March 2006

California Attorney General candidates Former Governor and current Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown and Los Angeles City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo duke it out over a non-issue like Wal-Mart (who incidentally is willing to bring business to California in spite of Democrats driving business away), while Pierre-Richard Prosper is hands-down the best candidate for California Attorney General.

Wal-Mart a campaign issue

A week ago, Delgadillo called Wal-Mart a “predator” on the middle class. His campaign also chastised Brown for bringing a Wal-Mart store to Oakland and accepting $10,600 in campaign contributions from Wal-Mart heir John Walton and his wife, Christy.

Brown, in response, resurrected a speech in which Delgadillo’s former boss praised him for helping recruit Wal-Mart.

Delgadillo said Thursday that he was carrying out the wishes of his boss at the time, former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan.

“What’s changed is the name on the door is different,” Delgadillo said. “I was working for Mayor Riordan, and now I am working for me.”

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So am I to assume that Mr. Delgadillo’s allegiances are for sale?

And, we already know that Brown is a far-left political figure and has little to offer California as the state’s top law and order officer.

Our choice for Attorney General is Republican Pierre-Richard Prosper. Prosper has held many positions in government at local and national levels. He is far and away the best choice for the job of California Attorney General.

From Prosper’s Web Site:

Justice Begins At Home… The California Attorney General is on the frontlines of Justice. Justice on the streets from Los Angeles to Oakland. Justice for families broken by lost opportunities and gang warfare. Justice for child victims of sexual predators. Justice for victims of violence. Justice for legal immigrants seeking a better life. Justice for the institution of marriage. Justice for all Californians.

Image credit: Pierre Prosper for California Attorney General.

UPDATE: Unfortunately, Pierre Prosper has withdrawn from the campaign. His website has a statement explaining his reasons.

In a poll conducted during the time the Michael Morales sentence confusion was taking place, people in the state remain strongly in favor of capital punishment.

From the Sacramento Bee:

Poll finds steady support for death penalty

Support for the death penalty remains high among Californians, with those favoring capital punishment outnumbering opponents by a 2-1 margin, according to a Field Poll scheduled for release today.

In the wake of two recent executions, support neither rose nor fell much from levels reported by the polling organization since 2000.

The latest poll showed support to be appreciably lower, however, than it was during the mid-1980s, when crime spiked nationally and became the dominant political issue.

Opinions also appear to have softened on issues such as executing minors, which the state hasn’t permitted in modern times and the U.S. Supreme Court abolished a year ago, as well as on questions such as whether the death penalty is fairly carried out.

As recently as two years ago, Californians were strongly convinced that the death sentencing process was fair and error-free. Today, they think so by a narrower margin of 48 percent to 39 percent.

The polling organization claims a sampling error rate of plus or minus 4.5 points for all adults polled and plus or minus 5.5 points for registered voters polled.

“Opinions on the death penalty are solidly in support, same thing as abortion,” said Field Poll director Mark DiCamillo, who said no reversal appears imminent on either issue.

Nevertheless, he said, public opinion leaves room for changes in the way both procedures are carried out.

The poll of 500 California adults was conducted Feb. 12-26, soon after the state’s executions of Stanley Tookie Williams and Clarence Ray Allen. The polling coincided with on-again, off-again preparations to execute Michael Angelo Morales on Feb. 21.

Public reaction pinpointed on the aborted Morales execution was charted by a separate Field Poll, conducted Feb. 22-26. The response was not strong on either side of the Morales debate.

Although 46 percent of poll respondents said the state should have administered the lethal injection to Morales despite its inability to comply with a judge’s orders, 41 percent said a postponement was the correct decision. The execution has been put on hold until the results of a May court hearing on the injection procedure.

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