Passage of Schwarzenegger initiatives
would tarnish California world example

Photo(s) by Luke Thomas

By Pat Murphy

November 5, 2004

Passage of Governor Schwarzenegger's ballot measures being voted on Tuesday would tarnish California's usual example to the world, California Treasurer Phil Angelides warned in San Francisco yesterday.

He was joined in a City Hall steps get-out-the-vote rally with Mayor Gavin Newsom and San Francisco Labor Council Executive Director Tim Paulson urging voters to 'vote early, vote no' on the governor's initiatives.

California Treasurer Phil Angelides

"At our best moments we've inspired the whole world," Angelides began.

"We're the sixth largest economy in the world. We're the home to idealism. We're still the frontier of innovation and invention.

"The rest of the world looks to us for hope and opportunity.

"And at our best we've been a California that's taught our children, given them the chance to go to college, invested in our communities, protected our environment. We've been a model to the rest of the world.

"But what Arnold Schwarzenegger has done…is made this ground zero. He has brought to California the Bush agenda.

"The Bush agenda that would limit a woman's right to choose, that would hurt the education of our children, that would attack the hopes and dreams of working men and women.

"Come this Tuesday we're going to send a message that going to ripple across this country that the Bush-Schwarzenegger agenda is dead and progressive values are on the march again!"

"If anyone mistakes what this agenda is just look at what the governor's put before us.

"Proposition 73 - it makes it harder for young women to get the medical attention they need, and as Bush tries to remake the Supreme Court and take away a woman's right to choose Arnold Schwarzenegger is carrying the torch for that cause here in California.

"Proposition 74, he calls it Put The Kids First, but when it comes to false advertising it is second only to Leave No Child Behind - the kids aren't even in it.

"Proposition 76 - like Bush he borrows billions and billions of dollars and then tells future generations they've got to live within their means. Not enough money for education. Not enough money for transportation. And it doesn't even do what he could do in ten seconds which is balance the budget.

"And you and I know the crown jewel of their efforts is Proposition 75 which would take away the ability of working men and women, the people who make our democracy to participate in our democracy while the governor's special interest friends are left unfettered to put millions and millions of dollars in his campaigns."

"What we're going to say on Tuesday is we're tired of a governor who uses teachers and nurses and firefighters and police officers as partisan punching bags.

"We want a new governor and a new government that will do the right things by the people of California."

Newsom echoed Angelides.

"This is really what is at stake. I've never imagined that I would ever go to the ballot and vote no on almost every single thing that was presented," Newsom told the crowd.

"This is really a ballot that's as bad as it gets - a special election that's utterly unnecessary, a governor that has forced this state and its political advocates to spend more money than at any other time in this state's history, not focusing, not attending to the real challenges that this state has but focusing on these ill-conceived initiatives.

"I am four-square opposed to these initiatives, but most importantly I am four-square opposed to Proposition 75.

"Beyond anything else what Prop 75 does is transcend every issue.

"It's a way of silencing the Democratic Party plain and simple. Make no mistake, to listen to the governor say 'well, I may be supportive of corporations,' well why didn't you do that in this election governor?

"It's disingenuous. If you believe in a level playing field, if you believe in the integrity of your efforts then you would have done that today. You didn't, and that fundamentally shows the…political nature of this agenda in this election."

Ending that agenda depends on turning out the vote, Paulson said.

Tim Paulson, San Francisco Labor Council

"There is an unprecedented effort going on in California and in San Francisco. Labor and the community are working together in an unprecedented campaign of outrage against Governor Schwarzenegger for this power grab of his," Paulson reported.

"We are going to be making sure that people come out to vote because this is about turnout.

"We need to get the votes that the governor knows that we are all here to say 'no.'"

"We want you to know that you can vote right now because every day is election day. We want people to come to City Hall over the weekend…vote no!"

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