[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Mayor Heather Fargo said again yesterday that she refuses to speak out against the independent expenditure campaigns by one of her major supporters against rival candidate Kevin Johnson -- and it looks like at least some in the Sacramento media are calling her on the carpet. (Note to the Sacramento Bee -- this is what happens when you ask tough questions of both major candidates in the race instead of waging a jihad against one of them.)

In this extended interview with KCRA-TV, Fargo makes it clear she has no intention of telling the local Plumbers Union to drop their $100,000 independent campaign against Kevin Johnson. Civic leaders and community groups have blasted the campaign as racist. But Fargo, who is benefiting from the campaign, has refused to call off the dogs or express her displeasure.

There's more...

by David Dayen [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

Now Doug Ose is alleging illegal coordination between Tom McClintock and a 501(c)(4) group headed by poster boy for Republican losers in the state:

A California-based group and other local officials filed a Federal Election Commission (FEC) complaint Monday regarding the alleged ties between an ex-aide to Rep. Richard Pombo (R-Calif.) and state Sen. Tom McClintock (R).

McClintock and former Rep. Doug Ose (R-Calif.) are in a bitter primary battle to face off against Democrat Charlie Brown this fall for retiring Rep. John Doolittle's (R-Calif.) seat.

At issue is the role of Steve Ding - an ex-McClintock consultant and former chief of staff for Pombo - and The Partnership for America, a 501(c)4 advocacy group headed by Pombo.

McClatchy recently reported that Pombo's group is organizing a $660,000 independent campaign in the 4th congressional district.

Whoever comes out of the primary is going to be tainted by multiple smears, and flat broke.  McClintock and Ose are both willing to risk that because they think the 4th District is automatically Republican, and they're underestimating the strength of Charlie Brown.

At their peril.

You can read on for McClintock's ties to Pombo and various Indian gaming groups.

by jra [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

Cross-posted at votehope2008.org

The mainstream media has discovered Vote Hope, and it seems like they can't quite get their heads around it.

While we are thankful for the publicity (any press is good press as long as they get the url right!), it's clear that it's going to be a little difficult for some people to grasp an independent campaign that isn't designed to ruthlessly smear someone. News stories published in two places today, both the L.A. Times and MSNBC's "First Read", are focusing on the past history of negative independent campaigns, rather than on the reality of what Vote Hope is trying to do in California.

by Julia Rosen [courtesy of Working Californians blogs]

The first major independent campaign for the 2008 presidential primary in California has just been launched. Called Vote Hope, the group explicitly has laid out it's goal of "banking" 500,000 early votes for Barack Obama in California. From their official launch blog post:

Vote Hope, which officially launches today, is led by a network of activists for social justice in California who want to ensure that the voices of diverse Californians are heard during this critical part of the democratic process.

We are inspired by Barack Obama’s life experience, his vision for the country, and his calls for people to self-organize in a new wave of political participation. We are heeding that call and building something ourselves that will be value-added in California — starting now.

They are completely upfront about their organizing strategy, which is heavily focused on grassroots organizing, using data files.