JIM RIGHEIMER
Absentee ballots have been delivered, and voting has now started in California for the Feb. 5 presidential primary. Here are my picks, starting with the propositions.
Proposition 91 transportation funds: According to the proponents, this initiative is no longer needed. Subsequent to 91 qualifying for the ballot, a bipartisan group of legislators and the governor put Proposition 1A on the ballot in November of 2006 that accomplished what Proposition 91 set out to do.
Proposition 1A passed with 77% of the vote. Therefore, 91 is not needed. VOTE NO
Proposition 92 Community College Funding: This is the first time in my life I agree with the California Teachers Assn., which is against Proposition 92.
This initiative is a feeble attempt by one part of the public educational monopoly — community colleges — trying to get a locked-in share of the state budget by changing the California Constitution with a funding formula based on population and unemployment, and not on the number of students that attend their schools.
They try to pass it off as something to help poor students by lowering fees from $20 per unit to $15. The problem is this reduction is for all students. Poor students already get the fee waived. All this initiative does is give wealthy students more money for Starbucks and iPods. VOTE NO
Proposition 93 Term Limits: This is filed under, “How stupid do they think we are?”
Though it is called a term limits initiative, it does not add limits and in fact adds four more years to all incumbents senators and six more years to all incumbent Assembly members.
In fact, the reason we have two primaries this year was so they could pass this in February and then place their names as incumbents on the normal June primary before they are termed out.
The Democratic leaders thought with some slick ads and good spin they could pass this in the dead of the night. VOTE NO
Proposition 94-97 Expansion of Indian Gambling Casinos: The Native Americans have more money to influence elections than any other special interest because they have the only gambling franchise in the state.
Almost every elected official, Republican and Democrat, is too afraid to ever upset the American Indians. The tribes will spend millions against any senator or assemblyman who gets out of line. The tribes always get what they want.
