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Candidate Corrections

September 30, 2011 By

Two candidate profiles at JoinCalifornia.com had duplication errors corrected today;

 

Samuel Knight

Based on a tip from Felisa Enriquez, the JoinCalifornia candidate page for Samuel Knight has been split into two; one for Samuel Knight Sr. (who served in the State Assembly in 1853) and one for Samuel Knight Jr. (who served in the State Assembly in 1917-1919).

Raymond L. Haight

In addition, two candidate profiles for Raymond L. Haight have been consolidated into one. The two entries appear to have been created because Haight used two slightly different names during two campaigns for Governor of California (as “Raymond L. Haight” in 1934 and “Raymond Haight” in 1938).

As always, remember that everyone makes mistakes, so let us know if you find anything on our website that doesn’t quite look right.

Filed Under: Current Research, JoinCalifornia, State Assembly

2011 Districts added to JC “Redistricting” page

September 23, 2011 By

Statewide maps of the Senate, Congressional, and Board of Equalization district maps drawn by the California Citizen’s Redistricting Commission have been added to the Redistricting page on JoinCalifornia. The Assembly district map should be added soon.

Filed Under: 2012 Election, Current Research, JoinCalifornia, Redistricting

Redistricting. The Impact on Senate Representation

September 23, 2011 By

2013-14 Senate Districts. JoinCalifornia.com

Another result of redistricting…

Because only the odd-numbered Senate districts will be up for election in 2012, the 2013-14 will see a combination of Senators representing both old and new districts. Those elected in 2010 (even-numbered districts) will continue to represent the districts that elected them. Those elected in 2012 (odd-numbered districts) will be representing the new maps drawn by either the Citizens Redistricting Commission (or a Special Master appointed by the California Supreme Court should the referendum qualify).

During the 2013-14 Legislative Session, the northern counties of Siskiyou and Shasta will be represented by two State Senators (Ted Gaines represents the 2011-drawn SD-01 and Doug La Malfa representing the 2001-drawn SD-04). Farther south, all of Mono County and large portions of Marin and Riverside County will fall outside of both the 2001 even districts and the 2011 odd districts.

In the map to the right, areas shaded with horizontal lines indicate odd-numbered districts (elected 2012) while vertical lines show areas in even-numbered districts (using the old 2001 Senate Districts. Blank areas (shown in white) will not fall into any Senator’s district in 2013-14, while areas with both horizontal and vertical lines (outlined in black) will be represented by two Senators.

Filed Under: 2012 Election, Redistricting, State Senate, Top Stories

New Party Attempting to Qualify

September 21, 2011 By

The California Secretary of State has informed the county clerks and registrars of voters that a new party political party is attempting to qualify for the 2012 Primary ballot. The counties now have 30 days to determine the percentage of valid signatures by verifying either 500 signatures OR three percent of the the total signatures filed, whichever is greater.

The group, called “Americans Elect” has filed more than 1,030,040 petitions with the counties. This is the number of valid petitions required to become ballot qualified. If all the submitted petitions are valid (which is unlikely), the party would immediately become a qualified political party. If the party is short of the full number of petitions, additional petitions can be submitted through January. The Secretary must determine that a party is qualified by January 22, 2012 in order to appear on the 2012 Primary ballot.

According to early numbers released by the Secretary of State, it appears that about 70-80% of the signatures submitted so far are valid.

Filed Under: 2012 Election, Current Research, ElectionVolunteer, Political Parties

The Death of Senator Seaton

September 17, 2011 By

One minor mystery from California’s history has been solved.

A biographic note written by Winfield J. Davis in his History of Political Conventions in California, 1849-1892 indicated that State Senator George W. Seaton had died October 13, 1865 “in Yosemite”. It was unclear whether the Davis had meant that Seaton died while visiting the Yosemite Valley (in Mariposa County) or aboard the steamboat “Yosemite” (which had a boiler exploion on October 12, 1865 near Rio Linda, killing 55 passengers and crew).

An article located on Friday morning (“Will of George W. Seaton“, Sacramento Daily Union, Nov. 6, 1865) makes it clear that it was the boiler explosion that killed Seaton.

Filed Under: Deaths, JoinCalifornia, State Senate, Top Stories

California’s Legislature, 2011 ed.

September 15, 2011 By

Thursday marked the release of the 2011 edition of California’s Legislature by the Assembly Chief Clerk’s Office. The book, updated and released periodically since the 1940s, was most recently updated in 2006.

Among the features in the new edition;

  • The party composition of the Legislature for each session since 1849.
  • An expanded glossary of legislative terms.
  • Descriptions of the origin and meaning of the names of California’s counties. (The best is “Napa” which comes from a Native American word meaning either “grizzly bear”, “house”, “motherland”, or “fish”.)

The book can be purchased from the Legislative Bill Room, at 916-445-2645.

Filed Under: Constitutional Officers, Current Research, State Assembly, State Senate

Showalter Exhibit to open at Drum Barracks Museum

September 14, 2011 By

The Drum Barracks Civil War Museum in Wilmington (near the Los Angeles Harbor) recently announced an upcoming exhibit highlighting “a particularly colorful California Civil War character”, Assemblyman Daniel Showalter. Showalter is best remembered for killing Assemblyman Charles W. Piercy in an 1861 duel, and later being the leader of the Confederate forces in the only Civil War skirmish to occur in California.

The exhibit is the result of a research project by historian Robert Arconti which uncovered a notable collection of documents, including the rediscovery of the only known photograph of Showalter and two previously unpublished letters from members of the Showalter family of Pennsylvania.

The exhibit will run for at least six months from its opening on Saturday, November 5, 2011, after which parts of it will become a smaller permanent exhibit. This exhibit will be co-promoted with a reenactment event of the “Capture of the Showalter Party” in Temecula on November 19-20, marking the 150th anniversary of that episode.

The exhibit should be well worth the price of admission.

Filed Under: Current Research, JoinCalifornia, State Assembly

State Legislative Primary Candidate Report (9/14/2011)

September 14, 2011 By

The current count for state legislative candidates being tracked for the 2012 Primary is;

TOTAL: 219
Legislators: 83 Curent Legislators (38%), 18 Former Legislators (8%), 118 Non-Legislators (54%)
Previous Candidates*: 117 have JoinCalifornia biographies (53%), 102 do not (47%)
Parties: 135 Democrats (62%), 79 Republicans (36%), 4 No Party Preference (2%), 1 Green (0%)

 

* JoinCalifornia.com has candidate biographies for all previous General Election candidates since the 1890s. These candidates are already listed on the JoinCalifornia candidates.

Filed Under: 2012 Election, Current Research, ElectionVolunteer, State Assembly, State Senate