The Lite Guv Intrigue Continues
The nominee getting hit from both the left and the right… the urgency, or lack thereof, in having a new #2… and the fact that someone's actually doing the job as we speak.
Photo: Getty Images
It's no surprise that the choice of Maldonado by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger faces a tougher, much more uncertain road in the Assembly than in the Senate. Last week's quick hearing before the Senate Rules Committee made it clear that, in the words of one Democratic senator, the "comity" of the upper house is going to prevail in elevating the senator from the Central Coast to the post.
Today, the lower house drama began to play out, with three Democratic assemblymembers summoning reporters to discuss the various reasons they plan to say 'no' to Maldo.
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Podcast: The Wannabes
This week's Capital Notes Podcast is all about this week's most talked about job seekers: a guy who wants the state's #2 ranking job and two folks who want to be top dog.
First up: the high drama of Wednesday's confirmation hearing for Abel Maldonado to be California's next 'lite guv.' Capitol Weekly's Anthony York and I also examine the wild week in the race for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, complete with nasty jabs and a political 911 call to the cops… and, a political web video that's all the talk.
GOP Foil, Thy Name is Arnold
Photo: Getty Images
Those are some of the things being said about Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger as this election year kicks off… not by Democrats, but by his fellow Republicans. And it may be just the beginning.
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Maldo Moves To Round Two
By the time today's confirmation hearing for Abel Maldonado began, multiple sources had already tipped us off that the GOP senator was going to clear his first hurdle towards becoming lieutenant governor.
But what we didn't know was how emotional the 42-year-old would be, or how often Democrats would seek to push the first generation American on whether his record as a legislator has helped, or hurt, others who aspire to rise from similar meager beginnings.
In other words…it was a budget fight.
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Maldo: No On Oil Drilling Plan
If there was any ambiguity about where California's lieutenant governor designate stands on a current controversial oil drilling proposal, then the politician himself seems to have settled the issue — for now — by putting himself on the same side of opponents who say the plan's benefits are unenforceable.
Abel Maldonado, the state senator who tomorrow finds himself sitting in his confirmation hearing to be the next 'lite guv,' has said twice in as many days that he opposes the current offshore drilling proposal known as Tranquillon Ridge.
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Podcast: Warming Up
Just like leftovers are best after a little bit of a reheating in the microwave, this week's Capital Notes Podcast finds a few politics and policy morsels that, while not new, are worth a second bite.
Capitol Weekly's Anthony York and I check out the latest poll numbers on the contests for the the U.S. Senate and governor, and examine the slowly reheating budget battles under the state Capitol dome.
We also take a quick peek at next week's big drama: the confirmation hearing for lieutenant governor designate Abel Maldonado.
We Don't Need No (Budget) Education
The latest statewide survey of California voters is getting a lot of attention for what it says about candidates for statewide office and how the state's citizens feel about the economy and the fiscal woes of its government.
It also says something else: the same Californians who want to be in charge of fixing their government don't seem to have a clue how it works.
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Leg Analyst: Guv's 'Odd Couple' Too Odd
"We recommend rejection of this proposal."
That's about as simple as it gets in Capitol budget terms, and that's the bottom line of the Legislative Analyst's Office after examining Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's novel proposal to link funding for prisons with funding for the University of California and California State University systems.
And the LAO report (read it here) ends with a zinger: "It is an unnecessary, ill-conceived measure that would do serious harm to the budget process."
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Schwarzenegger: "Look Beyond" One's Principles
Photo: Sacramento Press Club
It was delivered this afternoon at an appearance before the Sacramento Press Club, and it may help explain not just some of Schwarzenegger's most impressive victories… but also why so many parts of the political spectrum have grown disenchanted with what have seemed like multiple course corrections.
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Podcast: Polls & Potshots
Less policy. More politics. That's this week's Capital Notes Podcast in a nutshell.
Two big polls came out this week examining the race for governor and the race for the United States Senate, with the gubernatorial survey out just this morning. Capitol Weekly's Anthony York and I examine the numbers and what they mean for the beginning of the 2010 slugfest.
We also discuss Governor Schwarzenegger's big trip to the nation's capital this week and the verbal jabs from both his team and Democrats.
About the Blogger
John Myers is Sacramento Bureau Chief for KQED's The California Report, heard on public radio stations around the state. More about John...
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