-- No gimmicks, says Gov. Jerry Brown: If he doesn't get approval for tax extensions, he'll hack state spending -- really hack it. So make a deal, he urged Republicans. He even suggested putting public-employee pensions on the table.

-- Speaking of which, the Wisconsin state Assembly approved a controversial measure to end most collective bargaining for state employees in a speedy, surprise vote that caught Democratic opponents off guard. But the state's senators remain in self-imposed exile, so the drama continues to unfold. 

-- That fight, and similar ones brewing elsewhere in the country, "could fundamentally change the practice of politics in this country," says The Times' Mark Z. Barabak. At stake is the Democratic Party's bankroll.

-- Meanwhile, Wisconsin's lawmakers-on-the-run got an invitation that would seem irresistible to people normally condemned to wintering in Madison, Wis.: A San Diego teachers'-union local has invited to fly them out and stay, all expenses paid.  

Antiwar activist and high school teacher Marcy Winograd, who twice mounted primary challenges  to retiring Rep. Jane Harman (D-Venice), said she's getting into the special election to succeed Harman.

She'll kick off her campaign at 10 a.m. Saturday in the Old Town section of Torrance, then head to downtown Los Angeles, where she is scheduled to speak at a rally supporting public employee unions.

Winograd, founder of the L.A. chapter of Progressive Democrats of America, is the most liberal of the prominent Democrats making the run, including Secretary of State Debra Bowen and Los Angeles Councilwoman Janice Hahn.

Although the largely coastal 36th Congressional District, which runs from Venice into San Pedro, was drawn to strongly favor a Democrat, at least one Republican, Redondo Beach City Atty. Mike Webb, is running and several others are considering it. 

The governor cannot call a special election to replace Harman until she leaves her seat, expected Monday, but her announcement earlier this month touched off a scramble to succeed her in one of the few offices not subject to term limits. At least three additional lesser-known Democrats also have said they are running.

Winograd, who won 41% of the vote in June's Democratic primary, said her platform is "Jobs, Not Wars" and promised to fight to protect Social Security.

"Each week we spend $2 billion taxpayer dollars on the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, while people at home are suffering without adequate jobs, housing or healthcare," Winograd said in announcing her candidacy.

Winograd recently moved to Santa Monica, outside the district, but congressional candidates are not required to live in the districts they seek to represent.

-- Jean Merl

Gov. Jerry Brown returns to Los Angeles on Friday to pick up an endorsement for his plan to raise billions in taxes in a special election later this year.

The Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce is expected to officially back the governor's plan this afternoon, according to chamber and administration sources. Brown spoke to the group earlier this month to ask for its backing.

Business groups could be a key component in generating support for the governor's budget plan, which includes a call for voters to weigh in on extending nearly $9 billion in income, sales and vehicle taxes later this year. In order for that special election to happen, Brown must first get sign-off from four Republican lawmakers.

So far, Republicans have been unwilling to back the governor's call.

The Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce is not a typical, Republican-dominated business group. While they do not poll the partisan registration of their members, chamber officials estimate their membership is about evenly split between Democrats and Republicans.

--Anthony York in Sacramento

Photo: Gov. Jerry Brown explains his approach to dealing with the California budget deficit during a news conference on Jan. 10 in Sacramento.

Two state lawmakers called Thursday for the dismissal of the top administrator of California’s courts over what they said was mismanagement of a computer modernization project on which the cost has gone from $260 million to $1.9 billion.

The replacement of William C. Vickrey as the administrative director of the courts was requested in a letter to state Supreme Court Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye by Assemblyman Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens), who is chairman of the state's Joint Legislative Audit Committee, and Assemblywoman Bonnie Lowenthal (D-Long Beach).

Lowenthal had requested an audit of the Court Case Management System that found this month that it was poorly planned and administered by Vickrey’s office.

“The fact that news of his staggering mismanagement comes during a deep budget crisis underscores the need for his departure,” the two legislators wrote in their letter to the chief justice.

A response from the chief justice was not immediately available.

[Updated at 4:45 p.m. Later in the day, the chief justice issued a statement criticizing the request for dismissal of Vickrey and indicating that she is standing by him as manager of the Administrative Office of the Courts.

["I consider this letter a serious attempt to interfere with judicial branch governance and my ability to evaluate the AOC management team," Cantil-Sakauye said. "Moreover, this letter is a profound diversion from the difficult issues that our branch is trying to resolve."

[She went on to say: "Mr. Vickrey is and has been an invaluable resource to the judicial branch and I continue to work closely with him and others to meet the courts' challenges - most notably the $200- million reduction to the branch."]

--Patrick McGreevy

Resentment is at the root of recent controversies over public-employee unions, argues The Times' George Skelton. Private-sector have-nots are bristling at public-sector haves, and they "won't continue to pop for pension largesse that they themselves are denied," he writes.

The Social Security system actually has been running surpluses until recently, but the extra funds will peter out by the time today's 30-year-olds retire, says The Times' Doyle McManus.

California's Republican lawmakers get organized to take a hard-line stance against Gov. Jerry Brown's budget plan -- and the tax extensions therein. 

Meanwhile, cuts to the federal budget approved by Republican lawmakers would hurt the nation's economy, according to, of all people, the Wall Street analysts at Goldman Sachs.

The state Senate on Thursday approved a measure requiring California utilities to buy 33% of their electricity from wind, solar and other renewable energy sources by the year 2020, with supporters arguing it will help recharge the economy by creating jobs.

State Sen. Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) said his legislation, which now goes to the Assembly, will help the state meet both environmental and economic goals.

"This is a measure that can help us right now with clean air, help us right now to address climate change… and right now we can begin to create the jobs that this state so desperately needs," Simitian said during a floor debate on SB 2X .

The measure passed on a 26-11 vote, with opponents saying it will drive up energy costs, meaning higher electricity bills for homeowners and manufacturers. The additional cost of doing business will convince more companies to send their jobs out of California, said Sen. Bob Huff (R-Diamond Bar).

"This is yet another nail in the coffin for our manufacturing sector in California," Huff told his colleagues.

California previously required that 20% of electricity come from renewable sources by 2010, but some utilities did not meet that standard.

A similar Simitian bill was vetoed last session by then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who said it was loaded down with red tape, but lawmakers have made adjustments and are more hopeful the proposal will be supported by new Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat.

The 33% standard was a key plank in Brown's campaign platform, but he has not made a final decision on the legislation, which can still be changed before it reaches him.

"The governor broadly supports codifying the requirement that 33% of the state’s electricity be derived from renewable sources and will closely consider any bill that reaches his desk," said spokesman Evan Westrup.

--Patrick McGreevy

Photo: State Sen. Joe Simitian in 2008. Credit: Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times

Redondo Beach City Atty. Mike Webb, whose Republican affiliation makes him an underdog in the upcoming race to replace Rep. Jane Harman (D-Venice) on Wednesday scored a big endorsement: from Los Angeles County District Atty. Steve Cooley.

Webb is a career prosecutor who said he and Cooley, also a Republican, "have worked closely together over the years on issues relating to public safety and homeland security."

Harman isn't expected to resign until Monday, so the governor can't yet call a special election to replace her in the strongly Democratic, largely coastal 36th Congressional District. But several candidates already are off and running, including perceived frontrunners Secretary of State Debra Bowen and Los Angeles Councilwoman Janice Hahn, both Democrats.

--Jean Merl

Adding a new wrinkle to the already-hot-though-still-unofficial contest to replace retiring Rep. Jane Harman (D-Venice), a minor-party candidate has filed suit in federal court over California's new "top two" elections system.

Venice resident Michael Chamness alleges the new system will give one of the most prominent candidates, California Secretary of State Debra Bowen, a Democrat, an edge because Chamness will not be allowed to list his political affiliation on the ballot and instead will be designated as having "no party preference." Chamness' "coffee party" is not among those recognized by the state.

Chamness also complained about the system during his unsuccessful run for a state Senate seat in last week's special election. Under the new system, approved by voters last year, all candidates appear on a single ballot and the top two vote getters advance to a runoff, regardless of political party. (Special elections can be decided in the primary if one of the candidates wins a majority.) Candidates have the option of listing a party preference or not.

In a statement about his lawsuit, scheduled for a hearing March 21, Chamness said it was "unjust to discriminate against a candidate like myself" because he isn't affiliated with one of the parties recognized by the state.

His attorney, Gautam Dutta, said, "It's unconstitutional, undemocratic and just plain wrong to force any candidate to lie to voters."

The governor cannot call a special election to replace Harman until she resigns her 36th Congressional District seat, expected Monday, to lead a Washington think tank. But several candidates, including Bowen and Los Angeles Councilwoman Janice Hahn, perceived as frontrunners, already have said they will run and have set up campaign organizations.

--Jean Merl

As California's Proposition 8 battle lurches forward, the Obama administration sees no "reasonable arguments" to defend a law that bars gay marriages.

Save loan guarantees for clean energy, and the 75,000 jobs that go with them, says U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein. House Republicans have voted to strip the program from the budget.

When it comes to creating premier universities, California has matched the performance of the entire Northeastern United States in far less time and with a smaller population, says a UCLA history professor. The state shouldn't jeopardize its system now by cutting "muscle and bone," he argues.

Newly seated Rep. Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles), who went to Congress last month after a stint as California Assembly Speaker during part of the state's continuing wallow in red ink, said Wednesday she felt a sense of deja vu when confronted with the federal government's own contentious budget debate.

"So much seems so familiar," Bass told a group of reporters in her Hancock Park district office about the similarities between the strident, highly partisan debates in Sacramento and in Washington as the parties fight over budget cuts. "I thought here we go again ... I've definitely gone from the frying pan into the fire."

A big difference is that now Bass belongs to the party that lost power in the House during last fall's elections and now finds herself setting aside her own legislative goals for a while to learn the ropes and  to fight budget battles."It's not just about the money; it's also about [political] philosophy," Bass said of GOP efforts to make deep cuts in federal spending, including some social services and programs she believes are vital.

Her top priority now is trying to help resolve budget differences to avoid a possible government shutdown. Bass also wants to keep Republicans from gutting the Obama administration's sweeping healthcare overhaul. She thinks the Democrats missed an opportunity to build voter support for the program by not "packaging it as jobs bill." The legislation will lead to good, well-paying jobs in the healthcare field, she asserted.

In her first "roundtable" with local reporters since her Jan. 5 swearing in, Bass said she wants soon to continue the work on foster care and other legislation affecting families that she made a priority during her six years in the state Assembly. 

For now, however, fighting deep budget cuts and saving the healthcare legislation come first: "It's about defense right now."

-- Jean Merl

Alarmed by reports that elected officials throughout California are voting on matters that could benefit their relatives, a state lawmaker has introduced legislation that would restrict the practice.

Assemblyman Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia) said he introduced AB 785 partly in response to reports by the Los Angeles Times that Supervisor Don Knabe voted as a member of the Los Angeles County Coliseum Commission to allow "rave" concerts to continue at that stadium after the lobbying firm of his son, Matt Knabe, represented a rave operator.

"This is not prohibited by current law," Mendoza said. "I want to make sure officials abstain from voting when an immediate family member has a financial interest in the outcome of an issue under the jurisdiction of that official."

Mendoza’s bill would significantly expand conflict-of-interest rules. His measure would create a disqualifying conflict of interest for an elected official voting on a matter if that official’s spouse, child, parent, sibling, or the spouse of the child  "has a financial interest in any contract made by that public official."

Matt Knabe is a partner in Englander, Knabe and Allen, a lobbying and public affairs firm whose clients included rave operator Insomniac Inc., which has used the Coliseum. Matt Knabe said he did not personally lobby on the rave issue — it was handled by another employee of his firm — and he has not lobbied his father on the matter. "That is the bottom line," he said.

Supervisor Knabe also voted to require bidding on a data-mining contract for which one potential bidder is IBM, another client of Matt Knabe’s lobbyist firm, The Times reported.

Harvey Englander, another partner in the lobbying firm, said the Mendoza bill was unnecessary and noted that the law already requires disclosure of lobbying activity.

Englander criticized Mendoza for spending time on the legislation that he said could be better spent solving the state’s $25-billion budget shortfall. "He needs to focus on what’s important," Englander said, "and not grandstand for headlines."

-- Patrick McGreevy

Two-thirds of Republicans in the California Legislature announced Wednesday that they were forming a new group and pledged not only never to vote to raise taxes but also to block efforts to place a tax-hike measure before voters.

The group’s creation is a stick in the eye for Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat whose budget plan is based on allowing a public referendum on extending taxes in June.

So far, 21 of the 27 GOP Assembly members have signed on, as have eight of the 15 GOP state senators.

[Updated 1:15 p.m.: Jennifer Kerns, a spokeswoman for the group, said she had mistakenly included Senate Republican leader Bob Dutton of Rancho Cucamonga on the list of signers. He has not joined the group, she said. Also, she said two additional legislators had joined Wednesday, Sen. Jean Fuller (R-Bakersfield) and Assemblyman Chris Norby (R-Fullerton), bringing the total number of signers to 29.]

A joint budget committee of the Legislature began meeting Wednesday to craft a spending plan.

Brown needs a two-thirds vote in each house of the Legislature to place the tax question before voters. That will require the support of at least four Republican legislators, two in each house.

Sen. Tony Strickland (R-Moorpark) and freshman Assemblyman Donald Wagner (R-Irvine) are the co-chairs of what they are calling a “taxpayers caucus.” The signers of the caucus’ principles agree to oppose putting any tax increases on the ballot unless voters are presented with an equal-sized tax cut. Brown has derided that idea as “flim-flam.”

By listing their members, the new group is also providing a roadmap for Brown to determine which GOP lawmakers are at least willing to negotiate and compromise. Pressure will likely mount from conservative activists on those same swing GOP legislators.

The Republican non-signers in the state Senate are Bob Dutton of Rancho Cucamonga, Tom Berryhill of Modesto, Sam Blakeslee of San Luis Obispo, Anthony Cannella of Ceres, Bill Emmerson of Redlands, Tom Harman of Huntington Beach and Bob Huff of Diamond Bar. The non-signers in the Assembly are Katcho Achadjian of San Luis Obispo, Bill Berryhill of Ceres, Paul Cook of Yucaipa, GOP leader Connie Conway of Tulare, Steve Knight of Palmdale and Kristin Olsen of Modesto.

Jennifer Kerns, a spokeswoman for the new group, said more members may sign on in the coming days and that Democrats have been invited to join, as well, though none had as of Wednesday.

-- Shane Goldmacher in Sacramento