California Crossroads

California voters have put the state at a crossroads. Using Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken" as an analogy. One is a road deeply trodden black from elections past, the other grassy and wanting for wear.

One road will echo the path of Washington the past eighteen months, the other provide the people with protection from reckless spending, higher taxes and continuing failed economic policies that have pushed our state, and nation, down the road of insolvency.

With our gerrymandered districts for State Senate and Assembly there is little chance the composite of the California Legislature will change. It will remain firmly in control of Democratic majorities, who will need just a few defectors from the GOP side to pass any budgets. Not needed will be any defections to pass mountains of legislation that impact businesses, daily life and continue the intrusion of the state into our lives.

Our government is set up with a system of checks and balances, you learned about them in high school, or should have. Unfortunately too many voters, most voters, do not appreciate their role in the checks and balances between the Legislature and the Executive. Having one party with a significant control over the Legislature and the Executive removes safeguards for extreme legislation.

In the primary election yesterday Meg Whitman secured the Republican nomination in a brutal campaign with mostly Steve Poizner. Whitman trounced Poizner but in the campaign he took more than an ounce of flesh. In a critical election, once again the California Republican Party shows no discipline, no cohesion and assists the Democrats with a close primary fight that wounds the winner financially and politically. Whitman having secured the nomination of the minority party must now unite not only the Republican Party but also enough Independent and Conservative Democrats (are there any in California) to upset her opponent. If Poizner truly cared about this election he would start today in congratulating Whitman on the race and work hard for her campaign for November--without his supporters the race is lost.

Whitman's opponent is no surprise. Spending perhaps $100,000 through the primary former Governor Jerry Brown secured the nomination in a landslide. Making no news, merely sitting back and letting the two Republican candidates pound the politics out of each other, Brown's campaign just ran their DVRs and recorded what a fellow Republican said about Brown's opponent. The Democrats kept any serious candidates out of the race allowing no spears to chink Brown's armor.

Jerry Brown is an open book. He will campaign as close to the center as he can get. He need not appeal to the Democratic base because he is the base: he defines liberalism in California as shown by his years in the Governor's mansion, Mayor of Oakland and more recently as Attorney General. His sole campaign strategy will be to appeal to Independents and the right-wing of the Democratic Party. Sound familiar to November 2008? Like then Senator Obama, Brown can leave his principles and ideology off the campaign trail and pick them back up when, if, elected.

Quickly looking down ticket it is a landslide for Democrats: Lt. Governor will pit Abel Maldonado (R) against San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsome (D). Maldonado has angered many in the GOP with his vote to raise taxes last year; Newsome is Jerry Jr. with his liberal agenda and willingness to ignore the California Constitution for his own political gain and popularity.

Secretary of State Debra Bowen (D) will face unknown Damon Dunn and unless she is caught doing something illegal will cruise to victory, though depending on the illegal act California voters will probably ignore and transgressions and re-elect her anyway.

Similarly Treasurer Bill Lockyer (D) will face Mimi Walters in a race that should mirror the Secretary of State race.

Perhaps showing some competitiveness will be the race for Attorney General between Kamala Harris (D) and Steve Cooley (R). Cooley has a record that can appeal to the middle, but enough to defeat rising star Harris? He may not contain the GOP base, which would be a shame for that base if they do not support him, if not he goes down.

Governor, Lt. Governor, Secretary of State, Treasurer, Attorney General, at a minimum four of the five seats can, and probably will, go Democrat. Facing the "checks" and "balances" of a Democratic Senate and Democratic Assembly.

So the question Californians need to ask is this: Can our state afford having every statewide office plus the Legislature in the control of one party? If you answer "no" then you need to support Meg Whitman for Governor, not just with your vote but with your voice, your money and your relationships. If you answer "yes" then just sit back and wait.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Excerpt from "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost

Will California take the one less traveled by?

DCS06092010

Election June 8th

In two weeks we have the opportunity to once again exercise the most most important right we have as American citizens: voting. With a lot on the ballot I will run through my two cents for the races on the Democratic and Republican primary ballots.

Note that I am a registered Republican so the recommendations below indicate that barring some unforeseen circumstance this is how I will be completing my ballot. For the Democratic candidates I am using my wife's sample ballot and will provide my thoughts on why if I were a registered Democrat for my choice.

Governor: It seems the Democrats have only one selection: Jerry Brown. While he has six opponents none of them have a chance. With Jerry you will be getting an old fashioned liberal. For the Republican side I am voting for Meg Whitman, I feel she has the stronger backbone to stand up to the Democratic majority that is guaranteed to hold in the Legislature against further tax increases and expansion of our state government.

Lt. Governor: This is an anyone but vote and I need to do a little more research but it seems tough to beat the ones with name recognition. For Republicans anyone by Abel Maldonado who sold out on his personal vow to not raise taxes as a member of the California Senate and cast the vote needed to give us the highest tax increase in history last year. He did it so he could be appointed Lt. Governor by Schwarzenegger, thankfully the Democrats in the Legislature have not confirmed him. On the Democratic side anyone but serial law breaker Gavin Newsom. As Mayor he has encouraged law breaking by making San Francisco a sanctuary city, performing gay marriages and even cheating on his wife. The guy seems to have no moral compass for right or wrong, for law or lawlessness, it is what ever makes him happy.

Attorney General: Republicans need to vote for John Eastman, who I wrote about in March and am endorsing. For the Democrats I know that Kamala Harris has support locally, but as DA in San Francisco she has aided and abetted the law-breaking of Mayor Newsom, while I am in favor of gay marriages it is not the law in California, he job as DA and as AG if elected is to enforce the law not allow politicians to break the laws. For Democrats I would take Chris Kelly, like Eastman a non-politician with no favors to pay-back. We need a strong AG to enforce the laws and Constitution of this State, not go off on their own agenda as we have seen with current AG Jerry Brown.

Insurance Commissioner: I can't believe we vote for this position. On the Republican side we have one member of the Legislature who like Maldonado broke a no tax pledge to his constituents (Villines) who I cannot vote for, therefore I am voting for Brian Fitzgerald who is in the Insurance Department's enforcement division. On the Democrats side two members of the Legislature are running, Hector De La Torre who annually tries to pass a law to give illegal immigrants drivers' licenses and Dave Jones. I hold my nose and vote for Jones.

U.S. Senate: I doubt any Democrat will beat incumbent Barbara Boxer, ma'am, though I think it is funny that uber-liberal Mickey Kaus is running against her because she is not liberal enough. On the Republican ballot I stick with my endorsement of Carly Fiorina from February. Acknowledging that Tom Campbell and Chuck Devore are very good candidates and would do a very good job, I think Fiorina has the best chance of unseating Boxer.

U.S. Representative (37th): Yeah! I actually have a candidate on the GOP primary for the 37th District! And it is a great candidate with a solid chance to win the general election in November: Star Parker. On the Democrats side we have incumbent Laura Richardson who is under ethics investigations and has a well chronicled history of personal financial mismanagement versus two always-runs and a new comer. The new comer deserves support and votes from local Democrats, Terry Ponchak. He is from the Bixby Knolls area of Long Beach, local attorney, involved in the community and is not Richardson. I wish him well in unseating an incumbent in the primary--it has happened in other parts of the country will local voters see it happen here?

Member of the Assembly (55th): For Republicans there is one name on the ballot, Christopher Salabaj. For Democrats incumbent and organized labor's best friend Warren Furutani who has never met an anti-business/pro-labor rally he didn't like, he should have an SEIU patch on his suit.

Superintendent of Public Instruction: Not a visible office but an important one, both parties have the same names on their ballots. I have not researched every person, however I do know that Diane Lenning on the bottom of the ballot has been criss-crossing the state listening to parents, teachers and administrators as she campaigns for office. I am voting Lenning.

Propositions: NO on all propositions but Prop 13 which limits the reassessment of property that has undergone seismic retrofitting. My initial instinct would be to vote no on this, however if a building has to undergo state mandated seismic retrofitting, as in a hospital or private school or college, then why should that retrofit further increase costs by raising taxes? Yes on Prop 13.

Regarding Prop 14, aka the open primaries proposition, I am against this. This proposition only helps the majority party and hurts the minority party and minority candidates. A case in point is the race for governor. There is no way that Jerry Brown loses the Democratic nomination. If Prop 14 were law now this guaranteed win allows the Democrats to encourage their party members in key districts to vote for the candidate of the Democrats choice, most likely the candidate least likely to win the November election. The same can happen in strong Republican districts for Assembly and Senate, GOP voters putting votes to the weakest Democratic candidates to ensure wins in November. If we are having open primaries then ban parties and make all statewide offices non-partisan and run like city council elections, unless someone gets 50% plus one of the votes then have a run-off. Open primaries allows more dishonesty into the political process, vote no on Prop 14.

The only major news that can come from this election is the race between Ponchak and Richardson for the Democratic nomination for the House of Representatives, if Ponchak can upset Richardson it will continue the story of an upset electorate across the country. I hope this is the story that is on the top of the fold on June 9th: Ponchak Wins.

DCS05262010

Carly For California

"Only in America can my story be told." So begins Carly Fiorina's brief telling of that story. Yesterday I had the opportunity to hear that story first hand, as well as tell my own story of a mortgage broker trying to help Americans buy homes and manage their mortgages in 2010. Along with about thirty other real estate professionals, most from Orange County, I attended a round(table) lunch in the warehouse of a sign making company. There was no table as we sat in a circle on folding chairs eating box lunches on our laps. It was a perfect setting to discuss government regulations, government wasteful spending, the need to tighten belts in Washington as we have done in our industry and to listen to someone experienced in managing multi-billion dollar budgets and creating efficiencies in service and spending.

As I write this I realize the irony of a bunch of people in real estate coming together to air complaints and problems in the industry, many of the problems the result of solutions provided via government legislation. The most basic problem of course being the industry itself from the mid-2000's through 2007 as a housing boom was fed and price bubbles created and expanded. Almost every industry represented in the room, real estate agents, lenders, attorneys, escrow companies, appraisers, also had representatives guilty of bad ethics, bad business and bad greed that fed and fed the boom and bubble.

Those who were in the room however are the survivors of the recent market meltdowns, and have survived previous market downturns. Listening and looking around the room my guess is that the average experience in the industry was over fifteen years. Still in the business, the group is working hard for their individual businesses and clients to continue to help Americans fulfill the American Dream of homeownership. We were there to relay our stories of how our industries were being impacted in the current market. In Carly Fiorina, candiate for U.S. Senate, we found an active listener.

She attended Stanford University working her way through as a Kelly Girl, for younger readers that means she was an office temp. She worked in a beauty parlor helping with phones and the books. Upon getting a degree in Medieval History "I was unemployable, so I went to law school." Moving south to UCLA for law school Fiorina dropped out after one year--the law was not for her. She took a job as a receptionist/secretary/girl Friday for a small company known at the time as Marcus and Millichap. While there she began to learn about business and how things worked in the private sector.

Cutting her story short Fiorina said, "after teaching English in Italy for a while, getting an MBA, I became as a woman the CEO of a company worth $80 billion when I left. Now I am running for the United States Senate. Only in America is this story possible and able to be told."

Fiorina told us that she understands that most good solutions to a problem are known by those closest to the problem, and the politicians and bureaucracies of the Federal government in Washington are far removed from any problem. "Their cure is often worse than the disease." Something else Fiorina knows about having gone through chemotherapy and losing all her hair in a battle with breast cancer last year.

Regarding government waste and fraud Fiorina told of being assigned to manage a department and to cut expenses. She started with the bills being paid and quickly found problem after problem. "A billion dollar department was wasting over $100 million in bad billing. The bigger the number the bigger the waste." She knows that a billion dollars of federal money cannot be fully accounted for, it is too much and as a result millions, tens of millions, hundreds of millions are lost to fraud and waste. Fiorina cited that fifty percent of government issued credit card bills contain personal and fraudulent spending--and there is little to nothing being done.

"Grow the economy," she said holding up a finger, "and cut spending" as she thrust up the second finger. "Our deficit is growing and we are trillions of dollars in debt. The solution to the problem is not to spend more money. The solution is to grow the economy and stop spending." Fiorina recognizes that the government cannot create jobs without taking money from working Americans, which costs jobs in the private sector.

Listening to Carly Fiorina speak about fiscal policy, watching her as she listened to small business owners and independent contractors detail their difficulties in helping families purchase or sell homes, hearing the questions she asks and comments she interjects, I have little doubt that Fiorina will be a capable Senator representing the people of California.

Facing off in the Republican Primary with Fiorina is Tom Campbell. Campbell has had a strong political career and made a name for himself as a strong fiscal conservative and fighting wasteful spending and expansion of government. Campbell recently dropped out of the race for Governor because the other two Republicans in that race, Meg Whitman and Steve Poizner, are prepped for multi-million dollar campaigns using mostly their own money--the race is too rich for Campbell. Running against Fiorina for the Republican nomination, Campbell figures he would rather take on one wealthy opponent instead of two.

I like the career Tom Campbell has put together, considered a moderate Republican due to his position on social issues (he voted no on Prop 8) and conservative on fiscal and economic matters. I was sorry to see him drop out of the Governor's race as it would be my preference for him to fill that position. Against Fiorina in the Senate race however I am not as sure. Given the funding and usual support that Senator Boxer will get in the coming election, I feel the best chance to defeat her will be someone with more star power and funding than Campbell may bring to the table.

Fiorina's opponent, should she win the Republican Primary, is Senator Barbara Boxer. Boxer has been in Washington as a member of Congress since 1982 and joined the Senate in 1992. She will have a deep warchest built up over decades of service to her constituents in labor and government. She is entrenched in herself as a Senator and the arrogance that often goes with it. Boxer is as far removed from Californians as I am from the Senate Cloakroom. She is part of the problem in Washington, particularly with the current majority, of not listening to the people she represents, of not worrying about future consequences of current spending and being more concerned with being a Senator and than being a representative of the people of California.

Fiorina, or Campbell, has a pretty big wall to climb running against an incumbent Democrat in California, a state that has overwhelming re-elected Senators Boxer and Feinstein in their past re-election bids, a state that overwhelming has voted Democrat for President in the past five elections. But they have a chance. Boxer's approval ratings are falling and polling is showing she is vulnerable to an upset. As the race heats up the Republican nominee can expect support from across the country if polling numbers continue to show a chance.

I support Carly Fiorina in her race for the Republican Primary as I believe in her experience and intellect. I believe she can make a difference in Washington. And I believe she can defeat Barbara Boxer in November. I hope you join me in this support.

http://www.carlyforca.com/



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