Posted on 09/28/2005 8:01:45 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
MENLO PARK, Calif. (AP) - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger campaigned in Silicon Valley for several "year of reform" ballot initiatives Wednesday, comparing his quest for change in state government to the technological advances that the region's famed computer companies have brought to consumers.
At a "town hall"-style campaign gathering at Sun Microsystems, Schwarzenegger urged the audience to support four ballot measures aimed at curbing the power of the Democrat-controlled Legislature and their allied public employee unions.
He is pushing Proposition 74, which would extend, from two to five years, the time teachers must work to receive tenure; Proposition 75, which would require public employee unions to seek written permission from members before using their dues for political purposes; Proposition 76, which would enact a state spending cap; and Proposition 77, which would strip lawmakers of the power to draw political boundaries.
Engaging in a bit of "geek speak" for the audiences - most of whom were Sun employees - the governor pointed to a large, boxy computer that had been Sun's state-of-the-art model in 1982 and compared it to a sleek laptop produced this year.
"Look at this thing here - little, you can almost put it in your pocket, right? Is that not fantastic?" Schwarzenegger said, holding the laptop in his hand. "This is what the whole election is about. This is what Nov. 8 is about. Do you want to stay with a 1982 model? ... All of our systems, our government systems, our political systems are outdated."
He also fielded several friendly questions from the audience, but was challenged by one audience member to explain why he planned to veto legislation legalizing gay marriage in the state.
"Our administration has done everything it can to support gay people, gay couples and everything," Schwarzenegger said, but added that unless the courts weighed in or voters overturned Proposition 22 - an initiative passed in 2000 defining marriage as between a man and a woman - he could not sanction the legislation.
"Put it on the ballot - maybe they've changed their mind," he said. "Because I think the polls are different today than they maybe were five years ago. It could easily be that they favor gay marriage in California."
Allyn Polk, a Sun quality assurance manager who posed the question, later said Schwarzenegger's answer had been "political" and that while he supports the governor's reform agenda, he will probably vote against the initiatives out of protest over the gay marriage decision.
---
I wish we had 1982 spending levels. I'm afraid that wish is outdated too. :)
LOL. I was thinking the same thing.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.