A Lesson about a November Ballot Measure from the Current Budget Debate
The battle is on over the state budget due July 1 and the fireworks could shed light on an initiative measure on the November ballot. Designated as Proposition 25, the measure would reduce the legislative vote requirement to pass a budget from two-thirds to a simple majority.
Assembly Speaker John Perez’s budget plan is built on borrowing, although the plan includes a tax increase the speaker believes he can make happen with a majority vote. The attorney general says the plan may be in violation of state law. The treasurer says Wall Street will not buy into the plan because of the attorney general’s opinion letter.
The governor has gone out of his way to point out flaws in the plan, going as far as sending out a press release citing sharp attacks against the plan by newspapers around the state.
Dear Meg …
Dear Meg,
Your campaign is so terrific and represents such a public service to California that it’s hard to choose my favorite thing about it.
But I think I’ve finally decided. It’s your commitment to making sure that Californians hear all sides of the story.
It was particularly refreshing to see you defend this principle by asking the California Nurses Assn. for permission to mail information to their lists. I, like you, was surprised and outraged when the nurses’ union didn’t open up its list to you.
Laird’s Lousy Showing Leads to Lamest of Spin
Sam Blakeslee’s strong showing in the June 22nd special election for California’s 15th Senate District has led to some of the least credible spin seen by political observers in many years – and that’s saying a great deal.
Republican Blakeslee received 49.5% of the vote in a four candidate field, narrowly missing an outright victory by only a few hundred votes. Former Assemblyman John Laird trailed by almost 8 percentage points – a profoundly disappointing showing for the Santa Cruz liberal.
Pundits were surprised by both the strength of Blakeslee’s support and the weakness of Laird’s. Yet Laird is ridiculously attempting to declare victory on a liberal blog with the justification that he barely avoided complete defeat. Laird’s claim to be the winner on June 22nd after losing by 8 points undermines both the Democrat’s credibility and grasp of basic math skills – but it might explain the fiscal chaos that resulted during his tenure as the longtime Chairman of the Assembly Budget Committee.
Off the Presses – Internet Radio Talks Policy and Politics
Last week, my Off the Presses radio co-host Damian Jones and I spoke with LAUSD board member Tamar Galatzan
about her lone vote against a motion for the cash-strapped school
district to boycott non-union carwashes (yes, carwashes).
We also spoke
with economist John Husing about how west coast seaports are
recovering from the recession and creating jobs in new sectors related
to international trade and goods movement.
Click here to tune in! And don’t forget to listen live this Thursday at 10 a.m. via www.LATalkRadio.com as we talk to Joel Fox, as well as Rob Stutzman who most Fox & Hounds readers will recognize as Meg Whitman’s policy advisor.