Ventura County Star reporter Timm Herdt has an interesting article that lists which State Senators are taking a pay cut.

Click here to read his blog.

Ventura County Star reporter Timm Herdt has written a real personal reflection.

Go read it. The time will be well spent.

The California State Supreme Court listened to arguments today to determine if Proposition 8 was a legal amendment to the State Constitution or if it was a major revision. They are also considering the fate of the approximately 18,000 people that got married while gay marriage was legal in California. The lawyers in support of Proposition 8 are arguing that these families should be treated differently under the law and that their marriages should be legally voided.

Whatever the courts and lawyers argue the issue is to me a religious issue. If your religion doesn't want to acknowledge love between two men or two women as essentially the same, then so be it. To my friends that were married before Proposition 8 passed you should know that the power that validates your love isn't a court of law. The power is your friends, your family, and from a much higher power.

In these of all times it is wrong that people would seek to invalidate the marriages of two people that love each other. Marriage is more than some rights. If it was just some legal rights we wouldn't be debating it so much. Marriage is also focused on responsibility and duty. At the center of marriage is love.

With the shape of the world tonight we should be encouraging duty, responsibility, and love. We need to support more love and to find ways to help it to flourish. Marriage is a building block of our civilization and we should encourage two people that love each other to create a stable and beneficial partnership that will reward themselves and our communities.

The ultimate question over marriage is if love is essentially the same between two people of the same gender. If you believe it is the same then you likely believe in marriage equality. Same gender love is not like love between two friends nor is it the same as love between parent and child. It shares traits, but it isn't the same. It is no different then love between man and woman and therefore shouldn't be treated any differently.

The dream might be deferred but in the long run it is likely best if marriage equality is supported in an election and not only by courts. I will be there on the street corners and on the internet to push for that day. I was inspired by seeing so many young people come out to rally in Simi Valley for themselves and for their families. I met people I didn't know were directly impacted or cared so passionately for justice on this issue. Regardless of the court ruling know that we will organize again, this time with better resources and a better plan. The campaign was so negative from both sides last time, but next time we will focus on the families involved.

Do you remember the ad above from the Courage Campaign? It was one of the more controversial ads that went directly after the Mormon Church for their involvement in the Yes on Proposition 8 campaign. It sparked outrage and news coverage on the internet and on television. One of the creative minds behind it, David Atkins, is now going to be involved in a local progressive radio show.

Two other bloggers have already reported it but in case you missed it there is a new Democratic radio show in town. I like to post entire press releases to help give you a closer look at local politics. Click on continue reading for the press release.

Who would you like to see the Dynamic Democratic Duo interview in the near future?

Click here to read Timm Herdt's blog.

Click here to read Marie Lakin's blog.

Ventura County Supervisor Peter Foy is said to be thinking of running for governor according to a recent article from Ventura County Star report Timm Herdt and other sources. He has a few people mentioned as opponents in recent polls including Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, former US House of Representative Member and State Controller Tom Campbell, former Ebay CEO and Mitt Romney/John McCain campaigns leader Meg Whitman.

Do you think he will run? I think there is a chance he is leaving it as a possibility to build up his name recognition and attract attention. I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up endorsing another candidate and then ran with their endorsement of him for State Insurance Commissioner. Even though in the past Peter Foy has used "farmer" as a ballot designation I would think that with his background in insurance he could run with that experience as a major issue. If he ran for governor I would expect his past support for very conservative candidates and policies out of the mainstream to be the center of any strategy against him. But with all of the problems in the state voters might not be interested in discussions over the wild things Alan Keyes has said over the years on topics from gay people, to the Democratic Party, to personal attacks on Barack Obama.

Click here for a more detailed post about his support for former Presidential candidate Alan Keyes.

Whatever he runs for would leave an open seat on the County Board of Supervisors representing Simi Valley, Moorpark, and some surrounding areas. Peter Foy has said int he past he wasn't planning to make a career out of being on the Board of Supervisors and there has been discussion he would only serve one term. A possible candidate to replace him is termed out State Assembly Member Audra Strickland. While that is a likely scenario she did open up an account to run for Secretary of State recently.

What other candidates do you think are possible in this game of musical chairs? Any chance Jim Dantona will run again if it was an open seat? What about former Supervisor Judy Mikels? City Council Member Barbra Williamson ran before and might be interested. I also see Moorpark City Council Member Keith Millhouse as an intriguing candidate. What candidates would you like to see on your ballot?

Click here for Timm Herdt's article and here for his blog post.

Click here for an entry on State Assembly member Audra Strickland opening an account to run for Secretary of State.

Ventura County Star reporter Timm Herdt has posted on his blog that Ventura County Republican leader and State Senator Tony Strickland took $3,600 from recently arrested San Bernardino County Assessor Bill Postmus for Tony Strickland's State Senate campaign.

Here is a quote from Timm Herdt's blog post:

Sen. Tony Strickland of Moorpark, who received $3,600 from Postmus' PAC in June 2007. It was among the first contributions Strickland received after announcing his campaign for the Senate.

Click here for Timm Herdt's blog entry.

Click here for the story of Bill Postmus's arrest, drug abuse, and his efforts to hide being gay from friends, family, and Republican Party leaders.

Click here for the Wikipedia article on Bill Postmus.

Even Republicans are turning against Bill Postmus. Click here for the story.

In other State Senator Tony Strickland news Marie Lakin is taking him to task for holding a card table event instead of meeting with public education officials, elected officials, and others at a large event in Ventura.

Click here for Marie Lakin's blog entry.

I am calling on State Senator Tony Strickland to donate any money he received from Bill Postmus in any direct way to a local charity.

Do you agree with me that he should not hold onto the money? When Tony Strickland accepted it Bill Postmus was a Republican Party leader and there is no proof that I see that Tony Strickland displayed any poor judgment in depositing the check.

If anything he should donate the money to stifle criticism from his opponents.

If you think he should donate the money leave a comment as a petition to him. If at least twenty different readers don't agree with me I won't bring it up again.

Of course, this is all moot if Tony Strickland has already returned or donated the money already, which is very likely knowing his political instincts.

( Marie, have you seen your own ad on television? What show were you watching?)

Ventura County Star reporter Timm Herdt has a new post up that Democrats outnumber Republicans in the 19th state senate district. Click here to read the report.

The Hannah-Beth Jackson campaign held a press conference to announce their support of education leaders across the district. With all of the action in this last week or so of the campaign I didn't post about it quickly. My friend, and fellow Star blogger Marie Lakin beat me to it. Click here to read about it.

Three quick updates regarding the state senate campaign.

1. Timm Herdt, Ventura County Star reporter, has a new story up that the Republican Party is giving up on the other contested state senate race and focusing on the 19th state senate district. Click here to read the whole story.

As a helpful reminder Timm's name has two M's in it. If you spell it wrong he becomes enraged. I wrote his name on a name tag at a luncheon wrong and he crumpled it up and threw it in my food. I mostly picked around it but the taste of avery labels made it a bit odd.

2. Tony Strickland and The Santa Barbara News Press keep going after Hannah-Beth Jackson for attending a meeting where assembly Democrats talked about holding up the state budget for tactical reasons in their budget negotiations. The meeting was accidentally sent out across the capitol building.

What the editorial and the Strickland campaign doesn't say is what, if anything, Hannah-Beth Jackson said at the meeting. Did she argue against delaying the budget? It would seem pretty odd to attack her for arguing against her own party.

I don't know what she said, but if the paper is going to make the charge, they should back it up.

Is the Santa Barbara News Press a right wing paper? They seem to be really against Hannah-Beth Jackson. Who else are they supporting this election season?

Click on continue reading to see the press release with the full article.

UPDATE:

3. A commenter, Marie Lakin, said that the Strickland campaign sent out a mailer but didn't include, as they said was required by law, to say who it was sent from. I have uploaded the mailer so you could see for yourself. Click on continue reading to see it. Thanks to another reader that scanned it and sent it in.

If you want to see your candidate's mailers or other advertisements on my blog, scan them and send them in.

Have you seen this interview with Hannah-Beth Jackson? How did I miss it?

Here is a quick run down of the latest news from the campaigns of Tony Strickland and Hannah-Beth Jackson:

1. About a week ago I challenged each campaign to invite people 21 and under to all of their fundraisers for free. I hope that more young people can go to exciting events and and focus their attention in politics.

The Hannah-Beth Jackson campaign has agreed to open their doors to every fund raiser to supporters 21 and younger in an effort to reach out to young people. If you see an event you want to go to print out this ticket just call or email the campaign.

The Strickland campaign hasn't responded. I will update you if they do.

2. The Star had an article from Timm Herdt about candidates in safe districts helping other candidates. Recently, Assemblymember Cameron Smyth went precinct walking with Tony Strickland in Santa Clarita generating some press coverage in a local paper there .

I am looking forward to seeing Assemblymember Pedro Nava and State Senate candidate Fran Pavely helping out Hannah-Beth Jackson more. Anybody know details about have they have already helped her or how they worked together in the past?

3. The Hannah-Beth Jackson campaign is throwing a party with other Democrats to celebrate their new office opening in Santa Barbara this week. Click on continue reading for details.

4. Another recent article from The Star by Timm Herdt had details about the fundraising from both campaigns. Click here to read the story and let the spinning in the comments section begin.

As a reminder: You don't need to register, use a real email address, or use your real name to post. If you see something that should be removed please email me.

And another reminder: Timm Herdt spells his first name with two M's. If you spell it wrong you will upset him.

Click on continue reading to see a press release from Tony Strickland's campaign about his fundraising.

5. The Hannah-Beth Jackson campaign has a statement up about the proposed prison hospital in Camarillo. Click here to read the full statement.

Thanks for reading and commenting on my blog. Keep it civil.

( Here is a video of Timm Herdt in case he tries to sneak into your events.)

I haven't written much about Charles Weis in the past because it doesn't seem to draw people in unlike other actions by the county board of education. Here are some recent stories about him.

1. He was offered a home loan as part of his compensation package from his new employer.

I heard about this but I didn't write about it because he is no longer a county elected official. For the same reason I haven't been posting about Tom McClintock's victory in the Republican Primary for congress in Northern California. It is a close call. They both have connections here but it seems they are losing news value for local voters.

2. Timm Herdt wrote a blog entry pointing out that Weis was the only county wide elected Democrat. With Democrats having a registration edge in Ventura County what office will they make a serious attempt at first?

3. The process of replacing him is ongoing. Has anyone heard something new about it? Even though it is a nonpartisan position I bet they somehow end up with a Republican. That's what happens when two board members are also members of the Ventura County Republican Central Committee. The new person might be highly qualified but the pool seems like it will only be open to Republicans. Do you agree?

On a side note here is a partisan break down of most offices in Ventura County. I am sure there are a few updates to it but it is close to accurate.