Jerry Brown

After a judge rejected twice their arguments that Attorney General Jerry Brown's ballot title wording for Prop. 8 was biased, the committee promoting the measure said Monday it would seek no further legal action in the matter.

Prop. 8, if approved by the voters in November would amend the California Constitution to state that marriage was only between a man and a woman.

Supporters of the initiative argued that the attorney general's wording that the measure, that "...(Prop. 8) would "eliminates (the) right of same-sex couples to marry.

"

As Gavin Newsom mulls a bid for the Democratic nomination for Governor in 2010, he might want to consider the track record of his predecessors: no Mayor of San Francisco has been elected Governor since James Rolph won in 1930. The last three Mayors-turned-gubernatorial candidate have lost: Dianne Feinstein lost her bid for Governor in 1990 to Pete Wilson; Joseph Alioto was defeated by Jerry Brown in the 1974 Democratic primary; George Christopher lost the 1966 GOP primary to Ronald Reagan. Alioto was the only sitting Mayor to run for Governor, although Christopher was the incumbent when he lost a bid for Lieutenant Governor in 1962, running on a ticket with unsuccessful gubernatorial candidate Richard Nixon.

SACRAMENTO -- A Superior Court judge ruled late Thursday that he was inclined to leave intact Attorney General Jerry Brown's phrasing of the ballot title for Prop. 8, an initiative that if approved by the voters, would constitutionally ban same-sex marriage in California.

Proponents of the anti-gay marriage initiative objected to Brown's phrasing that declares the November ballot measure would "eliminate (the) right of same-sex couples to marry" in California as biased.

"It's calculated to encourage people to vote against the measure," Yes on 8 lawyer Andrew Pugno argued to Judge Timothy Frawley. "It's going to throw the legitimacy of the election into question because it is so one-sided."

Not all prospective candidates for California governor in 2010 are big names, armed with big support or bank accounts.

Richard Aguirre, a state resident who has apparently never held nor run for public office before, has filed a statement of intent to run for the state's top job in two years.

With ballots just days away from printing, proponents and opponents of the ballot initiative that would ban gay marriage in the California constitution wrangled over the language that will go before voters Nov. 4.

At a hearing Thursday afternoon before Sacramento Superior Court Judge Timothy Frawley, the attorney for the pro-Proposition 8 side said language on the current ballot constitutes a willful attempt to mislead voters into opposing the measure.

Andrew Pugno said that the measure's ballot and summary said the measure would eliminate same-sex marriage. That equated to loaded language, he said.

California Lieutenant Gov. John Garamendi has added his name to list of gubernatorial candidates for 2010.

According to the California Secretary of State's website, Garamendi filed a statement of intent to run for governor this month, under the account name "Garamendi 2010."

Proponents of Proposition 8 said they planned to file suit this afternoon against California Attorney General Jerry Brown over the language used to describe the anti-gay marriage ballot measure on the Nov. 4 ballot.

Yes on 8 spokesperson Jennifer Kerns said the group specifically objected to how that office's title for the measure on the Nov. 4 ballot said it would "eliminate" a right to be married for some California residents, specifically homosexuals.

Former state Assemblyman Joe Canciamilla: Campaign photoIt wasn't missing the taste for rubber chicken, but a re-examination of where a public servant could have the most impact that led former state Assemblyman Joe Canciamilla to form an exploratory committee this week to run for state attorney general in 2010.

Canciamilla briefly examined running for a state senate seat this year after being termed out of the assembly, but opted not to do so, declaring he was tired of the "rubber chicken circuit."

Months later, Canciamilla is strongly considering elective office again, but with provisions.

Former U.S. Rep. Tom Campbell: University of California BerkeleyTwo former California politicians thought to be done with elective office are eyeing statewide races in 2010.

The San Jose Mercury News is reporting that Republican Tom Campbell, a former San Jose congressman and most recently business school dean at the University of California, Berkeley, has formed an exploratory committee to run for governor in two years.

And the Sacramento Bee reported Monday afternoon that Joe Canciamilla, a former Democratic assemblyman from the East Bay, has taken out papers to run for attorney general in 2010.

Insurance Commissioner Steve PoiznerA leading conservative blog and news aggregator says Steve Poizner has met with a top political consultant about making a run for California governor in 2010.

In a posting last week by FlashReport Publisher John Fleischman, Poizner was said to have had ongoing discussions with Mike Murphy, a Los Angeles-based strategist who helped engineer Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's victory in the 2003 recall election of then-Gov. Gray Davis.