THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CALIFORNIA - This site is dedicated to exposing the continuing Marxist Revolution in California and the all around massive stupidity of Socialists, Luddites, Communists, Fellow Travelers and of Liberalism in all of its ugly forms.
"It was a splendid population - for all the slow, sleepy, sluggish-brained sloths stayed at home - you never find that sort of people among pioneers - you cannot build pioneers out of that sort of material. It was that population that gave to California a name for getting up astounding enterprises and rushing them through with a magnificent dash and daring and a recklessness of cost or consequences, which she bears unto this day - and when she projects a new surprise the grave world smiles as usual and says, "Well, that is California all over."
Comrade Governor Jerry Brown signed a "so-called" $687 million drought-relief package in March. The bill will fund storm water recapturing, expanded use of recycled water, better management of groundwater storage and stronger water conservation measures.
Translation - A lot of talk and no meaningful action. These are all PR stunt programs that might, maybe come on line 10 years from now. Maybe.
I am still waiting for a string of desalination plants to be built along the coast and that new water dumped into the aqueduct system.
(Sacramento Bee) - California has ordered more than 2,600 water agencies and users in the Sacramento Valley to stop pumping water from streams, a drastic response to the ongoing drought that hasn’t occurred since 1977.
The curtailment notice was imposed by the State Water Resources Control Board late Wednesday. It affects 2,648 water agencies, farms, cities and other property owners with so-called “junior” water rights, or those issued by the state after 1914, in the Sacramento River and its tributaries. This includes the American, Feather and Yuba rivers as well as dozens of small streams.
Most of the affected water users are farmers and large irrigation districts. But they also include major urban water providers such as the city of Sacramento.
“There’s no question there are going to be some areas in the Sacramento Valley that are going to suffer without water this year,” said David Guy, president of the Northern California Water Association, which represents many Sacramento Valley property owners and irrigation districts, including some affected by the order.
Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2014/05/29/6441935/state-orders-sacramento-valley.html#storylink=cpy
The city of Sacramento imposed a 20 percent mandatory conservation order in January, and residents have been inching closer to reaching it in recent weeks, said city spokeswoman Jessica Hess. She said the city has cut its own water use in public buildings, parks and landscaping more than 50 percent.
Water cuts on this scale have not been ordered in California since the drought of 1977. Although backup supplies, including groundwater, are available to many who hold junior rights, virtually all of them will be forced to make difficult decisions, such as fallowing significant areas of farmland.
Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2014/05/29/6441935/state-orders-sacramento-valley.html#storylink=cpy
The Colusa Drain Mutual Water Co. is one example of how the drought has affected users. Operated by a collection of farmers in the Colusa Basin north of Sacramento, the water company distributes, via the Colusa Drain, water rights held by its members in the Sacramento River. Virtually all those are junior rights that are directly affected by the curtailment order.
Jim Wallace, president of the water company, said he warned members to expect “zero” water supply under their water rights this year, based on runoff projections and early warnings by the water board.
As a result, most decided weeks or even months ago to plant crops based only on what they could support with alternate water supplies, whether groundwater or some other surface water they might have available.
But that doesn’t mean all is well, Wallace said. Of the 56,000 acres served by the water company, 20,000 acres are normally planted with rice. This year, only about 4,000 acres are planted in rice, an 80 percent reduction. Steep cuts also have occurred in tomatoes and alfalfa, the other primary crops grown in the district.
“It’s a huge reduction in our grower base,” Wallace said. “The worst-case scenario was made official yesterday, and was already anticipated by every grower in my group. Each water manager up and down the Sacramento Valley would have a similar story.”
Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2014/05/29/6441935/state-orders-sacramento-valley.html#storylink=cpy
Under the corrupt and insane "top two" primary system Sacramento voters may only have two Democrats on their November ballot for a State Senate seat.
The two token Republicans on the June ballot may allow the two Democrats to move on to November.
Voters are having their general election choices taken away from them. Welcome to the one-party People's Republic of California.
With longtime state lawmaker Sen. Darrell Steinberg leaving the Legislature this year because of term limits, two Democratic assemblymen and a Republican pastor are vying to replace him.
The race is shaped by California’s “top-two” primary, a 2-year-old system that allows the top two vote-getters on June 3 – regardless of party affiliation – to advance to the general election on Nov. 4.
Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2014/05/27/6434154/election-2014-veteran-dems-jockey.html#storylink=cpy
Democrats dominate the district, and the two Sacramento Democrats in the contest – Assemblymen Richard Pan and Roger Dickinson – have amassed six-figure war chests for a head-to-head battle that could last months reports the Sacramento Bee.
Two Republicans are on the ballot, but only one is actively campaigning, and he has raised little money compared with his Democratic rivals. Pastor Jonathan Zachariou has reported just $6,150 in contributions. James Axelgard said he dropped out of the race after learning another Republican would run but decided too late to remove his name from the ballot.
Pan and Dickinson both joined the Assembly in 2010. In their current districts, Dickinson represents West Sacramento, Sacramento and its communities to the north – Rio Linda, Antelope and Elverta. Pan represents Sacramento’s south side, including Elk Grove, Clarksburg, Galt and Lodi.
Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2014/05/27/6434154/election-2014-veteran-dems-jockey.html#storylink=cpy
Pan is working hard to boost his name recognition and establish himself as the outsider candidate challenging a longtime politician. He is highlighting his career as a doctor in every campaign ad.
Outside interest groups are turning out big to help Pan advance to the general election, pouring at least $479,000 into independent campaigns to benefit him. The money comes from labor unions representing health care workers, university professors, school employees and construction workers, as well as groups that represent doctors, dentists and real estate agents.
Dickinson, a longtime Sacramento officeholder, has done little advertising this season, indicating he expects his fight will be in November.
Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2014/05/27/6434154/election-2014-veteran-dems-jockey.html#storylink=cpy
. Dickinson..
A Free Election
From 1850 to 2010 the people of California had all political parties and independent candidates listed on their general election ballots.
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In 2010 the voters in the Sacramento based 6th Senate District had choices. But under the corrupt and authoritarian "top two" system the voters in Sacramento may see a November ballot that only has Democrats.
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Elections are not free when choices are taken away from voters.
The 2010 nominee of the conservative American Independent Party. The GOP wants to keep Conservative parties off the November ballot. The GOP could care less about your freedom to vote for who you want.
Banned From The Ballot
The primary was a vehicle for the political parties to select their candidate for the only real election there is - the November election.
But the corrupt bastards of both parties cut a midnight deal without any public hearings to abolish the primary and effectively ban all smaller opposition parties and independent candidates from all future November general elections.
Note that every democratic nation on earth has all parties on a general election ballot. That translates that California is now authoritarian, not democratic.
Doomsday could be fast approaching for California's smallest political parties.
With the coming of "top-two" primary elections in California, thanks to passage of Proposition 14 in 2010, the Green, Peace and Freedom, Libertarian, American Independent, and Americans Elect parties find themselves in danger of disappearing from the state ballot, joining the Prohibition, Socialist and Progressive parties in the mists of California's history.
"We're getting wiped out by top two," said Michael Feinstein, spokesman for the Green Party. "It's wiping out political diversity and choice that voters now are not going to get."
Once a political party qualifies to appear on the state primary ballot, California law sets out a couple of ways it can stay there.
Banned from the ballot
The 2010 Libertarian Party
nominee for Governor.
First, the party can have official registration equal to 1 percent of the votes cast in the most recent governor's election, which works out to 103,004 registered voters, based on the 2010 race.
The second way allows them to have a much lower number of registered voters, currently 11,832, but only if one or more of the party's candidates can collect at least 2 percent of the vote in one statewide general election.
But under the new election rules, which will be used for the first time in a governor's race this year, only the two candidates with the most votes advance to the Nov. 4 general election. With the Democrats and Republicans having a stranglehold on those top spots, there won't be any minor party candidates on the November ballot.
That means it's registration numbers or nothing for the minor parties.
That's not necessarily a problem. The conservative American Independent Party, which has been qualified for the California ballot since 1968, had 472,536 registered voters as of April - well above the needed total.
The other minor parties, however, are rooting for a low-turnout election in November.
In 2010, about 10.3 million Californians voted in the November election for governor, a nearly 60 percent turnout. Using that year's qualifying number of 103,004 registered voters, the Green Party, with a registration of 109,157, and the Libertarian Party (114,656), are just squeaking by, while the Peace and Freedom Party (77,594) and the Americans Elect Party (3,604) face ballot extinction. .
"The top-two (primary) is making it difficult, but we're willing to rise up to the challenge," said Gale Morgan, Northern California vice chairman of the Libertarian Party.
In the 2010 election, every minor party had at least one candidate who broke the 2 percent threshold in one or more statewide contest, keeping them alive through this year.
While some of those minor party votes may have been protests against the Republicans and Democrats on the ballot, the candidates also received support from people who liked their stance on the issues, said Feinstein, a Green who is the former mayor of Santa Monica.
"This disenfranchises everyone," he said of the top-two system.
Banned from the ballot Laura Wells was the 2010 Green Party nominee for Governor of California. The Democrats & GOP have worked together to ban all smaller political parties and independent candidates from the general election ballot. The Elites have even declared that your write-in vote is illegal and will not be counted.
A member of the Green Party beat a Democrat. The Democrat Party wants the corrupt "top two" system so they will not see another Green Party member win a State Assembly seat.
Banned from the ballot Democrats and Republicans joined together to keep all smaller parties off California general election ballots. The Democrats want to prevent voters from casting ballots for left-wing parties. The GOP wants to prevent voters from supporting right-wing candidates such as Jim Gilchrist (above).
Neither major party has any interest in a thing called Freedom.
California's 48th congressional district special election, 2005
Independent groups have spent $534,000 so far to elect Latino Republican Mario de la Piedra to an open State Assembly seat.
With only days before the primary election, the campaign for Ventura County's open 44th Assembly District has become a million-dollar contest -- $1.18 million, to be exact.
Reports filed with the secretary of state on Thursday show that the three candidates -- Democrat Jacqui Irwin and Republicans Mario de la Piedra and Rob McCoy -- have combined to take in more than $600,000 in contributions and special interest groups have spent $534,000. .
All of the independent expenditures made by interest groups have been in support of de la Piedra.With only one Democrat on the ballot, it is likely the key decision to be made by voters on June 3 will be to select which of the two Republicans will advance to the general election in November to face Irwin reports McClatchy-Tribune News. .
Republican Rob McCoy
Endorsed by Rand Paul & Tom McClintock
The 44th District, which includes Thousand Oaks, Moorpark, Camarillo, Oxnard and Port Hueneme, is expected to be one of the most competitive legislative races in California this year. The seat became open when incumbent Republican Jeff Gorell decided to run for the House of Representatives. .
The reports show Irwin is the leading fundraiser, having taken in $315,295 in contributions this year, including $153,878 during the most recent reporting period, from March 18 through May 17. As she geared up for the election over the past two months, Irwin also has been a prolific spender, reporting expenditures of $255,288 over the period. Those expenditures left her with an account balance of $49,235. .
McCoy took in $103,152 in contributions over the period, bringing his year-to-date fundraising total to $219,452. He reported $167,264 in expenditures. Because his expenditures include $68,121 in unpaid bills, he was able to end the period with a substantial balance in his account, $93,330. . De la Piedra, the last to enter the race when he filed just before the early March deadline, continues to lag behind in fundraising. He reported $72,987 in contributions over the two-month period, to bring his total contributions this year to $106,883. .
He spent $77,170 during the period, to end it with an account balance of $61,468.
44th State Assembly District West of Los Angeles, Ventura County's 44th Assembly District is a "swing" seat that is 38% Democrat, 36% Republican and 26% Independents and smaller political parties.
A GOP Latino Assemblyman was denied membership in the taxpayer funded Latino Caucus.
Personally I oppose race based legislative caucuses when our so-called "legislators" are supposed to represent all races, ethnic groups and religions in their districts.
Earlier this month the California Latino Legislative Caucus was praised as an expression of inclusion and opportunity by outgoing Assembly Speaker John Perez (D-Los Angeles). But apparently that diversity does not include Republicans. A Latino Republican state legislator hasn't been allowed to join the Latino Caucus.
At a news conference Tuesday, members of the California Latino Legislative Caucus spoke in Spanish and talked about the upcoming One California event. One Latino member of the Assembly, however, says there is no inclusion for him. He was told he could not be a member.
"I asked to be a part of the Latino Caucus. I assumed I was going to be, but I was told that because I was a Republican I would not be part of the caucus," said California Assemblyman Rocky Chavez (R-Oceanside) reports ABC7 News.
Chavez says he wants to help the Latino community, but the president of the Latino Caucus says Chavez should form his own caucus, a caucus of one. .
"What is surprising is the Latino Caucus is supposed to fighting against discrimination and now they are discriminating," said Luis Alvarado, a political consultant who says the caucus is a partisan group.
"At taxpayer expense, because us taxpayers pay for the staff that supports the Latino Caucus and their website, so there should be some uproar from the Latino community for this," said Alvarado. . (Assemblyman Rocky Chavez)
76th Assembly District Republican Assemblyman Rocky Chavez represents northern San Diego County.
Mayor drives libs nuts by suggesting that young people should stand up for themselves instead of cowering inside government provided off-campus safe zones.
A Central California mayor got the libs all worked up over his suggestion that victims of bullying "grow a pair" in response to a student-led anti-bullying effort.
Porterville Mayor Cameron Hamilton's comments came after a city councilwoman on May 6 asked the City Council to support the program, which would establish off-campus safe zones citywide for teens who are being bullied after school.
"I mean, I am against bullying, but I am getting damn tired of it being used as a mantra for everything that ills the world when all most people have to do is a grow a pair and stick up for them damn selves," he said during the council meeting reports the Los Angeles Times.
Councilwoman Virginia Gurrola, who introduced the program, quickly snapped back at Hamilton.
"It is hard to stand up and maybe grow a pair when you are maybe a 10-year-old little girl," she said.
Translation - Gurrola appears to say that girls are weak and unable to stand up for themselves like a boy of an equal age can. What happened to equality?
Porterville Mayor Cameron Hamilton
Melissa McMurrey, a member of the nonprofit group Gay Porterville, told KERO-TV Channel 23 in Bakersfield that Hamilton's comments demonstrated a history of opposition to the gay community.
While the program is intended to support all bullying victims, she said Hamilton's comments were subtly directed toward the gay community.
Last year, Gurrola's attempt to declare June LGBT pride month was quashed by fellow council members. The council instead voted to replace the proclamation with a community charity month, the Associated Press reported.
Hamilton told The Times that if the group had issues with the conversation about bullying and safe zones, its members should have attended the meeting.
He said he has read comments about his statement and "it appears that the majority of our country has decided to speak up and say they agree with my analogy and are fed up with the zero-tolerance policy of our public schools."
Community members, McMurrey said, are planning to attend Tuesday night's City Council meeting to express outrage over Hamilton's comments.
"It's going to be ugly tomorrow," she said.
Liberals want to teach children to hide from the real world in government provided "Bully Free Zones" rather than be strong and stand up for your personal freedom and rights.
A voluntary law (at least for now) will allow businesses to let self-absorbed Californians prop up their dog at public restaurant dinner tables.
Yeah, I really need dog hair, barking a fleas when I go out to eat. But as long as each restaurant is free to chose I am cool with it.
Many dog lovers like to enjoy a meal outside at a restaurant with their furry friends. But in California, residents may be surprised to know they are actually breaking the law by doing this.
A new bill currently moving through the state legislature seeks to remedy this, and allow Fido to move from the doghouse to the dinner table.
The California Assembly passed a bill last Thursday that would allow restaurants to open their outdoor dining areas to pet dogs if they so choose, unless a local ordinance prohibits it. Currently, the California Retail Food Code prohibits live animals at dining establishments reports Fox News.
The legislation does not mandate that restaurants permit dogs, but takes away the threat of citations or fines if the restaurant wants to do so and if certain conditions are met.
The conditions include keeping the eating area clean, making sure sidewalks comply with local ordinances and ensuring the dogs remain either on a leash or in a carrier.
The bill was sponsored by Democrat Assemblywoman Mariko Yamada, who said the legislation will address a dilemma for restaurant owners in the state. She said these owners want to accommodate customers who bring their pets.
"AB 1965 remedies this by allowing willing businesses to accommodate customers and their dogs while still providing local governments the option to determine if additional standards are necessary for their communities,” she said in a statement.
Yamada said she also hopes that the bill allows state public health officials to focus on more pressing issues than policing dogs at dining establishments.
Animal rights group Social Compassion in Legislation, which supported the bill, said they are thrilled to back the law because they have heard residents complain for years about the “outdated” policy prohibiting it.
“Many restaurants choose to take their chances and allow dogs on their patios, but it remains illegal,” the group’s president Judie Mancuso said in a statement. “We want to support these businesses and encourage more to open up to our canine family members.”
Gay Republican looks to take on Leftist Pelosi supporter.
Only seven of the 435 congressional seats this year are rated a "pure toss up" by the nonpartisan Rothenberg Political Report. One of them is in San Diego.
In the 52nd District, one-term Democratic Congressman Scott Peters is challenged by three Republicans: former San Diego Councilman Carl DeMaio, former Marine officer Kirk Jorgensen and surgeon Fred Simon.
The top two vote-getters in the June 3 primary will advance to a November runoff. In California's open primary system, approved by voters in 2010, the two candidates with the most votes advance to the general election, regardless of their party. So while Peters is expected to face a Republican, likely DeMaio, it's possible that two Republicans could face each other in November.
Because the race is one of the few nail biters in this year's midterm elections, it's attracting a lot of money and attention. Last week, President Barack Obama came to San Diego to raise money for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which supports Peters, while DeMaio was recently interviewed nationally on Fox News.
"I always obey my Sith Lord Nancy Pelosi."
United States House of Representatives elections, 2012
Three of the four candidates have so far raised more than $1 million: Peters has $1,847,775; DeMaio has $1,608,926; and Simon has $1,382,008, although $1,353,000 is money Simon loaned himself. Jorgensen has $277,696.
And it's only the primary. As we head to November, even more money, including spending from outside political action committees, will pour in, said San Diego Mesa College politics professor Carl Luna reports KPBS News.
"This is getting national attention. The Koch brothers have been putting money in through their Super PAC. The National Democratic Committee is putting money in," Luna said. "When you only have a half dozen or so really competitive races, it's going to attract attention, and it's kind of a signpost for (whether) Republicans stay competitive in a shifting California."
The district's voter registration is split: 33.8 percent are Republicans, 32.3 percent are Democrats and 28.7 percent are independent.
The district's boundaries were sharply shifted by 2010 redistricting. It now runs north from Coronado to La Jolla, and then east to include Carmel Valley, Scripps Ranch, Poway and Rancho Bernardo. It's 69 percent white and 20 percent Asian, and 56 percent of district residents have a bachelor's degree, according to 2011 Census data.
In 2012, Republican Congressman Brian Bilbray, who had previously represented the 50th District, ran against Peters in the 52nd. The hotly contested race ultimately went to Peters, but it was close. Peters won by just under 7,000 votes.
The toss-up rating isn't the only thing that makes the 52nd race interesting. The candidates are a diverse group. Here's a quick run-down:
Rancho Bernardo resident DeMaio, 39, ran The Performance Institute and the American Strategic Management Institute, for-profit businesses that train government workers and corporate leaders on efficiency and financial practices. He was elected to San Diego's City Council in 2008.
In 2012, DeMaio ran for mayor but lost to then-Congressman Bob Filner by 5 percentage points. Less than a year later, Filner resigned as mayor over sexual harassment allegations.
While DeMaio had already announced he'd run for Congress, he hinted he was considering running for mayor again in San Diego's special election last year. Voice of San Diego reported that Republican leaders told DeMaio they would support now-Mayor Kevin Faulconer (then a councilman) over him. DeMaio ultimately decided to stick with his congressional run.
His campaign is focusing on fiscal discipline, including his "Fix Congress First" plan, which would require all legislative language be posted online for 72 hours before a vote, eliminate the congressional pension program and take away congressional salaries if a budget isn't passed.
DeMaio also calls himself a "New Generation Republican" who wants the GOP to focus on fiscal, not social, conservatism. DeMaio is gay and made an online campaign ad that shows him and his partner Johnathan Hale holding hands and marching in a gay pride parade.
DeMaio's campaign did not respond to interview requests for this story. On Fox News, he called out San Diego's LGBT groups for attacking him.
"I've found more tolerance, acceptance and inclusion from social conservative groups who have to reconcile that I'm a Republican who happens to be gay ... versus the intolerance the LGBT leaders see me as a gay man who happens to be a Republican," he said.
Black Mountain Ranch resident Jorgensen, 43, has never run for office. The Republican served in the Marines for 10 years and then began work at the military consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton, according to his campaign website bio.
His campaign is focusing on repealing Obama's health care law, simplifying the tax code to make sure "American corporate tax rates encourage job creation and allow us to compete in the global marketplace" and protecting the Second Amendment.
"As a combat veteran, I know the importance of keeping a firearm available if required," he writes on his campaign website. "As a gun owner and father, my top priority and concern is safety and appropriate training – not new laws that infringe on our Constitution."
Jorgensen's campaign did not respond to interview requests.
Coronado resident Simon, 61, also has never run for office. A Republican, he works as a surgeon at Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas and has been a doctor for 33 years.
He told KPBS he felt called to run because he thinks the other candidates are lacking qualifications and he's worried about the future of the country.
"When you look at it from the standpoint of the four people in this race, I'm by far more experienced at private sector issues of finance, business, health care, education," he said. "So I said, OK, I've got these kids, I've got this experience, I'm 61 years old, I've got lots of energy, I've got the support of my family, and I've got to make American better."
Simon has loaned his campaign $1,353,000, money he said he earned by working 100 hours a week for 20 years. He said his ability to spend his own money, combined with his education and work experience, make him the type of congressman imagined by the founding fathers.
"Our government was meant to be run by educated people, which all of the founding fathers were, and it was to educate the population, not de-educate them so you had a bunch of people who didn't recognize or understand the issues, and it was supposed to be limited power in a short period of time that people serve in the government, and it's just the opposite of all of that," he said. "I can send a message untainted by special interests and the Washington elite, and that's why I got in this race."
Simon's campaign is focusing on education and health care. He wants to limit federal expansion into the education system, create more vocational schools to provide job training and opposes Obama's health care law.
As the June primary approaches, Simon and Jorgensen especially are spending on advertising. But the majority of money and advertising likely will come as the race between the top two candidates heads to November.
San Diego's 52nd Congressional District The district is a toss-up with 32% Democrat registration, 34% GOP and 34% independents and smaller parties.
After releasing tens of thousands of criminals to prey on the public, now insane Democrats want convicted murderers to get free condoms in prison. Naturally they will be lubricated for their enjoyment.
Condoms could eventually be distributed to People's Republic of California prison inmates under a bill that moved forward in the state Senate on Tuesday, setting the stage for potential pushback from Comrade Governor Jerry Brown, who vetoed a similar measure last fall.
The bill, which has already passed the state Assembly, would direct state officials to develop a five-year plan to hand out condoms in the state prison system. The initiative would not change current law that criminalizes sex acts between inmates regardless of consent.
"We are not only advocating for the improved health of prisoners," said Oakland Democratic Assemblyman Rob Bonta, who introduced the bill. "But we are also protecting communities across the state that could potentially be harmed by communicable diseases when former prisoners relocate to neighborhoods upon re-entry."
The measure passed the Senate Public Safety Committee with a 5-1 vote and will next be heard by the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Opponents of the proposal have predicted prisoners in the overcrowded system could use condoms to store contraband rather than for safe sex, while backers say it could help cut down on high rates of sexually transmitted diseases among inmates.
The June primary marks the start of a statewide battle between Democrats trying to retain power as a supermajority voting bloc in California's Legislature and Republicans eager to prevent de-facto one-party rule.
And two Kern County races are key battlegrounds in the fight.
While 100 legislative seats are up for grabs, just a handful of competitive races, particularly in Orange County and the Central Valley, will determine whether Democrats will have the power to raise taxes, pass emergency legislation, put measures on the ballot and override gubernatorial vetoes reports the Bakersfield Californian.
This year's races have political implications for the rest of the decade because expanded term limits will allow incumbents to stay in one house for longer, up to 12 years. New district lines and a relatively new top-two election system meant to promote moderate candidates also are shaping the legislative races.
Less clear is whether voters will be swayed by criminal cases against three Democratic state senators because two of them are being termed out at the end of the year. Sens. Ronald Calderon of Montebello and Leland Yee of San Francisco were suspended after being indicted on federal bribery and corruption charges.
Republican Senator Andy Vidak's 16th State Senate District Voter registration is 45.5% Democrat to 29% GOP.
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A third Democrat, Sen. Rod Wright, was suspended after being convicted earlier this year of voter fraud and perjury for lying about his legal residence in Los Angeles County.
California Target Book publisher Allan Hoffenblum, who analyzes legislative and congressional races, said Democrats are particularly concerned about holding onto supermajority status in the Senate because the upper house has the power to confirm gubernatorial appointees.
Republicans, eager to rebuild their diminished ranks, are looking to capitalize on voter dissatisfaction with the nation's economic recovery by picking off a few legislative seats and preventing Democrats from having too much control. They say voters believe the economy is on the wrong track and are critical of President Barack Obama's poor execution of the health care overhaul.
Democrats are aligning themselves with Gov. Jerry Brown, who is running for a fourth term. They are making the case that by working with the Democratic governor, the majority party was able to steer California back in the right direction following the recession's budget crisis and restore education funding.
"The Republicans have nobody to enthuse at top of the ticket," said John Burton, chairman of the California Democratic Party.
There are currently 25 Democrats and 12 Republicans serving in the Senate. With three Democratic senators suspended, Democrats dropped below the 27 votes they need for supermajority status.
California Republican Party Chairman Jim Brulte said eliminating the Democratic stronghold in both houses is a primary goal for the party. The GOP pathway involves defending incumbents in competitive seats, picking up a newly drawn seat in Riverside County and picking up a crucial seat in Orange County.
Orange County GOP Assembly candidate Young Kim Young Kim 2014
Ground zero for regaining the Democrats' two-thirds majority in the 40-member Senate is Senate District 34.
Democrats are trying to return former Assemblyman Jose Solorio to the Capitol, but he's being challenged by Orange County Supervisor Janet Nguyen, a Republican. Long Pham, a Republican former member of the Orange County Board of Education, also is running.
Solorio describes himself as a battle-tested moderate who will get more done for the residents of Santa Ana and Long Beach by working with the party in power. He cites budget reform and workers compensation among some of his accomplishments.
"A Democratic senator is going to be more influential for delivering Long Beach and Orange County priorities," he said.
Nguyen says democracy suffers when one party dominates, so she is campaigning on a platform of jobs, public safety and education. She is especially critical of Brown's three-year-old prison realignment law, which increased the burden on local governments and contends it has led to an increase in theft and burglaries.
The average candidate in 2012 spent $700,000 for an Assembly seat and $1 million for a Senate seat, according to MapLight, which tracks campaign finance. The candidates for SD34 are expected to exceed that substantially.
Democrats, meanwhile, are trying to reclaim Senate District 14, which includes western Kern County, parts of Bakersfield and Fresno. Republican Sen. Andy Vidak is defending the seat he won in a special election despite a Democratic voting edge.
Democrats have put up Luis Chavez, a Fresno school board member who has backing from labor. In a sign that the race is being targeted for November, the Democratic Party has contributed $200,000 to Chavez's campaign.
Former GOP Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia is looking to take a Riverside County State Senate seat. Bonnie Garcia for Senate
Top Target 28th State Senate District in Riverside County.
In the Assembly, Republicans are targeting Democrats Steve Fox in Los Angeles County's Antelope Valley and Sharon Quirk-Silva in Orange County. Brulte said the GOP has a formidable challenger for Quirk-Silva's 65th Assembly District in Young Kim, an aide to Congressman Ed Royce.
Democrats, meanwhile, see an opportunity to pick off open seats that are being vacated by Republicans, particularly in Ventura County. Democrats in the 80-member Assembly currently hold 55 seats compared to the Republicans' 25. The majority party needs to maintain 54 for supermajority status.
The "top two" primary system is also shaping certain districts in which two candidates from the same party are expected to advance to the general election.
In the Democratic strongholds of Contra Costa and Alameda counties, labor has committed to blocking Brown adviser and Orinda City Councilman Steve Glazer from advancing in Assembly District 16. Glazer was blacklisted by the California Labor Federation for working on an independent expenditure committee funded by the California Chamber of Commerce in two key Assembly races in 2012.
The California Teachers Association has put $500,000 into a committee called Californians for Economic Prosperity to back Tim Sbranti, the mayor of Dublin and a high school civics teacher, who oversaw the union's political action committee. Glazer is getting help from real estate agents and the chamber of commerce.
Several former lawmakers are seeking to return to the Legislature this election cycle.
Former Assemblywoman Mary Hayashi has already released a TV ad in Senate District 10 in Alameda and Santa Clara counties. A judge sentenced the Democrat to three years of probation after she pleaded no contest to stealing nearly $2,500 worth of clothing from Neiman Marcus in 2011. Her attorney blamed the thefts on a benign brain tumor.
Republican Bonnie Garcia, who was termed out of the Assembly in 2008, is hoping to capture a new Riverside County seat in Senate District 28. Garcia was the first Puerto Rican elected to the Legislature but her name landed in the national press when former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called her a "very hot" Latina for her temperament.
And Robert Hertzberg, a former speaker of the Assembly, is running in the safely Democratic Senate District 18.
GOP Councilman Tom Lackey Democrat perennial candidate Steve Fox accidentally won a GOP held Assembly seat in the Antelope Valley by only 145 votes in the 2012 Obama landslide. This makes the district target #1 for the California Republican Party. Lackey for Assembly
Top Target The 36th Assembly District in the high desert of Los Angeles County. The district is 36.9% Democrat, 37.3% GOP and 25.8% independent and smaller parties.
It's bad enough that Democrats are driving out of California car companies, oil companies and the movie industry. Now they are going after sex workers, strip clubs and liquor stores.
SHOCK - There wouldn't be streetwalkers if they didn't have to walk the streets. In Nevada the sex industry is legal, controlled, inspected by the health department and pays taxes to support schools, police and libraries.
Battling prostitution has been a major focus for Democrat Los Angeles City Councilwoman Nury Martinez, whohas pushed to bolster police patrols, increase enforcement against johns and pimps, and boost diversion programs for prostitutes in her San Fernando Valley district.
Translation - Spend more money on government programs that employ SEIU members.
Now, in the quest to stamp out the sex trade in the area, Martinez is zeroing in on the strip clubs, massage parlors and liquor stores that line Sepulveda Boulevard, aiming to prevent new "adult entertainment" businesses from opening along a nearly four-mile stretch of the street.
The councilwoman wants to pass an ordinance to temporarily prevent new topless bars, liquor stores and other "adult-oriented uses" from opening along the targeted stretch of Sepulveda, as well as parts of Lankershim Boulevard and San Fernando Road in Sun Valley. Existing shops would be allowed to stay open, but the restrictions would halt permits for new such businesses there.
"Unfortunately, it seems like the vice activities feed on each other," Martinez said, adding: "We don't want these types of businesses to lure the pimps," reports the Los Angeles Times.
If the council ultimately approves the restrictions, they would last for 45 days but could be renewed for up to two years. In the past, the council has used the same process to put a hold on new billboards and automotive repair shopsin parts of L.A.as city officials considered permanent regulations.
The plan was welcomed by some Valley residents and businesses: Steve Sanchez, who manages the Cklass clothing shop on Sepulveda Boulevard, said the strip clubs and other adult shops serve as "meeting places" for prostitutes and pimps. Longtime Van Nuys resident Don Schultz, one of the directors of Groups Against Street Prostitution, said the area already had more than enough liquor stores and massage parlors.
"I think it's long overdue," Schultz said.
Aides to Martinez say data from police permits show there are at least 10 "adult entertainment" businesses, not including massage parlors, in the three stretches targeted by the proposal. A Times analysis of state data from 2012 tallied 15 businesses with licenses to sell alcohol for consumption off the premises.
"There isn't a lack of opportunities to buy liquor" or visit adult businesses on the targeted streets, said Greg Krikorian, president of the Valley Economic Alliance. In fact, he said, stopping new shops "may help the existing businesses that are there."
But the California Beverage RetailersAssn., a statewide group with an office in Sherman Oaks, questioned why liquor stores were lumped together with topless bars and other "adult" stores.
'Call me Mrs. Prude' Leftist L. A. City Councilmember Nury Martinez has made battling prostitution a main focus.
(Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)
"I don't see that they're a problem causing prostitution," executive director Ronald Ziff said. If particular liquor stores have become a nuisance, he said, "the city has plenty of existing laws to control these things."
Nancy Hoffman Vanyek, chief executive of the Greater San Fernando Valley Chamber of Commerce, questioned what "positive businesses" might fall under the restrictions.
If new massage parlors are barred, "does that affect a Massage Envy that wants to come in?" she asked, mentioning a well-known chain. "It needs to be better defined."
A spokesman for the Los Angeles Assn. of Club Executives, which includes about 30 adult clubs, said his group was generally leery of "broad brush approaches" but was not opposed to Martinez's proposal. He planned to touch base with Martinez to see how his group could help with the challenges her council district faces.
"Responsible club owners should be good neighbors," said Steven Afriat, spokesman for the group. He estimated that only three or four of their members were in the targeted areas, and added that the group has standards includingdiscreet signage and 24-hour phone numbers for neighbors to call with complaints.
"The answer is putting pressure on businesses to be good neighbors — and working with neighborhoods to be certain to identify where the cause of the problem is," he said.
Cracking Down on Strip Clubs Most Democrats and Republicans are frightened to death of real freedom. They always want to control your every action.
