California / IN BRIEF : THOUSAND OAKS : McClintock to Form Tax Watchdog Panel

Tom McClintock, the quintessential political outsider during his 10 years in the Assembly, will stay in Sacramento to form a new group to track lawmakers’ votes on tax issues and to document what the group determines is unnecessary spending by state agencies. The Thousand Oaks Republican, whose harsh appraisals of state budgets irked both Democrats and Republican Gov. Pete Wilson, was defeated by a wide margin in his bid for Congress in November. Associates said he will become chief executive officer of the new Center for the California Taxpayer on Feb. 1. The watchdog group will operate as a tax-free educational organization, not a political action committee, under the aegis of the National Tax Limitation Foundation, a 14-year-old organization based in Roseville near Sacramento, said foundation Chairman Lewis K. Uhler.