Here is another entry for the "politicians exercising questionable judgment" file cabinet, which, unfortunately, continues to fill up on a daily basis.
California State Senator Ronald Calderon is the subject of a federal corruption investigation. Let that sentence linger for a moment, shall we? Calderon is a public servant; by definition he should be serving the public, in this case his constituents. His first responsibility is to represent those in his state senate district. But there is now some question as to whether he is doing that, or whether he used his office for personal gain.
In this situation it would behoove any representative to be particularly thoughtful and careful, to attempt to make decisions which give no fodder to an already-distrustful public. Unfortunately, Calderon appears not to have done that.
| Photo: NoHoDamon/Flickr/Creative Commons License
In my book, the majority of people who pass certain eligibility requirements and wish to serve as poll workers should be welcomed and thanked, not excluded and turned away. Working at the polls is important, often tedious and monotonous job. Election day is virtually guaranteed to be a long day for anyone serving at the polls.
There is now a bill headed to Gov. Jerry Brown that would let some legal immigrants to serve as poll workers. Which legal immigrants you may ask? Well, legal permanent residents who would be eligible to vote if they were citizens.
San Fernando Valley residents who have gone without a voice on the Los Angeles City Council for six months will choose between a school board member and a former assemblywoman in a special runoff election today.
Nury Martinez and Cindy Montanez are vying to replace Tony Cardenas, the former Sixth District councilman elected to the House of Representatives last November.
Montanez and Martinez were the top two vote-getters in the May 21 primary election, but neither obtained the more than 50 percent needed to win the seat outright, setting the stage for today's contest.
Some of you may have gotten whiplash following the latest kerfuffle over California's Public Records Act (CPRA).
First, as part of the budget deal it looked like there would be limited access to government documents. Why? Because the deal provided that the CPRA would be suspended, instead of paid for from state coffers. Specifically, the state is required to reimburse local agencies for the cost of compliance. The anticipated cost of the CPRA totals in the tens of millions of dollars.
It was just as bad as expected. The voter turnout for the Los Angeles' May 21 election was 23.3 percent, the lowest in 100 years for a general election.
Councilman Eric Garcetti was elected mayor with 222,300 votes, which is less than any other non-incumbent mayor elected since the 1930s, according to a Los Angeles Times analysis. The numbers also represent just a little over 5 percent of the population of Los Angeles. The low enthusiasm has been blamed on the similarities between the candidates -- both Democrats supported by unions.
The election was also the most expensive Southland election season on record. Independent expenditure committees and candidates in city and LAUSD races racked up almost $54 million in expenses, according to Ethics Commission figures.
The previous record was set in 2001 by James Hahn and Antonio Villaraigosa. Candidates and outside groups at that time ran up $44.9 million in expenses, and voter turnout during the runoff was 37.67 percent .
There is a concerted effort underway to toss out the majority of the city of San Bernardino's elected officials. The recall is targeted at the mayor, the city attorney, and all seven members of the city council. This is significant if only for the sheer number of elected officials that recall proponents are seeking to toss out of office.
I discussed this issue during a live chat hosted by the Los Angeles News Group.
