DON'T BE AS EVIL: OIL CO. GROWS ROSES

Are today's oil companies making strides towards cleaner energy for PR purposes? Are they making smart long term business decisions or are they just good people? The answer doesn't matter.

What matters is whether they're taking real, concrete steps towards more renewable, less polluting sources and systems. The New York Times' business section today reported a novel development from the Dutch. A Shell oil refinery in Holland is now pumping its byproduct to greenhouses.

"Shell aims to sell 500,000 tons of carbon dioxide a year" to 500 greenhouses, reducing its emissions by 8%, the Times said. That's a lot of roses. The carbon still mostly ends up in the air, but now the greenhouse owners can stop producing it. It's only 8% of one refinery, but it bespeaks more for the larger picture.

"'The debate about CO2 is changing,' Jeroen van der Veer, the chief executive officer of Shell, said in a recent interview. 'You can either fight it - which is useless - or you can see it as a business opportunity.'"

Score one for the libertarian environmentalists of the world.

The trend began in 1997 when British Petroleum (that's Arco here in LA) chief executive Lord Browne declared that oil companies' carbon emissions were contributing to global warming. Since then they've famously invested in alternative energy sources like wind and solar. Now they're planning to spend $800 million a year to reduce their carbon impact by 24 million tons by 2015. BP has has been the industry leader in environmental initiatives, almost as much as it been the leader of marketing itself as environmental.

That may sound cynical, but it's not. Besides the fact that Arco stations are consistently the cheapest in town, buying your gas from BP - or investing your money - sends a message that the marketing works. Americans want greener fuel. Does a mega company like BP still do more harm than good? Sure, but if you drive, you're complicit anyway, so vote with your wallet for cheaper gas and less CO2.

Shell, for its part, is proud of its investment in biofuels like ethanol and biodiesel as well as its share in a handful of wind farms. Its website pegs the total investment in biofuel at over a billion US dollars, but doesn't mention the amount it's spent on
wind, solar, or hydrogen.

Too little? Yes. Too late? Maybe not.

With the success of Al Gore's movie "An Inconvenient Truth", global warming is the top national environmental concern and one of the biggest issues in the upcoming midterm elections. The public is worried about it, the scientific community comes up with more evidence every day. Democrats and President Bush agree that it's an issue we have to deal with. The discord is over how aggressive we need to be.

But there are still some Republicans who deny that we have the power to stop it or even that humans have anything to do with it. Richard Pombo, the Representative from Stockton called global warming a "myth" in a 2002 press release. Closer to home, Dana Rohrabacher from Long Beach called it "global baloney" on Real Time with Bill Maher back in 2004.

While it's not too late to save the planet, it may soon be too late for guys like Pombo and Rohrabacher. Global warming could be THE wedge issue for 2006. If this midterm is going to warm up, Democrats must take advantage of these backward looking politicians and place the environment front and center.


The NY Times article by Jad Mouawad:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/30/business/30carbon.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Shell's environmental statement from 2/2/06 (click "Meeting the energy challenge):
http://www.shell.com/home/Framework?siteId=rw-br

Al Gore on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart:
http://www.comedycentral.com/shows/the_daily_show/videos/celebrity_interviews/index.jhtml

Pombo's Press Release:
http://www.votepomboout.org/issues/GlobalWarming/PomboEarthDay2002.pdf

A more recent Pombo emission:
http://www.house.gov/pombo/press/press2006/jan31_06.htm

The photo is by Herman Wouters of the NY Times.

HOW DO WE TAKE BACK THE HOUSE?

Here's a place to start: Patrick Murphy of Penn-sylvania. First the story, fast as I can tell it.

The kid grew up in Northeast Philly, the son of a cop, worked his way through college and got the law degree. He did legal aid for poor people in Harrisburg as well as working as a prosecutor. He went into the Army in 1993, became a JAG attorney, went to Bosnia and then to Baghdad with the 82nd Airborne where he earned the Bronze Star. Murphy's taught at West Point and lectured around town and around the world.

And he wants us to get out of Iraq.

The latest addition to the Patrick Murphy story is the mid-campaign wedding to local girl Jenni Safford. They met while working together at a Philadelphia law firm.

Murphy's plan for Iraq is to withdraw the National Guard and the Reserves by summertime, then send home 50,000 more troops by the end of 2006. The rest of the troops would pull back and protect the borders with Iran and Syria, and an elite strike force would remain in the region, either in Iraq or Kuwait. He calls for a timeline for withdrawal and a clear plan from the White House. In making his case Murphy takes a first person perspective:

"I spent 7 months in Iraq as a JAG officer, assisting local Iraqi officials and U.S. forces create and maintain the rule of law. Having seen my share of combat, I am keenly aware of how security, military operations, and local politics are woven into a complex web of challenges that often defy simple solutions.

"But even in complex situations, the truth is the truth. And the truth is that we have asked far too much of our National Guard and Reserves fighting in Iraq. It is time to bring them home now and create a framework for drawing down our regular forces in 2006....

"To those who say this idea fails to clean up the mess we created in Iraq, let me tell you as someone who has been there that staying the current course actually undermines the mission of our troops and will not fix anything."

Patrick Murphy's website is thoughtful and detailed. He's got a commitment to what bloggers and the media are calling the netroots, and that's a commitment to democracy. The site gives simple, straightforward progressive stances on the things that matter and his signature issues, Iraq, veterans, and corruption are backed up with readable position papers.

http://www.murphy06.com

Murphy believes in choice, stem cell research, healthcare for all, and balancing the deficit. He's against the war, drilling in ANWR, letting drug companies write our drug policy and letting oil companies write our energy policy.

The incumbent, Mike Fitzpatrick is having trouble extricating himself from the Tom DeLay scandal. His healthcare position does offer some positive band-aids, but mostly hews to the PA Republican party line, which is that capping consumer lawsuits will solve everything. He voted against stem cell research, he's for the war and against a woman's right to choose. In his favor, he does have a half decent record on the environment; League of Conservation Voters gives him a 61%. That's ballsy for a Republican, but de rigueur for any politician in the Philly suburbs.

http://www.capwiz.com/lcv/bio/keyvotes/?id=150964&congress=1092&lvl=C

The Pennsylvania 8th is one of the key swing districts in the United States. Gore and Kerry won here by a few percentage points. This is one of those races that has national implications, and it's one of those districts that Democrats need to reach out to. Electing a smart, solid Democrat will go a long way in the long term toward turning PA blue. Putting more Democrats on the streets knocking on doors will also help Bob Casey Jr. beat Senator Rick Santorum. The 8th has a lot of swing voters per square inch.

If you want to take back the House and you're agonizing over where to send your money, look no further.

http://www.murphy06.com/tocontribute.html

And here's a blog of support from the netroots:
http://www.mydd.com/story/2006/5/31/213730/972

A PARTY POOPER REBUTS

The Courage Campaign is a sort of alternative California Democratic Party for disaffected Democrats. They're doing good work organizing in every county in California.

http://couragecampaign.org/

The Courage Campaign's chairman, Rick Jacobs wrote an op-ed in the LA Times called "'Party' Poopers" denouncing Democratic Party endorsements:

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-jacobs3jun03,0,5639944.story?coll=la-news-comment-opinions

I was asked to take time out on election day to write a guest blog countering Rick's arguments. Here's what I wrote:

A PARTY POOPER REBUTS

It was with dismay and a grain of salt with which I read my friend Rick Jacobs's editorial on Saturday ("Party Poopers", LA Times, 6/3/06). His main points are that the Democratic Party shouldn't endorse in primaries, that its insiders are out of touch with its rank and file, and that the party structure is abstruse and impenetrable. I might have agreed a couple years ago until Mr. Jacobs's boss, Howard Dean, inspired me to try and break down the party walls.

To become one of the 2,500 delegates it took a little persistence to be sure. I was elected by my Assembly District Committee, but I had some hoops to jump through. Some of the "well-intentioned, mostly older
individuals," described in the editorial first ignored my phone calls, then tried to strong arm me into voting their way, and then threatened to challenge my membership when I refused. But in the end, it was the new guard, mostly former Dean supporters, brand new to party politics, who swept the day.

Those of us who vote on party endorsements, Mr. Jacobs says, "have at best a cursory connection to those 7 million Democrats... And they have no connection to the 'decline to state' voters."

Most of my friends are in their late 20s and early 30s, and registered Democrat or decline to state. They care about the world, but don't have much time for politics. Though I've made many new friends in the activist world, I can safely say that I'm the only one in my social group who got bit by the political bug.

At parties I have a magnet in my ear for political discussions. I listen to my peers' attitudes and concerns. I ask a lot of questions, testing theories I have about "typical" voters. I send out an e-mail out at election time with my recommendations and I pitch new ideas like universal healthcare, clean money, and truth in initiatives to friends who aren't as engaged.

To me the point of being politically active is to win over opinions and win votes. I want to matter more than my one vote. At the California Democratic Convention in April, not only did I vote to endorse Phil Angelides, but I convinced four or five other delegates to vote for him. It paid off, too. The endorsement gave Angelides a nine point bump and now he's able to compete against Steve Westly and his personal fortune.

I didn't lean on anyone, threaten anyone, offer any jobs, or pay for anyone's flight. I just made sane arguments. It's worth mentioning that no one paid my way to Sacramento either, but if anyone would like to pay my way the next time...

Only 2 candidates in the 8 statewide races left the convention with endorsements. One of them, Debra Bowen for Secretary of State, was a shock to a lot of party insiders. The Assembly, Senate, and House
endorsements were decided locally, though some were challenged at the convention and one was overturned. The delegates I saw came in all sizes, ages, and colors.

Today I'm volunteering for Elena Popp, a candidate who was not endorsed by the party. By all accounts, Sacramento's fair-haired boy, Kevin de Leon, is polling third behind Elena and someone with something far more valuable than the party's endorsement.

Christine Chavez, the front runner for the 45th Assembly District seat is the only candidate in California whose grandfather has a holiday named after him. She doesn't go to candidate forums or debate ideas, but she does send more mail than I've ever seen, and almost every piece begins the same way:

"My grandfather, Cesar Chavez..."

In this race, the party endorsement is not battling the big money, it's battling the big name. We're hoping Kevin's endorsement and Christine's name recognition will cancel each other out, while Elena, who the LA Times calls "the most independent of the five," rises to the top. I have never worked on a campaign that covered its precincts so thoroughly or worked so hard to contact and win over every likely voter in the district.

The party's endorsement should not replace voter education, but I hope it counts for a little more than a candidate's bank account or famous relative.

Rick Jacobs is right that the party structure is ridiculously complicated and somewhat closed off. Its power to shift and channel money should evoke a healthy suspicion. But for those of us willing to put in the effort to make change, it's not hard to break in and to have an effect.

In my other life, as a location soundman, I've worked on a couple of TV shows with a young woman named Kate Sedrowski. She's quiet, hard working, and earnest. She's an active volunteer in the Valley and her car is covered with political bumper stickers. I was surprised to see her name on the ballot for Democratic County Central Committtee. It wasn't easy; she had to drive to Norwalk, do the paperwork and then gather signatures, but a little dedication goes a long way.

To those frustrated with the party and its arcane structure, I suggest you try to change it. There's plenty of room for no-nonsense folks with their hearts in the right place. It takes a little effort, but you'll see the results. As for me, I'll know the hard work paid off sometime around midnight tonight.

CALIFORNIA VOTER RECOMMENDATIONS - AS MUCH AS I COULD CHEW ON

In today's election, I've put together a set of recommendations. The polls are open from 7am to 8pm. If you're in LA County you can find your poll at

http://www.lavote.net/LOCATOR/

If you're registered DECLINE TO STATE, you get to pick whichever ballot you want. Unless you have someone in another party you really want to vote for, ask for the Democratic ballot. Not all states allow you to do this; we're lucky in California.

I've formatted this in the order it will appear on the ballot. I've put a * on races that everyone in California votes on. Sorry if I've left out some races in your area.

Here are my recommendations for the JUNE 6 Democratic primary:

*Governor: Phil Angelides
*Lieutenant Governor: John Garamendi
*Secretary of State: Debra Bowen
*Controller: Joe Dunn (by a hair)
*Treasurer: Bill Lockyer
*Attorney General: Jerry Brown
*Insurance Commissioner: no recommendation

Board of Equalization, 4th district: Judy Chu
Board of Equalization, 1st district: Betty Yee
*US Senator: Dianne Feinstein
US Representative: I like all of the LA area incumbents: Xavier Becerra, Henry Waxman, Diane Watson, Maxine Waters, Hilda Solis, Howard Berman, Brad Sherman. I have no recommendation for the race between Jane Harman and Marcy Winograd (coast from Venice to Long Beach)

State Senator:
-Mark Ridley-Thomas where I live
-Jenny Oropeza on the Westside.

State Assembly:
-Elena Popp here in my neighborhood (45th)
-Mike Feuer (by a hair) to the west of me (42nd)
-Julia Brownley on the Westside (41st)
-Steve Bradford to the south (51st)
-Mike Eng to the east (49th)
-Karen Bass (47th)
-Ted Lieu (53rd).

Party Central Committee
If you want to change the Democratic Party - the way it works and the candidates it fields - this is your best opportunity. This committee controls the party's endorsements in LA County and moves money to candidates and voter registration drives. I'll only vote for people I know personally and I know will do a good job.

In the 45th AD:
-Christopher Arellano
-Erika Gallo
-Bill Kysella
-Shirin Buckman

In the 42nd AD
-Andrew Lachman
-Kate Sedrowski

In the 43rd AD
-Teresa "Jodi" Owen
-Robert Silver

In the 44th AD
-Karen Wingard

In the 47th AD
-Jimmie Woods-Gray

In the 41st AD
-Agi Kessler

For the judges, I ought to recuse myself, but I can't help it. I have heard from some of the judges and for the rest, I'm going to fill it in with the recommendations of Americans for Democratic Action and the LA Times:

http://home.earthlink.net/~socalada/ADAWebsite/

#8: Bob Henry
#18: John C. Gutierrez
#28: Judith L. Meyer
#95: Richard Kraft
#102: C. Edward Mack
#120: Dzintra I. Janavs
#122: Daniel J. Lowenthal
#144: Randolph Martin Hammock

*Superintendent of Public Instruction: Jack O'Connell
LA County Assessor: Rick Auerbach
LA County Sherriff: Lee Baca
LA County Supervisor (3rd): Zev Yaroslavsky

State Ballot Measures
*Proposition 81: NO
*Proposition 82: YES


Thanks for voting, people.

--davefordemocracy

GARAMENDI, BOWEN, BROWN IN THE DOWN TICKET RACES

The bad thing about the musical chairs of term limits is that good people are forced to retire just as they get their mojo working in their current jobs. The good thing is that we get to take a look at politicians' record in public office before we vote, not just their promises. Term limits also encourage a new crop of ambitious do-gooders to run for the legislature where, we hope, the cream will rise to the top.

There are six statewide races besides governor that have several big names jockeying to stay in elected office. Some need to keep their names in the news until the timing's right to run for governor, congress, or something even bigger. Others were born for the job they seek.

Here are my choices for the down ticket statewide races:

Lieutenant Governer: JOHN GARAMENDI
With this largely ceremonial position, we have to remember that the winner could become governor at any time. As insurance commissioner Garamendi has done a lot to protect consumers. He's steadfastly refused to take campaign money from the industry he regulates, and we've been spared the scary rate hikes that other states have had.

His strongest opponent, the less liberal state Senator Jackie Speier, is capable, but there's one big difference. Garamendi supports universal healthcare, and Speier does not. As an expert in the field of insurance, I think Garamendi has what it takes to advocate for the universal healthcare bill and the bully pulpit of the Lieutenant Governor's office is the best place to do it.

John Garamendi's website:
http://www.garamendi.org/

Secretary of State: DEBRA BOWEN
This is the office that oversees our elections. With new voting machines being churned out by for-profit companies, voter registration databases being threatened, and partisan squabbling over recounts, this is THE MOST IMPORTANT RACE right now in the state. Senator Bowen has taken the lead in the legislature to protect our elections from companies like Diebold whose CEO promised to deliver Ohio to George W. Bush in 2004. She begins her stump speech by saying, "I'm running for Secretary of State for two reasons: Florida and Ohio!"

When Democrat Kevin Shelley was forced to resign, the governor appointed Republican Bruce McPherson to the office, and immediately the standards for voting machine integrity were relaxed. Most recently, McPherson had tens of thousands of newly registered voters purged from the rolls because information didn't exactly match DMV records. So if your driver's license says Dave Jr., but you registered as David II, you're out. Bowen has fought that tooth and nail in the Senate.

The rest of her record shines too. Bowen has taken the lead on privacy protection in California; she wrote a 2001 bill to protect your social security number. She hasn't been so generous with your government's privacy; she authored the law that puts public records and legislative deliberations online for all to see.

She's a bold, stand up public servant, and if you want your votes to count, vote for Debra Bowen.

Debra Bowen's website:
http://www.debrabowen.com/

Controller: JOE DUNN
This one is really a tossup for me. Both Dunn and John Chiang will do a fantastic job. Dunn's experience and steady demeanor contrasts with Chiang's energetic, quick mind and I really like both. I give Dunn the slight edge because of his work as hairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee where he investigated the Enron scandal. According to Dunn, he lost a friend in Gray Davis because of it. He's a Democrat from Orange County, and quite a liberal one at that. Because of his cojones, I'll vote for Joe Dunn.

Joe Dunn's website:
http://www.joedunn.org/

Treasurer: BILL LOCKYER
Well, he's unopposed. That about does it.

Lockyer's website:
http://www.lockyerfortreasurer.com/

Attorney General: JERRY BROWN
"I used to be Governor Moonbeam," says Brown, "now I'm Mayor Pothole!" I love a guy who's been top dog in the nation's biggest state and doesn't mind stepping back to be mayor of a troubled town like Oakland. In attorney general races, we're used to hearing the tough-on-crime mantras, and it's refreshing to see someone different as the frontrunner.

Brown's two terms as governor and his three runs at the Democratic nomination for President have earned him a reputation as the liberal torch bearer. As mayor his pragmatism has pissed some traditional liberals off. But his creative approaches to his city's woes have reduced crime significantly, and Oakland is a city on its way up.

The opponent, LA City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo aims his square jaw at LA's gangs, and between him, Mayor Hahn, and Police Chief Bratton, we've seen a reduction in crime as well, but at at a significant price. Delgadillo says he wants to help gang members get out of the life, but his Orwellian gang injunctions have done the exact opposite.

There is a list of gang members managed by a publicly traded company, called the Cal/Gang Database. Once on the list, citizens are denied the right of assembly, free speech, and expression. You get on the list by having the wrong tattoo or being seen with known gang members. You get off the list... well, nobody's ever got off the list (KPCC report by John Rabe, 6/1/06). Even the most generous estimates say gang injunctions only reduce crime by 6-9% and opponents say they just move the crime to the next neighborhood over. This is the program upon which Delgadillo hangs his hat.

Jerry Brown will be fair and realistic. His years of public service prove that he cares about finding lasting solutions to our state's problems. Vote for a liberal for attorney general, vote for Jerry Brown.

The KPCC report:
http://www.scpr.org/news/index.shtml

Jerry Brown's website:
http://www.jerrybrown.org/

Insurance Commissioner: NO ENDORSEMENT
I'm not gonna lie. I didn't do my homework on this one. But I know two things, first, Cruz Bustamante is going to win. Second, he won't be as good an insurance commissioner as Garamendi has been. Bustamante has taken $158,000 from insurance companies, and he's running his campaign on a platform of pledging to lose 50 pounds by election day. He was a lame candidate carrying the Democratic baton in the recall race for governor, and he's still a lame candidate.

Steve Lopez' column in the LA Times says enough:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lopez10may10,1,7896491.column

PHIL ANGELIDES FOR GOVERNOR

As an activist, I appreciate the fact that Phil's been walking the walk as far as getting liberals elected and opposing Governor Schwarzenegger. I like the attention to detail he's known for as an elected official and he's done a good job as treasurer, ringing alarm bells about our fiscal woes when necessary.

Steve Westly, with his personal fortune and very good commercials, has somehow positioned himself in some people's minds as the environmental candidate. Actually the Sierra Club has endorsed both candidates, but the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) has endorsed only one: Phil Angelides. I'm not a scientist and so I trust the environmental groups, and the one I trust the most is LCV.

I'm usually alright with a little negative campaigning. As long as there are no lies, gross distortions, or race baiting, it's just part of a robust campaign. What gets me about Westly is the hypocrisy. I saw him, on at least three occasions, hold up a pledge not to air negative ads, and then he was the first to do negative ads. Some of the ads really do cross the line of distortion; the "Lake Tahoe" ad is so close to a lie that he ought to be ashamed of himself.

Westly's distorting attack ads are rebutted on Phil's website. The link is below.

As a developer, Phil built with a conscience, pioneering smart growth, protecting wetlands, and creating new ones. As treasurer he sits on California's pension boards. That's an unbelievable amount of investment power and Phil has taken the lead in investing it in renewable energy and environmentally responsible companies.

But the big difference between the two candidates is that Phil Angelides is upfront that we need to raise taxes a little on the rich.

If we're going to continue growing economically and not saddle our kids with the bill, we can't continue Schwarzenegger's anti-tax charade. Where is that money coming from? Well, let's see, tuition has gone up at all the state schools and city colleges. Los Angeles, in order to put enough cops on the street, is doubling fees for trash pickup. We are now being asked to vote to borrow money to fix crumbling libraries. In effect, we have a tax on students, a tax on homeowners, and a tax on our kids. Steve Westly takes no stand on raising taxes.

Both candidates are good businessmen, both now hold elected positions as stewards of state money. But when it comes to money management, I want the guy who's frank about how we're going to pay for everything. Phil will raise taxes on couples making half a million dollars and roll back tuitions to pre-Schwarzenegger levels.

Both candidates in this race are good men. Each will run a great campaign against Schwarzenegger and outshine him as governor. But this is a primary so vote for the better politician, not the better commercials. Vote for Phil.

Angelides' rebuttals to attack ads:
http://www.angelides.com/enviros/

LA Times: "Westly Stumbles in the Mud":
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-westly18may18,1,7150375.story?coll=la-headlines-california

ELENA POPP FOR CALIFORNIA ASSEMBLY, DISTRICT 45

I waited a long time to endorse anyone in the 45th Assembly District (AD 45). The three major candidates all seemed to be sufficiently liberal for my taste. They all had some heavyweights behind them. Kevin de León has Fabian Nuñez and the party machine. Elena Popp has the retiring incumbent, Jackie Goldberg. Christine Chavez, well she has the ghost of her grandfather Cesar Chavez. Pretty interesting race.

Each one recently moved to the district, though Elena Popp is the one who grew up here. She immigrated from Mexico at the age of 8 and went to public schools, including Marshall High, just down the road.

Elena was my early favorite because she actually came out to some of the activist events I was at, and stayed. She didn't just shake hands and leave, she listened and seemed genuinely interested in what was going on. When I questioned her she gave firm answers. Do you support the Clean Money bill? "Yes." Do you support Sheila Kuehl's universal healthcare bill? "Absolutely. And Senator Kuehl has endorsed me."

So I waited to hear from the other candidates. Surely Mr. de León would reach out to a delegate from his district. After all, I get to vote on the party's endorsement. Ms. Chavez sent a bunch of shallow mailers reminding me, ad nauseam, of her relation to her grandfather.

Hearing nothing of substance, I decided to call the campaigns. I asked about universal healthcare, Clean Money, gay marriage, and eminent domain, all hot issues that the legislature is or will soon be working on.

I found a phone number somewhere on the Chavez website which led me to her campaign treasurer, who referred me to her press guy who wouldn't answer any questions. He said he'd try to get Chrisine to call me back.

I called the de Leon campaign and the staffer who answered had no idea where his candidate stood on the issues. Again, I was offered a call back.

I called the Popp campaign, and heard, "Well hello, David!" It did not impress me that she had me programmed into her phone. It impressed me that she actually answers it. When I asked about eminent domain, she took a renter's rights perspective. I was already aware of her work defending the evicted tenants of Lincoln Place in Venice when their landlord decided to convert low income apartments to luxury condos. And of course she's for gay marriage; she's gay.

What I liked was the level of detail I got, and the candid quality of her answers. The LA Times noticed this too and endorsed her. The other thing they noticed was her independence. As a social justice attorney, she's been fighting for the little guy for years. Jackie Goldberg hand picked her and groomed her for the seat.

Kevin de Leon owes his childhood friend, Fabian Nuñez big. Nuñez is likely going to get challenged for the speaker of the Assembly position next year by Richard Alarcón. Word on the street is that Nuñez asked Mayor Villaraigosa to endorse Kevin in return for Nuñez' support for his school takeover. Kevin has signed a pledge to oppose mayoral control, but now says he's open to it.

Christine Chavez' big time political consultant is Richie Ross, whose star client is Alarcón. Ross is said to have a stable of Assembly candidates numbering in the teens, chomping at the bit to to support Alarcón's challenge. Remember too, that Alarcón ran against Villaraigosa in last year's election for mayor, pissing off a lot of people who thought he'd split the latino vote. Mmmm. The plot thickens.

By the way, I love Alarcón and I think he'd do a fantastic job as speaker of the Assembly. But in the race for the 45th AD seat, who will look out for the voters, and who will be holding water for one of the speaker candidates?

I went to a forum with Elena, Kevin, and Gabriel Buelna, who I thought he had no shot, but has made a great showing. Christine doesn't go to the forums, except sometimes to shake hands and then leave before the questions start.

As they spoke, I made a chart where I put checks under the candidate's names when I agreed with them on specific issues. Kevin came off as the big picture guy, telling a lot of emotional stories. Gabriel was the pothole guy who seemed to know the district best. Elena was the policy expert who understood the issues at all levels and went into to most detail.

Besides her work on behalf of renters, particularly low income renters, Elena Popp also founded a self-help domestic violence prevention program in the courts that helped her get the support of LA County Sheriff Lee Baca. She worked for Legal Aid. She created a program for mentally ill homeless people. She's helped preserve tons of low income housing. In fact she's done so much for social justice causes that Chavez' aunt, the co-founder of the United Farm Workers, Delores Huerta has endorsed Elena.

At the end of the forum I had a page full of check marks. In her closing Elena pointed out that since all three candidates appear to take the same stands on all the issues, it's a good idea to choose the candidate who gives a place at the table to three underrepresented groups -- females, latinos, and gays. That made a lot of sense.

But what makes even more sense is brains. Elena Popp knows her shit. Vote for her.

The LA Times Endorsement:
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-ed-assembly30may30,1,6733327.story?coll=la-news-comment

The LA Weekly on all the political intrigue:
http://www.laweekly.com/news/news/jackies-warring-clan/13658/

Elena Popp's website:
http://www.elenapoppforassembly.com/

EXPENSIVE PROPOSITIONS

Prop 81 and 82 on the June ballot bring up two questions:

Where do we put our education dollar? Prop 81, the library bond, puts it toward libraries, where people go to read and research. Prop 82, Preschool for All, spends it on teaching 4 year olds things like the alphabet and how to hold a book right side up.

Where should that money come from? Prop 82 asks the rich to pay, and Prop 81 borrows money and then we all pay -- with interest.


NO on PROP 81, CALIFORNIA READING AND LITERACY IMPROVEMENT (LIBRARY BOND):

This measure would have the state borrow $600 million to build and renovate libraries in California. Great idea, but it comes at the wrong time.

First of all, we're not out of our budget crisis yet and this project will cost twice as much to pay back ($1.2 billion with a "b"). Let's wait a few years until we have the money, or at least come up with a new source to offset the cost.

Los Angeles has already put the money into our libraries and done the work. City Council President Eric Garcetti told a group of neighborhood council leaders yesterday that this proposition "discriminates" against the City of Los Angeles. The bulk of the money in our region will go to the County which has let its libraries in poorer cities crumble.

I hate to be a Scrooge on this one, but we need to get our fiscal house in order first. I'd rather raise taxes than borrow money and leave the debt to our kids.

The LA Times on the Library Bond:
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/elections/la-me-guidelibrary29may29,0,2199894.story


YES on PROP 82, PRESCHOOL EDUCATION:
This measure would raise taxes on the rich to guarantee quality preschool for all 4 year olds. This will help our kids learn and help our teachers teach.

Remember your first day of kindergarten? A lot of kids come into kindergarten at our public schools and don't know that we read from left to right. Some can't say the alphabet, some have hardly ever heard the English language. Imagine being the teacher in that class. Imagine being the parent of an unprepared kid. Now imagine it's the first day of school and you're the parent who HAS taught your kid to count and say the alphabet.

A half day of real, age-appropriate education will help level the playing field and improve early education for all of our kids. The Preschool for All initiative makes such intuitive sense that the best way to argue for it is to counter the arguments against it. So here they are:

-A lot of kids already attend preschool. Sure, but not quality preschool. This measure says there needs to be a teacher with a bachelor's degree and an assistant in front of no more than 20 kids. It puts in age-appropriate standards established by the educational community.

-It's a tax hike. Yes. It raises your taxes if you make more than $400,000 a year ($800,000 for couples). But it will raise $2.1 billion for children in its first year and if you are one of the lucky ones who make that kind of money, you've recently benefitted from President Bush's tax cuts. The first $400,000 is not taxed, the rest is taxed at 1.7%. So if you make $400,100, you pay One Dollar and Seventy Cents.

-It would hurt private preschools. Nope. If the teachers get credentialed and the school follows the guidelines for quality preschool for 3 hours a day, 180 days a year, that private school can be in the program. They can do anything they want for the rest of the day. Even religious schools can qualify as long as they keep religious education out of the 3 hours. And the program is voluntary, so parents who like their kids' preschool can keep their kids there.

The LA Times on Preschool for All:
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/elections/la-me-guidepreschool29may29,0,4314320.story