Posted on 02/27/2008 11:47:11 AM PST by NormsRevenge
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced a cabinet-level office for volunteer service Tuesday that aims to raise the profile of volunteerism and emergency relief in a state beset by wildfires, earthquakes and other natural disasters.
Schwarzenegger named Karen Baker, executive director of the governor's commission for volunteerism, as secretary of service and volunteering, the first such state cabinet position in the country, he said.
Speaking in a crowded hall at Cal State Northridge, he said he hoped the change would inspire other states to establish similar offices around the country. He gave his wife, Maria Shriver, credit for pushing the idea to give the commission, called California Volunteers, greater prominence and responsibility. Shriver is honorary chairwoman of California Volunteers. ...
Schwarzenegger said he was inspired by the work of his father-in-law, Sargent Shriver, who was the first director of the Peace Corps, and his mother-in-law, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founder of the Special Olympics. He called the couple "great public servants."
Schwarzenegger called on the audience to "help me create a California of the heart" and said he saw the power of volunteerism firsthand last fall, ...
Baker will continue to maintain her staff and budget for California Volunteers but will now play a role in disaster planning and response, coordinating volunteers at disaster sites and establishing training programs for those who register at www.californiavolunteers.org.
The office will also manage donations to the state for disaster relief, a responsibility now held by the state's Office of Emergency Response.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
I hope Ms Baker is working for free, as a true volunteer.
Can't imagine that the real volunteers she'll be exhorting to spend more of their own time working without compensation will look fondly on her California-supplied Chrysler 300, cell phone, entourage, and $300,000/year salary.
Of course, this is California we're talking about.
Volunteerism will be fine with everybody in government until it threatens to eliminate a union job. Then watch out.
Schwarzenegger called on the audience to “help me create a California of the heart” and said he saw the power of volunteerism firsthand last fall, ...
Well I guess that’s all you got left Arnold. Would everbody please stand up and volunteer to run the state government in Sacrameneto because it’s broke?
People who come from the heart aren't interested in geographic boundaries or political entities - so the very term is a non-sequitur. ;)
I bet they could actually eliminate the deficit if all they did was layoff all employees making over $100,000 that didn't do real work or provide a real service/product to the citizens of CA.
On September 21, 1993 President Clinton signed the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993 (PL 103-82). This law merged two federal agencies, ACTION and the Commission on National and Community Service, creating the new Corporation for National and Community Service. The Act also established AmeriCorps, a service program for Americans ages seventeen years and older.CaliforniaVolunteers - MissionThe Act required the governor of each state to create and appoint a commission to administer the AmeriCorps program. In 1994, Governor Pete Wilson created the California State Commission originally known as the Commission on Improving Life Through Service through Executive Order W-77-94. Since the commission's inception, the first lady of California has served as the honorary chair of the commission.
The organization was renamed by Governor Gray Davis as the Governor's Office On Service and Volunteerism (GO SERV) in 2001.
In August 2004, the organization was renamed the California Service Corps.
In December 2006, Governor Schwarzenegger signed Executive Order S-24-06, renaming the organization CaliforniaVolunteers.
The mission of CaliforniaVolunteers is to increase the number and impact of Californians engaged in service and volunteerism.CaliforniaVolunteers administers the AmeriCorps portfolio in California, Citizen Corps, and the Cesar Chavez Day of Service and Learning, developed and maintains the California Volunteer Matching Network on CaliforniaVolunteers.org and guides policy development to support the nonprofit and service fields.
http://www.csc.ca.gov/aboutus/staff_baker.asp
Karen Baker
Karen Baker was appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger to serve as the executive director of CaliforniaVolunteers in January of 2006. Karen brings to the agency 20 years of innovative leadership in all facets of the service and volunteerism sector, including local and national non-profits and federal agencies.
Previously, Karen served as the managing partner for Valley Vision, a Sacramento-based “action tank” that addresses regional economic, environmental and social issues. She also served as the director of innovation at Share Our Strength, a national anti-hunger non-profit located in Washington, D.C. Karen served as director for program coordination and special projects for the Corporation for National Service, and was appointed by President Clinton as the deputy director for AmeriCorps*VISTA. Before serving in Washington D.C., Karen was the executive director of Chrysalis, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping economically disadvantaged and homeless individuals become self-sufficient through employment opportunities.
Karen holds her bachelor of arts in Sociology from the University of California at Los Angeles. After graduating from college, she served one year with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps where she worked with at-risk youth in Seattle.
Arnold has been a disaster for California. Spending is worse than is was under Davis.
“Today, California has no political divisions to speak of. The annual growth of state spending has plunged from seven percent under Davis to just over 10 percent today. The budget has shrunk from $78 billion in 2003 to $102 billion today. Davis’s record-breaking deficit spending that peaked at $6.6 billion has been replaced with a record-breaking deficit of only $8 billion. Debt service costs of $2 billion under Davis have plummeted to a mere $6 billion today. State government now consumes only $9.54 out of every $100 of personal income.”
http://republican.sen.ca.gov/web/mcclintock/article_detail.asp?PID=317
When you bear in mind that Arnold’s ONLY claim to being a conserviative was his fiscal conservatism the figures you cite illustrate what an utter failure he has been.
And there were more than a couple of people on FR who wished this guy could run for president. Wow.
I wonder myself what happened to his promise to “Cut up the credit cards.”, obviously it polled well for him, but words are just words.
Arnold’s record while governor should cause every conservative to think really hard about what a McAmnesty Presidency will do to this country. They are essentially one and the same.
And how many hundreds of thousands of dollars per year is this one going to cost (plus flunkie staff and expenses).
Its real mission should be to pick a name and stick with it.
Please volunteer your time and join C.R.A.P. (Californians Ranting About Politicians)
I am really torn over McCain. I share the dislike of many for his stands on immigration, gang of 14, opposition to tax cuts, etc. I think he is primarily responsible for much of the GOP failure to get a conservative agenda enacted when they had majorities in congress. On the other hand I believe he is pretty up front about what he believes and I think he is a combative sort who will fight hard to hold a position. He is a fiscal hawk when it comes to spending so he may well prove a real obstacle to the leftists as they attempt to push their agenda. He is also pro-life enough (and certainly far more so than either of the democrat contenders). His stance on the war is well known. And his record on taxes is actually fairly good.
An Obama presidency is simply unacceptable. Couple him with leftist majorities in congress and courts packed by a leftist congress and president and the potential for lasting damage is huge. Nationalized health care will be only part of it. This group of leftists in congress is easily the most openly socialist and radical in my lifetime (and I am 60 years old). And Obama makes little attempt to disguise his socialist agenda.
So I will probably take a chance on McCain hoping that he will do far less damage than Obama and may even be an effective roadblock to the left’s agenda. To simply let Obama win is not in the equation for me.
And we had better work hard to maintain enough GOP senators to have an effective fillibuster. It will be needed no matter who wins the presidency.
The dilemma is not isolated. Here's a quick, barometric query.
Did the scoory account join FreeRepublic to advance the interests of the Republican Party at a national level (a partisan pursuit) or to advance conservatism at the grass roots level (the pursuits of an ideologue)?
If it's an afirmative to the former, it's time to find the nearest Central Committee meeting and attend regularly, dropping forum participation along the way.
If it's yes to the latter, welcome abroad and remember that the best result you can hope to achieve when voting for an old, angry, little man is the election of an old, angry, little man who will inspire none and few will follow.
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