Assemblyman John Laird, whose 27th district represents Morgan
Hill and San Martin, but not Gilroy, found himself in an odd spot
the Wednesday after the recall election.
Assemblyman John Laird, whose 27th district represents Morgan Hill and San Martin, but not Gilroy, found himself in an odd spot the Wednesday after the recall election.
“I’m in a unique position,” said Laird, a Democrat, “since I represent a district that supported the governor against the recall and voted for Cruz Bustamante.”
Laird said he didn’t exactly know what would happen now.
“We need time to let the dust settle,” he said. “Then we’ll figure out how to move forward.”
Laird was in the forefront of a frustrating attempt in the Legislature earlier this summer, trying to reach compromise on the budget between the Republicans who refused to raise taxes for any reason and Democrats who did not want to cut services.
“The difficult thing (facing the new governor) is that we face horrible budget choices,” Laird said. “No candidate took a clear position on the budget. If you take all of Arnold’s promises together, they don’t add up on the budget.”
Laird said Schwarzenegger will have to backtrack on some of his budget promises.
“The question is what will it be,” he said. “Arnold said 50 percent of the budget is off limits, but his first act will raise the deficit from $8 billion to $12 billion; no tax increases. That basically doesn’t compute unless he eliminates higher education and prisons takes a big hit.”
Laird, who has not yet met Schwarzenegger, said that, while the governor proposes the budget, it is reviewed by the Legislature.
The assemblyman was pleased with the outcome of both propositions on the Oct. 7 ballot. He said Proposition 54 would be very bad for good public health work and that Proposition 53 was bad for financial viability.
“We should stop earmarking different parts of the budget and leave something for the Legislature to do,” Laird said.
City Manager Ed Tewes has taken a wait and see approach after Tuesday’s election.
“The new governor has the same challenge as the previous governor and legislature have had to face,” Tewes said. “Which is how to meet the needs of a complex and growing state. He promised to reduce the Vehicle License Fee (by two-thirds) but has not promised to increase the deficit. We’re all waiting to see how he does this.”
Tewes said Schwarzenegger has been a strong supporter of public safety and education, all things those resources pay for.
Mayor Dennis Kennedy is worried.
“I’m very concerned with the potential loss of the VLF,” Kennedy said Wednesday. “The city relies very heavily on these fees which were previously collected at these levels and rescinded. If the fees are repealed, that could have significant impact on the city – we may have to cut programs and services residents count on us to provide.”
Kennedy said a lot depends on the economy.
“Cutting the VLF would disproportionately affect cities and counties,” he said.
Over at the Morgan Hill School District Superintendent Carolyn McKennan said Thursday she will be watching with special interest who the governor-elect appoints to his transition team and names as budget advisers. Also key will be appointments to the state Board of Education which makes decisions on education issues that impact districts throughout the state.
“The new governor said he has a commitment to education and won’t reduce funding. I’m looking for him to honor that pledge,” McKennan said.
McKennan said educators statewide will be watching how the upcoming special session of the Legislature deals with midyear cuts to balance the budget.
“Right now, we’re surviving, but we’re impacted district employees greatly already. Midyear cuts often mean personnel,” she said.
McKennan was in Sacramento on Friday with other state school administrators to hear Elizabeth Hill, a non-partisan legislative analyst, as she described potential budget deficts the state could be facing.
McKennan said neither Davis nor Schwarzenegger attended the meeting, but Hill told the gathering that they were “probably looking at another $28 billion deficit.”
“She told us that our state ‘credit cards’ were basically maxed out, our spending limits and our borrowing limits,” McKennan said Monday. “She told us we have really just shifted things to 2004-2005, and that just because we think one defict’s been taken care of, we shouldn’t be comfortable. It’s a rollercoster ride, as she described it, and we are still on it.”
McKennan said there will be more meetings down the road as the situation becomes more clear and it is possible to break down impacts across districts.
