Conflict over Maldonado Confirmation as Lt. Governor

By John Lovell

The words were barely out of the Governor’s mouth announcing his intent to appoint Senator Abel Maldonado as Lieutenant Governor when Senate President Pro Tempore announced that he had “grave doubts” over confirming Abel Maldonado as Lieutenant Governor.

Steinberg expressed a concern over the $ 2 million it would cost to have a special election to fill Senator Maldonado’s Senate seat.

Whatever the costs of a special election, the real agenda is political: In the wake of the political tsunami that hit Democrats in New Jersey and Virginia, Capitol Democrats fear that 2010 could also be a bad Democratic year in California – particularly in a low turn-out special election.

And Democrats are not alone. There are three State Senators – two Republican and one Democrat – who themselves would like to be Lieutenant Governor. None of them are interested in giving Senator Maldonado the leg-up of incumbency.

None of this means, however, that Maldonado will not be confirmed. If Maldonado is rejected by the Legislature, he will remain in the Senate, but will most assuredly be less likely to break ranks with his Republican colleagues (as he has in the past) to vote for a budget.

The State Constitution requires that Maldonado must be confirmed by both houses of the Legislature. But it also provides that if the Legislature takes no action within 90 days, then Senator Maldonado will be deemed confirmed.

CR will be watching the political tealeaves to give you a distant early warning as to how all of this plays out.

If you are not a member of CAHU-PAC, you need to join today. If everyone in CAHU sets aside $ 21.00 per month for CAHU-PAC, we will have the resources to make a major change in how business is done in Sacramento. $ 21.00 isn’t a lot of money – most of us dissipate that much in any given day without even noticing it. Frankly, if a CAHU member cannot afford to give CAHU-PAC $ 21.00 a month, they have probably chosen the wrong profession and need to go do something else.

It’s easy, just contact Patrice Loretta at CAHU’s office (800-322-5934) and tell her that you want $ 21.00 per month charged to your credit card – or, taken out of your checking account.

Here’s why it’s particularly important this year – the Legislature has placed a ballot measure on the June 2010 ballot that will change the law to provide that all primary elections for state legislative offices will be NON-PARTISAN. This change is terribly important to CAHU because it will result in the election of more moderate, anti-single payor Legislators. Currently, this measure runs well in the polls, but BOTH political parties will be spending mega-dollars in an effort to mislead the public and get them to reject this measure. For us to win, all reasonable groups – including CAHU – must mobilize resources to assure that the “yes” campaign is fully funded.

That’s where each of us come in. Call Patrice Loretta this week, tell her that you want to set aside $ 21.00 per month to help CAHU-PAC. Do it today, the business you save could be your own.

If you have not yet made plans to attend the annual CAHU Sales Conference, do so today. The festivities will run October 21 and 22 at the Burbank Marriott Hotel (which, for those of you who don’t know, serves a great martini at their restaurant/bar). The CAHU Sales Conference is, in effect, our state convention, and the information gleaned there can be useful throughout the entire year.

The President’s reception this year promises to be particularly inspiring and will help get us mobilized for the challenges that we face in the near and distant future. A series of speakers will give CAHU members important tools that can be used to enhance their individual businesses as well as to hone the effectiveness of the CAHU message with opinion makers in either Sacramento, or Washington.

The CAHU Sales Conference – be there!

The continued political nattering about GOP nomination hopeful Meg Whitman continues apace. The Whitman campaign not only has not developed an effective response to her admittedly spotty voting record, but now information has come out that eMeg made a political endorsement in the 2004 US Senate Race for . . . . drum roll please. . . . . . Barbara Boxer! For those who neglected to vote in that election, Boxer was the Democrat in that race. Convincing voters in a Republican gubernatorial primary that their standard bearer for the statehouse should be a candidate who endorsed Senator Boxer could prove to be daunting.

A major iceberg is looming in Democratic gubernatorial seas, however. Expatriate pedophile, sexual predator, movie producer Roman Polanski has been arrested in Switzerland. The expatriate pedophile, sexual predator, movie producer Polanski pleaded guilty in 1978 to unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, and fled the country to avoid incarceration. Efforts to extradite the EP,SP, MP Polanski will most assuredly involve the Attorney General’s office. Ever out of touch Hollywood has come out foursquare behind the EP,SP,MP Polanski. The Hollywood folks are the big check writers for Democratic candidates in California statewide elections. CR wonders if there will be public statements from either of the Democratic candidates about the extradition efforts.

The Republicans held their annual convention this weekend in Indian Wells. The temperatures outside climbed as high as 117, but the political temperatures inside the air conditioned convention hotel also approached triple digits. The gubernatorial campaign of former eBay CEO Meg Whitman arrived at the convention in crisis. The putative frontrunner for the GOP gubernatorial nomination was reeling from an investigative piece that appeared in the Sacramento Bee suggesting that eMeg had never registered to vote in California before 2002. Waiting until you are 46 to register to vote (particularly if you live in a state where the voting age is 81) could be viewed as deplorable procrastination by one’s appointments. And it was. Insurance Commish Steve Poizner put out a piece for GOP confabers pointing out that not only had eMeg failed to register before 2002, but that she missed voting for Arnold in the historical 2003 recall and also missed voting for the Governor’s special election ballot measures in 2005. The Poizner piece made fun of the fact that eMeg’s 2002 voter registration meant that she missed both chances to vote for her own campaign chair, former Governor Pete Wilson.

Fun and hijinks aside, it remains to be seen if this type of spotty voting record will derail the Whitman candidacy. Historically, voters do not treat candidates kindly when their non-voting habits are discovered. This, however, may be a unique political year and Ms. Whitman may be able to ride out this storm. For his part, GOP Insurance Commish Steve Poizner has had to answer questions about a political contribution to Al Gore (hint: for those who may have missed voting in the 2000 Presidential race, Gore was not the Republican). Poizner was able to deflect this piece of business by telling GOP confabers that his wife is a Democrat and the money came out of their joint checking account.

Oh, one more thing, Poizner formally asked Whitman to withdraw from the race due to her dubious voting history. eMeg declined to do so.

The big political news this week centered in the Democratic half of the Governor’s race. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom obtained the endorsement of former President Bill Clinton in his race for the statehouse. While some cynics would suggest that this endorsement is just a matter of the adultery caucus sticking together, the fact is that the Clinton endorsement should help Mayor Newsom with his fundraising. Reportedly, Newsom supporters are now very optimistic that receipt of the Bubba Seal of Approval will unlock the checkbooks of Hollywood Clintonistas.

Less well reported, but significant for other reasons was the endorsement of Mayor Newsom by former State Senator Sheila Kuehl. Kuehl has legitimate street cred among the bed wetter liberals of the Democratic Party, and support of this influential group in a Democratic Primary is critical to Newsom if he is going to upset Jerry Brown.

Brown, for his part, is officially on the sidelines in the gubernatorial race. He told CR that he would not make a formal announcement until 2010, which in these days is considered a late entry.

On the GOP side, frontrunner Meg Whitman still has yet to appear in any debates with her two opponents, former Schwarzenegger Finance Director Tom Campbell and Current Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner. Although the press has been taking shots at her, her aversion to debate evidently has not cost eMeg in the polls.

The Legislature gaveled down for the year on September 11. Well, actually the Assembly didn’t give up the ghost until 6:20 AM on Saturday, September 12, four hours after the Senate shut things down. And they evidently haven’t quit for the year since the Capitol talk is that the Governor is going to call them back into special session sometime in the next two weeks.

Assembly Member Mike Duvall resigned his seat in the wake of the release of recordings of locker-room narrations of his romps with two mistresses (aren’t there laws about being one over the limit? No, that’s hunting.). He was regaling fellow Republican Assembly Member Jeff Miller prior to the beginning of a committee hearing. The problem for Duvall was that, unbeknownst to him, his microphone was on! There are some people around the capitol who speculate that it was Miller who surreptitiously turned Duvall’s microphone. CR has been told that Assembly Member Miller did obtain a copy of the tape from Assembly staff. The big question roiling around the capitol is whether it was Miller who released the tape to the press. Miller and his staff deny any leakage. However, a look at the map of the overlapping districts reveals that Miller and Duvall could have – down the road – been facing each other in a Republican primary for a State Senate seat. There is clearly more to follow here.

Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina appears to have hit a speed bump in her efforts to wrest the US Senate seat from Barbara (Call me Senator) Boxer. Political tongues are wagging about the possibility that Hewlett-Packard, though subsidiaries, may have been trading with Iran (while our government was prohibiting trade with that nation) on her watch as CEO. You don’t want to run for US Senate where you have to discuss “what did Carly know and when did she know it?”

It’s now official – former State Controller (and CAHU friend) Steve Westly has said he will NOT be running for Governor in 2010. That’s bad news for those who were hoping for a business friendly Democrat in that party’s primary. CR has been told that Mr. Westly hasn’t given up on elective office and will be running at some point in the future.