"Big Journalism" Carries Story About California's Proposition 14

“Big Journalism” has this article on California’s Proposition 14, with an emphasis on how three big California newspapers, the San Francisco Chronicle, the San Jose Mercury News, and the Sacramento Bee, have used misleading logic in their editorials supporting California’s “top-two” Proposition 14.

Andrew Breitbart founded Big Journalism in December 2009. Breitbart formerly worked for the Drudge Report and the Huffington Post. The article about Proposition 14 is by Thomas Del Beccaro.

Although the article does not mention any details about how the Chronicle, the Mercury News, and the Bee determined their support for Proposition 14, it should be noted that the Chronicle only invited proponents to speak to the editorial board, and did not invite opponents to come to speak. The Chronicle heard from Lieutenant Governor Abel Maldonado, and Jason Olson of Independent Voice, but no one on the other side. The San Jose Mercury News also did not invite opponents of Proposition 14 to speak to its editorial board. The Sacramento Bee, to its credit, did invite opponents of Proposition 14 to address its editorial board.

Arizona Voters Will Vote on Whether to Re-Name “Secretary of State” as “Lieutenant Governor”

Before the Arizona legislature adjourned for the year, it passed SCR 1013. The proposed constitutional amendment will be on the November 2010 ballot. It asks voters if they wish to re-name the Secretary of State as the Lieutenant Governor. See this story.

Arizona has never provided for an officer named “Lieutenant Governor”, and instead has always said that the Secretary of State will become Governor if there is a gubernatorial vacancy. The measure also provides that Governor and Lieutenant Governor will be elected as a pair in November, although the two offices would continue to be separate in the primary. This system of separate voting for the two offices in primaries, but together in the general election, has not been successful in Illinois. The Arizona legislature should probably have provided for a proposed change that would require teaming up in the primary as well.