John Garamendi

Lt. Gov. John Garamendi will lead a bi-partisan, high-tech panel discussion Friday on how the Golden State might untangle itself from the continuing budget and policy paralysis it finds itself in.

Garamendi will join Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, Steve Westly, former state controller, Michael Splinter, president and chief executive officer of Applied Materials and Bill Watkins, chief executive officer of Seagate Technology for the panel discussion called "Crisis in California."

The gathering, to kick off at noon at the San Jose Fairmont Hotel, brings together three 2010 gubernatorial hopefuls - Garamendi and Westly, two Democrats and Poizner, a Republican.

Of the three pols only Garamendi and Poizner have confirmed their interest in entering what promises to be a crowded race to succeed Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner announced his opening of a 2010 exploratory bid for governor Monday, immediately putting him in the front tier of Republicans to replace Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Poizner, rumored to be interested in running for the job for months, said in a campaign announcement that his campaign would focus on fostering innovation in government and business.

Lt. Gov. John GaramendiCalifornia Lieutenant Governor and leading state Democrat John Garamendi has his pick for U.S. Sen. Barack Obama's (D-Ill.) vice-presidential running mate: fellow U.S. Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.).

In a posting Tuesday to two Democratic-centered websites, Garamendi said that to him, the choice is a no-brainer, even though it's not his choice.

Not all prospective candidates for California governor in 2010 are big names, armed with big support or bank accounts.

Richard Aguirre, a state resident who has apparently never held nor run for public office before, has filed a statement of intent to run for the state's top job in two years.

California Lieutenant Gov. John Garamendi has added his name to list of gubernatorial candidates for 2010.

According to the California Secretary of State's website, Garamendi filed a statement of intent to run for governor this month, under the account name "Garamendi 2010."

State Sen. Jeff Denham will still accept contributions into his anti-recall campaign account from the June 3 primary, but primarily to pay off remaining campaign debts, according to a campaign spokesman.

Denham (R-Merced) has about $300,000 in assets and about $500,000 in remaining expenses, said Kevin Spillane, a spokesman for Friends of Jeff Denham Against the Recall.

While San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom may have gotten in front of the pack in announcing a first step toward running for California governor in 2010, he's to some extent far behind in raising cash for that venture.

Several other rumored and presumed candidates have been stockpiling campaign cash for several months, though the titles of their campaign accounts are just nebulous enough to allow them to change plans.

California Attorney General Jerry Brown: Getty Images PhotoCalifornia Attorney General and former governor Jerry Brown is still the prohibitive favorite for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in 2010, according to a new analysis by a political insider.

In a posting this week on the California Majority Report, longtime Democratic operative Steve Maviglio continued to list Brown in the top spot in his rankings of Democratic would-be governors, based on name recognition and measured steps Brown has taken to build support.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa: Getty Images PhotoJune 8, 2010, may seem like a long time from now, Democratic candidates for California governor already lining up. Here's the rundown.

The leading candidate for governor used to be Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, but for the past year, Mayor A.V. has been in a political funk caused by a combination of personal pecadillos and poor staff work that has strained his relationship with both the City Council and the media.

Lt. Governor John Garamendi desperately wants to run for Governor in 2010 – although some observers might say that Garamendi always desperately wants to run for something, anything. And he comes from a family that has enjoyed ups and downs in the political arena: a few years ago, his wife lost a bid for Congress; and now his sister, Celeste Garamdeni, is making her second bit to oust Brent Ives in a race for Mayor of Tracy. Garamendi lost by more than ten percentage points four years ago.