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Former CA Secretary of State Bill Jones Endorses Newt Gingrich Atlanta, GA - Former California Secretary of State Bill Jones today endorsed Newt Gingrich for president, saying he has the "right knowledge and experience" to turn America around. "In these challenging economic times, we need a bold leader like Newt Gingrich who has the right knowledge and experience to get the American people back to work," said Bill Jones. "Newt's proven track record of balancing the budget and paying down the national debt is exactly the type of leadership we need in the White House. Newt is the only candidate...

A last-minute budget concession is heading to a struggling business founded by a political ally and generous campaign contributor to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Pacific Ethanol, a firm founded by state Republican Party fixture Bill Jones, would be relieved of a requirement to meet strict environmental standards by a change quietly inserted into budget legislation Wednesday. Jones is the former California secretary of state and was the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in 2006. Jones and Schwarzenegger have endorsed each other's campaigns over the years, and Jones has given nearly $70,000 to Schwarzenegger's political committees, state records show. In August, the...

Pacific EthanolPacific Ethanol Madera LLC announced it will participate in the California Ethanol Producer Incentive Program (CEPIP), which will temporarily assist the plant financially. The CEPIP works essentially like a loan, where the state government will provide financial backing during difficult economic conditions and the participating companies will pay it back when it’s determined the economy has recovered. Pacific Ethanol Madera LLC is part of Pacific Ethanol Inc., which is the leading West Coast manufacturer of ethanol — a corn-based, low-carbon fuel. “The state of California continues to lead the nation in supporting the production of low-carbon fuels,” Pacific Ethanol...

SACRAMENTO - Pacific Ethanol was still a fledgling business in 2005 when its founder, former Secretary of State Bill Jones, persuaded state officials to give him the small but exclusive fuel deal that established his company as a player in California's burgeoning alternative fuel market. Two years later, that company is an ethanol empire. And Jones is the fuel's most influential champion in the state, using his political connections and 21 years of Sacramento experience to shape policies that are dramatically boosting California's thirst for ethanol - stemming the state's dependence on gasoline, but at a cost of millions in...

The Farce About Ethanol...By State Senator Tom McClintock In response to my blog, "Ethanol Economics," Former Secretary of State Bill Jones (now Chairman of Pacific Ethanol), made five key points in his piece, "The Facts About Ethanol."  Just for fun, let's run "The Facts About Ethanol" through the old fact-checker: "Today, ethanol is about 65 cents per gallon cheaper than gasoline in the California market." That's only after taxpayers and consumers have kicked in a subsidy of $1.50 per gallon - or $7 billion a year paid into the pockets of ethanol producers to hide the staggering price of ethanol...

Some of the world's wealthiest are going green, spending their own greenbacks to protect the environment and fight global warming. In honor of the 37th annual Earth Day this Sunday, we are highlighting our picks for the 11 greenest billionaires. These moguls have made significant commitments to the environment, whether through investment in technology, commitment to earth-friendly living or simply by raising the world's environmental awareness. Among the green billionaires are high-profile folks like Microsoft (nasdaq: MSFT) co-founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen. Gates' investment firm invested $84 million in California's Pacific Ethanol (nasdaq: PEIX), which makes ethanol from corn;...

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...

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. (AP) - A Republican activist has acknowledged sending hundreds of bogus letters to the editorial pages of San Francisco Bay area newspapers over the past decade, many of which were published. Editors at the newspapers involved said Monday that they would intensify efforts to verify that letters to the editor are actually sent by the people who write them. However, technological advances have made bogus letters increasingly difficult to screen out, they said. "It's important to verify the authenticity of the letters we receive," San Francisco Chronicle Editorial Page Editor John Diaz told The Associated Press. "It's...

Ethanol — once the enemy in the state’s war on air pollution — is today’s action hero in the state’s battle to keep gasoline cheap for California motorists. Faced with a tight oil supply and rising gasoline prices, the Schwarzenegger administration has surrendered and is no longer pressing the Environmental Protection Agency to waive a federal requirement to use the corn-based alcohol as a gasoline additive. Instead, the administration is embracing ethanol, according to observers, even though a state report shows that the federal rule requiring a minimum of 5.9 percent ethanol in California gasoline increases emissions. The California Air...

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) - Former Secretary of State Bill Jones has been named chairman of the board of Pacific Ethanol, a company he founded in 2003, the company announced Thursday. Jones, a Republican, served as Pacific Ethanol's chairman until March 2004, when he stepped down to mount an unsuccessful challenge to Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer. Jones lost the Senate race to Boxer by 20 percentage points. "I am grateful to be back as chairman of Pacific Ethanol," Jones said in a statement. "I believe that California is headed toward a transportation fuel supply crisis that could make the electricity crisis...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Republicans said last year's gubernatorial recall proved the GOP could win statewide in California. But the first Republican since Arnold Schwarzenegger to try is falling flat on his face. Even though he has Schwarzenegger's endorsement, former California Secretary of State Bill Jones appears headed for a big loss in his challenge to Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer. He may end the race without raising enough money to air a single television ad. Jones' surprisingly weak challenge may undercut GOP claims that the gubernatorial recall remade California politics, analysts said. Schwarzenegger or no, the state GOP remains a struggling...

Why Barbara Boxer Would Crush Bill Jones When I first heard that Bill Jones was running with the endorsement of the CAGOP establishment, I had the same reaction as most of you probably did. I remembered his feckless support for McCain, his critical vote in raising taxes for Pete Wilson, that he is a farmer, pro-life, and seemingly a nice guy. That's it. It was enough to get me to support Kaloogian instead. Well, unfortunately, my common understandign was not the whole story. The tipping point came with Arnold Schwarzenegger's endorsement. It was curious that Arnold chose to support Bill...

Pasadena Star-News Put Bill Jones to work for us Monday, October 25, 2004 - FORMER two-term Secretary of State Bill Jones won't address problems now facing the nonpartisan office he once led. He feels criticism of his successor so close to an election might shake voters' faith in the process and keep them away from the polls. That kind of constituent concern marks Jones as the right choice to represent Californians in the U.S. Senate. Loyalty to the people of California places Jones head and shoulders above two-term incumbent Barbara Boxer, a Democratic ideologue whose adherence to the liberal...

SACRAMENTO -- U.S. Senate candidate Bill Jones on Saturday urged Secretary of State Kevin Shelley to resign after federal election officials charged he has let California fall behind in addressing new mandates. Jones, a Republican and former secretary of state, said a warning from the chairman of the nation's election oversight commission that the state could lose out on $170 million due to mismanagement was "the last straw." "He needs to look at that and recognize the crisis of confidence that's there," Jones told The Associated Press. "They're saying if you certify it or not, we don't trust you."

U.S. Senate candidate Bill Jones has been unable to come up with the $2 million he had promised to spend on his campaign, a top aide said Wednesday, dimming the chances that his cash-strapped campaign will launch a single television ad before the Nov. 2 election. Jones' senior strategist, Sean Walsh, said the campaign needs a major infusion of cash, but that Jones "has not been able to successfully liquidate his assets to put into the campaign." "Without a significant contribution from the candidate, it will be very difficult to put any meaningful advertising on television," Walsh said. Even if...

U.S. Senate candidate Bill Jones has been unable to come up with the $2 million he had promised to spend on his campaign, a top aide said Wednesday, dimming the chances that his cash-strapped campaign will launch a single television ad before the Nov. 2 election. Jones' senior strategist, Sean Walsh, said the campaign needs a major infusion of cash, but that Jones "has not been able to successfully liquidate his assets to put into the campaign." "Without a significant contribution from the candidate, it will be very difficult to put any meaningful advertising on television," Walsh said. Even if...

BEVERLY HILLS -- U.S. Senate candidate Bill Jones, who is lagging by a wide margin in the latest polls, got some campaign help Sunday from Sen. John McCain, who he endorsed over President Bush in 2000. McCain, who headlined two fund-raisers for Jones in July, stumped for his friend Sunday at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in the race against two-time Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer. McCain was flanked by members of the California Veterans Political Action Committee and the California Republican Veterans of America, which both announced their endorsements of Jones. His campaign hoped to raise about $30,000 from Sunday's dinner....

U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer was ready to put up a fight. She amassed millions of dollars for her bid for a third term and prepared to defend a voting record that is ranked among the U.S. Senate's most liberal by turning her attention heavily to homeland security issues. But the battle never came. As veteran Democratic consultant Joe Cerrell puts it, she is "just running under the right alignment of the stars." Boxer's opponent, former California Secretary of State Bill Jones, has failed to mount a serious challenge and national Republicans have all but abandoned California as a battleground.

Boxer's opponent still unable to run campaign ads on TV By Erica Werner ASSOCIATED PRESS October 16, 2004 WASHINGTON – Sen. Barbara Boxer has raised $16 million for her campaign for a third Senate term, compared with $6.2 million for Republican opponent Bill Jones, according to campaign finance reports filed yesterday. AdvertisementThe Federal Election Commission reports show Boxer, D-Calif., who has begun to spend heavily on television ads, with $1.4 million cash on hand as of Sept. 30. Jones had $838,000. Though he has been trailing in polls, Jones managed to raise more money than Boxer during the most recent...

-- Republicans Likely to Pick Up Senate Seats by John Gizzi Posted Oct 15, 2004 With two weeks to go before voters go to the polls in 34 states to choose U.S. senators, prospects are good the Republicans will make a net gain of 3 seats. Such a gain would increase their Senate majority from the current 51 to 49 (when Independent Sen. James Jeffords of Vermont is counted with the Democrats) to 54 to 46. The Republicans appear poised to pick up seats in five states where Democratic incumbents are retiring--Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina and South Carolina But...