Poizner's Miracle Transformation Continues, this Time on Abortion Funding
Poizner Launches Misleading Ad on Whitman
Steve Poizner joined with liberal unions to weaken Prop. 13 and raise CA property taxes. Poizner donated nearly $200,000 to to pass Proposition 39, which lowered the local vote threshold for school districts to pass bonds to build schools from a two-thirds to a 55 percent vote. Property owners foot the entire bill for such bonds by paying higher property taxes.
Here’s a then-and-now look at Poizner’s stances on some key issues:
Abortion rights: In his first foray into politics, Poizner highlighted his pro-choice credentials, to the extent that he won the endorsement of Planned Parenthood over a Democratic opponent. In the governor’s race, Poizner has maintained his pro-choice position, but downplays it, telling Calbuzz that “I really do feel quite passionate about being against abortions.”
Gay marriage: In 2004, according to the Weekly, Poizner said he “opposes the (federal) constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.” In our interview, he said he supports Prop. 8, the state constitutional amendment that banned gay marriage.
Taxes: In his moderate days, Poizner helped organize and lead a new group formed for the purpose of working to reduce, from two-thirds to 55 percent, the vote needed for local tax increases for education. He also supported local sales tax increases for several transportation projects. In the governor’s race, however, he has set forth a radical program of across-the-board tax cuts and told us he staunchly opposes any move to reduce Prop. 13’s two-thirds requirement for tax increases.
George Bush: In the 2004 race, now-Assembly member Ruskin hammered Poizner as a clone of then-President George Bush, and put up a TV ad attacking him for contributing $2,000 to the Bush-Cheney campaign; Poizner’s campaign flack described the ad linking her candidate and the president as “a shameful distortion of the record,” while Poizner himself “refused to say” who he was supporting in Bush’s re-election campaign against Democrat John Kerry, according to the Weekly..
Democratic contributions: To counter Ruskin’s attack on his Bush contribution, Poizner’s press secretary in 2004 “pointed to Poizner’s $10,000 contribution to the Democratic National Committee in 2000 and $1,000 to Democrat Al Gore in 2000,” according to a Jean Whitney story. In the governor’s race, Poizner has acknowledged writing the two checks in support of the Democrat’s 2000 presidential efforts, plus a later $10,000 check backing Gore’s efforts in the Florida recount, but says he did so on behalf of his wife, who is a Democrat.
“His wife is a Democrat, she wanted to attend the fundraising events and then support the recount, so he wrote the checks,” Agen told Calbuzz. “He was the contributor since he was the one writing the checks. It would have been a violation for Steve to put anyone else’s name down…His family has given to both parties and he is open to hearing out the other side of the aisle before making decisions
McClintock endorsed Poizner because he is the only chance to beat Meg Whitman.