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Former California Governor Gray Davis was recalled more than a year and a half ago, but his legacy as the “pay to play” governor continues to haunt the state’s taxpayers and business community. Davis was well-known as a prodigious fundraiser, regularly accepting campaign contributions from groups directly affected by pending legislation – and then conveniently coming down on the side of the contributing interest at the time when his influence was most needed. Many of Davis’ most egregious “pay to play” deals involved the state’s powerful labor unions, such as the time a $260,000 contribution was made to Davis’s campaign...

's not nice to kick a guy when he's down, but I'm thinking he can handle it. Arnold Schwarzenegger is falling apart like a Terminator made from Tinkertoys. About a year ago, flibbertigibbets and voluptuaries in Washington and California were convinced that Arnold could somehow intimidate the entire political process into revoking that pesky amendment that bars the foreign born from running for president (though I suppose it doesn't bar them from running, just serving). Now Schwarzenegger is doing worse in the polls than that vaguely remembered political skid mark of the Schwarzenegger juggernaut, Gray Davis, was when he was...

Would you recall former California Governor Gray Davis today?CLICK HERE to VOTE I think it's clear this is left-wing Democrat revisionism again, trying to say the crooked, corrupt, big-government Gray Davis was better than the Republican the recall brought into power. So, I'd vote YES - I DO support the recall still today!

Former Gov. Gray Davis now admits he was unprepared for the 2000-01 energy crisis that sent electricity bills soaring, brought rolling blackouts and ultimately helped bring an early end to his political career. Davis, recalled by voters in an unprecedented move, was replaced by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in October 2003, a year after Davis had won a second term. The former Democratic governor said he erred by buying power at inflated rates during the height of the crisis, but said he acted because he "wasn't willing to risk" sustained blackouts. "Did it turn out to be a mistake? Yes," Davis...

SAN FRANCISCO - Former Gov. Gray Davis now admits he was unprepared for the 2000-2001 energy crisis that sent electricity bills soaring, brought rolling blackouts, and ultimately helped bring an early end to his political career. Davis was recalled by voters in an unprecedented move, and replaced by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in October 2003, a year after Davis had won a second term.The former Democratic governor said he erred by buying power at inflated rates during the height of the crisis, but said he acted because he "wasn't willing to risk" sustained blackouts."Did it turn out to be a mistake?...

SAN FRANCISCO — Policy experts pondering California's future governance Friday heard two voices from the past — former Gov. Gray Davis and former Secretary of State Bill Jones — offering cautionary advice. Davis spoke on "Public Sentiment, Ethics and the Law" at the Commonwealth Club of California's reform conference, titled "If It's Broke Fix It! Making California Government Work For Californians." "All reform comes from the people of this state," Davis said, and "not all reforms work out." As an example, he cited electricity deregulation, which he called "probably the single most colossal mistake" in recent California history. "And no...

When The New York Times, “Nightline,” and CNN nominate a young blonde for sainthood ahead of the Pope, it’s time for a reality check. Especially when that blonde, Marla Ruzicka’s sole purpose is to legitimize our enemies, cause problems for U.S. troops already in harms way, and morally equivocate dead terrorists with victims of 9/11. Jane Fonda lite—but unfortunately without having been spat upon by right-thinking veterans. The recent death of Ruzicka, an American “activist” in Iraq, elicited an orgy of gush—everywhere from Time Magazine to The Guardian of London to Al-Jazeera. A 28-year-old San Franciscan, Ruzicka was in Iraq...

Powerex, a wholly owned subsidiary of B.C. Hydro in Canada, expressed outrage last week over California Attorney General Lockyer's latest lawsuit seeking US$850 million in refunds from Powerex for power deliveries that kept California's lights on during the 2000/2001 power crisis. “It is frankly the height of bad faith for California to seek to welch on its contracts and demand money back, when it still owes Powerex more than $280 million for the power that was delivered during 2000/2001,” said Doug Little, vice president, Powerex. “We responded to the entreaties of the California government in their time of need, and...

Power struggle Democratic spokesman threatens legal action against reporter over tell-all book Bill Forman Steve Maviglio had his hands full this month, disseminating the California Democratic point of view on Secretary of State Kevin Shelley’s resignation. But Maviglio, who serves as deputy chief of staff for Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez, also was dealing with a controversy of his own--albeit more privately. Off the Record, a political tell-all tome by former Dow Jones reporter Jason Leopold, opens with a less-than-flattering portrayal of Maviglio during his time as press secretary for Gray Davis. On January 27, Maviglio’s lawyer sent a letter to...

(Talon News) -- Homosexual advocates in California are hailing a new law that went into effect on January 1 that established "gay marriage" in the state. Assembly Bill 205 grants "all rights, protections, and benefits" of married couples to registered domestic partners. The new law was authored by lesbian Assembly member Jackie Goldberg (D-Los Angeles) and passed in 2003. It was supported by 66 out of 73 Democratic legislators, opposed by every Republican legislator, and signed by former Gov. Gray Davis shortly before he was recalled. A Sacramento Superior Court judge, Loren McMaster, ruled that the law should take effect...

The worst spending is often enacted under liberal Republicans. Why is this? One reason is that liberal Republicans are cut more slack than Democrats on the wobbly assumption that they are more sensible. At moments when Democrats would face stiff resistance, liberal Republicans don't. Take Arnold Schwarzenegger's successful spearheading of Proposition 71, a measure to clone embryos for science that will cost California taxpayers $3 billion dollars. Schwarzenegger had weakened the immune system of California Republicans to the point where they could accept, without too much squawking, this taxpayer-financed boondoggle for macabre scientists. What if Gray Davis had pushed Proposition...

LOS ANGELES -- Gray Davis is going back to work. The former California governor has been hired by the law firm Loeb and Loeb for his first job since being voted out of office in the October 2003 recall election and replaced by Arnold Schwarzenegger. Davis will be involved with clients across the Los Angeles-based firm's practice areas, firm co-chairman John Frankenheimer told The Associated Press Wednesday. "He'll be working with lots of lawyers in the firm on corporate matters, strategy regarding litigation and regulatory matters," he said. Frankenheimer said he expects Davis to use his existing relationships with companies...

No group has been more aggressive in promoting good corporate governance than Calpers, the giant California state pension fund. And for the past decade Calpers has more or less practiced what it preaches. Lately, however, that practice has been slipping. Calpers' recent record -- and a lack of transparency to cover its tracks -- is especially notable because of the political nature of its board of trustees. Its 13 members are almost exclusively representatives of organized labor and the Democratic Party. Six are elected by members of Calpers, four are appointed by the Governor (remember Gray Davis?) and three are...

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) The Rev. Jesse Jackson celebrated his election-themed 63rd birthday party at a swank hotel, surrounded by California Democratic leaders and celebrity activists. ``It is, at once, my 63rd birthday and it is also mobilizing friends for a 19-day countdown to the Nov. 2 election,'' he said at a news conference before Thursday's party at the Beverly Hilton hotel. Jackson, who is president of the Chicago-based Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, urged people to get out and work ``to stop the schemes of voter suppression,'' referring to allegations by federal civil rights monitors that the ballots of black Florida voters...

In mid-July, when the budget stalemate started to drag, the governor’s office announced a press conference. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appeared in the Capitol pressroom and blamed the standoff on “special interests” causing “chaos.” Schwarzenegger singled out trial lawyers for supporting the “sue your boss” law, passed during the last days of the previous administration to give workers the right to sue employers for various transgressions. He also accused labor unions of blocking an effort to let school districts contract out school services such as busing rather than stick with union contracts. “I’ve always said, 'When the special interests push me...

Sunday night, Gray Davis was at the Boston Zoo, signing autographs. Later, he went to a party and bumped into Maria Shriver, whose celebrity husband took away Davis' job nine months ago. Monday, when the Democratic convention opened and the speeches started, the former Democratic governor was seated in the front row of the California delegation, chanting and clapping like a regular guy. ``I'm having a ball,'' Davis said in the hallway of the FleetCenter, where he breezed through as people called out encouraging words, such as ``I wish you were still governor!'' It's been a long fall from grace...

Pension Heist Shows They Still Don't Get It At Capitol By Daniel Weintraub The Sacramento Bee (June 20, 2004) In the summer of 2002, after years of failed attempts to win higher pension benefits for its members, a union representing 3,200 state workers finally found the winning formula. The union showered lawmakers and Gov. Gray Davis with campaign cash - $500,000 for legislators and $500,000 for the governor - and the money did the trick. A select group of workers was promised a retirement boost of 25 percent, costing California taxpayers at least $9 million annually at a time when...

In rare procedural battle, the Senate and Assembly both shun the measure. It's a bill without a home - or more precisely, a house. Both houses of the Legislature say that a bill to roll back controversial public safety pensions for 3,200 workers belongs in the other chamber.

WASHINGTON (AP) Federal energy regulators on Monday strongly disputed California's claims that it's being improperly denied billions in refunds from the state's 2000-2001 power crisis. California Attorney General Bill Lockyer's arguments amount to ``only invective,'' the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said in filings with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. FERC spokesman Bryan Lee went further, issuing a statement labeling recent Lockyer court filings an ``attack designed to generate headlines'' and calling on the attorney general to ``stop gaming the press.'' The agency's arguments came in response to motions Lockyer submitted last month accusing FERC of...

Starring in new role: The former governor Davis hires a Hollywood agent and appears in comedic TV ads for Yahoo! search engines. Here's one for the "only in California" files: A career politician, fired as governor and replaced by an actor, has hired a Hollywood agent to manage his own budding acting career.