With all the heat and light of California’s gubernatorial and senatorial campaigns, it’s almost easy to forget about the down-ticket races. But with Labor Day behind us and the general-election season now fully upon us, forgetting is no longer an option.

To that end, Republican nominee for state Treasurer Mimi Walters – the state Senator from Laguna Niguel – announced today that she’ll start airing this ad next week on cable television in the Central Valley and parts of Southern California:

As you can see, it’s all about painting Democratic incumbent Bill Lockyer of Hayward as a career politician – which, of course, he is.

You can almost forgive her that, as it would be hard if not impossible to explain in a 30-second ad what the state Treasurer – California’s chief asset manager, banker and financier – actually does. More on that, after the jump…
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Campaign finance reports are due today, and incumbent Secretary of State Debra Bowen filed her report saying she raised more than $60,000 and spent more than $12,600 from May 23 through June 30, leaving her with more than $113,000 cash on hand at mid-year. She’s lagging behind Republican nominee for Secretary of State Damon Dunn, a former NFL player turned businessman, who reported raising more than $126,500 and spending more than $81,000 during this period, leaving him with cash on hand of almost $176,600.

In other statewide races, state Treasurer Bill Lockyer’s re-election committee reported having a mammoth $8.52 million cash on hand as of June 30, even after having spent more than a million in the first half of this year (including almost $258,000 from May 23 through June 30); that spending includes the more than $676,000 his committee has given to his wife’s campaign as she seeks a seat on the Alameda County Board of Supervisors. Meanwhile, Republican nominee for state Treasurer Mimi Walters, the state Senator from Laguna Niguel, reported raising $36,455 and spending $26,505.42 from May 23 through June 30, leaving her with cash on hand of almost $350,000.

Incumbent state Controller John Chiang’s re-election campaign reported raising $125,000 and spending more than $31,000 from May 23 to June 30, leaving almost $1.28 million cash on hand at midyear. Republican state Controller nominee Tony Strickland, the state Senator from Moorpark, reported raising $173,000 and spending almost $38,000 during this period, leaving him with almost $309,000 cash on hand as of June 30.

Still awaiting full readouts on the races for attorney general, lieutenant governor and insurance commissioner…

The Legislature really dropped the ball with its version of the gas-tax-swap deal, state Treasurer Bill Lockyer told Alameda County officials today, and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was right to promise a veto.

Lockyer addressed the county Board of Supervisors Budget Workgroup, with attendees including supervisors Keith Carson, Alice Lai-Bitker and Gail Steele; County Administrator Susan Muranishi; and dozens of county department heads and staffers, local nonprofit officials and other stakeholders.

Schwarzenegger’s version of the gas-tax-swap deal would’ve saved a lot of money, but the changes and compromises it underwent while wending its way through the Legislature reduced the General Fund savings to a fraction of what they had been, he said.

“Why do all this complicated shifting around if the net result is confusion,” Lockyer later elucidated outside the budget session. “It didn’t make sense to change everything around and have lawsuits about it … for a very modest net result.”

Lockyer said he also agrees with the governor’s pitch for a sales-tax exemption for green tech manufacturing equipment.

Inside the budget session, Lockyer had delivered a somewhat sobering assessment of the state’s fiscal situation – and so, the outlook for cities and counties – in the months to come.

Cash flow is fine now, he said, but if the Legislature and Schwarzenegger can’t reach a budget deal early in the summer, the state’s payments of gas tax funds, mental-health tax funds and other monies to cities, counties and school districts “almost inevitably” could be deferred for up to two months, to the tune of billions of dollars.

And Sacramento is counting on “unrealistically high” estimates of federal aid to help balance its books, meaning lawmakers and the governor will have to scramble to backfill an even bigger hole when that money from Washington doesn’t materialize.

Lockyer said he intends to sell about $14 billion worth of general obligation bonds this year to pay for infrastructure projects, and as much as $10 million (depending on when we have a budget deal) in short-term borrowing this summer to tide us through our annual cash-flow issues.

He said California gets a bad rap from bond-rating agencies, not because there’s any real risk of default – he’s constitutionally empowered to service the state’s debts no matter what the Legislature does or doesn’t do – but rather because of the widespread perception of legislative gridlock Sacramento exudes year after year, a perception unlikely to be dispelled so long as the state constitution requires two-thirds votes of the Legislature for all budget and tax bills. But with no significant chance of changing that any time soon and no chance of reforming Proposition 13 to allow for reassessment of commercial property, California will keep having to find ways to muddle through, he said.

The Coalition of Bay Area Young Democrats, conjunction with the San Francisco Young Democrats, will host a massive candidates’ forum at 1 p.m. this Saturday, Feb. 6 at the SEIU Local 87 hall, 240 Golden Gate Ave. in San Francisco.

Free and open to the public, the forum aims to hear from, and give attendees a chance to ask questions of, candidates in some of 2010′s highest-profile races. Confirmed speakers include gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown; lieutenant governor candidate Janice Hahn; Attorney General candidates Kamala Harris, Chris Kelly, Pedro Nava and Alberto Torrico; incumbent state Treasurer Bill Lockyer; Insurance Commissioner candidates Hector De La Torre and Dave Jones; Superintendent of Public instruction candidates Larry Aceves and Tom Torlakson; and incumbent Board of Equalization member Betty Yee.

In what proves to be an interesting follow-up to the question I raised last week about whether and when a candidate’s marriage to another elected official should be noted, Nadia Lockyer announced today that her campaign for the Alameda County Board of Supervisors District 2 seat collected about $168,000 in the latter half of last year – including, she notes, a $75,000 contribution from her husband’s Bill Lockyer for Treasurer re-election campaign.

Bill Lockyer can certainly afford it; his committee had almost $9.4 million in the bank by mid-2009, and raised at least $58,000 more since then. He’s unopposed in the Democratic primary; only state Sen. Mimi Walters, R-Laguna Niguel, has announced her intention to run on the GOP ticket, and she starts at a significant name-recognition deficit compared to the incumbent Lockyer.

Nadia Lockyer says she raised over $237,000 in all of 2009, leaving her at year’s end with cash on hand of $135,000. She also noted she and volunteers (including former state Democratic Party chairman Art Torres) have been walking the district’s precincts to chat with residents and build grassroots support.

“I am so grateful for the support people have shown my campaign,” she said in her release. “When I am Supervisor, I will fight to ensure that southern Alameda County gets a fairer share from our County government in order to maintain public safety in our communities and continued access to programs critical to our families.”

Also in this race are former state Sen. Liz Figueroa, D-Sunol; Hayward City Councilman Kevin Dowling; and Union City Mayor Mark Green. I’ll be checking on their campaign finance filings ASAP. The District 2 seat represents parts of Hayward, Newark, Union City, Fremont, and Sunol; incumbent Gail Steele isn’t seeking re-election in this June 8 vote.

State Controller John Chiang and state Treasurer Bill Lockyer will start mailing more than 89,000 letters tomorrow to those who have not yet cashed their Registered Warrants – what you and I call IOUs – from last summer’s cash crisis. They estimate there are about $50 million of these IOUs still outstanding.

Is it just me, or does it seem insane that so many IOUs are still out there? I would’ve cashed those babies in a loooong time ago, especially since they stopped accruing interest last Sept. 3, the day before Lockyer’s office started redeeming them.

Still, here’s what’s still outstanding in our local counties:

That’s your $9.4 million, Bay Area – go get it. IOU holders can redeem their Registered Warrants by mailing them to 915 Capitol Mall, Attention Registered Warrant Desk, Sacramento, CA 95814; tomorrow’s mailings will include a pre-addressed envelope. IOUs can also be redeemed in person at that address on weekdays between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., or you can check with your bank to see if it’ll honor the IOU. Questions? Call the State Treasurer’s hotline, 1 888-864-2762, between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday for live help, or at any time for automated help.

Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, will be scooting around the district tomorrow, Friday, Sept. 18, first taking part in a 1:30 p.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new local U.S. Census office at 1814 Franklin St. in Oakland, and then attending a 2 p.m. ceremony at Middle Harbor Shoreline Park in the Port of Oakland, celebrating the completion of the 50-foot Oakland Harbor Deepening Project.

Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, and Board of Equalization Chairwoman Betty Yee will forecast state revenues and spending for the next year at the Alameda County Democratic Lawyers Club luncheon, at noon tomorrow, Friday, Sept. 18, at Cocina Poblana, 499 Embarcadero West in Oakland’s Jack London Square. It’s open to the public but space is limited so you’re encouraged to RSVP by email to treasurer@demlawyers.org. Tickets cost $25 for club members, $30 for non-members at the door, but there’s a $5 discount if you buy in advance through the club’s Web site.

Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton, is holding another of his “Congress At Your Corner” constituent meet-and-greets from 1 to 2 p.m. Monday, Sept. 21, at the Margaret K. Troke Branch Library at 502 W. Benjamin Holt Drive in Stockton. “Instead of asking community members to come to one of my offices, I am going to go to them to make it as easy as possible for them to meet their Member of Congress,” he says. “I am committed to meeting with residents throughout the district so that I can effectively serve them and address their needs.”

Assemblyman Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, chairman of the Assembly Select Committee on Biotechnology, will chair an informational hearing on “Maintaining California’s Status as the World’s Biotechnology Capital” at 11 a.m. Monday, Sept. 21, at Exelixis Inc., 210 E. Grand Ave. in South San Francisco. Executives from local life science companies will testify about the challenges of starting a biotech business and explain what other states are doing to lure companies away from California.

Rumored Democratic gubernatorial candidate and state Attorney General Jerry Brown; state Treasurer Bill Lockyer; and 10th Congressional District Democratic candidate Lt. Gov. John Garamendi will headline the 39th Annual Alameda County Democratic Unity Dinner at 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26 at the Oakland Airport Hilton, 1 Hegenberger Road; Board of Equalization Chair Betty Yee will emcee. All interested Democrats are invited to attend; tickets cost $75 per person in advance or $125 for patrons, with tables available at $1,000 and up. Advance tickets are available by calling 510-263-5222. A limited number of door tickets will be available at $85 each.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission says its staff has determined that the IOUs being issued by cash-strapped California are securities under federal law. Tom Dresslar, spokesman for state Treasurer Bill Lockyer, says that’s a good thing.

“The SEC has sent a pretty clear warning to folks who plan to profit by buying and reselling IOUs: If you’re not registered as a municipal securities broker-dealer, you run the risk of violating federal law,” Dresslar said in an e-mailed statement. “The recipients of IOUs also should understand that if they sell their IOU to anyone who is not a licensed broker-dealer, they could well have no remedy under federal law if they get victimized by a con artist. So, they should check before selling.”

Dresslar said the SEC’s action might somewhat “reduce the shark factor and potential for taxpayers to get defrauded.” Or, he said, it could just make it harder for recipients of the IOUs to convert them into money if they can’t cash or deposit them with their banks.

“Our office will contact officials of banks that have set a July 10 cutoff date for accepting IOUs and urge them to extend that deadline,” Dresslar said. “We believe such action by the banks will help avoid hardship for IOU recipients, and help reduce taxpayers’ exposure to fraud.”

Oh, but hey – great news if you owe the state personal or corporate taxes: You can give your state-issued IOU back to the state! Yippee!

The Franchise Tax Board announced earlier this week that you can endorse the back of the IOU with the phrase “Pay to the order of Franchise Tax Board” and your signature, then mail it in with your tax bill or estimated tax voucher. Although – just like you – the FTB can’t deposit the IOU until it’s payable, the FTB will credit your account on the day it receives the IOU to stop the accrual of interest. If you owe more than the IOU, then either send the rest in real money or you’ll be billed for the difference.

Though building support for the special-election budget reform agenda was his main goal, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger touched on other topics in a Q&A session with the Bay Area Council on Thursday in San Francisco – and one of those topics is how hard it is when people disagree with him.

The governor went on a bit of a tirade against dissent, first talking smack about U.S. District Judge Oliver Wanger’s 2007 order reducing the operation of pumps in the Delta to protect the endangered Delta Smelt, then about a three-federal-judge panel’s moves toward ordering the release of certain inmates to reduce California’s chronic and unconstitutional prison overcrowding, and then about Clark Kelso, the receiver empowered by a federal judge to demand $8 billion from the state to correct unconstitutional, decades-long underfunding of prison health care.

“It’s not productive for the state to have so many chefs in the kitchen,” the governor grumped. “Those are the kinds of things that make it very difficult.”

But his ire wasn’t just directed at the federal courts. Lt. Gov. John Garamendi, he said, opposes him on fiscal policy at every turn, he said: “He’s running for Congress now, so that’s good.”

And he cited state Controller John Chiang’s and state Treasurer Bill Lockyer’s opposition to his plans to cut state salaries last year. “How does a coach win a basketball game when all of the players are running off in different directions?” Schwarzenegger asked.

Maybe that’s why he’s so hot for Proposition 1A, which would give the governor new authority to unilaterally reduce some spending for state operations and capital outlay and eliminate some cost-of-living increases, all without legislative approval – shoo, you pesky compromises; begone, consensus! Also, maybe he’s forgetting that these federal judges’ job is to hold California to its obligations under federal law and the U.S. Constitution, and that the Democratic statewide elected officials he’s knocking are with this state’s majority party while he’s in the minority.

More, after the jump…
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Hat tip to the Sacramento Bee’s Capitol Alert for noting that the East Bay’s own California State Treasurer Bill Lockyer is governor-for-a-day, what with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and everyone else above Lockyer in the line of succession — Lt. Gov. John Garamendi, Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, Secretary of State Debra Bowen and Attorney General Jerry Brown — in Washington, D.C. today for Barack Obama’s inauguration.

I’ve e-mailed my congratulations to the “governor,” and asked whether he intends to sign a budget later today. No answer yet; I’ll keep you posted.

UPDATE @ 8:48 A.M. TUESDAY: Lockyer spokesman Tom Dresslar says:

“the little five meeting will take a few minutes. we’ve got the legislature ready to go. just waiting for the inaugural speech to conclude.”

Hmmm. Joking? Dunno.