Now that Garamendi's gone, Schwarzenegger has a decision to make

California Lt. Gov. John Garamendi was sworn in as a member of Congress today. He will represent the Bay Area's 10th Congressional District. He's a Democrat, but his rise creates an opportunity for Republicans, as we'll explain in just a bit.

Garamendi won the seat with almost 53% of the vote in a special election on Tuesday, soundly defeating Republican businessman David Harmer.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi swore Garamendi in. She said his win, along with the election Tuesday of New York Democrat Bill Owens, meant one important thing: Two more Democratic votes when the healthcare overhaul hits the floor of the House on Saturday.

Mark Silva has more on what Pelosi said over at our snappy new blog about the goings-on in Washington, D.C. Now.

Garamendi's new gig means the lieutenant governor's seat is now empty.

And that means, as our colleague in Sacramento, Shane Goldmacher, explains today, that Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger now has the power to name a replacement. Except that Schwarzenegger's choice will have to be confirmed by the Democratic-dominated Legislature -- which could set up a political showdown.

-- Kate Linthicum

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Photo: John Garamendi and his wife, Patti, celebrate his election victory Tuesday night. Credit: Associated Press.

Democrat Mayor Gavin Newsom quits bid for California governor's office

Gavin Newsom, the controversial mayor of San Francisco, abandoned his bid for the Democratic nomination to run for California governor next year, succeeding term-limited Republican incumbent Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Newsom said he made the decision with "great regret" because he "found it impossible to commit the time required to complete this effort the way it needs to -- and should be -- done." (See his full statement below.)

The harsh political reality, however, is the real reason is his campaign was getting no statewide traction or much money, despite recent campaign help[ from ex-President Clinton. Ex-governor, ex-mayor, current Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown remains the invisible 800-pound donkey in the political room. Brown hasn't even....

Clever Calif. Dem Garry South says one specific Republican would make 'a great governor'

Garry South, the ever-voluble, ever-quotable political strategist, has made a name for himself with his provocative, often outrageous statements on behalf of Democratic candidates and causes.

More than a few of his candidates have cringed -- even if they were privately pleased -- as South scorched the Republican opposition. (Most of his inflammatory, over-the-top remarks are, in truth, about as random and spontaneous as a precision-guided missile.)

Nonetheless, it was something of a surprise at a California Chamber of Commerce forum today in Napa, Calif., when South had this to say about GOP gubernatorial hopeful Tom Campbell:

"He's a great guy. He would make a great governor. You can quote me on that."

OK.

True, South probably said those nice things because he's convinced that Campbell, the pauper in the 2010 Republican gubernatorial race against big-spending Meg Whitman and Steve Poizner to succeed Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, has no chance of winning.

That, of course, remains to be seen.

Some have drawn a comparison between Campbell's circumstances and another vastly outspent dark horse candidate who improbably managed to beat a pair of free-spending millionaires: Gray Davis in 1998.

His campaign, not incidentally, was run by none other than -- oh, look! -- Garry South.

The difference, South pointed out, was Davis' support within the Democratic base, something the heretical Tom Campbell -- he of the 32-cent-a-gallon gas tax hike proposal -- seems to lack among the state's tax-hating Republican base.

What makes South's comment especially noteworthy, however, is his current role, managing the gubernatorial primary campaign of Democratic San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom.

If Campbell is such a great fellow with all that promise, why isn't South supporting his bid for governor?

"I'm a Democrat," South replied. "You need to ask?"

Jamie Fisfis, a Campbell strategist who joined South on the panel along with consultants for Poizner, Whitman and Democratic Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown, had this to say afterward: "Sounds like Garry's trying to destroy another Republican candidate he doesn't want to face in the general election."

South, it might be recalled, helped engineer the defeat of former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan in the Republican primary of the 2002 governor's race, helping ease the way for Davis' reelection. [Updated 9:40 a.m. Oct. 30: An earlier version of this post incorrectly said Riordan ran in the 2006 primary.]

-- Mark Z. Barabak

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Photo: South's office.

Arnold Schwarzenegger as you've seen him before

Now that California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has laid down the state cellphone law to his wife, Maria Shriver, he's going to be all over television this weekend reminiscing about his previous cinema life, B.S. (Before Sacramento).

In those simpler days he could more easily play the good guy, retakes were always possible, someone else worried about budget details and people voted with their purchases of movie tickets.

Tomorrow, the Encore channel is devoting most of the day to Schwarzenegger movies. In fact, nine of them in a row. Sprinkled throughout with interview excerpts of the big fellow recalling his cinematic experiences.

It does start early ("Conan the Destroyer" launches at 5:30 a.m. Pacific). So you might want to activate the futuristic TiVo.

At 7:15 comes "Red Sonja," 8:50 "Kindergarten Cop," 10:45 "Last Action Hero," 1 p.m. "Batman & Robin," 3:10 "Twins," 5 p.m. "Eraser," 7 p.m. "The Running Man" and the day terminates with you-know-what at 8:45 p.m.

Then, at 11 p.m. you can turn to your local news in the Golden State and see the same guy watching a fire, flood or signing yet another piece of much-argued legislation.

-- Andrew Malcolm 

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Photo: Gov. Schwarzenegger leaves recent partisan state budget talks.

Schwarzenegger's 'swift action' on Maria Shriver's illegal car cellphone use: Get her a driver

That's one way to stop Maria Shriver from talking on the phone while driving -- hire an escort.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vowed to take "swift action" on Wednesday after TMZ published pictures of his wife violating the California law prohibiting hand-held cellphone use while behind-the-wheel. And he did terminate the violation, in a savvy, edict-free husbandly fashion.

Today, TMZ comes up with video of Shriver riding shotgun in an SUV after leaving a bakery.

Who can argue with the solution? By putting somebody else behind the wheel, Shriver can legally gab on her phone all she wants. (Assuming the person she's talking with isn't her driver.)

It's not exactly the definitive answer for everyone with a cellphone-driving habit to hire someone to taxi them around.

We guess the rest of us will just have to buy one of those silly-looking Bluetooth headsets (which TMZ seems to imply Shriver also got) or abstain from traffic talks.

-- Mark Milian

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Video credit: TMZ

Schwarzenegger vows 'swift action' after Maria Shriver caught driving with cellphone

Uh oh! Maria Shriver better call for help.

After pictures surfaced of Shriver behind the wheel with a cellphone held up to her ear, the public turned to the celeb's husband -- who also happens to be the governor of California, a state where in-car cellphone use without a hands-free set is outlawed.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger sent a message on Twitter today, writing, "Thanks for bringing her violations to my attention, @harveylevintmz. There's going to be swift action."

So, do you suppose the Republican will ground his Democratic spouse or take away her overflow minutes?

Harvey Levin, whom Schwarzenegger addressed in his tweet, is the editor of TMZ, which posted the pictures of Shriver's naughty chat-ride.

What kind of swift action might that be? At the very least, we expect her to pay the $20 fine. Hey, when the state government is bankrupt, every dollar counts -- even if it comes from the governor's bank account. (Although, in fairness, we should note the governor has accepted no state salary since taking office.)

-- Mark Milian

Pull over to the side of the road, and click here for Twitter alerts of each Ticket item. Or follow us @latimestot. We're also on Facebook.

Photo credit: Mark Ralston / AFP/Getty Images

California GOP governor's race III -- Meg Whitman

As the nation's most populous state, California has even more voters than the new Obama White House has policy czars.

The state's politics and personalities often have been harbingers of trends, policies, tax revolts, etc. that eventually work their way across the country and draw international attention.

Over the weekend, California's Republican Party held its state convention, a prime podium for its major gubernatorial hopefuls to address party faithful and lay out their initial profile and policy declarations. Speakers included former Rep. Tom Campbell, state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner and businesswoman Meg Whitman.

They've each been raising money and endorsements for months, of course, with varying degrees of success. But since this is the de facto start to the public campaign, The Ticket decided to run the unfiltered text of the speeches given by each declared candidate and provided by their staff so that readers can get a feel for who's coming, how they choose to describe themselves at the outset and what to watch for.

We've published them here this morning about two hours apart in last-name alphabetical order. Campbell's speech text was posted earlier today. Poizner's speech text was posted earlier today.

Click here for Whitman's campaign website. 

As always, feel free to leave your civil comments at the bottom.

-- Andrew Malcolm

But first, click here for Twitter alerts on each new Ticket item. Or follow us   @latimestot

Remarks by Meg Whitman to the California Republican Party Convention, Sept. 26:

Thank you for that wonderful introduction. I’m so happy to be here today. And let me acknowledge some friends in the audience.

Earlier this week I made it official and announced my commitment to seek the Republican nomination for governor. I’m the first Republican to take that step. And I did it because our crisis....

California GOP governor's race II -- Steve Poizner

As the nation's most populous state, California has even more voters than the new Obama White House has policy czars.

The state's politics and personalities have often been harbingers of trends, policies, tax revolts, etc. that eventually work their way across the country and draw international attention.

This past weekend, California's Republican Party held its state convention, a prime podium for its major gubernatorial hopefuls to address the party faithful and lay out their initial profile and policy declarations. This included former Rep. Tom Campbell, state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner and businesswoman Meg Whitman.

They've each been raising money and endorsements for months, of course, with varying degrees of success. But because this is the de facto public campaign start, The Ticket decided to run the unfiltered speech text given by each declared candidate so readers can get a feel for who's coming, how they choose to describe themselves at the outset and what to watch for.

We'll publish them here this morning about two hours apart in last-name alphabetical order and add links to each when all are posted. Campbell's speech text was published earlier today.

Poizner's campaign website is here.

As always, feel free to leave your civil comments at the bottom.

-- Andrew Malcolm

But first, click here for Twitter alerts on each new Ticket item. Or follow us    @latimestot

Remarks by Steve Poizner to the California Republican State Convention, Sept. 26:

Thank you. Good evening.

First of all, Dennis, thank you very much for that fantastic introduction. I have to say a word or two about Sen. Hollingsworth. Now, I get to watch him closely in Sacramento. The fact is, Sen.Hollingsworth is a fantastic Republican leader and you know what? I've learned a lot by watching how tough he is.

The fact is, you don't have to compromise all the time. You don't have to give in all the time. Sen. Hollingsworth has shown that if you stand tall on Republican conservative principles, you can win.

So, this is my 10th California Republican Party convention in a row, and it's nice to see all my friends and all kinds of folks I've been working with over a long period of time. I have to....

California GOP governor's race I -- Tom Campbell

As the nation's most populous state, California has even more voters than the new Obama White House has policy czars.

The state's politics and personalities have often been harbingers of trends, policies, tax revolts, etc. that eventually work their way across the country and draw international attention.

This weekend, California's Republican Party held its state convention, a prime podium for its major gubernatorial hopefuls to address party faithful and lay out their initial profile and policy declarations. This included former Rep. Tom Campbell, state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner and businesswoman Meg Whitman.

They've each been raising money and endorsements for months, of course, with varying degrees of success. But since this is the de facto public campaign start, The Ticket decided to run the unfiltered speech text given by each declared candidate and provided by their staff so that readers can get a feel for who's coming, how they choose to describe themselves at the outset and what to watch for.

We'll publish them here this morning about two hours apart in last-name alphabetical order and add links to each when all are posted.

Campbell's campaign website is here.

As always, feel free to leave your civil Comments at the bottom.

-- Andrew Malcolm

But first, click here for Twitter alerts on each new Ticket item. Or follow us  @latimestot

Remarks by ex-Rep. Tom Campbell to the California Republican State Convention Sept. 25:

What we Republicans all share is a commitment to less government, more freedom and individual liberty. Those are the undying principles of our party and, I believe, the strong ties that unite us more strongly than any primary battle can divide us.

I’d like to take a moment to introduce myself, because there are many new members of our party present – some who weren’t even born when I attended my first....

California 2010 governor prospects Newsom, Brown, Whitman, others take to Twitter

Across the board, Twitter is looking like the fast track for organizing constituents and attracting some fundraising for California governor hopefuls.

But there's a pretty significant divide among the top candidates. Just look at these numbers.

San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom (see photo), a competitor for the Democrats' 2010 nomination, has more than 1 million followers.

California Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown, the other guy on the left, has about 829,000 followers.

But the elephants aren’t looking so good.

Meg Whitman has 3,300 followers. Steve Poizner, Calif. insurance commissioner and a potential Republican nominee, has 2,100.

And taking home the bronze medal is fellow Republican Tom Campbell with 1,400.

C’mon, Tom, 1,400? 

Unfortunately for the GOP, Twitter -- the social network that became so integral for Barack Obama to reach a connected demographic during his presidential campaign -- is becoming a major platform in the California gubernatorial race.

Newsom seems to be devoting the better half of this week to his virtual campaigning. He’s hosting a “Twitter Talk” on Tuesday at 12:45 p.m. Pacific to discuss his ideas for California.

The next day, Newsom will make a short speech in the afternoon at 140: The Twitter Conference, a series of panels discussing the social network. The Ticket will be there. Then at 6 p.m. Pacific, Newsom will ....