[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

I'm really beginning to wonder how the so-called "good government" folks at Common Cause, the League of Women Voters, and AARP (and at least one Democratic gubernatorial contender) can look sleep at night after watching the daily mega-chunks of money being dumped into by big Republican donors into the Schwarzenegger redistricting ballot initiative they are supporting.
 
The latest $10,000 donor, Apria Health Care Executive Lawrence M. Higby,  was assistant to White House Chief of Staff H. R. Haldeman during the Nixon Administration. According to Wikipedia, until 2005, Higby led a group of wealthy Republicans called the New Majority PAC. The New Majority PAC is dedicated to electing more Republicans to the legislature, and is one of the biggest donors to this campaign.
 
Another $50,000 came from Robert Day. Day dumped $100,000 in donations to Schwarzenegger's "California Recovery Team" in 2007. He has also given $25,000 to the California Republican Party and another $10,000 to the LA California Republican Party.

(Hopefully LA Democrats can remind any Democratic backers of the initiative about that last one.)

There's more...

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Thank God. Sacramento's uninspiring Democratic Mayor Heather Fargo will have a race for re-election.

Former NBA star Kevin Johnson, an education reform crusader and neighborhood improvement activist, will be facing off against Fargo. Johnson is more than just a big name athlete with a fat checkbook; he's an honest, committed, and smart leader that the city desperately needs. Fargo's ho-hum leadership has made Sacramento "the little city that couldn't" -- a town with much potential but with a mayor that's more comfortable as a city council member than a leader.

Johnson has put together a talented team of Democratic backers. They include consultant David Townsend and much of the city's top tier Democraic leadership. Alex Traverso, communications director for Assemblymember Lloyd Levine, is expected to handle press duties.

Image courtesy Sacramento Bee.