John Phillips: How many more anti-democratic gaffes will Shirley Weber make?

California’s most incompetent statewide elected official might be Secretary of State Shirley Weber, who can’t seem to do anything right.

Appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in December of 2020 to replace Alex Padilla, whom he had just appointed to the United States Senate, Weber has experienced one embarrassing gaffe after another. She doesn’t seem to learn from her mistakes and she never really apologizes after getting caught abusing or grossly misinterpreting the law to punish her political adversaries.

In many ways, she’s perfect for a Newsom appointee.

I’d love to know who else was on Newsom’s short list to be secretary…Fraulein Helga from Hogan’s Heroes?

Let’s take a brief look at some of Weber’s “greatest hits.”

In a statement issued last Friday, the California Secretary of State’s Office acknowledged a mistake that led to Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Christina Pascucci receiving a “No Ballot Designation” identifier on both the March 5 primary ballot and the accompanying voter guide.

Pascucci, a former Los Angeles TV news journalist, should have received the designation “Local Television Journalist,” according to a statement from Secretary Shirley Weber’s office.

The mistake has been corrected online, but it is too late to fix the ballots or official voter information guides. Weber’s office said it was “an administrative error” that led to the mistake.

The phrase, “I’m sorry” never appeared anywhere in her statement.

In response, Pascucci took to X and said, “It’s a huge deal because voters use the ballot designation to guide them when they cast their vote. I’m going to be frank: This is bad and it doesn’t just affect my campaign, it could impact the overall results of this election. Our team has been dealing with this for a month. The Secretary of State admitted ‘an unfortunate internal clerical error’ and issued a correction via press release and on social media late Friday. That doesn’t fix the harm caused.”

No kidding. Weber’s inability to perform the basic duties of her office harmed Pascucci irreparably. Dare I suggest she sue?

In Bakersfield, Weber said that Republican Assemblyman Vince Fong could not run for Congress because he had already qualified to run for the Assembly before a December deadline.

Fong did sue Weber, saying that her office’s job is to “receive and file” nomination documents, not to decide who is eligible to run. His lawyers argued that state law does not prevent Fong from running for both Congress and the 32nd Assembly District, which he currently represents.

In December, Judge Shelleyanne Chang granted Fong’s request to run for Congress, reversing Weber’s decision.

With the campaign now in full swing, Weber is appealing the decision in California’s Third Appellate District, still attempting to disqualify Fong as a candidate.

In response, Brian Hildreth, an attorney for Fong, told the Fresno Bee, “This is an unprecedented attempt by the secretary of state to disqualify the ballots of potentially tens of thousands of Central Valley voters.”

Ya think?

And in the 2021 recall campaign of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, then candidate and long time radio talk show host Larry Elder beat Weber in court after she tried to keep him off the ballot, for what she described as not filling out the proper paperwork.

Superior Court Judge Laurie M. Earl disagreed and ruled that, “I don’t find Mr. Elder was required to file a tax return at all…I would find he substantially complied.”

As a result, Weber was forced to list Elder’s name on the ballot.

Weird that Weber, a Democrat, has tried to prevent three candidates,  a moderate Democrat and two Republicans, from winning elective office.

Shirley Weber has got some nerve, trying to stop Californians from voting for the candidate of their choice.  Who does she think she is, Fani Willis?

As Secretary of State, Weber has proven to be anti-democratic, bad at her job, and pretty shameless about it.

Seems to me, she’s a genuine “threat to democracy.”

John Phillips can be heard weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. on “The John Phillips Show” on KABC/AM 790.