This is one straight out of Karl Rove's political playbook. A group of Republican political operatives and their powerful special interests have hatched a desperate scheme to rig California's electoral process to their advantage. They're proposing a statewide ballot initiative to change how California casts its electoral votes for President. They've cleverly labeled it the "Presidential Election Reform Act," which would sound credible if it weren't so cynical.

But make no mistake, this wolf-in-sheep's-clothing has nothing to do with reform or protecting voters' interests or preserving the integrity of our Constitution. It's an audacious power grab by the GOP as it spirals into irrelevance leading up to the 2008 Presidential race.

Today, at events in Marin and San Francisco, I announced my candidacy for State Senate in 2008. I am running to offer voters a change and give voters a choice. The issues confronting us today are huge, from climate change to health care for all. We need new ideas, new leadership, and new approaches.

That’s why I want to reinvent the office of State Senate. I want to bring together communities of interest to work on solutions. To that end, this month I’m going to initiate and lead a series of online discussions, what I’m calling “Communities of Interest Policy” talks. These talks will bring together citizens from Sonoma, Marin, and San Francisco to exchange ideas for addressing a variety of important issues, including transportation, the environment, housing, education and health care, among others.

San Francisco blogger Josh Wolf today set a record by serving 169 days in federal prison - the longest of any journalist in U.S. history. In addition to the 1st Amendment, in California we have a State Shield Law which was intended to protect journalists from being held in contempt of court for refusing to disclose unpublished information. As this administration continues its assault on the freedom of the press, we must do everything we can to protect Mr. Wolf and other brave individuals who are sacrificing so much for the ideals that we hold dear.

To find out more, I suggest you visit Josh's website and the Free Josh Wiki that was set up to allow information sharing on his struggle.

I'm at a conference and don't know when I'll get the chance to check the comments, but I appreciate anything you can do to help spread the word about Josh. If you are in the Bay Area, there is an event tonight. Thanks.