Governor

A campaign fund controlled by Assembly Speaker Emeritus Fabian Nunez (D-Los Angeles) received a donation of over $600,000 last week from a voter registration fund.

Nunez, who is termed out at the end of the year, controls the Committee to Protect California's Future, which was the primary campaign fund for the failed term-limits reform measure Proposition 93 earlier this year.

The money came from Voter Registration 2008, a fund controlled typically by the Assembly Speaker, in this case Karen Bass of Los Angeles, who replaced Nunez earlier this year.

Former U.S. Rep. Tom Campbell: University of California BerkeleyTwo former California politicians thought to be done with elective office are eyeing statewide races in 2010.

The San Jose Mercury News is reporting that Republican Tom Campbell, a former San Jose congressman and most recently business school dean at the University of California, Berkeley, has formed an exploratory committee to run for governor in two years.

And the Sacramento Bee reported Monday afternoon that Joe Canciamilla, a former Democratic assemblyman from the East Bay, has taken out papers to run for attorney general in 2010.

Insurance Commissioner Steve PoiznerA leading conservative blog and news aggregator says Steve Poizner has met with a top political consultant about making a run for California governor in 2010.

In a posting last week by FlashReport Publisher John Fleischman, Poizner was said to have had ongoing discussions with Mike Murphy, a Los Angeles-based strategist who helped engineer Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's victory in the 2003 recall election of then-Gov. Gray Davis.

Back in the day -- and today in reruns -- Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld put a show on TV "about nothing." Now, Arnold Schwarzenegger's tenure as governor of California would be lucky to be about even that. The same can be said for the state legislature.

"The governor doesn't seem to appreciate the seriousness of the situation," The Contra Costa Times editorialized about the current budget crisis. "When asked at a news conference last week whether the state would be running out of money soon, the wealthy movie star pulled out his money clip stuffed with cash and said, 'Not at this point. As a matter of fact, I still have some left.' He just doesn't seem to get it."

California State Senate Pro Tem Don Perata ‘s office reported slight progress Thursday afternoon on crafting a new state budget, but also signaled that the state will go at least through the Fourth of July weekend without a new spending plan.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday announced that he has signed into law a bill that will shed greater light on state government contracts.

Senate Bill 1696 will now also open up the results of governmental audits and reviews of public agencies. Authored by state Sen. Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) the bill would prohibit a state or local agency from allowing an outside entity to control the disclosure of information that is otherwise subject to the California Public Records Act.

Legislation to help Californians ensnared in the subprime home loan foreclosure crisis was forwarded to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk for signature or veto this week.

Senate Bill 1137, authored by senate President pro Tem Don Perata (D-Oakland) and Assembly Speaker Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles), would require lenders to contact property owners to attempt to avoid foreclosure, provide tenants additional time to move from a foreclosed property and mandate maintenance of foreclosed properties to diminish the impact on the value of neighboring homes.

Two days after a potential top rival announced an exploratory bid for California governor, Attorney General Jerry Brown reported another $124,100 in donations Thursday to his Brown 2010 campaign account.

Brown, who has not ruled out another run for the gubernatorial job he held from 1975 to 1983, would also have to run for re-election in his current job in two years to keep that seat.

A spokesman for Gavin Newsom's gubernatorial exploratory committee said Wednesday that should the 40-year-old political wunderkind run for California's top electoral post, he will do so implementing an issues-based campaign and will avoid wading into the muck of personality politics.

Eric Jaye, an influential San Francisco-based Democratic strategist and a spokesman for the exploratory committee, said that Newsom is very aware of the deeo field of Democratic candidates he may face in the effort to succeed Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2010.

Some of those folks -- a virtual pantheon of who's who in California Democratic politics -- include Attorney General and former Governor Jerry Brown, Lt. Gov. John Garamendi, Controller Steve Westly, state Supt. of Instruction Jack O'Connell, Treasurer Bill Lockyer and L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

Should Newsom run he will also likely face down potential GOP candidates such as Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina and former eBay Inc. President Meg Whitman.

"He will focus any campaign on his positions and principles," Jaye told PolitickerCA.com. "This has always been his approach and that's not going to change now."

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom‘s move to open an exploratory committee to run for California governor in 2010 suggests a long, expensive and unpredictable campaign, according to experts who follow elections and campaign finance.

One of those experts said Newsom's announcement does have a financial calculation.

By going first, Newsom can rally donors and scare off other potential candidates, said Mark Petracca, chair of the political science department at the University of California, Irvine.