Category Archives: Archive

Local Goverments Allowed to Buy Back Bonds?

From John Hill’s article in the Sacramento Bee: The state Assembly tried to send some relief to local governments reeling from higher interest costs Monday with approval of a bill that allows cities, counties and other bond issuers to buy back their own bonds. *** Markets for two types of municipal bonds have been hit… Continue Reading

National Redistricting News

The Washington Post has an editorial in which they talked to President Bush on the polarization of Congress. The entire story is a good read, but here are a few key points: …members of Congress are ‘worried about taking a rational position’ because they fear being punished in primaries by challengers questioning their ideological purity.… Continue Reading

Dr. Steven Frates on Public Employee Pay Hikes

From Chris Reed’s post over at the American’s Finest Blog entitled “Public employee pay: The urban myth resurfaces“: The idea that market competition requires that public employees must get regular pay hikes and sweetened benefits is an “urban myth,” according to Steve Frates, a senior fellow with the Rose Institute of State and Local Government.… Continue Reading

Douglas M. Johnson on City Council Districts

From Dan Abendschein’s article in the Pasadena Star: “People’s concern about districts is that a council member becomes too focused on their own district and not on the entire city,” said Doug Johnson, a politics fellow at the Rose Institute, and a consultant for a research firm that has helped cities draw up districting plans.… Continue Reading

Republicans Donate to Reform Initiative

The San Jose Mercury News has a story by Steven Harmon on the massive donations by Republican donors to the Voters First initiative campaign: “If they don’t fix that, they’re in trouble,” said Barbara O’Connor, director of the Institute for the Study of Politics and the Media at California State University-Sacramento, who has served on… Continue Reading

City of Pasadena Working to Endorse Reform

The Pasadena Star-News reports that the Pasadena city council is working towards a resolution in support of the Voters First initiative: The City Council is aiming to be the first in the state to endorse a plan to change the way state assembly and senate districts are drawn up. The council, at the prompting of… Continue Reading

Dr. Pitney on FPPC Report

From Steve Geissinger’s article as it appeared in the Daily Democrat: Jack Pitney, a political science professor at Claremont McKenna College, said the report’s findings were to be expected. “As long as interest groups want to influence the government,” Pitney said, “curbing their spending is like holding back the Pacific Ocean with a chain-link fence.” Continue Reading

Dr. Pitney Featured in Daily Bulletin

From Will Bigham’s article in the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin: When Jack Pitney speaks about politics, people listen.The Claremont McKenna College government professor is frequently quoted in national and local publications on the subject. Pitney’s career in politics started in 1978, when he worked as a researcher for a New York state senator. He soon… Continue Reading