Tony Strickland, GOP candidate for California Controller, has targeted Rob Reiner’s misuse of public funds, and will no doubt make it a central feature of his campaign.

Which puts current Controller and would-be governor Steve Westly in a tight spot: Either he launches a serious and thorough investigation into Reiner’s mixong of taxpayer money with his private crusade, or he gets the justified reputation as a cover-up man for Hollywood liberals with campaign cash.

Incredibly, Arnold still hasn’t replaced Reiner even as the obvious liability of Reiner’s tenure as Arnold’s guy grows. Arnold’s re-elect has problems enough without having to carry the weight of protecting Reiner.

UPDATE: From the SF Chronicle:

Lawmakers publicly calling for audits or investigations of First 5’s spending climbed from three to five Tuesday as state Sen. Dave Cox, R-Fair Oaks (Sacramento County), asked the Joint Legislative Audit Committee to probe First 5’s spending and state Sen. Chuck Poochigian, R-Fresno, called for an investigation by the attorney general.

The audit committee must vote on Cox’s request. Two other GOP lawmakers and one Democratic assemblyman called for audits last week.