Posted on 07/06/2006 11:58:52 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
Only Gov. Arnold Schwarz- enegger could make it appear as if he is on the take to a group from which he has refused to accept a dime in campaign contributions. That's what California's larger-than-life governor has managed to do with the state's powerful prison guards union, the California Correctional Peace Officers Association.
After freezing out the union's leaders while trying to make prison reform a top priority early in his term, Schwarzenegger has since warmed his relations with the guards while at times seeming to backpedal on his commitment to serious change.
Schwarzenegger doesn't take campaign donations from public employee labor unions, including the guards. But his recent actions have left many in the Capitol convinced he is trying to gain favor with the correctional officers, who have the ability to raise and spend $15 million or more from their members in the coming election.
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Then, last week, Schwarzenegger rolled out a new plan for changes in the prisons that included the construction of two lockups at a price of $500 million each. Since the officers' union is always in favor of building more cells and keeping more inmates in them, this was another sign that the governor was beginning to see the world their way.
But the truth, as is usually the case with Schwarzenegger, is more complicated.
The governor is definitely trying to make nice with the union to, at a minimum, keep it from endorsing his Democratic opponent, Treasurer Phil Angelides. Schwarzenegger's new chief of staff, Susan Kennedy, has opened doors that her predecessor had closed, and the new attitude seems to be that no real change can ever come if the guards are not included in the discussion.
(Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com ...
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It doesn't stop him from taking money from those who want to build more prisons.
The headline should read "Governor has a mixed record," and leave it at that.
He will show him how to run a prison!!
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