The Skinny

With the birth of a new administration, it’s time to start anew. And perhaps clean up some last minute misunderstandings from the campaign season that is now officially over. Take, for example, the case of California Strategies. Partner Jason Kinney once lead the charge against Barack Obama, running a 527 campaign for Hillary Clinton in Indiana. But Kinney has tried hard to make right ever since. And when the presidential inaugural committee came around with the hat out, Kinney and his firm were there. Kinney maxed out with a $50,000 contribution to the party. For good measure, one of the firm’s account execs, Devon Ford, chipped in $50 K of his own. With those contributions, Kinney and Ford matched big names, and wallets, on the list, including George Lucas, Jeffery Katzenberg and Halle Berry, now providing an answer to the age old question: What do Halle Berry and Jason Kinney have in common? … Meanwhile, we look ahead to 2010. Looks like Sen. Alan Lowenthal is heading into the race for lieutenant governor. As of now, only one Democrat, Dean Florez, has declared his intention to run. But Lowenthal is looking hard at the race. Look for that race, and the other open constitutional races, to get a lot more crowded in the weeks and months to come.