Governor Jerry Brown has called a special election for Assembly District 52 to fill a vacancy following the resignation of Assembly Member Norma Torres.

The primary will be held July 23, 2013. If no candidate receives a majority of the votes, a special general election will be held on September 24, 2013.

Torres vacated the Assembly seat following her successful election to Senate District 32 on May 14, 2013. Assembly District 52 covers parts of San Bernardino and Los Angeles counties.

First there was Arthur Branch. Then came Jack McCoy. Now it’s Charles Hynes’ turn to star as a New York City district attorney on the small screen. Only Hynes is not an actor or a character, he is an actual district attorney who is in the middle of a fierce campaign to keep his job. And his main opponent for the Democratic nomination is crying foul.

Abe George is suing Hynes, his committee, and CBS in New York over what he calls illegal campaign contributions. CBS is producing and has aired the first episode in a six-part reality series titled Brooklyn D.A. This reality series will follow Hynes and the rest of the Kings County District Attorney’s Office as they do their job for the cameras.

George is not pleased with the free publicity Hynes will be receiving since they are in a heated campaign to garner the Democratic nomination for the position. He believes the air time should be considered a campaign contribution, and with the series’ value over the $5,000 limit, he believes it is an illegal contribution.

Hynes has been the district attorney in the county since 1989, and George believes he is willing to do anything to stay in power. “[He] has been the Brooklyn district attorney since 1989 and has operated under a mounting public perception that he will do anything, including misusing his broad prosecutorial powers, to achieve political gain for himself.”

CBS disagrees with George’s assertion and refuses to stop airing the show.

Sonya McNair, spokeswoman for CBS News, said, “We are surprised that this candidate would not know about the First Amendment. This is obviously a publicity push by a politician.”

For what it’s worth, Hynes believes this show will guarantee a victory for his campaign. He said, “If they couldn’t take me out then, boy, you’ll never be able to take me out now.”

The next episode of Brooklyn D.A. airs Tuesday, May 28, at 10:00 p.m. on CBS.

Photo of Charles Hynes courtesy of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority of the State of New York on Wikipedia.

Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed a bill Monday further extending the state’s contribution limits to other elected offices. Senate Bill 5748 now sets contribution limits on candidates running for a seat on a public hospital district board of commissioners in a district with a population over 150,000.

No person, other than a bona fide political party or a caucus political committee, will be allowed to contribute more than $900 per election for those candidates. Each primary, general, and special election are considered a separate election for purposes of the contribution limits, so a person would be allowed to contribute $900 during the primary and another $900 during the general election.

Senator Pam Roach was the bill’s main sponsor and she said, “This is a victory for citizens who reside in public hospital districts…Recent commission races have seen large contributions from single sources that have over powered the campaigns. All elected positions in state, county, and local government have campaign finance limitations except for public hospital commissioners. There is no reason that candidates for public hospital district board of commissioners should not live under the same rules as other elected officials. This bill corrects that problem.”

The bill will take effect on July 28, 2013.

Photo of Gov. Jay Inslee courtesy of Thomas Sørenes on Wikipedia.

The Alabama Legislature adjourned just before midnight on Monday, May 20, 2013, but not before passing major changes to the state’s Fair Campaign Practices Act.

The most significant change is the elimination of limits on corporate contributions to candidates and political action committees. Under the new law, corporations will be permitted to contribute in the same manner as individuals, who are not subject to any contribution limits, with the exception of retaining the state’s pay-to-play prohibition on contributions to the Public Service Commission by utilities the commission regulates. The bill also makes 527 organizations subject to the ban on PAC-to-PAC transfers and adds enforcement and penalty provisions.

The Secretary of State’s Office will release information regarding the effective date of these provisions since the law must first receive Department of Justice preclearance before it becomes enforceable.

Montana Governor Steve Bullock has named a new commissioner of political practices, according to the Independent Record.

Jonathan Motl will begin service as the commissioner by June 10 to complete the final three years of a six-year term left vacant by prior unconfirmed appointees. A Senate confirmation hearing for the position will not be held until early 2015.

They say it is good to know people in high places.

In 2009 my twin brother Ted and I decided to make a trip to Washington, DC and to take our dad, who had never visited the city before.  Ted and I have visited numerous times and so we got busy making up a list of our favorite places to visit and things that Dad really should see. Dad mentioned to some church friends all of us have known for many years that he was taking this trip with us. They offered to connect us with their son-in-law, an employee of the Office of Management and Budget, who might be able to take us on a tour of the White House.

It turns out that particular day the White House had already arranged for public tours of the grounds, so we could not tour the mansion itself. Our friends’ son-in-law graciously agreed to escort us around the grounds. At the appointed time the three of us, along with former State and Federal Communications, Inc. temporary employee Andrew Houk, who was completing a Master’s Degree at George Washington University at the time, met at the corner of 15^th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue and began our tour. Our guide’s credentials enabled us to not wait in the extremely long line of people.

Our guide proved to be not only knowledgeable, but friendly, down-to-earth, and an all around great guy. In our conversation I found him very bright, engaging, articulate, ambitious, and hard working. He was awaiting Senate confirmation to the position of Comptroller of the Office of Management and Budget.  In short, I was very impressed.

Earlier this year he was named the point person at OMB to coordinate the agency spending cuts that are part of the federal sequestration. Not an enviable position. Today I read that he was appointed by President Obama to be the interim director of the Internal Revenue Service. Perhaps a less enviable position.

I have every confidence that Danny Werfel will do an outstanding job in his new role, and I plan to do some more name dropping as I engage in the many lively political debates that seem to go hand-in-hand with our business. And… I will triple check next year’s federal income tax return!

Congratulations Danny!

Lawmakers have ended the 2013 legislative session. Although both chambers are scheduled to convene on May 22, 2013, for a technical session, the House marked the conclusion with the traditional and celebratory paper toss on Friday, May 17, 2013.

Several bills aimed at reinstating or expanding the ethics reforms of Senate Bill 844 failed to pass. The major 2010 ethics reforms in Senate Bill 844 were found to be unconstitutional by the Missouri Supreme Court because they were joined to a procurement bill.

Photo of the Missouri State Capitol by RebelAt on Wikipedia.

Lobbying

“Former Senator to Run Wall St. Lobby Group” by Ben Protess in The New York Times.

“After Controversy, Ex-Congressman Registers to Lobby”  by Andrew Ramonas in the Blog of Legal Times.

West Virginia: “Lobbyist spending down in 2013” by Dave Boucher in the Charleston Daily Mail.

Campaign Finance

“The impossibly complex world of campaign finance — in 1 chart” by Chris Cillizza in The Washington Post.

“Time to shed light on disclosure bill” opinion piece by David Keating and Eric Wang in Politico.

Alabama: “Key senator says lawmakers will scrap limits on corporate political contributions” by The Associated Press in The Republic.

Minnesota: “Elections and campaign finance bills draw bipartisan support” by Tom Scheck on Minnesota Public Radio News.

Nevada: “Miller under attack as he pursues campaign finance reform” by Andrew Doughman in the Las Vegas Sun.

New York: “DiNapoli calls for campaign finance reform” by Mike Desmond in WBFO News.

New York: “Skelos is wrong; public campaign funding will help N.Y.” commentary by Ian Vandewalker in the Albany Times Union.

Tennessee: “Candidates failed to report 181 PAC, corporate contributions” by Tom Humphrey in the Knoxville News Sentinel.

Vermont: “Statehouse Sitdown: Campaign Finance Reform” on WCAX News.

Ethics

“Ensigns Pay $54,000 Civil Penalty for Campaign Finance Violations” by Kent Cooper in Roll Call.

“FBI interested in Bachmann campaign finance case” by Rachel Weiner in the Washington Post.

Connecticut: “Latest scandal again tarnishes state politicians” by Brian Lockhart in the Connecticut Post.

Connecticut: “Corruption no stranger to state politics” by Steve Miller (Associated Press) in the Connecticut Post.

Nevada: “Harvey Whittemore campaign finance trial set to continue today in Reno” by Martha Bellisle in the Reno Gazette-Journal.

South Carolina: “SC Legislature: 3 final weeks, 2 key issues, 1 race in ’14” by Adam Beam in The State.

Texas: “For Lawmakers, Ethics Reform is Complicated” by Ross Ramsey in the Texas Tribune.

Political Advertising

“Lax state rules provide cover for sponsors of attack ads” by Alan Suderman in The Center for Public Integrity.

Government Tech and Social Media

Florida: “Florida Serves Up Legislative App” by Kimberly Horg in Government Technology.

PACs and candidates behind in filing their scheduled reports with the Oklahoma Ethics Commission may be facing thousands of dollars in fines, according to NewsOK.com.

Executive Director Lee Slater will be focusing efforts this summer on clearing up the backlog of PACs and candidates not keeping up with reporting requirements. More than two dozen PACs have not filed their latest quarterly reports due April 30.

The commission can charge each committee or candidate $100 per day for each day it is late filing, with a total maximum penalty of $1,000. NewsOK.com reports the commission will be hiring a hearing officer before it starts to mail out its penalty assessments, anticipating candidates’ guaranteed right to protest.

Governor Andrew Cuomo has another opening in the State Assembly, but he is in no rush to call an election to fill it. Assemblyman Vito Lopez announced he will resign his seat in the State Assembly Monday afternoon, and Cuomo has decided not to call a special election to replace the disgraced politician.

Lopez is resigning amidst allegations of sexual harassing his former staffers during his tenure. He had already lost all committee assignments and legislative perks due to the scandal.

Cuomo is refusing to call a special election because, in a special election, the political parties get to choose their respective candidates.

With Lopez’s district being heavily Democratic, the Democratic Party would be able to choose the replacement. And with Lopez being the former head of the Democrats in Brooklyn and with his pals still in charge, Lopez would be able to handpick his successor. Cuomo would prefer to avoid that situation, so he’ll hold the election with the regular primary in September and general election in November. This will allow any Democrat to have the opportunity to get on the primary ballot.

As far as Lopez is concerned, he does not plan on riding into the political night. Even with the recent scandal, Lopez is still heavily considering running for a seat on the New York City Council this November.

Photo of the New York State House by Matt H. Wade on Wikipedia.

The Legislature adjourned sine die on May 17, 2013, without an attempt to override Governor Mike Beebe’s vetoes on three election bills.

Senate Bill 719 would have transferred power of election oversight to the Secretary of State from the Board of Election Commissioners. Senate Bill 720 would have created mandatory referrals of ethics complaints from the board to the Ethics Commission when the compliant was without basis in law or fact. Senate Bill 721 would have removed all of the board’s current commissioners and established a new appointment process.

Every year in Washington, D.C., Campaigns and Elections holds a conference called Campaign Tech. I had the opportunity to go to it this year and I enjoyed it.

Here is a description of Campaign Tech 2013 from their site: “How did the 2012 election season change the craft of digital politics and advocacy? What are digital public affairs professionals doing to evolve outreach and engagement? How can technologists and digital communications professionals create cohesive, effective campaigns? Join CampaignTech’s hands-on trainings, workshops, round-table conversations, and panel discussions that will enhance your knowledge of digital advocacy, refine your communications skills, and inspire you to exceed your goals in politics, advocacy, and public affairs.”

One of the panels on the first day talked about how memes are used to promote political messages. Candidates in the last election used memes in their campaigns – using catch phrases, pictures – which went viral on the internet through social media, search, and other channels.

For those who don’t know, memes are internet sensations that become popular for a short amount of time. They mentioned a meme one of the panelists had created, where they compared members of Congress to characters from the Muppets. It was entertaining to see the members of Congress being equated with Muppets characters.

Another panel talked about convincing leaders in your organization of the importance of using social media. It was an interesting panel because they talked about how social media are powerful tools for getting news out there and engaging with people.

This was a great trip. The event seemed to go by fast.

I encourage you to go to this conference next year. I had a fantastic time and I know you will too!

National:

Lax State Rules Provide Cover for Sponsors of Attack Ads

Federal:

IG Report: ‘Inappropriate criteria’ stalled IRS approvals of conservative groups

SEC Pressed to Abandon Corporate Political Spending Disclosures Petition

From the States and Municipalities:

Alabama – GOP Considers Campaign Changes While Raising Money

Alabama – The Alabama Democratic Party: “We’re broke, broke, broke”

California – Cap on Political Party Contributions Moves Forward

Hawaii – Campaign Spending and Ethics Get Tech Upgrades

Missouri – Missouri Ethics Panel Fines Ex-Sen. Wright-Jones $270,000

New Jersey – Pay-to-Play Rollback Will Get One More Volley in Bergen, Pitting County Executive vs. Freeholders

New York – Ethics Panel Criticizes Assembly’s Response to Allegations against Lopez

Tennessee – Ethics Commission to Hold Hearing on Ingram Group ‘Oversight’

Tennessee – Lobbying Still Thriving Business in Nashville

Texas – House Sends Donor Disclosure Bill to Gov. Perry

Vermont – Campaign Finance Reform Failure Means Caps on Donations Unlikely to Occur until 2016 Campaign Cycle

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On May 15, the Bergen County, New Jersey Board of Chosen Freeholders voted to override County Executive Kathleen A. Donovan’s veto of the new pay-to-play ordinance that passed on May 1.

This is the second pay-to-play ordinance vetoed by the county executive in the last eight months. On October 5, 2012, Donovan had vetoed a prior pay-to-play measure passed by the Board.

Freeholder Ordinance 13-06 changes the code to include lowering the debarment period for future county contracts from four years to one year. Under the new ordinance, contractors will also be able to make political contributions up to $5,200 to county political parties.

According to NorthJersey.com, another vote on the ordinance is required because the public notice for the legislation was not properly published. The board next meets on Wednesday, May 22.