A California Constitutional Convention?
“All political power is inherent in the people. Government is instituted for their protection, security and benefit, and they have the right to alter or reform it when the public good may require." Article II, Section 1, of the Constitution of California.
I read with interest that Jim Wunderman of the Bay Area Council suggested last week that California convene a constitutional convention to look at its entire system of government. Joel Fox on Fox and Hounds Daily is skeptical. I posted on my New America Foundation blog that it certainly is an interesting idea. I could see Gov. Schwarzenegger, who has reached his "throw up his hands" moment, back such a convention.
Emails and memos I turned up in reporting for my book, The People’s Machine, show that Schwarzenegger’s aides and political advisors discussed just such an idea — albeit not too seriously and not at length — in 2004.
A convention might provide a method to take on many of the untouchable subjects of California politics. Wunderman mentions the two-thirds requirements for passing a budget (a fact of California life since the 1930s) and for raising taxes (a provision of Prop 13, passed in 1978). But any constitutional review needs to be bigger, and think about the state government as a whole. The entire structure of the state, which was largely put in place, should be re-examined.
If we build it, they will come
When J. Clark Kelso, the court appointed receiver for California’s prison healthcare system demanded that a federal judge order the state to come up with $8 billion over the next 5 years to fund his overhaul of the system, there was the predictable anger and outrage from politicians and interest groups on both sides of the issue. This was followed by another predictable step in these dramas when the Governor issued a statement that read in part, “we will continue to work cooperatively with the receiver in a fiscally responsible way to provide the necessary funding”.
But while everyone is rightly focused on the staggering amount Kelso has asked for, we are somehow forgetting about another significant expenditure in the budget—the escalating cost of the new death row at San Quentin.
The “estimated” cost for this facility is now pegged at $395.5 million, and as sure as the sun coming up in the morning, you know the cost will only grow before it’s completed. $19 million has already been spent on planning and construction could begin later this year. There is no question that San Quentin’s aging death house is overcrowded, and since we keep adding new crimes and circumstances every year that can get a person a date with the executioner, it will only get worse.
But, is a new death row the answer?
Michelle Obama is my hero and other musings from Denver
Michelle Obama made me cry – and pretty much everyone else around me. There wasn’t a dry eye when she was done speaking and the strains of Stevie Wonder’s "Isn’t She Lovely" began to waft through the Pepsi Center. Yes she is!
It made the rest of the night worthwhile. The security lines getting into the center were outrageous. The security perimeter is more than a quarter mile away from the security check in area. Once you get to the lines, they then herd you through what must in their everday lives be cattle gates, to finally get you to the metal detectors. That process took about a half an hour, with all of humanity waiting to enter together. Fortunately it served as a great way to meet up with friends, elected officials, and colleagues.
From there we were fortunate enough to have access to seats. Watching from the nosebleeds we were a bit confused by the "regular" people they kept trotting out to speak. It didn’t resonate well with the crowds and the night definitely felt flat.