Former Assemblywoman Sarah Reyes won't be running for Shafter state Senator Dean Florez's seat in 2010, said a spokesman for the California Endowment Thursday.

With Reyes' boss, Assemblyman Juan Arambula, stating he won't run either, that seems to leave the Democratic field open for Kern County Supervisor Michael Rubio. No Republican challenger has materialized for the race as of yet.

Jeff Okey of the Endowment said Reyes will lead the efforts of the group to serve communities of Arvin and Lamont, Merced city and county and Fresno.

"She's made a long-term committment to us," Okey said.

Reyes couldn't be immediately reached for comment. Her statement in a press release:

“I am pleased to join The Endowment as it launches its new strategic plan. In my new role, I will continue to represent the interests of the Central Valley.  I am excited about working long term within philanthropy to affect positive change.  I look forward to the years ahead leading The Endowment's efforts in the Central Valley, building upon our region’s rich and diverse assets.”

The Endowment is "a private, statewide health foundation, was established in 1996 to expand access to affordable, quality health care for underserved individuals." according to the release.

Rubio said he's still focused on doing what it takes to win a contest for the seat.

“It’s a year away so I’m sure some candidates will develop. But we’re going to work hard raising money because we want to represent the valley,” he said.

From his office:

Today, Congressman Kevin McCarthy was on CNN and Fox News regarding the formation of a new grassroots group to serve as a policy-based forum to engage in a thoughtful conversation with the American people –the “National Council for a New America.”

Congressman McCarthy issued the following statement:

“Listening to the American people will provide the real solutions that our country needs to solve our current challenges.  We know the best ideas are not in Washington, but throughout America. That is why the National Council for a New America will engage our communities in a conversation to gather common-sense solutions from hard-working American families.

Please join us in this discussion as we use the power of new ideas to move our country forward.”

Related Video:
 
Congressman McCarthy on Fox News’ America’s News Room today.

Him on CNN’s American Morning  today.

Just received this from California Budget Reform Now:

Bakersfield Assistant Police Chief Lyle Martin, Kern County Firefighters President Derek Robinson, Bakersfield Police Officer’s Association President Bill Ware, Kern County Hispanic Chamber Board Chair Joe Jimenez, high school teacher and president of the Kern High School Teachers Association Mitch Olson and other supporters today joined together to urge voters to support the budget reform measures on California’s May 19 special election ballot.

They are part of a package of comprehensive budget reforms aimed at getting California through these difficult economic times, preventing more cuts to schools, firefighting, public safety, and other vital programs while also putting into place long-term solutions to ensure we never again face the type of budget deficits we faced this year.

“Our number one priority is keeping the streets and neighborhoods of Bakersfield safe for our residents,” said Assistant Police Chief Lyle Martin. “It takes resources to do that job effectively, but those resources are in jeopardy due to the state’s budget crisis."

Congressman Jim Costa will be in Bakersfield Friday to hold a press event.

His topic: swine flu.

Costa's D.C. office tells us the event will be 2:30 p.m. Friday at the County public resources building at 2700 M Street in Bakersfield.

More info later.

So we're playing the same punditry game as most political journalists and throwing out the question of what people think about President Obama's first 100 days.

Specifically, what do you think are the five best and five worst things Obama has done? We're asking it of specific politicos in town and now to you politically minded bloggers, too, for a piece in Wednesday's Californian.

Here's the catch: I'd like you to put your real name to your post and a share a little bit about who you are.

Thanks in advance,

Christine Bedell, government team leader

Polling group SurveyUSA has released its recent survey of voters on the six propositions on California's May 19 ballot.

The bottom line — every proposition is losing in the polls.

1A - rainy day fund and tax increase extenson - 13 percentage points down

1B - $9.3 billion for schools - 5 points down (if 1A doesn't pass, 1B is invalidated)

1C - Lottery changes and $5 billion in borrowing from future profits - 18 points down

1D - First 5 reform and funding redirct — 2 points down

1E - Mental health funding redirect — 9 points down

1F - state officials pay raise limitations - 2 points down

Interesting stat about the numbers though is that all six propositions have more than 20 percent and some nearly 30 percent undecided voters.

The recall effort against State Senator Roy Ashburn, R-Bakersfield, has been cleared to begin collecting signatures of voters who want to remove him from office.

Recall organizer Michael Moore of Bakersfield has cited Ashburn's support for a state budget deal that included tax increases as the reason for launching the effort to remove Ashburn from office.

Moore can begin collecting signatures today (Thursday, April 23)

According to the press notification from the Secretary of State's office:

(Moore) has 160 days – or until September 30 – to submit at least 42,376 valid voter signatures to Inyo, Kern, San Bernardino, and/or Tulare Counties’ elections officials. 

Those signatures can be submitted throughout the 160 day petition period and county elections officials are required to announce the number of signatures they've received every 30 days.

We'll keep you all informed of how it's going.

Check out the attached recall rules and the petition that will be circulated, including Ashburn's response to the recall petition.

Snarky blog posts work!

Assemblyman Juan Arambula, D-Fresno, left me a voice mail message Wednesday (I was out of the office) saying he is not running against Michael Rubio in the 16th Senate District Democratic primary next year.

I'd been calling his office every day for five days to address rumors he is running and couldn't get a call back. I wrote about it on the blogs and in the paper earlier this week, and I guess that prompted Arambula to FINALLY call me back. Thank you!

Still haven't heard back from his chief of staff, former Assemblywoman Sarah Reyes, who I assume is running for the seat based on her Facebook page.

— Government team leader Christine Bedell

Assembly Speaker Karen Bass snatched her seared hand back from a red-hot decision this afternoon according to reporting by the Sacramento Bee and Twittering from Capitol Weekly and KQED.

The Bee and other news outlets reported Tuesday that Bass had given out $350,000 in pay raises to 120 Assembly staff members.

The raises were to come less than a month before a ticked-off electorate will be asked to go to the polls and vote to extend tax increases and make other sacrifices to plug a massive hole in the California budget.

This afternoon Bass yanked back the raises.

A word to the wise, Ms. Bass: handing out raises to old friends and other state workers when the little people in your state are all down here losing jobs, taking pay cuts and giving up pay raises might be perceived as bad form.

A spokesman for gubernatorial candidate and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom said this morning that Newsom will not hold a town hall meeting in Bakersfield this week.

The San Francisco Chronicle had reported Tuesday that Bakersfield was one of several campaign event stops Newsom would make this week. The spokesman said there are no Bakersfield events planned in the near future. However, the campaign will hold a town hall in Fresno next Wednesday.

This San Francisco Chronicle story says San Francisco Mayer Gavin Newsom, who announced his candidacy for governor, will be in Bakersfield later in the week to host a town hall meeting.

Now that could be interesting.

We'll have to verify things Wednesday.

Boy, we're sure the center of gubernatorial politics.  Meg Whitman and Steve Poizner are coming to town next week/weekend. (See earlier blog post).

— Government team leader Christine Bedell

A few gubernatorial candidates will be among those at the California Republican Assembly convention May 1-3 in Bakersfield, according to a lineup we just got.

I'll attach the fulll schedule but here are some of the names:

May 1: Steve Poizner, CA Insurance Commissioner; candidate for governor
Senator Tony Strickland, assistant minority leader
Senator Jeff Denham, candidate for lt. governor
Assemblyman Danny Gilmore

May 2: (Reception at 10:30 a.m. with luncheon at 11:30 a.m.)
Meg Whitman, former CEO eBay, candidate for governor
Congressman Kevin McCarthy, chief deputy whip
Bill Simon, former candidate for governor
Senator George Runner, author of VoteSAFE
Bill Maze, former Assemblyman, candidate for state senate (18th District)
Peter Foy, CA chairman, Americans for Prosperity, candidate for governor

(Reception 6:30 p.m. with dinner banquet at 7 p.m.
Assemblyman Chuck Devore, candidate for U.S. Senate
Ron Prentice, chairman, ProtectMarriage.com – Yes On 8
Robert Tyler, general counsel, Advocates for Faith & Freedom
Assemblywoman Jean Fuller
 

Anybody seen Juan Arambula (Assemblyman from Fresno) or Sarah Reyes (his chief of staff, a former Assemblywoman from Fresno) around? Can you pleeeease ask them to call me back?

I’ve been trying to reach Arambula for four days and Reyes for two to address rumors one or both (gotta be just one) will run against Kern County Supervisor Michael Rubio in the 16th Senate District Democratic primary next year.

That’s Dean Florez’s seat.

Reyes has long been considered a candidate but she still hasn’t created a campaign finance committee, according to the Secretary of State’s Web site. You'd think that would be a good idea. Rubio had $332,608 in the bank at the end of 2008.

Then last week I heard Arambula was running and when I first called his office, it sounded as if I wasn’t the only reporter sniffing around on the topic. But I don’t know for sure.

I’ve called every day since then and still haven’t been able to get Arambula on the phone. He’s busy, his people say. I left messages for Reyes Friday and Monday (though I’m told she was out of the office Friday and may not have gotten my message).

Reyes is at least dropping clues. She still has a Facebook page saying she’s a senate candidate and it looks recently updated.

Why do I care so much? This could be a fascinating primary as Arambula and/or Reyes are well known up north while Rubio is from down here.

Arambula/Reyes would seem to have a big advantage as 47 percent of the district’s registered voters were in Fresno County at last count, March 20.

The rest of the district’s voter registration breaks down this way, by the way:

• Kern County: 24.4 percent

• Kings County: 18.6 percent

• Tulare County: 10 percent

Rubio (who has been hearing similar rumors as I) sounds undaunted by those numbers, saying he and his supporters have been, literally, pounding the pavement up north ala his spanking of two-term incumbent Pete Parra in the 2004 supervisor’s race.

Rubio won that contest by out-walking Parra, big time, and he says he’s trying to do the same in this race.

The goal: to reach 20,000 homes in the four counties by the end of this year.

“We’re preparing ourselves for what inevitably will be a hard-fought battle,” Rubio said.

He said he has no preference between running against Arambula or Reyes.

Here's his Facebook page, BTW.

— Government team leader Christine Bedell
 

Congressman Kevin McCarthy will deliver the Republicans' weekly GOP message Saturday, the traditional rebut to the president's weekly address.

You'll be able to watch a video of the remarks here.

McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, will unveil Washington Watch, a new Web site his office said is tracking misuse of taxpayer dollars and “stimulus” waste.

This will be the first time McCarthy delives the GOP weekly address, his office said.

A reminder and location change update: Assemblyman Danny Gilmore, R-Hanford, will hold office hours from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday adjacent to Martin Luther King Jr. Park in Bakersfield, at East California Avenue and South King Street.

Staff will be there all day to take questions and hear concerns. Gilmore will be available there at 3 p.m. He’s taking to the streets after the Assembly Speaker’s office denied him a Bakersfield office.
 

The League of Women Voters will present the pros and cons of the propositions on the May 19 election ballot.

It’ll be 7 p.m. Tuesday at the UC Merced Building, first floor, Room US2, at 2000 K St. in Bakersfield.

The centerpiece measure, 1A would extend tax increases but also establish a state spending cap and bolster the state's rainy day fund.

Others would extend guarantee funding for schools, modernize the state lottery, redirect First 5 and mental health funds and deny state officials and lawmakers pay raises when the state runs a deficit.
 

Being a news reporter means sometimes having to say you’re sorry.

If reporters are not willing to occasionally take their lumps, they need to find another line of work.

On Wednesday, I covered two rallies in downtown Bakersfield where people gathered to express their anger and concern over government spending, higher taxes and what many view as government’s shift to the political left.

At the noon demonstration, I estimated more than 150 were in attendance. I took some flak from a blogger who said I inflated the numbers. But I believe I was on pretty solid ground, numerically speaking.

The problem came at the late afternoon event near Bakersfield’s Liberty Bell.

The crowd was much larger at the second rally, much harder to count. I was on deadline, so I left about an hour before it ended.

The estimate I used was “several hundred.” I figured that was in the ballpark.

WRONG!

A couple of e-mails and a phone message were waiting for me Thursday morning from readers who took exception to my “guess-timate.”

“I saw several thousand people — not ‘several hundred,’” one reader wrote.

Well, apparently we were both wrong. I called the Bakersfield Police Department and they came back with a crowd estimate of 2,000.

Under- or over-estimating the size of crowds has bitten many a journalist over time, and on Thursday it bit me.

But I’m willing to take my lumps.

And next time, I’m wearing some repellent.

Steven Mayer, TBC Government Team

Apparently there was a little too much PDA going on at the polls during last year’s presidential election.

OK, so there were meatier findings in a grand jury report on the county elections office released Thursday. But that was my favorite.

“A few students working at the sites were inattentive and at times exhibited inappropriate behavior such as public display of affection to girlfriends/boyfriends,” it said.

Chief Deputy Registrar Karen Rhea — the new Sandy Brockman, for all of you who follow local government — said her office only received a report of that happening in one location.

“We get great feedback on the students by poll workers,” Rhea said. “We had one bad occurrence.”

Onto the more serious business.

The report said there was a lack of bilingual clerks to help non-English speaking citizens and some voters were unclear about where to vote after receiving cards from the registrar's office with incomplete information.

The jury recommended:

• All sample ballots be checked before mailing to ensure poll addresses are accurate.

• Every polling site include bilingual workers.

• Students working at the polls strictly follow the rules and their friends not be invited to stay in the area.

• Workers better monitor cell phone use at the polls. There’s a sign posted at sites saying to turn off cell phones, it said, but it’s often ignored, distracting other voters.

Rhea said the county elections office would love to have a bilingual worker at every precinct but it’s just not been possible. Seventy-five percent of polling places had a Spanish-speaking person in November, she said.

(Some polling places include multiple precincts).

There wasn’t a problem with addresses on sample ballots, Rhea said. People were directed to the correct polling places, she said, but once they arrived they were directed to the wrong table.

Ringing cell phones are not only a distraction but their ability to snap photos is a concern, too, Rhea said.

— Government team leader Christine Bedell
 

The Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce board voted to endorse all of the initiatives on the May 19 special election ballot Wednesday, just after local Republicans did the opposite.

“While this package is in no way perfect, it represents the best chance of stabilizing our state budget, protecting education and implementing long-term reforms to prevent unprecedented deficits from occurring again,” said chamber President and CEO Debra Moreno.

The centerpiece measure, 1A would extend tax increases but also establish a state spending cap and strengthen the state’s rainy day fund. Others would extend guarantee funding for schools, modernize the state lottery, redirect First 5 and mental health funds and deny state officials and lawmakers pay raises when the state runs a deficit.

The chamber finds most tax increases “unsavory” but “understands that the state is struggling and needs an infusion of vital revenue to ride out this current climate,” its press release said. 

Earlier this week, the Kern County Republican Party Central Committee voted unanimously to oppose the propositions — called 1A through IF.

It derided the measures as “phony reforms that prolong taxes” plus initiate more borrowing when the state should cut spending and hurt hard-working families during a terrible recession.

“I urge all voters in Kern County to reject these contrived and misleading gimmicks and send a message to the governor and the state Legislature that we demand they live within their means,” Chairman Zack Scrivner said in a news release Tuesday.

The chairwoman of the Kern County Democratic Party has said the election is coming up too soon for that group to meet and vote on supporting or opposing the measures.

 

Organizers of Wednesday's planned tax protest at the Liberty Bell didn't at all like that we called House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, a "headliner" of the event in Tuesday's paper.

The 4:30 p.m. protest at Chester and Truxtun avenues is a grassroots event for taxpayers sick of government overspending to speak to power, not the other way around, said one organizer, Les Mood of Bakersfield.

In fact, organizers were reticent about Boehner coming, he said. There's been a fear among those throwing similar "tea parties" around the country that politicians will try to hijack the events, Mood said.

"We're not going to have you speak, we're going to speak to you," Mood said is the message from tea party organizers to political leaders.

The local speakers will include Harold Pease, a Cal State Bakersfield political science professor, talk radio hosts Jaz McKay and Inga Barks plus Mood and Kern High School District Trustee Ken Mettler, organizers said.

Meanwhile, gay couples and supporters will protest what they consider inequalities they face in federal tax law from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday at the post office annex on Pegasus Road.

And the American Family Association will protest taxes at noon at City Hall. Its objective is the same as the afternoon tea party: protesting government overspending and expressing citizens' disenfranchisement with government.

Voters' attempt in 2000 to limit the expense of campaigns has done little good, according to a new report by California's campaign watchdog.

Politicians vying for legislative and statewide office amassed more than $1 billion since voters capped direct campaign contributions, the Fair Political Practices Commission said Monday.

Candidates have easily, legally circumvented the limits imposed by Proposition 34 in November of 2000, the FPPC said.
 
“The $1,006,638,463 directly raised by officeholders and candidates works out to $344,503 per day or $14,354 per hour, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year,” FPPC Chairman Ross Johnson said in a news release, “and this doesn’t even include the more than $110 million spent on their behalf in so-called ‘Independent Expenditures!’”

You can read the report here.
 

The governor office was none too happy with us for our Wednesday A-1 headline on Arnold Schwarzenegger’s stealth trip to Bakersfield Tuesday: “Governor makes secret visit.”

“This headline (which I know the editors write) and the mention of the meeting being ‘secret’ really would not have been necessary had either the Governor’s Press Office or myself (I am his political spokesperson) been contacted,” Julie Soderlund wrote to us.

“The meeting in Bakersfield was a private meeting...,” she said later. “That does not mean it is a secret meeting. We would consider a meeting or interview with the Bakersfield Californian a private meeting because it is not open for other media or the public to attend. That said, had I been contacted I would have been more than happy to describe what the Governor was doing in Bakersfield.”

In fact we did call the governor’s press office — twice. Once late last week when we got a tip Schwarzenegger was coming and again Monday.

Both times we were told the office couldn’t discuss whether Schwarzenegger was or wasn’t coming, that we had to wait for the release of his Tuesday schedule Monday evening.

That Monday evening dispatch only said the governor “will have no planned public events on Tuesday, April 7. He will hold private meetings.”

We really didn’t feel a need to call the press office Tuesday for information about the meeting because, um, the governor told us himself.

But we appreciate — and will gladly accept — Soderlund’s offer to call her directly in the future.

— Government team leader Christine Bedell
 

larger view

Rep. Kevin McCarthy has requested federal funds for a slew of projects despite his recent railing on how “earmarks” get into budgets.

McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, said Monday that his comments last month pertained to spending in the controversial 2009 Omnibus Spending Bill, leftover legislation from last year that recently became law. And, he said, he’s never supported a total moratorium on earmarks.

There have been earmark reforms — though he supports additional ones — and so he’s seeking a variety of funding, he said.

Those reforms include requiring the posting of earmark requests online and for Congress members to file a form disclosing economic conflicts of interest with their projects.

Heere is a description of McCarthy’s 2010 requests from his office:

Requests in Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and related agencies:

• Make the unincorporated area of Los Osos eligible for programs in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service.

Department of Defense:
• $2.2 million for state-of-the-art ramjet/scramjet analysis tool for military and NASA applications. The recipient would be Advatech Pacific Inc. in Redlands and Naval Air Weapons Station, China Lake. FPAT is expected to save millions of dollars by evaluating feasibility, predicting performance and eliminating non-viable or too costly design concepts without actually building them (or models) for testing.

• $6.75 million to develop an advanced threat simulator to support development and testing of new electronic warfare systems to operate against threat surface-to-air missile systems being deployed in potentially hostile areas of the world. The recipient would be Electronic Warfare Associates Inc. in Ridgecrest and China Lake.

• $3.8 million for simulation support for the EA-18G’s advanced Electronics Surveillance Measure capability. The recipient would be AAI Corp. in Maryland. The F/A-18 Advanced Weapons Lab at China Lake is expected to use this to more efficiently complete testing the EA-18G and save money by optimizing lab testing rather than flight testing.

• $4.5 million for  Test Stand 2-A technical improvements to test stand connections or interfaces at the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Propulsion Directorate at Edwards Air Force Base, allowing testing of next-generation launch technologies while lowering the cost of putting payloads into orbit.

• $3.5 million for the California Central Coast Research Partnership for research in areas including power and energy; operational environments; maritime domain awareness; information analysis and communication; naval warrior performance and protection; survivability and self-defense; and platform mobility.

Energy and Water Development and related agencies:
• $1.6 million for equipment purchases and establishing outreach programs for Cal Poly’s Center for Renewable Energy and Alternative Electric Transportation Technologies.

• $8 million for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to do field work, studies and preliminary design work to determine how to restore Isabella Dam to its previous condition and capacity.

• $5 million for design and construction of a wastewater treatment plant in Los Osos.

• $6 million for additional water and wastewater pipelines in Lancaster.
Interior, Environment and related agencies:

• $400,000 to help fund Phase I of Ridgecrest’s new wastewater treatment plant.
Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and related agencies:

• $596,340 for the Cal State Bakersfield Nursing Department Acquisition and Facilities update project, purchasing new classroom and medical equipment plus technical resources.

• $500,000 to upgrade Cuesta College nursing program training rooms and purchasing new medical training equipment.

• $510,720 for part of Phase I of the Kern Community College District’s Renewable Energy Regional Workforce Training program.

• $800,000 for equipment to train students in vocational education fields through Cuesta College.

Military Construction and Veterans:
• $14 million for the Edwards Air Force Base Flightline Fire Station to construct a new fire station along the flightline at Edwards Air Force Base.

• $7.29 million for aircraft shelters at the Naval Integrated Weapons RDAT&E Center at China Lake for simultaneous operation of four unmanned aerial vehicle and unmanned combat aerial vehicle programs.

Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and related agencies:
• $200,000 for environmental designs related to widening Highway 119 between Cherry Avenue and Tupman Road.

• $5 million for a Crash Fire & Rescue with HAZMAT Facility at the Mojave Air and Space Port. Companies there regularly conduct experimental and other high-risk developmental tests of rocket propulsion systems and rocket-propelled vehicles, as well as flight test of aircraft.

• $1 million to help fund a six-lane overpass along 7th Standard Road at the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad crossing.

• $1 million for major road improvements and widening a section of West Ridgecrest Boulevard, a heavily used access route to China Lake.

Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez, D-Shafter, will formally announce his run for lieutenant governor in 2010 via a live, interactive Web cast Friday.

People can watch it and lob questions at Florez beginning at 2 p.m. at www.deanflorez.com.

“I look forward to taking my message directly to the people I hope to have the opportunity to represent, and getting very real and immediate feedback on their concerns and priorities,” Florez said in a news release.

“I see this as the first interview for the job of lieutenant governor. I’d be honored to have the voters’ support and I’m looking to tell them why.” 

— Government team leader Christine Bedell