Recently in Election 2008 Category

The Los Angeles Times is reporting today that District Attorney Steve Cooley is investigating who launched a series of robocalls against him in last year's election.
Besides the question of a prosecutor using his own office to investigate something like this, one wonders if Cooley is looking to find the person to thank him. He ended up winning an historic third term in a landslide.

After more than 30 years together, Brent Lok and Wade French have accumulated more than a few possessions, including a hilltop home, an impressive collection of Asian art and, alongside their diplomas, vacation photos and family portraits, a framed marriage license, dated June 17, 2008. New York Times in the Daily News.

Today, Lok and French will discover what that license means in the eyes of the law, as the California Supreme Court hands down its decision on Proposition 8, the voter initiative passed in November that outlawed same-sex marriage. Previously, in May 2008, the court legalized same-sex marriage, and since the election, several groups have sued, saying the proposition's revocation of that right was unconstitutional.

In addition to answering that legal question, however, the seven-member court is expected to address the legal status of some 18,000 same-sex couples who were married in California between June - when the legalization took effect - and Election Day in November.

Lt. Gov. John Garamendi will drop his long-shot bid for governor today and instead announce his plan to run for Congress, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Garamendi has two scheduled events, in Concord and Fairfield, to announce his run.
Rep. Ellen Tauscher, the incumbent in the 10th Congressional District, has accepted a post in the Obama administration in the State Department. She still faces confirmation, but once she is confirmed her East Bay-based seat will be open in a special election

The Courage Campaign announced Thursday it is sponsoring a "Meet in the Midle for Equality," devoted to fighting for same sex marriages.
It will be held on the first Saturday after the state Supreme Court hears arguments on Propostion 8, the measure tht bans gay marriages in California.
"Meet in the Middle is an opportunity to help break down the closet doors that confine too many of our LGBT brothers and sisters across the state," Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said in a statement.
"We are sending a message that civil rights have no borders, that equality is not confined to Los Angeles and San Francisco, and that every Californian -- whether you live in Fresno or the Castro -- deserves the freedom to marry."
The Courage Campaign said the goal of the program is to "support the communities of middle America in the struggle for marriage and LGBT equality."
Events will be held throughout the state.

From the ACLU:
The California Supreme Court announced today that it will hear oral arguments on Thursday, March 5, in the Proposition 8 legal challenge.
The National Center for Lesbian Rights, Lambda Legal, and the ACLU--with support from civil rights groups, religious organizations, labor unions, and legal scholars--argue that Proposition 8 is invalid because the people of California have established strict safeguards that prohibit the underlying principles of the California Constitution from being changed by a simple majority vote.

Donors gave more than $83 million to support or oppose the ballot initiative that abolished same- ex marriage in California, according to campaign disclosure reports made public Monday. AP in the Daily News.

The new filings, which cover the weeks immediately before and after the Nov. 4 election, show that elected officials, businesses, churches and individuals poured millions more into the contest than previously reported.

The final tallies show that opponents of Proposition 8 raised $43.3 million in 2008 and had a little more than $730,000 left on hand at year's end. The measure's sponsors raised $39.9 million and had $983,000 left over.

Three candidates running to succeed termed-out City Controller Laura Chick say they hope to build on the changes she implemented and the influence she won as a reformer at City Hall. Daily News.

Councilwoman Wendy Greuel, political activist Nick Patsaouras and businesswoman Suzy Evans are vying to succeed Chick, who during her eight years as controller became known for tough audits detailing ineffective and inefficient operations in city government.

City Attorney

Ramping up the March 3 campaign for city attorney, candidate Carmen Trutanich outlined a series of proposals to reform the office Thursday and argued that voters should reject the leading candidate, Councilman Jack Weiss, as a machine politician who lacks independent judgment. Daily News.

5th Council District
Six Los Angeles City Council candidates pledged in a forum Thursday to be agents of change at City Hall if they are elected March 3 - promising to bring new ideas for making the city friendlier for business, transportation and housing. Daily News.

- The barricades are dismantled, the crowds have left and the man of the hour has put away his party suit and started to work. Connie Llanos in the Daily News.

After all the fanfare, the 2009 inauguration of President Barack Obama is over.

But for so many who attended the momentous event, including the impressionable brood of fifth- and sixth-graders from Children's Community School in Van Nuys, the magnitude of the occasion was only beginning to settle in on Wednesday.

When Barack Obama is sworn in as the 44th president of the United States today, North Hollywood blues singer Latrice West will be thinking about family. Connie Llanos in the Daily News.

The granddaughter of sharecroppers, West will take her place among hundreds of thousands of others on the two-mile-long National Mall. But she'll be surrounded by 17 of her relatives, ages 5 to 62, who also flew into Washington, D.C., from all corners of the country.

"There will be a lot of hugs and a lot of tears," said the grandmother, who spent her childhood in Texas, as she fought back tears.

"My grandmother saw slavery," West said. "I've seen lynchings and segregation. This is about our family's struggle."

A community breakfast celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day in Pacoima appeared to be at least as much about Barack Obama - with many participants wearing stylish Obama T-shirts and speakers earning ovations with mere mentions of the president-elect. Kevin Modesti in the Daily News.

Over sausage and eggs Monday, a mostly black crowd of more than 300 in the San Fernando Valley Boys & Girls Club basketball gym linked today with yesterday as religious leaders, singers and dramatists hailed Obama's inauguration this morning as a reward for King's sacrifice.

Making their way through the museums along the National Mall on Sunday morning wasn't easy for the fifth- and sixth-grade students from Children's Community School in Van Nuys. Connie Llanos in the Daily News.

Their jet-lagged bodies dragged after an exhausting red-eye flight Saturday night, and they had come directly from the airport to the center of Obamamania.

On paper it seemed fantastic to the 18 kids: a whirlwind cross-country trip and the opportunity to witness history as the nation's first African-American president is sworn in. But reality quickly set in as they faced fatigue, bitter cold and throngs of visitors.

Barack Obama spent just two years at Occidental College, but that time is considered a key period on the path that will lead to his inauguration as president Tuesday. Daily News.

Obama has credited the small liberal arts college in Eagle Rock with transforming him into a serious student and an activist headed for a career in public service.

``It was when I made a conscious decision: I want to grow up,'' Obama told Newsweek in a March 31 story that featured his freshman picture on the cover.

A package of stories regarding the local views of the inauguration:
School Children's Eye View:
Fifth and sixth graders from Children's Community School in Van Nuys give their opinion. Connie Llanos in the Daily News.

Voters embrace change
Once Reagan Country and a bastion of political conservatism, the San Fernando Valley voted overwhelmingly for President-elect Barack Obama in landslide proportions that exceeded his mandate across America.

As Obama becomes the country's first African-American president Tuesday, Valley residents who voted for him still have the same hope and optimism as when they walked into the voting booth Nov. 4. Tony Castro in the

Obama reaches out
He isn't quite the King of All Media, but Barack Obama will enter the White House on Tuesday unusually well-poised to make effective use of the media by exploiting an admiring press and the high-tech communications savvy of his young staff.

Is all that good news? It's not only Obama's political opponents who see a downside to his emphasis on the so-called "new media." Kevin Modesti in the Daily News.

Californians dramatically lead the pack among big donors underwriting President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration, with a roster of Golden State movie stars, film executives and businesses - including Google - putting up $6.4 million so far toward next week's events, a new report shows. San Francisco Chronicle.

The Center for Responsive Politics in Washington on Thursday released an analysis that showed that Californians' donations far surpass checks from the next most-generous state of New York, whose residents have given $3.9 million to the events, which are expected to cost upward of $42 million.