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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Lt. Gov. John Garamendi has won a special election to a Northern California congressional seat, keeping the district in Democratic hands. Garamendi's victory on Tuesday was all but certain after he won the September primary election because Democrats enjoy an 18-point registration edge over Republicans in the 10th Congressional District. He easily defeated Republican David Harmer, a 47-year-old attorney.

While press and pundits focus almost ad nauseum on what will happen Tuesday in New York's 23rd Congressional District, as well as the gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia, everyone has forgotten the battle being waged for the California congressional seat vacated by Ellen Tauscher when she resigned to become a member of President Obama's State Department. To be sure, the 10th Congressional District of the Golden State is a Democratic stronghold, especially after some recent gerrymandering. The latest poll shows Democratic candidate and current Lt. Gov. John Garamendi with a commanding 10-point lead over Republican challenger David Harmer,...

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. -- John Garamendi, California's lieutenant governor and the favorite to win one of the two open U.S. House seats Tuesday, has been well known for decades as one of Sacramento's relentless promoters of liberal issues. California Lt. Gov. John Garamendi campaigns for an open U.S. House seat Saturday outside San Francisco. Now, the man who always wanted to be governor of California vows to be a team player on the national stage if he wins a special election in a heavily Democratic district outside San Francisco. Absent a major upset, Mr. Garamendi will be sworn in to...

Lt. Gov. John Garamendi has been everything from assemblyman to insurance commissioner to former President Bill Clinton's deputy interior secretary during his 35 years in public service. If the prevailing political wisdom is correct, the 64-year-old Democratic veteran could add U.S. congressman to his résumé by Tuesday night. Garamendi is considered the clear front-runner in the race to fill the 10th Congressional District seat left vacant in June by Ellen Tauscher, who became the State Department's undersecretary for arms control and international security affairs. Democrats make up 47 percent of the district's registered voters compared with the 29 percent of...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has complained that he doesn't get to pick his own lieutenant governor, a position he thinks should be more first mate than political detractor – if it must exist at all. He could soon get his wish. If Democratic Lt. Gov. John Garamendi wins a special congressional election Tuesday in the Democrat-leaning 10th Congressional District, Schwarzenegger has the power to appoint Garamendi's replacement. The Republican governor has not tipped his hand. He has the option of choosing a caretaker who will serve out Garamendi's last year. Or he could use the appointment to reward a Republican legislator...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Lt. Gov. John Garamendi, a fixture in state and national politics for 35 years, is expected to maintain the Democratic Party's hold Tuesday on a congressional seat that stretches from the eastern San Francisco Bay area through the California delta. <snip> Garamendi's Republican opponent, David Harmer, has been campaigning against excessive government spending. It's unclear how widely that theme will resonate in a congressional district that supported Barack Obama with nearly 65 percent of the vote in last year's presidential race.

East Bay voters on Tuesday will select a new member of Congress, and determine the fate of upscale downtown development in Walnut Creek and a host of school and other measures. Slightly more than half of Contra Costa and Alameda county voters live in cities or other political districts with an election, including those in the vacant 10th congressional district, San Ramon and Walnut Creek. <snip> The highest-profile race is undeniably the runoff to replace Ellen Tauscher in the 10th congressional district. Two-thirds of the heavily Democratic district is in Contra Costa, with smaller segments in Alameda, Solano and Sacramento...

The five candidates seeking to represent the 10th Congressional District break down into a group of three on the left and two on the right as revealed in a forum at Saint Mary's College on Monday night. Ranging from political left to right are: self-described socialist Mary McIlroy from El Cerrito of the Peace and Freedom Party; Jeremy Cloward from Pleasant Hill of the Green Party; liberal Democrat John Garamendi from Walnut Grove; conservative Republican David Harmer, a San Ramon resident; and libertarian Jerry Denham from Walnut Creek, representing the American Independent Party. State Lt. Gov. Garamendi is the presumed...

A new CBS 5 poll released Thursday showed Democrat John Garamendi remained the favorite in the special election for California's 10th Congressional District seat. The poll's results also found that half of the expected votes in the race have already been cast. With five days until votes are counted, the poll conducted for CBS 5 by SurveryUSA showed Garamendi defeating Republican David Harmer by 10 percentage points.

<snip> Harmer then recognized the GOP's big image problem - that talk is cheap. "We can't talk our way out of the problems we behaved our way into." He has found a way to reflect conservative values and pragmatism. This summer Harmer told The Chronicle that he had "no interest" in motivating the GOP base and "alienating everyone else." He meant it. At the debate, Harmer actually asked his more vocal supporters in the audience, who turned out in high numbers, to refrain from making noise during the questions and answers. <snip> Instead they showcased their very different views on...

The five candidates seeking to represent the 10th Congressional District break down into a group of three on the left and two on the right as revealed in a forum at Saint Mary's College on Monday night. Ranging from political left to right are: self-described socialist Mary McIlroy from El Cerrito of the Peace and Freedom Party; Jeremy Cloward from Pleasant Hill of the Green Party; liberal Democrat John Garamendi from Walnut Grove; conservative Republican David Harmer, a San Ramon resident; and libertarian Jerry Denham from Walnut Creek, representing the American Independent Party. <snip> Garamendi joined with McIlroy and Cloward...

Despite election countdown fervor from pro-GOP David Harmer forces, the National Republican Congressional Committee does not yet view him as a “contender” in his bid against Democratic Lt. Gov. John Garamendi in the 10th congressional district special election on Tuesday. A Roll Call story today reports that the committee elevated nine candidates in its Young Guns program — its targeted candidate initiative — from “On the Radar” to “Contender.”Harmer was not among the nine selected for the second tier. No candidate has yet achieved the highest ranking of “Young Gun.” NRCC spokeswoman Joanna Burgos insists Harmer’s status does not reflect...

MORAGA -- The five candidates for the 10th Congressional District seat entered the final week of campaigning Monday night participating in a cordial debate with few surprises. The candidates -- vying Nov. 3 for the seat left open when Rep. Ellen Tauscher resigned in June to take a U.S. State Department post as undersecretary for arms control and international security -- spoke before almost 300 people in a Saint Mary's College auditorium. Although the seat has been in Democratic hands since 1996, Republican candidate David Harmer brought the largest and most vocal supporters Monday night. <snip> With a house bill...

In the other special House election this year, in California’s 10th district, Republican David Harmer and Democrat John Garamendi squared off in a debate last night. One of my readers who was there noted, “Garamendi was stiff and pasty, he was not happy that Harmer supporters were there 5-1. Harmer was smooth and in his element. Will be posted on YouTube later tonight. Good moderator.� I can’t quite come out and say Harmer’s going to pull out an upset, but it feels like the ingredients for one are starting to come together. First, it’s a special election, and so most...

The Iraq war and President Bush have faded from voters' thoughts in the year since President Obama won the White House, leaving this year's Democratic candidates to justify $787 billion in stimulus spending despite lingering high unemployment and pushing a health care overhaul amid widespread voter skepticism. <snip> From California to New York, dominant themes are health care, Social Security, the weak housing market and misgivings about Wall Street bailouts. But for the first time in years, several polls show voters trust Republicans more than Democrats to better address the problems of the day. California Lt. Gov. John Garamendi, a...

Forum with David Harmer and John Garamendi Monday, October 26 7:00pm (Please arrive by 6:15pm) Soda Center, St. Mary's College, Moraga (map) We are asking all of our friends and supporters to join us tonight, October 26th at St. Mary's College for the only forum between David Harmer and John Garamendi for the election. We need to pack the house with supporters as we contrast our values of fiscal discipline and personal responsibility against the tax-and-spend agenda of John Garamendi. A strong showing at the forum will further energize the campaign as we count down to victory on November 3rd....

Remember the old saying, "Once burned, twice shy"? It's supposed to mean that when one has a bad experience, one should be more cautious in similarly dangerous circumstances. California got burned in the early 1990s when Leon Black, fresh off a career with the scandal- tainted Drexel Burnham Lambert junk bond shop, set up his own investment firm and persuaded the state's new insurance commissioner, John Garamendi, to seize a supposedly insolvent Executive Life. Executive Life had a fat portfolio of junk bonds that Black had helped assemble, and Garamendi allowed him to broker a deal with some French buyers...

The New Jersey and Virginia governor's races aren't the only contests in which Democrats are feeling pressure from the growing unpopularity of President Obama's policies. A GOP upset may also be in the making in a California House special election on November 3. Democratic Lt. Governor John Garamendi and Republican attorney David Harmer are battling for the Bay Area congressional seat vacated by Democrat Ellen Tauscher, who left to join the Obama state department. Normally a staunch Democratic seat, there is a growing chance it could swing to the GOP given the state's latest budget collapse and the 13% approval...

REPUBLICAN David Harmer knows the odds. His Democratic challenger in the 10th congressional district special election, Lt. Gov. John Garamendi, has more money and name recognition in the heavily Democratic district. <snip> "One of my heroes said, and I am paraphrasing here, that a majority has never been necessary to prevail but what it takes is an irate and tireless minority keen to set fresh fires of freedom in people's minds," Harmer said. "Whether a Republican can carry this seat depends on how badly the voters want to send a message to both parties than an explosion of (government) spending...

Obama's Stash--Part Three or How Many Zeros in a Trillion? http://www.wiseandfrugalgovernment.blogspot.com/ When Gray Davis was still governor of California--before the recall effort and the election of the Governator--he gave an interview to the media to explain why the state was in deficit. At the time, I had taken over the management of a company struggling with profitability. Reporting to my board was a chore. And then I heard the melodious voice of Gray Davis explaining away the state's problems. It's not that we spent too much money, it's that we didn't have enough revenue. Would my board fall for that?...

Ooops. A campaign mailer from 10th Congressional District candidate and Democrat Lt. Gov. John Garamendi that hit mailboxes today contained a reference to a quote from the wrong guy. The Garamendi mailer states that his Republican challenger “David Harmer supports off shoring jobs” and cites a story from the Utah’s Deseret News from April 23, 2004. Unfortunately for Garamendi’s opposition research team, the story quotes the David Harmer who was executive director of the Utah State Department of Community and Economic Development. The David Harmer who is running against Garamendi never held that job and wasn’t living in Utah at...

Lt. Gov. John Garamendi is virtually certain to survive a runoff with a token Republican opponent and extend his 35-year-long political career, which began with election to the Assembly in 1974, into the indefinite future as a congressman. Garamendi emerged atop a field of candidates for the 10th Congressional District seat that Democrat Ellen Tauscher surrendered after taking a trade job in the Obama administration. The 10th District, which covers much of the Bay Area's eastern suburbs, has an 18-percentage-point Democratic registration margin, making the Nov. 3 runoff with Republican David Harmer a cakewalk. The more uncertain aspect is whom...

It may be premature for Lt. Gov. John Garamendi to start printing new business cards, but he could be placing an order for them soon. The well-known 64-year-old lawmaker and rancher from Walnut Grove triumphed over his Democratic competitors in Tuesday's special 10th Congressional District primary. "I have represented every part of this district for the past 10-1/2 years," Garamendi said via telephone over the din of his campaign party in Walnut Creek late Tuesday. "The people of this district understood that I knew the issues that they cared about and that I could be a good and forceful representative."...

Residents of the 10th Congressional District have a rare chance next month to select a new representative. The district has been without a vote in the Capitol since June 26, when former Democratic Rep. Ellen Tauscher resigned to take a post as undersecretary for Arms Control and International Security with the U.S. State Department. Voters faced with this big decision have their work cut out for them. Drawn by the infrequent opportunity to run for an open Congressional seat, 14 candidates will compete in the Sept. 1 special primary election for either an outright win or a spot as their...

Lt. Gov. John Garamendi will drop his long-shot bid for governor today and instead announce his plan to run for Congress. Garamendi has two scheduled events, in Concord and Fairfield, to announce his run. Rep. Ellen Tauscher, the incumbent in the 10th Congressional District, has accepted a post in the Obama administration in the State Department. She still faces confirmation, but once she is confirmed her East Bay-based seat will be open in a special election. Already in the race is Sen. Mark DeSaulnier, a Concord Democrat who has the backing of both Tauscher and local Rep. George Miller. The...

Georges Marciano, a co-founder of the Guess clothing empire, is the latest person seeking to become governor of California. The one-time fashion magnate's paperwork was recorded on Monday with the secretary of state's office, allowing him to run as an independent in 2010, when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is termed out. The 62-year-old Beverly Hills resident plans to campaign on a platform that focuses on exposing and eliminating political corruption and putting "the power of government back in the people's hands," said his publicist, Rod Harrell. "He doesn't really want to be tied into the same old good-old-boys network," Harrell said....

The race to replace outgoing East Bay Democratic Rep. Ellen Tauscher could get a lot more interesting. Lt. Gov. John Garamendi - who lives in Walnut Grove, which sits on the northeast edge of the district - tells us, "Several people have asked me to run. Of course we'll check it out." . . . Perata play: Don Perata's decision to go public with his plans to run for mayor of Oakland didn't exactly come as a surprise - it did, however, instantly reshuffle the deck in that city.For starters, City Attorney John Russo, City Council President Jane Brunner and...

The California Public Employees’ Retirement System poured $1.71 billion into Apollo Management last year, more than twice as much as it gave any other private- equity manager, Bloomberg News reported. The move was a bet on Apollo chief Leon Black’s historical success in distressed investment, but, Bloomberg says, it hasn’t paid off so far. Apollo, which has posted average annual returns of more than 25 percent in the last two decades, is now struggling to right some of the tottering companies in its portfolio. One of its private equity holdings, Linens ‘n Things, filed for bankruptcy protection. Another, the real...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger formally ended months of political fighting Friday by signing a new state budget - but not before taking another shot at constitutional officers. Among $1.3 billion in vetoes, Schwarzenegger sliced budgets of the attorney general, controller, treasurer, secretary of state and Board of Equalization by 10 percent to compensate for savings that would have occurred from furloughing employees. Schwarzenegger chopped even more from the budget of Lt. Gov. John Garamendi, a potential gubernatorial candidate in 2010, slicing his budget by two thirds - from $2.78 million to $1.04 million, saying he did so "to ensure that sufficient...

(snip) President Obama is in a desperate race to revive the American economy. The proposed budget is not coordinated with the federal stimulus package. In fact the budget is in direct conflict with much of the federal stimulus bill and will dampen and delay its effectiveness. Federal money intended to strengthen schools simply replaces money that this budget cuts from the very same schools. Federal money that is intended to provide health care for low income Californians replaces money that this budget removes. Federal money that will support public transportation replaces money that is cut from the California budget. And...

(CNN) -- A lawyer who served in the Clinton administration and more recently was an adviser to California's lieutenant governor pleaded guilty to a child porn charge in a San Diego federal court Monday. Wade Rowland Sanders admitted to having 600 images of minors on his computer, including a video depicting "several prepubescent females engaged in sexual conduct with an adult male and performing oral sex on one another," according to a statement from U.S. Attorney Karen Hewitt. FBI agents raided Sanders' home last May after they suspected his home Internet service account was used to download several pictures and...

SAN DIEGO – A former adviser to Lt. Gov. John Garamendi and a former deputy assistant secretary of the Navy under President Clinton pleaded guilty Monday in federal court to possession of child pornography, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. Retired U.S. Navy Capt. Wade Rowland Sanders, 67, an attorney, entered the plea before U.S. District Judge Thomas J. Whelan, U.S. Attorney Karen P. Hewitt said in a written statement released Monday night. According to court records, Sanders admitted that on or about May 2, he possessed a computer and computer media that he knew contained more than 600 images of...

Former South Bay lawmaker considers run at governorship SACRAMENTO - Former South Bay Republican congressman Tom Campbell - a fiscal conservative, social moderate and respected academic who twice before unsuccessfully sought statewide office, is eyeing a possible run in 2010 to replace Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Campbell, 55, filed papers last week to form an "exploratory committee" for governor, which allows him to begin raising money for a potential bid. He joins two other GOP moderates from Silicon Valley - state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner and former eBay chief Meg Whitman - among Republicans who have expressed interest in running. On...

Nothing like a disaster to bring politicians together - or turn them into punching bags.Lt. Gov. John Garamendi, never one to shy away from the cameras, was told by his advisers to keep his eyes open when he arrived in Southern California for last week's wildfires, and if he saw a shot to take it.And that's just what Garamendi did upon learning that President Bush was winging it out to San Diego to tour the fire damage Thursday."It's public relations," Garamendi said on MSNBC's "Hardball with Chris Matthews." "We'll be polite. But frankly that's not the solution. How about sending...

A few months ago, the smart money was that Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa would be the likely Democratic candidate for governor in 2010 and probably would become the first Latino governor in more than a century. That, however, was before he admitted to having an affair with a local television anchorwoman -- an admission that may lead to a very messy divorce case. Infidelity per se may no longer be a barrier to higher office, but the situation has generated some sharp criticism of Villaraigosa's judgment -- enough that his gubernatorial ascension is no longer the semi-sure thing it...

Was it a slip of the today when an audience member at a luncheon speech today featuring newly elected Lt. Governor John Garamendi began his question of the official with, "Governor ..." It may have had something to do with the fact that earlier that morning, former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown regaled the Contra Costa Council with a list of Democrats eying the governorship in four years. And yes, Garamendi's name came up. "Garamendi's looking at it," Brown said, during a lively, hour-long panel discussion about the state of California and national politics. Garamendi and Brown were guests at...

MOKELUMNE HILL - John Garamendi, who on Nov. 15 had his first official meeting since Election Day with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, has invited the governor to hang out in a chummier fashion at his Mother Lode ranch to ride horses. That is because the incoming lieutenant governor would like to have the kind of relationship with Schwarzenegger in which he could be a significant player in the making of health care, education and environmental policy. To be a lieutenant governor with that influence would be unprecedented. The job The lieutenant governor has numerous duties: • The lieutenant governor is president...

LOS ANGELES - Democrat John Garamendi won a close race for lieutenant governor, as Republicans faltered in their efforts to win statewide offices and gain power in Sacramento. Garamendi, who currently serves as insurance commissioner, edged out conservative Republican state Sen. Tom McClintock, an anti-tax ideologue, in Tuesday's election. Democrats also won races for California attorney general, treasurer and controller. "The conclusion to be drawn here is that California is still a true progressive state even though it has a nominally Republican governor," Garamendi said. With 93 percent of precincts reporting, Democratic state Sen. Debra Bowen had a slim lead...

Welcome to the live thread for the California Primary Election. Polls are open until 8pm tonight. If you are a registered voter, it is your duty to vote and defend your rights and civil liberties, protect your pocketbook, and vote the bums out where applicable. Feel free to discuss issues key to your local area that others may be interested in. Post your polling place experiences if you like. And post numbers as they come in later tonight.

With the race for lieutenant governor in the balance, Democrat John Garamendi is spending the campaign's final weekend arguing that he's a bigger supporter of Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger than his GOP opponent, state Sen. Tom McClintock. A press release Friday listed 11 issues where the insurance commissioner supports the governor and McClintock disagrees, including Schwarzenegger's backing for an increase in the minimum wage, new controls on global warming, stem cell research and all but two of the governor's five bond measures. (snip) McClintock's willingness to say exactly what he thinks, along with his ability to talk clearly about financial...

STOCKTON - The Delta's own John Garamendi is in a statistical dead heat against Republican Tom McClintock in the race for lieutenant governor, according to the last Field Poll before Tuesday's election. Garamendi, who lives in Walnut Grove and who represented San Joaquin County in the Legislature before he became the state's insurance commissioner, holds a 44 percent to 43 percent lead over McClintock, a state senator from Thousand Oaks. Several other Republicans are faring well in the poll, which creates a potential paradox on Election Day: In a year national Democrats are expected to win big, Republicans could capture...

These guys should be running for governor: Democratic Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi and Republican state Sen. Tom McClintock. They'd make the race a lot more interesting — less predictable, much closer, more focused, offering a clearer choice of views and visions. (snip) These candidates are interesting in themselves — both knowledgeable, thoughtful, experienced policy wonks. As insurance commissioner, Garamendi helped write workers' compensation reform, has forced down homeowners' premiums and decreed that auto rates should be based on driving records, not where a motorist resides. McClintock, a longtime conservative legislator from Thousand Oaks, was the crusader who deserves the most...

Despite conservative views, McClintock in dead heat with Democratic opponent Garamendi SACRAMENTO - Californians could be on the cusp of electing the state's most conservative lieutenant governor in nearly 30 years -- a candidate who is firmly to the right of most of the state on issues such as abortion, the environment and government spending. State Sen. Tom McClintock, arguably the most popular conservative in the state, is running neck and neck in his race with Democrat John Garamendi, the term-limited state insurance commissioner. Although considered by many to be a powerless post, the lieutenant governor does become the state's...

  Latest Polling: McClintock Up 4   by Brandon Powers - Los Angeles County 10-27-2006 5:00 pm The results of Public Opinion Strategies’ latest tracking poll is in, and it has Lt. Governor nominee Tom McClintock up 4-points.The survey, conducted over the last few nights with a sample of 800, has Tom up 39-35 with 15% undecided.Further, of those who’ve already voted, Tom’s up even bigger: 43-35.And despite attacks against him, Tom’s overall image rating remains in the neighborhood of 3:1, with his negatives still in the teens.Last, of those left undecided, Tom’s image rating stands higher than Garamendi’s.Going down...

Providence Publications Endorses Tom McClintock With only 14 days until the election it as appears as though the end of the elected John Garamendi may be at hand. While the industry gets ready to cheer his exit from the stage the danger still exists that he'll become Lt. Governor. As many readers know this publisher is a life long Republican who spent 10 months volunteering as Chief Insurance Advisor to Garamendi during his last campaign. I got to know Garamendi well and to like him as a person. He is extraordinarily bright, and some of my favorite memories are the...

On Monday, California's lieutenant governor candidates, Democrat John Garamendi and Republican Tom McClintock, debated before the San Francisco Chronicle's Editorial board at the CBS 5 studios in San Francisco.

A new state auditor's report concludes that Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi recovered $1.1 billion in litigation over the failed Executive Life Insurance Co. but it fails to address hotly contested questions over whether he achieved the best results for policyholders. In 1991, during Garamendi's first stint as insurance commissioner, he seized control of Executive Life to protect its 330,000 policyholders because of heavy losses in the company's multibillion-dollar junk bond portfolio. His handling of the matter has been assailed in a blitz of television commercials by the Republican Party and his opponent in the race for lieutenant governor, state Sen....

LOS ANGELES California's Department of Insurance has recovered roughly $988 million, after legal costs, for Executive Life policyholders and guaranty associations since taking over the failed insurance company in 1991, according to a state report released Thursday. In the report, state Auditor Elaine Howle looked at how state insurance officials have managed funds recouped through litigation finalized last year. The department has received more than $1.1 billion from litigation, while racking up $165 million in legal costs, according to the report. The review could not ascertain how much of the money has been distributed to policyholders or the guaranty associations,...

Two veteran politicians say they would try to use office to drive policy debates -- About the only thing the two candidates for California's lieutenant governor agree on is that they don't agree on very much. Republican state Sen. Tom McClintock's views "are so extreme and so out of step on issues like climate change, Social Security and abortion that there's no doubt my views are much more consistent with those of most Californians,'' said Democratic Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi. "California voters have had a bellyful of politicians like John Garamendi whose only answer to the state's problems is to...

IN A STATE FILLED WITH OBSCURE elected official positions, none is more pointless than lieutenant governor. Officially president of the state Senate, he rarely shows up in the chamber and can't even cast a vote except to break a tie. His primary task under the 1879 state Constitution is to be in charge when the governor is out of state — presumably because it would take too long for the governor to get telegraphed notice of an emergency and return by stagecoach. --snip-- As the state's first elected insurance commissioner, Garamendi was a fearless and capable enforcer of Proposition 103,...