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Sixty percent of voters support a proposed overhaul California's primary system, according to a poll released Wednesday by the Public Policy Institute of California. Proposition 14, placed on the June 8 ballot by the Legislature as part of last year's budget deal, would replace the current party primaries with a system where candidates of all party affiliations run on the same primary ballot. The two candidates who receive the most votes, regardless of party, would advance to the general election. Twenty-seven percent of voters said they did not support the measure, and 13 percent are undecided. The results show a...

SNIPPET: "HOUSTON -- A Homeland Security Alert is asking Houston police and Harris County Sheriff’s deputies to keep their eyes open for a potential terrorist. The alert focuses on Mohamed Ali, a suspected member of the terrorist group Al Shabaab. It indicates he may be traveling to the U.S. through Mexico." SNIPPET: "In 2007, former Houstonian Daniel Joseph Maldonado was brought back to Houston by the U.S Attorney in the Southern District after he was captured in Somalia reportedly training with terrorist groups. “He had initially been on the frontlines of Al Shabaab, but when they realized he was an...

On the Propositions: Prop. 13. Seismic Retrofits. YES: Earthquake proofing your house shouldn’t trigger a tax increase until you’re ready to sell. Any questions? Prop. 14. Distorted Primary. NO: This was the result of the corrupt deal for the tax increase engineered by Abel Maldonado that included this measure to by-pass party primaries in a manner Maldonado believed would enhance his future election prospects. Instead of voters of each party putting their best candidate forward, this jerry-rigged system is designed to disguise the difference between the parties and force those pesky third parties off the general election ballot entirely. Prop....

Diehard Democrats certainly don't like Abel Maldonado at election time. He is a Republican with centrist sensibilities, easygoing charisma and an endearing family story that add up to crossover appeal. Within the state Capitol, however, Democrats widely appreciate his charm and willingness to work with them on tough issues that require bipartisan solutions. These were among the characteristics that prompted Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to tap Maldonado for lieutenant governor when John Garamendi left for the U.S. House of Representatives. Sacramento needs more problem solvers like Maldonado, a former mayor of Santa Maria who served 12 years in the Legislature. Maldonado...

How bad do the Democrats want to win the Senate seat vacated by newly crowned Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado?First they strung out Republican Maldo's confirmation in the Assembly to force – they thought – Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to make the special election for the Senate seat the same day as the general election in November. That, the Dems figured, would let them take advantage of the largest possible voter turnout and give them the best chance to capture the Central Coast Senate seat.But the Republican governor is still a Republican, and he called for a special election in the dead...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has called an Aug. 17 special election to fill the 15th Senate District seat vacated by Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado's appointment to that post. Schwarzenegger's move bucks both legislative Democrats and county election officials, who urged the governor to consolidate the contest with the November general election to save costs. Democrats, of course, also wanted a consolidation because they believe the higher turnout in a general election will boost their shots at picking up the seat.

Sacramento, Calif. (AP) -- Former lawmaker Abel Maldonado has been sworn in as California's lieutenant governor, becoming the only Hispanic in statewide office.

The state Senate this afternoon voted 25-7 to confirm Gov. Arnold Schwarznegger’s nomination of state Sen. Abel Maldonado, R-Santa Maria, as lieutenant governor; the governor will swear him into office tomorrow. As I’d said Friday on KQED Channel 9’s “This Week in Northern California,” don’t mistake this for an instance of politics being put aside. Democrats supported Maldonado only because they want him out of the Senate so they can try to win his 15th State Senate District seat, and only now because confirming him earlier wouldn’t have allowed the SD-15 special election to be consolidated with November’s general election,...

Maldonado gets the OK as lieutenant governor The Senate voted 25-7 this afternoon to confirm Sen. Abel Maldonado's lieutenant governor nomination, clearing the way for the embattled pick to finally fill the vacant post. (SNIP) UPDATE 2:43 p.m.: The governor's office says Maldonado will be sworn in tomorrow in Sacramento.

California hasn't had a lieutenant governor for several months, ever since Democrat John Garamendi resigned to take a seat in Congress.California has suffered no ill effects from having that vacancy. Like some other states, it could get along quite nicely without having a lieutenant governor.That should be kept in mind as the Senate votes on – and probably confirms – the nomination of Republican state Sen. Abel Maldonado as Garamendi's successor for the remainder of this year, following the Assembly's confirmation vote last week. The months-long Democratic stall on confirming Maldonado was pure politics that had nothing to do with...

DeVore Slams Backroom Deals, Only Republican To Oppose Maldonado Confirmation FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- (SACRAMENTO) – California State Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, (R-70-Irvine), today spoke out against the backroom deals involved in the effort to confirm state Senator Abel Maldonado as California’s Lieutenant Governor. He then voted against the motion to confirm Maldonado and urged other lawmakers to do the same. DeVore cited Maldonado’s vote for the higher taxes included in 2009’s Proposition 1A in exchange for an agreement by the Governor and Democrat leaders to place Proposition 14, the open primary measure that infringes upon the rights of partisan voters...

The Assembly voted 51-18 to approve GOP Sen. Abel Maldonado's lieutenant governor nomination today. The vote signals an end to a five month confirmation saga.

Ready for round two? Sen. Abel Maldonado, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's pick for the vacant lieutenant governor post, is heading back to the Assembly Rules Committee tomorrow for another confirmation hearing. The 11 a.m. hearing paves the way for the lower house to vote on the nomination as soon as Thursday's 9 a.m. floor session.

It's traditionally a job of limited power for a politician, more of a handy springboard to something grander in California politics. But this year's contest for lieutenant governor has taken on new meaning, at least among Republicans. It's become a proxy war inside the party over the kind of image the GOP should nurture to win in a state that's gone more Democratic and is more ethnically diverse than the GOP. As the June primary to nominate candidates heats up, two top GOP rival candidates personify this internal friction. Sen. Abel Maldonado of the coastal community of Santa Maria, 42,...

State Sen. Abel Maldonado, the moderate Santa Maria Republican running for lieutenant governor, opened his speech to party convention delegates Saturday afternoon by acknowledging the discomfort many of them have with him for supporting new taxes, among other votes he has taken. When he walked into the room, he said, a delegate greeted him by saying, "Hey Abel, I think you're with the wrong party." "And I looked at him, and I said, 'I'm not with the wrong party, I'm with the right party. Let me tell you why.' " Maldonado, who spoke after the room had somewhat emptied following...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger suggested Tuesday that Assembly Democrats are losing a public relations war by resisting the nomination of his choice for lieutenant governor. At a news conference, the governor read from editorials and columns published in California newspapers that called the Assembly "shameful" and "infantile" for voting Thursday against state Sen. Abel Maldonado, a Republican from Santa Maria. Schwarzenegger announced Friday he would withdraw and then resubmit Maldonado's nomination. He made it official Tuesday. "I challenge the Assembly Democrats to set aside the partisan bickering and confirm Sen. Maldonado once and for all," Schwarzenegger said. Asked why he thought...

SACRAMENTO (CBS 5 / AP) - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said he will re-nominate his failed pick for lieutenant governor rather than face a costly legal battle against the Legislature. Schwarzenegger is asking the Legislature to vote again on the nomination of Republican state Sen. Abel Maldonado of Santa Maria. He made the request in a statement Friday. The Senate approved Maldonado's nomination this week, but the Assembly rejected it.

California's 80-member Assembly on Thursday failed to confirm Sen. Abel Maldonado, the governor's nominee for lieutenant governor, on a 37-35 vote - four votes short of the required majority - but in an unexpected move, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said he will swear in the Republican legislator anyway, citing the lack of a majority vote on either side. The governor's surprise maneuver - an extraordinary move even in dysfunctional Sacramento - could lead to an expensive legal fight between the Democratically led lower house and Republican governor who appointed Maldonado, a moderate from Santa Maria (Santa Barbara County). Under state law,...

Californians are disgusted with the petty antics of the governor and the Legislature, polls tell us, and want them to balance the deficit-ridden state budget and otherwise do the public's business. However, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democratic leaders of the state Assembly are locked in a political, semantic and ultimately legal duel over something that should have taken about five minutes – confirming Republican Sen. Abel Maldonado to serve 10 months in the completely meaningless office of lieutenant governor. The state Senate confirmed Maldonado handily Thursday, but the more partisan Assembly deadlocked, with Maldonado failing to achieve a majority. And...

The state Assembly failed today to approve Sen. Abel Maldonado for the vacant lieutenant governor post, setting the stage for a possible legal fight over his confirmation. After being confirmed by the Senate this morning, Maldonado ultimately fell four votes short of 41-vote majority needed in the Assembly, where the final tally was 37-35. A rejection leaves Maldonado in his Senate seat, with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger perhaps looking for a new nominee. Maldonado has said he will run for the office this year no matter what. But the governor's office challenged the assertion that the Assembly vote counts as a...