I caught up with former Assemblywoman Fran Pavley while in Thousand Oaks on Friday, and found her still glowing over last week's federal court decision that struck down the auto industry's legal challenge of her landmark 2002 global warming bill.

With the decision, the only thing that now stands in the way of implementation of her bill to require cars sold in California to reduce carbon dioxide emissions is a waiver from the federal EPA. "All I want for Christmas is a waiver," Pavley says.

She notes that New Mexico has now joined the growing list of states poised to implement the California regulations once the waiver is granted -- either via a court order or a surrender from the Bush administration. The Illinois Legislature is poised to take up the matter next year, and if it joins in then the participating states will include a majority of all cars on the road in the United States. At that point, auto industry engineers will have no choice but to start rolling out cars that meet the California specifications.

Pavley is gearing up for her likely June primary battle against Van Nuys Assemblyman Lloyd Levine, and a tough fight appears to be shaping up. Levine has retained the services of top political consultant Gale Kaufman, while Pavley has Parke Skelton on her team.

Kaufman's presence throws into question what role the California Teachers Association might play in the primary. She is very close to the teachers' union, but Pavley, a retired schoolteacher, literally paid her CTA dues for more than two decades.

In addition, Levine has also reportedly brought in the services of Lyn Shaw, the chair of the state Democratic Party Women's Caucus. The move appears designed as an attempt to blunt the influence of Sen. Sheila Kuehl, a strong supporter of Pavley, who has lobbied hard to line up support for Pavley among women in her district.