The Register Pajaronian newspaper had an article about the “Watsonville Caucus” in Sacramento, a group of ten Capitol staffers who grew up in the small Central Coast city.
LINK: Locals find careers at Capitol by Todd Guild
Watsonville Caucus
February 5, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Primary Candidate Tracking Report (2/1/2012)
January 31, 2012 By Leave a Comment
There are currently 177 candidates for Congress and 324 candidates for the State Legislature in the 2012 Primary Election who are currently being tracked in preparation for updating the JoinCalifornia database.
Congress (53 Seats; 177 Candidates)
88 Democrats
79 Republicans
3 Libertarians
3 Greens
3 Independents/No Party Preference
State Senate (20 Seats; 58 Candidates)
34 Democrats
21 Republicans
2 Libertarians
1 Independents/No Party Preference
State Assembly (80 Seats; 264 Candidates)
156 Democrats
88 Republicans
1 Green
1 Peace and Freedom
21 Independents/No Party Preference
Of the 298 state legislative candidates, 130 have appeared previously on General Election ballots, 85 are current state legislators, and 17 are former legislators.
Krekorian Bill overturned by U.S. Supreme Court
January 23, 2012 By Leave a Comment
The U.S. Supreme Court released it’s finding in National Meat Association v. Harris (10-224) this morning. In the decision, the court found that AB 2098 (2008) by Paul Krekorian, which require the immediate euthanization of any nonambulatory animal, violated Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA).
The FMIA includes a preemption clause (§678) which precludes states from imposing requirements that are “within the scope” of the FMIA. On this basis, the Court overturned the California law.
Prior to Krekorian’s bill, the most recent California law to be overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court was AB 1179 (2005) by Leland Yee. That bill, overturned last June, prohibited the sale of violent video games to minors.
Kevin Mullin for AD-22
January 19, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Kevin Mullin, son of former Assemblyman Gene Mullin, has filed to run in the 2012 Primary for AD-22. After serving on the South San Francisco City Council (1995-2002) Gene Mullin served three terms in the Assembly (2003-2008).
Following in his father’s footsteps, currently a member of the South San Francisco City Council (2007-Present), Kevin Mullin also has experience as a legislative staffer, serving as District Director for State Senator Jackie Speier (1998-2001).
By our count, Mullin is the only candidate in the AD-22 race so far.
Hertzberg running for State Senate?
January 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Speaker Hertzberg
The Los Angeles Daily News had an article on the potential campaign by former Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg for the newly drawn State Senate District 27.
If Hertzberg does decide to run, he will be breaking the mold. Although it wasn’t uncommon for Assembly Speakers to be elected to the Senate in the early years of the state (in fact, two individuals served as both Assembly Speaker and Senate pro Tem), it has been 84 years since the last Speaker moved to the upper house.
Governor Merriam
The last Assembly Speaker to become a State Senator was Frank F. Merriam (Speaker in 1923-1926), who was elected to the State Senate in 1928 and went on to be Governor in 1934. Since Merriam, at least four other Speakers have run for (and lost) races for the State Senate;
A decade after Merriam was elected to the Senate, Speaker Edgar C. Levey lost a General Election campaign for SD-14 in 1938. In the 1950s, Sam L. Collins lost a Primary Election bid for SD-35 in 1952 and James W. Silliman lost in a Special Election for a SD-25 in 1955. Finally, Doris Allen ran in the SD-35 Special Election of 1995 (losing the primary to Ross Johnson).
With incumbent State Senators Fran Pavley and Tony Strickland already in the race, Hertzberg has some major challenges to overcome. But if Stickland withdraws to run for Congress, Hertzberg’s positive relationship with legislative Republicans might be a major advantage in the new Top Two Primary structure.
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.
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