Friday, May 30, 2008

Fran Pavley for State Senate

This isn't a political blog (except frequently opposing bailouts), but for election day next Tuesday I'm making an exception. (Hey, it's my blog!) You did know there's an election, right?

To me Fran Pavley has been one of the best environmental legislators ever. Termed out in the Assembly two years ago, she's running in the Democratic primary for (also termed-out) Sheila Kuehl's 23rd district State Senate seat.

I'm really annoyed by the huge stack of mailers from her opponent Lloyd Levine. To me he's a carpetbagger from a Valley Assembly district not even within this Senate district, and I wonder who's paying for it all, especially the crass hit piece claiming Pavley is funded by Wal-Mart.

Election night update, 12:15 a.m.: With half the vote counted (227/449 precincts), Fran is winning with a landslide 66.7% of the vote!

29 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have received a disgusting amount of mail from both sides. Most of it negative against the other side. Today alone, I received three mailings, two of which were negative. I am probably averaging two a day for the last 10 days. Can't wait to open Monday's mailbox.

I really am considering voting for whoever sends me the least bullshit. Seriously.

If anybody wants to chime in on the real differences between Levine and Pavley, I'm willing to listen. And leave out the crap. Every candidate loves the environment, fire dept, etc.

Anonymous said...

Environment? Who cares, the environment is the least of our problems.

How about the state budget which is in shambles. The state is literally going out of business and all the environmentalists want to do is make energy more expensive (then we'll use less of it) and that will continue to drive the economy into the ground.

And please, let's not bring up how the government needs to build new mass transit systems. The government can't even keep vital and important hospitals and trauma centers open.

Pie in the sky visions of a "New Green California" are of no value if you have a car accident or heart attack and you die because the local ER was full and they diverted your ambulance to a distant (also full) facility. Our trauma network in L.A. County is already putting lives at risk everyday. And lets not even talk about the coming health care disaster that's coming down the tracks in the form of aging and sick baby boomers that will swamp our already stressed health care infrastructure.

And that's the GOOD health care news for people who have health insurance. The recent lame attempt by Arnold to make health insurance mandatory would have depleted the state treasury to even deeper depths and driven costs through the roof.

California is chasing businesses out of the state. In case you haven't noticed, most of the state does not look like the Westside.

Most of the State looks like Fontana and our future is more like the Inland Empire than the 100 people making out like bandits with their stock options at Google.

Anonymous said...

I'm also really sick of all this environmental talk in the media and otherwise, I really could not care less and can't wait for this fad to pass. However, since I don't know either of the candidates and I am a big fan of Westside and this blog, I will vote Pavley out of loyalty.

Arti

Anonymous said...

the state is going bankrupt because the folks that run the state have rolled out the welcome mat for the most uneducated and impoverished people from all over the world to move here.

this is not a liberal / conservative thing - it is a bipartisan concensus to invite the world.

republicans benefit from cheap labor and democrats like it for other reasons.

try going to a hospital for a heart attack - you are likely to die due to the lines in the emergency rooms

and you have no one but yourself to blame - Fran is part of the problem

Anonymous said...

RENT CONTROL WILL DIE A HORRIBLE DEATH NEXT WEEK.

Rob Dawg said...

By the criteria you yourself put forth why isn't she an even more distant carpetbagger?

Anonymous said...

Why do Westside real estate blogs dredge up so many political troglodytes? Why do so many reactionaries track the housing market in one of the most liberal communities in the country?

Bizarre.

Westside Bubble said...

I have received a disgusting amount of mail from both sides.

Different neighborhood? My mail seems to be 10 times as many from Levine.

If anybody wants to chime in on the real differences between Levine and Pavley

Pavley authored AB 1493, setting greenhouse gas emission limits on cars, and AB 32, establishing the process to reduce California emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.

By the criteria you yourself put forth why isn't she an even more distant carpetbagger?

She represented Santa Monica for six years in the Assembly, while Lloyd Levine's Assembly district is in the mid-San Fernando Valley.

Anonymous said...

While I don't at all agree with anon #2 & 3 that the environment is important (it's huge), they are right that there is an immediate, pressing issue on the budget.

The legislature massively ramped up spending believing that the revenues from the housing bubble were permanent (just like CA did during the Internet bubble with Cap gains).

Once you've noticed the crazy bailout plans that many here have advocated against, you can also start to see that CA has a huge number of subsidies for other politically-connected groups like the builders, just in other industries that people aren't paying much attention to...

We won't be able to do much on any big issues unless we get that in order.

I haven't had a chance to research the candidates yet, so I can't say who is best on that front.

Anonymous said...

The above, obviously, should have said "unimportant" instead of important...

Anonymous said...

---" AB 32, establishing the process to reduce California emissions to 1990 levels by 2020."---

How exactly is the State of California supposed to do this?

Who is going to pay for all of the new fuel efficient cars that millions of residents are going to have to drive?

Where are we going get our electricity? How much more is it going to cost? Who is going to pay for it?

The State can't even pay for existing services right now. Green energy needs government subsidies to make it economically viable.

If millions of Californians can't even get by now, how are they going to manage with this new very expensive mandate?

Also, what will this "green" bill do to the California business environment? Why should anyone put up a factory in a state that already has the most restrictive government regulations?

I suppose if you live in Santa Monica or NOM, these are not issues. But if you live in Bakersfield or Fontana, they are.

Anonymous said...

three bedroom condo -
just hit the market asking 2.4 million

this seems like pricing higher than these fetched in 05


270 PALISADES BEACH RD

Anonymous said...

Interesting. I hadn't looked at the higher-end condos. Westside: You should do something on those places at 201 Ocean. It looks like a bunch have been sitting forever w/massive HOAs.

Anonymous said...

i for one think that land in the 90402 holds its value in this market and the condos lose value

so i am not surprised to see recent transactions support a rock solid $11 million an acre land value in the flat part of 90402

but i would be astounded if these condos sell at todays inflated prices

Anonymous said...

i like Fran's views on the environment a lot and will probably vote for her, but i too am bothered by her views on other issues.

The following really made me question my support for fran.

I don't think that politics belong here but this thread did raise the issue

___________

21-year-old Mexican awaiting her 4th liver transplant. Kudos to reporter Anna Gorman for including the dollar figures of costs for taxpayers and important statistics about the availability of transplant organs: Immigration debate hits home for liver transplant patients (Los Angeles Times, April12, 2008).


Ana Puente was an infant with a liver disorder when her aunt brought her illegally to the U.S. to seek medical care. She underwent two liver transplants at UCLA Medical Center as a child in 1989 and a third in 1998, each paid for by the state.

But when Puente turned 21 last June, she aged out of her state-funded health insurance and the ability to continue treatment at UCLA. [...]

Puente’s case highlights two controversial issues: Should illegal immigrants receive liver transplants in the U.S. and should taxpayers pick up the cost?

The average cost of a liver transplant and first-year follow-up is nearly $490,000, and antirejection medications can run more than $30,000 annually, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing, which oversees transplantation nationwide.

Donor livers are also in scarce supply. In California, nearly 3,700 people are on a waiting list for livers, according to the network. Last year, 767 liver transplants were performed in the state. More than 90% of the organs were given to U.S. citizens.

The reader also learns about the California programs that give illegal aliens more rights and privileges than citizens.

Late last month Puente learned of another, little-known option for patients with certain healthcare needs. If she notified U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services that she was in the country illegally, state health officials might grant her full Medi-Cal coverage. Puente did so, her benefits were restored and she is now awaiting a fourth transplant at UCLA.

Rob Dawg said...

She represented Santa Monica for six years in the Assembly, while Lloyd Levine's Assembly district is in the mid-San Fernando Valley.

In the Assembly she identified herself as D-Aguora Hills.

Aguora to Santa Monica is twice as far as Van Nuys to Santa Monica.

Anonymous said...

This is why the 90402 is a bargain
check this one out - in our neighbor from the south - house on 1500 square foot lot - four million bucks.
In the 90402 you get a hell of a lot more for your four mil


117 7th St
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Price: $3,995,000
Beds: 2
Baths: 3.5
Sq. Ft.: 2,334
$/Sq. Ft.: $1,712
Lot Size: 1,500 Sq. Ft.
Property Type Detached, Single Family Residence
Property Style: Mediterranean
Year Built: 1999
Stories: 3+ Levels
View: White Water
Area: Manhattan Beach Sand
County: Los Angeles
MLS#: S08077778
Source: MRMLS
Status: Active
On Redfin: 5 days

Anonymous said...

except you can' tsee whitewater in SM

Anonymous said...

Perhaps she represented the santa monica mountains via agoura hills.

Anonymous said...

Now that the election is over, can we go back to HOUSING?

Anonymous said...

Whoop tee do! Now if B Hussein Obama bin Laden wins in November, we can look fowards to $5/gal gasoline and electricity rates twice as high as they are today!

The neoenvirogestapo brigade will be issuing fines and prison terms to citizens who fail to recycle paper bags and empty Fiji water bottles, and then they'll be kicking in the doors of homes where people keep the thermostat too cool in the summer or too warm in the winter.

People living in Lancaster and Riverside will be given the choice of moving closer to work or losing their cars--"Who do those people think they are polluting Mother Earth with all of that CO2 by commuting 150 miles a day?!"

And that's just the beginning. Dairy farms and beef cattle production will soon be curtailed since these bovines produce Mother Earth harming methane. The new vegangestapo will begin to publicly humiliate carnivores and soon will end the factory concentration camps that dairy cows endure.

And you thought that 1984 was scary--you ain't seen nothing yet.

Anonymous said...

She will have a hard time finding a "suit" that will fit her less badly.

How about just a little pride in personal appearance.

Anonymous said...

Dear Anonymous June 5, 2008 12:41 AM:

Well, my friend, the market will very soon provide us with a much higher gas price than the $5 per gallon you mention. And hence, will make a 150 mile commute look pretty 20th century. It's supply and demand. You are all for the free market, aren't you? Energy is not a commodity that's in infinite supply, right?

Anonymous said...

---"It's supply and demand. You are all for the free market, aren't you?"---

Of course I'm for a free market, but unfortunately WE DON'T HAVE A FREE MARKET FOR ENERGY IN THIS COUNTRY!

There are vast oil reserves on American soil that the oil companies are PROHIBITED from tapping by the government.

There hasn't been a major oil refinery built in America for decades because of government restrictions.

We have an energy policy in America which PREVENTS energy companies from extracting oil and gas and refining said raw materials.

So don't give me any of this crap about "free markets"

Yes, and if B. Hussein Obama is elected, the Democrats will enact even MORE draconian restrictions on energy than exist today.

One day the government will be ordering people what kind of cars and trucks they can buy and where they will have to live.

1984 has arrived, just a few years late.

Anonymous said...

Oh, and BTW, the current run up of oil prices on the market is due to speculation. But we all know that speculated prices are REAL, correct?

Just like real estate prices that skyrocketed recently, there is NO possibility that the price of crude oil will fall because it's a finite resource, correct?

Just like RE prices can't fall because they are making any more land.

Anonymous said...

Just a word of advice: your arguments lose all credibility when you keep referring to "B. Hussein Obama bin Laden", as if by his name alone, Obama should not be elected. If you have a point to make about excessive environmental regulation, then make it. People may agree or disagree. But as it is, you just sound like a bigoted jerk.

Anonymous said...

"Just like real estate prices that skyrocketed recently, there is NO possibility that the price of crude oil will fall because it's a finite resource, correct?

Just like RE prices can't fall because they are making any more land."

Yes, but there is one big difference here- when the oil is sold and used, it's GONE.

The current run-up in oil prices is not caused by us not being able to tap into our domestic oil fields (which are not as extensive as you suggest) but by the current and projected increase of oil consumption in countries like China- among other factors, yes, speculation being one of them. But that, a priori, has nothing to do with government intervention.

And if you're so keen to see more oil refineries, there are a few just south of here- why don't you buy a house down there? Seem like a nice place to live, next to an oil refinery. Too bad the government doesn't allow more of those to be built, right? How about in your backyard? You get my point (I hope): there's a reason why there are strict environmental regulations concerning refineries.

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