Gallegly's weird election snafu

A few things this afternoon:

Retirement ... not: Republican Rep. Elton Gallegly of Thousand Oaks is on the retirement watch list heading into the 2008 elections, but it's not for the usual reasons, CQ reports. He actually "tried to retire in 2006, but ended up running because of a snafu involving a misreading of the state's election law," Congressional Quarterly says about the mixup:

"Gallegly filed qualifying papers to run for re-election but then stunned — and confused — the California political community when he announced just hours before the conclusion of the March 2006 candidate filing period that he would instead retire, citing an undisclosed medical condition.

"Gallegly, who said he had sought advice from a local election official on the matter, was convinced that his announcement would result in his name being removed from the ballot and that the filing deadline would be extended for five days, allowing other qualified Republican candidates to jump into the race to replace him.

"But both of those presumptions were wrong, and a failure by Gallegly to pursue re-election would have effectively ceded the Republican nomination to Michael Tenenbaum, a lawyer and political unknown who had entered the GOP primary as a challenger to Gallegly. Gallegly went on to easily win a primary and general election contest."

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Doolittle ad: The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has a new Internet ad targeting Rep. John Doolittle, the Sacramento-area Republican whose Virginia home was raided recently by the FBI. Doolittle and his wife have been linked to jailed lobbyist Jack Abramoff, and the quickly produced (and rather cheap-looking) DCCC ad, complete with the ubiquitous "Bad Boys" soundtrack, attempts to associate Doolittle with others who have been convicted or indicted in influence-peddling scandals. View ad here.

Casino cash: The Economist takes a look at California's Indian gambling industry, and not surprisingly finds some Native Americans are rich rich rich. The magazine reports that most of the Morongo tribe "no longer do any paid work at all. The 775 adult members of the tribe receive seven-tenths of the casino's profits in dividends (the rest is spent by the tribal government). The exact sum is kept secret, but Robert Martin, the tribal chairman, allows that it is roughly $15,000 to $20,000 per person, per month. Not surprisingly, some people have rediscovered their Morongo roots and moved back to the reservation. As Mr Martin observes wryly: 'It wasn't fashionable to be Indian until recently.' "

Governor's appointee: Wife, entrepreneur, mother of four and Gov. Schwarzenegger appointee, Tracie Stafford was crowned Mrs. California in an emotional and enthusiastic ceremony at the Radisson Hotel in Sacramento. "Beauty, brains and boldness easily describe the 40- year-old Sacramentan — but those who know her well say that integrity and resilience are the keystones to her life and personality," writes BlackNews.com. Last September, Stafford was appointed to the California Small Business Board. She was director of strategic marketing for Netscape Corporation/American Online from 1998 to 2001 and program manager for the Oracle Corporation from 1996 to 1998.