RIGONOMICS:

JIM RIGHEIMER

Absentee ballots have been delivered, and voting has now started in California for the Feb. 5 presidential primary. Here are my picks, starting with the propositions.

Proposition 91 transportation funds: According to the proponents, this initiative is no longer needed. Subsequent to 91 qualifying for the ballot, a bipartisan group of legislators and the governor put Proposition 1A on the ballot in November of 2006 that accomplished what Proposition 91 set out to do.

Proposition 1A passed with 77% of the vote. Therefore, 91 is not needed. VOTE NO

Proposition 92 Community College Funding: This is the first time in my life I agree with the California Teachers Assn., which is against Proposition 92.

This initiative is a feeble attempt by one part of the public educational monopoly — community colleges — trying to get a locked-in share of the state budget by changing the California Constitution with a funding formula based on population and unemployment, and not on the number of students that attend their schools.

They try to pass it off as something to help poor students by lowering fees from $20 per unit to $15. The problem is this reduction is for all students. Poor students already get the fee waived. All this initiative does is give wealthy students more money for Starbucks and iPods. VOTE NO

Proposition 93 Term Limits: This is filed under, “How stupid do they think we are?”

Though it is called a term limits initiative, it does not add limits and in fact adds four more years to all incumbents senators and six more years to all incumbent Assembly members.

In fact, the reason we have two primaries this year was so they could pass this in February and then place their names as incumbents on the normal June primary before they are termed out.

The Democratic leaders thought with some slick ads and good spin they could pass this in the dead of the night. VOTE NO

Proposition 94-97 Expansion of Indian Gambling Casinos: The Native Americans have more money to influence elections than any other special interest because they have the only gambling franchise in the state.

Almost every elected official, Republican and Democrat, is too afraid to ever upset the American Indians. The tribes will spend millions against any senator or assemblyman who gets out of line. The tribes always get what they want.

These particular compacts allow four tribes to more than double the amount of slot machines they have to 17,000. Tribes have been trying to get casinos into Orange County for years.

I enjoy gambling just as much as the next guy, but expanding this monopoly only puts more political power in their hands to do just that.

And please don’t fall for that argument that it will help the state finances.

Every dollar put in a slot machine would be spent in some other business and those businesses pay more taxes on each dollar they get than the tribes do. VOTE NO

Measure B City Hall in the Park: This is for my friends in Newport Beach. I have written extensively on this issue; it’s a simple no-brainer.

Cities should build on property they own before the buy more. It is the only fiscally prudent thing to do when you already own a perfectly good piece of property in the center of the city that is only growing weeds.

It makes no sense to spend $8 million to buy a smaller piece of property from the Irvine Company a few blocks away, which does not have enough room for its own parking. Not exactly the relationship the city needs; to be a tenant of The Irvine Company. VOTE YES

Now, when it comes to picking the nominees for president I will cede the choice of the Democratic nominee to someone who has a clue. I do not. You can pick a Hillary Clinton with no charm, a Barack Obama with no resume or John Edwards with no chance.

On the Republican side I told you before that I was already extremely biased. I hitched my wagon to Mitt Romney over a year ago when nobody knew his name.

I said last month that Romney would sweep Iowa and New Hampshire. Boy, was I wrong. He took second place in both, but won Michigan and Nevada handily.

Lo and behold, he is in a dead heat in Florida with John McCain. Giuliani spent the whole campaign in Florida and looks like he will place third there this week, which will end his campaign.

If Romney wins Florida, he will be the front runner when the race gets here.

So it’s now down to two horses, Mitt and McCain. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher made his choice this week and endorsed Romney. We need a Republican, not a rebel. VOTE ROMNEY

JIM RIGHEIMER is a Costa Mesa planning commissioner, a local developer and a GOP activist.