It’s my last chance for a break before the general election season overtakes my every waking hour. I’m headed out for the wild blue waters and campgrounds of Northern California and the chance to get away from the blog, the phone, the email and candidates.

But it’s not an entirely politics-free trip. While I’m bobbing around a cove in the shade in Lake Shasta, I’ll have the latest books on hand authored by the two presumed U.S. presidential nominees, John McCain and Barack Obama. Maybe I’ll finish them. Maybe not!

I’ll be back July 6. Have a safe and great Fourth of July!

(Photo taken last year of me and my husband, Joe, in our Crownline ski boat at Lake Berryessa.)

Congressional GOP candidate Dean Andal emphatically denied that he was the unnamed consultant listed in a San Joaquin County civil grand jury report who received confidential closed-session information in a case involving allegations of a Brown Act violation by several members of the Delta College Board of Trustees.

The report, released earlier this week and detailed in a Tri-Valley Herald story yesterday, said the “San Joaquin Delta College Board of Trustees has wasted millions of taxpayer dollars and violated open government laws by discussing closed-session matters outside its meetings.” (Click here to read the grand jury report.)

The story said that day after a Feb. 9, 2006, “closed-session meeting (with Delta College board members), phone calls and a faxed letter indicated that one or more board members had relayed confidential information about the ‘breach of contract’ discussion to the developer and his consultant, Dean Andal.”

The grand jury report does not identify Andal by name although a college trustee who made the initial allegations had previously named Andal in Stockton Record story as the recipient of closed-session information.

Andal is, of course, a well-known consultant to PCCP Mountain House, LLC, a group led by Sacramento developer Gerry Kamilos, although he is far from the only consultant on the large project.

According to federal financial disclosure statements, Andal earned $217,589 in 2007 in consultant fees and salary from Kamilos, PCCP Mountain House and another PCCP development called Mariposa Lakes.

With respect to the grand jury investigation, the company was in discussions at the time with San Joaquin Delta College to provide the college with $14 million for infrastructure as the landowner and the college developed their respective properties in Mountain House, a master-planned community near Tracy. Mountain House and Tracy had been engaged in a well-publicized competition for the new college, which Delta College eventually agreed to build in Mountain House.

Andal said he lobbied at least one Delta College board member but said he never received any confidential, closed-session information from any elected official.

“If someone had tried to give me closed-session information, I would have stopped it,” Andal said. “I am very experienced with the requirements of the Brown Act.”

Andal called himself a staunch advocate of the Brown Act, a state law which spells out how publicly elected boards must conduct themselves in both public and closed sessions. Elected officials cannot disclose what was said in closed session and the law limits the topics under which they are permitted to hold discussions outside of the public eye.

Delta College Trustee Ted Simas, however, was quoted in a Stockton Record story of Aug. 21, 2006, saying that Andal had called him on the telephone several hours after the board concluded its Feb. 9 meeting and “had information that could have been obtained only by board members in closed session.” Simas said Andal told him that two college trustees had provided details of the closed-session negotiations to Kamilos. Andal was quoted in the same story saying that he did not remember the conversation.

Despite the conflicting accounts of this incident, watch for this issue to make its way into what will be a fierce general election campaign between Andal and incumbent Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton. Andal is known as a veritable “Boy Scout” and these allegations could call that image into question if the Democrats are able to gain sufficient traction on the issue.

Moveon.Org folks in Walnut Creek will host a bake sale Sunday as part of a nationwide “Hungry for Change” campaign kick-off event to raise bucks for presumed Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama.

If you want to put a few dollars into the Democrats’ campaign or just have a hankering for a blueberry muffin, the bake sale will take place from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. near the Walnut Creek Farmer’s Market at the corner of Locust and Giammona streets.

Read more for the full press release: Read the rest of this entry »

Special interests have poured nearly $100 million of independent expenditures into statewide campaigns races since voters adopted direct candidate contribution limits in 2001, reports the state Fair Political Practices Commission.

So-called independent expenditures have grown significantly as outside groups seek to influence the outcome of elections without worrying about those pesky contribution limits.

“The emergence of independent expenditures has thwarted the will of the people, dramatically undermined California’s campaign finance laws and doubtlessly influenced the outcome of numerous statewide and legislative elections,” the FPPC report says.

The FPPC’s report, Independent Expenditures: The Giant Gorilla in Campaign Finance, also offers details into the Top 10 groups when it comes to spending money on statewide campaigns. The list included groups advocating for former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Phil Angelides. It also includes political action committees for the California Chamber of Commerce, California Peace Officers Association, Indian tribes and other labor organizations. (This lovely gorilla picture comes from http://www.gotpetsonline.com/gorilla/gorilla-fact/gorilla-fact.html)

The $100 million does not, however, take into account the numerous independent expenditures in local races, which has become commonplace in East Bay contests and elsewhere in California has contribution limits have become more widely deployed.

Independent expenditures were made in the two Contra Costa County supervisor races, for example. Some candidates have even come to count on the influence of outside money even though they cannot, by law, coordinate or direct the expenditures of these groups.

Read more for the FPPC press release: Read the rest of this entry »

The next court date in a lawsuit challenging the disposition of the estate of the late Sen. John Nejedly has been set for Nov. 3 and in the meantime, the various parties have agreed to participate in mediation.

Nejedly’s eldest son, Contra Costa Community College Trustee John T. Nejedly, has accused his brother and sister, Contra Costa Central Sanitary District member Jim Nejedly and Contra Costa Supervisor Mary Nejedly Piepho, of conspiring to turn his elderly father against him.

But according to court documents filed in Contra Costa County Superior Court, the late senator intentionally stripped John T. of a share of the estate, which consists largely of a home on 13 wooded acres in Walnut Creek, after their relationship soured under the pressure of his son’s marital problems, drug and alcohol abuse. The senator also sought to keep the Walnut Creek property intact rather than see it subdivided.

John A. Nejedly died at age 91 on Sept. 19, 2006.

Congressional GOP candidate Dean Andal has gotten caught up in a story out of Tracy reported today by my Tri-Valley Herald colleague Mike Martinez.

According to Martinez’ story, the “San Joaquin Delta College Board of Trustees has wasted millions of taxpayer dollars and violated open government laws by discussing closed-session matters outside its meetings, charges a San Joaquin County civil grand jury report released Wednesday morning.” (Click here to read the grand jury report.)

The seven-page report found the board made decisions that have “caused serious problems” and that trustees were “ill-prepared” to handle the Measure L funds, a $250 million school bond approved by San Joaquin County voters in 2004.

Andal’s involvement came as a consultant to PCCP Mountain House, LLC, a group led by Sacramento developer Gerry Kamilos. The company was in discussions with San Joaquin Delta College to provide the college with $14 million for infrastructure as the landowner and the college developed their respective properties in Mountain House, a master-planned community near Tracy.

At a closed-session meeting held by the board on Feb. 9, 2006, Martinez wrote, “the college’s attorney and administrative team said a developer would be missing the deadline for delivery of letters of credit, resulting in a breach of contract. The board then discussed the possibility of returning to a deal.”

Martinez reports that the grand jury reported stated that the day after the “closed-session meeting (with Delta College board members), phone calls and a faxed letter indicated that one or more board members had relayed confidential information about the ‘breach of contract’ discussion to the developer and his consultant, Dean Andal, the Republican nominee for the 11th Congressional District seat in November.”

Andal was out of town and unavailable for comment, Martinez reported.

Andal is the Republican nominee in Congressional District 11 and will face incumbent Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton, in the Nov. 4 general election.

There’s a presidential campaign underway, in case you hadn’t noticed, and expressing yourself politically is just a click and a credit card away.

Here are a few commercial and candidate paraphernalia advertisements I’ve received in my in-box in the past few weeks.

Cafepress.com offers a variety of bumper stickers, banners, yard signs and T-shirts, such as “NOBAMA 08” and “So, the Dixie Chicks Were Right After All.”

The Imagineeringstore.com will sweeten up your life with a sour grape flavored lollipop wrapped in the image of Hillary Clinton.

Buy a drink in your favorite candidate’s name at www.campaigncola.com. A six-pack of bottles featuring photos of Hillary Clinton, Obama or John McCain will set you back $14.99 plus shipping.

Get a few giggles with the “Laughing Hillary Pen” at www.hillarypen.com.

Of course, the candidates would prefer you buy stuff on their web sites, where the proceeds end up in their campaign accounts rather than those with purely capitalistic motives.

McCain is selling eco-friendly — in appropriately conservative colors and styles — polo shirts, coffee cups, hats and bags at http://store.johnmccain.com.

Obama is plugging car magnets, pens and plastic water bottles that sport his name, plus a button that says, “Women for Obama,” at http://store.barackobama.com.

And yes, Clinton may be out of the running but she’s still selling her wares at www.hillarystore.com.

Consider buying a special print made just for her, a ruler with her name on it or a signature mouse pad.

Now, now, don’t dismiss the idea out of hand just because she lost. Making history isn’t cheap and Hillary has campaign debts to pay.

Aggravation of the day: Has anyone else noticed that when you go to the presidential candidates’ web sites, they make it really hard for you to reach the home page without signing up for alerts or making a donation?
It feels like on-line blackmail and it’s darned annoying.

The California Democratic Party’s executive board met a few days ago and voted on its positions on the ballot measures on or appeared headed to the Nov. 4 general election ballot: (The Democratic Party sent out a corrected list today, which is reflected below.)

YES - Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st Century.

YES - Treatment of Farm Animals. Statute.

YES - Children’s Hospital Bond Act. Grant Program. Statute.

NO - Waiting Period and Parental Notification Before Termination of Minor’s Pregnancy. Constitutional Amendment.

YES - Nonviolent Offenders. Sentencing, Parole and Rehabilitation. Statute. *

NO - Criminal Penalties and Laws. Public Safety Funding. Statute.

NO - Renewable Energy. Statute.

NO - Limit on Marriage. Constitutional Amendment.

NO - Criminal Justice System. Victims’ Rights. Parole. Constitutional Amendment and Statute. *

NEUTRAL - Bonds. Alternative Fuel Vehicles and Renewable Energy. Statute.
NO - Redistricting. Constitutional Amendment and Statute.

*NOTE: a press release sent yesterday incorrectly stated the CDP’s position on two propositions.  On the Criminal justice system, victims’ rights initiative, the correct position is NO.  And on the sentencing of violent offenders initiative, the correct position is YES.

The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors has chosen a Minnesota county manager as its new top executive.

David Twa (pictured on right) will take over the duties of County Administrative Officer when John Cullen retires in the fall. The supervisors have been interviewing top candidates for the past month.

Given California’s deep financial troubles facing public agencies, one might ask why any normal person would want this job? But then again, Contra Costa is pretty nice place to live … and it doesn’t have winter, not like a real winter in Minnesota.

Photo downloaded from the Ramsey County web site.

Read more for the full county press release issued a few minutes ago. Read the rest of this entry »

Voters will have another crack at political boundary redistricting in the November general election.

The state has certified an initiative for the Nov. 4 election sponsored by California Common Cause and supported by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and former state controller Steve Westly that would strip state legislators of the authority to draw their own district lines and turn it over to an independent commission.

It’s the 11th initiative approved for the upcoming general election ballot and another 21 are either in circulation or awaiting signature verification. (Shall we start a betting pool on how many pages the ballot statement will consume before we’re all done?)

Here’s the Secretary of State’s press release issued a few minutes ago: Read the rest of this entry »