Congressman McKeon, the new big cheese on the House Armed Services Committee, will host a fundraiser tomorrow at the tony but bankrupt Tournament Player’s Club with Meg Whitman, former CEO of eBay and potential GOP gubernatorial candidate for California.

whew…what a mouthful. From the secret email leaked to your’s truly:

*cough* Photoshop! *cough*

No opening bid, reserve price, or Buy It Now! price for the “Get Acquainted” fundraiser is given, though a disclaimer on the email says McKeon will only be able to accept a maximum of $2,400.

The soiree starts at 6pm at a private West Ridge home and includes an after party plus photo opportunity with Meg Whitman at 7pm at the TPC (no, I guess they haven’t changed the locks there yet).

My email informant asks why McKeon is sending out invitations the night before the big dinner with someone who could be California’s next governor. Is he having trouble finding buyers in these troubling economic times?

Also, the rumor is, if  you use the Buy It Now option, McKeon will arrange a fly by of F-22s over West Ridge. Be sure to leave good feedback! (Have I taken the ebay metaphors far enough yet?)

You heard it here first!

A few months ago, you’d be excused if you were a Santa Clarita resident (or blogger) and couldn’t name the governmental authority charged with managing your sewage and waste water.

That’s not the case now though.

Following a decision to delay a $250 million assessment on SCV homeowners over that whole chloride-in-the-water-Ventura-farmers-hate-us thing, the Sanitation District, comprised of two of our own City Councilmembers, has voted to raise taxes fees rates money from us, and, in the process, exposed somewhat the nexus between local government, development, tax revenue and…poo.

KHTS has the best report:

With a full contingent of voters, the Board of the Santa Clarita Valley Sanitation District met Wednesday and unanimously approved a 14 percent increase in service charges for residents, resulting in a monthly fee bump of $1.67, starting in January 2010.

The proposal included the $1.67 increase, which was nearly half of what had been proposed during the May meeting, as well as commensurate hikes for industrial water surcharge rates and an increase in connection fees for new users to $4,500.

So what’s with this Sanitation district business? Don’t look at me, I’ve been lazy lately, look at the KHTS article which includes some rather startling and brutally honest quotes from Mayor Dude on the state of the SCV economy and the reason our rates are going up:

Weste expressed concern that the new connection fees be held off until January to accommodate business owners ready to open within the next few months.

“What will this do to those restaurants who have already calculated their opening costs on the original fees?” she asked.

Both she and Ferry said that their priorities were to support new and expanded commerce in the area, mentioning those in the Golden Valley and Westfield shopping centers.

“Our concern is to keep sites full, that’s what pays for public service,” Ferry said. “Mervyn’s is shut down and there’s a mall with no tenants. Look at Creekside Road now, there are four car dealerships closed down, so I have to make sure we can bring people in. I have to bring those people in to fill all this empty leased space because that’s what going to end up generating sales tax which pays for everything we pay for in the council purview.”

Wow! Here we have concern from Councilmembers/Sanitation District board-sitters about the mall expansion, which is set to open this fall. Back when they broke ground on The Patios, the economy was, if not hot, somewhat decent. But less than two years later and there are retail vacancies all around town, even at the mall and Town Center drive, and some 300,000 sq. ft. more retail space is coming online later this year.

And now it’s going to cost those businesses that the mall area is desperate for even more money to open up shop ($4,500 water hookup, according to the article).

And, as Ferry admits, sales tax revenue is the City’s bread and butter. There’s really no fall-back; the City depends on you and I consuming ourselves into delirium, and right now, we’re not consuming and stores are going under.

But that’s not all. Here’s Ferry on why the District had to raise rates (the brutally honest part):

“The reality is that he (Maguin) doesn’t make the decision whether homes are built. We decide that. Let’s say that 3,000 homes will be built. He has to be prepared for all those stores, restaurants and homes that will flush into the system,” he said. “We’ve always taken the position that if you have lived in Santa Clarita for 25 years, your quality of life shouldn’t change because of the 3,000 new homes.”

He’s not saying it, but he’s saying it: there is a cost to all the growth Santa Clarita has had for the last 15 years, and he’s saying that we can credit/blame the City Council for it. Growth is good, Ferry says, but growth needs infrastructure and the bill is past due (OMG he sounds like a Democrat, let’s get him!)

Former Councilmember TimBen Boydston, a possible candidate for City Council next year and a thorn in Mayor Dude’s side, immediately invoked the tried-and-true Republican meme of “it’s a tax increase during an economic downturn!”

“I’m very disappointed because we’re in the biggest recession since World War II and our Mayor and Councilwoman have voted to raise our taxes,” he said. “Everybody is cutting back on every level of government and as individuals, we’re having to cut back with our families and nonprofits are cutting back, but they can’t say no to higher taxes. The fact is that this is a different kind of year and instead of asking the sanitation district to do more with less, they have taken the easy way out and raised our taxes.”

Yowza! That’s going right into Boydston’s mailer, me thinks, and it should hit our mailboxes in late March or early April next year as Boydston takes on Scott Wilk’s trio of candidates.

A group calling itself the Fair Budget Coalition has gone on the offensive against Assemblyman Cameron Smyth and two other California GOP assemblyman as the budget situation in California continues to worsen.

I received this mailer in my box yesterday:

The mailer claims “Cameron Smyth’s cuts are hurting Californians,” and claims that “drastic cuts to healthcare, education and other vital services have already been implemented this year.” The inside of the mailer shows an elderly woman receiving care from a home medical worker and says that such workers have had their pay cut to $9.50 an hour.

It also shows a black and white picture of a smiling Smyth at the bottom.

The group behind the mailer is made up of teacher and state worker unions, according to the Fresno Bee. The Bee says that the Coalition only targeted three California GOP Assemblymambers with the mailers. Along with Smyth, mailers were sent to homes in the districts of Assemblyman Steve Knight (Lancaster), and Danny Gilmore (30th Assembly District).

Meanwhile, the Signal reports that a dozen or so protesters gathered outside Smyth’s office yesterday to protest budget cuts. The protesters included Carole Lutness, the local Democrat who ran unsuccessfully against Smyth in 2008. Lutness said she had figured out how to balance the state budget by using that LA Times toy the paper had posted a few weeks ago. Check out Cameron Smyth’s response:

Lutness waved a sheet of paper, declaring she had single-handedly solved the budget crisis using a calculator on a newspaper Web site.

“I was able to balance the budget,” Lutness said. “I would like Cameron Smyth to take the test and tell me how he balanced the budget.”

During a break from the Assembly floor Thursday afternoon, Smyth retorted: “I don’t need to get onto (a Web) site to draft a plan. I’m up here voting and doing it for real.”

Lutness’ plan called for more than $19 billion in tax hikes primarily targeting the wealthy and corporations, and raising taxes on gas, alcohol and cigarettes.

Smyth said it wasn’t realistic.

“Tough decisions are going to have to be made - decisions that nobody wants to have to make,” Smyth said. “And while the unions and Democrats are outside my office trying to score cheap political points, I’m here at the Capitol working with Republican and Democratic colleagues to try and solve this crisis.”

Wow. A little testy there? It sounds like he’s not denying the substance of the mailers or what the protesters were claiming. We know raising taxes isn’t an option for Republicans so the only thing left for them is to make cuts.

Why are these liberal groups targeting Smyth when there are 25 other GOP Assembly members?

Maybe it’s because voter registration data suggests Cameron Smyth might be vulnerable in next year’s elections. The Total Capitol.com website, for instance, says Democratic registrations in the 38th Assembly District have come within three points of Republican registrations.

Smyth won in 2008 with 55 percent of the vote, a lower margin than in 2006. And the fact that a liberal union-backed group chose to spend money and resources targeting him with this mailer in an off-election year means someone thinks he might be vulnerable.

But I wouldn’t bet against Smyth, especially since no credible Democratic challenger in Santa Clarita really exists. That doesn’t rule out someone from another part of the District, however.

Mr. Pulskamp and Mayor Dude go to Washington

I get all the City press releases but didn’t see anything about this. Query Gail Ortiz, who tells me:

Mike Murphy, Ken Pulskamp, Councilmember Bob Kellar and Mayor Frank Ferry are in D.C. all this week. They will be returning on Friday. They are there to meet with folks from the new administration and get a sense of whether or not there are federal funding opportunities to assist with the City’s 21 Point Business Plan for Progress, Whittaker/Bermite clean up, federal appropriations requests, as well as any stimulus money coming to our community.

mmmm. Stimulus money! Go get ‘em tigers!

To the inevitable Republican critics of the stimulus plan, consider California gives more money than any other state to the Feds, yet receives the least back. Compare that to Alaska, which gets about $1.30 for every buck they send to Washington!

SPEECH! SPEECH!

Note that McKeon says he came to Congress to work on Defense Issues.

I’m a bit sad. Our junior Congressman is all growed up! He’s with the big boys now, and he’ll be getting wined and dined by Big Defense. Why it only seems like yesterday when our Congressman was a second-tier Republican, barely meriting a mention in the media or on political blogs.

After years and years of waiting, the two important studies that will help West Side & Castaic residents decide whether to join the City of Santa Clarita, create their own city, or remain as they are -undistinguished residents of Los Angeles County- will be released tonight at Stevenson Ranch Elementary School. Take it away Dave Bossert:

Tonight, Monday June 15th, from 6:30- 8:00 PM the first of two community informational and educational meetings is scheduled for the Los Angeles County unincorporated communities. The meetings will center on education and information regarding the possible change of governance structure to the west side communities.

The meetings will be run by a professional facilitator and will feature Richard Berkson the consultant who was commissioned to do the Initial Feasibility Analysis (IFA). Mr. Berkson will present to the public the Executive Summary of the IFA and will be available to answer questions about the report and the methodology used in its creation.

The three options available to the unincorporated communities are: 1) Remain as an unincorporated community in L.A. County; 2) Incorporate into a new city; or 3) Negotiate an annexation with the City of Santa Clarita.

Each option has its own pros and cons which should be understood by voters so they can decide if any change is needed to the current governance structure.

Indeed. There can be no doubt this is the most serious decision to ever confront west side and Castaic residents. I’m sure the reports will be loaded with much gov-speak, technical charts, and lots of lawyer language.

So as a public service I’ve tried to boil it down for our friends on the west side by creating the easy-to-understand chart below.

Hmmm. They all look pretty good. Who should west side residents pick?

On the left, of course, is the option to join the City of Santa Clarita. Notice how she’s the youngest of the group, pretty, with great complexion and a good sense of style. There’s a naughty side to her too (she’s quite fond of developers and car dealers), which keeps things interesting. She’s the girl next door, literally, and despite her flaws, we all love her dearly.

The middle option -remain with the County of Los Angeles- is a fair option I suppose. I can’t help but think her sense of style needs updating though, and I must admit her hair could use some work.  And sad to say, we all know that County is not SCV-exclusive, which means west side residents would have to share her with millions of others.

Finally we get to the unknown option, temporarily named City of Stevenson Ranch. She’s mighty fine to look at alright, a real tall drink of water on a hot day. But she’s mysterious too; we don’t know much about her or what she would really look like once the people on the west side chose her. What’s more, we all know that she’d but heads with City girl; there can only be one beauty in this valley.

A tough decision for sure. But tonight’s reports should help clear things up. I hope to attend and get the details, so look for some more analysis this week.

Poll time!

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Sigh:

HINKLEY • Local former Democratic Congressional candidate, Jackie Conaway, announced Thursday her intention to run against incumbent Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon for the 25th Congressional District in the 2010 midterm elections.

Conaway, who lives in Hinkley, ran against Barstow’s Congressional representative in 2008, losing with 42.2 percent of the votes. Conaway said she made the decision to run for Congress again in 2010 Wednesday because she wants to make sure the nation’s troops and veterans are taken care of. Many veterans go through medical and financial problems and wind up on the street.

In 2008 she ran just about the least impressive campaign I can think of. She raised about $10,000 in her effort to defeat McKeon (compare that to the plucky 2006 Dem challenger Robert Rodriguez, who raised about $207,000 before losing to McKeon).I only saw her once, during the 4th of July parade, and come November 4th, I was so unimpressed even I voted for McKeon.

More of the same in 2010, apparently, despite the buzz earlier this year that the National Democratic party might put resources into CA-25 because as a district, we voted for Barack Obama in 2008.

There’s gotta be one Democrat in the 25th District who can challenge McKeon right? Where is this person? Can we have a real congressional race once in my life please?

I’ll stop whining now.

I missed this little quote in Josh Premako’s article on the city council announcements the other day:

When the three were asked Thursday what they plan to do to increase turnout, Ferry said low turnout is not always negative.

“It’s not necessarily a bad thing when people don’t vote,” he said, and added low numbers may tend to show residents are content with city government.

Crikey.

At first glance, I totally reject that sentiment. It’s not okay that voters ignore their obligation. We won this right, people all around the world would like to have this right, etc. Basically voters should vote and take ownership of their government, just the way they taught us to in high school civics class.

At second glance, I fear he’s right. I suppose low voter turnout proves most people are content with life in the SCV. I despise one thing above all else -apathy- but if 85% of this valley is apathetic about local government, my little blog certainly isn’t going to change their mind.

What he doesn’t mention is that low voter turnout is likely good for him and the two other council members running with him on something akin to a single ticket. Here’s Tim Myers, City Council election handicapper, on what that means:

GENIUS!!! Read my column on June 21 about how running the three incumbents as a slate effectively makes it mathematically improbable that any nonincumbent can wedge one of them out, an improbability that becomes almost a statistical impossibility when one has three of four challengers. (I need to run some calculations to find out the exact number.)

In Santa Clarita, the democracy is decided for you, you see! Before you even get to the polls, the deck is stacked on two accounts: low voter turnout and running the three incumbents as a slate.

It is genius, in a Monty Burns sort of way!

Congressman McKeon beat out Republicans from Texas and Maryland for the top minority spot on the influential and powerful Armed Services Committee. Here’s what he had to say about his selection:

“I’m looking forward to taking the reins as Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee to ensure Republicans have a strong voice at the table on major national security and defense issues.

“My first priority will be to work with Chairman Skelton to guarantee our troops have the resources and equipment they need to succeed in Iraq and Afghanistan.  To ensure this, I will work to seamlessly transition into my new role as we begin markup of the National Defense Authorization Act.    I will also work with my Republican colleagues to make certain our priorities are addressed, which include restoring funding for missile defense, reaching a resolution to keep Guantanamo terrorist detainees off U.S. soil, and maintaining our military superiority for today’s needs and tomorrow’s threats.

“I’m eager to tackle these and other issues alongside Congressmen Roscoe Bartlett and Mac Thornberry, who have both been great assets to the Committee and valued colleagues in our Conference.”

Politico adds:

McKeon, who currently leads Republicans on the House Education and Labor Committee, will now be the party’s voice on defense policy issues – taking the seat days before the committee will begin work on its annual bill to authorize $534 billion in defense spending and set policy for the Pentagon.

Sounds like McKeon’s foes are bitter:

“Not for the first time, big state and big money politics trumped experience, independent judgment and dedication to the legislative work of a committee,” Bartlett said. “My priorities are unchanged. I remain focused and committed to protecting our country and our men and women in uniform.”

Thornberry chalked it up to support McKeon had from Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), who had five votes on the steering committee. “I have a lot of ideas about national security and wanted the chance to advance them.”

What does this mean for Congressman McKeon? Does he get a bigger office on the Hill? More staff members? A bigger budget etc? It’s obviously a much more prestigious committee than the House’s Labor & Educatiaon Committee, the spot which McKeon has held for years and will now give up.

How much time will McKeon have to work on issues affecting CA-25 now? Issues like CEMEX and such?

Looking forward to 2010, who is going to want to run against him now?

Does anyone who knows McKeon personally want to chime in on whether he’ll be good at this post? I expect a lot more media exposure for him in the weeks ahead.

At least they didn’t call her an obstructionist (but it seems pretty clear that’s the reason they don’t want her on the MRF panel):

One of Santa Clarita’s prominent environmentalists will be kept from a seat on a committee charged with finding a site for a recycling facility because of her suits related to SCV development.
…
This spring, the local chapter of the Sierra Club recommended Lynne Plambeck as its representative on the committee.

On May 24, City Manager Ken Pulskamp sent a letter to Dave Morrow, chair of the club’s Santa Clarita Valley chapter, stating that Plambeck has a conflict of interest, “due to previous lawsuits … rought against the city, one related to the recycling facility. … The city respectfully requests the Sierra Club re-submit an alternative designee.”
…

“We think that she has a conflict of interest because she has a history of suing the city and/or opposing anything development-related, including the MRF,” city spokeswoman Gail Ortiz said. “We’re looking for people that have an open mind and a willingness to serve their community.”

Signal

I guess in the case of the City, an “open mind” means anyone who isn’t opposed to new development, because Lynne certainly has the willingness to serve her community, no matter what the local power brokers think of her.

At the same time, I can see the city’s point of view here. The MRF is a necessity- it’s part of a state mandate to recycle a certain percentage of the city’s waste, so not developing it is not an option. And from the city’s point of view, the location of the MRF is already a difficult enough issue without having someone on the panel who may argue against building it all together.

I still think they should build it at Pitchess. It’s far enough from mainland Castaic, it’s next to inmates (who cares about them after all?) and it’s back in the hills.