This week, we get the first installment of the Capitol Weekly Top 100 list. We listened to the voters, heard all the complaints,
and in the end, did whatever the heck we wanted to,
anyway. In the process, we're sure we made some folks'
enemies lists, but hey, that's half the fun, right?
Check this year's list out and tell us who we missed,
and who shouldn't be there at all. And be sure to check
back nedt week to see who made our Top 50....
In other news,looks like the Tea Party has been crashed by ... conservative
Republicans? Are you as confused as we are? Politico explains.
"Just days after the first widespread tea party
demonstrators hit the streets a year ago Thursday,
Joe Wierzbicki, a
Republican political consultant with the Sacramento
firm Russo Marsh +
Rogers, made a proposal to his colleagues that he said
could “give a
boost to our PAC and position us as a growing force/leading force as the
2010 elections come into focus.”
The
proposal, obtained by POLITICO, was for a nationwide tea party
bus
tour, to be called the Tea
Party Express, which over the past seven months has become among
the
most identifiable brands of the tea party movement.
Buses emblazoned
with the Tea Party Express logo have brought speakers
and entertainers
to rallies in dozens of small towns and big cities,
including one in
Boston on Wednesday that will feature former
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
Aided by campaign-style advance work and event planning, slick ads cut
by Russo Marsh, impressive crowds and a savvy
media operation, the political action committee run by Wierzbicki,
Russo Marsh founder Sal Russo and a handful of other Republican
operatives has also emerged as among the prolific fundraising
vehicles
under the tea party banner."
In campaign news, looks like we'll be getting a new
watchdog soon. Patrick McGreevy reports, "Former state
Sen.
Ross Johnson cited health reasons Wednesday in resigning as chairman of
the
state Fair Political Practices Commission, which enforces ethics and
campaign
finance laws in California.
"Johnson, who will step
down at the end of this month, said his decision was
"entirely
personal and the result of recently discovered health
issues.”
"His tenure
has been marked by aggressive enforcement that has
resulted in numerous
fines
against state elected officials for failing to report
campaign spending and gifts from
lobbyists. “I believe that sunshine is the best disinfectant in
the political
process, and I am confident that the good work of the
commission will
continue,” he said. Johnson was appointed to the panel in February
2007.
Meanwhile, Meg Whitman has decided to fill in the gaps left by the diminishing political
press corps.
"Are you concerned about the decline in quality of
the political
media? Well, fear not. Meg Whitman has offered to fill
in the gaps where
the old-fashioned free press has faltered.
Whitman's campaign has put television stations around the state on
notice that it will be sending daily video images of
the candidate on
the campaign trail, just in case a station wants to
put any of them on
the air.
"We are starting something brand new at the Whitman
campaign … so you
can more easily provide your viewers with breaking
news from
California's gubernatorial campaign," the campaign
wrote in a statement.
"Whitman's campaign is not the first to try to get images on the air
during news broadcasts. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration
produced numerous "video news releases" in the early
years of his
administration. Some of that footage wound up on local
news broadcasts
without any disclaimers that the images came from the
administration."
George Skelton says its time for Jerry Brown to start talking specifics about his plans for California. "Jerry Brown's problem
isn't just that he doesn't have enough money to advertise
a campaign
message. It's also that he doesn't have a very strong
message.
"The Democratic attorney general's basic pitch to voters
about why he
should be returned to the governor's office after an
absence of 28 years
is that unlike his potential Republican opponent,
he won't need
training wheels.
"But to go where?"
Brown will address Democratic Party members this weekend
in Los Angeles. But the LAT reports they may be hung over by the time Brown speaks Saturday
morning.
"Friday night is typically the big
party night at these types of gatherings, and this
year is no
exception.
Gavin Newsom is once again tapping his inner tween
by
hosting a party at the Grammy Museum with singer-songwriter Lisa Loeb
and Good Charlotte's Benji Madden. Meanwhile,
EMILY's List and the California chapter
of the National Organization for Women is hosting a
martini and
chocolates party for lieutenant governor candidate
Janice Hahn.
If
that's not your thing, there's a "girls just wanna
have fun" party at
the Conga Room, a Red Carpet Affair at Cicada Club
honoring the new
Assembly leadership, or union-sponsored bowling at a Lucky Strike Lanes
bowling alley.
The
festivities continue Saturday as Los Lobos play an
early concert at the
convention center.
Assemblyman Isadore Hall is hosting a performance by
Chaka Kahn at the Conga Room. Former
Facebooker and current attorney general candidate
Chris Kelly is taking
over the ESPN Zone. Assembly
Speaker John Perez (D-Los Angeles) and Senate President Pro Tem Darrell
Steinberg co-host a "taco truck throwdown." (Think Bobby Flay meets
California politics.) Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) is hosting a movie
night (no word yet on what will be shown, but we think "Avatar"
would be
right on message for this particular gathering). Also Saturday is a
Friends of Israel ice cream social and a "carnaval
2010" party hosted by
attorney general candidate Alberto Torrico."
But they should be careful with all that partying,
lest they end up like Roy Ashburn. "State Sen. Roy Ashburn
(R-Bakersfield) was sentenced Wednesday to two days in jail and three
years probation after pleading no contest to charges
of driving under
the influence of alcohol.
"Sacramento County Superior Court
Judge Russell Hom gave Ashburn one day of jail credit for his time
behind bars after he was arrested by California Highway
Patrol officers
who saw his state car being driven erratically near
the state Capitol on
March 3. Ashburn was not present in court Wednesday during
the
sentencing on two misdemeanor charges, which will not
affect his state
job.
"In addition to serving the second
custody day on a Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department work detail,
Ashburn will pay a fines, fees and assessments totaling
$2,000, must
attend a class for drunk driving offenders and will
have his license
suspended for 30 days after a Department of Motor Vehicles hearing,
according to Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert Clancey."
Malcolm Maclachlan previews the race in AD 5, which could get some national attention this fall.
"Used car salesmen, strip clubs, big money self-financing, the
healthcare debate, gay marriage and
burning buildings — the race in the 5th Assembly District has it all. The highly-contested district also offers a lesson in some of
the many ways money can seep into an election, sometimes
without appearing on campaign ledgers."
And finally, from our Demon Sheep files, the Sun reports,
"Two escaped convicts have dodged a huge manhunt - by disguising
themselves as sheep.
"The pair dressed in full sheepskin fleeces, complete
with heads, to lie
low among farm flocks. Robbers Maximiliano Pereyra,
25, and Ariel Diaz, 28, stole the sheep
hides from a ranch after breaking out of an Argentinian
maximum security
prison a week ago.
And they have managed to evade the 300 cops on their trail - despite
locals seeing them running through fields at night.
A farmworker at La Almeda said: "They were wearing grey clothes but had
full sheepskins, including the sheeps' heads, over
their heads and
backs."
So, if you see this sheep, please report him to the proper authorities.
