Joe Carroll's Auburn Augur column, a Sentinel staple for years, focuses on politics at all levels -- and plenty of other things. Even the politicians who get skewered in his often irreverent pieces respect him as an old time newsman who knows his stuff. In addition to newspaper experience in San Francisco and Placer County, Joe spent 15 years as a state legislative aide, working for both Republicans and Democrats. He describes many politicians as "people who shake your hand before the election and your confidence afterward."
HUSH-HUSH, SWEET SHARLET— No, we didn’t misspell LaBelle Sharlet Pyne’s first name. We just thought it would be cute to have some fun with it. Anyway, that’s Sharlet on the left in today’s photo, pictured with the equally attractive Ruth Alves, Supervisor Jim Holmes’s good right arm, at Bootlegger’s Old Town Grill the other day. Sharlet, bless her, is due to retire late this week after nearly two decades of county service, most recently as executive assistant to CEO Tom Miller, and, of course, we dues-paying members of the Sharlet Pyne Fan Club wish her all the happiness in the world. And, man alive, will we miss that smile!
BUNDLE OF JOY DEPT. — Say “Hi, Adorable” to Sophia Alice Calvillo, who bounced into this world September 8th weighing a peppy 6 1/2 pounds and stretching to 18 1/2 inches. She’s the firstborn of former Auburn Mayor Alice Dowdin Calvillo and Frank Calvillo, the retired USMC officer who’s now a big wheel in Governor Schwarzenegger’s anti-terrorism operation. Momma Alice is also a ranking official in the Schwarzenegger administration, although I’m sure she’s looking after Sophia for a while before returning to the grind at the Capitol.
OLD PROS — I ran into a batch of friends from yesteryear at the Placer County Water Agency’s golden anniversary shindig and among them were the two gents pictured here, Bob Mahan, left, and Paul Lunardi. Bob gave up his seat on the county board of education in 1966 and got elected to the Placer County Board of Supervisors, where he spent the next 24 years before deciding to hang ‘em up. Paul was the baby-faced mayor of Roseville back in 1958 when he was elected to the State Assembly and, in late 1964, a state senator, succeeding the late Ron Cameron who had accepted a judicial appointment from Governor Pat Brown. Paul went on to spend more than a quarter-century with the California Wine Institute, the lucky stiff. Lots of “longtime, no see” greetings at the PCWA gathering.
HOLMES ON THE RANGE (Part 1) – Auburn’s Mike Holmes is back in town after an East Coast swing during which he rubbed elbows with several political consultants (most of whom I liken to highway robbers) and plenty of news people. He reports that lots of folks “inside the Beltway are watching the Doolittle saga with interest.” So are all of us political junkies with long memories, Captain Mike. Holmes isn’t a bit fazed by the news that Ted Gaines, the rookie state assemblyman and former Placer County supervisor, is “testing the waters” (a dreadful term) for a possible run in next June’s primary against his no-longer-beloved mentor, nine-term incumbent J.T. Doolittle, who has taken to referring to his possible GOP opponents and their backers as weasels, which are not just animals but human beings defined in the dictionaries as sneaky and treacherous people. I’m sure that Doolittle includes Mike Holmes in the weasel pack.
THE GREAT FALLING OUT — I have bittersweet feelings about the mounting opposition to the renomination of GOP Congressman John T. Doolittle. Bitter because the more Republican opponents he has in next June’s primary election, the better are his chances of holding on to the nomination. Sweet because (1) all this opposition might force the polecat’s voluntary retirement, or (2) even if he does win renomination, he’s sure to be beaten in November 2008, probably by Democrat Charlie Brown, who scared the daylights out of him last year. (Sodden thought: Pounding on the keyboard would be difficult for me with no JTD to kick around, but heck, c’est mon affaire.) The Republican congressional candidacies of Auburn’s Mike Holmes and Roseville’s Eric Egland have been known for some time, but now comes freshman State Assemblyman Ted Gaines, who apparently has chosen to ignore my sage advice about remaining in the Legislature’s lower house and instead has formed one of those “exploratory” committees for a “possible” run for Doolittle’s seat. I’m sure that Gaines, a pleasant fellow but hardly the brightest bulb in the lamp store, had plenty of advice before announcing his plans and making derogatory statements about Doolittle, his political mentor whose remaining defenders are likening Ted to Judas Iscariot and Jimmy “The Weasel” Frattiano.
