Posted on 06/18/2005 10:04:22 AM PDT by John Jorsett
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger held out hope Friday that a compromise still could be found with Democrats to head off a bruising campaign over his reform proposals on the Nov. 8 special-election ballot.
In a wide-ranging discussion with Daily News editors and reporters, Schwarzenegger blamed unions and other "special-interest forces" for fostering the legislative disputes that led to the impasse over his reform proposals and the need for the special election.
The governor said he is meeting with Democratic leaders in the hopes of developing compromises to his initiatives that would impose caps on state spending and revise the funding formula for education, take political redistricting out of the hands of politicians and extend from two years to five years the time required for teachers to get tenure.
A separate initiative on which he has not yet taken a stand could provide leverage for negotiations by requiring unions to get written consent to use members' dues for political purposes.
"I'm an optimist," Schwarzenegger said. "I do believe we can come up with something we can all get behind and I will campaign for that rather than my initiatives. I am a firm believer that we can get things done by working together.
"The last thing I have an interest in is a battle. I am more interested in seeing some reforms."
A spokesman for Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez, D-Los Angeles, later acknowledged the talks with the governor, but voiced doubts about the chance for success.
"The speaker has said he is hoping for a global solution, but he is not sure whether the governor will agree to a compromise," spokesman Steve Maviglio said. "We tried to reach a compromise before the special election was called and the governor's people kept moving the goal line so we couldn't reach an agreement.
"Now the governor has called the special election and it can't be canceled. And now we are seeing all these other measures on abortion and paycheck protection that will probably be on the ballot, as well. I don't know if there will be a compromise."
Schwarzenegger would not say how far he is willing to compromise and in which areas he would agree to scale back his proposals.
"What I have to do is convince (legislators) that political courage is not political suicide," Schwarzenegger said. "We have to plan for the future. I am convinced that people will be smart enough to look at these and recognize how important they are.
"We need to build for the future. And we need to plan for the future. But we need to reform California to rebuild California."
Schwarzenegger said he believes the reforms he is supporting will serve as a catalyst for change across the country. That is one of the reasons, he said, that national organizations have joined forces with unions to oppose him.
"(Unions) know if we are successful with budget reform, it will spread to every other state," Schwarzenegger said. "If we have redistricting reform, other states will want to do the same thing. This is why national unions are opposing this.
"We are not fighting the teachers. We are not fighting the nurses. We are not fighting the hard-working people. We are fighting the unions."
As for recent polls showing a sharp drop in his popularity, the governor said he believes it is a temporary situation -- one that will be countered as the election nears and people focus more on the issues and as he makes his case for the measures.
"The people elected me to change the way the state was being run," said Schwarzenegger, who came into office with the recall of Gov. Gray Davis. "We are doing that.
"The first year was to stop the bleeding and stop us from being on the verge of bankruptcy. We did that. This year is the year of reform. Next year is the year of rebuilding California."
The governor also continued to insist that he had not reneged on a promise to return $2 billion for education programs, which he was forced to borrow during his first year in office.
"We never said we would pay it back immediately," Schwarzenegger said. "We are spending more on education, $3 billion, and we will pay back the other money over time as we agreed."
The time to deal and not dawdle was after the Recal.
Now it is time for action, not hype and lies.
This guy operates from an alternate reality. He's wasted a precious year and much of his popularity hoping to get some kind of accomodation from the Democrat dingbats of Sacramento, and they've responded by vilifying him at every opportunity. Now he's holding out another olive branch, and at best all it'll do is get his arm chopped off.
This is the only initiative worth voting for, IMO. The others are terminally flawed.
Ya mean if I don't vote for these, Prop 13 won't be dead and they won't take away my home? ;-)
I would never bet against Arnold. His "alternate reality" has taken him from being an Austrian weightlifter to the best bodybuilder in the world for several years running, international success as one of the biggest movie stars despite a ridiculous accent and unpronounceable name, and now - Governor of the largest and most powerful state in the union. He can do just about anything he puts his mind to. Dems in Sacramento still don't get who they are dealing with. He will charm them, make a deal with them - or crush them.
For a non-Kalifornian who hasn't been closely following the reform proposals, can someone please post a link to a FR thread that explains what the Governator is trying to accomplish with his reform package? Much thanks. Yeah, I know I can keyword search, but I'm looking for a shortcut.
The following three initiatives are likely to be on the ballot Nov. 8 in a special election called for Monday by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.See also these FR Threads:TEACHER TENURE: Would increase the time required for public school teachers to gain tenure, from two complete consecutive school years to five. Schwarzenegger says two years is not enough time to determine whether a teacher deserves permanent employment. California's teachers union opposes the measure, saying it is already hard enough to attract qualified teachers.
CONGRESSIONAL AND LEGISLATIVE DISTRICTS: A constitutional amendment requiring congressional and state legislative districts to be drawn by a three-member panel of retired judges, rather than by lawmakers. Schwarzenegger says the current system of setting legislative boundaries, in which lawmakers themselves determine the districts, creates seats that have no real competition.
STATE SPENDING CAP: Would change minimum school funding requirements and limit state spending to previous year's total plus revenue growth.
CA: Governor announces special election for Nov. 8Schwarzenegger Calls a Special Election to Reform California
Guaranteed he's willing to sell out paycheck protection in return for getting consolidation of budgetary authority into his own hands.
If the Democrats are smart, they'll give it to him and let him take the blame when this financial house of cards takes a real hit.
If I recall correctly, the paycheck protection initiative isn't one that he originated, so he wouldn't be able to withdraw it.
It's a matter of where he spends his money. If he doesn't choose to place heavy cash behind paycheck protection when it's facing a $200 million warchest, it's dead.
It just ain't gonna happen, no matter how much you like to dream about it!!! He's goin down just like Jesse Ventura, with his tail between his legs as one whipped puppy!!!
We'll see.
Just watch Arnold. He is going to the people precisely because the Dem Legislature won't do the right thing. This is exactly the purpose of the initiative process in CA and Arnold is making use of it.
Remember what he said a while ago: The train has left the station, the Dems can get on board, be left behind or run over. This is not an exact quote, but it was something like that.
Arnold is not about to roll over for some "girly men".
Painting our enemies rather large, aren't we?
Seeing as his budget proposes a NINE PERCENT INCREASE IN SPENDING, he rolls over for Democrats, consistently.
Thank you for those links. With all those comments from the RATs in the first one, I'm surprised one of them didn't blurt out "It's OK, we'll trump it with the judiciary."
I trust you're aware that there's a bill going through the legislature to eliminate Prop. 13 coverage for corporations?
If you get a chance to view a floor session of either the Senate or the Assembly, you'll discover that diatribes against the "evil rich", are a regular feature of debates. The definition of "rich" keeps lowering, and it's only a matter of time before they'll include anyone with six figures of assets, which would be almost any homeowner in the state.
It may not be an immediate danger, but make no mistake about it, prop 13 is at risk.
Yes, and it is therefore totally independent from the proposed "reform" initiatives that Schwarzenegger has endorsed and is promoting. Instead of trying to sell these on their merit, he first resorted to using scare tactics implying that Prop 13 would be rescinded if we don't vote for the spending reform measure. That's hogwash.
The problem is, his spending reform initiative stinks and will create new debt, instead of reigning in spending like is required.
I will be voting NO.
He may lead them instead. Solar roofs? Sierra Nevada Conservancy? Global Warming? Yep.
That's your leader.
Arnold seems to think it is smart to send mixed messages. It isn't.
I wish everyone could hear KSFO and Barbara Simpson who is interviewing an author on Schwartzie right this minute! The book is named "Fantastic! The life of Arnold Schwarzenegger."
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