Jaime Regalado quoted in the Los Angeles Times

Unions bet big money on Ridley-Thomas for a labor-friendly swing vote

Seizing a rare opening, unions pour millions into the state senator's L.A. County supervisorial race against Councilman Bernard C. Parks.

Garrett Therolf
Staff Writer - Los Angeles Times
September 14, 2008

Labor unions, whose money already has made this year's race for Los Angeles County supervisor the most expensive ever, plan to spend millions more over the next eight weeks to elect their favored candidate, Mark Ridley-Thomas.

The spending, more than $4.5 million so far, or roughly $65 for each vote Ridley-Thomas won in the first round of the race against Bernard C. Parks in June, reflects how much labor leaders believe they have at stake in the election, which is for the first open seat on the Board of Supervisors in 12 years. Unions have enjoyed strong influence on Los Angeles city government but have had less clout at the county level.

The effort to change that comes amid a scandal that has forced out the leaders of two of the union locals that have been most active in the campaign, both affiliates of the giant Service Employees International Union. In both cases, the local presidents stepped aside after reports in The Times about possible misuse of union funds.

Labor officials say that the problems in the SEIU will not change their plans for continued spending on Ridley-Thomas' behalf using an independent expenditure committee. Such committees can sidestep contribution limits as long as they do not coordinate activities with the candidate.

"Basically, nothing that you've read in the past few weeks has changed who Bernard Parks is," said Maria Elena Durazo, executive secretary-treasurer of the 800,000-member Los Angeles County Federation of Labor. "He is still the man who opposed so many things important to working people, who opposed rent control, who opposed a living wage, who allowed Wal-Mart in."

Although Parks supports Wal-Mart in his district, he was not on the council when the chain got permission to open there.

At the same time, union officials privately concede that they are attempting to recalibrate their political strategy to account for diminished confidence in their own leadership.

"I think you can expect them to try to fly under the radar as much as possible, to not make the leadership of the unions a focal point," said Jaime Regalado, who heads the Edmund G. "Pat" Brown Institute of Public Affairs at Cal State L.A.

Read more.

Jaime Regalado quoted in the San Jose Mercury News

Prison guards union plays recall card in high-stakes fight against governor

Edwin Garcia
San Jose Mercury News
September 12, 2008

SACRAMENTO — He stalks the Capitol hallways with the hairy, disheveled look of a homeless man. Mike Jimenez, the leader of one of the state's most powerful public employee unions, vowed to the 31,000 members of the California Correctional Peace Officers Association two years ago that he wouldn't cut his hair until settling a labor contract with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

But this past week, with no contract in sight, Jimenez and his union upped the ante considerably by threatening to recall California's governor for the second time in five years.

It's too early to determine if the recall drive launched this week will succeed — many experts call the effort a media spectacle that will fizzle, while others dare not rule anything out because of the organization's tremendous campaign account.

But one thing is clear: The CCPOA's move has pushed special interest politics to an unprecedented level in Sacramento, part of a continuing saga that shows the tight grip that a handful of labor unions and business groups hold on state government.

"Special interests have either ruled the roost or will continue to try that in the future," said Jaime Regalado, executive director of the Edmund G. "Pat" Brown Institute of Public Affairs at California State University, Los Angeles. "It's just all about what politics — not only in California but politics in state capitols across the country — has been all about, and that is, money and power."

Unlike the recall drive that booted Gov. Gray Davis from office in 2003, which was started by an anti-tax crusader, the current effort appears more self-serving — coming from an influential union that despises the Schwarzenegger administration because the two sides have been unable to agree on a new labor contract for prison guards and parole agents.

But the union, which collects in excess of $29 million annually in members dues — with much of the money supporting and opposing political campaigns that can make or break candidates — downplays the contract's role in the recall effort.

Read more. (emphasis added)

PBI Announces Fall Schedule of Events on Civic Engagement, Immigration and Annual California Policy Issues Conference

ADVISORY

Friday, September 12, 2008
For Immediate Release
PBI Contact – Jacqueline Ruiz, 323.343.3770
Media Contact – Edward Headington, 818.720.7181
Website – http://www.patbrowninstitute.org/

Los Angeles, CA. For almost three decades, the Edmund G. “Pat” Brown Institute of Public Affairs (PBI) has focused on state and community issues—dedicated to the quest for social justice and equality of opportunity, enlightened civic engagement, and enhancing the quality of life for all Californians. In this spirit, PBI announces its fall schedule of events:

* September 24th – California Agenda Panel Discussion on “Technology and the Future of Civic Engagement” (RSVP @ www.patbrowninstitute.org/events/226/)

8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. @ the Los Angeles Marriott Downtown

From touch-screen voting to online campaigning, technology is shaping the future of civic engagement. But what does this mean for e-democracy—especially for those individuals and communities without access to the latest technology? This panel will consider the promise of technology and how it may enable us to acquire and disseminate information. In debating various notions of e-democracy, the panel will look at the degree to which the digital divide may hinder any aspect of these expectations. Our experts also will address what local, state, and national policy initiatives are designed to address the anticipated problems.

* October 22nd – California Agenda Panel Discussion on “Immigration, Immigrants and the 2008 Elections” (RSVP @ www.patbrowninstitute.org/register/227/)

6 p.m. to 8 p.m. @ the City Club on Bunker Hill

Less than two weeks away from the national elections, this panel discussion will focus on the importance of immigration policy and its role in various campaigns. Do the candidates differ from each other in their immigration policy proposals? If immigration has not been fully debated, what factors may explain that? Will this issue resurface in 2009 as a topic, because of the November elections? And in an exciting departure from typical analysis of immigration policy analysis, this panel will also address the degree to which immigrants may have played a role in the 2008 elections.

* November 12th – “PBI 16th Annual California Policy Issues Conference”

8 a.m. to 3 p.m. @ the Millennium Biltmore Hotel

California’s Future on the Horizon: Implications of the 2008 Elections

Full line up of speakers and breakout sessions TBA

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The Edmund G. “Pat” Brown Institute of Public Affairs, a presidentially chartered institute at California State University, Los Angeles, is a non-partisan public policy center dedicated to sustaining vision and legacy of former California Governor Edmund G. "Pat" Brown through convening public policy forums, engaging multi sector stakeholders and diverse communities, and conducting timely policy research and community driven initiatives. For more information, go to www.PatBrownInstitute.org/.

Jaime Regalado quoted in Sacramento Bee

Governor elected in recall now the target of one

Kevin Yamamura
Staff Writer - Sacramento Bee
Tuesday, September 9, 2008

The correctional officers union announced plans Monday to recall Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, and it was difficult to avoid comparisons to the historic election that swept him into office nearly five years ago.

Still, California appears a long way from ousting another governor.

Interest groups and frustrated citizens for nearly a century have threatened California governors with removal, but their efforts ended in a special election only once, in 2003. Schwarzenegger is the seventh consecutive California governor to face a recall threat, and this marks the fourth one against him.

It is, however, the first from a group as well-financed as the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, which has spent more than $17 million on political campaigns since 2005.

"If you spend enough money, you could probably find enough people to sign petitions for a recall," said Sal Russo, a GOP consultant who worked on the 2003 recall of Gov. Gray Davis and dismissed the latest attempt.

"But what we've found is that to recall a governor, people need a reason beyond just disagreeing or being unhappy with his performance in office."

He said voters distrusted and disliked Davis in a way that differs from how they feel about Schwarzenegger.

The guards union has fought with Schwarzenegger over prison policies, and it has worked without a long-term contract since 2006. Lance Corcoran, a union spokesman, said Monday that his group is collecting 65 valid signatures to serve Schwarzenegger a notice-of-intent-to-recall. That would set off procedures culminating in a 160-day statewide signature-gathering drive. During that time, CCPOA would have to obtain 1,041,530 valid signatures to qualify the recall.

Political strategists said the recall effort is only as serious as the amount of money the union pumps into it. The leading 2003 signature-gathering committee, Rescue California, spent more than $3.6 million.

"We are 100 percent committed, and we've never been shy about investing in our commitments," Corcoran said.

California will set a record this year for the longest budget impasse; the state is now in the 71st day of its 2008-09 fiscal year without a spending plan.

Schwarzenegger faces the lowest approval ratings of his second term. A Public Policy Institute of California poll last month showed 52 percent of likely voters disapprove of his performance, compared with 43 percent who approve.

Those numbers are not as dismal as Davis' in early 2003, when the Democrat faced a record budget deficit. A Field Poll in April of that year found that 65 percent of voters disapproved of Davis, compared with only 24 percent who approved.

Jaime Regalado, executive director of the Edmund G. "Pat" Brown Institute of Public Affairs at California State University, Los Angeles, questioned the union's chances of pulling off a successful recall.

"Davis was far more vulnerable," Regalado said. "It seemed like he was blamed for every bad thing: the budgetary impasses, the record deficits and the paralytic style of government in Sacramento."

...

PBI 2.0: The Pat Brown Institute to Use New Media to Promote Events and Legacy of its Namesake

RELEASE

Monday, September 8, 2008
For Immediate Release
PBI Contact – Jacqueline Ruiz, 323.343.3770
Media Contact – Edward Headington, 818.720.7181
Website – http://www.patbrowninstitute.org/

Los Angeles, CA. For almost three decades, the Edmund G. “Pat” Brown Institute of Public Affairs (PBI) has focused on state and community issues. The PBI is dedicated to the quest for social justice and equality of opportunity, enlightened civic engagement, and enhancing the quality of life for all Californians. It resumes the venerated California Agenda forum series later this month with a panel discussion on "Technology and the Future of Civic Engagement."

The PBI is also proud to announce that pre-event notification and post-event recaps have gone “2.0.” In addition to creating a Facebook group and fan page of the late Governor, the Pat Brown Institute now has a My Pat Brown Institute site for its events and issues as well as a group on LinkedIn, a MySpace page, and also Twitters. In just a few short weeks, Pat Brown’s Facebook friends grew into the triple digits and are expected to grow—especially with the panel discussion later this month on “Technology and the Future of Civic Engagement.”

The remaining events on the PBI calendar are as follows:

* September 24th – California Agenda Panel Discussion on “Technology and the Future of Civic Engagement” (RSVP @ http://www.patbrowninstitute.org/events/226/)

* October 22nd – Distinguished Lecture on “Immigration, Immigrants and the 2008 Elections” (RSVP @ http://www.patbrowninstitute.org/register/227/)

* November 12th – “PBI 16th Annual California Policy Issues Conference”

###

The Edmund G. “Pat” Brown Institute of Public Affairs is a non-partisan public policy center dedicated to sustaining vision and legacy of former California Governor Edmund G. "Pat" Brown through convening public policy forums, engaging multi sector stakeholders and diverse communities, and conducting timely policy research and community driven initiatives. For more information, go to www.PatBrownInstitute.org/.

Next Pat Brown Institute event on September 24th "Technology and the Future of Civic Engagement"

Wednesday, September 3, 2008
For Immediate Release

LOS ANGELES, CA - For almost three decades, the Edmund G. “Pat” Brown Institute of Public Affairs (PBI) has focused on state and community “public affairs” while sustaining the vision and legacy of its namesake and also promoting social justice, enlightened civic engagement and quality of life issues for all Californians. It continues its long tradition of great events later this month with a California Agenda panel on "Technology and the Future of Civic Engagement."

WHO - Moderator - Pete Manzo with the Advancement ProjectPanelists - Kim Alexander with the California Voter Foundation; Sunne McPeak with California Emerging Technology Fund; and Tracy Westen with the Center for Governmental Studies.

WHAT - Panel Discussion on "Technology and the Future of Civic Engagement"

WHEN - Wednesday, September 24, 2008; 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

WHERE - Los Angeles Downtown Marriott (in the Concourse Ballroom) @ 333 S. Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, CA 90071

WHY - The panel will address the following: from touch-screen voting to online campaigning, technology is shaping the future of civic engagement. But what does this mean for e-democracy—especially for those individuals and communities without access to the latest technology? It will also consider the promise of technology and how it may enable us to acquire and disseminate information. In debating various notions of e-democracy, the panel will look at the degree to which the digital divide may hinder any aspect of these expectations. Our experts also will address what local, state, and national policy initiatives are designed to address the anticipated problems.

FYI - There is no cost to attend, a light breakfast is served and it is open to the public. Space is limited so please register online as soon as possible at www.PatBrownInstitute.org/register/226/.

###

The Edmund G. “Pat” Brown Institute of Public Affairs is a non-partisan public policy center dedicated to the living legacy of former California Governor Edmund G. "Pat" Brown. The Institute is committed to conducting timely public policy research, organizing and participating in policy debates, collaborating on community-driven initiatives, and facilitating educational opportunities for diverse communities. For more information, go to http://www.patbrowninstitute.org/.