Archive for June, 2011
Law and Order Republican Enters Washington State Attorney General Race
Last Updated on Tuesday, 14 June 2011 12:05 Written by rslcpol Tuesday, 14 June 2011 12:05
From IssaquahPress.com:
Reagan Dunn, a local representative on the King County Council and a former federal prosecutor, entered the race Tuesday morning for state attorney general.
In a long-expected campaign announcement, Dunn, a Republican, referenced his experience at the U.S. Department of Justice as a key asset in the race, and rolled out a series of high-profile endorsements.
“I am running for attorney general because I am concerned about the overall direction of Washington state government and I believe we can do much better,” he said in a statement. “While Rob McKenna has done a very fine job as our AG, much more still needs to be done. Our state faces significant challenges, including high unemployment, an unfavorable business climate for job creation and crime levels that are unacceptable.”
Dunn is seeking to succeed Attorney General Rob McKenna, the leading Republican in the 2012 race for governor. McKenna launched a bid for the Governor’s Mansion on June 8.
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WI GOP works to Scale Back Size of Government
Last Updated on Monday, 13 June 2011 01:33 Written by rslcpol Monday, 13 June 2011 01:27
From PostCrescent.com:
The state Legislature will take up Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s first budget this week.
The two-year spending plan furthers the conservative governor’s agenda to scale back the size of government through massive cuts to public education and with caps on entitlement programs that only fuels anger Democrats hope will lead to successful Senate recall elections this summer.
In the lead up to the recalls that could give Democrats control of the state Senate and the ability to block Walker’s agenda, one thing remains clear: Republicans and Walker will have already made an indelible mark on the state that will be hard to unwind.
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GOP poised to cement 2010 successes
Last Updated on Monday, 13 June 2011 12:18 Written by rslcpol Monday, 13 June 2011 12:18
From the New York Times:
“The more the district leans right, the more the concern for the incumbent becomes the primary challenge,” said Chris Jankowski, president of the Republican State Leadership Committee. “But the broader Republican strategy is to maximize gains for your party within the extent that law allows.”
Republicans have a few slam-dunks. In North Carolina, they have gained control of both chambers of the state legislature for the first time since the 1800s, and thus control of redistricting. Partly because of favorable district lines, Democrats there lost fewer seats than their colleagues in other states in 2010.
But under Republican rule, the map revisions in the state are all but certain to result in new district lines that trip up the Democratic incumbents, Representatives Larry Kissell, Mike McIntyre and Heath Shuler.
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NC: Voter ID Bill Passes House
Last Updated on Friday, 10 June 2011 01:49 Written by rslcpol Friday, 10 June 2011 01:12
From CharlotteObserver.com:
North Carolina would join 13 other states requiring voters to show a photo ID under a bill passed Thursday by the Republican-led N.C. House.
The measure passed 66-48 along party lines, despite Democratic protests that it would decrease turnout. Some critics invoked comparisons to Jim Crow-era voting barriers.
The bill now goes to the Senate, which is expected to endorse it. It would then go to Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue.
The measure would require voters to show a driver’s license or other photo identification or get a new voter ID from their board of elections.
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WI: Recall Elections Certified for three Senate Democrats
Last Updated on Friday, 10 June 2011 01:01 Written by rslcpol Friday, 10 June 2011 01:01
From LaCrosseTribune.com:
All three Democratic state senators targeted for recalls will have to stand for election this summer after the board that oversees elections declined on Wednesday to invalidate petitions circulated against them, even though it found evidence of fraud.
The Government Accountability Board voted to reject thousands of signatures it determined were either fraudulent or collected by circulators through misleading means, such as saying the petition was for something other than recalling the Democrats.
But even after those signatures were tossed, more than enough remained to force recall elections for Sens. Jim Holperin of Conover, Dave Hansen of Green Bay and Bob Wirch of Pleasant Prairie.
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RSLC Names Matt Walter Political Director
Last Updated on Wednesday, 8 June 2011 01:57 Written by rslcpol Wednesday, 8 June 2011 01:57
Alexandria, Va. (June 8, 2011) – The Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC) announced, today, the further expansion of their political team with the hiring of Matt Walter as the Committee’s Political Director. Walter previously served as an outside consultant to the RSLC’s successful $1.4 million effort to regain the New York State Senate for Republicans in 2010 and has extensive state legislative and campaign experience.
As Political Director, Walter will play a key role in directing all RSLC political expenditures, expected to exceed $21 million for the cycle, in races for Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State and state legislature.
“Matt is an experienced political professional who is ready to continue the RSLC’s groundbreaking success and take the point for the Committee’s efforts electing Republicans to state office across the country,” said Chris Jankowski, RSLC President.
Walter has more than 15 years of experience in New York State where he served as Executive Director of the New York Republican Party from spring 2008 through fall 2009 as well as serving as Communications Director and Director of Strategic Planning. As Executive Director, Walter raised and managed a $3 million budget. His extensive campaign experience includes recent service as Campaign Manager for Lazio for New York Governor and GOTV Operations Director for Chris Gibson for Congress. He held a variety of communications and political positions with the New York Senate Majority, including serving as a Senate spokesperson during the 2000 redistricting cycle. Matthew is a graduate of the RNC’s 2010 Redistricting Conference and Training Seminar as well as the 2009 Executive Director’s Comprehensive School.
The RSLC raised more than $30 million for the 2009-2010 cycle as part of an effort that picked up 20 legislative chambers, six Attorneys General, three Lieutenant Governors and seven Secretaries of State. The RSLC is the largest caucus of Republican state leaders and the only national organization whose mission is to elect down ballot, state-level Republican office-holders. Since 2002, the RSLC has been working to elect candidates for the office of Attorney General, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State and State Legislator. The RSLC has more than 100,000 donors in all 50 states.
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Maine: House Supports Voter ID Bill
Last Updated on Tuesday, 7 June 2011 01:39 Written by rslcpol Tuesday, 7 June 2011 01:39
From Bangor Daily News:
The House of Representatives on Monday gave preliminary approval to a pair of bills that will change how and when Mainers vote.
The House voted 74-70 along party lines to approve LD 1376, a bill backed by Republican leadership and Secretary of State Charlie Summers that eliminates Maine’s 38-year-old, same-day voting registration and bans absentee voting two business days before Election Day.
The House also voted 75-69 to give preliminary approval to LD 199, a bill requiring voters to present photo identification at the polls.
Proponents of LD 1376 say the legislation is designed to ease the workload of town clerks overwhelmed by an increasing number of voters who cast absentee ballots and who wait until the election to register.
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NH: Pension Reform Bill Moves Forward
Last Updated on Tuesday, 7 June 2011 01:33 Written by rslcpol Tuesday, 7 June 2011 01:33
From Concord Monitor:
House and Senate lawmakers have reached an agreement on wide-ranging reforms to the state retirement system set to be voted on by both chambers tomorrow.
The pension reform bill, which affects public employees at the state and local level, has been a high priority of the Republican majority. Special committees in the House and Senate crafted separate plans before hashing out a compromise over the course of nine meetings in the past month.
Rep. Ken Hawkins, a Bedford Republican who chaired the House’s pension reform committee, was part of a team of legislators in 2008 that took an earlier stab at making the retirement system more sustainable.
“I think, after eight, nine years of working this, that we finally got some comprehensive reform,” Hawkins said yesterday.
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Oklahoma Signs up for Conservative health care plan
Last Updated on Tuesday, 7 June 2011 01:26 Written by rslcpol Tuesday, 7 June 2011 01:26
From Tulsa World:
Oklahoma is the second state to sign up for a conservative alternative to the federal health initiative – the Health Care Compact.
Proponents say it is a more responsive, less bureaucratic alternative to President Barack Obama’s health care initiatives.
Opponents say it’s a pipe dream that seeks to tinker with the nation’s health care funding mechanism for political reasons.
Last month Gov. Mary Fallin signed legislation to join the compact. So far, Georgia is the only other state to join. Several states are considering membership, including Texas and Missouri.
If approved by Congress, the plan would turn most federal health care funding into block grants to states, which would be free to set their policies on how that money would be spent.
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VA: Prelude to Redistricting
Last Updated on Monday, 6 June 2011 02:01 Written by rslcpol Monday, 6 June 2011 02:01
From Richmond Times-Dispatch:
Legislators return to Richmond for one day Thursday to discuss congressional redistricting, but not much is expected to happen until next month.
Legislators from both parties say the House of Delegates and the state Senate will do little more Thursday than reject each other’s redistricting bills and send the bills to a committee of conference.
That will allow six legislators — three from each body — to hash out the considerable differences over the bills.
Del. S. Chris Jones, R-Suffolk, a key legislator in the redistricting process, said he hopes the negotiators can come up with a plan that both bodies could approve by mid-July.
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