The California Report

Here are a few tidbits on this GOTV weekend!

• Obviously everyone is going to be working hard for their causes and candidates, so it may be a little quiet around here. I'll be out walking all day tomorrow. Oh, and don't vote for the racist guy, Bill Johnson, as a Judge of the Superior Court (Office number 125) in LA County.

• Yesterday was the deadline for bills to get passed out of their chamber of origin, and the Assembly passed major subprime mortgage legislation, without help from Republicans (6 of them abstained despite being seated right in the chamber). This bill has some good homeowner assistance elements that will allow people to restructure their financing before foreclosure. A mortgage bill has also passed the State Senate, so some form of legislation will hopefully get to the governor post haste.

• One of the biggest problems with the housing crisis is that, as home sale prices lower, homeowners are reassessing their value and getting their property tax lowered, decreasing state revenue yet more.

• Sticking in the shiv before riding off into the sunset, Fabian Nuñez writes a puzzling op-ed in the Sacramento Bee approving of the Governor's horrible idea to borrow against future lottery revenue. Considering that the only sustainable solution to the permanent crisis mode that we have in our budget is to reorganize the tax structure instead of constantly borrowing, I have no idea why any Democrat would veer so far off message and undermine the new Speaker's ability to move forward. What's more, lotteries are regressive taxes on the poor.

• One spot where there will be a lot of action on Tuesday is in Ventura County, where Democrats now outnumber Republicans and which could have contested elections in the Assembly, Senate and US Congress. However, the LA Times shows its political acumen by writing:

One of the more closely watched contests on Tuesday will be the Democratic primary in the 24th Congressional District. Insurance agent Mary Pallant of Oak Park; Marta Jorgensen, a Solvang educator; and Oxnard businesswoman Jill Martinez are running.

Marta Jorgensen quit the race over a month ago and endorsed Martinez. Way to go, LAT.

• Excellent news out of Los Angeles: there's been a $1 million dollar settlement with Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center for their dumping homeless patients on Skid Row. They will also be monitored by a US Attorney for five years. This unethical practice has reached a reasonable conclusion. Hollywood Presbyterian deserved punishment.

• Trying to get rid of marijuana grow houses in Arcata is like trying to get rid of the Pacific Ocean on the California coast.

Enjoy!

The Flip Side Of Tom McKeyes' Carpetbagging

It's interesting, to say the least, that on the same day Tom McClintock packed up the station wagon and left Ventura County, we also find out that Democrats have taken the registration advantage in that same county.

In the parlance of 21st century politics, Ventura County has turned blue.

As of Monday, registered Democrats became the majority voting group in the county, surpassing Republican registration for the first time since Ronald Reagan was in the White House.

The latest numbers: 150,066 Democrats and 149,627 Republicans.

"Everybody's on cloud nine," said Laura Winchester of Thousand Oaks, vice chairwoman of the county Democratic Central Committee. "From the standpoint of momentum, this is a huge blow to Republicans."

I know a lot of these Ventura County Democratic activists, and they worked their asses off to reach this point. Ventura is the beginning of a wide-ranging red-to-blue program to recapture more than the coastal and urban regions of the state. McClintock left Ventura County because he was termed out. But he didn't exactly have a safe haven anymore in Thousand Oaks, either.

This bodes very well for SD-19 and Hannah-Beth Jackson. Now if we had a solid candidate in CA-24...

CA-24: Richard Francis Mulling Challenge to Gallegly

The LA Times writes a story about a possible challenge in CA-24, one of the few Congressional districts in the state which is somewhat purple (registration is 44-34 Republican, but with a lot of DNS votes), by a big-name Democratic opponent.

For months now, Democratic activists have been urging Ventura lawyer Richard Francis to run next year for the seat held by Elton Gallegly, Ventura County's longtime Republican congressman.

Gallegly's backing of the Iraq war and his record on environmental issues could make the 11-term representative vulnerable with crossover voters who want the war to end and are worried about the effects of global warming, they argue.

Francis, the author of Ventura County's popular slow-growth laws, Save Open Space and Agricultural Resources, would be the most credible challenger to face Gallegly since 2000. In that year, Ventura lawyer Michael Case finished 13 percentage points behind Gallegly.

"He has name recognition because of SOAR. He's working on a traffic issue in Oxnard right now. And he's a former mayor of Ventura," county Democratic Chairman Bill Gallaher said of Francis. "He's out there with popular issues that seem to be supported in the area."

Francis would likely not be the only challenger. Jill Martinez, the 2006 candidate, may run again. So might Mary Pallant, an ex-Republican-turned-progressive who was elected on the same delegate slate as mine in the 41st Assembly District.

Gallegly is always a threat to retire. He pretty much did last year before changing his mind after it became clear he annonced too late for any Republican to run in his place.

In a recent interview, the 63-year-old legislator said he was in excellent health but hinted that he still was thinking about retirement after two decades in office. For now, all he will publicly say is that he is keeping his options open for the June 2008 primary.

"The dynamics have changed dramatically in the last year or so. Now [the Republicans] are in the minority," Gallegly said, referring to the Democratic takeover of both houses of Congress in November. "Leadership has put a full-court press on some of the more seasoned people. It's an honor to have people trying to convince you to stay."

Gallegly said he'd make a final decision in January or early February.

Francis has made a name for himself in the the district with his drafting of a policy that enables voters to control the fate of any growth and development decisions in most of Ventura county. These wildly popular initiatives have been vital to preservation and environmental protection in the region. This could be a model for the nation if Francis is called to Washington to serve.

Obviously, the major issue in any race is going to be Iraq, and Gallegly continues to be a Bush rubber stamp, ignoring the will of the electorate in his district and throughout the nation.

But Gallegly, who has voted to support President Bush every step of the way, said he stands by his votes.

"I don't know anyone who likes war. I don't like war," Gallegly said. "But I don't like people who posture to do us great harm."

He isn't worried either that his environmental record will hurt him. According to the League of National Conservation Voters, Gallegly has voted 8% of the time in favor of legislation it supported over the last eight years.

I do think that this seat is ripe for a major challenge, whether by Francis or somebody else. The demographics are changing as more Democrats priced out of Santa Barbara move in. Ventura County Democratic groups have worked hard on voter registration and outreach. If they unite behind a candidate who can raise enough money, I think they can make a play at Gallegly.

ACTION ALERT: Cabrillo Port LNG Terminal Hearing Next Monday

It is very critical that everyone in Southern California who is interested in breathing decent air at some point in the next century attends a meeting on Monday, April 9 in Oxnard. The details on the meeting here:

California State Lands Commission Hearing:
Monday, April 9, 2007
Location: Oxnard Performing Arts Center
800 Hobson Way, Oxnard, CA 93030
Times: 10:00am and 5:00pm

The largest mining company in the world, BHP Billiton, wants to build a massive LNG (liquefied natural gas) storage and processing terminal 14 miles off the coast of Malibu, at the Los Angeles/Ventura County line. This fossil fuel terminal is not necessary; the US has plenty of natural gas reserves, and this terminal would mainly import natural gas from abroad for processing. What this terminal would do is:

• cause 20 "Class One" impacts to air and water quality, public safety, marine wildlife, views, recreation, noise, and agriculture;

• based on U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates, "the Cabrillo Port project will emit over 200 tons of smog-producing pollutants (NOx and ROC) each year," which would make it the largest smog-producing polluter in Ventura County.

• put a giant terrorist target 14 miles off the coast of Los Angeles and Ventura counties;

• be a fixture off the Pacific coast for at least the next 40 years (actually, the license has no firm expiration date, so this could be forever or until California falls into the sea, whichever comes first).

There's much more here.

Despite the EPA draft report on the environmental impact of this terminal, the agency actually reversed its initial position and granted BHP Billiton an exemption from Clean Air Act restrictions, enabling them to continue moving forward. At this point, all that can stop this project... is you.

The April 9 meeting in Oxnard will be one of the last opportunities for public comment on the LNG Terminal project. Staff members of the California Coastal Commission are recommending rejecting this project, and local lawmakers are fighting to keep BHP Billiton off the coast. But the State Lands Commission will be vital to making the decision. There are actually two statewide elected Democrats that sit on this baord: Lt. Governor John Garamendi and State Controller John Chiang. Based on what I've heard from activists, NEITHER HAS COMMITTED to blocking this proposal. They need to be heard from.

Lt. Governor John Garamendi
(916) 445-8994

California State Controller John Chiang
(916) 445-2636

In addition, if all else fails, the Governor can show his commitment to the environment by vetoing the proposal, and you can tell him why he should at the link.

We need to mass support to get this destructive environmental hazard away from our coastline. I'll be attending the April 9 meeting and will have a full report.

Thoughts on Region 10 and Democratic Action in Ventura County

This weekend I attended a pre-convention meeting for Region 10 of the California Democratic Party, which stretches from Santa Monica all the way up to the Monterey/San Luis Obispo County line. This is a big coastal region, parts of which have not been sufficiently Democratic over the years. But there are some great people in the trenches doing the necessary work to change that. Here are some disconnected thoughts:

• It is extremely important to spread the Democratic message into outlying counties, because we can't expect to solely depend on LA and SF to carry us through. In 1992, Democrats controlled 41 counties in California; by 2006, that number had dwindled to 22.

• One of the most vibrant areas of the state for Democrats is Ventura County. Whether it's because of demographic shifts (more people moving in from Santa Barbara) or a lot of hard work, the results are impressive. While statewide, Democratic registration has faltered over the past 15 years, in Ventura County Democrats hold a scant 5,000 vote disadvantage currently, compared to 15,000 not but a few years ago.

• One of the great pilot programs that Democrats in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties have rolled out is called Vote Blue. This is a neighbor-to-neighbor program that uses targeted canvassing to spread the progressive message in communities. They get new homeowner information and arrive at the new resident's doorstep, saying "Hi, we're your neighbors, here's some voter registration information for this area, here's some information on the Democratic agenda." I know we bloggers like to stay on the Internets and ensure never having to talk to anyone, but there's no substitute for this kind of real-life neighbor-to-neighbor contact. They also sweeten the pot by adding a 3-month free subscription to the local paper, which the papers are all too happy to give them. This is the kind of thing Democrats all over the state should be doing on a weekly basis, not just around elections. You can get more informaiton at the link.

• There is strong support at the grassroots for a 58-county strategy, and every single delegate reading this needs to add their endorsement to that issue and make sure the Resolutions Committee is flooded with people supporting it.

• The SD-19 race is not going to be a walkover for Republicans, even though it's currently held by Tom McClintock. I met Jim Dantona at the meeting, and hope to do a longer piece on his chances later. He ran for County Supervisor in Simi Valley last time out, easily the most Republican city in the region, and garnered 48% of the vote in a district that is something like +30 Republican registration. We may have parity in registration for this Senate district by the time this race comes around in 2008, and Dantona appears to be running. Keep this one on the radar screen.

• Another great success story was relayed by Henry Vandemire, chair of the Computer and Internet Caucus and head of the Big Bear Lake Democratic Club. Big Bear is also 2/1 Republican, and yet they managed to get 3 Democrats on the City Council for the first time in as long as anyone can remember. And they did it entirely through civic action, visibility and hard work.

There are opportunities for the party to grow, and there would be even more if the Party leaders fully commit to a 58-county strategy and strengthen the efforts of these progressive leaders in red counties. The Party must live up to its commitments of supporting Democrats everywhere. That means providing the money they promise to candidates, like Ferial Masry in AD-37 and Jill Martinez in CA-24 (that's very likely to be an open seat next time around). These two are both running again, and can win if they get even a modicum of support from the state party.

That's all I've got for now. I invited many of the people at the meeting to start posting on Calitics, hopefully we'll begin to see Ventura and Santa Barbara better represented here.