Free Republic

Most of former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's 11th-hour appointments came as no surprise: Friends, allies and administration workers were rewarded – sometimes well rewarded – in a ritual that has become a tradition for outgoing governors. But one appointment stood out. Former state Sen. Carole Migden, a liberal San Francisco Democrat, was named to the state Agricultural Labor Relations Board, the nation’s first state agency created to protect and regulate the collective bargaining rights of farm workers. The ALRB was signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown, then in his first term, legislation that was supported by the late United Farm...

In a final flurry of appointments before leaving office, outgoing Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Sunday handed out paid jobs on state commissions to three former state senators and some staff members in the Governor's Office. Former Republican Sen. Roy Ashburn of Bakersfield and former Senate Republican Leader Dennis Hollings-worth of Murietta each won $128,109-a-year posts on the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board. Former Sen. Carole Migden, a San Francisco Democrat, landed a $128,109-a-year job on the Agriculture Labor Relations Board. Schwarzenegger also named his cabinet secretary, Scott Reid, to a $50,000-a-year job on the State Compensation Insurance Fund board. Schwarzenegger's...

Carole Migden with another misunderstood public figure We got a tip from a reliable source that Carole Migden is making an offer on a home in Potrero Hill -- which, not so coincidentally, is in supervisorial District 10. It has been long speculated that Migden, who lost her state senate seat to Mark Leno last year, plans to run for the D-10 supe slot next year. We sent an e-mail to her aide-for-life, Michael Colbruno, and ran the info by him. We're still waiting to hear back. Speaking of Colbruno, a PAC he's treasurer for recently gave $100,000 to Migden's...

Reckless driving case could cause ripples throughout California party politicsCalifornia taxpayers may be getting IOUs in the mail, but at least one Californian was quick to receive an actual check from the state -- the victim of former State Senator Carole Migden's wild ride in May of 2007. Migden was reportedly spotted driving erratically and at high speeds on I-80 before hitting another car. She was reportedly chatting on her cell phone, heavily medicated due to a medical condition, and generated numerous 911 calls by concerned drivers during the 30 mile trip. State lawyers agreed to settle with the other...

One of the reasons the state agreed to shell out $335,000 to settle a lawsuit over Carole Migden's infamous wild ride and rear-ender was that the then-state senator crashed while on state business. In this case, however, the "state business" that Migden was on her way to conduct May 18, 2007, was a meeting with former state Assemblyman Joe Nation - who says the topic was the possibility of him endorsing Migden's re-election bid."I was scheduled to meet her at Bogie's Cafe in San Rafael that morning," Nation recalled. When he got there, he said, "Carole's scheduler called to say...

SACRAMENTO -- The state will pay $335,000 to settle a lawsuit stemming from a crash involving former state Sen. Carole Migden. Supervising Deputy Attorney General Steven Gevercer said Monday that state officials have agreed to pay the sum to 33-year-old Ellen Butawan of Vallejo. Butawan sued Migden and the state after suffering minor injuries when Migden rear-ended her in May 2007 along Interstate 80 corridor in Solano County. Witnesses reported Migden talking on the phone and driving wildly in her state-owned SUV before the crash.

The state will pay $335,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by a woman former state Sen. Carole Migden rear-ended after a wild 30-mile drive in Solano County, attorneys in the case said Monday. Several motorists called 911 after seeing the San Francisco Democrat weaving in and out of traffic on Interstate 80 and Highway 12 on May 18, 2007, in her state-issued Toyota Highlander hybrid sport utility vehicle. At one point, Migden sideswiped a guardrail on I-80 near American Canyon Road. "She's been on the phone and reading a book, doing about 80 miles per hour," one driver said in...

SACRAMENTO -- The state will pay $335,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by a woman former state Sen. Carole Migden rear-ended after a wild 30-mile drive in Solano County, attorneys in the case said Monday. Several motorists called 911 after seeing the San Francisco Democrat weaving in and out of traffic on Interstate 80 and Highway 12 on May 18, 2007, in her state-issued Toyota Highland hybrid sport utility vehicle. At one point, Migden sideswiped a guardrail on I-80 near American Canyon Road. "She's been on the phone and reading a book, doing about 80 miles per hour," one driver...

Former state Sen. Carole V. Migden has been released from her court-ordered probation nearly three months ahead of schedule.Migden asked for the early release and the court agreed . . . She rear-ended another motorist on Highway 12 in May 2007 after several motorists called law enforcement dispatchers to report Migden's erratic driving.Migden initially said she had been distracted while talking on a cell phone. . . . Migden now earns $132,000 a year on the Integrated Waste Management Board.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger officially named San Francisco Democrat Carole Migden to a high-paying seat on the state's waste board on Friday. The job pays $132,178 per year. The first was ex-Assemblyman John Laird. Then came former Sen. Sheila Kuehl. All three are Democrats. All three also happened to be members of the LGBT caucus. A couple years back, she pressed the vote button of an Assembly Republican for her own legislation. Earlier this year, she paid a state record $350,000 fine for campaign finance violations. She pleaded no contest to misdemeanor reckless driving after a 30-mile drive in her state-owned...

For termed-out and defeated legislators or former high-ranking gubernatorial staffers in search of a soft landing, there is none softer than the California Integrated Waste Management Board. Appointees to the six-member board take home $132,000 a year, plus expenses and a car allowance. That's not bad for what amounts to four all-day meetings a month. Some them work hard between meetings; others don't. The waste board reeks of the government's stale status quo, a potent symbol of lawmakers who are out of touch. Even as California slips further into fiscal chaos, legislators and friends of the governor continue to enjoy...

Early in her career in Sacramento, Carole Migden was a rising politician. As an assemblywoman more than a decade ago, her name came up in conversations about who would be the next speaker of the Assembly. The San Francisco Democrat chaired key committees as a member of the Assembly and later the Senate, and her bills to provide benefits for domestic partners, save old growth forests and force makers of cosmetics to disclose chemicals were signed into law.But personal and political missteps hurt Migden's reputation, including her rambling, bumper car-like drive down Interstate 80 last year and her casting of...

The long tradition of political appointees landing high-paid slots on California's waste board continued Tuesday. Two termed-out Democratic state lawmakers – Assemblyman John Laird of Santa Cruz and Sen. Sheila Kuehl of Santa Monica – were appointed to posts on the Integrated Waste Management Board, courtesy of the Democratic legislative leaders. The jobs pay $132,178 a year. Both new recycling board commissioners will replace other well-connected members. Laird will replace Cheryl Peace, the wife of a former state legislator. Kuehl will replace former Democratic Sen. Wes Chesbro. Government watchdogs have criticized the board for its high proportion of highly paid...

It looks like Sen. Carole Migden will likely land on California's high-paying waste commission, after all. After Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata appointed Sen. Sheila Kuehl to a spot on the $132,178 commission on Tuesday, Capitol Alert has learned that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is expected to name the fiery San Francisco Democrat to the final vacancy on the recycling panel. It is one of the most plum appointments in state government. On Tuesday, California's two Democratic leaders appointed two of their termed-out colleagues - Kuehl, D-Santa Monica, and Assemblyman John Laird, D-Santa Cruz - to the board. There remains...

Termed-out Sen. Sheila Kuehl has landed a high-paying job on California's waste board, securing the $132,178 per year job despite a previous report that Sen. Carole Migden would land the gig. Kuehl, who has chaired the Senate's Natural Resources and Health Committees during her tenure in the upper house, is leaving the state Senate after eight years and was appointed to the spot on the Integrated Waste Management Board by outgoing Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata. Earlier in the day, Assembly Speaker Karen Bass named Assemblyman John Laird to a spot on the waste board, which has been a...

State Sen. Carole Migden and California's political watchdog agency have settled their lawsuits against each other. The litigation was initiated in Sacramento federal court with a lot of huffing and puffing but bowed out with a whimper. Under terms filed Wednesday, Migden, a volatile San Francisco Democrat, will pay the Fair Political Practices Commission $40,000 to resolve allegations she violated a host of campaign finance regulations. Contrast that to the agency's countersuit, filed three weeks after Migden sued the FPPC for preventing her in this year's campaign from spending money she raised before being elected to the Senate. The FPPC...

State Senate officials told Sen. Carole Migden's Capitol staff to go home for the week Thursday after the combustible San Francisco Democrat was overheard berating them. Enedina Hidalgo, the director of personnel for the state Senate, was in the hallway when she heard Migden screaming at the staff, according to a witness to the event. The source said Hidalgo later entered the office while the senator was not present on Thursday, informing the staff of their rights. Soon after, Hidalgo returned to Migden's office with Tony Beard Jr., the chief sergeant-at-arms of the state Senate. They told staff members to...

Sen. Carole Migden's Capitol staff was sent home on Thursday afternoon and told not to report to work on Friday, after the San Francisco Democrat was heard berating them from the hallway. Enedina Hidalgo, the director of personnel for the state Senate, overheard Migden screaming, according to a witness to the event. The source said she entered the office while the senator was not present on Thursday, informing the staff of their rights. Soon after, Hidalgo returned to Migden's office with Tony Beard Jr., the chief sergeant-at-arms of the state Senate. They told the staff to pack up their belongings...

San Francisco Assemblyman Mark Leno used an overwhelming showing in his home city Tuesday to beat former San Rafael Assemblyman Joe Nation and incumbent state Sen. Carole Migden in the Democratic primary for her three-county state Senate seat. With 81 percent of the precincts reporting, Leno had 43 percent of the vote, Nation 29 percent and Migden 28 percent. Leno beat Nation by about 25,000 votes in San Francisco and held Nation's margin of victory in his home base of Marin County to fewer than 3,000 votes. Although Leno still has to face Republican Sashi McEntee of Mill Valley in...

San Rafael, Calif. (AP) -- A state senator with Carole Migden's resume would normally cruise to re-election in the liberal San Francisco Bay area. But a wild ride on Interstate 80, a record fine for campaign finance violations and challenges from well-known members of her own party have made the San Francisco Democrat the most vulnerable incumbent on California's June 3 primary election ballot. "You have all the elements that create probably the most interesting race in the state right here in San Francisco, Marin and Sonoma counties," said Al Pross, a coeditor of the California Target Book, which analyzes...