Picky, Picky, Picky… Squid likes to pick on Salinas City Councilman Sergio Sanchez. But Squid isn’t going to kick Sanchez while he is on the ground. First, some drunks sucker-punched him in front of the Penny Farthing Tavern and now he is receiving cheap shots for appointing Sara Gracia to the Salinas Police Citizens Advisory Committee. Granted, Salinas’ brass has legitimate concerns over Gracia’s ties to Norteño gang members. But Squid thinks the timing and motives are political.

More than a week after Police Chief Dan Ortega wrote a memo barring Gracia from police ridealongs and other committee activities, the city released the letter to the media. So why smear Sanchez in public? Here’s why: Salinas cops loathe the rebellious councilman. The media attention Sanchez got over being a possible hate-crime victim probably just drove the PD’s outrage over the committee assignment to the surface, in addition to firing up racist bloggers on The Salinas Californian website. Bloggers have called Sanchez a racist, a midget and “a pot-supporting, norteño-gangster lover.” What Squid doesn’t get is how these comments don’t fall under the slanderous language the Californian says it bans. Maybe it’s so Publisher Scott Faust will have something to brag about on Mark Carbanaro’s radio show. As much as they’d like to see him out of City Hall, Sanchez haters wouldn’t mind spoiling his potential bid for county supervisor, either.

TOTAL RECALL II… Squid is bored. Now that the California presidential primary has come and gone, Squid’s got nothing to look forward to until the June election, and even that may prove to be a yawner unless the candidates for soon-to-be-termed-out Assemblyman John Laird’s 27th District seat start playing dirty. What Squid needs is a recall campaign. Remember the good ol’ days of the 2003 Gray Davis recall with the Terminator (aka current Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger), the Hustler (aka Larry Flynt) the Porn Star (aka Mary Carey) and even actor Gary Coleman vying for the post? Good times.

Turns out, Squid’s in luck. Last Friday, the recall campaign against Republican Sen. Jeff Denham, who represents the Salinas Valley, turned in some 50,000 signatures (it needs 31,084 to qualify for the ballot). And later that day, former Monterey County supervisor turned Salinas Valley assemblyman turned Monterey County Supervisor Simón Salinas told The Salinas Californian that if the recall happens, he’ll likely run for the state Senate and return to Sacramento.

A wise mollusk once said that if you look to the past you’ll miss the future (or maybe not. It’s possible Squid just made that up.) Regardless, it looks like good times ahead. Now, bring on the porn star.