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WILL THEY OR WON’T THEY? — My favorite 2007 photo is the one of Congressman John T. Doolittle shaking hands with Auburn’s own Rob Haswell. I snapped it last February when JTD spoke at the local fairground as the first part of his “Get Cuddly With Constituents” tour of the 4th Congressional District following his near-loss to Charlie Brown a few months earlier. Haswell, who got creamed by Doolittle-sponsored Supervisor Ted Gaines for the 4th Assembly District seat in the same election, was on hand to listen to his congressman. The fact that a far-right Republican and a very liberal Democrat can shake hands is proof that political politesse is possible (even if it’s faked). Now what are these gents going to do next year? JTD insists he’ll seek a 10th term in the House of Representatives and still shrugs off speculation that he (and maybe his wife) might be indicted on corruption charges related to their close association with Jack Abramoff, the crooked lobbyist now doing hard time in a federal pen. The U.S. Department of Justice’s probe of the Doolittles has been underway for about three years and it’s about time the G-Men either file charges or get off the couple’s backs (with a statement that their suspicions had no merit).
There was a hotshot blog out of Stockton the other day that JTD would
retire rather than go for re-election — and that he’d endorse former
state legislator T. Rico Oller, a protégé and buddy, as his
replacement. Ace blogger Aaron Park checked this out with top Doolittle
staffers and dismissed it as stale baloney, adding: “Until JTD calls me
from his palatial mansion to give me my talking points on how to spin
his retirement, I have to say that anyone thinking John Doolittle is
retiring is drinking the Kool-Aid (or working for Charlie Brown).” Now
as for Rob Haswell, if he has any plans to run for anything in 2008
he’s keeping them close to the vest. He’s been some type of State
Democratic official up here in very red northeastern California for the
past several months and kept his name alive along the party faithful. I
imagine that he’s waiting to see what transpires with the Doolittle
situation. Will JTD heed the wishes of some GOP wiseguys and bow out?
Will Ted Gaines run for the House seat or seek a second term in the
Assembly? And what about Eric Hogue? Eric who? Hogue is a radio talk
show host who says he’ll run for the GOP Assembly nomination if Ted
Gaines opts to make a try for Congress. (Michael Medved, a national
talk show host, will speak at a Hogue fundraising dinner next Tuesday
night the 27th in Sun City Roseville’s Timber Creek Lodge. Call
916-247-2561 for ducats that start at $75. Hogue says he’ll return the
money if he doesn’t run. Really?). But back to Haswell. If Gaines goes
for the House and cedes the Assembly Republican nomination to Hogue,
Rob would be nuts not to try again. After all, the Democratic
nomination is his for the asking. Heck, why not take on Gaines again if
Ted sticks with the Assembly? Charlie Brown’s coattails might be worth
riding in a possible contest with JTD (at least the Democrats hope JTD
will be the GOP nominee — they’re a bit less confident about Charlie
having to face Gaines or Mike Holmes, who’s definitely in the race,
with or without the troubled incumbent). * * * NON-PARTISAN VOTERS, NOW HEAR THIS! — If you’re one of the more than
30,000 Placerans registered as decline-to-state, you should know that
in the February 5 presidential primary election you’ll only be able to
vote for Democratic and American Independent Party candidates. The
Republican, Green, Libertarian, and Peace & Freedom parties will
allow only the voters of their respective registered persuasions to
cast ballots. In other words, if you’re registered as decline-to-state
(same as non-partisan) and you want to vote for the aforementioned
parties’ candidates, you’ll have to re-register to a particular
affiliation by January 21. I have a hunch the Republicans will change
their tune for the June primary and accept votes from non-partisans.
Confused? Call Ferrin Call of Election Chief Jim McCauley’s staff at
(530) 886-5665 to get unconfused. Incidentally, the number of
registered voters in the county stands at 178,260 this week. There are
90,108 Republicans; 51,130 Democrats; 3,684 members of the American
Independent Party; 1,334 Green Party members; 1,215 Libertarians; and
240 Peace & Freedomites. Sorry, but the Natural Law Party is no
longer viable (nor is the Cocktail Party). * * * CITY BEAT – Pretty heady stuff at this week’s Auburn City Council
meeting, especially in the matter of compensation for the top
department heads — police chief, fire chief, administrative
services/finance chief, public works director and community development
director. On a unanimous vote, the council approved what the City Hall
brain trust is calling a Senior Executive Pay for Performance Program
Policy for these jobs. The current holders of these positions can opt
to join the new deal or sit it out with no hard feelings — but the
women and men who hold these jobs in the future must go along with it.
In their memo to the council, Administrative Services Chief Andy Heath
and City Manager Bob Richardson wrote: “Goals of the program include
providing a strategic tool to assist the city in achieving its goals of
providing responsive, innovative local government services in the most
efficient and cost-effective manner; providing performance incentives
and flexibility to participating employees; and enabling the city to
achieve results by recruiting and maintaining a highly qualified
workforce.” You figure it out. In case you’re interested, here are the
current salaries for these jobs (and do add about 15 percent for health
and retirement benefits): Police Chief Valerie Harris, $125,774;
Community Development Director Wilfred Wong, $119,052; Administrative
Services/Finance Chief Heath, $117,003; and Fire Chief Mark D’Ambrogi,
$108,768. Public Works Director Jack Warren, already retired from the
County of Placer where he had the same title, works on a contract for
about $100 an hour. And, surprisingly, Bob Richardson, who, with the
council looking over his shoulder, will be running the new pay setup,
makes a bit less than Chief Harris. His annual salary is
$125,456....And the council got some good news from the State Regional
Water Quality Control Board. Looks like the water purity regulators
will okay the wastewater treatment plant improvement time extensions
requested by the city. Mayor Bob Snyder and the council thanked Jack
Warren for his hard work on this and signaled their appreciation to
former Mayor Cheryl Maki, a member of the state board in question. * * * ROUNDABOUT — Wow! Former star AJ reporter John Trumbo has done it
again! He’s just accepted the most prestigious prize for journalistic
achievement in Washington state — the C.B. Blethen Memorial Award.
Trumbo, an ace newshound for the McClatchy-owned Tri-City Herald in
Kennewick for seven years, won for his “Dollars for Deals” series that
exposed how some public officials were allowing criminal defendants to
buy their way out of trouble by making charitable donations. Bully for
you, John. I remember you as a kid newsie and sharp AJ stringer at
Sierra College. In the past, Trumbo’s won two other Blethen awards for
team efforts in which he participated, plus three McClatchy President’s
awards... From Brian Jagger, the onetime youthful GOP lieutenant
governor hopeful who now works as Supervisor Kirk Uhler’s top aide,
comes word that the Placer Community Theater — truly “The Biggest
Little Theater in Auburn” — will stage a comedic mystery called “Exit
The Body” in Theater Pamelot on Wall Street next January 25 and 26 and
February 1 and 2. Drama critic Dudley duPont will come out of
retirement to review this one. And, hey, will Brian Jagger be in it or
not?
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