Free Republic

Reporting from Sacramento — The president of the University of California and the chancellor of the California community college system have quit the California Chamber of Commerce board of directors after the group voted to endorse Republican Meg Whitman for governor. The endorsement is the latest example of the state's largest business organization increasing its political profile. Jack Scott, a former Democratic state senator from Pasadena who was appointed as community college chancellor by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, announced his resignation Friday in a letter to chamber President Allan Zaremberg after the endorsement vote. "I do not believe the board is...

With the budget passed, the water wars are back. Focus is returning to California's seemingly perennial struggle to find a solution to its water woes. On Friday, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger issued a formal drought proclamation, a move to raise awareness of the state's water shortage. Last Thursday, Sen. Dave Cogdill, a Modesto Republican, introduced a water bond bill (SB 371) after similar efforts stalled last year. Sen. Dean Florez, the No. 2 Democrat in the house, introduced a counter measure (SB 301). Even the federal government is getting involved. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack...

Sacramento -- Legislators aren't the only ones around the Capitol whose travel to distant countries is financed, in part, by companies that have interests before the state. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's foreign trade missions are paid for by the California State Protocol Foundation. Though neither the governor's office nor the foundation will disclose the group's funding sources, tax records filed by other nonprofits doing business with the foundation show that it received $75,000 from agribusiness interests and banking. The foundation is led by two of the state's most influential business groups -- the California Chamber of Commerce and the California Roundtable....

The California Chamber of Commerce, perhaps Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's closest political ally, may split with the governor over his commitment to drastically cut greenhouse-gas emissions. In an executive order signed last year, Schwarzenegger set firm targets for reducing carbon dioxide pollution beginning in 2010. At the same time, he asked the California Environmental Protection Agency to work with other government departments to develop strategies for meeting the goals. On Monday, the chamber denounced a draft report produced by the agency's "climate action team" as "not convincing" and a potential burden on the state's economy — especially proposals to levy a...

While Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is taking a duck so far on the preschool initiative on the June 6 ballot, several of his consultants and allies are not. Richard Riordan, the governor's former secretary of education, and his wife, Nancy Daly Riordan, are among Proposition 82's leading supporters. Some of the big donors to the governor's campaigns - Robert and Elizabeth Lowe and Warren Hellman - are also lending their names to the campaign to tax high earners to pay for universal preschool. On the other side, the campaign against Proposition 82 is relying on advice from some consultants who have...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is dispatching his newly appointed chief of staff to woo wealthy Republican donors for his reelection effort, injecting his most influential policy advisor into the job of collecting money for his campaign. (snip) Campaign finance experts and legislative Democrats questioned why Kennedy — the lead negotiator on major decisions in the Schwarzenegger administration — would be allowed to attend private meetings with donors when many have business before the administration. Paul S. Ryan, associate legal counsel at the Campaign Legal Center in Washington, D.C., said allowing donors access to Kennedy creates "the appearance of corruption in California....

SACRAMENTO – Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says enacting a spending control measure is "Job No. 1." But the committee charged with selecting what kind of measure should be put before voters appears deeply split. Schwarzenegger wants a spending control plan to prevent massive state budget deficits such as the one that helped drive former Gov. Gray Davis from office and to curb "autopilot" spending formulas that grow faster than tax revenue. Citizens to Save California, a business-led group aligned with the governor, has not yet decided whether to back a spending control similar to Schwarzenegger's plan or a tighter limit backed...

Citizens to Save California, a business-backed group with close ties to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, says it's committed to creating new jobs. And it's starting in India. As part of a $10 million petition drive to place the governor's proposed constitutional amendments before voters, Citizens to Save California has hired an out-of-state firm to verify signatures. That firm, in turn, is outsourcing the work to India. Rick Claussen, the group's general manager, defended the move by emphasizing that most of the money will be spent in California. "Of the total amount, maybe only a few hundred thousand will go overseas," he...