Lt. Governor, er, Mayor Gavin Newsom and the Makings of a Constitutional Crisis
Calbuzz noted at
the end of a well-deserved thumbs-up self-review of the lively Dr. Hackenflack/Calbuzz dinner inauguration night: "Worried Democrats meanwhile kept an anxious
eye on Brown, lest he keel over and make incumbent Lite Gov Abel Maldonado a
full-term governor before Newsom takes the oath of office."
Lt. Governor-elect Gavin Newsom is hanging onto to his position as mayor of San
Francisco until at least this weekend to "wrap up some business." Apparently,
the key business is to hang on to the mayor’s job long enough so that a more
friendly (to Newsom’s thinking) Board of Supervisors gets sworn in so that the
mayor’s temporary successor is more to Newsom’s liking than he may get from the
sitting Board.
By his action, however, Newsom could be setting up a constitutional crisis
and/or allow for Republican Lt. Governor Abel Maldonado to be a four year
governor if something, God forbid, happens to the new governor in the next
couple of days.
Off the State Board of Ed, but the Parent Trigger Still Lives
Just one month ago, California Federation of Teachers President Marty Hittleman – the same man who called the Parent Trigger the “lynch mob provision” – confidently predicted to the media that Governor Brown would immediately remove me from the State Board because I had used my position to advocate for radical kids-first change, ominously stating that I would not be serving on the State Board “in a month or so.” It turns out he was right. Unfortunately, in the Governor’s first full day in office, he chose to stand with the state’s most powerful interest group that spent millions to elect him, rather than the parents and children of California.
I am proud to stand with Michelle Rhee, Gloria Romero and other courageous kids-first reformers who lost their jobs because a kids-first agenda is the most radical political agenda in America. The honor is not to serve on the State Board of Education — the honor is to serve the parents and children of California, and that is what I did.
Public Asked to Help Reform Pensions
The California Foundation for Fiscal Responsibility posted two alternative public pension reform plans on our Web site, and we are inviting stakeholders and the public to help solve one of the most critical problems facing California.
Our lawmakers can’t fix California’s public pension crisis without the public’s help, and it’s got to be done right the first time. If it becomes necessary to put a constitutional amendment before voters, it should be drafted with input from stakeholders, experts and voters. CaliforniaPensionReform.com offers a forum to anyone with information or opinions that can contribute to a healthy debate.
Get a handle on CA State Government by reading the LAO’s CalFacts
Want to get your arms around California state government? Doesn’t seem possible, does it?
Maybe not, but you can get a good start by reviewing the Legislative Analyst’s Office’s latest publication, a 68-page pamphlet called CalFacts that the LAO hopes will "provide the reader with a broad overview of public finance and program trends in the state."
Essentially a list of Frequently Asked Questions, CalFacts does surprisingly good job of laying out and summarizing the specifics of how California government operates. Some of the more useful sections include a list of ballot measures that have affected the budget, and numbers on what services cost and where the money comes from.