Timm Herdt

• Herdt: An elephant in sheep's clothing? Published 05/15/2012 at 5:40 p.m. 23 Comments

  Voters in Thousand Oaks who have long memories must be very confused these days. Just two years ago, they were receiving hit pieces targeted at Supervisor Linda Parks that said her "priorities are too liberal for us." They screamed that ...

• Herdt: Attack of the independent voters? Published 05/01/2012 at 4:10 p.m. 19 Comments

  Steve Peace is a former Democratic lawmaker from San Diego, producer of the cult satire film "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes," and co-chairman of the Independent Voter Project.

• Herdt: A big idea to cut college costs Published 04/24/2012 at 4:12 p.m. 26 Comments

  There aren't many big ideas coming out of Sacramento these days, so it takes awhile for the magnitude of Assembly Speaker John Pérez' middle-class scholarship proposal to sink in.

• Herdt: Political polling's next big thing? Updated 04/17/2012 at 4:54 p.m. 2 Comments

  Now that the presidential nominating contest has been settled, it's time to move on to the next phase on the 2012 political calendar: polling season.

• Herdt: We got our district. Now what? Published 04/10/2012 at 5:05 p.m. 7 Comments

  There may be no one in California more passionate about political redistricting than Irma Lopez, a longtime fixture in Oxnard's civic affairs. A decade ago, after the Legislature drew congressional and legislative districts that marginalized voters in Ventura County's largest ...

• Timm Herdt: An ex-Marine deserts from partisan politics Published 04/03/2012 at 3:51 p.m. 9 Comments

  Much has been written about San Diego Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher in the week since he announced he was leaving the Republican Party and becoming an independent. But a great deal of it has missed the point.

• Herdt: In polarized politics, is there room on the equator? Published 03/13/2012 at 3:32 p.m. 9 Comments

  If you follow politics much, chances are that in the partisan struggle between Democrats and Republicans in Congress, you've pretty much picked a side.

• Herdt: How about a race to the middle? Published 03/06/2012 at 3:51 p.m. 9 Comments

  Critics of Gov. Jerry Brown's pension-reform proposal — one that has now been embraced by Republican lawmakers — say that what the governor is proposing is to force state and local government employees in California to join in a "race ...

• Herdt: Has the California GOP hit bottom? Published 02/28/2012 at 5:19 p.m. 18 Comments

  Attending California Republican Party conventions in recent years as an observer has always been something of a surreal experience. They are gatherings of like-minded people who enter into convention halls and then pretend that there is no world outside.

• Herdt: The perils of two routes to tax increases Published 02/21/2012 at 5:47 p.m. 11 Comments

  Here's the scenario: You're in a bunker with your allies and there are two routes out that lead to the place you all want to go. One route is narrow, uphill and intersected by two rivers that will be treacherous ...

• Fundraising hits $1.7 million in county congressional race Published 05/24/2012 at 9:48 p.m. 44 Comments

  Led by Democratic Assemblywoman Julia Brownley, the three leading candidates in the 26th Congressional District campaign combined to raise nearly a half-million dollars this spring, bringing their combined total so far to about $1.7 million, federal reports filed Thursday show.

• The GOP's two wings do battle in 24th Congressional District primary Published 05/24/2012 at 4:45 p.m. 5 Comments

  The dynamics of the June 5 primary election in the 24th Congressional District are driven by the tense events that transpired in the California Capitol in February 2009.

• Support drops for June initiative to raise cigarette taxes Published 05/23/2012 at 9:02 p.m. 77 Comments

  Responding to a $30 million advertising campaign funded by the nation's two leading tobacco companies, California voters are re-examining their positions on a proposed $1 per-pack increase in the cigarette tax.

• Herdt: One district, two types of Democrats Published 05/22/2012 at 4:29 p.m. 31 Comments

  For better or worse, Santa Barbara and Oxnard are destined to remain politically tethered for at least another decade, joined by legislative districts that connect the flatlands of the Oxnard Plain with the coastal bluffs of Montecito.

• Proposed tax on strip clubs would fund sexual assault centers Published 05/21/2012 at 10 p.m. 77 Comments

  Assemblyman Das Williams on Monday sought support of his bill that would establish a $10 per-patron fee on entertainment establishments that feature live nude performers and also serve alcohol.

• Democrats vie for likely second-place position in 44th Assembly District Published 05/20/2012 at 8:24 p.m. 3 Comments

  Democrats Tom Mullens and Eileen MacEnery acknowledge they are probably competing for second place against incumbent Jeff Gorell in the 44th Assembly District.

• Small field in two primary races means all candidates will advance Published 05/19/2012 at 4:06 p.m. 2 Comments

  For four candidates running in Ventura County legislative districts, the top-two campaign strategy is pretty simple: If they vote for themselves on June 5, they’re guaranteed a spot on the November ballot.

• Brown's revised budget plan: 'We have to cut deeper' Updated 05/14/2012 at 5:12 p.m. 141 Comments

  California’s budget shortfall has grown to nearly $16 billion, Gov. Jerry Brown said Monday in announcing his revised estimate for the new fiscal year.

• A war between Democrats in west county Senate district Updated 05/15/2012 at 2:49 p.m. 16 Comments

  The immediate battle in the 19th state Senate District is between two Democrats, Hannah-Beth Jackson and Jason Hodge, while Republican Mike Stoker appears to have a good shot at locking up one of the top two spots to advance to ...

• 38th Assembly District race has become a GOP family feud Updated 05/15/2012 at 2:51 p.m. 4 Comments

  The 38th Assembly district race has set off a bitter family feud among Republicans in the customarily quiet Los Angeles County suburb of Santa Clarita, the home of all three GOP contenders. There also is a Democrat vying for one ...

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