Recently in Election 2009 Category

Gov.-elect Jerry Brown warned educational leaders on Tuesday to "fasten your seat belts" when he unveils his proposed budget for next year, saying the plan will include painful cuts in school funding.Tony Castro in the Daily News,

"Please sit down when you read the stories on the budget Jan. 10," Brown said during a briefing with education leaders at UCLA. "Don't stand up. Do sit down. If you're in the car, fasten your seat belts. It's going to be a rough ride ...

"This is a really huge challenge, unprecedented in my lifetime. I can't promise you there won't be more cuts because there will be."

A key element of California's political-reform effort will gain steam this week when members are chosen for the citizen's commission that voters have put in charge of redrawing the state's famously gerrymandered legislative districts. Kevin Modesti in the Daily news.

The commission's importance has grown since the Nov. 2 election. The easy passage of Proposition 20 gave the panel power to map congressional districts as well as state Senate and Assembly districts. A sweep of legislative races by incumbents highlighted calls for a more level playing field. And voters reiterated their support by rejecting Proposition 27, which would have eliminated the citizens commission and returned the power to draw district lines back to the Legislature.

The success of Proposition 20 showed how much Californians want to take district line-drawing out of the hands of self-serving office-holders, analysts said.

The pending Republican takeover in the U.S. House of Representatives has not fully derailed local advocates' hopes for immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship for some of the undocumented. Tony Castro in the Daily News,

While Republicans will likely fight most citizenship proposals, some San Fernando Valley immigrant-rights advocates feel optimistic because of last week's promises by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to push for the Dream Act in the lame duck session of Congress - before the new Republican majority is sworn in.

The Dream Act would legalize young, undocumented immigrants if they attend college or serve in the military, a bill that experts said has the best chance of enactment of any of the proposed immigration reform legislation.

The union representing Los Angeles County prosecutors has filed a class-action lawsuit against District Attorney Steve Cooley, alleging his office committed "what amounts to identity theft" by obtaining a list of 650 prosecutors who supported the union, officials said Tuesday.Troy Anderson in the Daily News.

The lawsuit alleges Cooley's office obtained a highly confidential list of the prosecutors who supported the Association of Deputy District Attorneys and subsequently used the list to intimidate and harass them, damaging prosecutors' careers and prospects for advancement.

"This is an uprising of principled prosecutors who are seeking damages for the anti-union retaliation that has been inflicted upon them by the Cooley administration," said Matthew Monforton, a Bozeman, Mont., attorney representing the ADDA.

One of the Republicans seeking to become California's next governor is promising to end taxpayer-funded benefits for illegal immigrants in a TV commercial that blames liberals for "doing too much for too many." AP in the Daily News.

The 30-second ad by Steve Poizner appears tailored to appeal to conservatives who will dominate at the ballot box in the state Republican primary in June. But Poizner, the state insurance commissioner, risks turning off Hispanics who make up about a third of the state's population and are a growing force in California politics.

The ad, which begins airing statewide Tuesday, is Poizner's latest bid to gain notice in a race in which he trails GOP rival Meg Whitman by a wide margin in polls.

Tipoffs: First dirty trick of campaign

Assemblyman Paul Krekorian will become Councilman Paul Krekorian today, nearly a a month after his election to succeed Wendy Greuel on the 15-member Los Angeles City Council. Daily News.

Krekorian will represent the city's 2nd District that runs from Studio City to Sunland-Tujunga.

Hosting a farewell party for his Sacramento staff on Monday, Krekorian will take the oath of office after the City Council certifies the election results today. But he is not expected to participate in today's council meeting, choosing instead to begin on Wednesday even though it is the Armenian celebration of Christmas. Krekorian is Armenian.

Tipoffs: Some in Los Angeles Police Protective League upset with
$400,000 spent in council race.

There has been little time for the city's newest councilman to bask in his victory. Daily News/.

Councilman-elect Paul Krekorian found himself on a familiar commute Thursday -- back to Sacramento, where he carried out his duties as assemblyman to vote on some key measures before the holiday break.

"There are some votes I have to cast in the next few days and then I hope to focus on what to do in the council," Krekorian said.

Assemblyman Paul Krekorian won an easy victory over businesswoman Christine Essel in Tuesday's special election to fill out a term for the 2nd City Council District seat.
Krekorian had 10,998 votes, for 56.56 percetn of the votes, compared to Essel's, 8,304, for 43.44 percent. The election saw a turnout of 15 percent of the district's voters.

Assemblyman Paul Krekorian took an early lead in balloting for the 2nd City Council District seat over businesswoman Christine Essel.
Krekorian captured 58 percent of the vote by mail ballots.

On the surface, there are few differences between businesswoman Christine Essel and Assemblyman Paul Krekorian, who face off Tuesday in the special election for the 2nd City Council District seat. Daily News.

Both agree on the need to boost business development, deal with runaway film production and pay more attention to neighborhood needs in a district that stretches from Studio City to Sun Valley.

"This election is about an opportunity to restructure government, to put together reforms to make the city more efficient," Essel said at a recent debate.

Krekorian has tried to tap into voter anger.

Mailer causes controversy
A last minute mailing by the Essel campaign created a weekend controversy with accusations of sexism and anti-semitism.
Essel sent out a picture of City Hall with barbed wire wrapped around it an a headline: "'Intolerance has no place at City Hall."
It goes on to campaign about a website for an Armenian newspaper that contained harshly critical comments about Essel and featrured a picture of her in ropes. Theorigianl Krekorian mailing said it was to show she is :"the puppet" of special interests.
Both campaigns responded quicklyu,k with Krekorian bringing out Jewish supporters and the Essel forces saying it showed they had touched a nerve,.

Neighobrhood activists in Sunland-Tujunga have developed their won web ad for Assemblyman Paul Krekorian, D-Valley Glen, in the race for teh 2nd City Council District seat, using the new media better than either candidate has.

Former Councilman Joel Wachs, who once represented the district, announced Wednesday he is supporting Christine Essel in the 2nd District election next Tuesday over Assemblyman Paul Krekorian, D-Valley Glen.
"For years, I've known Chris Essel to be an honest, hardworking businesswoman. I trust her to protect Valley neighborhoods from rampant overdevelopment," Wachs said,

With less than two weeks remaining, the 2nd City Council District election has turned into a contest of who is the outsider. Daily News.

In mailings, in robo-calls, in attacks on one another, businesswoman Chris Essel and Assemblyman Paul Krekorian, D-Burbank, have sought to portray each other as the "insider" who cannot be trusted.

To Krekorian, Essel is the "downtown special interest" candidate who has received endorsements from a number of City Council members, city employee unions and Controller Wendy Greuel, who was the council member of the district until her election last March.