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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.

Field Poll link Lt. Governor (Democratic): In the contested Democratic primary for Lt. Governor, State Senator Jackie Speier has pulled ahead of State Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi and State Senator Liz Figueroa. The current poll finds Speier the choice of 30% of likely Democratic primary voters, with Garamendi at 25% and Figueroa far behind at 8%. More than one in three voters (37%) are undecided. The current findings are a reversal of voter preferences from April when Garamendi held the lead over Speier. • Attorney General (Democratic): Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown continues to hold a comfortable lead over Los Angeles...

Nebraskans like fellows who have distinguished military records, especially the kind that involve daring deeds worthy of an action figure. The Medal of Honor for service as one of the Navy’s vaunted SEAL commandos never did Bob Kerrey any harm in his successful campaigns for governor and the U.S. Senate. Shane Osborn, the political novice who drew international attention as a Navy pilot whose plane was forced down on Chinese territory, no doubt benefited from his experience Tuesday. Osborn defeated incumbent State Treasurer Ron Ross in the Republican primary. Osborn rolled up 63 percent of votes cast; Ross had 37...

or can it be kept alive.... Hillary Treasurer Grossman Admits Filing False FEC Reports Hiding Paul's $1.2 Million ContributionPeter Paul ^ | 1-4-06 | Peter Paul Posted on 01/05/2006 9:38:55 AM PST by doug from upland January 04, 2006 Hillary Treasurer Grossman Admits Filing False FEC Reports Hiding Peter Paul's $1.2 Million Contribution The FEC has formally determined that Hillary Clinton's Senate campaign treasurer, Andrew Grossman is legally responsible for the three false FEC reports that Hillary's finance director, David Rosen, was criminally charged and tried for in mid-2005. Mr. Grossman signed a "Conciliation Agreement" with the FEC on December...

SACRAMENTO — The governor and lawmakers plan to make 2006 the year of infrastructure bonds, but the state treasurer warned Tuesday that California already has $17 billion in unused bonds for projects that have been delayed by staffing shortages, bureaucratic red tape and other woes. Phil Angelides said it is "critical for the state to accelerate the delivery of the bond-funded state projects and programs that have already been approved by the Legislature and the voters but not built or completed." Aides to Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is seeking re-election, downplayed the problem, which Angelides, a Democrat running for...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - The state pension fund for teachers should sell its $24 million investment in PetroChina Co. following a massive chemical spill at one of the company's plants in northeastern China, state Treasurer Phil Angelides said Friday. Angelides said the firm was slow to respond to the Nov. 13 disaster, which contaminated the drinking water supply for nearly 4 million people. He said the company also has ties to the Sudanese government, which has been accused of human rights violations. "It is clear that PetroChina's activities demonstrate significant environmental risks, human rights violations and ethical liabilities that present too...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - A former New Mexico state treasurer entered a guilty plea Tuesday to accepting a kickback from an investment adviser while in office. Michael Montoya, 53, could get up to 12 years in prison on the extortion charge but would probably get a break for cooperating with prosecutors in their case against his successor, Robert Vigil, who is also accused of demanding kickbacks. A federal judge did not immediately decide whether to accept the plea. Montoya, who was treasurer from 1995 to 2002, acknowledged receiving $278,500 in kickbacks from Kent Nelson, who was hired to invest state money,...

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - New Mexico's indicted state treasurer resigned Wednesday shortly after lawmakers began considering whether he should be impeached. Robert Vigil's resignation came more than a month after he was arrested and charged with extortion in a federal investigation into an alleged kickback scheme involving state investments. Vigil, 52, announced his resignation, effective immediately, in a letter to Gov. Bill Richardson and Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron. "I have committed no crime, and the allegation made by the federal government are false," Vigil wrote. "I look forward to the day when a jury will hear all of...

Bill Simon, the investor and philanthropist who was the Republican nominee against Gray Davis in 2002, has sent a letter to supporters informing them that he won’t be a candidate for state treasurer next year as he had planned. In the letter, Simon cites the oft-used “personal” reasons for backing out, saying he wants to spend more time with his family. But this is one case where that might actually be true. Simon has confided in friends in recent months that the unanticipated pressures involved in caring for their developmentally disabled 17-year-old son have been all-consuming for him and his...

ALBUQUERQUE - Federal prosecutors charged New Mexico's state treasurer with 19 counts of extortion Wednesday, alleging he pocketed $265,000 in kickbacks while investing public money. Treasurer Robert Vigil had pleaded not guilty to two earlier counts of extortion in the case and maintains his innocence, attorney Sam Bregman said. He called the FBI's and U.S. attorney's evidence in support of the indictment "pathetic." "I've never been more sure of an outcome in a criminal case than I am today. And that outcome will be not guilty," Bregman said. Prosecutors also have charged former Treasurer Michael Montoya in the alleged scheme,...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - State Treasurer Phil Angelides on Monday warned against California borrowing more money to close spending gaps, even as the state faces a potential $6 billion deficit next fiscal year. In his annual report to the Legislature on the state's debt, Angelides said the cost of paying off past loans has become a significant expense. He said service on the debt will cost $3.5 billion by the 2007-2008 fiscal year, more than the state now spends supporting the University of California system. Angelides, a candidate for the Democratic nomination for governor next year, also criticized $10.9 billion in...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - The New Mexico state treasurer and his predecessor pleaded not guilty Monday to federal racketeering charges involving kickbacks of cash, cars and expensive tickets to political fundraisers. Robert Vigil and former Treasurer Michael Montoya are accused of steering state business to an investment adviser in exchange for nearly $700,000. If convicted, each faces a maximum sentence of 20 years on each of two counts. "Mr. Vigil, from day one, has attempted to clean up this office, and that's what he has done," said Vigil's attorney, Sam Bregman, who blamed the allegations on disgruntled former employees. Montoya...

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - The city's former treasurer was sentenced to 10 years in prison on corruption charges Tuesday in a federal investigation that came to light when an FBI bug was discovered in the mayor's office. Corey Kemp was found guilty in May of taking part in a scheme to trade city contracts for gifts, favors and cash. The case hinged on telephone calls, secretly recorded by the FBI over nine months, in which Kemp and Democratic fundraiser Ronald A. White talked about shaking down businessmen for contributions and other payments. The FBI also bugged Mayor John F. Street's City...

Pa. County Having Trouble With Treasurer Tue Mar 22, 8:11 PM ET Strange News - AP By JOE MANDAK, Associated Press Writer NEW CASTLE, Pa. - First, county Treasurer Gary Felasco hadn't paid his property taxes for years. Then, his county cell phone number turned up on a Web site promoting sex parties. The local newspaper conducted a sting: They called the number at "Jeannie in the Bottle" and got directions from someone named Gary to an Ohio hotel where a swingers' party was advertised. Outside, they snapped a picture of Felasco's van. A year later, Felasco is still Lawrence...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - State Treasurer Phil Angelides requested Thursday that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger turn over records of meetings with private interests regarding the California Performance Review, the 2,700-page proposal to overhaul state government. In a letter sent this week to Schwarzenegger's legal affairs secretary Peter Siggins, Angelides asked for all records of meetings between lobbyists, corporations, consultants, individuals or organizations that met with the governor or the CPR staff during the crafting of the plan. The governor's office maintains that the meetings held on the proposal were listed in the report and in 108 boxes of archived materials relating to...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - The nation's largest public pension fund will lead a drive to rein in lucrative severance packages designed by and for corporate executives and that are triggered by they mergers they engineer, officials said Friday. California Treasurer Phil Angelides and other members of the California Public Employees' Retirement System board plan to recruit other pension systems and shareholder groups nationwide to fight the recent escalation by targeting selected merger proposals for defeat next year. The initiative is the latest in a series of steps by CalPERS and the nation's third-largest pension system, the California State Teachers Retirement System,...

Term limits for the top five? The court ruling didn't apply to the governor and 4 other elected leaders, but they haven't indicated that challenging the law is in their plans. By Ilene Olson rep3@wyomingnews.com Published in the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle CHEYENNE - Since Wyoming's term-limits law for legislators was overturned, many have wondered what that could mean for the law that requires the state's top five elected officials to step down after eight years of service. In a decision last week, the Wyoming Supreme Court ruled the law limiting legislators to 12 years of service in the House of Representatives...

<p>BATON ROUGE - State Treasurer John Kennedy already has plans to introduce four pieces of legislation if he is elected to the U.S. Senate this November.</p> <p>Kennedy, one of three announced contenders to replace Sen. John Breaux, who has announced his retirement, told the Baton Rouge Press Club on Monday that he's running because "Louisiana needs an aggressive voice in Congress."</p>

As your State Treasurer, Ed Meyer Will:Restore Trust and Integrity to North Carolina's Government The corruption scandals that have plagued North Carolina government have harmed the trust once held by many citizens in their elected officials. As a Reagan Republican, Ed Meyer will bring the highest sense of trust and integrity to State government. Ed Meyer will not accept campaign contributions from the executives or employees of the companies that manage government employee pension funds for which the State Treasurer is a fiduciary. Ed Meyer will bring a high level of disclosure of Treasurer Office operations and investments to the...

<p>SACRAMENTO - State Treasurer Phil Angelides on Tuesday decried Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposed budget cuts to higher education as crippling to the very job-creating machine the Republican governor promises to rev up.</p> <p>In a two-day, six-stop tour from Chico to San Diego, the Democrat will argue that investment in higher education is critical to maintaining California's innovative edge. Angelides, a likely contender for governor in 2006, has assumed the mantle of Schwarzenegger's chief critic.</p>