No one in California, or for that matter in much of the world,
can pass a day without some reminder of the upcoming gubernatorial
recall election. As yet another voting day approaches, I am
becoming increasingly impatient with most of the major players. In
fact, I use the term
“players” with the intent to show that too many of them are
approaching this historic election as if it were a game.
No one in California, or for that matter in much of the world, can pass a day without some reminder of the upcoming gubernatorial recall election. As yet another voting day approaches, I am becoming increasingly impatient with most of the major players. In fact, I use the term “players” with the intent to show that too many of them are approaching this historic election as if it were a game.
No one will argue with the fact that California is in the middle of a major crisis. Many will argue that they know the cause of the problem and can offer the solutions to fix it. Few have demonstrated the fact that they have the leadership or the ideas to actually get it done.
I would start with the fact that the state constitution mandates reaching a budget agreement by a set date. The real negotiations do not begin until that date is almost upon us. The current practice is to only reach some agreement when it it would cost more political capital to delay than to compromise.
I come to the conclusion that the legislators of this state do not value the constitution and are willing violate that document to satisfy some idealogical premise. If the state constitution means so little to a legislator, I wonder how either Cruz Bustamante, who has been the Assembly Speaker, or State Sen. Tom McClintock can make us believe that he would uphold the constitution if elected.
This is just another example of the arrogance of those who think that they are different from the rest of us. Because they are an elected official they do not have to uphold the constitution. It is the same arrogance as Gov. Gray Davis demonstrated recently. His time is so much more important than the rest of us, that his motorcade can roar down Highway 46 at 95 mph and have the CHP dispatcher call off the CHP officer who was attempting to get them to stop. You or I would have been arrested.
Politicians wonder why voter turnout falls so low. It is the growing cynicism of an electorate that is tired of every spin doctor media consultant interpreting their candidates every move. We all know that it is only hype and spin and are waiting for someone who can give us something substantial. It might be appropriate if the 135 candidates were the only ones who showed up at the polls come October. Gov. Davis would be out and Schwarzenegger would win because Gary Coleman has said that he would vote for Arnold.
This distrust of the career politician is becoming deep rooted in our society, and too often for good reason. Yet, we still ask that our political aspirants have experience and point to the term limit regulations as being the reason that lobbyists are having such a good time in Sacramento, even writing portions of some legislation. Yet, since this crisis was created by or prolonged by these very career politicians, I would look outside Sacramento for a new leadership.
There are four candidates who are approaching the election as outsiders and who deserve serious consideration.
Arianna Huffington has journeyed far from her ex-husband’s viewpoints and has, to her credit, written a recent indictment of the role of money in politics, entitled “Pigs at the Trough.” She is running as an independent.
Peter Ueberroth is nominally a Republican, but is running as an outsider with a load of public experience though never in government.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, another nominal Republican, is getting most of the press coverage, even on Danish TV. Though his campaign seems to be under control, it is not clear that he has convinced enough people to carry through to the end.
Peter Miguel Camejo is the Green Party Candidate. So far, Camejo is the only one of these four who has put forward a plan to change the structure of the state’s financial process in order to avoid the pendulum swings from extreme excess to massive shortfalls.
I don’t think that you will see any of these figures is a major statewide debate except for Schwarzenegger, which is too bad. This is one election where the public needs more information rather than less in order to make up our minds.
I personally do not trust pledges not to raise taxes. Reducing the size of government is not the answer to every ailment of society, but the continuous reduction of taxes is a “go out of business” scenario. That leads me to consider Camejo or Huffington as the most promising and Camejo, a funds manager, has the economic background and experience to be the better choice of the two.
“I find I have a great lot to learn – or unlearn. I seem to know far too much and this knowledge obscures the really significant facts, but I am getting on.” – Charles Rennie Mackintosh
Wes Rolley is an artist and concerned citizen. The Board of Contributors is comprised of local writers whose views appear on Tuesdays and Fridays.
