Posted on 02/26/2006 10:19:20 PM PST by calcowgirl
LOS ANGELES - Republican activists on Saturday increased their pressure on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to replace movie director Rob Reiner as head of California's First 5 Commission, saying Reiner's decision to take a leave from his state post wasn't enough.
Reiner on Friday took a leave of absence from the chairman's job until after the June 6 election in hopes of defusing a growing controversy about the state commission's $23 million ad campaign for preschool.
The ad campaign, first reported in The Bee in December, generated an outcry that the commission was using tax dollars to benefit the campaign for Proposition 82, the universal preschool initiative Reiner put on the June ballot.
Tony Strickland, a GOP candidate for state controller, said Saturday that the governor needed to replace Reiner with a chairman who could "bring back integrity" to the First 5 Commission.
"Bottom line, I believe they used $23 million worth of our tax dollars to fund their campaign," he said. "I don't think this should go away."
(snip)
Julie Soderlund, the governor's spokeswoman, said Schwarzenegger had "nothing to announce at this time" regarding requests he replace Reiner.
The governor, whose children went to preschool with Reiner's children, has declined to take a position on Proposition 82. He said he supports universal preschool but not the tax increase to finance it.
(snip)
Reiner led the 1998 campaign for Proposition 10, which created the First 5 Commission to provide health care, preschool and other programs for children up to age 5 and their parents.
He has served as the commission's chairman since it opened for business in 1999. His four-year term has expired, but he's continued in the position because Schwarzenegger hasn't appointed a replacement.
(Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com ...
Assuming I haven't retreated to a Utah salt mine, I'll vote NO. This is despite having a niece who might have benefited from such a "universal preschool" program. She was born developmentally delayed due to her drug-abusing egg-donor from whom she was taken (the woman's third child taken away to my knowledge). Makes me numb.
Arnold supported After-School-Programs.
Reiner is pushing Universal Pre-school (which Arnold says he supports--except for taxes).
Think about it. Is it to teach your children, or to control your children?
Ping - FYI
Isn't that special?
Reiner isn't even an American citizen, although he and Ahnuld go back more than twenty years.
Ahh, what's $23 million to a couple of cradle-to-grave socialists like Arnold and his buddy Reiner? I'm sure California is all for it anyways. The only question is, by how much of a landslide will Californians go for it?
Shucks, the way things look these days, I thought the
GOP would have endorsed a resolution to support Prop 82! /s
Rob Reiner, Also known as Robert Reiner
Birth: March 6, 1947 in New York, New York, United States
Nationality: American
Occupation: director, actor, writer
Born March 6, 1947, in New York, N.Y.; son of Carl (a comedian, actor, writer, and director) and Estelle (Lebost) Reiner; married Penny Marshall (an actor and director), 1971 (divorced, 1981); children: Tracy (stepdaughter). Education: Attended University of California at Los Angeles, 1965-68. Addresses: Agent---Creative Artists Agency, Inc., 1888 Century Park E., Suite 1400, Los Angeles, CA 90067.
ooops, I was thinking of Ivan Reitman, a Canadian.
Money for education is always a worthy cause. Puke.
LOL. You had me wondering! :-)
Reiner may have been born in the U.S. but he's no American.
We passed a pre-school initiative in FloriDUH - even amended our state constitution to make it a "right" for all kids to attend pre-school. After passing it, the state discovered that there wasn't any money to pay for it unless taxes are increased - A LOT!!!!!
FloriDUH (surprisingly) is still solvent and Jeb tries to keep the budget within reason. If CA proceeds with this wealth distribution plan, it will either push the state all the way to insolvency or make it a tax haven that Taxachusetts would envy and drive the remainder of the state's residents out.
This is a bad idea.
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