RIVERSIDE

Issa Repeats Warning of Soaring Nationwide Electricity Bills this Summer

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 09:26:36 -0800

In an effort to keep our readers up to speed on what our Riverside Congressional Representatives are doing I thought I would share this press release I found on Congressman Darrell Issa's website:

Issa Repeats Warning of Soaring Nationwide Electricity Bills this Summer
June 26, 2008

Washington, DC - Today, at an Oversight and Government Reform Committee Hearing focusing on alleged malfeasance at a Texas Rural Electric Co-op, Rep. Darrell Issa warned the Committee that rising natural gas prices and other energy supply factors would likely lead to much higher electric bills for consumers this summer.

"Consumers should expect significant hikes in their electricity bills this summer over what they paid a year ago due to the rising cost of natural gas on the global market and other cost factors," said Issa citing a May report by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

"While bad actors in the energy industry need to be held legally accountable for malfeasance, I remain deeply concerned that this Committee, and the Congress, aren't acting to address the nationwide rising cost of energy - why nuclear power plants aren't being built, why 'NIMBYism' has stopped wind power projects and most importantly, why we are not drilling in American waters and Alaska and utilizing our rich domestic fuel resources to lower energy costs."

In May, the FERC warned that "wholesale electric prices are likely to be considerably higher than they were a year ago," and pointed to forward market electricity price increases of 75% above last year's level in Southern California as an example of rising costs. These are prices that large electricity buyers have already been paying sellers for prearranged deliveries this summer. The FERC also noted, "Natural gas is the most influential factor affecting electric power prices, because in the summer natural gas is on the margin more often and in more places than any other fuel."

A copy of the FERC report is attached.

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Passage of Intelligence Bill Will Help Prevent Another September 11, Lewis Says

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 12:02:08 -0800

In an effort to keep our readers up to speed on what our Riverside Congressional Representatives are doing I thought I would share this press release I found on Congressman Jerry Lewis's website:

Passage of Intelligence Bill Will Help Prevent Another September 11, Lewis Says
Friday, June 20

WASHINGTON - Congressman Jerry Lewis strongly supported passage of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) renewal Friday, saying America desperately needs a fully-developed intelligence capability to prevent future terrorist attacks.

" America learned a number of things on 9/11/2001, most importantly that we need our intelligence communities to have every tool possible to protect us," said Lewis, the senior Republican member of the House Appropriations Committee. "The terrorists in the world want to destroy our way of life, and we need to know where they are and what they are planning.

"One of the most important intelligence capabilities is to be able to listen in on people who are known terrorists when they communicate with people inside the United States ," Lewis said. "This capability has been severely restricted nearly a year while Congress debated this legislation, and passage of this bill will unquestionably make us safer."

The bi-partisan compromise legislation approved Friday reinforces the ability of intelligence communities to monitor electronic information sources. It includes strong protections of civil liberties for U.S. citizens, while at the same time allowing for quick action when a need arises to monitor communications outside the country, Lewis said.

The compromise bill approved Friday:

Requires federal district courts to dismiss civil actions against those who provided assistance to the intelligence community after the September 11th attacks under certain conditions: The Attorney General must certify that the assistance came after a written request or directive showing the activity was authorized by the President and lawful. This will limit frivolous lawsuits against telecommunications companies that cooperated with investigators after the September 11 attacks, but allow courts to review the record on the matter, Lewis said.

Provides for FISA court review of future surveillance authorizations and federal district court review of civil liability determinations. For the first time, the bill also provides for federal court review of surveillance directed at U.S. persons in foreign countries, whether the surveillance is conducted in the United States or abroad, Lewis said.

Permit the initiation of new foreign surveillance without a court order when critical intelligence would be lost or not timely collected, and provides a process for federal court review of such surveillance after the fact. In less urgent circumstances, the bill provides a mechanism for court review of new intelligence collection certifications directed at foreign targets in foreign countries.

UC Riverside Medical School Update & UCR Union Employees Strike Despite Court Order

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 08:55:40 -0800

AroundTheCapitol.com had a great story yesterday about our local University of California - UC Riverside. As a UCR Highlander myself, I was really encouraged by the first part of the story that emphasized the UC systems commitment to open two new medical schools. (The other is at UC Merced) UCR's med school won't be open for four or five years, but first will go before the UC Board of Regents next week for final approval.

It will be the first medical school for the UC system in 40 years and is much needed in the rapidly growing Inland Empire. According to the San Francisco Chronicle:

"The state is expected to have a shortfall of 17,000 physicians by 2015, and the San Joaquin Valley and Inland Empire, among the fastest-growing parts of the state, have dire shortages of primary physicians and specialists...By 2011, enrollment of first-year medical students across the country is expected to be up 21 percent from the 2002 level, he [Edward Salsberg, director of the Center for Workforce Studies of the Association of American Medical Colleges] said..."

... [UCR's medical school] would focus its research on the health needs of the area, such as cardiovascular diseases, insulin-resistant diabetes and metabolic syndrome, neurodegenerative diseases, emerging infectious diseases, and health services, public health and health care access, according to the campus."

The other story is UCR related as well but the news is not as good. Apparently, the union employees at UC Riverside's student health center plan to defy a court order and go on strike for five days beginning yesterday. The unions demands for more money are, of course, more important than the safety of the patients they are supposed to care for. The judge who issued the order said, "...the threatened walkout would irreparably harm UC patients, faculty and students..."

Real classy AFL-CIO. Here is the whole Capitol Basement article:

July14, 2008
"...The University of California, which hasn't opened a medical school in more than 40 years, is preparing to open two new medical schools to help train more physicians for underserved rural and minority communities," writes the Chron's Tanya Schevitz.

"While the schools at UC Merced and UC Riverside won't be open for four or five years, they are intended to help fill a growing shortage of physicians in the state, officials say.

"In addition to planning the new schools, UC is working to add slots at its existing medical schools in San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Davis and Irvine, which now enroll about 2,540 students.

"'It is a little unusual for a university system to open two medical schools at once,' said Edward Salsberg, director of the Center for Workforce Studies of the Association of American Medical Colleges. 'But UC's decision-making has been good, looking at what areas of the state have needs.'

"California, with a rapidly growing and aging population, has less than half the national average of students enrolled in such programs, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. Meanwhile, California sends more students out of state for medical school than any other state. "

Speaking of UC and medicine, "Some union employees at UC Riverside's student health center plan to defy a court order and go on strike for five days beginning today.

"Members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees were expected to walk off their jobs today in Riverside, San Diego, Los Angeles, Irvine and other cities across the state. Combined, the union represents about 8,500 employees at five medical centers and 10 student health centers within the University of California system.

"The AFL-CIO affiliate and the UC system have been at an impasse over wage levels since April.

"The five-day walkout might affect everything from the cleaning of common areas at UC campuses to hospital food and janitorial services, union leaders said.

"Medical services provided by support staff will be handled by supervisors or non-union workers, according to a statement from the UC system.

"A judge in San Francisco said Friday the threatened walkout would irreparably harm UC patients, faculty and students, and banned the strike until the union gave adequate notice. But union leaders said that serving formal notice of the strike last Thursday fulfilled that requirement...

Riverside County ROV Says Voter Turnout Could Be As High As 80 Percent In November

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 10:05:40 -0800

According to Riverside County Assistant Registrar of Voters Doug Kinzle, Riverside voter turnout could be as high as 80 percent in November's presidential election and the county is begging for people to be poll workers (which I think is a waste of time.)

The PE's Julia Glick reported here that in the past two presidential elections, turnout in Riverside County hovered above 70 percent and was considered high. Besides adding poll workers and polling places, Inland registrars of voters are planning for voluminous mountains of extra-bulky paper ballots. They are also campaigning to boost voting by mail in order to reduce the lines at the polls.

The increased turnout will require more poll workers, but anyone reading this blog will most likely be volunteering for some local Republican campaign on Election Day and won't be able to waste their day sitting in a neighbor's garage. Kinzle acknowledges that recruitment will be difficult and that he needs more poll workers than they have ever used - about 4,000 workers at the polls in November. The county had about 2,500 poll workers in the 2004 presidential election.

And since voter turnout is so high, the county sees a need to waste some taxpayer money by sending out a refurbished tractor-trailer which enables the registrar of voters' employees to cruise the county signing up poll workers and voters. They are also starting a new initiative called Adopt-A-Poll, which encourages businesses and civic groups to claim a polling place and to agree to supply it with poll workers.

The county hopes to increase the number of workers at each polling place to as many as six, from four, for this election to keep the lines moving and needs about 800 polling places in November, up from the approximately 720 used in both the February presidential primary and the state's June primary elections, Kinzle said. The county has a few thousand potential polling places surveyed and on file to draw on for the November election, he said.

The counties pay a stipend of about $100 to poll workers, but the hours can stretch from dawn until as late as 9 and 10 at night.

I think your time would be better spent volunteering on a GOP campaign if you care about the direction of the country. Fulfill your civic duty when your jury notice comes. On Election Day, especially with such high turnout, it is time to get every last vote for our fight for freedom and opportunity.

Lively Presidential Campaign Gets Inland Registrars Of Voters Started Early

By JULIA GLICK
The Press-Enterprise

San Bernardino and Riverside counties are already recruiting poll workers and hunting for dozens more polling places in preparation for voter turnout that could be as high as 80 percent in November's presidential election.

P.E. to D.A. Pacheco: Stop the Self-Serving Rhetorical Outbursts

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 13:45:37 -0800

It's often been said that the most dangerous place on the planet is between Rod Pacheco and a television camera. The Press Enterprise calls out Pacheco on his grandstanding in this editorial.

Press Enterprise Editorial
10:00 PM PDT on Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Crime Bluster

Political posturing and half-baked threats from Riverside County's district attorney do nothing to protect public safety in Riverside -- and in fact, could disrupt the city's policing strategy and community relations. District Attorney Rod Pacheco needs to end the self-serving rhetorical outbursts and let Riverside police manage the city's law enforcement.

The district attorney erupted after revelations last month that the city police had yet to make an arrest under an anti-gang injunction, five months after a judge approved it. The district attorney and Riverside police filed the injunction against 114 East Side Riva gang members in August, with great publicity. The injunction bars gang members from a variety of activities, such as being out after 10 p.m., wearing gang apparel and associating with other gang members.

Pacheco last week threatened to intervene in Riverside to enforce the injunction, and accused the city police of doing a poor job: "Though we have deferred in the past to the local agency, we will defer no longer. I will not sit idly by while East Side Riva gang members terrorize the community."

Read the rest at the Press Enterprise, here.

Teachers Union Distorts CA Education Budget Cuts In New Radio Spot

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 08:22:17 -0800

I thought readers may enjoy this post by the PE's Shirin Parsavand about the California teachers unions deceptive new radio ad on the state budget.

In this one, a mother and child listen to a car radio news report: "California is still facing a $15 billion budget crisis with local schools facing cuts of $4.3 billion." Shirin points out that the, "Mom seems to forget entirely that she's talking to a child when she says that politicians should 'put partisanship aside and make education a real priority again.' Or maybe the kid just has very strong vocabulary skills."

Shirin also points out that their really is not a cut to the education budget. It just doesn't grow as fast as the teachers union would like. The ad ignores that schools and community colleges would get more funding under the governor's revised budget proposal for 2008-09 than last year, although the increase is slight for K-12 schools.

The radio spot also talks about teacher layoffs, but many of those teachers were called back, hundreds of them in the Inland area alone.

My Mom and wife are both teachers and they always have co-workers who get caught up in this layoff bluff. The education budget has grown by leaps and bounds every year since 1998, but we have not seen the results. Our test scores and facilities have remained stagnant while the bureaucracy and administration budget has grown and grown.

Even when we are in a $24 billion dollar budget crisis, they won't even slow their growth. This Tom McClintock article from 2005 always reminds me of what we are actually paying for vs. what our students get. In it McClintock suggests cutting the administration budget by asking if, "Maybe - as a temporary measure only - we should spend our school dollars on our schools. I realize that this is a radical departure from current practice, but desperate times require desperate measures." He goes on to describe a school with luxury commercial office space, executive washrooms, around-the-clock janitorial service, wall-to-wall carpeting, utilities and music in the elevators, new desks, associate professors from the California State University, an annual membership at a private health club with a trained and courteous staff of nutrition and fitness counselors, aerobics classes and the latest in cardiovascular training technology, an $80,000 administrator with a $40,000 secretary, $75 new books - plus an extra $5 to have the student's name engraved in gold leaf on the cover.

McClintock then asks the obvious question that the California public has not yet cared to ask. "The school I have just described is the school we're paying for. Maybe it's time to ask why it's not the school we're getting...there's an old saying that you can't fill a broken bucket by pouring more water into it. Maybe it's time to fix the bucket."

No wonder India and China are leaving us in the dust in math and science education. The bureaucracy and administration budget has to be cut so that we can get these dollars into the classroom where they belong.

Hands-Free Independence Day

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 00:01:42 -0800

We've come a long way since the time a rag tag group of Americans in Boston decided to dress up in native costume and make a bold statement over tea and taxes just over 235 years ago.

Fast forward to July 1, 2008 when California becomes one more state to regulate our use of cellphones while driving. The new hands-free law has already affected drivers on freeways throughout the State of California where the CHP has begun issuing citations upon visual confirmation of cellphone use.

Why penalize cellphone use while driving, why not...driving with a pet in your lap?

While many argue the new law is a matter of saving lives and in the best interest of the general public, there are several studies that seem to disagree with this argument. One such study that was issued by the Public Policy Institute of California determined the new hands-free law could potentially save "300 lives a year" according to the study. It is important to note that these results were based on findings from states on the east coast with existing hands-free laws in place and applies only when driving in adverse conditions such as wet or icy roads...

This law at its best will give law enforcement the opportunity to stop some obviously distracted drivers. It remains to be seen whether or not it will actually save lives in California, but at its worst it is an assault on our liberty as usual in a state plagued with nanny legislation. It also serves as a source of revenue through infractions. If they can't impose or raise taxes create a law with a fee attached well hidden in the form of a traffic violation.

Even though our nations forefathers may not have anticipated a driving, cell phones, or even California, one thing they did know was that when given the opportunity the government will try to pull the wool over the eyes of its citizens.

At least we can still text while driving.

FPPC Validates IETA Complaint Against Bogh

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 09:09:50 -0800

The FPPC has finally responded to a complaint filed against former Assemblyman and recently defeated State Senate candidate Russ Bogh on behalf of the Inland Empire Taxpayers Association (IETA) back in early April. The complaint pointed out that Bogh had opened a committee for County Supervisor which he was using to benefit his race for the 37th State Senate seat.

Often times complaints filed in the middle of close elections, end up amounting to nothing but bogus political ploys. The FPPC's finding that Bogh's Supervisor fund known as the Riverside County Leadership Fund committee, "violated Government Code Section 85201 by making three non-monetary contributions totaling $731.90 to the Russ Bogh Leadership Committee" gives voters confidence that the IETA are straight shooters.

The letter goes on to demand that Bogh, "must immediately return this money to the Riverside County Leadership Fund committee. Please provide the Enforcement Division with a copy of the canceled check within 30 days from the date of the letter." (June 10th)

The letter is a written warning from the FPPC that threatens $5,000 fines for each violation if not complied with and will be considered if any future warnings are filed against Bogh.

To me it seems sloppy on the part of the Bogh campaign team to take a negative media hit in the middle of a close Senate campaign over $732 bucks. I hope it doesn't hurt Russ for whatever the next seat he sets his eyes on. Despite his close ties with the unions, Russ Bogh has done some great work for our party on the issues of illegal immigration, transportation (forcing the Legislature to use our gasoline taxes only for traffic relief projects) and crime (authored state law permitting local governments to regulate those group homes that house convicts.)

Bogh's website says that "This summer and fall I will be actively campaigning for Senator John McCain and his bid for the presidency. I will also be doing all that I can to assist former Palm Springs Police Chief Gary Jeandron win the election in 80th Assembly District. I hope you will join me in supporting them as well."

Whatever his next step, let's hope his campaign team runs a tighter ship when it comes to campaign finance.

Firsthand Account Of Sen. McCain's Stop In Riverside Yesterday

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 19:47:23 -0800

A friend of mine sent me his account of yesterday's fundraising stop at the Riverside Convention Center for Sen. John McCain. The Senator talked about the economy and the effect on Inland homeowners and touched on the issue of energy.

He advocated for more drilling saying that America needed to "get out of our own way" when it comes to harnessing our own sources of oil. He criticized the way President Bush conducted the Iraq War but felt that Gen. Petraeus was on the right track and making progress since the surge.

McCain also told a touching story about the mother of a solider killed in Iraq. McCain said that the mother asked him to wear her son's military ID bracelet and to make sure her son didn't die in vain.

As you will see from my insider's report, McCain came off very personable and I'm told he even took photos with almost everyone who attended. Here the PE's account of the lunch, a bunch of hippies from Palm Springs that protested the moderate McCain for being too much like the President and State Senator-Elect John Benoit's take on the event. And here is the video of the event and a firsthand account from yesterday:

Riverside CA - Today I had lunch with the GOP Presidential Nominee, Senator John McCain, and yes I mean had lunch with him. Unlike many rubber chicken lunches we attend, Senator McCain sat down and ate lunch with us. Following our lunch and the introduction of a long list of local Republican elected officials from both Riverside and San Bernardino counties, we heard from McCain.

Intertwined in his witty jokes and puns he mixed in his top priorities for America, Economy, the housing market and Energy Independence, stating we must lead the world in alternate methods including nuclear power....after all the French are doing it and we love to follow them.

McCain also made the claim for the need for additional drilling in America, citing improvements in technology which improve safety.

He concluded with some remarks on the Iraq. McCain again stated that our new strategy is succeeding but it"s fragile.

The GOP Nominee then completed with saying he will always put our country first.

The cozy luncheon concluded the nominee's swing through California in which he raised 3.5 million dollars.

Sen. Hollingsworth To Hold Fundraiser For GOP Registration Efforts in RivCo

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 23:59:38 -0800

Three things every GOP Central Committee should be doing are registering republican voters, raising money and turning those Republican voters out on Election Day.

Sen. Dennis Hollingsworth is helping the Republican Party of Riverside County do two of the three.

The voter registration program of the Republican Party of Riverside County and the Lincoln Club of Southwest Riverside County are inviting interested Republicans to a reception and fundraiser honoring State Senator Dennis Hollingsworth on Thursday, June 19 5pm to 7pm at Baily's Restaurant 29699 Old Town Front Street Temecula.

Members of the Lincoln Club of Southwest Riverside County, Members of REAL Riverside and the Republican Party of Riverside County's Chairman Circle attend at no charge.

Individual tickets are $75. Space is VERY limited.

To RSVP, for questions, or for information on becoming a member of The Lincoln Club of Southwest Riverside County, REAL Riverside or The Chairman's Circle contact: Republican Party of Riverside County Vice Chairman Ken Minesinger at kenminesinger@hotmail.com.

New Riverside County YR President Elected!

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 22:59:11 -0800

Newly elected Assemblyman-elect Jeff Miller joined the RCYR's and Assemblyman John Benoit's sweep of this season's election continued. Tonight, Benoit campaign staffer Nathan Miller was elected the new President of the Riverside County Young Republicans. Nathan was a staffer with Congressman Ken Calvert before joining Team Benoit for the battle with Russ Bogh.

Nathan is also the brave soul who called out Republican Party of Riverside County Chairman Bob Richman at last month's Central Committee meeting - but I'll have a full report on that this weekend.

Nathan was supposed to have a showdown with CRP Associate Rep. and long time RCYR member Eric Linder. Linder was the current External President of the club. In a magnanimous but obviously pre-orchestrated political move, Linder nominated his opponent Nathan Miller for YR President and there was no opposing nomination. Miller wins.

The rest of the officers are Chris Mann for Internal VP, Mike Gasca for External VP, Joe Ludwig for Treasurer and Darin Schemmer for Secretary (the guy who really controls the votes for the club if you ask me.)

Before the vote the club got an update from Assemblyman-Elect Jeff Miller. Miller not only won a seat in the State Assembly last week, he was also the very first President of the RCYRs. Miller talked about his tough campaign against RSM Councilman Neil Blais and his commitment to help other GOP candidates in tough races around the state.

Also, kudos should be given to out going RCYR President Phil Breitenbucher who was a founding member with Jeff Miller, Congresswoman Mary Bono DD Marc Troast and me. Phil helped bring the club from a small group of activist to a legitimate force in Riverside Republican politics. Phil led the club through the recall, 2004 Presidential re-election and hosted the Governor during the 2005 special election. He advocated for the RCYRs in Sacramento and locally in causes for Jessica's Law, the California Border Police and the Live Within Our Means initiative. I'm sure he will still be working with the club and he can feel good about the incoming President he is handing the club off to.

Congratulations again to the new RCYR President - Nathan Miller.

Governor Arnold Visits Riverside County

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 08:45:12 -0800

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger visited Riverside yesterday. You can see the video here. He was introduced by Riverside County Supervisor John Tavaglione who promised the Governor would tell us, "a little bit about the extremely difficult budget crisis that the state has in place right now and how he intends to fix it."

Borrowing and tax increases are the answer I heard, but first the Governor went through his history as a champion to reduce spending. Arnold talked about trying to get spending limits through the legislature and through the ballot initiative process. Then he professed his love for Riverside and renewed his call for a "rainy day" fund to help stabilize the budget.

"...the reason why I'm here in Riverside, besides that I love Riverside is because Riverside has a system in place that we should have as a state, which is that when you have a problem economically you have a rainy day fund set aside. Now, you have $34 million set aside that if you run out of money, or if the revenues are not coming in the way they should, that you have some money there on the side that you can then supplement the shortfall in revenues. Well, we as a state don't have that, interestingly enough and have been fighting over that with the legislators in Sacramento year, after year, after year..."

And if this is all the Governor had to say on the budget, I'd be content. In fact, the overall tone of the speech was anti-tax and a strong push for a stable budget that had a reserve fund, but every so often the Governor would leave a crack in his no-taxes rhetoric. And in the past the Governor has always taken advantage of those cracks at budget time.

Yesterday he said stuff like:

"...So we're not only going to make cuts, we're going to make certain adjustments..."

"...Now, when it comes to raising taxes, there is the big debate. I always say everything is on the table, because I'm never going to go and say no, no, don't put this on the table. I think everything should be on the table and then we negotiate..."

"...Governor Pete Wilson was struggling with that, that one year he had the revenues, the next year there were no revenues and he had to raise taxes..."

"...Now, of course, we have to go and take the lottery. And I think the lottery is a great idea because we don't have to raise taxes, we just take the future earnings of that lottery that is underperforming now. Everyone knows that it is underperforming. So why not take something that the people have already voted for and have said, 'yes, we think we should have the lottery,' why not take that money, future earnings and use it now? So this is our idea of that whole thing."

Again, the Governor's overall tone was anti-tax and he had some great points about water, infrastructure, the economy and public pensions, but I'm afraid he won't heed his own advice below:

"...We've got to go and start becoming responsible and only spend what we really know we have rather than promising the world and just hoping eventually down the line we can go and sell bonds and then we can go and raise taxes and all of those things. Let's live within our means."

Benoit Thumps Bogh in SD37

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 00:27:57 -0800

As of midnight tonight, I am shocked to see how badly John Benoit beat Russ Bogh. The race was expensive and tough. Both sides looked to have ran good races, but the result did not show the closeness that this commentator expected.

I'm not sure if Bogh was too tough in his attacks or if John Benoit had the better resume and looked the part better.

I don't know why the margin was as big as it was, but it was big. Congratulations to Assemblyman/State Senator-Elect Benoit and his consultant/Chief of Staff Barry Nestande.

REP - State Senator 37th District
510/692 73.70%
                                Vote Count      Percent
JOHN J. BENOIT           21,922          57.92%
RUSS BOGH                11,878          31.38%
DAVID PETERS              4,052         10.70%
Total                             37,852        100.00%

I'd be interested to hear from our readers why they think this was such a blow out.

IE's in SD37 for GOP and in AD80 for Dems

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 10:58:01 -0800

The PE reported Friday that the California Dental Association (CDA) and the unions are both spending over a quarter million to support Assemblyman John Benoit and his opponent Russ Bogh respectively. In the AD80 race, it is a little scary to see Democrats in the desert so organized and well funded. Not too long ago, there was hardly an organized Democratic Party in Riverside County to speak of. But now, "There has been more than $625,000 in independent expenditures in the race -- significantly more than the four candidates' combined spending as of two weeks ago." (Click here for the Press Enterprise article).

The statewide unions representing school employees, nurses and state workers spent $560,000 to promote Coachella school board member Manuel Perez.

Cathedral Councilman Greg Pettis pointed to $21,000 in anti-Perez spending by the Desert Stonewall Democrats.

In the SD37 race:

CDA spent $360,000 to promote Benoit and oppose Bogh.

Unions spent almost $270,000 to promote Bogh and oppose Benoit.

Unions Run Ads Against Board of Supervisors

Wed, 28 May 2008 08:38:41 -0800

Occasionally, one of my Republican friends asks me why I am so anti-union. Many Republicans are hard working union members and so my buddy wanted to know why I assumed unions are pro-Democrat. First off, look at the amount of money that the unions give to Democrats nationally.

Second, and more importantly at the local level, is that they constantly want to expand government and make it more expensive. It is why they exist - to expand their membership and increase benefits for their members. And while I am in favor of getting a fair wage for a day of work, I also don't want to overspend. The unions are committed to making sure local government overspends and constantly grows. To any conservative or Republican this is the exact opposite of what you want out of government.

But to paraphrase the Gipper, here they go again.

Check out this e-mail I received from a county employee regarding expanding the local union to even temporary workers. I posted previously about the TAP program and tried to point out that without the TAP program many people would not qualify for entree level jobs or possibly would not be selected during an interview process. This program allows the County to see these employees work experience and those who perform well often are hired full time (I'm told 50 percent), at the same time it allows the employee to see if the County is a fit for them.

During this temporary trial period, the employee makes nearly the same amount in take home income, while the County saves money in benefits and wages.

But what do the Supervisors get in return for their fiscal responsibility? E-mail blasts and radio ads run against them. Here is the email and link to the ads:

Hear It First: Riverside County Is Changing

"Greg Hagans" 5/20/2008 11:52 AM >>
Dear <>,

As an SEIU 721 member, I wanted to let you know about something our union is doing to grow stronger.

I and other members of SEIU 721 decided to air a new 60-second radio ad about what Riverside County's elected leaders are doing with your tax dollars. The ad hits airwaves today, and we want you to have advance access it.

As you may have heard, the County of Riverside has refused, for the past two months, to recognize the decision of more than 1,000 employees in the Temporary Assignment Program (TAP) to form a union. The script for the radio ad reads in part: "While Board members take home six-figure salaries, benefits and perks, they pay the County temps poverty wages, with no sick pay or health insurance, and they reject their efforts to have a voice at work."

The ad will air in heavy rotation on K-OLA (99.9 FM), one of Riverside's top-ranked stations, and it will expand to even more stations in future weeks.

Things are changing here in the Inland Empire - we can all be part of it.

Greg Hagans
Member, SEIU 721 Executive Board

P.S. - Please forward this message to your email lists and feel free to reply and let me know what you think of the ad.

The Service Employees International Union Local 721 is tens of thousands of working people united to improve services and our communities in the Inland Empire and throughout Southern California.

We are dedicated to improving the lives of workers and their families and creating a more just and humane society.

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Visit the web address below to tell your friends about this.
http://seiuaction.org/
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