Six feet under

The campaign to replace Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald has attracted more than a dozen candidates, including the late congresswoman's daughter.

Valerie McDonald's insistence on entering the race has split the African American community in Long Beach, where some black leaders believe Assemblywoman Laura Richardson may have a better chance of taking the Democratic seat against Sen. Jenny Oropeza, a Latina. Now, the African American vote is split.

But McDonald is pressing on. In an e-mail to potential supporters this morning, she pleads for campaign donations and blames the late start on making funeral arrangements for her mother. At least I think that's what she's saying. McDonald wants to collect $600,00 (sic), and includes a cheerful campaign flier complete with creative clip-art balloons.

From: Valerie McDonald
Date: Thu, 24 May 2007 07:55:06 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Fwd: Campaign Kick-Off Flyer Final

Good morning,

I am running for the seat left vacant by the passing of my mother, Congresswoman Millender McDonald. I need funding (raising $600,00) and volunteers as the competition organized before I could organize the services for my mother. Please do what you can and remit any donations to: McDonald for Congress, 4450 California Place, PMB 331, Long Beach, CA 90807 and volunteer any day Monday-Friday 5.-8:00 pm, Saturday 10 a.m. - 8pm and Sunday noon to 8:00 p.m.

Thank you for your assistance.

I'm not sure "please do what you can and remit any donations" is exactly what they had in mind with McCain-Feingold.

Perata 'living large'

The East Bay Express pored over hundreds of pages of expense reports for Senate leader Don Perata, and discovered the Oakland Democrat's campaigns have spent more than $1 million on parties and "high-end lifestyle expenditures."

The spending includes frequent visits to posh restaurants - at least $119,000 over ten years on meals - and stays at luxury hotels worth $68,503.

His campaign hosted a December 2000 fundraising party in a luxury box at the Oakland Coliseum that cost $43,600 and featured a Dungeness crab feast, the newspaper said. He has used his campaign money to "shower gifts on his donor friends, colleagues, lobbyists, and staffers. He shops at Macy's and Nordstrom or buys expensive luggage, monogrammed pens, and upscale office supplies," writer Robert Gammon reported.

Perata's spokesman, Jason Kinney, told the newspaper that the expenses were "entirely legal," "legitimate," and "run-of-the-mill and commonplace." Story is here, and the Express blog has a spreadsheet of all the expenses.

Fuentes headed to the Assembly

Felipe Fuentes is the newest state Assembly member, winning with a depressingly low 5,432 votes (so far), in a district where 112,656 people are registered. He nevertheless received more than 50% of the vote, so the deed is done.

Turnout in the Los Angeles special election was 9.5%.

Fuentes, the grandson of Mexican immigrants, served as chief of staff to former City Councilman Alex Padilla and more than two years as deputy mayor for the San Fernando Valley during the Hahn administration. Fuentes told supporters he "plans to spend a little time with my family this weekend, and then get to Sacramento as soon as possible so I can weigh in on the budget process," the Times reports.

According to his campaign website, Fuentes is a hero: "As a junior at San Fernando High School, Felipe witnessed a small child being struck by a delivery truck. Felipe was understandably frightened, but he did not panic. He used his first-aid training, learned as an Explorer Scout, to apply a tourniquet to the boy’s leg, effectively saving his life."

Fuentes replaces Richard Alarcon, who left the Assembly in March to return to the Los Angeles City Council. The district includes the city of San Fernando as well as parts or all of Panorama City, North Hills, Pacoima, Sun Valley, Mission Hills, Arleta, Lakeview Terrace and Sylmar.

UPDATE: He's controversial even before he arrives with the big boys.

Clinton campaign contest includes Dixie Chicks

U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton needs your help.

The presidential candidate has sent out an e-mail to supporters in California and elsewhere with this urgent plea: "We've been working on an important issue--the kind that can make or break a campaign. And your input is absolutely critical to ensuring that we make the right decision. That's right--we're picking our campaign song."

Clinton is asking people to vote on the theme song through her website, here. For political reporters, including a few friends of mine, this choice is CRITICAL. They will have to hear it four to five times a day for the next eight to 18 months. Remember "Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow?" Thanks to Bill Clinton, a lot of people now hate that song.

The potential Hillary Clinton songs include "City of Blinding Lights" by U2 and "I'll Take You There" by The Staple Singers. She also threw in "Ready to Run" by the Bush-bashing Dixie Chicks, pictured with their recent Grammy haul. Please please please don't make it "I'm A Believer" by Smash Mouth.

There is one song from Foreigner her campaign forgot to include.

(Photo: Gabriel Bouys/AFP-Getty Images)

Death, race, politics, and family ties

When we last checked in with the campaign to replace Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald, who died last month of cancer, it looked like a two-person clash between Sen. Jenny Oropeza and Assemblywoman Laura Richardson for the Long Beach seat. The race immediately became about ethnicity - the Latina versus the African American in the racially diverse district.

Now, 19 candidates have filed paper to replace Millender-McDonald - including her daughter, Richardson and Oropeza, a city councilman, an Iraq war veteran, the mother of a Marine, "and a man who served eight years in prison for kidnapping and assault," the Press-Telegram reports.

The exception has been Long Beach city councilwoman Gerrie Schipske, who withdrew from the special election just three days after entering the race. "It's a full-time circus. You've got too many clowns in this race," candidate Mervin Evans told the Long Beach newspaper, which elaborates:

"The most interesting character in the bunch is (L.J. 'Bishop') Guillory, a black Republican who wants to be elected in order for 'God to have a position of authority in government.' Guillory enjoyed brief prominence in the early 1990s when he organized protests against a judge who had ordered probation for a Korean grocer who shot a black teenager.

"Soon thereafter, Guillory was sentenced to 12 years in prison for kidnapping, burglary and assault with a firearm. On his Web site, Guillory has posted an elaborate defense to the charges, which he said were the result of corruption, false testimony, and the machinations of his ex-wife."

So far, Richardson has been endorsed by Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, Rep. Maxine Waters, and former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown. But Richardson supporter Mervyn Dymally, a state Assemblyman from the area, said with Millender-McDonald's daughter entering the race, Richardson could be in trouble. The black vote could be divided.

Valerie McDonald has been under pressure, the Times' John L. Mitchell reports, from black elected officials to support Richardson, "a more seasoned candidate considered by many to have a better chance of winning and keeping the seat in African American hands. With Richardson and McDonald in the race, the black vote could be divided." That helps Oropeza.

"Valerie's mother was popular in Carson and Compton," Dymally told the Times. "The name will have appeal. There'll be a sympathy vote." State Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas said African Americans should focus their voting strength on one candidate: "I'm holding out hope that someone will get a clue. I wish we could resolve this in such a way to maximize the opportunity to retain the seat. The current path is untenable."

Why focus on the racial overtones of the campaign? It's an obvious dynamic that can't be ignored. The Times' editorial board, however, says alliances between the camps should not be shoved aside for ethnic rivalries: "The racial caucuses on Capitol Hill are looking after their own power, and coalition-building takes a back seat. It would be a shame if black and Latino Democrats — many of whom are lining up behind candidates who would build their own caucus ranks — ended up stoking racial tension rather than building effective coalitions."

(Photos: Lou Dematteis/Reuters; Offices of Richardson and Oropeza)

Netroots cry betrayal

The "netroots" - progressive bloggers - are in an uproar over California Rep. Jerry McNerney's vote on the Iraq war. Democrat McNerney, who defeated Rep. Richard Pombo last year, voted to reject a bill in Congress that would have set a 9-month timetable to end the Iraq war. From Calitics:

"It seems pretty clear that many people in the netroots who worked hard for Jerry, donated time and time again are pretty upset with the new Representative today. Heck, even Ellen Tauscher found a way to vote to get us out of Iraq today.

"No Representative will ever be perfect, especially those in more moderate districts.  But this was a vote of conscious today and McNerney failed that test.  I think all those who walked those precincts, threw Jerry fundraisers and made calls on his behalf deserve an explanation for his vote today."

McNerney issued a statement today saying he voted his conscience. "I want an end to the war in Iraq. But ending the war must be done in the most responsible way. ... I feel strongly that ending the war must be done in a way that respects our soldiers, honors our veterans, provides the best chance to reduce the violence in Iraq, and prevents the violence from spreading to neighboring countries."

Lisa Vorderbrueggen over at the Contra Costa Times says the vote shows McNerney's tough spot: "The exchange illustrates the conundrum that McNerney faces as he heads into his re-election campaign: He's a Democrat in a Republican-leaning district. That means the GOP will hammer him mercilessly on his liberal voting record at the same time that progressives who have supported him demand his fealty on their core issues such as opposition to the Iraq War."

(Photo: Haraz N. Ghanbari/AP)

Schwarzenegger and the 'Third Force'

Howard Fineman at Newsweek saw something in Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's body language during the recent GOP presidential debate at the Reagan Library. Although Schwarzenegger cannot run for president, the California governor could be a leading actor in a new "independent for president" movement. Fineman writes:

"As California governor, Schwarzenegger has prospered in the role of centrist, hybrid 'Repubocrat' — an independent force. As he watched the ten GOP presidential candidates take turns bowing to the GOP's conservative base, the Governator bore the fixed smile of a man who had a desire to be elsewhere.

"If I were a GOP strategist — or a Democratic one — I would be worried by Arnold's body language. He and other major independent actors on the political scene — New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former Vice President Al Gore, chief among them — comprise a Third Force that could upset two-party politics as we know it in the 2008 presidential race."

Fineman says that Schwarzenegger, Bloomberg and Gore "have formed a mutual admiration society that has huge potential implications for 2008. They have come to share similar visions on the urgency of the global warming and health care crises, and a similar impatience with politics as usual."

Schwarzenegger has said repeatedly that he remains a loyal Republican, despite obvious splits with the core of the conservative California Republican Party. I don't see him as the next Ross Perot spoiler - or, rather, as someone who would have to stand on the sidelines supporting an independent for president. It's an intriguing proposition, but MotherJones says the Schwarzenegger-Bloomberg-Gore theory should be taken with a grain of salt.

(Photo:  Mark J. Terrill/AP)

How to say 'thank you'

The Morongo Band of Mission Indians, one of the largest casino operators in the country, is gobbling up political consultants and courting the Black Caucus behind Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez's back, while sending potent messages to Assembly members who are considering lucrative tribal gaming compacts already approved by the state Senate.

They have TV ads on the air encouraging people to call their Assembly members, and they have sent out a mailer to their friends in the Senate who voted to approve the compacts.

As Capitol Weekly shows today, approving the compacts over the objections of organized labor could be a factor in the race between Sen. Jenny Oropeza and Assemblywoman Laura Richardson. Just as she is launching her congressional race, Oropeza received a boost from Morongo for her vote--the mailer praising her support for education. Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas (D-Los Angeles) also saw the supportive mailer show up in his district.

The mailer, pictured above, doesn't provide voters with much useful information--and nothing about the gaming compacts. The text is rather simple: "All politicians say that improving our schools is a top priority--but State Senator Mark Ridley-Thomas takes action. In the State Assembly and now as our State Senator, Mark Ridley-Thomas is a leading advocate for strengthening our schools ..." And so on.

The mailer includes a phone number where people can call Ridley-Thomas and "tell him to keep fighting for our schools." This allegedly makes the mailer "legislative advocacy" and not purely political propaganda.

Oropeza, Richardson set for Congress race

State Sen. Jenny Oropeza has announced she is running to replace U.S. Rep. Juanita Millender- McDonald, who died April 22 from cancer. Oropeza (pictured right) joins Assemblywoman Laura Richardson in what undoubtedly will be a contentious special election this summer.

Richardson said Tuesday she was "groomed to do this" and took a shot at Oropeza: "I believe I have the best experience of what the voters are looking for. Sen. Oropeza has, in her entire life, only worked from a legislative perspective."

The heavily Democratic district includes a wide swath of Long Beach - both Oropeza and Richardson, a former city council member, are well known there. If either is elected, another fight will erupt to fill their legislative seats in Sacramento.

UPDATE: Oropeza, who also served on the Long Beach City Council, said about her campaign: "Since the 1980s, I have worked to serve this community as a locally elected school board member, locally elected City Council member, locally elected state Assembly member and now as a locally elected state Senator. In each of those positions I worked to bring people together to solve common problems." 

Migden: 'Let's be feared'

State Sen. Carole Migden - pictured at a recent press conference about cloned meat - raised the roof a bit at the Democratic convention in San Diego. Capitol Alert reports that the San Francisco Democrat, engaged in a tough re-election fight, appeared at the convention's Women's Caucus and suggested the gender could do more than just burn bras:

"Every darn important issue in the world is our issue," she said. "We're the ones who are going to take over. Maybe we'll pay those men a little bit ...to cart our groceries." She also suggested men "make the stew" and "carry our bags."

"We're not going to care if sometimes you don't look dainty," she told the Democratic women who packed the meeting room. "For God's sake, let's be feared. You don't have to be Miss Congeniality."

Poor Lt. Gov. John Garamendi was in the audience. He said he understood women - he has five daughters and a wife. You can check out the story here, but there is a fee. I wanted to post this item because it allows me to use the picture of Migden with fake cows.

(Photo: Steve Yeater/AP)

Oropeza announcement soon

Roll Call in Washington D.C. says California state Sen. Jenny Oropeza would make an announcement tomorrow about running for Congress to replace Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald, the Long Beach-area member who died April 22. "I am considering running for Congress," Oropeza said during a brief telephone interview with reporter David M. Drucker.

Clinton's new Calif. director once researched her husband

U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton has hired "longtime Democratic operative" Ace Smith as her California director for the presidential campaign. He'll be organizing the day-to-day operations in California, rounding up endorsements, corralling volunteers, setting schedules, and offering advice on politics.

"Ace is a talented organizer who knows California and knows what it takes to win," Clinton said in a statement. "We're lucky to have him leading our effort in the Golden State."

Smith once was hired to dig up information about presidential candidate Bill Clinton - for Clinton, to see how vulnerable he would be as a candidate.

Smith is well known to California media as one of the most effective opposition researchers in the state - he can get the goods on almost anyone. Lately, he's been sitting in the front of the bus - managing Democrat Jerry Brown's campaign for attorney general and Antonio Villaraigosa's bid for Los Angeles mayor. They both won. He also worked for Gov. Gray Davis in 2002, researching Republican opponent Bill Simon.

In a 2002 profile by Dion Nissenbaum at the San Jose Mercury News, Smith was described as working out of North Beach building in San Francisco that "once served as a crazed sniper's perch in 'Dirty Harry'' ...  amid stacks of classical music records doing the governor's dirty work." Smith's father was San Francisco district attorney, but lost a close race for California Attorney General in 1990 against Republican Dan Lungren.

Smith was hired in 1988 by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, where he met Rahm Emanuel, now a congressman. They launched a political consulting firm in 1989 that produced, Nissenbaum writes, "one of Clinton's earliest 'vulnerability studies' - research reports candidates order on themselves so they know what their opponent can find out and prepare for the attacks."

(Photo: David B. Parker/Reno Gazette-Journal via AP)

Thanks for the boos

Hillary Clinton's boo birds at the California Democratic convention: "Mrs. Clinton isn't the first female politician to get booed onstage at the California Democratic Convention. In 1994 Dianne Feinstein, running for U.S. Senate against Republican Michael Huffington (Remember him? No, I didn’t think so), was widely booed on stage by the delegation for her support of the death penalty. She then turned around and used the footage in a campaign ad to promote her tough-on-crime position." Karen Hanretty, The Hill.

(*The booing actually occurred during the 1990 Democratic primary for governor, not 1994 campaign for U.S. Senate.)

Shutting down debate

The California Democratic Party convention this weekend left some progressive activists with a sour taste, after a procedural move late Sunday killed all debate on toughening up a resolution on the Iraq war. They left vowing to uncover who was responsible ... and study up on Roberts Rules of Order.

For insider-insiders, this is what the convention is all about. Activists said they put a lot of energy into a compromise resolution on impeaching President George W. Bush, which passed, while other issues fell by the wayside. dday writes:

"All of the energy put into the impeachment resolution took away from many of the other priorities of the Progressive Slate, priorities on which I ran - single-payer health care, clean money, election protection, net neutrality. None of these made it out of committee."

But on the floor Sunday, another resolution urged "President Bush to end the U.S. occupation of Iraq and immediately begin the safe and orderly withdrawal of all United States combat forces." Amendments were offered that would "cut off funding totally for the occupation of Iraq, and another to de-authorize the legislation that took the country to war," dday says.

Then, someone called for a quorum. Since it was the end of the convention, many people predictably had already left the convention hall. No quorum, no vote. Calitics writes that "a lot of people are upset about this - there are people who are saying they expect parliamentary crap like this to be pulled by the Republican party, not by Democrats. A quorum is 1155, and there are only 623 delegates.  No more business can be conducted.  The convention is over."

Sunday also featured speeches by John Edwards, who entered the hall to a pounding hip-hop rhythm and took more than five minutes to work his way from a side entrance to the stage, the L.A. Times reports. "He received one of the strongest receptions of the weekend after delivering perhaps the widest-ranging speech. Bill Richardson delivered a looser, joke-filled address, lamenting at one point his low standing in opinion polls by referring to a conversation with his 92-year-old mother. When he told her he was running for president, he said, she responded, 'President of what?' "

Meanwhile, Barack Obama was at South-Central's First AME Church to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the Los Angeles riots yesterday. "There wasn't anything going on in Los Angeles that was unique to Los Angeles," Obama told the crowd, which featured singer Stevie Wonder. "If you traveled to Chicago, you would see the same young men on street corners without hope, without prospects, and without a sense of any destiny other than ending up in prison or in a casket."

(Photos: Lenny Ignelzi/AP; Denis Poroy/AP; Stefano Paltera/AP)

In the crowds, San Diego

(Photos: Denis Poroy/AP)

Obama: Turn the page

"It's time for us to show the world that we are not a country that ships prisoners in the dead of night to be tortured in far off countries. That we are not a country that runs prisons which lock people away without ever telling them why they are there or what they are charged with. We are not a country which preaches compassion to others while we allow bodies to float down the streets of a major American city."

- U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, in prepared remarks for the Democratic Party convention this afternoon. Full text of Obama's speech to the California convention after the jump.

Democrats at the convention with early reaction to Obama's speech and California visit on their blogs:

• "Unfortunately, the speech is all we get from Obama this weekend. Political hacks speculate that the Senator didn’t want the 3 legislative endorsements he announced to be compared to the more robust "Hillary caucus" showcased earlier in the day. While Hillary won the key endorsements, and probably displayed a more disciplined campaign operation, from where I was sitting, it was Obama that generated the most enthusiasm." Dave Rand.

• "I strongly disagree with the 'let's not blame anyone and let's come together' generalizations. There is fault to be assigned here. This isn't about the 'same old politics.' We can change the way Washington works, but for hell's sake, this isn't just about how Washington works. It's about reversing evil ideologies. Just my opinion. Still -- excellent section on Iraq. And overall, he crushed Hillary. Absolutely." Calitics.

• "This is what genuine enthusiasm looks and sounds like." Lucas O'Connor.

(Photo: Mike Blake/Reuters)

Clinton's mixed reviews

"Somebody said to me that he wished we could just rewind the 21st century and just eliminate the Bush-Cheney administration, with all their mistakes and misjudgments. People are ready for leaders who understand it is our votes who put them in power, our tax dollars that pay the bills." - U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, speaking at the California Democratic Party convention today, from the AP story.

Here are the early reviews from Democrats who listened to Clinton's speech today in San Diego:

• "So far I am not wowed by Hillary's speech, and I would say the reaction of the crowd is tepid at best. The highlight: she talked about immigration reform and wanting to 'bring people from the shadows.' The lowlight: The whole 'you are invisible" refrain is really not working for me.' [Snip]

  "Ouch. Senator Hillary devoted barely any time to Iraq in her CDP Convention speech. She didn't admit she made a mistake, even though she had the perfect opportunity. Really, I'm shocked by what she didn't say."

  "She had a nice laundry list, but how can she avoid the biggest issue in the race? When she finally mentioned Iraq, she lost the crowd. I really don't see how she can campaign in this environment without admitting her mistake." Calitics.

• Clinton gets a smattering of boos, but passes Democratic convention test. Jason Kinney.


• UPDATE: "Hillary's speech was going fine, IMO, until she got to Iraq. Then she lost the crowd (and she had them earlier).  It was interesting to see Art Torres and Fabian Nunez shooting daggers with their eyes from the podium at those delegates hissing and shouting about Hillary's Iraq policy, particularly when Nunez motioned to have people ejected from the hall (nobody was AFAIK).  Still, I do believe that Hillary was fairly wide support. I can't tell you how many delegates I saw yelling 'Impeach Bush! Impeach Cheney!' and then holding up their Hillary signs. I don't think her support is as soft as the netroots think." dday on Calitics.


• UPDATE 2: L.A. Times: Blistering critique on Bush.

(Photo: Lenny Ignelzi/AP)

Bush impeachment on the table

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi may have pushed impeaching President George W. Bush off the Democrats' national agenda, but momentum is growing at the California Democratic Party Convention in San Diego to put it back on. The Democrats' resolution committee is likely to approve a (non-binding) impeachment resolution for a convention vote tomorrow. San Diego Union Tribune.

Also: another resolution would block private military companies from building in California. The resolution, which is largely symbolic, targets a 824-acre Blackwater USA training facility being proposed near San Diego. Blackwater is a private army and security force that has been used in Iraq and after Hurricane Katrina.

Welcome to my city, now ...

Guess who's being a complete killjoy about the Democratic convention in San Diego? California Republican Party chairman and San Diego native Ron Nehring, in a letter to the delegates:

"It's the first time in more than a decade that the state Democrats are coming to San Diego - I suppose they finally found enough rooms among the small number of unionized hotels that labor officials allowed the party to come back to our fair city. Good for them.

"San Diego is not the same city it was ten years ago, however. Organized labor took control of the city council in 2000, which immediately ran the city into the financial ditch through massive payoff to the public employee unions who elected them, in the form of a colossal pension benefits increase that has forced the city to the brink of bankruptcy. Several former union officials and allies are now under indictment or investigation for their role in the scheme."

I don't think he means it when he says "good for them." Nehring continues the letter by rubbing it in about eight high-profile Democratic losses in San Diego County races, including Republican Brian Bilbray over Democrat Francine Busby.

Anyway, I'm sure Democrats won't be so rude as to bring up the Iraq War, Jack Abramoff, Democratic control of Congress, the ideological capture of Arnold Schwarzenegger, John Doolittle, or Duke Cunningham's jail cell when Republican candidates debate Thursday in Simi Valley at the Reagan Library. Full text of Nehring's letter after the jump.

(Photo: Denis Poroy/AP)

Blogrolling

Family business has kept me from the Democratic convention this weekend, but Calitics has insider stuff for hardcore Democrats, along with the California Majority Report and the California Progress Report. The S.F. Chronicle should have some good stuff through the weekend on their blog, and of course the L.A. Times will have comprehensive coverage from our fine staff.

Speaking of bloggers, Carla Marinucci of the Chronicle says "a record 50 Internet-publication bloggers will join the estimated 400 credentialed 'mainstream' media in the press room to track the doings of seven Democratic presidential candidates and 2,100 California party delegates this weekend" in San Diego.

Brian Leubitz, a UC Berkeley master's candidate in public policy, for example, is attending the convention with nine Calitics staffers - a larger team that many major newspapers, Marinucci reports. Leubitz's site has 5,000 readers daily. She continues:

"But one key state Democratic strategist, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of concern for riling the netroots crowd, warns that such efforts are potentially positive and negative.

"Netroots commentary can frequently be intensely personal, even "totally mean and irrational," the strategist said, with some bloggers finding power in their ability "to assassinate political characters online."

"It's amplified by the anonymity, and it can be scary that it's so irresponsible," the insider said. "And it's pulling the mainstream media in that direction."

Even a night auditor at a San Diego hotel is blogging about this weekend's convention. As they used to say on the Internets: LOL.

(Photos: Denis Poroy/AP)

The Obama-Westly ticket

Someone has created a website suggesting that former California controller and failed gubernatorial candidate Steve Westly should be tapped as U.S. Sen. Barack Obama's vice presidential running mate. Westly, you may remember, couldn't get past Democrat Phil Angelides in the primary last year.

The site links to what appears to be a legitimate Westly political site, but the language on ObamaWestly.com doesn't look like anything Westly would approve. Unless he's completely insane. (Checking on that.) A link to the website was sent to me anonymously by the "Info Team."

Here is the information on the site, which was registered Tuesday through a service called Domain Discreet.

ObamaWestly.com includes a doctored Newsweek cover featuring the two men together, and a few lines about how Westly "is a wealthy policy wonk. He is one of the founders of eBay and made a small to medium sized fortune. He can easily raise the big money for the California primary." Sounds like Fat Cat - the costumed plutocrat who followed Westly around in 2006 - is back in action!

UPDATE: Westly spokesman Jacob Hubert said the controller had nothing to do with the site, which appears to have been started by a "misguided supporter." He confirmed that Westly is not completely insane.

Millender-McDonald's replacement

An election will be held June 26 to replace Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald, who died last Saturday night from cancer at age 68. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, then a runoff would be scheduled in a special election for Aug. 21, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced yesterday afternoon.

Millender-McDonald's congressional district is ethnically diverse and heavily Democratic - about 58% to 20% Republican - and includes Signal Hill, Carson and Compton, Rancho Dominguez, East Compton, West Compton and most of Willowbrook.

But the biggest swath is Long Beach - which means any candidate with high name recognition in that city would have a better chance. Roll Call has mentioned state Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas, ex-Assemblyman Jerome Horton, ex-Sen. Kevin Murray, and others known better outside of Long Beach. A Capitol insider also mentioned Isadore Hall on Compton City Council as a possible contender. Assemblywoman Karen Bass of Los Angeles has said she's not interested.

Here is a Long Beach-centric rundown from the Long Beach Press-Telegram:

• Councilwoman Janice Hahn of San Pedro. She can raise money - lots - and is popular in the harbor area for her stands on pollution, congestion and improving goods movement.
• Assemblyman Mervyn Dymally, D-Compton, and Carson Mayor Jim Dear. Both do well at home, but, unlike Hahn, they are unlikely to have much appeal in Long Beach. (Dymally says he's not interested and won't run.)
• We would give the edge to someone like state Sen. Alan Lowenthal, D-Long Beach (pictured), who has a habit of winning every race he enters.
• Speaking of Lowenthals, Alan's former wife, 1st District City Councilwoman Bonnie Lowenthal, and daughter-in-law, 2nd District Councilwoman Suja Lowenthal, have been mentioned as possible congressional candidates. We wouldn't bet against any of the Lowenthals in an election, but Suja said during her campaign that she plans to serve out the remainder of former Councilman Dan Baker's term and then two full terms after that.
• We know at least one council member who is strongly thinking about a run: Val Lerch of the 9th District. He said he was approached by constituents who would like a moderate in the office. He called that "an honor."
• Then there's state Sen. Jenny Oropeza, D-Long Beach (pictured). The former Long Beach councilwoman and assemblywoman would be a strong candidate in a district that is 43 percent Hispanic. Oropeza has also raised her profile recently by introducing a strong bill that would make witness intimidation an automatic felony.
• Assemblywoman Laura Richardson, D-Long Beach, can pull in votes. But she left the Long Beach council about five minutes ago for the Sacramento, and we doubt she's ready to run for a different seat.
• There is no reason to rule out Assemblywoman Betty Karnette, D-Long Beach, who easily transitioned from one house in the Legislature to the other.
• But one Democrat can raise more money than any of the others: Mayor Bob Foster. The time to ask him is right after the Tuesday election. He is backing a slate of ballot initiatives, including one that would give him and future mayors stronger powers.

(Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP)

The national stage

Former Clinton spinner Chris Lehane lays out some nuts and bolts for this weekend's Democratic party convention in San Diego, which will feature Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, Bill Richardson, Chris Dodd, Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel. (What, no Joe Biden? Snub!)

Lehane, writing in the Majority Report, says California's new early primary will have an impact on the presidential race if "the situation is like 1992 where there was a more muddled picture coming out of the early states."

But California is important because campaigning here is the best petri dish to judge how a candidate would perform nationally. This is not Iowa, where retail face-time with voters wins elections. He writes:

"Rather, a broad based message, the ability to communicate over the tube, capacity to manage a large campaign and being able to raise oodles of money are the keys to success in a modern presidential campaign.

"Outside of a national primary, a California primary where candidates are actually competing to win on the ground in the state comes the closest to replicating a national election and, in doing so, will help the party identify that candidate with the skill set that will best translate into a national campaign."

Then Lehane takes a big jump and says the national stage bodes well for people such as Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez and Mayor Gavin Newsom: "Moving the primary up will greatly increase the chances that after a yet-to-be-determined Democrat leaves the White House in 2016, America’s 45th president will be a California Democrat."

Some people thought Gray Davis could be president, too. Also, Lehane has San Diego steakhouse recommendations.

(Photos: Chris Hondros and Brad Barket/AFP-Getty Images)

Thrown out of the tribe

The little-discussed problem of Native Americans being thrown out of their tribes - allegedly so rival members can get a bigger piece of the ever-growing gambling pie - could end up a minor dispute at the California Democratic Party convention in San Diego this weekend.

Robert Edwards, who was the vice chairman of the Enterprise Rancheria in Oroville before he was "disenrolled" in 2003, is pushing a resolution sponsored by the Fresno County Democratic committee to demand that ejected tribal members be granted their due "civil rights." Edwards and 70 others were removed from the tribe, he claims, after questioning the tribal government's handling of a fund for low-income members.

"We're all accountable to someone in this country and tribal officials hiding behind a veil of sovereignty cannot escape accountability, nor should they be rewarded in any way for victimizing their members," Edwards told the Oroville Mercury-Register.

But with tremendous wealth at stake, some tribes say people are suddenly showing up and finding their "roots" - demanding to be members of wealthy tribes despite tenuous links. The stakes are high. This week, the Morongo Band of Mission Indians launched a PR campaign with mail, TV ads and automated phone calls to 22 members of the Assembly, which is considering lucrative new contracts for five tribes. The Bee reported the media campaign could top $20 million.

One tribe that would be allowed to operate 7,500 slot machines, Pechanga, has disenrolled more than 100 of its tribal members. State Sen. Sheila Kuehl of Santa Monica, took a veiled swipe at Pechanga last week when she voted against the compacts in the Senate. Kuehl said she also could not support compacts "for tribes that aren't even sharing with all of their own members."

Given that wealthy gambling tribes are expected to bankroll events at this weekend's Democratic convention, and with all the major presidential candidates speaking, don't expect Roberts' resolution to get much attention.

Who would replace Millender-McDonald?

The cancer death Sunday of U.S. Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald, the former Assemblywoman from Carson and Compton, is likely to cause a mad dash to fill her seat. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has 14 days to scheduled a special election to fill the 37th Congressional district seat Millender-McDonald had served for more than a decade.

The heavily Democratic district seat includes a strong mix of Latino and African American voters. From the L.A. Times today:

"Since the constituency is largely based in Long Beach, an elected official from there likely would be the odds-on favorite to win the seat, said Allen Hoffenblum, a political consultant who specializes in analyzing local races.

"He cited state Sen. Jenny Oropeza (D-Long Beach) as a potentially strong candidate." Assemblywoman Laura Richardson, recently elected to her first term, and Assemblyman Mervyn Dymally, a former member of Congress, also represent parts of the district.

Millender-McDonald (shown with former L.A. Mayor James Hahn in 2002, and on her first day in Congress ten years ago) was born Sept. 7, 1938, in Birmingham, Ala. She raised five children with her husband, James McDonald, and then returned to school to earn a bachelor's degree at the University of Redlands in 1979, at age 40.

In 1982, she worked on L.A. Mayor Tom Bradley's unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign and pitched in on several local races in Carson. Ten years later, she ran for the state Assembly, defeating two prominent Democrats in the primary and winning the general election.

"She was a champion for the consumer and fought injustice wherever she saw it," said California Democratic Party Chairman Art Torres, who served with her in the Legislature. "She always valued public service and served her state and nation with grace and honor."

(Photo: Rene Macura/AP; Mark Wilson/AP)

Cancer sidelines Calif. congresswoman

Los Angeles-area congresswoman Juanita Millender-McDonald has been granted a leave of absence from her congressional duties to undergo medical treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer, Roll Call reports this morning.

"I am very much saddened by the recent news of Juanita’s illness," House Administration ranking member Vernon Ehlers (R-Mich.) said in a statement Tuesday, before the news of her illness became public. "She has been a dear friend and a well-respected colleague for a number of years, especially during the time we have spent working closely together on this committee."

As of last week, Millender-McDonald had missed more than 40 votes in the 110th Congress, giving her one of the largest absentee rates among all House members, Roll Call said, adding: "In May 2005 Millender-McDonald underwent what her office would only describe as a 'major surgery,' but the Congresswoman never has disclosed the ailment that necessitated the procedure. She was away from Capitol Hill for almost a month at that time."

Millender-McDonald's son, Keith McDonald, who has been serving a 41-month prison term for federal corruption charges, last year was let out of prison by a federal judge to be with his mother. He cited "the continuing illness of his wife and mother." But during those incidents, Roll Call says, Millender-McDonald either shrugged off or strenuously denied any suggestion that she might be in ill health.

UPDATE: Conservative blogger and former cancer patient Jon Fleischman, a vice chairman of the California GOP, offers prayers.

(Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP)

Personnel notes

Multi-millionaire Steve Westly, the former state controller who couldn't beat Democrat Phil Angelides in the Democratic primary last year, is looking for some help.

From the Morning Report: "Steve Westly, former State Controller seeks Policy Advisor/Press Secretary, Bay Area. Competitive salary. Work with press, conduct policy research, write copy, organize events. Must have relevant experience. Contact Jacob Hubert, 415-387-1612, jacobhubert@gmail.com."

Democrat Phil Angelides, who won the primary but lost to Schwarzenegger, also has a political office and staff, in Sacramento. There are no losers anymore.

The $200,004 public servant

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger isn't the only California elected official handing out plump raises to staff members. Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez is paying his chief of staff, Danny Eaton, a record-breaking $200,004 a year. (That extra $4 just seems gratuitous!) Brian Joseph, watchdogs it:

"Eaton is the only legislative staffer making more than $200,000 a year. His $200,004 salary is more than any legislator's ($113,098 to $130,062), the attorney general's ($175,525) and roughly $6,500 below the governor's ($206,500, except that multi-millionaire Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger doesn't take it). Eaton, I found, also is the only personal staffer to a lawmaker who has his own state car, a benefit typically reserved for lawmakers themselves. Eaton, 56, drives a $40,000, 2006 Toyota Highlander, paid for entirely by taxpayers." [Emphasis added.]

Eaton, the chief of staff to the author of landmark global warming legislation, better be driving a hybrid Toyota Highlander. But something tells me the all-powerful Eaton does whatever the heck he wants. UDPATE: It is a Highlander hybrid, his office reports.

First debate in Leno-Migden brawl

"I know that sometimes I'm in the Capitol chomping on cigars and getting things done – rather than being here." - State Sen. Carole Migden (D-San Francisco), at a forum in San Francisco last night.

Migden is facing a tough reelection challenge from Assemblyman Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) for her district, which stretches into Sonoma County. The San Francisco Young Democrats hosted the debate, which ended in an endorsement vote favoring Leno. Leno supporters say Migden has become out of touch with her liberal constituents, but Migden suggested his challenge was wasted effort: "Mark has the right to run, but is it a good idea? We should put our energy into places where we can make gains." BeyondChron.

Boost for term limits change

Attorney General Jerry Brown just gave the Democratic leadership in the Legislature a significant assist in their efforts to alter California's term limits law.

The title and summary of a proposed term limits initiative has just been released by Brown's office, and it emphasizes exactly what Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez wants California voters to hear: that the initiative would "limit" and "reduce" the terms of lawmakers. The first two sentences:

"LIMITS ON LEGISLATORS' TERMS IN OFFICE. INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT. Reduces the total amount of time a person may serve in the state legislature from 14 years to 12 years."

The title and summary does not mention that Nunez and Senate leader Don Perata would see their terms extended under the initiative, which is expected to be on the Feb. 5 presidential primary ballot. Both leaders are scheduled to leave the Legislature next year, unless voters approve the alteration of the 1990 law and allow them to stay in their current houses. The initiative campaign is being run by Nunez's political advisor, Gale Kaufman.

To be sure, voters make their decisions in the ballot box for many reasons. But the title and summary, which is produced by attorneys in Brown's office, often provides a critical guide to voters who make up their minds at the last minute. As one Democratic operative emailed Political Muscle today, the title and summary released today is "as good as it gets."

Obama, Clinton won't cross paths

The schedule for the California Democratic Party convention in San Diego this month:

Saturday, April 28, afternoon speakers

• U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd
• U.S. Sen. Barack Obama
• Rep. Dennis Kucinich
• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

Sunday, April 29, morning speakers

• Former U.S. Sen. John Edwards
• U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton
• New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson

Bass Player

Some well-known politicians in Compton and Inglewood want the state Senate seat now held by Ed Vincent, who is termed out next year. The crowded field includes Assemblyman Mervyn Dymally, former assemblymen Rod Wright and Jerome Horton. But "the most likely candidate to win the Senate 25th District seat isn't even in the race. Yet. That's one conclusion you could draw from an early, very early, poll showing that Karen Bass could steal the election from the crowded field of Democrats already in the race." Capitol Weekly.

Beatty The Septuagenarian

Warren Beatty, dabbler in California politics, turns 70 today.

Clinton Has Big Lead Among California Latino Democrats

Just a quick follow-up to the Public Policy Institute of California poll. It wasn't included in the main PPIC report, but there are data on what California Latinos think about the Democratic presidential candidates.

The polling samples were too small to draw any conclusions about "likely" Democratic voters or any Republicans by ethnicity or race. The GOP presidential primary is closed to decline-to-state voters; asking Latino Republicans how they would vote in the presidential primary wouldn't give you a large enough statistical sample.

Nevertheless, here is what all registered Democrats say about their presidential choices:

Democratic primary registered voters only	Latinos	Whites
Hillary Clinton	42%	31%
Barack Obama	14	24
John Edwards	12	18
Bill Richardson	8	6
Other candidates	8	8
Don't know	16	13

The lone Latino in the Democratic field, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, scores low among California Latinos probably because his name is "Bill Richardson"—very Anglo. Not that Latinos would vote for him just because he's the same ethnicity, but Richardson must get his name identification higher in California if he wants to go anyplace here. He's scheduled to speak next month at the state Democratic convention.

Democratic Party Chairman Won't Attend GOP Fund-raiser

Whoops.

Art Torres, the chairman of the California Democratic Party, says he will not attend a planned roast for Duf Sundheim, the former chairman of the state GOP, after discovering the private event would also raise money for the California Republican Party.

Democratic spokesman Roger Salazar said Torres agreed to appear at the Sundheim roast as a professional gesture, but he "would absolutely never attend a fund-raiser for the Republican Party."

Torres (pictured below) was unaware the reception was a $250-a-person fund-raiser until contacted by Political Muscle. "This was represented to him as a friendly roast for his former sparring partner," Salazar said, "but they never sent us the invitation."

The GOP roast for Sundheim, who stepped down this year after four years as chairman, is scheduled for April 14 at the Escondido home of Kristina and Larry Dodge. The Dodges run the American Sterling Group, a conglomerate with interests in banking, insurance, real estate and entertainment. Other roasters include former Assembly Republican leader Scott Baugh of Orange County.

Hector Barajas, GOP spokesman, confirmed the event would raise money for the Republican Party. Barajas said Torres' staff was informed the April event would be a fund-raiser--a fact that should have been otherwise obvious, he said.

"It's a roast of Duf in the home of a major donor for the California Republican Party. My understanding is this had been agreed to in December." Barajas said Torres is still welcome, if "he wants to raise money for the Republican Party."

Democratic Party Resolutions: Impeach Bush, Create Dept. Of Peace

When the California Democratic Party meets next month, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards and other high-profile presidential candidates are scheduled to dominate the weekend convention. At the same time, the Democratic party leadership faces a bombardment of resolutions submitted by liberal activists, including a demand to impeach President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.

If the resolutions are any clue, the presidential candidates can expect tough scrutiny from delegates during the three-day convention over when and how they would end the Iraq war.

Copies of the resolutions are being circulated among party members in preparation for the high-profile April 27-29 convention in San Diego, and a handful concern the "war on terror." Resolutions have been submitted demanding an immediate withdrawal from Iraq and opposing any pre-emptive attack on Iran. Another asks the state Democratic Party to support candidates opposed to email and phone surveillance, and a fourth demands the return of California National Guard troops from the "illegal and immoral occupation of Iraq."

And then:

WHEREAS, George W. Bush and Richard B. Cheney have acted in a manner contrary to their trust as President and Vice President, subversive of constitutional government to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice, and to the manifest injury of the people of California and the United States of America, by intentionally disseminating and propagating knowingly false and fabricated “evidence” regarding the threat from Iraq in order to wage an illegal war against a sovereign nation in violation of Title 18 United States Code, Section 371; and ... [Snip]

Finally, the Sonoma County Democratic Central Committee has written a resolution supporting the creation of a U.S. Department of Peace and Nonviolence. The new department would, according to the resolution, "strengthen the military with new tools of engagement for peacekeeping and peace building to help divert from armed conflict."

Party activists get pretty worked up about resolutions, even though they usually have scant impact outside the convention hall. But if approved by convention delegates on Sunday, the resolutions are considered the opinion of the entire party. Bob Mulholland, a consultant to the state Democratic Party, said perhaps a dozen resolutions could face a Sunday vote, but he suspects the convention will instead be "dominated by the 2008 presidential race."

Full text of resolutions after the jump. (Photo: Charles Dharapak / AP)

Prank Targets Perata After Democrat Lockout

A prankster in the Capitol is circulating a doctored fund-raising i