieu of Filing Fees

February 13 – March 9: Regular Nomination Period

March 10 – 14, 2012: Extended Nomination Period (if an eligible incumbent does not file for office)

April 9 – May 22: Write-In Candidate Filing Period

June 5: Presidential Primary Election

Source: Candidate Filing Information from the California Secretary of State

 

We should have a complete idea of what the June ballot will look like by March 15th. With the exception of a very close race or two, the candidate line-up for the November election should be known by the end of June 6th.

Filed Under: 2012 Election, ElectionVolunteer, Top Stories

Jefferson Hunt: Polygamous Assemblyman

December 26, 2011 By

As I’ve noted before, interesting things come up occasionally while researching the biographies of the early California legislators. I find that the varied lives of the pioneers often make an interesting contrast with our contemporary legislators. Two of my favorites are Senator Elijah Hart (who was born in a covered wagon) and Attorney General W. H. H. Hart (no relation) who, at eight year old, was kidnapped by Native Americans and didn’t see his family again for nearly a year.

Some prominent early California politicians had (ah, how to phrase this delicately)… interesting love lives. Assemblyman Abel Stearns, an early Los Angeles Mayor and County Supervisor, married his wife Arcadia when she was only 14 years old. Senate President pro Tem Charles J. Lansing married twice, and his two wives were sisters. Which brings us to the subject of this post…

Jefferson Hunt (1803-1879)

During some research last week, we stumbled on the story of Assemblyman Jefferson Hunt. Hunt was a fascinating person. In addition to being the first person to serve in the State Assembly for five consecutive years, Hunt authored the bill that created San Bernardino County. He was also the first openly poygamous legislator we’ve found. Hunt married his first wife, Celia Mounts, in 1823. Celia was an early convert to Mormonism and Hunt became closely acquainted with Joseph Smith (including service as Smith’s bodyguard). In 1846, shortly after the death of Smith, Hunt was married to his second wife Matilda Nease.

In 1849, Hunt helped found the city of Provo, Utah. A year after that, Hunt had relocated to San Bernardino and was elected to his first term in the California State Assembly. Hunt returned to Utah and served in the territorial legislature there in 1863-1864. He died in Idaho in 1879.

Filed Under: Current Research, JoinCalifornia

Record Setting Legislative Turnover (December Update)

December 23, 2011 By

As we discussed in a previous post three months ago, it looks like California is going to see a near-record number of new legislators in 2013.

In the Senate, 7 State Senators will be leaving due to term limits. Four Senators (Ronald Calderon, Gloria Negrete-McLeod, Michael Rubio, and Juan Vargas), are running for Congress mid-term, which has the potential to create two new vacancies in mid-2013 if they win.

Potential new Senators: 11

In the Assembly, 22 Assemblymembers will be leaving due to term limits. Another five will give up their Assembly seats to run for Congress (Norma Torres, David Valadao, Isadore Hall, Roger Hernandez, and Jeff Miller). Assemblyman Fletcher will give up a third term in the Assembly to run for Mayor of San Diego. Bill Berryhill, Marty Block and Bill Monning will be running for Senate. Paul Fong, Bonnie Lowenthal and V. Manuel Perez, who had been thinking about Senate campaigns, have decided to remain in the Assembly. Alyson Huber will be voluntarily declining to seek a third term. Warren Furutani, eligible for another term in the Assembly, is currently running for Los Angeles City Council (with the run-off scheduled for January 17th) Finally, Mike Morrell and Tim Donnelly are likely to face tough primary challenges, while Jeff Gorell may have difficulty in November.

Potential new Assemblymembers: 33-36 31-34

These numbers (a total of about 44-47 at this point) ignore the number of new Assembly vacancies that might open if any of the State Senators are elected to Congress.

Updated 12/23/2011 at 7:16 pm to include information about Morrell, Donnelly, Gorell, and Furutani.

Updated 12/27/2011 at 3:52 pm to remove Michael Rubio’s congressional run. He announced today that he will not be running.

Updated 12/30/2011 at 9:57 am to remove Isadore Hall’s congressional run. He announced yesterday that he would remain in the Assembly rather than run against two incumbent members of Congress.

Filed Under: 2012 Election, Congress, ElectionVolunteer, Special Elections, State Assembly, State Senate, Top Stories

Disaster Governor follow-up

December 22, 2011 By

John Ellis from the Fresno Bee has written an article about our recent post about Earl Smittcamp and the office of Disaster Acting Governor…

December 21, 2011
Fresno Bee; Gov. Earl Smittcamp? If the disaster was big enough, it could happen
“Earlier this month, the One Voter Project had a blog about the position of “Disaster Acting Governor.” The blog by Alex Vassar notes that the position was created by law in the 1950s, which was at the height of the Cold War — when nuclear war seemed a very real possibility.”

Filed Under: Constitutional Officers, Current Research

Americans Elect party qualifies

December 20, 2011 By

After a strong petition gathering drive (covered in a previous article), the Americans Elect party has qualified for the ballot in California. The announcement, made by Secretary of State Debra Bowen yesterday, means that the AEP will appear on the ballot in both the 2012 and 2014 elections.

According to information gathered from the Americans Elect website, the goal of the party is to provide an alternative candidate to those selected by the major parties.

The addition of the AEP brings the number of parties in California back from six to seven, where it had been since the disqualification of the Natural Law Party in 2006.

Filed Under: 2012 Election, Current Research

Born on Christmas: Why we often overlook (but just can’t forget) Mike Curb

December 17, 2011 By

Some birthdays get a little more recognition than others. In the rush of Christmas festivities, one of the easiest to miss is that of Mike Curb (turning 67 this December 24th). Of the twelve Lieutenant Governors to serve in the last forty-five years (since the legislature became fulltime), none fought as much with their Governor as Curb did with Jerry Brown during his second term as Governor.

Curb is probably best remembered for flexing the powers of the Lieutenant Governor’s office during Brown’s trips out of state. According to his website, as acting Governor, Curb signed more than 30 bills (including the bill creating the California Agriculture Commission) and proclamations and made 431 appointments. In fact, it wasn’t until nearly three decades after Curb left office before another Lieutenant Governor signed a bill into law.

A massive legal fight followed in which Brown challenged the ability of the the Lt. Governor to assume all the duties of Governor while the Governor was out of state. Brown lost, and the stature of the office of Lt. Governor grew… at least a little bit.

Curb has also been active in the entertainment industry, writing nearly 400 songs, 46 of which made it onto the Billboard charts, and winning the Billboard Producer of the Year award. His company, Curb Entertainment, has released 57 movies.

Happy Birthday, Mr. Curb.

EDITOR’S NOTE: A thank you to Mr. Paul for the recent reminder of the importance of a good deputy.

Filed Under: Constitutional Officers, Current Research

California’s Disaster Governor

December 14, 2011 By

Most people are familiar with the idea of a line of succession; a series of people who would take over in the event that an official is killed, disabled, or is temporarily absent or unavailable to hold their office. For example, when President Kennedy was assassinated and when President Nixon resigned, their Vice Presidents assumed the empty office.

In California, the line of succession for the Governor starts with the Lieutenant Governor, who sits in the #2 position. In our state, Lieutenant Governors have succeeded to the Governorship seven times (most recently in 1953). After the Lt. Governor, the position transfers (in order) to the Senate President pro Tem, Speaker of the Assembly, Secretary of State, Attorney General, Treasurer, Controller, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Insurance Commissioner, and Chair of the Board of Equalization.

Earl Smittcamp (Courtesy CSU Fresno)

But who takes over if these constitutional officers are killed or missing in a major disaster or nuclear attack? It’s a name you’re not likely to recognize: Earl S. Smittcamp, a 92-year-old frozen food businessman from the farming town of Clovis.

The line of succession beyond these constitutional officers is dictated by an obscure law written in the 1950s at the height of cold war tension amid concerns about an impending nuclear war between the United States and USSR. The law, which remains in effect today as Government Code section 12050-53, requires the Governor to appoint up to seven Disaster Acting Governors, in a ranked order, to assume control of the state in the event that the rest of the civilian government for the state was killed or missing.

After the passage of the law in 1958, Governor Pat Brown appointed his Disaster Acting Governors. Of the seven appointed in 1959, the only one resigned before the end of Brown’s term was Thomas C. Lynch. According to newspaper reports, Lynch resigned as Disaster Acting Governor #1 in order to run for Attorney General in 1966, which he won.

"Disaster Acting Governor #6" Oath of Office signed by Earl Smittcamp on August 25, 1967

After the 1966 election, Ronald Reagan moved into the Governor’s office and soon appointed a new group of seven new Disaster Governors. In addition to Smittcamp (designated as “Disaster Acting Governor #6″), other six others were Carlyle Reed (#1), Victor Lundy (#2), R. Gwin Follis (#3), Y. Frank Freeman (#4), Virgil Pinkley (#5), and A. W. Bramwell (#7). Two years later, Reagan appointed Robert L. Vickers to fill the vacancy created when Freeman died in 1969.

Since the appointment of Vickers in 1969, no new Disaster Governors were appointed and time has gradually taken its toll on Reagan’s seven appointees; Lundy and Bramwell died in the 1970s, with Follis and Pinkley following in the early 1990s. Carlyle Reed died in 1999, leaving only Vickers and Smittcamp rounding out the line of succession.

After more than a decade as the highest-ranked Disaster Governor, Vickers died earlier this year at age 92. Now, after nearly half a century, Smittcamp serves on as California’s last remaining Doomsday Governor.

Filed Under: Constitutional Officers, JoinCalifornia, Top Stories

Assemblyman Lilburn W. Boggs (1796-1860)

December 10, 2011 By

Wednesday marks the 215th birthday of Lilburn W. Boggs, who was both a delegate to the first Constitutional Convention (he didn’t attend) and served as an Assemblyman in 1852. What makes Boggs stand out is what he did before joining the legislature.

Born in 1796, Boggs was first married at 21, and a Representative in the Missouri Legislature by age 30. He moved to Missouri’s upper house four years later, and became Lieutenant Governor two years after that.

In the election of 1836, Boggs was elected Governor of Missouri, and that’s where the trouble started. Two years into his term as Governor, tensions between Mormons and non-Mormons in the state escalated to the point of armed attacks between the communities. To resolve the “Mormon problem” in Missouri, Boggs issued an order that “the Mormons must be treated as enemies, and must be exterminated or driven from the State if necessary for the public peace.” Most Mormons fled the state to Illinois.

In May 1842, Boggs was shot four times by an unidentified attacker as he read a newspaper in his study. Two shots lodged in his skull, another in his neck, and a fourth entered his throat. After another term in the Missouri State Senate, Boggs moved to California, settling in the Sonoma area (the area he represented in the Assembly in 1852).

Boggs died in Sonoma in 1860.

Filed Under: Current Research, JoinCalifornia, State Assembly

Oropeza Academy opens

December 8, 2011 By

Today marks the opening of the Jenny Oropeza Global Studies Academy in Long Beach. The Academy, located at Rancho Dominguez Preparatory School, is named for State Senator Oropeza, who died in office shortly before the 2010 General Election. The official ribbon-cutting will take place at 3:30 pm today.

Filed Under: Current Research, Deaths, State Senate

70 Years After Pearl Harbor

December 6, 2011 By

Wednesday marks the 70th anniversary of the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor that launched the United States into World War II. The war, which killed more than 62 million people,

John B. Cooke

Two legislators, Assemblymen John B. Cooke and G. Delbert Morris, were at Pearl Harbor during the attack. Cooke, a sitting legislator, had been called to active duty after the 1941 Regular Session ended and had to request permission from the Assembly to miss the special session called in the days after the attack.

Within a month of the attack, Governor Culbert Olson had issued a number of proclamations including ordering California authorities to assist in the registration, evacuation and internment of “Enemy Aliens” in the coastal areas of California (which had been designated a combat zone by the U.S. military).

Of the thousands of Japanese relocated to internment camps during the war were eight who would later become legislators in California; Nao Takasugi (Gila River), Mike Honda (Granada), Norm Mineta (Heart Mountain), Paul T. Bannai (Lone Pine), Doris Matsui (Poston), George Nakano, Alan Nakanishi, Robert Matsui (all three at Tulelake).

Although Pearl Harbor was the last major engagement fought on U.S. soil, the war continued overseas for another three and a half years. Sixteen million Americans served in the war, including over 200 men who later served in the California legislature;

  • Robert W. Crown and Laughlin Waters were an infantry officers who lead soldiers in France
  • John C. Begovich fought in several campaigns; North Africa, Sicily, Italy and France
  • Gil Ferguson fought in the Pacific, including at Tarawa
  • Two others, Burt Talcott and George G. Crawford, lived as POWs for more than a year after their bombers were shot down on runs over Germany

Lou Papan

The contributions made by the WWII generation continue to define much of contemporary politics in California. In fact, it was less than a decade ago when the last WWII veteran, Assemblyman Lou Papan, served in the legislature (retiring in 2002).

Filed Under: Top Stories
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