Capitol Weekly publishes its first installment of it's Top 100 list of California movers and shakers.
"Capitol Weekly spent weeks talking to top California
political professionals to get a consensus on the top
influence peddlers, power brokers and political players
in California. The list is varied – there are Democrats and
Republicans; labor leaders and captains of industry; people who are
little known outside of Sacramento
circles, and international superstars.
Who do you think tops the list?
CW reports on the growing fracturing of the special election coalitions.
"This week, SEIU’s state council has opened a campaign account to oppose
Proposition 1A, the measure backed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
that would keep taxes on the books for three extra
years in exchange for limiting state spending in future
years. But the union has not ruled out the possibility
that they could give money to support a $5 billion lottery measure on the same ballot also supported
by Schwarzenegger.
"The danger, of course, is that the messaging will be
muddled. And with the ballot measures already finding
a skeptical audience among potential voters, a lack
of a clear message only makes matters more complicated.
“Complexity is the enemy of ballot measures, and this
is complexity to the 50th power,” said Democratic strategist Darry Sragow. “It’s a real problem.”
"A strategist for the Yes on 1A-F campaign agreed.
“We’ve been working very closely with CTA,” said Adam Mendelsohn who is
working for the governor’s campaign committee to pass Propositions 1A
and 1C. “We have had discussions with committee that’s been formed to
support 1C, although we’re not coordinating with them.”
CW also reports that John Garamendi is getting ready to announce a Congressional
bid.
"So, let’s go to the dominos, shall we? Of course, it’s bad news for
DeSaulnier and Joan Buchanan, who both
wanted to run for the seat. Of course, everyone’s got a free run at it,
so there’s nothing to stop DeSaulnier or Buchanan from plunging
into the race. DeSaulnier already has some top endorsements,
and is unlikely to back down now. It’s also bad news for Dean Florez
and Alan Lowenthal,
who were mounting Lite Gov campaigns for 2010. If Garamendi wins,
Schwarzenegger will get to appoint
a new lieutenant, and Florez or Lowenthal would have
to run against an incumbent."
"[F]or several hours Wednesday, a crowd estimated at about
5,000 gathered on Capitol Park's west lawn to protest federal bailout programs and
state tax increases, and vent general frustration with what they see as
governance that runs from paternalistic to profligate.
"'We just want to support our Constitution and get back
to the limited government that the country was founded
on,' said Mark Chiorino, a 47-year-old firefighter who came from Auburn with his wife,
April."
Wonder if Mr. Chiorino is getting 3% at 50 retirement...
"'It's not just the taxes, it's the need to go back to a limited government. You
know, California is a perfect example of a state that
has kind of gone overboard.'
"The "Tax Day Tea Party" gathering was one of an estimated 802 similar demonstrations around the country, sponsored
by a group calling itself the Tea Party Movement."
"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Wednesday that the claim by some conservative
activists that illegal immigration is to blame for
all of the state's fiscal problems is ignorant and bigoted," reports Evan Halper in the Times.
"The governor made his comments during a public forum
at The Times building in downtown Los Angeles, where
he expressed frustration with anti-tax organizations and others seeking to derail a package
of ballot measures that will come before voters in
a May 19 special election. Schwarzenegger and lawmakers placed
the measures on the ballot as part of the budget agreement
they reached in February.
"'Anyone who says you have a budget crisis because of
undocumented immigrants, I would say this is a prejudiced
comment rather than reality,' the governor said, challenging a claim regularly made
by opponents of his fiscal plans.
"Schwarzenegger derided opponents of the [ballot measure] package -- on the political right and left -- as ideologues who seek to take the state "over the cliff."
"'If it were up to them, this state would come to an
end because they would never agree on anything,' he said."
George Skelton talks to Mike Villines about Proposition 1A, which is under attack as a sneaky way to keep tax
increases from the right.
"The only way to structurally change California's financial situation is to have a cap and rainy day" fund, asserts Assembly Minority Leader Mike Villines (R-Clovis), who helped negotiate a $42-billion deficit-reduction package that included a $12.5-billion tax hike. "And if voters aren't going to say 'yes' to that, there should be no temporary extension of
those taxes.
"So that's it. We're not trying to trick anybody. This never has been
an attempt to be sneaky."
On chances of constraining state spending without the
give-and-take of Prop 1A...
"'Outside of Adam and Eve being the first legislative
body,' Villines says, 'I don't think there's ever been a legislature that lives within its means.
This is our chance to finally do it. This is a real
chance.'
"Probably the last chance, at least for a very long
time. Taxes, by comparison, will be easy to raise."
From the Bee's Buzz:
"Count the Golden State Warriors among the latest supporters of
budget-related ballot propositions on the May 19 ballot. The NBA team
has donated $25,000 to Budget Reform Now, the campaign committee
supporting the six measures, according to the secretary of state's Web
site. Other donors include Stockton developer Alex
G. Spanos and
utility company Edison International, each giving $100,000. Contractors
DeSilva Gates Construction, A. Teichert & Son and the Engineering
& Utility Contractors Association also gave."
"The opening TV spot in the May 19 special election went up Wednesday, telling California voters just how important it is
to support Propositions 1A and 1B," reports John Wildermuth in the Chron.
"But what's not in the 30-second ad, paid for largely by the California Teachers
Association, is as important as what appears on the
screen because it hints at the tone the campaign for
the ballot measures is likely to take.
"It argues that the state budget is a total mess but
says help is on the way if Prop. 1A, a spending cap and rainy-day fund, and Prop. 1B, a guarantee of $9.3 billion in new money for schools, both pass.
"'Protect the priorities that matter most,' the spot urges, flashing images of doctors, school
kids, police and families. But Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
is nowhere to be seen, even though he's touting the entire slate of measures on next month's ballot as his 'budget reform package.'"
The Chron's Nanette Asimov looks at Proposition 1B, which would "repay" $9.3 billion to K-12 and community colleges over seven years, and which
is tied to the passage of Proposition 1A.
"In the past, when large budget deficits resulted in
cuts to education spending - six times in the last 20 years - state law let schools receive less money than they
were entitled to. But the state had to repay the money
when the economy improved.
"Early this year, Schwarzenegger's finance officials said the steep drop in revenues
forced them to fund education through a different formula,
which they said did not require them to refund the
money to schools.
"School administrators, teachers and other education
advocates differed and threatened to sue.
"Subsequent negotiations resulted in Prop. 1B, which would restore about the same amount of money
to schools that would have been provided under the
original formula. The money would come from a "supplemental education fund" created by Prop. 1A, payable in annual installments beginning in 2011."
"The California Chamber of Commerce -- well known for its ability to scuttle bills it deems
"job killers" -- has released its wish list of legislation, the 2009 "job creator" bills," posts Shane Goldmacher on Capitol Alert.
"The chamber has identified 14 such bills. "If ever there was a time to pass legislation that will
result in the immediate hiring of people, it is now," said its president, Allan Zaremberg, in a prepared statement.
"Nine of the 14 bills are authored by Republicans. A couple of the
notable bills include former Senate GOP leader Dave Cogdill's water bond legislation (SB 371) and a bill by Republican Sen. Bob Dutton to expand the $10,000 homebuyer's credit for new home purchases that was included in
the February budget deal."
"At two stops in Northern California on Wednesday, U.S.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced infusions of millions in federal stimulus
money to upgrade the state's water infrastructure and modernize earthquake monitoring
systems, including $40 million for groundwater pumping and other projects
to ease effects of the drought," write Jia-Rui Chong and Bettina Boxall in the Times.
"Salazar detailed the $260-million pledge for water projects at a midday appearance
in Rancho Cordova with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
"A significant amount of the money will go toward long-term projects, including $26 million for fish restoration in Battle Creek and $110 million for a screened pumping plant on the Sacramento
River to aid salmon passage while maintaining irrigation
deliveries.
"'We believe we can't fix all of this without the federal government,' Schwarzenegger said.
"Salazar announced the funding after a helicopter tour
with Schwarzenegger of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, the source of much of California's water and the center of decades of conflict between
environmental concerns and water supply needs."
"The University of California's huge and once very healthy retirement fund lost a third of its worth in 2008, shedding about $16 billion in value primarily because investments plummeted
due to the recession," reports the Chron's Jim Doyle.
"That could spell more bad news for many UC employees,
who, beginning next year, will have to contribute 2 percent of their salaries to the pension plan. It
also spells trouble for the UC system, which in April
2010 will begin contributing 4 percent of its roughly $9 billion payroll to the pension fund and a greater
percentage in future years.
"According to an Investment Performance Summary prepared
for UC's governing Board of Regents, which oversees the pension
plan, the retirement fund shrank from $47.85 billion at the end of 2007 to about $31.7 billion at the end of 2008.
"The losses come at a time when the university's employee groups are demanding joint governance of
the pension fund, insisting on public disclosure of
how the fund's assets are being managed and questioning the plan's long-term viability."
And finally, we go to Spokane, Washington for our headline
of the day. "Spokane parks to detonate squirrels."
I can feel the hate mail coming...
The Finch Arboretum is being overrun by ground squirrels,
and Spokane
Parks and Recreation is bringing in some special artillery.
The
agency is using a special machine called the Rodenator
Pro to detonate
some of the estimated 100 to 150 squirrels tearing up the grounds.
Shades of Carl Spackler , the gopher-hating groundskeeper from "Caddyshack."
The Rodenator Pro pumps propane and oxygen into the tunnels of
squirrels, then sends an electric spark that causes
an explosion. The
shock waves kill the squirrels and collapse their tunnels
- but in a
humane way, the agency said."
Sounds humane, right?
