Special Election 2005

Visit the "Recall Schwarzenegger" Website

Special Series! Arnold's Monolithic Conflict of Interest by Peter Byrne

Updated Weekly! Ballot Watch (Week Ending Nov 5) - Follow the Money 11/05/2005

Does This Beleaguered Governor Finally Get It? Working People are Skeptical (11-11-2005) Carroll Wills, a spokesman for the California Professional Firefighters union, said it's going to take more than a press conference to convince union activists that Schwarzenegger has changed. "As charming as the governor is, it doesn't seem to be really any kind of acknowledgment of the ordeal he put working people through," Wills said. "Given the breadth of promises this governor has broken and the bonds of trust that have just been kind of shattered, it's going to take something much more serious than a smile and a wave at a press conference." "We congratulate the governor for being a master of the obvious," Rose Ann DeMoro, head of the California Nurses Association, said in a statement. "Four months ago, CNA urged California voters to reject all the measures on the ballot to repudiate this vote as an illegitimate election and a colossal waste of resources. Now he has come to the same realization, but at what cost to California?"

Is the Governor Capable of Learning 10 Basic Lessons He Doesn't Know? (11-11-2005) Many lessons flow from Tuesday's special flogging of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, most of them very old. But they're lessons that apparently must be relearned every generation or two. Lesson No. 1: If you're going to proclaim yourself to be "the people's governor" and embark on a crusade, you'd better be sure that the people are following you as support troops or you'll march right off a cliff. Lesson No. 2: The time to make big changes is right after you're first elected, when you've got a public mandate and trust. Lesson No. 3: Don't make deals you can't keep. Lesson No. 4: Don't mess with schools — whether it's breaking your word or trying to cut back on funding guarantees. Lesson No. 5: Every politician is human, vulnerable to the natural laws of political gravity. Policy usually outpoints personality. Lesson No. 6: Don't put a product on the market until it's tested. Lesson No. 7: Don't daydream about being leader of the free world. Lesson No. 8: When politicking statewide in California, run in the middle. Lesson No. 9: You cannot pass complex, eye-glazing government process propositions without strong bipartisan support. Lesson No. 10: The main reason Schwarzenegger lost big in the election was that he called the election.

Arnold Needs to Apologize and Work For the People Not Just His Special Interests (11-10-2005) "Californians rejected Governor Schwarzenegger's measures, his unnecessary election and the governor himself when they defeated every one of the measures on yesterday's ballot. The election was a denunciation of the concept of governor as celebrity marketer. It was the repudiation of corporate campaign cash and a dramatic rejection of corporations' and politicians' attempts to steal the initiative process from the people. "Schwarzenegger needs to apologize to Californians. Not just for wasting $50 million of the taxpayers' money, but also for claiming he did not need anyone else's money and then collecting $70 million in corporate contributions. He needs to apologize for accepting cash from interest groups who had business on his desk and for flying around the country to fundraise when he should have been governing. He has to apologize for turning into the politician he encouraged Californians to throw out two years ago.

Tomorrow - Alliance for a Better CA (11-09-2005) A few months ago, when we launched BetterCA.com, our purpose was to defeat the Governor's special interest agenda. This community and this state stood with the Alliance, in rejecting the Governor’s propositions, but we're not done. Because of the tremendous response from you - we'll still be here tomorrow, and the next day, and long after that. The Governor accomplished one thing with this election and it was pulling together the Alliance. You, the community, will play a crucial role as we move forward. We intend to keep working to build a better California, and we intend to keep building this place and the community. Thank you all for all your efforts, and the part you've played in winning this fight, and in building this vibrant community. Now, we look forward to the battles ahead. We want to build BetterCA.com into the site for progressive Californians to come together around education, public safety, and health care issues. We need your help. Join us as we build a better California.

Governor's Next Challenge: Rebuild Bipartisan Support (11-9-05) The election results -- defeats for teacher tenure (Proposition 74), union dues (Prop. 75), Schwarzenegger's signature budget reform measure (Prop. 76) and redistricting (Prop. 77) -- showed Democrats they have little to fear from opposing a governor who's increasingly seen as just another Republican in a state dominated by Democrats. "That could be his huge loss -- his ability to work with the Legislature,'' said Bruce Cain, a political science professor at UC Berkeley.

Analysis: A bruising blow from 'the people' (11-9-05) The governor who wanted to hear from "the people" wasn't liking what he heard Tuesday as officials tallied the special election results. Voters were rejected all of the initiatives Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed for the ballot, including the redistricting and budget measures that were his top priority when the year began. Democratic political consultant Garry South said Schwarzenegger's consultants committed at least four "cardinal sins." They failed to vet carefully the initiatives he would support, leaving him to defend flawed measures. They picked multiple fights with groups popular with voters - teachers, nurses, firefighters and cops. They launched a war without sufficient resources to wage it.

Governor Succeeds in Uniting Public Employee Unions (11-7-2005) A coalition of a dozen unions has formed to oppose the initiatives. The Alliance for a Better California could keep right on going after tomorrow's special election on the governor's "year of reform" measures. "I believe we will stay together to fight for some real reform – education reform, health reform," said Barbara Kerr, president of the California Teachers Association. "I think the governor's unintended consequences brought together a group of people that isn't going to go away." One thing that may help keep the union coalition together after the election is a Schwarzenegger proposal to change state and local government worker pensions, which did not make the ballot this year. Citing soaring costs, the proposal would have switched new hires from a guaranteed monthly pension payment after retirement to having an investment fund whose value could move with the market, similar to a 401(k) plan. Schwarzenegger dropped the plan after opponents contended that death and disability benefits for police and firefighters would be eliminated. But he has said he hopes to place another plan before voters next year.

Santa Clara City Council Passes Resolution Endorsing NO ON PROP 76! (11-3-2005) At the Santa Clara City Council meeting on Tuesday November 1 the Santa Clara City Council made a courageous stand against the attempt to damage the State of California by conservative Republican Governor and his anti-labor, anti-firefighter, anti-working family cronies like Louis Uhler and Grover Norquist. Thanks to Council members Jamie Mathews, Jamie McLeod, Kevin Moore and Dominic Caserta (who brought this issue to the Council's attention) for voting the resolution into the record.

Who's Pulling Arnold's Strings? Could It Be Discredited Ex-Governor Pete Wilson? (11-2-2005) Has the ghost of ex-Gov. Pete Wilson invested the bulked-up body of Arnold Schwarzenegger? Looking at the governor's past year and at his agenda for Tuesday's special election, what other conclusion can you come to? The biggest item in the record is the attack on public sector unions. Given the composition of Schwarzenegger's political staff and his nebula of consultants and advisers, many of whom were also members of Wilson's staff -George Gorton, Don Sipple, Marty Wilson, Bob White -not to mention his close association with Wilson himself, it's not surprising that so much of Schwarzenegger's campaign is composed of the wreckage of Wilson campaigns past.

Voting Is the Only Way to Thwart the Governor's Plan to Take Over California (11-2-2005) Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger insisted we had to have this special election next week. Despite a huge budget deficit, it couldn't wait until next year, which would have saved millions. It had to be now, because his "reforms" were too vital to delay another minute. So the governor got his way, ramming the election down our throats. And now what does he want? He wants most of us to stay home next Tuesday. But thanks to Schwarzenegger and his corporate pals, the political process has degenerated into nonstop fundraising by bitter enemies who then dump millions into TV ads that are designed to simplify and distort the issues while generally lowering the state IQ. And this is where we are two years after a special election in which we elected a governor who promised he'd terminate special-interest fundraising, partisan monkey business and big borrowing, three categories in which he now reigns as undisputed heavyweight champ.

Arnold's Campaign Dream - Democrats Don't Vote! (11-1-2005) Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered next week's special election to take his agenda to "the people," but his campaign strategy relies on relatively few people showing up next Tuesday and large segments of voters staying home. The Republican governor entered the final week of the special election campaign invoking the bipartisan "people's revolt" that swept him to power in the recall campaign two years ago. But his strategy for getting voters to the polls focuses on a small group of loyal Republicans to support the initiatives he has endorsed on the ballot.

Governor Using Halloween Style Scare Tactics About Taxes (11-1-2005) Schwarzenegger opponents blasted the Republican governor for creepy-crawly ``Halloween scare tactics.'' They say Proposition 76 would shortchange schools and other vital public services -- which the governor, in turn, considers a ``horror story.'' ``The governor is trying to scare voters with a phony spectacle not based on reality,'' said Steve Maviglio of the Alliance for a Better California, a group of unions and Democrats fighting the governor's special election agenda. ``If he stopped campaigning for one second, he might realize that no one has tried to raise the car tax and that, if he hadn't repealed it, we wouldn't be in such debt.''

Prop 76 Tax Increase Ad - More True Lies from the Governor (10-31-2005) The latest ad from Governor Schwarzenegger's campaign has a clear message: if you're opposed to a tax increase, vote yes on Proposition 76. But when you examine the way Prop 76 would impact the state budget process, you're likely to conclude that the ad is a pretty big stretch.

Special Interest Money Pours Into Schwarzenegger's Pockets (10-27-2005) Among elected officials, Schwarzenegger has raised by far the most this year — more than $35 million — in support of the initiatives he is promoting. More than 300 of his donations have come in chunks of $25,000 or more; 77 were for $100,000 or more. Reports filed with the secretary of state's office show that Schwarzenegger accepted $350,000 from Wal-Mart heirs for his main initiative fund. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and its chairman have given an additional $450,000 to the Schwarzenegger-backed campaign for Proposition 77, which would strip the Democratic-controlled Legislature of the power to draw its own districts. This month, the governor vetoed union-backed legislation opposed by the retail giant.

Governor Refuses to Debate Ballot Initiatives (10-24-2005) At the event Monday night in downtown Walnut Creek, Schwarzenegger took questions for 40 minutes after two of his principal foes, Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland, and Rose Ann DeMoro, head of the California Nurses Association, went first. But Schwarzenegger refused to participate in a face-to-face debate and insisted that he go on last. He and his foes were not on stage at the same time, and he made a 90-second opening statement, which the other side didn't. "He defined all the rules before we got started," said Gale Kaufman, the lead political strategist for the campaign against Schwarzenegger's special election initiatives. "He got to do another show, which he's very good at, but that's all it was. Nothing more than showmanship."

Colorado's Prop 76 Didn't Work - Neither Will California's (10-23-2005)The scene may seem familiar to Californians: a Republican governor warning that fiscal meltdown is imminent unless voters approve new rules on how much money the state can spend each year. But Colorado Gov. Bill Owens isn't looking for the kind of budget cap that California Republicans want voters to approve next month. That was imposed 13 years ago. Now he is pleading with voters to lift it. The problem: Colorado's spending controls appear to have worked too well. Now some of the most strident fiscal conservatives in Colorado — long viewed as a model for others considering such restraints — say the cap has strangled government. There is talk of closing community colleges, privatizing the university system, releasing inmates early.

Prop 76 Attacks Our Democratic System (10-21-2005) -- Despite the governor's best efforts to sell Proposition 76 as the cure for what ails our state's budget process, it isn't. Instead, it's a direct assault on our democratic system of checks and balances. It would deliver a crushing blow to our public schools and could devastate state funding for local health care, transportation and public safety. The California Fire Chiefs Association warns that several state safety agencies would be subject to across-the-board cuts during governor-declared "fiscal emergencies" - including the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the Office of Emergency Services, the Office of the State Fire Marshal and the Emergency Medical Services Authority.

Arnold Schwarzenegger - The Biggest Fraud in California History (10-21-2005) -- There's a "For Sale" sign on the governor's office and the cost of access is campaign cash for ballot measures that Arnold believes will help bring back his popularity. As if Californians didn't have enough reasons to vote No In November, Schwarzenegger's shakedown politics should top the list.

Governor Dines with Wealthy Special Interests While Workers Protest Outside (10-20-2005) -- Hundreds of boisterous protesters upset by Gov. Schwarzenegger's ballot initiatives targeting teachers' tenure, unions and school funding demonstrated outside the Mission Inn on Wednesday as the governor hobnobbed inside with donors who paid $2,500 or more to attend the private dinner. Schwarzenegger met with donors for photos, cocktails and dinner during the fundraiser. Contributors paid as much as $25,000 for two tickets to the private reception and dinner at the head table, including a photo with the governor. A $5,000 contribution bought two tickets to the dinner.

Prop 76 Ad Spins A Deceptive Tale. Another Lie from Governor Schwarzenegger and His Corporate Special Interests (10-14-2005) By using the voice of a respected former teacher and what they term the "nonpartisan" eye of the California Taxpayers Association, supporters of Proposition 76 are trying to sell voters on the idea that the measure will actually be a good deal for schools. The 79-year-old taxpayers' association is a respected organization, but it is financed and governed almost exclusively by an array of large corporations (banks, oil companies and big retailers among them) dedicated to limiting taxes. The organization, moreover, was involved with Schwarzenegger's team in the early stages of developing his ballot measures.

Schwarzenegger Pumps $3.5M More Into His Own Initiative Campaign (10-14-2005) -- "This is $3 million more from the governor because he smells victory in the air,'' said Rob Stutzman, a spokesman for Schwarzenegger's campaign effort. Hey Gov, that ain't victory you're smelling if you have to shore up your own initiatives with your own money!

Schwarzenegger May Face Other Side of Recall Challenge (10-09-2005) -- Until recently, Dr. Kenneth Matsumura's most notable achievement was inventing an artificial liver that makes use of live rabbit cells suspended in solution. He says he also has a patent on a wristwatch that sounds an alarm before the wearer has a heart attack. But on Friday, Dr. Matsumura showed up at Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's office in Sacramento and delivered a formal notice of a recall against the governor. Now Dr. Matsumura, a 60-year-old physician from Berkeley, is being depicted as the Terminator's terminator among Mr. Schwarzenegger's partisan detractors. DEAN E. MURPHY in the New York Times

Props 78 and 79 Confusing - Here's the Deal 10/08/2005 A pair of dueling ballot initiatives dealing with discount prescription drugs have totally confused voters, according to recent statewide polls. But here's the deal: The people who brought you Viagra and Lipitor want you to vote for Proposition 78. Big drug companies from around the world have already begun deluging California television viewers with advertisements attacking Proposition 79 and supporting Proposition 78. And with a $79 million war chest, the drug firms are set to wage the most expensive initiative campaign in U.S. history. Meanwhile the people who brought you Consumer Reports and Modern Maturity want you to vote for Proposition 79. So, what's so confusing?

Republican Special Election Message: Please Don't Vote and We'll Win! 10/03/2005 "Special turnout models and the PPIC poll With the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) poll showing 40 percent of likely voters believe the special election is a good idea and 53 percent say it is a bad idea, how does the no on 73 to 78 crowd get their side to the polls? Does anyone else see the inherent contradiction? How do you motivate someone with: We hate the special election, think it’s a bad idea, but we really, really want you to vote anyway? If half of those who say the special election is a bad idea stay home, won’t we win a landslide?" Assemblyman Chuck DeVore-Republican District 70 (Orange County)

Schwarzenegger and Bush: Two Peas in a Pod 10/03/2005 "Just like President Bush, who promised to be a "compassionate conservative," Schwarzenegger told Californians he was a different kind of Republican. Yet from the start, Schwarzenegger has governed from the right-wing playbook of Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and presidential adviser Karl Rove. Now the sheep's clothing is off, and it has exposed the Bush agenda that has always lurked beneath the governor's mask of moderation."

Prop 74 Being Abandoned by Supporters 09/30/2005 "Other than anecdotal evidence, however, supporters have produced few hard facts to support the need for the measure. Neither the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, nor any other state agency keeps figures on how many teachers are fired -- probationary or tenured. Asked for supporting evidence that such reforms would improve teacher performance or respond to a specific classroom need, the governor's campaign office referred questions about Prop. 74 to a public relations firm and to Republican Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia of Cathedral City (Riverside County), who wrote the measure. But Garcia's campaign office said she is no longer involved with the measure and will not answer questions about it. Her office referred inquiries back to the public relations firm. The public relations firm referred questions to Garcia's office.

Governor Continues to Show His True Colors: Anti-Union, Pro-Business Special Interest Right-wing Republican 09/29/2005 "The governor has made it easier for the voters and, in the process, torn away more of the center and whatever was left of the chance for consensus politics in Sacramento. Are you for him or against him? For or against teachers, cops, firefighters and the unions that represent them? What (Schwarzenegger) can no longer pretend is that he's Hiram Johnson (the "father" of direct democracy) incarnate. If anybody had identified Johnson with big corporations and a rapacious drug industry, Johnson would have puked."

Prop 77 Is Not the Right Plan for Redistricting 09/27/2005 The real argument is over whether Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's alternative, Proposition 77, is the right one. Or is it too convoluted and kind of goofy? Does it overreach? Is it less of a reform than a power grab? It sort of looks that way.

Prop 77: Partisan and Impossible to Implement 09/27/2005 "If the measure passes, for example, the state will have until Dec. 30 to select the panel of judges, hold three public hearings, draw the new districts and get them approved by the U.S. Department of Justice and the three-judge panel to have them ready for the June 2006 primary election. "It would be incredibly difficult, if not impossible, to get this done before Dec. 30,'' said Karin MacDonald of the Institute of Governmental Studies at UC Berkeley. The tight deadlines would cut many community groups out of the redistricting process, argued Eugene Lee of the Asian Pacific American Legal Center. The new redistricting also would rely on data from the 2000 census, which the state's population growth, along with the normal migration of people within the state, has left hopelessly outdated. There were also concerns that the retired judges, who are most likely to be aging white males, couldn't fairly make political decisions for a sprawling, diverse state like California. Under Prop. 77, California would be the only state to rely on retired judges to draw its political lines and would have the smallest redistricting commission in the nation. "This is simply about a political power grab,'' said Sen. Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles. "One party is trying to get more control, and another party is trying to defend against it.''

Governor Schwarzenegger: Isolated; Out of Touch; Political Underdog 09/24/2005 "There's such a high wall around the governor that anyone outside his inner circle can't get ahold of him if they have a good idea," said Michael Der Manouel Jr., a longtime Republican activist and chairman of the Lincoln Club of Fresno County. "We elected him as populist reformer and now he has taken on the aura of a politician." The dirty little secret around Sacramento is that the special election is not about policy but about political power: legislative Democrats vs. Schwarzenegger. Lost long ago was the need to reform how business is done in state government. That leaves California's residents caught in the middle.

Rich Businessman Plows $1.25 Million into Special Election. His Name? Arnold Schwarzenegger 09/24/2005 Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Friday sided with drug companies and energy producers on three initiatives on the Nov. 8 ballot, and formally backed another requiring parental notification on abortions for minors. Schwarzenegger also wrote a $1.25 million check from his personal account in support of Proposition 77, the redistricting measure.

Finally Shows His Colors: Right-wing, Pro-Business, Anti-Labor Republican 09/24/2005 -- Democrats said that Schwarzenegger - who has campaigned in the past as a consensus builder - has clearly chosen sides. "If there was any visage of bipartisanship left in this governor, I think he's just about put a nail in that coffin," said Gale Kaufman, chief strategist for a coalition of public employee unions leading the opposition against Schwarzenegger's ballot agenda.

Schwarzenegger Says "YES on Prop 75 - Governor Backs Prop. 75 09/18/2005 -- Pushing to diminish organized labor's clout in Sacramento, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Saturday threw his support behind a November ballot measure that would bar public-employee unions from spending member dues on political campaigns without prior consent. His endorsement of Proposition 75 puts Schwarzenegger at the forefront of a longtime cause of the Republican Party and its business allies. In an effort to dry up a prime source of campaign money for Democrats, they have backed similar measures across the nation. Underscoring its commitment, the state Republican Party has put $250,000 into the "Yes on 75" campaign. Endorsing Proposition 75 is viewed as another tack to the right by Schwarzenegger, who is seeking to shore up his base support from Republicans and business donors if he is to win any of the four initiatives that he is pushing in the Nov. 8 special election. ``The fact is that our employee union bosses have too much power over the budget, too much power over their members' paycheck and too much power over our state.''

Schwarzenegger Puts Political Cart Before the Horse -- but Can He Drive It? 09/17/2005 His strategy is to fire up the faithful this weekend and inspire them to work for a conservative-skewed voter turnout Nov. 8. But voters elsewhere will be reminded that the special election, at its core, has become a fight between Republicans and Democrats. And there are more Democrats in California.

Governor Victim of His Own Special Election 09/12/2005 - Schwarzenegger has backed himself into a corner where his only moves are to the right. He did that, primarily, by starting a special election war. He aggressively attacked Democratic interests — teachers, nurses, cops, firefighters — that were more popular than he was, then got pummeled by their predictable counterattacks. He groveled for political bucks from his Republican interests in the corporate world after running for the job as a reformer who didn't need special interest money. He became less of a centrist compromiser and more of a political partisan.

Special Election Analysis by Peter Schrag 09/12/2005 - But in this fight among deep-pocket dinosaurs, making it harder for unions to raise campaign war chests may still dampen the most effective voice, however self-serving and cynical it often is, for better-funded public services and for raising the state's minimum wage, as they did in the past. It will also increase the power of the business groups that are paying for Proposition 75 and face no such restrictions.

Rare Look Into How Schwarzenegger Court's Special Business Interests at the Expense of Workers Rights 09/07/2005

Wealthy Special Interests Flock to Arnold's "Pay For Play" Fund-raising Strategy 08/28/2005

Arnold Prepares to Dig Even Deeper into the Pockets of His Corporate Special Interests-Blames Unions for His Actions 08/27/2005

Drug Firms Trying to Fool California Voters with Prop 79 08/25/2005

Governor For Sale - Special Interests Hide Donations Via Tax Exempt Groups 08/24/2005

Elected Leaders Fail to Avoid Costly, Divisive Special Election War Started By Arnold Schwarzenegger 08/22/2005

Arnold's Ethical Collapse - Openly Taking Money From Special Interests Hits New Low 08/22/2005

Potentially the Most Expensive Special Election in CA History...is ON! Updated! 08/21/2005

Governor Schwarzenegger: Living and Playing By a Different Set of Rules 08/19/2005

Schwarzenegger Batting Below the "Mendoza Line" 08/19/2005

Special Election Plan: Vote Now; Pay Later 08/19/2005

Governor Embarks on 17-Event Special Interest Fundraising Tour 08/18/2005