The Press-Enterprise

Whatever happened to dogs and ponies?

Republican lawmakers and a group of small-government crusaders brought their traveling road show to Riverside on Friday, but this time the dog-and-pony show featured a giant, inflatable ATM.

Standing under the toasty afternoon sun in a Mission Inn courtyard, the group said lawmakers should not look at California taxpayers as ATMs. The lawmakers repeated what Republicans have been saying throughout the state's budget crisis: California doesn't have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem.

"Californians are tired of always being the ones who have to spit out the money," said state Sen. George Runner, R-Lancaster, gesturing at the towering ATM.

Runner joined state Sen. Bob Dutton, R-Rancho Cucamonga, at the Riverside news conference put on by Americans for Prosperity. The nonprofit, nonpartisan group, which favors small government and scrutinizes earmarks, is traveling the state with lawmakers to make pitches for restrained spending, no tax increases and budget reform.

The move comes as lawmakers begin trying to craft a budget for the 2008-09 fiscal year, which begins July 1. The state faces an estimated $15.2 billion shortfall between spending and revenue.

No word on what will become of the 12-foot-high prop, with the words "California Taxpayers Already Taxed to the Max" on it, after that.

Democrat or No Democrat?

Democrats in the 64th Assembly District are going to have to wait a little longer to find out if they'll have a candidate on the ballot in November.

The party failed to get anyone qualified for last week's ballot, so they had two write-in candidates to choose from. One of those candidates needed 1,089 votes to win the nomination and get on the general election ballot, but the registrar's office said it'll take a little longer to count up the ballots with names written in.

Paul Rasso of Moreno Valley, who is trying for the seat for the second time, said he's eager to learn the results.

"I personally feel that I do have the 1,089 friends that I needed to write me in," he said. "If I don't make that, I'll feel disappointed."

Rasso's opponent, Daryl Terrell of Moreno Valley, threw his support behind Rasso last month.

If neither Democrat qualifies, Republican nominee Brian Nestande will be the only candidate on the November ballot. The Republican-dominated district runs from Riverside to the Coachella Valley.

Clean Hands

Hundreds of thousands of dollars in independent expenditures flowed into the Coachella and Imperial valleys this spring -- and the candidates were able to keep their distance from it.

Political-action committees made up of public employee and teachers unions backed the campaign of Manuel Perez, one of four candidates in the 80th Assembly District Democratic primary.

The Desert Stonewall Democrats, meanwhile, spent money on mailers and phone calls to try to defeat him.

In the end, Perez won. He will face Republican Gary Jeandron in the November general election.

David Mark, a senior editor at Politico.com and author of "Going Dirty: The Art of Negative Campaigning," said these third-party groups often are taking the lead on the most negative ads, giving candidates a chance to "have clean hands."

"Technically they can claim innocence or ignorance," Mark said. "If (independent expenditure committees) are not the one on the ballots, they can say almost anything."

On Thursday, Perez described his own campaign as positive and said the same thing about his main opponent, Greg Pettis. Perez refused to comment on the negative campaign tactics used on his behalf by outsiders.

"There's nothing I can do about that," he said. "I think that the independent expenditures were not what caused ... a victory for our campaign."

Get more political insight all week long from the Ballot Watch blog at PE.com/politics.

This week's Political Notebook was compiled by Michelle DeArmond

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