This piece originally appeared in the Capitol Weekly. 

This week, Attorney General Jerry Brown filed papers with the Secretary of State opening an exploratory committee for Governor, for all intents and purposes divulging the worst kept secret in California politics over the past two years: that he is indeed going to run for Governor.

In June of 2008, I had the pleasure of speaking to a panel at the Sacramento Metro Chamber’s State Advocacy Day. I was asked who I thought the next Governor of California would be and I answered: “Jerry Brown, period.”

I worked on the primary campaign against Jerry Brown for Attorney General in 2006. I know how this guy works and I know how tough it is to run a campaign against him. Not only is my opinion about the 2010 race unchanged since I spoke to the Metro Chamber, it has solidified in both political and policy terms.

Having worked on several gubernatorial campaigns (including Davis and Westly for Governor campaigns with SF Mayor Gavin Newsom advisor Garry South) I understand the dynamics of a gubernatorial campaign in California are always in flux. But Jerry Brown has smartly avoided the pitfalls that come with most candidates’ desire to show themselves off to whoever will pay attention.  Brown understands that he is winning this race, at both the primary and general election level, without even being in it.

That said, the announcement of an exploratory campaign the same week a Rasmussen Poll has Jerry handily beating Meg Whitman, Steve Poizner, and Tom Campbell is no coincidence.  For Brown, this keeps the focus on the Republicans and away from his Democratic opponent.

Still, this coming week, Newsom has former President Bill Clinton coming out to campaign for him at a time when he needs help the most.  Clinton is still popular in California, but this endorsement smacks of petty payback for the 1992 Presidential race and voters can smell that. All of internal and public polls I’ve seen show Brown running up the score on Newsom in the primary match-up.  Most have Brown ahead even in Newsom’s hometown of San Francisco. The amazing part is Brown’s lead has increased despite being outspent by Newsom during this early period 6 to 1.

Brown leads Newsom in the early fundraising, with $7 million on hand to Newsom’s $1.2 million. That cash lead is about to triple now that Brown can raise under the gubernatorial limits, so look to see that $7 million turn into $21 million.

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McCarty well on way to match Dave Jones’ fundraising pace from successful 2004 campaign
 
Democrat Kevin McCarty’s campaign for the California State Assembly 9th District today announced that he has raised more than $118,000 in the past six months to bring his fundraising total to more than $236,000. 
 
“I’m proud that hundreds of groups and individuals have shown their faith in me,” said candidate McCarty. “The strength of our campaign is evident by the large number of small contributors who are setting the foundation of our grassroots effort.”
 
McCarty was elected to represent the Sacramento City Council’s 6th District in 2004 and was re-elected in 2008. The last two City Council members to hold this seat also went on to represent the 9th District in the State Assembly.
 
McCarty also works as an advocate for Preschool California, a statewide non-profit organization fighting to expand access to quality preschool programs. 

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CNN, the Los Angeles Times and POLITICO announced today that the California Democratic Party will sanction the Jan. 31, 2008, Democratic presidential primary debate in Los Angeles. Scheduled less than one week before Super Tuesday, this debate will be the candidates’ final face-off before primary voters in more than 20 states flock to the polls on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2008.
 
CNN’s Wolf Blitzer will moderate, with journalists from the Los Angeles Times and POLITICO participating in the questioning. This is the only debate that the Democratic Party of California has officially sanctioned in the 2008 race for the White House.
 
“The California Democratic Party is excited that our party’s presidential debate, on the eve of the momentous Feb. 5 primaries, will be in Los Angeles, California,” said California Democratic Party Chairman Art Torres. “As a native Angeleno, I am proud to join CNN, the Los Angeles Times and POLITICO in helping our presidential candidates embrace the diversity and vision that California offers all Americans.”
 
CNN, the Los Angeles Times and POLITICO will also sponsor the final Republican primary debate on Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2008. The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library will be the site of this debate, which will be moderated by CNN’s Anderson Cooper with The Times and POLITICO again participating in candidate questioning.

Senator Art Torres (Ret.), Chairman of the California Democratic Party, today issued the following statement:

"The self-proclaimed 'People’s Governor' owed nothing less to the people of California and our troops overseas than to let the voice of the voters be heard on this disastrous war in Iraq. Last week, the Governor himself acknowledged: Every poll you look at shows that the majority of Californians are against the war. So that message is out there.'

Instead, even as General Petraeus presents statistics this week that have raised more questions than answers about progress in Iraq, Schwarzenegger has ignored that message and effectively muzzled California voters on this critical issue.

The Republican Party must stop looking at this war through rose-colored glasses and start working with Democrats across the country on a way to bring a responsible end to the war."

Senator Art Torres (Ret.), Chairman of the California Democratic Party, today issued the following statement: 

"Regardless of the Governor’s views on the war in Iraq, California voters deserve the right to have their voices be heard. In this war that has now claimed more than 3,700 American troops, Californians have suffered the largest toll, having lost more than 400 of our own in Iraq.

Recent polling shows that two out of three Californians support either withdrawing some or all of the U.S. troops now stationed in Iraq.

The self-proclaimed 'People’s Governor' owes it to the people of California, our troops and their loved ones to let the voice of the voters be heard."

According to a new Democracy Corps poll from Greenberg Quinlan Rosner, voters ages 18 to 29 have undergone a striking political evolution in recent years.

Unfortunately for the Republican Party, there’s not much good news in the poll’s findings -- the evolution doesn’t trend the GOP’s way.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports: 

"‘Young Americans have become so profoundly alienated from Republican ideals on issues including the war in Iraq, global warming, same-sex marriage and illegal immigration that their defections suggest a political setback that could haunt Republicans for many generations to come,’ the poll said.

The startling collapse of GOP support among young voters is reflected in the poll's findings that show two-thirds of young voters surveyed believe Democrats do a better job than Republicans of representing their views -- even on issues Republicans once owned, such as terrorism and taxes.

The anti-GOP shift for this generation -- which is expected to reach 50 million voters, or 17 percent of the electorate, in 2008 -- represents a marked contrast from their predecessors, the Gen Xers born in the mid-'60s to mid-'70s whose demographic represented the strongest Republican voters in the nation...”

Let’s compare that with the poll’s findings with respect to Democrats’ prospects, looking at the 2008 presidential race, for example:

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Among the $700 million in mean-spirited budget vetoes by Governor Schwarzenegger today was a gift to the pharmaceutical companies that have poured nearly $5 million into his campaigns: the near-elimination of a law to provide Californians with affordable prescription drugs.

Schwarzenegger vetoed $6.3 million in funds for the California Discount Prescription Drug Program (Page 90). Schwarzenegger had twice vetoed the program before agreeing to a deal months before his re-election with Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez and Senate pro tem Don Perata.

"Today's vetoes show the mean-spiritedness of a Governor who puts the concerns of his contributors and political extremists above the needs of the people of California," said  Senator Art Torres (Ret.), Chairman of the California Democratic Party. "But it's classic Schwarzenegger: he touts bipartisanship but rewards partisan and special interests where the rubber hits the road."

Here's what Schwarzenegger said on the campaign trail about the program:

Prescription drug discount deal reached in California, San Diego Union Tribune, 8/24/06

The sweeping program would serve the uninsured who earn up to $60,000 a year for a family of four -- about triple the federal poverty level -- providing them with discounts of up to 40 percent on brand-name drugs and 60 percent on generic drugs, Schwarzenegger said yesterday at a news conference.

"I'm very happy about that," Schwarzenegger said. "It's very important that we help our vulnerable citizens. So many people out there cannot afford prescription drugs."

Loyal Triangle of Corruption readers may recall that last April, Roll Call reported that "the Justice Department has been running a two-track investigation" into a member of Congress "regarding a land deal, as well as a piece of legislation" that this particular congressman "helped steer that may have improperly benefited a major campaign contributor." (Roll Call, April 20, 2007)

No doubt millionaire developer and part-time Congressman Gary Miller nearly choked on his breakfast cereal when he read that morning what appeared to be his own rap sheet, only then to be relieved (at least temporarily) when it turned out the congressman in question happened to be Rick Renzi, the Republican from Arizona.

Four months and one FBI raid later, Renzi is calling it quits.

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The California Democratic Party today unveiled its new website feature "Triangle of Corruption" to remind voters that unfortunately, in the three Southern California congressional districts of Jerry Lewis, Gary Miller, and Ken Calvert, the GOP "Culture of Corruption" is alive and well.
 
The site features news coverage, commentary, blog items and additional information related to the three Southland Republicans, each of whom is under Federal investigation -- Lewis, for his role in the Duke Cunningham bribery scandal; Miller, for several questionable land deals among other issues; and Calvert, also for his role in dubious land sales.
 
"Last November, voters across the United States resoundingly rejected the Republican Culture of Corruption," said Senator Art Torres (Ret.), Chairman of the California Democratic Party. "Sadly, that message of reform seems to have gone in one ear and out the other of Representatives Lewis, Miller and Calvert. We’re here to make sure that the voice of the voters is heard loud and clear."
 
The website will be continuously updated with new information and developments leading up to the 2008 congressional elections. 
 

In a rather unsurprising development, it turns out that the King of Congressional Earmarks, California’s own Rep. Jerry Lewis, has directed far more than the previously reported $500,000 earmark to help beautify the Washington D.C. neighborhood in which he owns a one million dollar townhouse.

According to today’s Press-Enterprise: "In the past four years, Rep. Jerry Lewis has helped steer $2.75 million dollars toward the revitalization of a neighborhood that lies thousands of miles from his Inland Southern California district, but only blocks from his Washington home, according to records and interviews with those close to the project."

That’s right -- $2.75 million in federal funds for what effectively amounts to home improvement projects.

Interestingly, on Lewis’s Congressional Website, where the Congressman takes credit for securing funding for some local projects, there is not one mention of the pork he has delivered for his other neighborhood.

Another insightful tidbit from the Press-Enterprise story:

"In March, Lewis filed a letter with the House Appropriations Committee, of which he is the ranking Republican member, indicating he planned to seek the funds and certifying that neither he nor his wife and chief of staff, Arlene Lewis, has any financial interest in the project.

Since 2004, when Barracks Row received its first earmark, Lewis' home has increased in value by nearly $400,000, according to tax records. Its proposed assessed value for 2008 is $986,250."

Thanks to some clever use of taxpayer dollars to clean up the 'hood, Lewis has more than doubled the value of his home. Now that is home improvement that would make even Tim "the Tool Man" Taylor envious.