May 13, 2008

Fox launches new CA biz and politics site

Joel Fox, the president of the Small Business Action Committee, has launched a new political site covering California politics, called Fox & Hounds. The site features a right-leaning blogpen of contributors including Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's economics adviser David Crane, former GOP Assemblyman Keith Richman and Fox himself.

Fox promises a site "not based on ideology, but on the principle that an economically healthy California is a boon for all citizens."

"There is little that combines the news of business and politics and links them in such a way to inform and persuade politically-interested business-people and professionals," the site says.

Today, Fox posts an off-the-cuff interview he had with Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on the budget. Fox asked the mayor how he'd solve the state's fiscal mess.

"I've said for some time the state budget deficit is a spending problem but it's also a revenue problem. There are very real structural elements to it. The only way to resolve this budget deficit is to cut some spending and also to raise revenues and that's what we're doing here with the city budget. We're saying for every $1.50 in cuts we are going to raise a dollar in revenue," Villaraigosa said.

Crane, a Democrat and close adviser to Schwarzenegger, has already written a blog post about the state's infrastructure shortfall.

The rest of the site's contributors are Bonnie Reiss, a University of California Regent and former top adviser to the governor, Rex Hime, president and CEO of the California Business Properties Association, Elizabeth Crothers, a political consultant, Brendan Huffman, president & CEO of the Valley Industry & Commerce Association, John Kabateck, executive director of the California chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business, Michael Shires, associate professor of public policy at Pepperdine University, Patrick Dorinson, former communications director for the California Republican Party, Allan Hoffenblum, publisher of the California Target Book and Joe Mathews, Irvine senior fellow at the New America Foundation.

Posted by Shane Goldmacher on May 13, 2008 10:20 AM