Category Archives: California Politics

If Anything Interesting Happens at the California Democratic Convention in LA, I’ll Let You Know…

Posted on March 6, 2014 by | Leave a comment

I’m attending the California Democratic Convention in Los Angeles this weekend. It’s unclear how much actually “news” or Democrat-on-Democrat political fighting will occur, but if anything fun happens I’ll let you know.
You can follow me on Twitter at my main account, @njudah where I’ll hashtag the relevant entries with #cadem2014. If anything warrants a longer form post, I’ll post here from some hotel computer. It should provide for at least some entertainment, if nothing else.
I’ve been going to most of these things since 2003, depending on where they’re located, and often I find just talking to the various people working behind the scenes, I learn a bit more than just what makes the daily news. Thus, I’ll pass along any interesting details, should they pop up!

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Posted in California Politics, Democratic Party Chatter

Just How DO Paid Signature Gatherers Get Paid?

Posted on July 14, 2011 by | Leave a comment

Today’s Chronicle had a report that signature gatherers for Public Defender Jeff Adachi’s pension reform measure were “caught on camera” saying things to voters that were “misleading.” After checking out, all I can say is that if anyone thinks they found a smoking gun, they may not be aware of a) how words can be twisted and b) how paid signature gathering works.
First, the words: many canvassers in the video were saying things like “if you want to prevent night time parking meters sign this petition.” It is very correct that the petition says nothing about it, but at the same time, it would be almost impossible to prosecute. That’s because if city pensions begin to dominate city spending, why yes, one could reasonably infer that “nighttime parking meters (WTF?) could in fact be a response to said financial crisis.
So could a tax on unicorn horns. You see where this is going.
Also, those that point the finger should be darn sure none of their folks pulled any similar weasel word stunts too – these things can backfire spectacularly if you’re not on solid ground.
I avoid signing petitions at all costs, unless it is for something that I’ve heard of that is sponsored by people I trust. I think people in San Francisco would be doing themselves a favor by not signing these things based on some emotional chatter they get from some fool collecting signatures. It sucks, because many good things are put on the ballot this way, but I think we need to thin the herd on ballot measures for a while.
Second, the methods. When the press talks about paid signature gatherers, they’ll usually do their research and find out how much they’re paying per signature. In California it can be as high as $6 a signature. The question is – did the hippie in front of Safeway who asked you to sign a petition get $6 for your signature? Probably not.
Campaigns usually hire a professional firm to gather signatures for a ballot measure (local or state). That company will then hire contract workers who then go out and get the signatures. However, these sub-contractors don’t simply go out with a stack of clipboards and start earning $6 per signature. Instead, they go out and hire another series of sub-contractors, and pay them a percentage of the $6. In some cases those sub contractors might even hire another level of folks, but that is rare.
Let’s make it simpler: Campaign Signature Company “A” hires contractor “Elvis” to get signatures at $6 each. “Elvis” then hires a crew of 10 people to get signatures, but pays them only $3 each. This means that 10 people are being managed by “Elvis” bringing in signatures, who is getting $3 each and isn’t actually out there doing anything – he is instead managing a crew of 10. Any one of those could take a dollar less and sub out the work themselves too, if they wanted. In the end, “Elvis” is going to make more money farming out the work to 10 people, each armed with 4 clipboards a piece, than he ever would alone getting the full $6.
Most of the people who do this are pros who follow the action wherever it goes, similar to those who once followed the Grateful Dead back in the day. They may or may not be from the jurisdiction and in almost all cases are simply trying to play a numbers game, racking up as many signatures as they can. Needless to say, these aren’t people who know or care much about what the petition is for, so it’s easy to see where the incentive is to make up stuff just to get people’s signatures.
A bill to regulate the signature mills made its way through the state Senate. Predictably it was all on party-line votes – Democrats wanted it regulated to prevent fraud, while Republicans want to ensure that money buys access to the ballot.
One thing you can do right away is if approached to sign something is to ask if they are paid or not. Under the law, they have to tell you and it must be printed on the petition.
Either way, take the time to read the fine print before you sign. Just because something is called “The Kittens Puppies and Rainbows Initiative to Save The Children” doesn’t mean it’s so.

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Posted in California Politics, Campaign Tactics & Analysis, Debunking Politicos Pundits + Spin, San Francisco Politics

What Could YOU Buy with $119,000,000? Let’s Start Counting The Ways….

Posted on September 15, 2010 by | Leave a comment

It was reported in the news today that Meg Whitman, the rich lady trying to buy her way into the Governor’s (non) mansion in Sacramento, has now spent $119,000,000 on her campaign to date, outspending billionaire Mayor Mike Bloomberg in New York City.
While this has been a great private stimulus for the television stations, radio stations and commercial creators and the junk mail printers, it hasn’t resulted in a landslide of support for Ms. Whitman just yet.
For fun, I was wondering what you could buy for $119,000,000. This was the result from an hour on The Google. Let’s read on and see….and feel free to contribute your own ideas in the comments:
–$119,000,000 would fund the “Great Green Wall” that is designed to re-forest North Africa and prevent the spread of desert out there. (by the way, Bill Gates donated the $119,000,000 in this case)
-$119,000,000 would allow you to buy 119,000,000 copies of the Bible, in Kindle format. Or, 19,833,333 copies at 6 bucks a pop in print via Amazon.com (taxes and shipping not included).
-$119,000,000 would also buy you 7,933,333 copies of Atlas Shrugged in paperback format at (about) $15 each.
-$119,000,000 would cover the estimated loss of productivity created by Google’s “Pac Man” logo. Surely you recall this excellent lunch break entertainment, yes?
-$119,000,000 would cover the cost of about 23,800,000 Alice Waters approved “healthy” school lunches. This was calculated by taking the cost the Berkeley Unified School District is spending now at their pilot program ($4.85) and rounding up to $5. Hey, let’s not be cheap-asses – won’t someone please think of the children??
If eating Belgian endive and organic food isn’t your thing, you could buy 39,666,666 McDonalds Happy Meals at $3 each. And don’t forget – that’s still healthier than some of the crap schools serve nowadays.
-$119,000,000 could pay for 1,492 police officers paid at the low end of the San Francisco Police Department’s pay scale (one of the best paid police forces in the United States.) Or, pay ’em half, double the number, and send them to “guard the border” instead? Or, perhaps send them to where crimes are committed, maybe? Hmm?
-$119,000,000 would buy 9916666 doses of the adult influenza vaccine at $12 a dose. Let’s hope that anyone buying that many gets the group discount.
-$119,000,000 would buy 23,800 Glock 17 9mm pistols, presumably for our friends in law enforcement. At about $500 each, that’s not a bad deal. (Although, or the record, I’m not entirely sure if most police officers use a Glock 17 or another model, this is based on some quick Googling).
-$119,000,000 would pay a year’s college costs at a private institution in California for 2,644 students. Or pay for 4047 students at a UC school. Or pay for 5724 students at CSU. (Costs obtained from CaliforniaColleges.edu ). Or forget about tuition, etc. – build a college and call it Meg Whitman University!
-$119,000,000 could buy 1,700,000 “72 hour” disaster relief kits, complete with MREs, water, etc at $70 each. That might be pricey for disaster relief, perhaps? Again, buying in bulk usually gets you a better deal. In a disaster prone state like California, might that buy more goodwill than a bunch of stupid TV ads that ruin football?
Anyway, this was all back-of-the-envelope calculations after about 90 minutes on Google. Got any better ones? Feel free to enter them in the comments below.

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Posted in California Politics, Debunking Politicos Pundits + Spin

Political Parlor Tricks: Fundraising Reporting Fun!

Posted on June 30, 2010 by | Leave a comment

Right about now, just about anyone running for office, from Mosquito Abatement District Commissioner to Governor is sending out pleas on Twitter, Facebook, email, smoke signal, etc. begging for money. You see, we’re hitting up against a “reporting deadline” whereby after today, most candidates will have to account for money raised and spent up to this point. Hence the e-begging and so on.
The Press, as usual, will peruse these, and based on how much money is reported, will declare who is a “viable” candidate. Predictable, yes. Accurate? Not necessarily.
That’s because virtually every campaign (with the exception of those run by vain plutocrats) plays a little game with the reports. What they’ll do is often ask staff to hold off being paid, or find vendors willing to wait a day past the deadline to get their bills paid. Why, you ask? Simple. By not showing that money as being spent they can show it as “cash on hand.” Then, when The Press reports how much “money” they have, it looks like they have more than they really do. Trust me when I say this goes on way more than you might think.
It’s a cheap trick, kinda like using wide ruled paper to make your report in school look longer than it is, or bumping up a font on that term paper. However, it is a tried and true way to make you look good, and The Press always falls for it. They can’t help it – the next reports won’t be filed for months.
Quarterly reports and the like are so 20th century. Instead, if people want to do public disclosure of money raised and spent, they should be filed electronically every week, and put online within days, and that way this kind of nonsense ends. More importantly, if you wanna drill down and see who is getting money from who, and whom they might be spending it on (vendors, consultants, pollsters, ad agencies, etc.) you’d find out a lot sooner.
As it stands, “disclosure” just means more money for the specialty lawyers and accountants who can deal with this bureaucracy legally, while the voter remains uninformed.
San Francisco has some unique twists on this, especially regarding spending limits, public financing, and so on, but that gets its own blog post.

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Posted in California Politics, Campaign Tactics & Analysis

Why I Like Watching “Treme” But It Also Scares the Hell Out of Me

Posted on May 25, 2010 by | Leave a comment

treme.pngIf you’ve not had a chance to see HBO’s latest show, “Treme”, by author/ex-journalist/blogger hater David Simon (he of “The Wire” fame), I strongly urge you to do so, by any means necessary. If you have HBO and OnDemand, it should be there, if not, well wait for the DVDs or explore (ahem) alternate means of content delivery or whatever, but you really need to see this.
The Short Recap: it’s a story about people from various parts of New Orleans in the immediate aftermath of Hurrcaine Katrina in 2005-2006. We all know what a supreme f*ck up FEMA and the feds were after this disaster, and we’ve all seen the pictures on TV. What Treme manages to do is to personalize those stories and do that expertly woven tapestry of lives and events that Simon pioneered in The Wire.
It’s both fascinating, and horrifying to see what can happen to an American city in the 21st century, and how “shock doctrine” ideologues, good old fashioned corruption and racism, and the economic realities of a debt-ridden nation of do-nothings can collide and create the mess that we still have to this day.
Now, while I enjoy the drama and a well written TV series, and so on, Treme still scares the Hell out of me every week I watch the show. That’s because I truly fear what is going to happen to San Francisco when the inevitable Big F*cking Earthquake hits us.
We are not prepared for what people will do to our city after the quake, and after years of rule by Prince Gavin Newsom and the Board of Supervisors, I genuinely believe that the only line of defense we have against a horrifying immediate aftermath is going to be the citizens of SF, and them alone, helping each other out. What’s scarier though, is how this corrupt city will no doubt use the disaster as a way to destroy neighborhoods and create “Suburbia By the Sea,” and historical anything be damned.

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Posted in California Politics, Debunking Politicos Pundits + Spin, Democratic Party Chatter, San Francisco Politics

Why I’m Voting “NO” on Prop. 16 – No, Really!

Posted on May 20, 2010 by | Leave a comment

13299_111631608866160_111598052202849_150204_7339158_n.jpgSometimes, I really, really, REALLY hate ballot initiatives.
Case in point? Proposition 16. Easily one of the most bullshit-named initiatives we’ve got – the “Taxpayers Right to Vote Act.” This is one of the most misleading titles ever because…taxpayers already have the right to vote on any socialization of the power system in their area right now! Go ask the hippies in San Francisco if you’re not sure (where public power has been voted on 8 times and lost, each time.)
This wasn’t easy, because I absolutely hate the self-appointed violent Stalinist “activists” who support so-called “public power.” They don’t really care about anything but their ideology, and aren’t afraid to use violence and death threats to enforce their political correctness on others.
So why, then would I ally myself on the same side as these clowns? Simple. “Two Thirds” vote requirements are bullshit, plain and simple. The idea that a ballot measure could get 65% of the vote and still lose??? That’s tyrannical. Our legislature wallows in dysfunction, and local governments have a Hell of a time getting things done because of similar laws and it’s all because a few radical ideologues in Sacramento hate local governments and want to hurt them as much as possible.
Hence, I’m voting Hell NO on this thing since I hate 2/3rds rules as a matter of general principle. Besides, the money PG&E spent to put this thing on the ballot could have gone to many better things.
I think it’s also time California re-think the idea of “Ballot Measures.” It has devolved from the people’s way to counter balance corporate influence into an ATM for companies willing to buy the signatures and write self-serving laws that benefit only them. Epic grassroots power FAIL.
(Oh also, vote no on 17, which is a bid by those plutocrats at Mercury Insurance to jack up your rates. They suck too!)

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Posted in California Politics, Debunking Politicos Pundits + Spin

Let’s Do Write Ins For The Non-Challenged Incumbents in June!

Posted on May 15, 2010 by | Leave a comment

Oh, June Democratic Primary Ballot. You are, in fact, the worst primary ballot yet, and I’ve been voting in these things for far too long. At the top of the ticket is a yawn-fest (if some crackpot no name actually beats Gov. Brown in the primary, I’ll buy everyone that reads this column a beer), in the middle an “evil of two lessers” choice (nominees for Attorney General), and at the bottom, a confusing battle locally for people who actually want to serve on the San Francisco County Democratic Central Committee (a job that pays nothing, sucks up your time, and drives you mad).
What to do, what to do?
Here’s what I’m doing – my time-honored tradition of using my mail ballot as a taxpayer funded coloring book. Now, far be it from me to trivialize voting in the World’s Greatest Democracy, but when so many of these things have been pre-ordained, I think it’s time for some Write In Candidate Fun.
This is nothing new – when San Francisco instituted its IRV/RCV/WTF/OMG/FML voting system, it was reduced to a joke since so often, incumbents were unopposed for re-election. Despite the fact we were promised it’d make it easier for no-names to beat the Big Kids, nothing changed, so I took the liberty of making those poll workers work, by counting my write in ballots, more than once.
This time, I propose something different. Many, many incumbent legislators are on the ballot in the primary who have no opposition, so there’s no risk if you decide to say “Frak It” and write in the name of someone else. It’s not like we dislike people like Fiona Ma, Tom Ammiano, or Leland Yee, but they’re going to win with 99.99% of the vote in the primary, AND win re-election in the fall. So why not write in someone for those spots, and have some fun with it?
I have no delusions that out of such an exercise we’re going to read in our Google Readers the day after the election that Fiona Ma has been ousted, via write-in votes by Rory B. Bellows or some other crazy thing. So go for it, and post in the comments who you wrote in for what.
PS: Of course, the idea that taxpayers are paying for an election that is for the nomination of candidates by party is nonsense – there’s no reason at all we need to waste tax dollars on this. Party nominees should be made by members of that party, be it by convention, private vote, or whatever, but this idea that the government has to sponsor such contests is ludicrous.

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Posted in California Politics, Campaign Tactics & Analysis, Democratic Party Chatter

John Cusack for Governor 2010? Sure, Why Not?

Posted on March 17, 2010 by | Leave a comment

Say+Anything+001+resized.jpgNow, calm down and bear with me here. I’m not entirely kidding. Here’s why.
There’s no denying that after 7 years of mismanagement by Governor Doofinator, the 2/3rds rule and an array of inexperienced or corporatized “Democrats” in Sacramento, combined with endless bullsh*t “ballot measures,” we need a change at the top.
But right now our choices are limited to “eMeg,” another vain billionaire who has no idea how government works, and AG/Former Governor Jerry Brown, who is smart, knowledgeable, but has chosen to run a campaign so low-profile, no one knows he’s running, and is likely to lose, especially with the Democratic base divided over “President” Obama’s performance, and a GOP who’s willing to cater to the batshit insane to reclaim power.
Now, my scenario here was a bit more relevant in January, when I came up with it, but I figured I’d put it out now, on the eve of the California Democratic Convention, since I’m worried we’re going to have a new level of arrogant stupidity invade the Capitol. So for your consideration, I wonder if perhaps Democrats run John Cusack* for Governor in 2010.
I came up with this for several reasons. While Brown was able to dispatch the inept and expensive “Newsom for Governor” campaign in 2009 by raising money and spending little, that approach does not work in early 2010, which is what the campaign chose to do.
Up against a crazy billionaire, though, at this late date, it isn’t working anymore. Now, we have the prospect of a candidate who has no challenge in the primary coasting, but not building a statewide network to fight this craziness. The “kitchen table” approach won’t cut it this time around. Brown has name ID amongst older voters, but he doesn’t necessarily have an image or name ID with many new voters, nor does he have a mechanism to do that. (And sorry, but f*cking Facebook doesn’t count)
More to the point, we can’t afford another vanity governor who will do more damage to the state, and who’s willing to lie to get the job. And while I note the irony of replacing one Hollywood candidate with another, I’ve been reading Cusack’s articles and interviews for some time now, and he’s a very bright, very engaged person, not amongst your typical arrogant Hollywood liberal who drives around in a Prius but does so for just for show. And, his career hasn’t had the post 80s drop off that others of his generation have had – he’s still fairly well known amongst voters of all ages. (and it’s not like similar ideas haven’t popped up before!)
Admittedly this is all a bit wild – but the fact is if either Cusack, or any Democratic candidate could have easily upset Brown if they’d just had the courage to step up for both the Party, and more importantly, the improvement of the State of California. Brown would have been caught flat-footed, and people would have had a chance to make a real choice in June.
Of course, Mr. Cusack has better things to do than waste his time working with an incompetent, lying state government. It’s too bad that more people that know this to be the case never bothered to even try. But cowardice in the Democratic party starts at the top, with a President who is always willing to sell out his own party for the sake of keeping the people who hate him happy, and it continues on down to an array of California politicians who don’t seem to know, or care, how to make this state great again.
Unfortunately, we all lose in the end.
* I also propose Mr. Cusack because he just seems cooler than most “stars” but Hell, it could be anyone (politician, star, or otherwise) with a little cash and some name ID who isn’t a moron (because voters are too stupid to read up on this on their own) to do what Arnold could have done, but failed to do – cut the crap and rally people to a reform agenda. The trick is whoever this magic person is would have to surround themselves with good people – something again in short supply in politics!

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Posted in California Politics, Democratic Party Chatter, Gov. Doofinator's Follies

OUCH! Former Newsom Campaign Manager Garry South Issues Scathing E-Blast On…Gavin Newsom?

Posted on February 25, 2010 by | Leave a comment

frustratednewsombayview.jpgOuch.
That’s all I could think of when I was sent this email from Garry South, the chief strategist of the Hahn for Lt. Governor campaign, who also happens to be a former advisor to the now defunct Newsom for Governor campaign. Newsom, as you may know, might actually run for LG after all, and the fact one of his former advisors is working for another candidate? Well one had to wonder if that was going to end in tears or not.
Today, the following communique was issued by Mr. South. Upon reading it, all I could think of was just how much of a knockdown dragout fight this race could be. Read on:

STATEMENT BY GARRY SOUTH
CHIEF STRATEGIST, JANICE HAHN FOR LT. GOVERNOR
FORMER SENIOR ADVISOR, GAVIN NEWSOM FOR GOVERNOR
I am surprised and perplexed that my friend and former client Mayor Gavin Newsom apparently has decided to jump into the lieutenant governor’s race at the last minute – especially against an already-announced candidate who would be the first woman lieutenant governor in California history.
In every one of several conversations we had about the job while he was running for governor, the Mayor expressed nothing but disinterest in and disdain for the office of lieutenant governor. In fact, he was derisively dismissive of Gray Davis’s decision to run for and serve as lieutenant governor prior to running for governor (“I’m not a Gray Davis,” he said). On a couple of occasions, he directed me to repudiate publicly in the strongest terms that he had any interest in ever running for lieutenant governor.
The Mayor himself told the Chronicle in October that rumors he may run for lieutenant governor were “absurd” and “a complete lie,” and angrily accused Jerry Brown of personally spreading false information to that effect. As recently as December, he himself said flatly “no” when asked directly on a San Francisco radio show whether he intended to run for lieutenant governor.
In addition, when he precipitously pulled out of the governor’s race in late October – against my advice – he said he couldn’t continue as a statewide candidate because he was a husband, a new father and the mayor of San Francisco. So far as I know, he’s still a husband, a new father and the mayor of San Francisco. So it’s pretty hard to see what’s changed over the last four months that would now allow him to run for another statewide office.
If the Mayor does run, it is his responsibility to explain why he now claims to want an elected office he summarily dismissed publicly numerous times over the last several months, and which just earlier this year he called “a largely ceremonial post” … “with no real authority and no real portfolio.”

I’ve got to wonder why Mayor Newsom would want to subject himself to a statewide race against some of his own people, who seem quite willing to take out the blowtorch and pliers and go to work on the Mayor over here. I sure as Hell wouldn’t want to go through that, and I can’t imagine why Newsom would either. Even if he won the primary, he’d come out of it with enough damage that it might make the LG in reach for the Republicans in November since everything’s kind of up in the air now.
Bring on the pain, Democrats!

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Posted in California Politics, Democratic Party Chatter, San Francisco Politics

Hold On A Second…That Sign Looks Like It Was Photoshopped, Mr. Mayor!

Posted on October 13, 2009 by | Leave a comment

gavinsignfake.jpgSo, it seems Mr. Mayor Whatshisname has a new campaign video out. I guess nowadays posting something on YouTube is a really big deal, and this is like, way Web 2.0 campaigning and all Obama-like and whatnot. Fine.
However, I find this video interesting. but not for a reason Team Newsom might like. You see, I was noticing that suddenly the Mayor is supportive of a “Constitutional Convention” to reform our state’s government. This is an idea popular with the liberal types, the conservative types, the business-y types, and political bloggers. So now I guess he’s on board. Um, woo hoo?
What’s funny is while watching this video (with the older, cooler logos from earlier this year) I saw this image at 0:24, and it made me wonder out loud if this thing was photoshopped in some way. I didn’t recall seeing any old Newsom 1.0 signs with “Constitutional Convention” on ’em before, and I’m nerdy enough to notice and keep track of things like that. What really got my attention was how oddly colored this is compared to other elements in the video.
Anyway, I figure the good people on the blogs can pick this apart and have fun with it. Maybe I’m right and maybe not. But the great thing about The Internet is you can always pose a question and let others do the heavy lifting.
UPDATE: It seems great minds do think alike and our friend MattyMatt noticed the same thing also.
Mainstream media? Gavin Newsom? You got some ‘splainin’ to do! 😉

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Posted in California Politics, Debunking Politicos Pundits + Spin