Republicans vote. Indeed, the maddening dependability of GOP voters
has struck fear in the hearts of Democrats for decades. But are those
days over? If the current Republican leadership is any indication, they
could be. It turns out that both the leading GOP candidates for
governor and United States senator, Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina,
don’t vote, or more accurately, have voted rarely in their adult
lives.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Fiorina, the former
CEO of Hewlett Packard, never voted before she moved to Santa Clara
County in 2000. The 54-year-old didn’t vote when she lived in New
Jersey or Maryland. The eye-opening report came on the heels of one in
June that revealed that once Fiorina moved to the Golden State, she
only voted in about one in four elections in which she was eligible to
cast ballots. What gives? Her spokeswoman said sheepishly: “She thinks
it’s wrong not to vote and she regrets not voting.”
As for Whitman, the former eBay CEO, she didn’t register to vote in
California until 2002 and then after that, she only voted in about half
of the elections for which she was eligible. Plus, she didn’t even
register as a Republican until 2007 — hardly the proven
conservative track record that would make veteran GOP voters proud. And
her response to this embarrassing revelation? “Meg makes no excuses,”
her spokeswoman said. “She should have made the time to vote in the
past.”
The only way to explain the fact that Fiorina and Whitman remain
frontrunners is that Republicans must be star struck with the rich
female CEOs. Both have strong name recognition and will have plenty of
money to spend against their Dem opponents.
But Barbara Boxer, Jerry Brown, and Gavin Newsom have to be licking
their chops. A sitting senator like Boxer will be especially tough to
beat, particularly by someone who hasn’t taken her citizenship
responsibilities seriously. And both Brown and Newsom, regardless of
who is the Democratic Party nominee, will be able to score big points
off of Whitman’s miserable voting record. At this point, Brown appears
to have the best shot. Not only do the polls show the former Oakland
mayor with a commanding lead throughout the state, but a recent poll
revealed that the attorney general is even winning by double digits in
Newsom’s home town of San Francisco.
Don’t Call It a ‘Jobless Recovery’
Many national economists have said lately that the economy is
showing signs of rebounding, despite the continuing dismal unemployment
figures. But it’s hard to see a recovery from here in California. The
unemployment rate statewide jumped to 11.9 percent last month, the
highest on record and far higher than the national average of 9.4
percent, the Chronicle reported. In June, California’s jobless
rate stood at 11.6 percent. Joblessness in the Bay Area was awful, too,
although not quite as bad. In July, Alameda County’s rate was 11.5
percent, and in Contra Costa County, it was 11.0 percent.
As the state economy continues to tank, cities and counties are
feeling the effects more than ever. The Chron reports the state
Board of Equalization has taken the unusual step of telling 337 public
agencies that they will receive even less sales tax revenue this month
than projected because of the bleak retail market. Sales tax receipts
in April, May, and June dropped 18.75 percent from the same period in
2008. The state had estimated that the decline would be bad, but not as
bad — 14.4 percent. There was a bit of good news, however, when
state officials announced that they will finally stop issuing IOU’s
next week. As of last week, the state had handed out more than $2
billion worth.
As for the housing market, there were some indications that it may
be recovering — although it’s still too early to tell. The median
home price in the Bay Area jumped again last month to $408,000, up 13.4
percent over June. Experts credited the rise to an increase in the
number of expensive homes that sold and a decrease in the number of
foreclosures that changed hands. Foreclosures accounted for 34 percent
of sales, down from the high of 52 percent in February. But at the same
time, there remains evidence that banks are holding foreclosed
properties off the market and that the number of foreclosures could
significantly increase as more and more people remain out of work or
lose their jobs.
Raiders’ Head Coach to be
Arrested?
Oakland Raiders head coach Tom Cable may need a lawyer soon,
following the explosive allegations that he not only broke the jaw of
one of his assistants, but choked the guy and yelled: “I’m am going to
kill you; I’m going to kill you.” According to the National Football
Post, assistant Randy Hanson has decided to cooperate with Napa
police and hand over his medical records. The Chron reports that
Napa police now have a felony assault investigation going. Cable could
end up facing serious charges, which would force the NFL to suspend
him, thereby putting his coaching career in doubt.
Three-Dot Roundup
Assembly Democrats apparently are so scared of being labeled soft on
crime that they’re refusing to go along with the governor’s plan to
lower California’s prison population over the next few years. …
Oakland schools’ test scores improved again, although they remain far
below the state average. … There was finally a decent John Yoo
protest at UC Berkeley last week; four people got arrested. … And a
new report says it’s still not clear whether BART police had any reason
to detain Oscar Grant on New Year’s Day before shooting him to
death.
