With all the contested primary contests in Ventura County this spring, it is surprising that the first report of campaign mail comes in a district in which there is no meaningful competition until November -- and that the mail comes from independent expenditure committee at that.

Two pieces, at a cost of about $11,000 each, were sent out last week by the California Tribal Business Alliance PAC touting Democratic state Sen. Fran Pavley for her "quiet leadership" in Sacramento. The mailers feature newspaper headlines and excerpts from stories about her efforts to establish carbon tailpipe emissions standards for cars and to enact regulatory reform.

Pavley is running for re-election in the 27th District, which includes a lot of new territory for her, including eastern Ventura County (her current district includes Oxnard and Port Hueneme). So the mailings to Ventura County voters appear to be an attempt to favorably introduce her to new voters. One stresses that she is a former teacher in the Moorpark School District.

The curious thing about the timing is that Pavley has absolutely nothing to worry about in the June 5 primary. There is only one other candidate on the ballot -- Republican Todd Zink of Westlake Village. Because the top two vote-getters advance to the November ballot regardless of the outcome in June, both are guaranteed to advance beyond the primary.

The Tribal Business Alliance is funded by Indian gaming tribes, principally from Northern California. The only other race it has become involved in is a Sacramento-area Assembly contest, in which it purchased $25,000 in radio advertising to attack Republican Andy Pugno -- a leader in 2008's anti-gay marriage Proposition 8 campaign who is running in a contested GOP race.

(Note: An earlier version of this post reported that the Assembly race expenditure was in support of Pugno.)

Back in the early 1980s when I was city editor at the Star-Free Press, the headline above, "political potpourri," was what we in the business call a "standing hed" that ran over collections of brief political stories about endorsements, rallies, campaign events and the like. I thought it was terribly old-fashioned and embarrassingly trite. Still, there I was, taking paper press releases (they actually arrived via the U.S. Mail), writing "political potpourri" on top, and dishing them out to reporters to write up.

Who knew that it was such a useful headline to pull together unrelated items that had only a connection to political campaigns in common? So, what follows is today's "Political potpourri":

FORUMS, WE'VE GOT FORUMS -- The Ventura County League of Women Voters has a full schedule of candidate forums coming up, all in districts with some pretty interesting races. To wit: Wednesday, May 9, First District supervisor candidates, Balboa Middle School, Ventura, 6:45-8:15 p.m.; Wednesday, May 16, 38th Assembly District candidates from 6:30-7:15 p.m. and 25th Congressional District candidates from 7:15-8 p,m,, both events at Simi Valley City Council Chambers; Friday, May 18, 26th Congressional District candidates, Thousand Oaks City Council Chambers, 5-7 p.m.

In addition, Cal Lutheran and Acorn newspapers are sponsoring a 26th Congressional District forum on Monday, May 7, at 7 p.m. at the Lundring Events Center in the Gilbert Sports and Fitness Center,which is north of Olsen Road near Mountclef Boulevard on the Thousand Oaks campus.

A FORUM REVOLT? -- At least one candidate has apparently had enough of forums, at least those in Santa Clarita. The Santa Clarita Valley Signal reported this week that 38th Assembly District candidate Patricia McKeon will appear at no additional forums in that city, but still "may do" one in Simi Valley.

A VIRTUAL TOWN HALL -- Republican 25th Congressional District candidate Cathie Wright of Simi Valley, who says that if elected she will push for changes that would allow members of Congress to conduct some or all of their business from their districts through web-based events, is demonstrating the power of that idea by hosting what she calls "virtual town halls" every Tuesday evening from 7 to 9. To join, she says to go here and follow the directions.

Here's something you don't see every day: A Republican candidate for one office and a Democratic candidate for another office standing together at a press conference being held to criticize a Republican incumbent.

That's scheduled to happen today in Santa Clarita, where Democratic congressional candidate Lee Rogers of Simi Valley and Republican Assembly candidate Scott Wilk of Santa Clarita intend to call out Rep. Buck McKeon because of his refusal to back a federal land swap that would eliminate the threat of a sand and gravel mining operation from opening in Soledad Canyon.

The proposed mine is immensely unpopular in Santa Clarita, both because of the dust and noise it would generate and because the company estimates the mine would generate 1,200 truck trips a day on the congested Highway 14 that is the bedroom community's only route to and from Los Angeles.

U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer has proposed legislation that would allow the mine permit holder, CEMEX, to swap its permit for one on more remote land near Victorville. The company supports the legislation. The city of Santa Clarita supports it. The Chamber of Commerce supports it. The local Sierra Club chapter supports. But Rep. McKeon does not.

The press conference is to call attention to a bill sponsored by McKeon and approved by the House on Tuesday that authorizes the Forest Service to acquire two parcels of land and essentially swap them for some cash and 20 acres now controlled by the Mammoth Mountain ski resort. Rogers and Wilk are expected to assert that such an exchange, sponsored by McKeon, is no different from Boxer's proposed sand and gravel mine exchange, which McKeon has declined to support.

That a Democratic candidate and a Republican candidate would stand together is unusual -- except that, in one sense, both are running against the same opponent. Or at least the family of the same opponent.

Rogers is running against McKeon in the 25th Congressional District. Wilk is running against the congressman's wife, Patricia McKeon, in the 38th Assembly District. Any unfavorable publicity about the McKeons that might be generated by the press conference would help them both.

It's not for nothing that it's sometimes said that politics can make for strange bedfellows.

Political strategists have historically just about all come to the same conclusion about how to campaign in Ventura County: mail, mail and more mail. So it is intriguing to see the approach that Supervisor Linda Parks of Thousand Oaks is taking in running as an independent in the 26th Congressional District. She and her consultant, George Gorton, have decided to put nearly all their resources into cable TV.

Public documents from Time Warner show that Gorton's partner Garrett Biggs on April 5 signed a $202,200 contract to air Parks ads on Ventura County cable systems through Election Day. The current schedule shows spots slated to run nearly every day through May 13, presumably with more to be scheduled later. They are placed on a wide range of cable channels, including ESPN, the Food Network, Fox Sports, MSNBC, HGTV, the Discovery Channel and the History Network.

"It's a pretty significant buy," Gorton told me yesterday.

One reason, he said, is that unlike with partisan candidates, as an independent Parks does not have a built-in, targeted universe of voters to whom to send mail. "It's almost like she's entered into both primaries at once," he said.

The central message of the TV ads -- that Congress is broken, that partisanship is the problem, and an independent is best suited to help fix it -- "appeals to the entire electorate, not just one partisan side," Gorton said. "Our message is constructed so that we don't turn anyone off."

In contrast, for instance, a Republican candidate might mail to GOP voters touting his or her opposition to, say, the Affordable Care Act. Or a Democrat might mail to Democratic voters a message stating his or her support for women's reproductive rights. Both would be potentially effective mailers, but to put that message on TV for all voters to see would risk alienating many viewers.

It's noteworthy that the April 5 ad buy is for considerably more than the cash on hand that the Parks campaign reported as of March 31 ($118,608). That indicates the campaign took in a significant amount of money the first week of April. "We're doing fairly well with fundraising," Gorton said. He further asserted that additional money did not come Parks herself.

That level of commitment to television likely means that Parks will be using little, if any mail. But there remains another medium that is attractive, Gorton said: the Internet. He noted that about a quarter of commercial advertising is on the Internet, while political campaigns are spending only about one-eighth of their advertising dollars on the Internet. "Political campaigns are a little behind on that," he said. "We believe in Internet advertising."

Based on the new report of registration issued by the secretary of state last week, it is clear Republicans are engaging new troops for the coming battleground elections in Ventura County.

Between Jan. 3 and April 6, the report shows, Republicans closed the voter registration gap with Democrats in the county by 0.79 percentage points and now trail by less than 2 percentage points countywide -- 38.98 percent for Democrats, 37.13 percent for Republicans.

Significantly, most of the gains came in the new 26th Congressional District. Over that three-month period, the number of registered voters in that district grew by 2,734 -- and nearly all of the gains were among Republicans, who increased their number by 2,583. Because of that, the Democrats' voter-registration edge dropped by nearly a full percentage point, from 5.63 percent to 4.74 percent.

The GOP gains appear to be the result of a targeted effort, as the county trends bucked the statewide trend, which saw the biggest increase among "no party preference" voters. In Ventura County, that number of independent voters barely budged.

The biggest Republican gains came in the Democratic stronghold of Oxnard, which for the first time in a decade this year is a city in which Republican candidates will be challenged to minimize certain losses there. Republicans gained 652 voters in Oxnard, more than they picked up in Ventura and Thousand Oaks combined.

The numbers suggest there are real advantages to having a party united behind a single candidate in the 26th Congressional District (Tony Strickland), the 19th Senate District (Mike Stoker) and the 44th Assembly District (Jeff Gorell). Democrats have multiple candidates in each of those districts and to a large degree -- especially in the 19th Senate District -- have been consumed with intraparty food fights, rather than with registering voters.

Democratic congressional candidate David Cruz Thayne of Westlake Village today released his introductory online ad , a personal message in which he introduces himself to voters by telling of his family's immigrant background.

He tells how both his parents immigrated from South America, how they divorced after arriving here and how his mother struggled through very hard times. She married an American teacher with six children, creating a household with nine kids. Thayne tells of how he would work with his father doing odd jobs early in the morning before they both would head off to school.

It's a personal testimonial, complete with family photos, and establishes the narrative that Thayne hopes will set him apart from the other candidates in voters' minds: that he, is not someone whose perspective has been changed by serving in elected office, but rather someone who can take to Washington a mainstreet perspective of the needs of working-class voters.

If there was any question which candidate is of most immediate concern to Democrats in the 26th Congressional District, it has been answered on the website of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

In the section highlighting key races in California, it cites the 26th and promises that a research book on Republican Tony Strickland will be posted in May. With independent Linda Parks, however, the Democrats are in a bigger hurry to go on the attack.

The DCCC posts an 80-page report on Parks (that's what you get when you click on the link to download the spreadsheet). It lists her voting history, her back-and-forth party affiliations, the properties she's owned, her mortgages, her husband's employment and salary, lawsuits in which she was named as a defendant (mostly along with fellow Thousand Oaks City Council members or fellow supervisors), and on and on and on.

Parks wasn't kidding, apparently, when she told me a few months back that the DCCC had submitted public records requests to the county asking for everything "except my weight and shoe size."

It remains to be seen whether the congressional Democrats have uncovered anything of substance that could be effectively used against Parks in campaign material. But if you ever wondered why some people are reluctant to run for public office out of fear that every aspect of their lives would become subject to scrutiny, this 80-page report demonstrates the validity of that concern.

For decades, former Ventura County District Attorney Michael Bradbury has been a stalwart Republican with a fondness for throwing his name around in political campaigns. Although he keeps a much lower public profile these days, Bradbury is at it again -- this time with a surprising twist. He's endorsing a Democrat, Oxnard Harbor Commissioner Jason Hodge in the three-candidate primary in the 19th Senate District that includes Republican Mike Stoker, a former Santa Barbara County supervisor.

Although the public announcement was made just today, Hodge tells me that Bradbury "has been a very strong supporter from early on. I know Mike and Mike knows me, and he knows that I have a history of bipartisan cooperation."

Stoker took the news with grace when I informed him of the endorsement this morning. "Now that I know he has an interest in the 19th Senate District race," he said, "Mike Bradbury will be one of the first people I go see the day after the primary."

That statement presumes that Stoker and former Democratic Assemblywoman Hannah-Beth Jackson would be the two candidates to emerge from the primary, with Hodge becoming the odd man out.

Meanwhile, the back-and-forth between the two Democrats is becoming more intense. Jackson sent out an email appeal to supporters this asking them to help her fight Hodge's "dirty tricks."

She writes: "The negative ads have already started. It's no surprise. My opponent who is funded by powerful special interests representing the oil, insurance, tobacco and pesticide industries is already up to dirty tricks."

The reference appears to be to a television ad released by Hodge this week in which he refers to himself as "a Democrat who doesn't think you need higher taxes." Although he does not refer to Jackson by name, the implication is clear.

Meanwhile, a Jackson TV ad released this week says she'll "stand up to the special interests" -- an indirect reference to the fact that Hodge has received substantial funding from interest groups that more typically support Republicans, including the insurance, pharmaceutical and pesticide industries.

The Jackson campaign further asserts that Hodge is becoming beholden to tobacco and oil industry interests. The basis for that is a $2,500 contribution he received from a group called FAIRPAC, sponsored by the Civil Justice Association of California. The Civil Justice group has received funding over the years from, among others, BP, Chevron and Philip Morris. It's worth noting, however, that the documentation for this dates back several years. Hodge notes he can find no record of any oil or tobacco contributions since 2010 -- a point at which the fund was depleted.

The Jackson campaign's assertion about pesticide industry contributons, however, is indisputable. Hodge has as recently as March received direct contributions from pesticide manufacturer Monsanto and pesticide distributor Trical Inc.

Hodge said his campaign will not accept direct or indirect contributions from the oil and tobacco industries, and that for Jackson to assert he has accepted money indirectly through the Civil Justice Association "appears to be an act of desperation."

He also notes that Jackson -- and again, I'll point out, indirectly -- received personal compensation from the oil company PXP through her work two years ago as a consultant to Santa Barbara's Environmental Defense Center. The environmental group believed it was in the best long-term interests of eliminating oil drilling off the Santa Babara coast by supporting a deal that would have allowed PXP to drill new wells immediately in exchange for shutting down others and removing onshore processing facilities later.

"Ask her how much she took to increase offshore oil drilling off the coast of California," Hodge told me.

And so it goes.

The rough and tumble of intra-party politics can put a strain on even the closest of relationships. The latest exhibit of this truism came yesterday, with the announcement from the campaign of Sen. Tony Strickland that he was giving his endorsement in the 38th Assembly District primary to Patricia McKeon, wife of Rep. Buck McKean of Santa Clarita.

This came after: A) Strickland originally endorsed Republican Scott Wilk, a longtime friend, in the same race; B) Strickland decided to run for Congress after Rep. Elton Gallegly announced his decision to retire; C) Pressure was exerted in the name of solidarity within the California Republican congressional delegation that it was not a good idea for a GOP candidate to be endorsing the opponent of a congressman's wife; and D) Strickland pulled his endorsement from Wilk to take a neutral position.

Why did Strickland decide to go full circle and now endorse McKean in the Assembly district that includes Simi Valley? Strickland campaign strategist Joe Justin, who is also advising Patricia McKeon's campaign, issued this statement yesterday on Strickland's behalf: "I'm endorsing Patricia because she has what it takes to shake things up in Sacramento and get the economy moving ahead."

I asked Wilk this morning for his reaction. "Personally, it cuts deep," he said. "I always considered him a little brother. I gave him his first job in politics."

That came when Wilk was chief of staff to former Assemblywoman Paula Boland, and hired the wet-behind-the-ears Strickland to be a junior staffer for the assemblywoman.

The two have remained close ever since. Until earlier this year, Scott Wilk Jr. worked on Strickland's Senate staff in his district office. Last Christmas, Wilk said, the Stricklands and their children visited the Wilks at night to walk their neighborhood viewing the seasonal light displays.

Wilk said he had no advance warning from Strickland that the endorsement switch was coming, and that Strickland did not personally inform him of the decision. "It's a personal cut," he said. "My wife is devastated by it."

Wilk said this is the latest example of how Rep. McKeon is "pulling out all the stops to try to get his wife elected to office. In essence, I'm taking on Buck McKeon. Tony has been under tremendous pressure from Congressman McKeon."

Still in Wilk's corner are Assemblyman Cameron Smyth of Santa Clarita and someone who once gave Wilk a job in politics -- Rep. Tom McClintock, who is scheduled to appear at a fundraiser for Wilk in a couple weeks.

Looking back on things, Wilk said he believes Strickland's decision was driven by personal ambition. When he first interviewed him for that job in Assemblywoman Boland's office, Wilk recalled, the young Strickland told him that his dream was to someday be a member of the House of Representatives.

Democrats Jason Hodge and Hannah-Beth Jackson both launched broadcast TV ads today in the 19th Senate District -- one of the rare Senate districts in the state in which the presence of small-market TV stations make it possible for candidates to buy broadcast TV time without paying for huge chunks of viewers who live outside the district.

Both ads make it instantly clear that this is a coastal district: They begin with shots of the candidates standing on the beach.

Hodge's introductory spot wastes no time in trying to draw a contrast, although it doesn't not mention Jackson by name. Hodge quickly describes himself as a firefighter, an Oxnard Harbor District commissioner, a Cherokee Indian and someone "who has lived here my entire life." The he delivers the kicker: "I'm a Democrat who doesn't think you need higher taxes. Don't you think it's wrong to raise taxes on people who are collecting unemployment?"

Jackson's spot is a more traditional introductory ad. She opens standing on the beach, and the spot moves along to shots of her inspecting a solar energy facility, standing in front of a classroom, speaking with police officers and chatting with senior citizens. Along the way, she says how she "will make green jobs a top priority," "will stand up to special interests," and will work to get things done "because schools need our help and we need to get California back to work."

The most noteworthy thing to come from these two ads is Hodge's decision to stick with the theme he has been using in his literature -- promoting himself as "the Democrat who doesn't think you need higher taxes." It appears to be an attempt to play off the anti-Jackson campaign employed by Sen. Tony Strickland in his razor-thin victory over Jackson in 2008. He repeatedly portrayed her as "Taxin' Jackson," Because at least $5 million was spent on negative ads against her four years ago, Hodge apparently hopes that campaign has made a lasting impression that he can exploit.

Jackson consultant Steve Barkan today challenged the authenticity of Hodge's pledge, given that in remarks last week at the California Labor Federation endorsement convention, Hodge told delegates he does support raising taxes on the highest income-earners. "Let's make sure the 1 percent pay their fair share," Hodge said. "It's time that we do that."

Both candidates are on record in support of Gov. Jerry Brown's proposed November initiative that would temporarily raise income taxes on high income earners and also temporarily boost the sales tax by a quarter cent.

Asked about his comments last week, and how they fit with his assertion that he is someone "who doesn't think you need higher taxes," Hodge cited this week's revelation that former "Baywatch" actress Pamela Anderson is among the top delinquent income-tax payers in the state, with more than $500,000 in delinquencies.
"I think we need to start making sure Pamela Anderson pays hers taxes before we ask Pamela Smith to pay more," he said in response to an email asking him how he reconciles the statement in the ad with his remarks to the Labor Federation..

UPDATED AT 5:10 P.M. -- DIRTY TRICKS IN POLITICS BEING WHAT THEY ARE, IT ISN'T SURPRISING THAT THE ORIGINAL TOOL WAS CORRUPTED TODAY. WE HAVE CHANGED THE LINK SO THAT USERS WILL DOWNLOAD THEIR OWN UNIQUE VERSION OF TOOL. -- th

What does each of the candidates in Ventura County's 26th Congressional District need to do on June 5 to make it to the general election ballot in November? For instance, in order for Democrat Julia Brownley to finish first or second and therefore advance to November, what percentage of the Democratic vote will she need to capture? Or, in order to be competitive, what percentage of the GOP vote will Republican-turned-independent Linda Parks need if she's to have a chance to finish in the top two?

And how will voter turnout affect those calculations?

Those are the variables, and slight changes in any of them can decisively change the order of finish.

I've speculated about some of these potential scenarios in my writing about this race, which prompted Camarillo software guru David Maron, who consults candidates in local nonpartisan races, to create the fascinating tool at the bottom of this post. Maron sent me his customized Excel file that allows the user to try out different scenarios. It immediately calculates the final vote totals to reflect whatever turnout and share-of-partisan votes are being tested.

Maron sent me the tool and invited me to plug in numbers as I saw fit. For the voter turnout by party, I used the countywide turnout percentages from the June 2010 primary -- 33 percent among Democrats, 47 percent among Republicans and 11 percent among nonpartisans.

Then I put in some random guesses as to how each candidate might fare among each of the voter groups. Those guesses are based in part on the limited polling data I've seen, in part on how much money each candidate has raised, and in part on their overall name ID and endorsements. They could be wildly far off.

You can see how my calculations worked out below (you have to toggle around a bit to see the whole chart). And best of all, you can click on the link to access a spreadsheet so that you can try out your own scenarios.

A slight change in the variables can make a huge difference. For instance, I calculated what would happen if Parks is able to win 30 percent of the GOP vote, 15 percent of the Democratic vote and 60 percent of the nonpartisan vote. In the same model, I gave Brownley 62 percent of the Democratic vote. Under that scenario, Brownley edges out Parks by about 2,000 votes for second place.

But it doesn't take much of a change to move Parks up to second. For instance, giving her two more percent of the Democratic vote (17 percent), giving Jess Herrera two more percent (bumping him from 13 percent to 15 percent) and reducing Brownley's share of the Demcoratic vote to 59 percent results in Parks beating out Brownley for the second spot by about 300 votes.

I encourage you to give it a try.

To be sure, it's nothing more than a parlor game, but it does provide some clues as to what the potential campaign strategies of the various candidates need to be. It will be important, for instance, for Brownley, Herrera, David Cruz Thayne and Al Goldberg to try to keep Parks' share of the Democratic vote as low as possible. That likely means attacking her in mailers to Democratic voters using arguments designed to paint her as too conservative. It clearly will be important for Parks to maximize her share of the Republican vote, which likely means she will need to appeal heavily to Republican women and to GOP voters in her home base of Thousand Oaks. And what about Tony Strickland, the only Republican in the race? Can he afford to sit on the sidelines during the primary, or should he spend some money trying to run up the score among Republican voters (perhaps portraying Parks as too liberal) and seeking to make some inroads among nonpartisan voters?

Finally, what about turnout? In June 2010 there was a contested campaign at the top of ticket for the GOP nomination for governor and no top-of-the-ticket action among Democrats. This year, with the withdrawal of Rick Santorum from the GOP presidential primary, there will be no top-of-the-ticket contest to favor either party. That will likely make a difference; perhaps with no Meg Whitman spending $40 million to drive Republican turnout, the spread between Republican and Democratic turnout will not be as severe this year.

As the spreadsheet shows, a small increase in Democratic turnout or a small decrease in Republican turnout can make a very big difference.

To try different scenarios, download this spreadsheet and edit it in Excel by clicking here »

In an endorsement battle that went all the way to the delegate floor at the California Labor Federation meeting in Los Angeles yesterday, Oxnard Harbor District Commissioner Jason Hodge prevailed over fellow Democrat Hannah-Beth Jackson in their 19th Senate District race.

Hodge had received the recommendation of the Tri-Counties Central Labor Council, but Jackson supporters appealed that decision to the state federation. There were grumblings among some unions that have backed Jackson, including the California Teachers Association and the California Federation of Teachers, that Hodge should not receive the labor federation's support because he has been promoting himself as "the Democrat who doesn't think you need higher taxes" -- at a time when those unions are mobilizing in support of Gov. Jerry Brown's tax initiative targeted for the November ballot.

For the record, Hodge told me yesterday that he supports the compromise initiative Brown is now backing, but had not supported the governor's initial proposal, which included a higher sales tax increase. "I support the governor's temporary tax initiative," Hodge said.

Hodge credited the support of unions in the building trades for helping to secure his endorsement. "The private sector unions -- the ones that need jobs to put money in their wallets -- are what put me over the top," he said.

In other endorsements, Camarillo Assemblyman Jeff Gorell, for the second consecutive election cycle, was the only Republican Assembly candidate to receive Labor Federation support. The group issued a dual endorsement in the 44th Assembly District, backing both Gorell and Democrat Tom Mullens.

There was only one other Republican -- Les Baugh in the First Senate District -- among the 133 legislative and congressional candidates to be endorsed by the Labor Federation. In addition, one independent -- Tom Phillips in the 23rd Congressional District -- received the labor group's backing.

The Labor Federation, which represents 2.1 million union workers in California, intends to provide substantial grassroots supports to its endorsed candidates.

"In a time of unprecedented challenges facing working people, this year's elections are pivotal to the direction of our state," said Executive Secretary-Treasurer Art Pulaski in a press release. "The core of our election program is the dedication and commitment of thousands of volunteers reaching millions of voters with vital information about candidates' positions and measures impacting workers. In an era of Citizens United, labor's grassroots program is more critical than ever to counterbalance the unlimited political spending and power of well-heeled corporate interests."

UPDATED AT 3:44

McClintock stands with Wilk: As Republicans in Ventura County well remember from his 20 years representing the area in the Legislature, Rep. Tom McClintock is a maverick through and through. So it should be no surprise that McClintock is throwing the niceties of the congressional fraternity to the wind and has agreed to appear at a May 2 fundraiser for 38th Assembly District candidate Scott Wilk.

Since one of Wilk's Republican opponents is Patricia McKeon, the wife of Rep. Buck McKeon, that would create an awkward situation for some members of Congress. The sensitivities about not offending the McKeons is so strong, in fact, that Sen. Tony Strickland decided after becoming a candidate for Congress to withdraw his endorsement of Wilk in order to avoid any hard feelings in the California Republican congressional delegation.

But McClintock, now a House member representing a Northern California district, has always been his own man, and he's publicly standing up for Wilk, who once worked for McClintock when he was a member of the Assembly.

Parks takes a stand -- on ice cream: Supervisor Linda Parks of Thousand Oaks launched the first television ads of the 26th Congressional District campaign with a three-rotation ad buy on all cable TV franchises in Ventura County. The quirkiest of the three is an interview-style ad with a surprise ending (here's the You Tube version).

In the 30-second ad she stresses the core theme of her campaign -- that there are too many extremists in Congress, and that what the country needs in order to move forward are independent thinkers who can help Republicans and Democrats to work together. She closes the spot by taking a bold stand and proclaiming, after a slight hesitation, her favorite flavor of ice cream.

Republican Sen. Tony Strickland solidified his reputation as a first-rate fundraiser today, issuing a press release announcing that he raised $770,000 in the first quarter for his campaign in the 26th Congressional District. In addition, he didn't have to spend a whole lot to do it, as he says his report will show a cash balance of $720,000.

The announcement comes on top of Democratic Assemblywoman Julia Brownley's disclosure last week that she has raised $280,000.

Finance reports for the first quarter will be publicly released on Monday. At that time, the particulars of who gave how much will be revealed.

Democrat David Cruz Thayne previously announced that his cumulative fundraising has now topped $100,000. And Supervisor Linda Parks , running as an independent, indicated to me last week that her report will show about $150,000.

Put it all together and it shows that about $1.3 million has already been raised for this high-profile congressional race -- and it's only April 10. The general election is Nov. 6. You ain't seen nothing yet.

The question I hear most frequently from those following Ventura County's 26th Congressional District race is this: "What's the story with David Cruz Thayne?"

Thayne is a relative newcomer to the area, having moved to Westlake Village about four years ago, has never run for or been elected to political office and has no apparent base in the district outside of the small network of tennis enthusiasts he has come to know as a tennis instructor, former professional player and parent of a player who competes in local youth tournaments. But he does have this going for him: a team of well respected and talented professionals working with his campaign.

So the big question has been whether he will be able to raise enough money to put this team to work spreading a message that would make him competitive in the June 5 primary.

Campaign finance reports for the first quarter won't be publicly posted until April 16, but yesterday the Thayne campaign issued a press release saying it has surpassed the $100,000 mark in money raised. That's something, but it's less impressive when you realize that through Dec. 31 he had raised about $67,000. So it appears that he raised only about $35,000 in the first three months of this year. And it means that his report will probably show something in the neighborhood of $50,000 cash on hand going into the two-month sprint to election day.

In his statement in the press release, Thayne says, "The funds we have raised will allow us to get our message out that this district needs a new voice representing it in Congress, And that voice should be from the district, not from Santa Monica."

Hard to say exactly how well his message can be disseminated based on his fundraising so far -- but it is clear that a central theme of his message will be that Democrats should not be supporting a candidate, Assemblywoman Julia Brownley, who until just a month ago lived in Santa Monica (although she has represented about one-sixth of the congressional district as a member of the Assembly for the last five years).

Today, the Thayne camp issued another press release that perhaps confuses that message. It boasts that he has received the endorsement of a local city councilwoman -- Pamela Conley Ulich of Malibu.

On the one hand, that's a swipe at Brownley since Malibu is in her Assembly district and she also is a former school board member with the Santa Monica-Malibu school district. On the other hand, Thayne is trumpteting a voice from outside the district.

The only voters from Los Angeles County who live in the district are the 5,807 in the city of Westlake Village. Zero in Malibu.

It may not have quite the excitement as will unfold tonight when the Kentucky and Kansas starting lineups are introduced for the NCAA men's basketball championship, but the secretary of state has released what amounts to the starting lineups for the June 5 election with the posting of the "certified list of candidates."

For most voters, and even for hardcore political junkies, there are a few surprises. For instance, who knew that there will be 25 names on the ballot of people seeking Dianne Feinstein's U.S. Senate seat, including six other Democrats and no fewer than 14 Republicans? Or that Libertarians will have nine candidates from which to choose for their party's presidential nominee?

The most interesting information for the local races is the official ballot titles candidates have chosen to have listed next to their names. Once again, Sen. Tony Strickland takes the prize for being the most inventive. Four years ago in the primary, Strickland used the title "alternative energy executive" -- a description to which he was entitled because he bought in for $5,000 as an investor in a wave energy energy company. He still has received no compensation and no return on the investment for his involvement with a company whose only apparent work has been to apply for, receive, lose for lack of due diligence, and then reapply for a Federal Energy Commission permit to develop a project off the Northern California coast.

This year, Strickland has chosen to use a single word title: "Senator." Not "state senator," but simply "senator," perhaps in the belief that some may have more positive feelings about the United States Senate than for the upper house in the California Legislature.

Other ballot titles in the 26th Congressional District contest are: Julia Brownley, "California Assemblymember"; Albert Maxwell Goldberg, "Realtor/Entrepreneur/CE)"; Jess Herrera, "Harbor Commissioner"; David Cruz Thayne, "Independent Small Businessman"; and Linda Parks, "Ventura County Supervisor."

It also appears that candidates believe citing military descriptions will be advantageous. Todd Zink, the Republican running in the east county 27th Senate Distict, is a deputy district attorney in Los Angeles County but also an officer in the Marine Reserve. He decided not to mention "prosecutor," and lists himself solely as "Military Officer."

In the 44th Assembly District, incumbent Jeff Gorell has decided to go with a compound title: "Assemblyman/Naval Officer." Given that there are two U.S. Navy installations in the district, presumably Gorell's team thought it was better to use the specific branch rather than the more generic "military officer." Gorell is an officer in the Navy Reserve.