It’s only appropriate isn’t it?  300 Union Janitors demonstrated on this Holiday for Chavez to demand higher wages and expanded benefits as their Union goes to negotiate their contract.  The cost of living in Orange County is high and many would argue that the unskilled janitors should not and do not deserve higher wages, that these jobs were meant for people who do not need to support a family, but as many know, the reality is, many must take such jobs to get by.  All work should be seen as honorable and important and health benefits should be expected for anyone who puts in an honest forty hours or more a week.

Their union, the Service Employees International Union, is beginning to negotiate the next contract and has scheduled marches throughout California to put pressure on the companies that employ them. The hour-long march through Santa Ana drew unionized janitors from throughout Orange County, and about 20 from Los Angeles county.

The janitors make $8.65 an hour under their current contract – far less than they need to afford adequate housing in Orange County, union leaders say. Those who took to the streets of Santa Ana were also marching in solidarity with janitors in other counties, who are also fighting for more health benefits.

The OC Register 

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/contract-santa-janitors-2008859-union-county 

(more…)

Filed under: Uncategorized | No Comments »

Want to beat this guy in November? Here’s a message from Ron Shepston for Congress on how to do just that.

I’m working hard everyday from 7:00am to 11:00pm and its paying dividends. I have recently been endorsed by Ambassador Joe Wilson and he will be campaigning for me here in the coming weeks. We will be moving into our new office as of April 1st. We are getting great exposure online and volunteers are signing up in droves to help me get out and talk to voters for the June 3rd Primary. I have to admit, this is a really exciting time.

As some of you may already know, today is the end of the financial filing quarter and we have raised thousands and thousands of dollars from hundreds of individuals. I have been very encouraged by the number of individual contributors doing what they can to help bring about the change we all want and need. We don’t need special interests and rich donors like Gary Miller. My average contribution has been $75 from average people - people who believe in our cause and want to shake things up in the 42nd.

We want to finish strong, so can you please contribute $ 50, $75, $100 or what you can?

http://www.ronshepston.com/contribute.html

Gary Miller’s days as a corrupt Congressman are numbered! He has used his office to benefit himself, his friends and his big contributors. With your help, we can show Miller - and everyone else - the power average Americans have when we come together. Like I say a hundred times a day on the phone, its not just the size of the contribution its the number of small dollar contributors that matters- you matter!

I really want to thank all of you for your help! This is going to be a long, hard fight, but with your continued support we will make this happen!

Sincerely-

Ron Shepston

Filed under: Orange County - Local | 4 Comments »

Hey, people! You should know now what important event is coming up on Wednesday. Oh wait, you don’t? Well, here’s a reminder.

DFA-Orange County meets this week, and here’s what’s in store. We’ll have a presentation from the Second Harvest Food Bank on what we can do to end hunger, as well as someone from the Union of Concerned Scientists to talk with us about the reality of climate change and what we can do about it. Also, we’ll be discussing the club endorsement process and the Steering Committee report on organizational changes.

So what can you do to join in on all the action? Come here:

Event Date:
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Event Time:
7:00 PM

Venue:
Karl Strauss Brewery
901 South Coast Dr.
Costa Mesa, CA 92626

And I’ll see you on Wednesday.

Filed under: Orange County - Local, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Sometimes, living in the OC, you tend to forget there are other parts of the country where a left or center-left position dominates.  This story in yesterday’s NY Times Magazine was a little eye-opening.

(more…)

Filed under: National-US | No Comments »

This is probably the only compliment I will ever pay President George W. Bush.  He throws strikes when tossing out the first pitch at a baseball game.

The president threw out the first pitch for the Washington Nationals in their season opener last night, the first game in their new ballpark.  The crowd gave the president a real Bronx cheer.

Filed under: National-US | 8 Comments »

From the Los Angeles Times

Supervisor’s expenses are questioned

In O.C., Norby’s use of campaign funds to pay unexplained charges raises scrutiny. He says he follows the law.

By Christian Berthelsen
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

Orange County Supervisor Chris Norby, who earlier this month admitted using political contributions to pay for a hotel stay during a spat with his wife, spent nearly $8,000 from his campaign account in the last months of 2007 on unexplained charges, campaign finance records show.

The spending, which included more than $1,300 in payments to himself, occurred during a period when Norby moved out of his home because of marital problems and was living in a hotel and, briefly, his office in the county Hall of Administration in Santa Ana.

Norby recently acknowledged that a $340 hotel charge — labeled a “study of homeless and hotel families” on his campaign committee report — was a weeklong stay for himself. He repaid the money to his campaign account when asked about it by The Times.

His unexplained charges labeled as office and meeting expenses were far larger than those of his four colleagues on the Board of Supervisors during the same period. They were also roughly three times as much as he spent for the same kinds of expenses in the same period a year earlier, the records show. Read the entire story HERE.

Not that I want to give Norby a break or anything, but… My guess, this looks worse than it is. 

Filed under: Orange County - Local | 1 Comment »

Well, I’m sitting here waiting to see what happens with the Leno/Migden Senate endorsement battle. Yesterday Carole Migden won the caucus endorsement (55%) due to manipulation by Senate President Pro-tempore Don Perata. Don pressured Senate Dems to appoint their assigned convention delegates to people who live in the 3rd Senate District so that they could vote for Migden. After the caucus, Leno supporters gathered more than 600 signatures (only needed 300) to force a vote on the floor for the party to issue no endorsement.

The battle should play out shortly.  Then Bill Clinton should be speaking later this am. Best bet to view that will be through the CA Dem Party live webcast. www.cadem.org.

The party platform was just approved on the floor. It should be up on the party website shortly.

The resolutions have been approved as well.  Those are also going to be up on the party site as well, if not already.

The Leno/Migden vote will occur in a couple minutes.  Currently there is a vote on the 40th Assembly District endorsement that will be followed by the “Main reason for the Convention?” Leno/Migden.

Whoever thinks that Democracy is not a difficult process should be here. The voice vote on the 40th was indecisive, the card showing was too close to call, now they are hand counting the delegate cards. This is fun

The decision of the 40th caucus was vacated.  Torres is explaining the rules. Now they’re doing Senate District 3.

We’ve got the arguments for and against going on. While this happens the supporters of Leno and Migden are roaming the aisles holding up their signs.

Voice vote was indecisive, though I think the no votes were louder. All voting delegates are being asked to take their seats to have the cards counted.

Presuming the motion to ratify fails there will be a vote for no endorsement in both contests.

They’re counting the no votes, but is clearly a huge vote to overturn the caucus decision. Big blow to Don Perata :).

Torres has announced the motion to ratify the SD03 vote failed. 298 yes to 742 no.

Some moron made a motion to endorse Leno.  We’re gonna be here all day.

The motion to endorse Leno needs 75% of those present and voting, it fails 591 to 388.

Filed under: California | 2 Comments »

Figures doesn’t it? It looks as if California Republicans are attempting to make immigration the wedge issue for the 2008 election year. Rather than make tough choices, Republicans have introduced twenty plus new laws to reign in immigration and perpetuate the idea that all our budget woes can be squarely blamed on illegal immigrants.  And of course they had to use the term “loopholes”, which I guess excludes yacht owners and large oil companies.

“Both Republicans and Democrats are getting pressure on the budget issue, and there are a lot of programs that have to be cut,” said Assemblyman Jim Silva, who organized the plan and news conference. “What we’re trying to do here is take out the loopholes in the budget process where we’re losing money and make sure it goes to the citizens of California.”“The state is in a financial life raft that is sinking,” he added. “The California Assembly Republicans have now offered a number of solutions.”

…Silva hopes that his bill, which would add “illegal immigration” to the list of situations in which the governor may declare a state of emergency, would provide additional funding for the state’s Border Patrol operations.

Daily Pilot

(more…)

Filed under: Uncategorized | 12 Comments »

Or the alternaive headline is Mike Schroder loses.  Again.

Here’s the skinny on the judge’s decision:

• Carlson failed to serve Debbie Cook and wih this failure to serve, he failed to invoke the jurisdiction of the court.  While mindful of the limited timeframe and good faith attempts to contact counsel in advance of the hearing, the Court found that sending documents to an attorney who represented someone in a prior matter does not constitute service on that person under the law.


• Out of “an abundance of caution” however, the Court decided to rule on the merits and deny the writ.  The court found the Regulations in their present state dispositive, especially 20714 (a)(2) which deals with “vocations,” noting that the Regulations as promulgated by the Secretary of State have the force of law.  The court considered Ms. Cook’s declaration, noting that it demonstrated “with specificity” that she was working solely in the appointed position of mayor and that the position consumes a significant amount of time.  The judge also noted that the declaration discussed a spectrum of activity surprisingly consistent with the activities noted in footnote 2 of the Court of Appeal’s opinion. The judge also rejected Carlson’s argument that the absence of income generated by the post meant that Ms. Cook could not designate “mayor” as her profession.  He noted that the regulations specifically state a vocation is “the work upon which a person, in most but not all cases, relies for his or her livelihood.”  Moreover, he recognized that the Regs contemplate the kinds of jobs that involve a public or spiritual commitment (such as religious ministry and homemaking).


• Finally, the judge rejected Carlson’s reliance on the Andal case for two reasons.  First, the regulations as they exist now contain different language than the guidelines that were discussed in Andal.  Second, he found that case was different from the case before him because in Andal, it was clear that the candidate wasn’t doing anything as a peace officer; the position was a simply a pro-forma or ceremonial activity.  This case, the judge said the position held by Cook, “is just the contrary.”

So Debbie wins in court, in the court of public opinion, and doesn’t have to pay a dime from her campaign coffers.  Schroeder and Carlson are stuck with the legal bill and Dana has a black eye from this little exercise.  Schroeder’s losing streak continues.

Enjoy that drink at the Sacramento airport fellas.  And no wide stances in the men’s room.

Filed under: Orange County - Local | 1 Comment »

If you’re not joining us at this weekend’s Democratic State Convention, I’d like to invite you to participate by viewing our live webcast of our general sessions, which begins at 9 AM on Saturday, March 29th. We will also have video available of other events and workshops. The convention agenda and the web stream is available at our website.

www.cadem.org/convention

Highlights will include speeches by former President Bill Clinton, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and a dinner presentation from Phil Donahue. We also look forward to hearing from our constitutional officers and state officials throughout the weekend.

We’ve worked hard to create an exciting convention weekend – we hope you’ll join us online as we start making our preparations to win back the White House in 2008!

www.cadem.org/convention

Sincerely,
Sen. Art Torres (Ret.)
Chairman

Filed under: California | 2 Comments »

UPDATE: Orange Punch is reporting the Secretary of State’s office has released the list of candidates for the June Primary and Debbie Cook i slisted as the Mayor of Huntington Beach. 

HT to Red County and Total Buzz

The Mike Schroeder/Debbie Cook lawsuit is still alive, on life support, but still alive.  Schroeder will appear in Court in Sacramento this afternoon to continue arguing the merits of Debbie Cook’s ballot designation.



Just when you think the guy is done, he springs back to life.  Meanwhile, I’m sure Debbie Cook’s legal team continues to rack up the hours that the Republican challengers to this legal effort will have to pay back.

Filed under: Orange County - Local | 6 Comments »

A message for YDs going to San Jose:

We, the Executive Boards of the San Francisco Young Democrats and the Sonoma County Young Democrats, are taking the unusual step of addressing the entire CYD membership in this letter in order to stop what would be a complete violation of the solidarity and collegiality that Young Democrats stand for.

Many of you have been offered floor passes, with the expectation that you will cast votes for Senator Carole Migden. What you may not realize is that, as the two Young Democrats organizations in Senator Migdens home district, both the San Francisco and the Sonoma County Young Democrats have endorsed Senator Migdens opponent, Assemblyman Mark Leno.

Mark Leno has received our endorsements because he has been a champion of Young Democrats for years, including a major effort to make the 2005 YDA by the Bay National Convention a reality, and earning CYDs 2006 Mentor of the Year Award. He has consistently reached out to Young Democrats and has been there for us any time that we have called on him.

In contrast, Senator Migden and her campaign have used their connections to implicitly threaten the jobs of numerous Young Democrats who supported Mark Leno. She and her staff have spoken ill of Young Democrats to numerous elected officials and other politically-involved people, including members of our own clubs. Rather than take the high road and accept the decisions of our clubs to endorse her opponent, she has instead gone out of her way to undermine the legitimacy of our organizations and, by extension, all Young Democrats.

You have a choice. You can choose to take a free floor pass from someone who has been undermining your fellow YDs. In so doing, you would be voting against the endorsements of your fellow YDs who reside in SD-3 and breaking the collegiality that is so important to Young Democrats. Or you can choose to respect your fellow YDs and, by extension, your own integrity, and turn down an otherwise appealing offer to do the right thing.

Filed under: California | 1 Comment »