As the deadline for calling a special election nears, the Chronicle
breaks down the decision. "Win and he clears his path to re-election. Lose and his cloak of political invincibility disappears."
"'The governor is fully committed to calling a special election,' said
Rob Stutzman, a spokesman for Schwarzenegger. '
We hope to be able to call it on June 13," which would be the deadline to schedule a Nov. 8 vote."
While the governor previously declared this Friday as his decision date, the only ballot measure to qualify for the ballot thus far is the independently placed initiative requiring the notification of parents of minors seeking access to an abortion.
Seven measures are being counted by county officials across the state, including four circulated by the governor's allies, two by the Alliance for a Better California and one by the pharmaceutical industry.
1-800-I-DONATE The L.A. Times reports on
what a big donation to Arnold Schwarzenegger can get you. "When wealthy contributors write checks to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, they often get a few canapes and a drink — and
a secret telephone number that grants them access to his closest advisors and even the governor himself."
Apparently, one of those donors thought it was a good idea to give the number to the Times' Robert Salladay and let him listen in. "In the latest such call, a few days ago, Schwarzenegger's media expert,
Don Sipple, outlined a strategy "based on a lot of polling" to
create a "phenomenon of anger" among voters toward public employee unions," Salladay reports.
We're guessing the governor's folks are currently working on
a better screening process for the calls.The subject of the
paycheck protection initiative came up during the call, and Sipple said the governor's support for the measure could be negotiated away as part of a budget package. " Sipple told him that Schwarzenegger
might withhold an endorsement of the initiative in exchange for concessions from the Legislature on other matters. He said it was a "distinct possibility" that the governor would endorse the measure, however. "We certainly would encourage it," Sipple said.
Speaking of those other matters, at the midway point of the first year of the biennial legislative session, Democrats have chosen a moderate path,
shelving many of their sweeping proposals in favor of incremental changes that might be supported by the governor, according to the L.A. Times. "Even the one far-reaching proposal that passed — to replace private health insurers with a state-run agency — would not take effect until lawmakers agreed on a financing method."
But the governor and the Legislature
do seem headed for a showdown on tax rates for the rich. Last week, we linked to a blog entry by
Dan Weintraub, who broke down the ineffectiveness of the tax hike on the rich passed during the
Pete Wilson years. Today, the Times' Michael Hiltzik
offers a rebuttal."Neither Weintraub nor Cal-Tax mentions the other major state tax hike of postwar vintage — the Reagan hike of 1967, which remained in force until 1985. Their amnesia about Reagan's increase is unsurprising: It destroys their argument about Wilson's.
Tax revenue during the Reagan era rose at a record pace of more than 15% a year, pushing California's annual receipts from $627 million to $11.4 billion. The resulting unexpected surplus stoked the citizen discontent about taxes that drove Proposition 13 to victory in 1978. That doesn't prove that tax increases are invariably over-productive, any more than the Wilson experience proves that they're invariably disappointing," he writes.
The state's stem cell agency is
running out of cash and into more controversy as the sale of $3 billion in approved bonds continues to be delayed. The bonds are on hold until legal action challenging the measure creating the agency is resolved, and the $3 million in start-up cash is running out.
Meanwhile, the agency is under further fire for using its
exemption from competitive bidding rules in all but one of its contracts. "This is an example of irresponsible behavior that would not be tolerated in a government agency that is responsible to the Legislature," said public interest lawyer
Charles Halpern.
The stem cell oversight committee meets this morning in Sacramento. The meeting was originally scheduled to be held in southern California, according to the Bee, but "the panel moved its planned meeting from Irvine to the Sacramento Convention Center so it could lobby lawmakers to defeat Senate Constitutional Amendment 13," by Sens.
Deborah Ortiz and
George Runner, R-Lancaster.
As the Bee describes: "The proposed amendment the panel plans to discuss would require the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine to have
a more open grant-making process and tighter conflict-of-interest rules. It would also require state-funded therapies be affordable to low-income Californians.
Sen.
Joe Dunn is expected to speak out against the measure at today's meeting.
This week's Political Pulse tells the story of
the Ortiz/Runner measure's near-death experience, before being moved to the Senate floor, where it may come up for a vote this week.
Following the fatal mauling of a twelve-year old boy, SF Mayor
Gavin Newsom wants to crack down on pit bulls, although state law prohibits the city from enacting a ban. "We have to be realistic,' Newsom told the Associated Press. 'You've got dogs that literally can kill. We've seen it demonstrated. If we can't change people's behavior and make them think what's in their best interest, then that's when government comes along and becomes a bit paternalistic. ... In this town, having a pit bull or two or three and three kids is not acceptable because we're not going to deal with the consequences of losing a life."
The Union Trib
writes up a bio of Coastal Commission executive director Peter Douglas and the pending ruling as to the constitutionality of the commission's makeup. "'This legal case is the Death Star circling coastal protection in California,' said Douglas, using 'Star Wars' imagery. '
Our opponents want to annihilate us."
At least we're on a temporary reprieve from Terminator imagery.
