Thread: Cal. voters ready to join tax revolt *1-F passed, not others

CALIFORNIA ELECTIONS: Propositions

Proposition 1F would bar salary hikes for California lawmakers in deficit years

Polls suggest that it will pass in a landslide amid deep voter discontent, and is a prelude to other measures that could revamp the way state business is done.

By Eric Bailey
May 16, 2009

Reporting from Sacramento -- California voters have often used the ballot box to give politicians a collective spanking. They've limited terms in office, eliminated lawmakers' pensions and stripped away their power to gerrymander.

Now, as the red ink rises and state officials' approval ratings plunge, a ballot measure in Tuesday's special election takes a whack at their wages.

Election Central: California's May 19...Proposition 1F would bar salary hikes for elected leaders in deficit years such as the one that begins July 1, when California is staring at a budget hole that could soar to $21.3 billion.

Recent polls suggest that Proposition 1F will pass in a landslide while its companion ballot measures -- all of them drafted by Sacramento politicians grappling for budget solutions -- will flop.

"Proposition 1F is like a carnival hammer game," said Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn. "It's going to really ring the bell."

Even after lawmakers and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger hack their way to a revised budget, they face a mounting movement to revamp the way state business is done.

A group from the Bay Area wants a statewide vote next year to authorize California's first constitutional convention in a century, a process that would let average citizens craft wholesale changes in state government. Another policy outfit talks of using the November 2010 election to retrofit the inner workings of the state's legislative, budgetary and electoral processes.

Whatever the outcome Tuesday, "California is desperately in need of a major structural redo, and we have to work toward that," said Jim Wunderman of the Bay Area Council, the business-backed public policy organization advocating a constitutional convention.

Proposition 1F is more modest in scope. It would require that, before June 1 of each year, the state finance director notify the California Citizens Compensation Commission -- the appointed body that sets salaries for lawmakers and statewide officials -- if a deficit is expected for the upcoming fiscal year. If so, raises would be prohibited.

In late 2007, a few months after Schwarzenegger slashed spending to balance the books, the wage commission gave legislators a 2.75% hike to their current pay of $116,208 -- the nation's highest. The next closest is Michigan, where state lawmakers get $79,650 a year.

There is some rationale for the big paydays. Aside from having the nation's highest cost of living, California is one of four states -- the others are Michigan, New York and Pennsylvania -- where lawmakers work essentially year-round, represent big districts and manage big staffs, said Morgan Cullen, a policy specialist at the National Conference of State Legislatures.

"These people are essentially the board of directors of a multibillion-dollar organization," Cullen said. "It's different than operating the state of Wyoming."

But they're also increasingly held in contempt by the average voter, particularly as state government has been gripped by gridlock and chronic budget deficits. A poll by the Public Policy Institute of California last week pegged voter approval of Schwarzenegger at an anemic 34%, while the Legislature is plunging toward single digits at just 12%.

"There is broad disdain for partisan gridlock and what the public sees as weakness of character among our elected leaders," said James P. Mayer, executive director of California Forward, a policy coalition pressing for a slate of government changes.

Mayer's group plans to push after the election for greater public participation, oversight and accountability in the state budget process. Mayer said some government responsibilities and funding also could be shifted to local governments, which enjoy more voter trust.

It will follow up this summer, Mayer said, with a campaign for ballot measures to tighten political ethics laws, revamp term limits and promote open-primary elections that allow voters to cross party lines.

Julie Soderlund, a spokeswoman for the campaign supporting the half-dozen ballot measures, said voter displeasure with state government is a given. But that frustration, she said, shouldn't mean rejection of the five other ballot measures intended to raise $23 billion in coming years to help the state balance its books and avoid ever steeper spending cuts.

"Budgets, water policy, government reform -- you name it, there's a stalemate over it," Soderlund said. "But voters need to remember that it's not the politicians in Sacramento who will be hurt if 1F is the only measure to pass. It's everyday people. It's all of us who rely on state government."

eric.bailey@latimes.com

1F will pass.

NO MORE RAISES FOR THOSE WHO DONT DO THEIR JOB!!!!

Went to this event today. So much energy and great to be among so many other wonderful but upset citizens.
Thank you John and Ken for providing a place we can gather together and help demonstrate our frustration with Sacramento.
Now we vote Tuesday.
Pictures and many comments at the source link.
~~~

Saturday, May 16, 2009
Demonstrators decry taxes at Corona rally
Talk show hosts lead a protest of the state propositions on Tuesday's ballot.
By EUGENE W. FIELDS
The Orange County Register
Comments 32| Recommend 5

CORONA – Several thousand people turned out at a rally Saturday hosted by KFI's “The John and Ken Showâ€

NO MORE CUTS! THERE'S NOTHING LEFT TO CUT!!!

On second thought...current state agencies, boards, and departments:

* Access for Infants and Mothers* Accountancy, Board of * Acupuncture Board * Administrative Hearings, Office of * Administrative Law, Office of * Adoptions Branch, Department of Social Services * African American Museum, California * Aging, California Commission on * Aging, Department of * Agricultural Labor Relations Board * Agriculture and Environmental Stewardship, Office of * Agriculture, Department of Food and * AIDS, Office of * Air Resources Board * Alcohol and Drug Programs, Department of * Alcoholic Beverage Control Appeals Board * Alcoholic Beverage Control, Department of (ABC) * Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority, California * Analytical Chemistry, Center for * Animal Health and Food Safety Services * Apprenticeship Council * Apprenticeship Standards, Division of * Arbitration Certification Program * Architects Board * Archives, California State * Arts Council * Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus * Assembly, California State * Assembly Democratic Caucus * Assembly Republican Caucus * Athletic Commission * Attorney General * Audits, Bureau of State * Automotive Repair, Bureau of * Barbering and Cosmetology, Board of * Bay-Delta Authority, California * Behavioral Sciences, Board of * Binational Border Health, California Office of * Biodiversity Council * Biogeographic Data Branch * Blind, Office of Services to the * Board of Equalization (BOE) * Boating and Waterways, Department of * Braille and Talking Book Library * Building Standards Commission * Business, Transportation and Housing Agency * Cal Boating (Department of Boating and Waterways) * California Exposition & State Fair * California Business Investment Services (CalBIS) * Cal/EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) * CAL FIRE (California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection) * CalGOLD (Business Permit Information) * California Broadband Initiative * California Coastal Commission * California Commission for Jobs and Economic Growth * California Council for the Humanities * California Cultural and Historical Endowment * California Digital Library * California Geological Survey * California Highway Patrol (CHP) * California Institute for Regenerative Medicine * California Museum for History, Women, and the Arts * California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) * California Science Center * California State Association of Counties (CSAC) * California State Fair Envelope* California State Library * California State Parks * California State University (CSU) * California Tahoe Conservancy* California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) * CaliforniaVolunteers * CalJOBS * Cal-Learn Program (Department of Social Services) * CalOHI (California Office of HIPAA Implementation) * Cal/OSHA (Division of Occupational Safety & Health) * CalSTRS (California State Teachers' Retirement System) * Caltrans (Department of Transportation) * CalVet Home Loan Program * CalWORKs Program (Department of Social Services) * Career Resource Network * Cemetery and Funeral Bureau * Central Valley Flood Protection Board * CERES (California Environmental Resources Evaluation System)* Charitable Trusts, Registrar of * Chief Information Officer (CIO) * Chief Information Officer Archives, Office of the (OCIO) * Child Abuse Prevention, Office of * Child Support Services, Department of * Children & Families Commission * Children and Family Services Division * Children's Trust Fund, California State * Chiropractic Examiners, Board of * Citizens Compensation Commission * Climate Change Portal (Energy Commission) * Coachella Valley Mountains Conservancy * Coastal Conservancy * Colorado River Board of California * Communicable Disease Control, Division of * Community Colleges Chancellor's Office * Community Services and Development, Department of * Conservation Corps * Conservation, Department of * Constitution Revision Commission* Consumer Affairs, Department of * Contractors State License Board * Contracts Register Program, California State * Controller, California State * Corporations, Department of * Corrections and Rehabilitation, Department of * Cosmetology, Board of Barbering and * Court Reporters Board * Courts, Administrative Office of the * Courts of Appeal * Crime and Violence Prevention Center * Cyber Safety for Children * Dams, Division of Safety of * Data Exchange Center (Department of Water Resources) * DataQuest (Department of Education) * Deaf Access, Office of * Debt and Investment Advisory Commission * Delta Protection Commission * Delta Vision * Dental Auxiliaries, Committee on* Dental Board of California * Denti-Cal * Developmental Disabilities, State Council on * Developmental Services, Department of * Disability Insurance, State (SDI) * Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise Certification Program * DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles* Education Audit Appeals Panel* Education, Department of * Education, Office of the Secretary for * Education, State Board of * Educational Facilities Authority * Elections Division (Secretary of State) * Electronic and Appliance Repair, Bureau of * Emergency Medical Services Authority * Emergency Services, Governor's Office of * Employment Development Department (EDD) * Employment Training Panel * Energy Commission * Engineers and Land Surveyors, Board for Professional * Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, Office of * Environmental Protection Agency (Cal/EPA) * Equalization, Board of * eServices Office * Fair Employment and Housing Commission * Fair Employment and Housing, Department of * Fair Political Practices Commission * Film Commission * Finance, Department of * Financial Institutions, Department of * Fire Marshal, Office of the State * Firearms Division, Department of Justice * Fiscal Services (Department of General Services) * Fish and Game Commission * Fish and Game, Department of * Fleet Administration, Office of * Food and Agriculture, Department of * Forestry and Fire Protection, Department of * Franchise Tax Board * Gambling Control Commission * General Services, Department of * Geographic Information Systems (GIS), California * Geologists and Geophysicists, California Board for * GIS (Geographic Information Systems) Council, California* Government Claims and Victim Compensation Board * Governor's Committee for Employment of Disabled Persons * Governor's Mentoring Partnership * Governor's Office * Governor's Office of Homeland Security * Guide Dogs for the Blind, Board of * Habeas Corpus Resource Center* Hastings College of the Law * Health and Human Services Agency * Health and Safety & Workers' Compensation, Commission on * Health Care Services, Department of * Health Insurance Plan of California (PacAdvantage) * Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Implementation, California Office of * Healthy Families Program * Hearing Aid Dispensers Bureau * High-Speed Rail Authority * Highway Patrol, California (CHP) * HIPAA Implementation, California Office of * Historic Preservation, Office of * Home Furnishings and Thermal Insulation, Bureau of * Homeland Security, Office of * Horse Racing Board * Housing and Community Development, Department of * Housing Finance Agency * Independent Living Council, State (SILC) * Indoor Air Quality Program * Industrial Relations, Department of * Infants and Mothers, Access for * Information Center for the Environment * Information Security and Privacy Protection, Office of * Infrastructure & Economic Development Bank (I-Bank) * Inspector General, Office of the OIG- Contact * Institute for Education Reform * Institute for Regenerative Medicine * Insurance, Department of * Integrated Waste Management Board * Interagency Ecological Program * Judicial Council of California * Judicial Performance, Commission on* Justice, Department of * Juvenile Justice, Division of * Labor & Workforce Development Agency * Labor Market Information Division * Labor Standards Enforcement, Division of * Labor Statistics & Research, Division of * Land Resource Protection, Division of * Land Surveyors, Board for Professional Engineers and * Land Use Planning Information Network (LUPIN)* Lands Commission * Landscape Architects Technical Committee * Latino Legislative Caucus* Law Revision Commission * Learn California * Legislative Analyst's Office * Legislative Black Caucus* Legislative Counsel* Legislative Information * Legislative Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Caucus* Legislature, California State* Legislature Internet Caucus* Library, California State * Library of California * Lieutenant Governor, Office of * Little Hoover Commission * Lottery, California State * Managed Health Care, Department of * Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board * Mandates, Commission on State * Maritime Academy, California * Measurement Standards, Division of * Mediation & Conciliation Service, State * Medi-Cal Managed Care Health Care Options* Medi-Cal Provider * Medical Assistance Commission * Medical Board of California * Medical Care Services * Mental Health, Department of * Military and Aerospace Support, Office of * Mine Reclamation, Office of * Mining and Geology Board * Motor Vehicles, Department of (DMV) * Museum Resource Center * National Guard, California * Native American Heritage Commission * Natural Community Conservation Planning Program * Naturopathic Medicine, Bureau of * New Motor Vehicle Board * Nursing Home Administrator Program* Ocean Protection Council, California * Occupational Safety & Health Appeals Board * Occupational Safety & Health, Division of (Cal/OSHA) * Occupational Safety & Health Standards Board * Occupational Therapy, California Board of * Ocean Resources Management Program * Office of Emergency Services (OES) * Oil, Gas & Geothermal Resources, Division of * Optometry, Board of * Osteopathic Medical Board of California * OTAN (Outreach and Technical Assistance Network) * PacAdvantage (The Health Insurance Plan of California) * Park and Recreation Commission * Parks, California State * Parole Hearings, Board of * Patient Advocate, Office of the * Peace Officer Standards and Training, Commission on (POST) * PERS (California Public Employees' Retirement System) * Personnel Administration, Department of * Personnel Board * Pesticide Regulation, Department of * Pharmacy, Board of * Physical Therapy Board of California * Physician Assistant Committee * Planning and Research, Governor's Office of * Plant Health and Pest Prevention Services * Podiatric Medicine, Board of * Pollution Control Financing Authority * Postsecondary Education Commission * Printing (Office of State Publishing) * Prison Industry Authority * Privacy Protection, Office of Information Security and * Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education, Bureau for * Procurement Division * Professional Fiduciaries Bureau * Psychology, Board of * Public Defender, Office of the State * Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) * Public Health, Department of * Public School Construction, Office of * Public Utilities Commission (PUC) * Publishing, Office of State * Railroad Museum, California State * Real Estate Appraisers, Office of * Real Estate, Department of * Real Estate Services Division * Recycling, Division of * Refugee Programs Branch * Regents of the University of California * Regional Water Quality Control Boards * Registered Nursing, Board of * Registered Veterinary Technician Committee * Rehabilitation, Department of * Resources Agency * Respiratory Care Board * Risk and Insurance Management, Office of * Rivers Assessment, California* Rural Health Policy Council * San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission * San Gabriel & Lower Los Angeles Rivers & Mountains Conservancy * San Joaquin River Conservancy * Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy * Science Fair, California State* Scripps Institution of Oceanography * Secretary of State * Security and Investigative Services, Bureau of * Seismic Safety Commission * Self Insurance Plans (SIP) * Senate, California State * Senate Office of Research * Sierra Nevada Conservancy * Small Business & Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise Certification Program * Small Business Development Centers* Smart Growth Caucus * Smog Check Information Center * Social Services, Department of * Spatial Information Library, California * Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Board * Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) * State and Consumer Services Agency * State Architect * State Bar of California * State Chief Information Officer (CIO) * State Compensation Insurance Fund * State Disability Insurance (SDI) * State Fair * State Independent Living Council (SILC) * State Mandates, Commission on * Statewide Health Planning and Development, Office of * Status of Women, Commission on * Structural Pest Control Board * Student Aid Commission * Summer School for Mathematics and Science, California State (COSMOS) * Summer School for the Arts, California State * Superintendent of Public Instruction * Superior Courts * Supreme Court of California * Systems Integration, Office of * Tax Service Center * Teach California * Teacher Credentialing, Commission on * Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS) * Technology Services, Department of (DTS) * Telecommunications Division * Telephone Medical Advice Services Bureau * Toxic Substances Control, Department of * Traffic Safety, Office of * Transportation Commission * Transportation, Department of (Caltrans) * Travel & Tourism Commission, California * Treasurer, State * Unclaimed Property Program* Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board * Unemployment Insurance Program * Uniform Construction Cost Accounting Commission, California * University of California * Veterans Affairs, Department of * Veterinary Medical Board * Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board * Vital Records, Office of * Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians, Board of * Voter Registration (Secretary of State) * Water Quality Control Boards, Regional * Water Resources Control Board * Water Resources, Department of * Welfare to Work Division * Wetlands Information System * Wildlife Conservation Board * Women, Commission on the Status of * Workers' Compensation Appeals Board * Workers' Compensation, Division of * Workers' Compensation Medical Unit, Division of * Workforce Investment Board

Yeah, the state is already to the bone! Good grief.

[img]http://images.townnews.com/nctimes.com/zimages/08/logo-cal.png



CORONA: Thousands attend anti-tax rally

Radio hosts call for defeat of ballot propositions

By AARON CLAVERIE - aclaverie@californian.com
Saturday, May 16, 2009 11:04 PM PDT

CORONA ---- Bombastic radio talk show hosts "John and Ken" lit the fuse.

And thousands of Southern California residents provided the "boom," turning the normally laid-back setting of Tom's Farms, a pastoral roadside attraction/farmers market on the outskirts of Corona, into a raucous staging ground for an anti-tax rally on Saturday afternoon.

The rally, a companion piece to the anti-tax KFI AM 640 hosts' live broadcast, featured hundreds of colorful signs, "Don't Tread on Me" flags and life-size effigies of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ripped to pieces by a industrial shredder.

The rally was one of several anti-tax gatherings staged throughout the state Saturday to urge the defeat of five of the six propositions on Tuesday's ballot, a slate of measures that the governor has endorsed as a way to help California close its gaping budget deficit.

The first five propositions ---- 1A through 1E ---- are a mix of proposed budget fixes that would change how the state raises capital and spends it. All five were derided Saturday as "smoke and mirrors."

Proposition 1F, the only one leading in recent polls, would deny lawmakers raises during years when the state is running a deficit.

At one point during the rally, the crowd, cheered on by the radio show hosts, chanted in unison: "Liars, thieves and whores! Liars, thieves and whores! Liars, thieves and whores!"

The focus of the crowd's ire was the state's politicians ---- both sides of the aisle ---- big business, big oil, state worker's unions, teacher's unions and, in somewhat of a stretch, the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team.

The Lakers were included, John and Ken said, because the team is one of the state's businesses that has sought to avoid paying taxes.

"We're going to beat the propositions and we're going to beat the Lakers!" shouted the pair, whose full names are John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou.

A good-sized percentage of the thousands of people who attended the event traveled from Orange and Los Angeles counties, as evidenced by the traffic jam on Interstate 15's Temescal Canyon Road exit. But there were plenty of Southwest County residents in attendance as well: people from Temecula, Murrieta and Menifee.

Danielle Marrujo, a Temecula resident, attended the rally with her 14-year-old son Devin.

Taped to Marrujo's chest was a picture of Gov. Schwarzenegger with a red bar crossed through his face.

"He lied to us," Marrujo said, explaining why she singled out Schwarzenegger for criticism. "He's raising our taxes."

In the last few months, Marrujo said her life in Temecula ---- she's lived in the city for six years ---- has started to unravel.

"I'm losing everything, my home ... my husband has been laid off. I realize (the governor) can't control everything. It's not all his fault. It's everybody's fault, all the political parties," she said. "If not for my parents, me and my family would be homeless."

For Marrujo and others at the rally, the wellspring of their disappointment and their anger was mismanagement of the state's resources.

"We're the ones working, sending them our tax dollars and they're taking it and misusing it," she said.

Murrieta's Gary and Debbie Adams, watching the proceedings from a shady spot near the petting zoo, said the taxes heaped on the state's residents by Sacramento is getting out of control.

And budget problems that have plagued the state for years, if not decades, aren't getting any better.

"We're not fixing anything," Gary Adams said.

Debbie Adams said the issue is personal for her because she is an English teacher who is trying to help put her daughter through college. Just recently, her daughter's state grant money was cut by 15 percent.

"Where am I going to get that 15 percent?" she asked.

Janine and Mark Matelko of Menifee said they were really impressed by the turnout at the rally, and they said Sacramento and local politicians should take heed.

"Government is too big," Mark Matelko said. "And politicians have been lying to us the whole time."

Two of the Matelko's friends and fellow Menifee residents, Max and Marylei Wilkie, said the state's residents bear too much of the burden for the state's expenses.

Using the example of Marylei Wilkie's home state of Hawaii, the Wilkies said the state's park system should be charging two rates, one for state residents and another for tourists.

During the rally, the radio hosts broke down what an average California resident's tax dollars support, a list of programs and bureaucracies that especially steamed Max Wilkie.

"The entire state should be self-sufficient," he said. "Roads should be paid for by gas taxes and the DMV. Parks should be paid by the people who use the parks. The entire state shouldn't be tapping into the general fund."

Contact staff writer Aaron Claverie at 951-676-4315, ext. 2624.

NORTH COUNTY TIMES

1-F Passed

1-A
1-B
1-C
1-D
1-E

didn't pass

RELATED

Schwarzenegger says he got voters' message 'loud and clear'

In Washington the governor says,

Californians told Sacramento: 'Go all out and make those cuts and live within your means.'


http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me ... 1017.story

http://www.alipac.us/ftopicp-900816.html#900816