Western Political Review October 2007

Suit aims to stop illegal-immigrant law
"It's clearly one of the most restrictive policies" in the country, says Cecilia Muñoz of the National Council of La Raza
By Emily Bazar, USA TODAY
One of the toughest state laws targeting illegal immigrants takes effect Thursday in Oklahoma, prompting efforts by immigrants trying to block it and work by state agencies to comply. The law makes it a felony to transport or shelter illegal immigrants. Businesses, which are barred by federal law from hiring illegal immigrants, can be sued by a legal worker who is displaced by an illegal one. The measure denies illegal immigrants certain public benefits such as rental assistance and fuel subsidies. "It's clearly one of the most restrictive policies" in the country, says Cecilia Muñoz of the National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic civil rights organization.

Government health insurance has support in poll; paying is question
By Howard Fischer, Arizona Daily Star
Arizonans are unhappy enough with some elements of health care in this country that almost half would support having the government provide insurance, a new poll suggests.
The statewide survey also indicates Arizonans are equally divided about paying higher taxes to ensure that all state residents have health care. And while they also are split about both the quality of health care and access to it, most believe that it costs far too much.

Rossi due to make rematch official
By Andrew Garber, Seattle Times
Republican Dino Rossi is expected to announce Thursday what many people have assumed since he narrowly lost the 2004 governor's race — he's running again. His campaign spokeswoman, Jill Strait, confirmed Monday he's expected to announce his second run for governor in Issaquah, then again later in the day in Spokane. Rossi lost to Democrat Christine Gregoire by 133 votes in 2004, after three vote counts and a court challenge. Rossi spent seven years in the Legislature, rising to chair the powerful Senate Ways and Means Committee. He resigned his Senate seat in December 2003 to run for governor.

Lingle takes her time on Superferry legislation
Gov. Linda Lingle has yet to call the state Legislature into special session this week as expected, saying she is waiting for "consensus" on a proposed bill to keep the Superferry alive
By Richard Borreca, Honolulu Star-Bulletin
Gov. Linda Lingle says that she has not yet reached "general consensus" with the House and Senate about the terms of a bill to save the Hawaii Superferry and is delaying a call for a special session. "We have a draft bill we have been reviewing, both the House, Senate, Superferry and myself, and whether or not we have a general consensus prior to the session beginning is going to determine whether or not I call them into session," Lingle said yesterday on a live radio show. Democratic legislative leaders have tentatively set the session to open tomorrow at 9 a.m. and run for a minimum of five days. The Legislature plans to consider a bill that would let the Superferry sail from Oahu to Maui and Kauai without having to comply with a court order that it wait until an environmental impact statement be completed.

Eyman's latest plan targets state taxes
I-960 is needed because legislators are out of control
By Andrew Garber, Seattle Times
Anti-tax activist Tim Eyman has delivered another measure intended to make it more difficult for the state to raise taxes. The initiative would make it tougher for the Legislature to boost taxes by reaffirming, and broadening, an existing state law that requires a two-thirds vote by lawmakers to increase taxes. The measure also requires legislative approval of state agency fee increases. Eyman argues I-960 is needed because legislators are out of control.

Hutchison may leave Senate early, won't seek re-election
By the Associated Press, Dallas Morning News
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison told a Texas magazine she will not seek re-election after this term and may leave the Senate as early as 2009, according to excerpts published on the magazine's blog Monday. Hutchison told Texas Monthly in an interview to be fully published in December that she would end her Senate career in 2012, whether or not she runs for governor. Stepping down in two years "has to be considered," the Texas Republican senior senator is quoted as saying in the excerpts. Ms. Hutchison declined an interview request from The Associated Press, but a spokesman for the senator confirmed the accuracy of the magazine excerpts. If she runs for governor and wins, once she steps down as senator a temporary appointment would be made by the governor to fill the Senate seat until an election is held. It's conceivable she would get to make that interim selection if she's the incoming governor.

Poll: Reid's popularity falls among Nevadans
Both the Democratic senator and the Republican governor are less favorably viewed than President Bush
By MOLLY BALL, Las Vegas Review-Journal
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's appeal among Nevadans has plunged dramatically in a new Review-Journal poll, which finds him viewed unfavorably by most likely voters in his home state. Reid is still slightly more well-liked than Gov. Jim Gibbons. Both the Democratic senator and the Republican governor are less favorably viewed than President Bush. "Fortunately for Reid, he doesn't have to run for re-election for a while," said Brad Coker, managing partner of Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc., the Washington, D.C.-based firm that conducted the poll. If they decide to run again, Reid's name won't be on the ballot until 2010, nor will Gibbons'. The poll asked 625 likely voters from around the state whether they recognized a politician's name, and if so, if they had a favorable, unfavorable or neutral opinion of that person. The survey carries a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. Reid's favorable rating was 32 percent, compared with 51 percent unfavorable and 15 percent neutral. Gibbons was viewed favorably by 30 percent, Bush by 34 percent.

Same-sex law overcomes opposition in Oregon
By the Associated Press, USA TODAY
Opponents of Oregon's new same-sex domestic partnership law failed to turn in enough valid signatures to block the measure, clearing the way for it to take effect next year, state elections officials said Monday. Oregon will join eight other states that have approved spousal rights in some form for gay couples — Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Maine, California, Washington and Hawaii. Massachusetts is the only state that allows gay couples to marry. The Oregon measure covers benefits related to inheritance rights, child-rearing and custody, joint state tax filings, joint health, auto and homeowners insurance policies, visitation rights at hospitals and others. It does not affect federal benefits for married couples, including Social Security and joint filing of federal tax returns.

El Paso mayor threatened over border fence opposition
By the Associated Press, Houston Chronicle
El Paso Mayor John Cook has received a death threat after opposition by South Texas mayors to the border fence in their communities was publicized this week. The Associated Press this week reported that some mayors along the Texas-Mexico border were protesting the federal government's plans to build a fence along the border by refusing access to their land or not allowing some of the fence to be built within their communities.

Split court says candidates can lie
By Ralph Thomas, Seattle Times
Government has no business trying to stop political candidates from deliberately lying about each other in campaign ads, a divided state Supreme Court ruled Thursday. In the 5-4 decision upholding a lower-court ruling, the high court said a state law aimed at punishing political candidates for false advertising is an unconstitutional infringement on free speech. "There can be no doubt that false personal attacks are too common in political campaigns, with wide-ranging detrimental consequences," Justice Jim Johnson wrote for the majority. "However, government censorship ... is not a constitutionally permitted remedy." But in a sharply worded dissent, Justice Barbara Madsen called the majority's ruling "an invitation to lie with impunity. ... It is little wonder that so many view political campaigns with distrust and cynicism." The case stems from a 2002 state Senate race in the 35th Legislative District, which covers Mason and parts of Thurston, Grays Harbor and Kitsap counties.

Don't blame it on Prop. 13
By RICHARD RIDER, North County Times
For the last 30 years, perhaps the most enduring California canard is that "Proposition 13 gutted our local governments." Every imaginable failing by local government has, at some point, been blamed on Prop. 13. Indeed, it has always been my somewhat facetious contention that, if the voters hadn't passed Prop. 13, local politicians and bureaucrats would have. After all, Prop. 13 has been the widely accepted alibi politicians trot out time and time again to explain their ongoing failure to manage their budgets and properly deliver the fundamental government services for which we pay. Local politicians do have one legitimate beef about property taxes -- the state is confiscating a large chunk of this revenue. But that is not the fault of Prop. 13. This revenue shift is what the local politicos should be screaming to Sacramento about.

House Repubicans rip governor's alternate license idea
By the Oregonian
If Gov. Ted Kulongoski decides to push his idea for a two-tiered driver's license system -- one for people who can prove they're here legally and one for those who can't -- he's in for a fight. After a story in Tuesday's Oregonian about the governor's suggestion for dual licenses, House Republican leaders ripped the idea as too friendly to illegal immigrants. "It's wrong to issue drivers licenses to illegal aliens," said House Republican Leader Bruce Hanna, R-Roseburg. "The Governor's plan establishes a double-standard... It sends the message that driving is a privilege for Oregonians, but a right for illegal aliens."

"Right to work" advances
A panel approves the language of a November 2008 ballot initiative to bar compulsory unions
By Mark P. Couch, Denver Post
Anti-union advocates seeking a constitutional amendment that would bar compulsory union membership for workers advanced Wednesday toward the 2008 ballot. The language for a proposed "Colorado Right to Work" amendment was approved by the state's Initiative Title Setting Review Board. The measure would prohibit workers from being forced to join and pay dues to a union. John Berry, lawyer for the backers of the amendment, said the measure is needed to protect workers and to ensure that Colorado employers stay competitive with surrounding states that have similar laws. "We've seen attempts to organize businesses in the state, and that puts us at a competitive disadvantage with other states," Berry said. Berry said the divisive fight over House Bill 1072 this year was a warning that labor unions have significant power at the Capitol. That bill would have eliminated one of the two worker votes needed to create an all- union workplace. Despite supporting that proposal on the campaign trail, Gov. Bill Ritter vetoed the bill, saying he didn't approve of the divisive tone of the debate.

GOP environmental group to meet this weekend in San Antonio
By Anton Caputo, San Antonio Express-News
San Antonio will get a visit this week from a rare political species known as the Green Elephant. Republicans for Environmental Protection will hold its national leadership conference at the Hyatt Regency on the River Walk on Friday and Saturday. The visit to a state known for its ardently red Republican Party is a bow to the fact that Texas has the group's newest chapter and that the Lone Star State is a likely location for significant environmental battles, policy director Jim DiPeso said. "Texas is a place where there is both a long row to hoe, but a lot of opportunity as well," he said. "It (Texas) is our newest chapter and our second-largest after California." Republicans for Environmental Protection has been trying to green the Republican Party since the group was created in 1996. Members often point to the conservation efforts of Republican icons such as Theodore Roosevelt and Barry Goldwater.

Democrats want feds to investigate California electoral college ballot effort
With Democrats calling for an investigation, allies of Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger who had backed the proposed ballot measure - including the author, Sacramento attorney Tom Hiltachk - dropped their support
By Carla Marinucci, San Francisco Chronicle
Democratic Party activists said Monday that they have filed a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission charging connections between backers of Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani and a GOP-supported ballot measure that could have changed California's winner-take-all electoral college system to benefit Republican candidates. James Harrison, an attorney for Californians for Fair Election Reform, the Democratic group, said the organization asked the commission to refer the matter to the Department of Justice to investigate possible criminal violations of federal election law. The proposed ballot measure, called the Presidential Election Reform Act, would have required California's 55 Electoral College votes to go to the winner of the popular vote in each congressional district rather than the statewide winner. Political analysts said such a change could have meant that California, a state that has backed Democratic presidential candidates since 1992, could have provided Republicans with at least 20 electoral votes - almost as many as states such as Ohio and Pennsylvania.

14 named in Dallas City Hall corruption probe
"It's no doubt complex and multilayered," U.S. Attorney Richard Roper said during a news conference about the indictments
By DAVE LEVINTHAL and RUDOLPH BUSH, Dallas Morning News
Federal prosecutors announced sweeping conspiracy charges against State Rep. Terri Hodge, former Mayor Pro Tem Donald Hill, low-income housing developer Brian Potashnik and 11 others. The charges contained in a 166-page indictment include bribery and kickbacks that Hodge and Hill allegedly accepted in exchange for using their offices to assist Potashnik's company, Southwest Housing, gain construction contracts. In a separate indictment, prosecutors accused former council member James Fantroy of embezzling federal funds in excess of $10,000 from Paul Quinn College. Former city planning commissioner D'Angelo Lee and Sheila Farrington, Mr. Hill's wife, also were named, along with Cheryl Potashnik, Darren Reagan, Allen McGill, Jibreel Rashad, Rickey Robertson, Andrea Spencer, Ronald Slovacek, Kevin Dean and John Lewis. A grand jury handed up sealed indictments late last week. The indictments culminate an FBI investigation into public corruption in Dallas that began publicly 27 months ago, when federal agents raided Mr. Hill’s City Hall office.

State Rep. Terri Hodge, D-Dallas, arrives at the Earle Cabell Federal Building and Courthouse in Dallas