2008 Woodie Awards
Californians show who's boss
Matt Dear
Issue date: 11/14/05 Section: Opinion
- Page 1 of 1
With the extremely unnecessary special election behind us, Governor Schwarzenegger has been sent an extremely humbling message. The voters of California rejected all of the propositions.
From the start, the Governor seemed to be having trouble convincing the voters that the propositions he was backing were needed for reform. The Governor ran around the state, trying to drum up support for an election that most voters felt could have waited until next June when an election was planned anyway.
This whole election was a waste of time and money for the state and the voters let Schwarzenegger know exactly that.
Proposition 74 would have made it harder for teachers to receive tenure. Well, there is a way for teachers to be fired after being tenured. No teacher's job is protected forever. A teacher is not able to do whatever they feel like after being tenured.
Proposition 75, the so-called "Paycheck Protection" protection prop was fishy from the start. Union workers have always known where their union dues go. There is a breakdown for their dues. Prop. 75 was nothing but a chance to suppress the voices of the unions.
Proposition 76 would have allowed the Governor to make across the board cuts with the state budget if legislators failed to produce a budget. Schwarzenegger's power could have increased exponentially. The Governor would have been allowed to make budget cuts of his choice. Knowing Schwarzenegger's problems with Prop. 98 and the minimum amount of school funding requirements, it would have been a safe bet to assume that the education budget would have taken a hit.
Proposition 77 would have taken the redistricting of political districts out of the hands of the legislators and given the process to three retired judges. No matter what, redistricting is a political process. It wasn't fixing a problem, just moving it to a different location.
If the state of California is in shambles, why isn't Schwarzenegger trying to find realistic ways of fixing the problems. Schwarzenegger is up for re-election next year. He needs to shape up his act if he expects to serve a second term.
The voters of California are a fickle lot. We were unhappy with Gray Davis, kicked him out of office and stuck Schwarzenegger in there. Now the voters are showing their unhappiness with Schwarzenegger. He better be worrying about what he can do for the state. He works for the people and the people tend to make their voice heard.
From the start, the Governor seemed to be having trouble convincing the voters that the propositions he was backing were needed for reform. The Governor ran around the state, trying to drum up support for an election that most voters felt could have waited until next June when an election was planned anyway.
This whole election was a waste of time and money for the state and the voters let Schwarzenegger know exactly that.
Proposition 74 would have made it harder for teachers to receive tenure. Well, there is a way for teachers to be fired after being tenured. No teacher's job is protected forever. A teacher is not able to do whatever they feel like after being tenured.
Proposition 75, the so-called "Paycheck Protection" protection prop was fishy from the start. Union workers have always known where their union dues go. There is a breakdown for their dues. Prop. 75 was nothing but a chance to suppress the voices of the unions.
Proposition 76 would have allowed the Governor to make across the board cuts with the state budget if legislators failed to produce a budget. Schwarzenegger's power could have increased exponentially. The Governor would have been allowed to make budget cuts of his choice. Knowing Schwarzenegger's problems with Prop. 98 and the minimum amount of school funding requirements, it would have been a safe bet to assume that the education budget would have taken a hit.
Proposition 77 would have taken the redistricting of political districts out of the hands of the legislators and given the process to three retired judges. No matter what, redistricting is a political process. It wasn't fixing a problem, just moving it to a different location.
If the state of California is in shambles, why isn't Schwarzenegger trying to find realistic ways of fixing the problems. Schwarzenegger is up for re-election next year. He needs to shape up his act if he expects to serve a second term.
The voters of California are a fickle lot. We were unhappy with Gray Davis, kicked him out of office and stuck Schwarzenegger in there. Now the voters are showing their unhappiness with Schwarzenegger. He better be worrying about what he can do for the state. He works for the people and the people tend to make their voice heard.