Recently in Election 2008 Category

The two sides in the Proposition 8 ballot initiative have amassed more than $40 million for media campaigns now playing on California television, but their most important asset might be the huge, volunteer, shoe-leather armies battling over same-sex marriage. Mercury News.

In an election that looks increasingly tight, Dean Merkley, a retired executive and part-time rancher in San Jose, is a member of a volunteer army that hopes to convince Californians to pass a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. Darius Ngo, an 18-year-old college student in San Francisco, is among an opposing corps of volunteers who could make the difference on Nov. 4 in whether California becomes only the second state to reject a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.

Only City Council President Eric Garcetti could turn a road trip to Las Vegas into a weekend of walking and knocking on doors.
In this case, it is part of the Obama get out the vote effort where volunteers from Los Angeles head to Nevada to try to turn the formerly Republican state for the Democratic nominee.
Garcetti is California co-chair for Obama and this trip is the second he has organized to Nevada. This weekend's trip is aimed at getting early votes for the Democratic ticket.
"For the first time since 1996 we have a strong chance to win Nevada's five electoral votes this year, and potentially to change the outcome for this election" Garcetti said.

With a presidential election and a slate full of ballot measures, campaign fundraising has been somewhat slow for proponents of local tax and bond measures, according to campaign finance reports filed Monday.Kerry Cavanaugh and George B. Sanchez in the Daily News.

Campaigns for three local measures all raised less than $265,000 each through September.

By comparison, earlier this year supporters of Proposition S, which extended the city's utility user tax, had donated more than $1.5 million a month before the Feb. 5 election.

Expected to generate $30 billion to $40 billion over 30 years for transportation projects in the nation's most traffic-clogged city, Measure R is aimed at relieving Los Angeles County by building a subway, expanding rail and bus service, and widening roads.Sue Doyle in the Daily News.

Though it comes at a jittery economic time - with subprime mortgages unraveling the banking industry and Congress bailing out those financial institutions - the half-percent sales-tax measure could find favor with voters sick and tired of soaring gasoline prices and seeking better mass transit.

The measure needs approval from two-thirds of voters and would increase the county sales tax rate to 8.75percent.

Secretary of State Debra Bowen announced that vote by mail for Californians began on Monday for the Nov. 4 elections with estimates it could account for 25 percent of the total vote.
Bowen since in the 2004 presidential election, absentee ballots were 32 percent of the 12.6 millino votes cast and represented fully 58 percent of the votes cast in the low turnout June primary election.
"Interest in the Nov. 4 election is going through the roof and I wouldn't be surprised to see a record number of Californians cast ballots," Bowen said.
"Any Californian can vote by mail for any reason. Many people enjoy voting at the polls on Election Day, but an increasing number of voters find the mail option to be an easy way to beat the crowds by voting at their convenience."
Bowen said her office has processed between 6,000 and 10,000 registrations a day due to the voter registration efforts of both parties.
County elections officials begin mailing out ballots to the more than 4 million permanent vote-by-mail voters.
The last day to request a vote-by-mail ballot for the November election is Oct. 28.

The wesbsite Fivethirtyeight.com takes a look at California's role in this year's presidential election:
COASTALLY URBAN AND MAVERICKILY LIBERAL, California is one of only four majority-minority states (TX, HI, NM) in the nation. It's a guaranteed 55 electoral votes for Barack Obama, as it has been for every Democrat since 1992. It has the smallest percentage of rural voters in America. Ironically, it's a state both candidates have visited far out of proportion to the closeness of the race, because both sides need wealthy donors.

Looks like the Yes on Proposition 8 ad that features San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom declaring same-sex marriage is here to stay, "like it or not," has hit a legal - if not political - snag down in Southern California. Mattier and Ross in the San Francisco Chronicle.

Newsom's bit is fine - but apparently not the part where Pepperdine University law Professor Richard Peterson warns that, if same-sex marriages remain on the books, people could be sued over personal beliefs, churches could lose their tax exemptions, and gay marriage could be "taught in public schools."

A number of alumni who saw the ad contacted the university president's office to protest what appeared to be Pepperdine's own endorsement of Prop. 8, which would violate its tax-exempt status. The university is affiliated with the Churches of Christ.

"Oh my god. Take a gun and shoot me."

That's one Hollywood fund-raiser's take on the difficulties of coming up with more political coin this month.

In recent weeks, the two presidential campaigns, various Senate and House candidates, plus myriad state legislators, ballot propositions and 527 committees have all been making the same play for the same pool of entertainment industry money. Variety.

Sarah Palin the pit bull showed up at The Home Depot Center in Carson on Saturday, taking shots at Sen. Barack Obama on taxes and on his association with a former member of the Weather Underground. Gene Maddaus in the Daily News.

Palin, who has energized the Republican Party base since she was chosen as Sen. John McCain's running mate, fired up a crowd estimated at 15,000 people.

"There is a time when it is necessary to take the gloves off, and that time is right now," Palin said, adding that a staffer had told her, "OK now, the heels are on, the gloves come off."

Apparently stung by local criticism, Councilman Bernard Parks has apprentlt droped hie effort to evict th SCOPE program from a city-owned building.
Parks had written to the city's General Services Department asking for the eviction, complaining they were using the site to campaign for his opponent, Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas, for the Board of Supervisors.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa stepped in to block the eviction, saying it needed to be approved by the full City Council
Now, the Liberty Hill Foundation says that Parks has dropped the effort and will not ask the council to evict the group.

Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin will make her second trip to
Southern California this weekend with a GOP rally in Carson.
Palin will be appearing at a campaign rally at the Home Depot Center, 18400 Avalon Way, Carson, as part of a get out the vote effort of the party.

A fundraiser on behalf of Sen. Barack Obama, featuring Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, is planned for Saturday at The Edison in downtown Los Angeles, a former power plant now serving as a meeting place for power players. Council President Eric Garcetti is one of the hosts.
Billed as an environmental fundraiser, among the items noted about the event are fully compostable plateware and flatware is being provided by California Recycles , an offsetting of green house gas emissions through organizations such as Tree People and The Climate Registry and organic food and drink.
"Angelenos will come together to express their concern for the environment and show their support for Presidential candidate and environmental supporter Senator Barack Obama," the invitation says.
"This event aims to be an evening that will take a more thoughtful approach to political fundraising through environmental and sustainable means, while raising campaign funds for the last push of Senator Obama."
Cost of the event is $500 per perwson, $2,500 for those who want to go to a VIP reception with Clinton.

Sen. John McCain issued a statement saying that while work still needed to be done on the Wall Street bailout, he is confident a framework for an agreement will be reached this weekend.
As a result, "The McCain campaign is resuming all activities and the Senator will travel to the debate this afternoon. Following the debate, he will return to Washington to ensure that all voices and interests are represented in the final agreement, especially those of taxpayers and homeowners."

Former Rep. Bob Barr, the Libertarian candidate for president, says he's willing to take on Sen. Barack Obama in Friday's scheduled debate if Sen. John McCain won't.
"For the past several elections, candidates have used the CPD (Commission on Presidential Debates) as an official buffer to keep competition out of the two-party presidential contest," Barr said. "McCain publicly proved with his announcement what we've been saying all along: The candidates call the shots as to when to debate, where to debate and who to debate.
"Given Senator McCain's political stunt to avoid the debate, I ask that Friday's debate moves forward without him, as I am more than willing to step in to participate."
Barr noted that former President Ronald Reagan debated third-party candidate John Andreson, one on one an din 1992, George H.W. Bush demanded the inclusion of H. Ross Perot in all three presidential debates.

California Faultline, the political blog of KNBC, is reporting another dustup between the campaigns of Councilman Bernard Parks and state Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas.
The two who are competing for the seat on the Board of Supervisors being vacated by Supervisor Yvonne Burke, have been engaged in a hotly contested race, with a series of charges and counter-charges.
The most recent involve Parks, who registered twice with the American Independent Party, an apparent mistake when he meant to register as decline to state. Officials with the AIP estimate up to one-third of their registered voters did so by mistake.
Here is the complete blog item and the link to the voter registration forms is here: California Faultline.:
Parks registered twice with American Independent Party, but party's chairman says 1/3rd of members may have have joined mistakenly.

On the first document, from 1992, Parks does check off "American Independent Party," but below it writes in "Independent." The form from 1996 only has "American Independent Party" checked off, but offers no other field to write in the party."

For the full item, go to ">California Faultline.