THE POLITICAL LANDSCAPE:

Assemblyman Chuck DeVore has created a new satirical video on YouTube that manages to poke fun simultaneously at President Barack Obama and classic rocker Don Henley.

Entrenched in his 2010 bid for Barbara Boxer’s Senate seat, DeVore penned a jokey version of Don Henley’s 1984 hit “The Boys of Summer� while stumping just north of Bakersfield a few weeks ago when he saw a fading Obama bumper sticker on a car in a parking lot.

Recalling Henley’s famous line about a “deadhead sticker on a Cadillac,� DeVore wrote “After the Hope of November is Gone� to the tune of “Boys of Summer.� The YouTube video features the vocal stylings of Justin Hart, DeVore’s director of new media. Hart created the music video on his own time, which takes a critical look at the first days of the Obama administration.

“But we can see through — Your broken promises oh One. You got your head cocked back and your teleprompter on, maybe. And can we tell you our love for you will still be strong, after the hope of November’s gone,� DeVore’s parody goes.

The video, along with other DeVore fare, can be viewed at www.youtube.com/ devore4ca. DeVore is sponsoring an online contest for people to create their own version of the song a la “Chocolate Rain.� Contestants can post their own version of the song on YouTube by Monday.

“When you just do something that’s purely public policy, oftentimes people don’t take note compared to when you combine something with a cultural delivery device,� DeVore said. “The left has been doing this for years with deadly effect. It’s time that folks from my side of the aisle play the game.�

DeVore’s Senate campaign recently picked up a Shorty Award for its use of the social networking utility Twitter. The Assemblyman hopes using websites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube will reach people who might not typically vote Republican in 2010, he said.

“We’re trying to run using new media for maximum effect, and trying not to be boring, by-the-book, stodgy old Republicans,� DeVore said. “That’s the path for certain defeat in 2010. The old ways don’t work anymore.�

 

MORE INFO NEEDED TO REOPEN CONTRACTS

Poor holiday sales figures alone aren’t enough to warrant Costa Mesa’s employees taking pay and benefits cuts, an employee union leader said Monday.

Data from the state that the city received last week shows sales tax collections dropped $2 million in the fourth quarter of 2008 compared to the previous year, suggesting that Costa Mesa’s operating deficit for this year may be about $14 million. However, the latest figures are just one piece of a puzzle that has yet to be solved, said Costa Mesa Firefighters Assn. President Tim Vasin.

According to agreements between the city and its employee unions, a 3% drop in the city’s three biggest tax revenue sources — sales tax, property tax and hotel tax — needs to be proven by audited figures that won’t be available until fall before contracts are forced open.

Vasin remains hopeful that some new budget cuts and new revenue sources that union officials plan to present to the city in coming days will make a dent in the shortfall.

“We’ve been extremely diligent and working hard — all four associations — with city management since December to come up with solutions to offset the deficit and we’ve come up with a number of viable sources,� Vasin said.

The proposed solutions, which Vasin called a “well-rounded package,� should be unveiled soon, he said.

Reporter BRIANNA BAILEY may be reached at (714) 966-4625 or at [email protected]. Reporter ALAN BLANK may be reached at (714) 966-4623 or at [email protected].