Blakeslee Win is About Jobs
Is Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee’s first place finish in the Senate District 15 special election an omen for what might come in the November battle over suspending AB 32, the greenhouse gases law? Ironically, on the same day that Blakeslee pulled off a comfortable victory over former colleague John Laird – although not decisive since Blakeslee just missed 50% necessitating a runoff — the initiative to suspend AB 32 qualified for the November ballot.
Blakeslee missed capturing outright the senate seat vacated by new Lt. Governor, Abel Maldonado, by winning 49.71% of the vote. Millions of dollars was poured into this race because a Democratic victory would leave Democrats one vote short of the two-thirds vote necessary to pass the budget and taxes.
But, the election was heavily influenced by the Gulf oil spill. The Laird campaign tried to splash the oil spill crisis all over Blakeslee, reminding voters he used to work for an oil company, and that he supported a form of off-shore drilling. The images of the destruction caused by the Gulf oil spill certainly have an emotional pull.
Legislature Needs to Stop Digging a Deeper Hole
The Senate Democrats
realignment plan is off-target.
The state can raise revenues, generate
jobs and growth by eliminating bureaucracy and unnecessary programs —
not increasing taxes or shifting the unfunded burden to the counties.
What’s needed is the ELIMINATION of unfunded mandates, consolidation
or elimination of state departments and agencies along with reducing
the large number of legislative committees, subcommittees and select
committees.
Senate Plan to Shift Services to Counties Doesn’t Help Balance State Budget
Cross posted at HealthyCal.org
A plan unveiled this week by Senate Democrats to shift billions of
dollars in services from the state to the counties might make
government more efficient. But it won’t help balance the budget.
The Democrats are proposing to shift several health, social service and
criminal justice programs to California’s 58 counties, but they are
also proposing to transfer the money to pay for the programs. Some of
that money would come from tax increases.
The proposal would shift juvenile parole services to counties, along
with the responsibility for jailing and supervising certain low-level
offenders convicted of drug and property crimes.