Stanley "Tookie" Williams is scheduled to be executed just after midnight tomorrow, unless the governor decides to intervene and grant him clemency. Those watching the case have been waiting for the governor's decision all weekend, but George Skelton says the governor is
doing the right thing by waiting.
"It certainly means he is not rushing his decision, but using practically all the time available. Like governors before him, Schwarzenegger wants to be absolutely sure on this. No haunting doubts, no sleepless nights.
And he needs to be able to explain his action, in detail — not only to a public that supports capital punishment but also to family and Hollywood friends who oppose it."
The state Supreme Court has
already refused Williams' appeal. Only the U.S. Supreme Court or the governor can spare Williams now.
The OC Register's John McDonald reports that the governor
could have five executions on his plate for 2006.
The Chronicle reports despite recent problems and criticisms of the way the death penalty is administered, it is
still overwhelmingly popular in California.
But the Williams case has shifted the debate. "Advocates on both sides of the death penalty issue believe that Californians are having their most introspective public discussion in decades about whether the state should execute people."
The governor shook up his cabinet late Friday, as expected, moving
Terry Tamminen aside and replacing him with moderate Republican
Fred Aguiar, who had been the Secretary of State and Consumer Services. The governor also added another deputy chief of staff,
Dan Dunmoyer, to help out in the policy shop. The marginalizing of Tamminen may help ease criticism from some conservatives, as will the elevation of Dunmoyer, who was working for the insurance industry before joining the administration. The Mercury News said the governor
"took a sharp turn back to the right" with the reshuffle.
"Conservatives, who have demanded a private meeting with Schwarzenegger in recent days after his appointment of [
Susan] Kennedy, applauded the two Republican announcements. But they also cautioned that this does not make up for returning Kennedy -- a top aide to Gov.
Gray Davis and a gay-rights and abortion-rights advocate -- to a position of power in Sacramento.
"'The problem is a very partisan Democrat chief of staff will still be directing all these people on Schwarzenegger's staff,' said
Mike Spence, head of the California Republican Assembly. 'We like Fred. He's a good guy. He would make a great chief of staff, not the other way around.' Aguiar had been rumored as a candidate for chief of staff."
The moves may be
too little, too late in the Inland Empire, reports Michelle DeArmond in the Press-Enterprise. "
Ed Laning, the vice-chairman for the California Republican Party's Inland region, resigned in protest on Friday when Schwarzenegger failed to rescind Kennedy's appointment. Laning, of San Bernardino County's Oak Hills, is the first member of the GOP board of directors to quit over Kennedy.
"'I'm very surprised by how, across the board, this has raised concerns from all the spectrums within the Republican Party. There's a lot of worry about this,' said
Kevin Jeffries, Riverside County's Republican Party chairman and a candidate in the 66th Assembly District. '
There is a discussion going on at the grass-roots level ... that the state party consider withdrawing its endorsement of the governor.'"
Schwarzenegger also moved the state Supreme Court to the left, appointing
Carol Corrigan to fill the vacancy left by
Janice Rogers Brown. In making the selection, Schwarzenegger passed over Republican
Vance Raye, and avoided a likely confirmation fight in the process.
The Union-Trib's Ed Mendel writes that the
California Teachers Association is planning to cash in its chips from the special election by leading a coalition of education groups demanding more funding from the governor.
"The school groups, in a meeting with Schwarzenegger administration officials Nov. 30,
served notice that they not only want the $2 billion repaid, but said the amount owed has grown to about $5.5 billion."
"The coalition calculates that schools are owed $1.8 billion for the past fiscal year – a sum that grows to $5.5 billion when continued through the current fiscal year and the new fiscal year that begins on July 1."
Dan Walters tracks the showdown between education and the governor to the
vehicle license fee cut, which he calls "fiscal folly."
"
In effect, he kept one promise on the car tax but its cost was so high that he was compelled to break others - especially his promises to the powerful California Teachers Association on school aid - and that would lead to a showdown with the union and this year's repudiation by voters."
Marc Lifsher reports in the LA Times on the governor's
internal conflict on using coal to generate electricity. "The governor, like others in the state, has a split personality on coal, said
Gary Ackerman, executive director of the Western Power Trading Forum, an industry group for electricity sellers. 'They want the cheap power and they also want renewables' such as wind and solar energy, which are more expensive."
Wyoming is even considering a lawsuit against California if the state refuses to buy coal-generated electricity.
From our
Holiday Vacation Stories files: Matier and Ross report that lobbyist Darius Anderson
brought back a first-hand account of the Miami air marshal shooting from his trip to Cuba.
"As he does every year, Anderson, a Democratic Party heavyweight, led a junket of about 100 players to Cuba -- including state Assembly Speaker
Fabian Núñez, D-Los Angeles, state Sen.
Kevin Murray, D-Los Angeles, and Democratic Assembly members
Joe Canciamilla of Pittsburg and
Rebecca Cohn of Saratoga.
"As luck would have it, Anderson had to reschedule for an early return flight, one that put him in the Miami airport terminal just in time to hear shots ring out."
"'Then this stewardess came running out of the Jetway yelling, 'There's a bomb!'' Anderson said."
"Turned out there wasn't a bomb, but Anderson had no way of knowing that."
"'My first thought was, 'Run!'' Anderson said."
"And that's just what he did."
Don't forget to
send us your humorous or odd
holiday vacation and
office party stories.
