"The two Democratic gubernatorial candidates
pummeled each other in a debate filled with pointed barbs Wednesday night as
Phil Angelides repeatedly attacked Steve Westly as a lackey for Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger and Westly warned Angelides would burden Californians with excessive taxes," reports Peter Hecht in the Bee.
"The exchange between the two candidates, sponsored by the Commonwealth Club of California and aired live on San Francisco's KPIX Channel 5 television, reflected the tension of a tightening primary election race entering its final weeks."
Steve "Westly called [
Phil] Angelides a "career Sacramento insider...running on a platform of raising your taxes."
"'He's a developer whose campaign is funded by developers,' Westly said. 'If you think Sacramento is working well and you want more of the status quo, he is the choice for you.'"
Original, it ain't.
"'After he did all that, you said it was fine with you if Arnold Schwarzenegger had another four years,' he said. '
Steve, you stood up to Arnold Schwarzenegger like Ed McMahon stood up to Johnny Carson.'"
Hey-O!
Tom Chorneau
gets the analysis for the Chron. "'I think it was something of a draw,' said
Melinda Jackson, a political scientist from San Jose State. "Angelides was more aggressive, but sometimes voters like the defender better.'"
"Political scientist
Jack Pitney of Claremont McKenna College in Southern California said that it was critical for both candidates to do well in San Francisco."
"'It's where you have a lot of Democrats -- but also where there's a large number of people who are passionate about Democratic politics,' he said."
CW's Shane Goldmacher takes a look at
Angelides' top political strategist -- Phil Angelides. "With a friend managing his bid for governor and with no high-profile consultant giving him strategic advice, those close to Angelides say the man behind the campaign and in front of the cameras is one and the same. So, whether there is ultimately blame or credit to go around after the June primary, much of it will rest with Angelides himself."
"In other words, it's all about Phil."
There's
not enough people statewide passionate about the Democratic Party, though, writes George Skelton in the Times. "Right here in this big blue state, where the tale of Republicans being ravaged by Prop. 187 may be an urban myth. In truth, neither party is producing heroes or new voters."
Peter Nicholas
takes stock of the governor's outreach to labor unions. "With his deal this week to repay schools billions of dollars he had borrowed to balance the state budget in recent years, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has undercut the main argument that California's powerful education unions have made for driving him out of office."
"The pledge to restore the funds is the governor's latest move in a clear strategy to neutralize the network of teachers, nurses, firefighters and others that has dogged him throughout his tenure and blocked major pieces of his agenda."
"Sales tax receipts from the gas pumps in the fourth quarter of last year
grew by nearly $100 million from the same period the year before , according to the latest figures available. And that was when California's average price for a gallon of gas at the pump, which includes state and local sales tax along with fixed state and federal excise taxes, was at $2.56," writes Matthew Yi in the Chron.
"Since 2002, sales tax revenues on gas have been growing annually by $300 million to $400 million to reach $2.86 billion in 2005, according to the California Board of Equalization. And with fuel prices at the pump already well above $3, the gas tax boom will likely continue for state and local governments."
"'There's a lot of blame to go around (when it comes to high fuel prices), but the government certainly should be on the list,' said
Bill Leonard, a member of the Board of Equalization. '
The government is the biggest profiteer of them all.'"
The Chron's Greg Lucas
gets more details of the governor's spending plans for schools. "Under the governor's plan, $2.9 billion of the $5.7 billion would be spent over a seven-year period primarily to help improve academic performance at roughly 800 of the state's lowest-performing schools. Those schools educate 700,000 of California's 6.3 million public school pupils."
"Of the $2 billion that schools would receive this year, Schwarzenegger wants $250 million to be spent on physical education equipment, $250 million on arts and music equipment and $250 million on textbooks."
"Schwarzenegger also proposes to reimburse schools for training and other requirements the state has imposed on local districts but not repaid them for -- some $600 million."
The Register's Brian Joseph
breaks down the school funding deal for The OC in a question and answer format.
CW's Malcolm Maclachlan says
the new cash could make for an early budget exit this summer. " There are two programs that Assembly Democrats will push for, [Budget Chairman
John] Laird said: pushing community college fees back to $20 a unit from the current $26, and $50 million to extend health care to uninsured children. These programs should help pay for themselves over time with increased income-tax revenues and lower emergency room health costs."
Capitol Weekly takes a look at
the fight between political consultants for a piece of the bond campaign action. "The presence of $37.3 billion worth of bonds on the November ballot has set off a scrum in the Capitol among political consultants, all jockeying for a piece of the fall campaign."
"Because of the bond's bipartisan support, both Democratic and Republican consultants are angling for a piece of the action. The wide ideological base of support for the bonds means that consultants and interest groups, who went to war during the special election just last year, now find themselves on the same side of the issue. But that doesn't necessarily mean they're willing to campaign together."
Meanwhile, things are heating up in the struggle between over control of the L.A. schools. "Los Angeles schools chief
Roy Romer fired off a stern rebuttal to Mayor
Antonio Villaraigosa's call for a state audit Wednesday, saying that he and the Board of Education welcome the review but reject the mayor's continued attacks on the school district."
"At a news conference, Villaraigosa and several mayors from surrounding cities also served by the Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation's second-largest, signed a letter to state legislators asking for a review of student achievement."
"Within hours, Romer released a statement saying: 'Our successes in improving instruction and student test scores in the last six years speak for themselves.'"