The Los Angeles Times, Sacramento Bee and San Francisco's KGO-TV ABC 7 all reported about the salary pay increases for the top staffers of Assembly Speaker John Perez (D-Los Angeles, District 46) and GOP Minority Leader State Assemblyman Martin Garrick (R-Solana Beach, District 74).

The pay increases were not modest, but rather hefty salary increases.

Speaker Perez's Chief of Staff Sara Ramirez salary went from $125K to $190K.

Assemblyman Garrick's Chief of Staff Michael Zimmerman salary went from $66K to $111K.

The public outcry on the pay increases has been pretty fierce up and down the state, while the economy is still stuck in low gear and California's unemployment is at staggering 12.5%.

Few weeks ago, former Assembly Speaker Karen Bass (D-Culver City, District 47) discreetly approved pay raises to her key staffers on her last day as Assembly Speaker on Friday, February 26, 2010 according to the Sacramento Bee.

Unfortunately, if I had known that Assemblyman Garrick had given his key staffers pay increases, I would have asked him serious questions at last weekend's California Republican Party Spring Convention in Santa Clara.

It still boggles my mind to think that those HUGE pay raises may seem acceptable for the top legislative staffers and expect the taxpayers to pick up the tab.

We need to remind legislators that public service is noble service with an understanding there are people who are willing to do the work with a reasonable salary!

Who won last night's first-ever debate between GOP gazillionaire gubernatorial candidates Meg Whitman and Steve Poizner?

That depends on what you think constitutes "winning."

In the conventional, debate club sense, probably Poizner. For one thing, he was more relaxed -- the result of his having participated in a number of these when Tom Campbell was still in the race. And he displayed a greater mastery of policy details and state government nuts-and-bolts than Whitman.

Where he was strongest, in my opinion, was on the subject of taxes: his consistent advocacy of "bold, broad-based tax cuts" as opposed to Whitman's more tentative, targeted approach -- and hitting Whitman for saying we "can't afford" broad-based tax cuts -- is more in tune with the conservative Republican electorate. California's economy is sick, and Whitman's prescription is comparatively weak medicine -- like administering Motrin when antibiotics are called for.

Some prominent Republicans I spoke with afterward judged Poizner the winner for basically the sames reasons mentioned above.

That said, I don't think that mattered. In this case, "winning" is defined by whether the debate changed the dynamics of the campaign. And it is Poizner, not Whitman, he needed to do that -- and I don't think he succeeded.

The last batch of polls had Poizner approximately 30 points behind Whitman, who has been bombarding the airwaves for months, whereas Poizner only ginned up his paid media campaign a few weeks ago (tomorrow's Rasmussen poll should give us some indication whether it has moved the needle).

Poizner needed to Whitman to self-destruct in the debate. She didn't.

Whitman just needed to come in and do well enough. She succeeded. She was solid, focused on a few overarching issues (as opposed to Poizner, who's plan as governor seems to be to charge every hill, simultaneosuly.)

So at the end of the evening, nothing had really changed: Whitman has been having a one-way conversation with voters via her commercials while Poizner busy complaining to the media that she wouldn't debate, won;t have press conferences, etc. Now she's way ahead in the polls as the June primary draws ever nearer, and beating him up over the airways -- while Poizner is trying to introduce himself to voters while simultaneously going negative on Whitman. In a few weeks, the airwaves are going to crowded with commercials from other statewide candidates and initiatives, making it even harder for Poizner to break through the clutter.

Poizner had a good message to deliver to voters, and the resources with which to do it. Why he allowed Whitman to have voters to herself for so long, waiting until just recently to launch his paid media campaign, is something i will never understand.

But, it does help answer a question on the minds of a lot of conservatives who aren't terribly excited about either candidate: which one will run a stronger campaign against Jerry Brown? Look at it this way: conservatives are faced with a choice between two moderate Republicans. Since philosophy isn't really the issue, the question of who is more likely to run the kind of campaign that can beat Jerry Brown acquires more importance. And so far, most would answer that question, "Meg Whitman."

Following last night's debate with Meg Whitman, Steve Poizner made a stop at the Republican Party of Orange County Central Committee to give a rah-rah to the assembled faithful. It was standard, "I'm the real conservative" stump fare.

While rumbling across the issue landscape, Poizner came to the subject of the Citizen Power Initiative, which would get the government out of the business of collecting political dues for public sector unions. He hammered at the importance of enacting CPI in order to rein in California's uber powerful government unions, and thundered he "would do whatever it takes to pass the Citizen Power Initiative!"

At that point, I wish I had yelled out, "How about getting out your check book and writing a check for $2 million to the campaign!" -- because that would certainly give the troubled qualification campaign the resources to hire an army of circulators and get it on the November ballot. Poizner can certainly afford it, and it would certainly buttress his claim to the be "real conservative" in the gubernatorial primary. Talk is cheap.

Remember Joel Pollak, the Harvard Law student who questioned a feisty Barney Frank last year? He's now a human rights lawyer and running for Congress in Illinois, and conservative media powerhouse Andrew Breitbart is hosting a fundraiser for him Wednesday in Los Angeles (yes, the page contains a typo--it's 2010 not 2009).

Pollak moved from South Africa to Skokie when he was a boy, moving back briefly to work in South African politics. His unique story can be found on his website, along with this statement on why he's running:

After being encouraged for several months by friends in the district, Joel decided to run for Congress in September 2009, after attending a town hall meeting on health care held by incumbent representative Jan Schakowsky. Joel caught paid organizers on tape as they instructed their supporters to block opposing views from being heard. The experience convinced him that the 9th district needed a new voice.

Of course, all we heard from the elite media was that town halls were attended by Astroturf activists who were manipulated by the Republican Party, but as Pollak's footage shows, they got it backwards. Breitbart picked up the story and it went national. Pollak wrote:

The HCAN video became a YouTube sensation, the "smoking gun" in the controversy over which side of the debate was "Astroturfing"--i.e. creating a false image of grass roots support. I have since discovered that the video contains clues about how the entire nationwide health care campaign was planned and executed by congressional Democrats and the White House.

But that wasn't all. Pollak also noted that his Congressional opponent's husband, Robert Creamer, authored a progressive instructional manual--while serving a prison sentence for bank fraud and tax evasion--to convince Americans to support universal health care. His plan was put into action by the Obama Administration. [continue reading]

This Press Release just came over from the Sunder Ramani Campaign for State Assembly:

BURBANK MAYOR ENDORSES RAMANI FOR ASSEMBLY
Mayor Bric Touts Ramani is One of Burbank’s Best Assets

Burbank–Sunder Ramani, candidate for the 43rd District Assembly seat, today announced the endorsement of Burbank Mayor Gary Bric. Bric owns and operates a local restaurant and has lived in the community for over 55 years.

“Burbank is my home and there is only one person running for Assembly who can lead the way to create jobs and fix the fiscal mess in Sacramento. Sunder Ramani is a small businessman who understands what it means to make a payroll and put people to work. He is by far the superior candidate running in this race and is one of Burbank’s staunchest advocates,” stated Bric.

“I have devoted myself to helping the community and working with local leaders and am humbled by the strong support from leaders in the community thus far. I am proud to have earned Mayor Bric’s endorsement,” said Ramani.

“As Burbank’s mayor, a proud parent and a small business owner, I know that Sunder Ramani is best qualified to fight for what is right and help create jobs here at home. Sunder is the kind of candidate who will put partisan politics aside and provide solutions,” said Bric.

Gary Bric was elected to the Burbank City Council in 2007, named Vice-Mayor in 2008 and Mayor in 2009. His important board work includes time on the City’s Traffic and Transportation Committee, Valley Economic Alliance, Sister City Committee, Transit Services Task Force, and the League of California Cities. Title is for identification purposes only and is not meant to imply institutional endorsements.

Sunder Ramani is a small business owner and former chairman of the Burbank Chamber of Commerce. He is a longtime community leader in Burbank and Glendale and currently serves on the boards of the Glendale Educational Foundation Advisory, Burbank Chamber of Commerce Executive Board, Burbank Community Foundation, Burbank Healthcare Foundation and Burbank Rotary. Sunder serves on the board of the National Federation of Independent Business both in Washington D.C. and Sacramento. He founded a consulting firm that focuses on business development for small business enterprises.

It's on!

At 5:30pm Pacific, Meg Whitman and Steve Poizner will step onto the stage to engage in their first live debate at Orange County's Samueli Theater at the Performing Arts Center.

Chip Hanlon, Matt Cunningham and now guest blogger, Jon Fleischman of The Flash Report, will be sharing their feedback live from the debate. Add a comment to the discussion yourself and our moderators will add your voice to the discussion.

Also, you can watch the debate for yourself on this very page; scroll down watch it live. Enjoy!

I*****NOTE: If the live stream below isn't working well in this page, try this link: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/new-majority---california-gubernatorial-debate

...and the live stream of the debate itself:

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