Local Assemblyman says bill will save high-paying jobs; fiscal impact weighed

May 12, 2010 (Sacramento) - Assemblyman Joel Anderson (R-El Cajon) has introduced AB 2278, which will be heard in the Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committtee.  “By giving tax credits to California businesses in research and development, AB 2278 will help stop the hemorrhaging of California jobs,” Anderson said in an e-mail to local business leaders.  But whether legislators will approve a tax cut when the state faces a $20 billion budget deficit remains uncertain.

April 15, 2010 (San Diego’s East County) – Incumbent Assemblyman Joel Anderson’s decision to run for the State Senate creates an open seat. Three local Republicans want the job –and they are facing off in the June primary. Two of the candidates, Brian Jones and Bill Wells, are elected council members in Santee and El Cajon. The third, Christine Rubin, is an educator and political communications strategist who has worked many campaigns including the McCain-Palin ticket. The winner in June’s primary will vie against Democrat Mark Hanson, an educator, business and nonprofit leader who formerly ran for State Senate, in the November election.

To learn more about the three Republican contenders, click on their photos below. Hanson, who is running unopposed in the Democratic primary, has not yet established a website or campaign materials. ECM will profile Hanson in a future issue.

By Assemblyman Joel Anderson

March 31,  2010 (San Diego's East County) -- A Fresno businessman, Alan Jurkonis, moved his company to Minden, Nevada last year because he said operating in California was like "death by a thousand cuts." For Mr. Jurkosis, it was far cheaper to ship his product from Nevada to Southern California than from Fresno to Southern California.

By Miriam Raftery
 

December 17, 2009 (El Cajon) – The California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) has fined Assemblyman Joel Anderson (R-Alpine) $20,000 for soliciting and accepting donations over legal limits. The FPPC also fined the Fresno Central Committee $29,000 for laundering money from major Anderson donors including Hamann Construction family members, Sycuan and Barona Indian bands, then funneling hefty sums back into Anderson’s campaign coffers. Anderson has since returned more than $100,000 in donations.

Fines were levied shortly after Anderson’s annual holiday party last week, where he posed for photos with hundreds of constituents. Outside the party, protesters used a loudspeaker to inform party-goers of the controversy, carrying signs that read “Jail Joel” and calling for the Assemblyman to resign.

By Miriam Raftery

By Miriam Raftery

November 23, 2009 – After learning of the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) investigation into Assemblyman Joel Anderson 's finances and hearing that Anderson (R-Alpine) returned some $100,000 in donations of questionable legality, East County Magazine submitted a public records request to his office. We asked to see correspondence between Anderson, his staff, and major donors implicated in an alleged scheme to bypass campaign finance laws.

But our Assemblyman has concluded that the public should not see any corresponndence between his office and major donors implicated in his campaign finance scandal.

October 8, 2009 (San Diego’s East County)—AB 1046, authored by Assemblyman Joel Anderson (R-Alpine) has passed both houses of the Legislature unanimously and is now on the Governor’s desk. If enacted, would protect homeowners from having their home seized by creditors as payment for debt that is unrelated to their mortgage.

“Hard times can fall on anyone and it is important to have basic legal protections for their greatest investment - their life savings,” Anderson said.

September 8, 2009 (Sacramento) – AB 1506, authored by Assemblyman Joel Anderson (R-Alpine) has passed the Assembly by a unanimous vote. The measure would require the state of California to accept its own IOUs as payment for taxes or fees.

By Miriam Raftery

August 25, 2009 (Rancho San Diego/El Cajon)—The setting was serene, but the political exchanges were rocky at “Politics in Paradise,” a community legislative forum sponsored by the San Diego East County Chamber of Commerce Friday evening at Cuyamaca College’s Water Conservation Garden.