Traditional, non-former actor Republicans having a decent shot at the state’s highest office? Republicans tearing each other to shreds? Jerry Brown back as governor? Welcome to the 2010 California gubernatorial race! 2010 may well come to be known as the campaign year in which anything was possible.

As racially diverse as the California population is becoming, the illegal immigration debate and the passionate emotions accompanying it are not disappearing anytime soon.  This is true especially in light of the recent decision by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus to issue an ultimatum to President Obama--get to work on reworking the healthcare bill’s immigration provisions or forget about healthcare reform altogether.

There are many fiscally-oriented ballot initiatives currently circulating in the popular ethos, some of which propose truly bizarre items, and others of which offer seemingly commonsensical solutions. However, with few exceptions, these initiatives are easily traceable to distinct partisan interests and not particularly edifying to anyone who considers themselves independent, or outside the partisan framework generally.

Whether or not you support Proposition 14, the conduct of the California legislature should make you furious.  With complete disregard for the principles of “due process” and “fair trial,” political leaders inside the California Legislature struck a backroom deal whereby the opponents of Proposition 14 would sue the Secretary of State over the description of the Proposition to appear on June’s primary ballot without informing the proponents of the lawsuit. 

Dogged by woefully low voter approval, lawmakers in the Democratic majority Legislature are preparing to embrace “reform” – changes they say will improve California’s political structure.  Senate President Pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg, a Sacramento Democrat, is expected to hold a press conference today to announce a series of hearings examining various changes proposed by California Forward and other groups that they say repairs a broken political system.

Following the presidential election of 2008, the term “independent” became much more familiar in the political realm. Credited with helping to seal the victory for President Obama, media outlets and politicians began to take notice of the growing group of individuals who identified themselves as independents.

This is the second installment in a series profiling 3rd party candidates for Governor of California.

Laura Wells is no stranger to the demands of leadership. During her tenure in numerous county and state-level leadership positions, and her 2002 and 2006 State Controller campaign bids, she personally experienced the state's bipartisan machinations. From these experiences, she has composed a list of priorities to get California out of debt and protect taxpayer-funded services.

The independent and nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) in Sacramento says there will be some economic disruption and higher energy costs if the 2006 climate change law is implemented.  Senator Dave Cogdill (R-Modesto), an opponent of the law, requested the analysis and accurately sums up its key findings.

More jobs will be likely lost in the near term.

Overall job impact in the long term is unknown.

Certain individual businesses and households would be seriously affected.

In a Larry King Live interview, Jesse Ventura, the former Independent Governor from Minnesota, warned that the two major parties were "leading us down the road to ruin".  In classic Ventura style, the Navy veteran urged Americans to wake up and stop voting for Democrats and Republicans since they have repeatedly demonstrated that party politics comes before the best interests of the people.  And when asked about the Tea Party, Ventura challenged their silence on critical constitutional issues in years past, and identified it as more of a right-wing movement.

According to the San Jose Mercury News, the California Green Party is suffering from a shrinking membership.  Currently, it’s downsizing from an enrollment of 158,000 registered Greens (0.95 percent of California voters) to 111,000 (0.66 percent).