These people are the problem. These people have no interest in who is running their country.


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Posted on Mon, Jun. 05, 2006



Voters struggling to make up their minds

By Mary Anne Ostrom
Mercury News

Ask Californians what is on their minds. They have no trouble answering: immigration, traffic, gas prices, the war. Ask Californians who they are going to vote for on Tuesday. Mostly, they hem and haw.

``It's Tuesday? Oh, the election? I heard something about it from my union,'' said Rosie Perez of San Jose, interviewed as she dropped off her DVD rental at Japantown's Blockbuster store.

Who does the 48-year-old Valley Transportation Authority worker plan to vote for? ``I haven't decided,'' she said. ``I guess I'll do what the union says. It's -- what do you call it? -- a camaraderie thing.''

If November's special election was billed as the election nobody wanted, Tuesday's primary is shaping up as the election in which no one can make up their mind.

In interviews with Californians from Redding to San Diego, about the only firm conclusion to draw is that the electorate is an ornery, overworked bunch who aren't in the mood to commit. Secretary of State Bruce McPherson is predicting a 38 percent turnout -- which is average for a state primary election -- but many experts think that's optimistic.

The race to be the Democrat who takes on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in the fall is too close to call, because so many Democratic voters say they still can't decide between Treasurer Phil Angelides or Controller Steve Westly. Veteran pollster Mark DiCamillo says he has never seen so many people undecided so late in a race.

San Jose voters also are confronted with a tough choice. Some are excited about electing a new mayor, but with five serious candidates, choosing which one is not easy.

Such indecision is rampant up and down the state.

California voters have been all over the map when pollsters asked them if it's a good idea, as spelled out in Proposition 82, to raise taxes on the rich to pay for preschool. First, they said ``yes,'' then ``maybe,'' and now ``no.''

Contradictions

Underscoring the indecisiveness, voters' moods and actions are somewhat contradictory. Many say they are disgruntled, but not so much so that they will necessarily vote.

``Politicians make a lot of promises. I've been let down so many times. It's disillusioning,'' said Don Ramsey of Red Bluff, who is registered as a declined-to-state voter and doubts he will bother voting Tuesday.

They complain the candidates are mostly uninspiring, but confess they haven't spent much time getting to know them, often TiVo-ing through the barrage of television ads. The most common response last week to the question, ``Are you going to vote?'': Yes, maybe. I'm going to do my homework over the weekend. But if I'm too busy, no. They disapprove, of course, of all the mudslinging and name-calling, but admit it's probably what sticks most in their minds.

``It's ugly. There should be a law to make them stop,'' said Alfa Broderick of Waterford, a small San Joaquin Valley town near Modesto. The Democrat said she is ``thoroughly turned off'' by the negative ads that the Democratic candidates for governor are hurling day and night at each other. She fears, in fact, they work and will make it harder to beat Schwarzenegger in November.

Cindy Nguyen, a college student shopping in Orange County's Little Saigon neighborhood Saturday, said she is looking forward to picking a Democratic alternative to Schwarzenegger, but has yet to make up her mind.

``I voted for Arnold and now I regret it,'' said Nguyen, a Democrat from Fountain Valley. ``I'm going to college, and he raised our tuition fees.''

Republicans, too, are showing only mild enthusiasm. Schwarzenegger has no major competition in the GOP primary.

``I already sent my absentee ballot in, and voted for the governor,'' said Josh Moore, who works in the Los Angeles film industry. ``Nothing has changed since Gray Davis, so I voted to keep the status quo. It's OK; I've done well.''

On the other hand, Ray Vermillion, a native Californian who moved to Concord from Louisiana a year ago, sees the state in a different light.

``This state rocks,'' said the Republican and Genentech engineer, who also has lived in West Virginia, Florida and Washington, D.C. He added, ``Living outside of California is scary.''

If there is a common theme this election, many would-be voters say the candidates aren't addressing the issues that voters care most about.

``Why aren't they talking about how to reduce my gas prices?'' asked Bob Plush, a salesman who lives in Castaic, north of Los Angeles. His territory is Southern California and he's spending $1,000 a month on gas, up from $300. A Republican disenchanted by all state leaders, he's not sure he will vote Tuesday.

Shopping at a San Ysidro factory outlet mall in view of the Mexican border, Maureen Lehman of Burbank, who plans to vote in the Democratic primary, opined, ``Something has to be done about the border. Do you know what they want to do? I sure don't.''

Tuning out

The candidates are not only running against opponents and apathy, but apparently TiVo and the MP3 player. Sunning herself in Manhattan Beach, Diana Azurdia, a 26-year-old UCLA student pursuing a biochemistry doctorate, said she has not seen any of the television ads for issues or candidates.

``I don't own a TV. I don't listen to the radio. I have my MP3 and CDs for music,'' Azurdia said. A regular Democratic voter, she said she would seek the advice of a professor friend about whom to vote for Tuesday.

But not everyone is tuned out. Voters in San Jose and Oakland, for example, will go to the polls to replace their controversial mayors -- Ron Gonzales and Jerry Brown, respectively.

``This city needs a change at the top,'' said Tony Gonzales, 50, a UPS truck driver from San Jose and no relation of the current mayor.

Others planning to vote in the Democratic primary said it is unfair to simply dismiss the leading candidates for governor as dull and boring and have not lost faith in California elections.

``I think we have two good candidates,'' said Dana Werdmuller, a self-employed Aptos businesswoman who is evaluating each of the Democrats for their commitment to small business and the environment. That makes the choice difficult, she said, and as of last week she was still deciding.

And then there is a duty to vote that at least some Californians hope the rest won't shirk. Kate McDermott, a retired accountant from Mountain View, admitted she is ``allergic to politics.''

But that's no excuse not to vote, the Democrat said, and she planned to mark her absentee ballot over the weekend.

``I have a sense that people are fed up with business as usual, she said. ``I'm hoping instead of being lethargic and passive aggressive about their situation, that people will simply get out and vote, no matter how they feel.''


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Mercury News Staff Writer Edwin Garcia contributed to this report. Contact Mary Anne Ostrom at mostrom@mercurynews.com or (415) 477-3794.




``This state rocks,'' said the Republican and Genentech engineer, who also has lived in West Virginia, Florida and Washington, D.C. He added, ``Living outside of California is scary.''
And this poor guy....I am just at a loss as to say about him.