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LOS ANGELES - California voters have launched a wave of public works projects unseen in the Golden State in decades, and in doing so may have handed Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger a victory that will define him for his second term and beyond. The approval Tuesday of every bond initiative Schwarzenegger had asked for _ four propositions totaling $37.3 billion _ sets the stage for the building of roads, schools, housing and flood-control projects at a level that could dwarf the state's 1960s building boom that became Gov. Pat Brown's legacy. Passage of the bonds _ the biggest in the nation's...

So, without any further words, here is the Voter Guide:BALLOT MEASURES NOVEMBER 2006 - SUMMARYThe FR and Bill Leonard recommend: Proposition 1A = YESProposition 1B = NOProposition 1C = NOProposition 1D = NOProposition 1E = NOProposition 83 = YESProposition 84 = NOProposition 85 = YESProposition 86 = NOProposition 87 = NOProposition 88 = NOProposition 89 = NOProposition 90 = YES

Three of the four infrastructure bond measures placed on the ballot amid bipartisan fanfare in the spring have surged to big leads in the Field Poll, and the director of the survey said Friday that the entire $37.3 billion package appears headed toward an Election Day victory. "If I were a gambling person, I'd put my money on the yes side here," survey director Mark DiCamillo said. Proposition 1B, the $19.9 billion transportation bond, was leading the pack, with 56 percent of likely voters favoring the measure and 28 percent opposed. The $10.4 billion education measure, Proposition 1D, came in...

OAKLAND — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appreciates the Republican lieutenant governor nominee's opinion that the infrastructure bonds on next week's ballot are a mistake but believes he's "totally wrong." "If you went with his way of thinking, you would never rebuild California," the governor said Thursday of state Sen. Tom McClintock as he visited the Port of Oakland to stump for the $37 billion bond package. With California's population continuing to swell, "we can't continue waiting; we have to build now," Schwarzenegger said, estimating the state's economy is only "70 percent living up to our potential" because it can't move goods...

OAKLAND — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appreciates the Republican lieutenant governor nominee's opinion that the infrastructure bonds on next week's ballot are a mistake but believes he's "totally wrong." "If you went with his way of thinking, you would never rebuild California," the governor said Thursday of state Sen. Tom McClintock as he visited the Port of Oakland to stump for the $37 billion bond package. With California's population continuing to swell, "we can't continue waiting; we have to build now," Schwarzenegger said, estimating the state's economy is only "70 percent living up to our potential" because it can't move goods...

SACRAMENTO – A ballot packed with proposals for record state borrowing, five bonds totaling $43 billion, poses a big question for voters on Tuesday: How much debt can the state afford? When Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed a public-works bond package in January to rebuild California's neglected infrastructure, he wanted to give voters some assurance that the state would not plunge too deeply into debt. “I will propose that the Legislature adopt a debt ceiling that maintains our debt at a prudent level, regardless of the amount of debt authorized,” Schwarzenegger said in his State of the State address. But in...

$7,300. That is approximately what each household in California will be asked to cough up to pay for the $42.6 billion bond package on the ballot November 7th, should it pass. While there is a clear consensus that our infrastructure is in desperate need of repair and expansion there is also a growing cynicism that saddling future generations with $84 billion in bond payments over the next 30 years represents more of the same fiscal irresponsibility we have come to expect from Sacramento. Despite tens of millions of dollars in campaign spending to support these measures, a hearty array of...

Early this spring, after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger had unveiled his proposal for a $68 billion state spending spree on roads, schools and prisons, Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez visited Schwarzenegger in the governor's Capitol office with a counter-proposal. The list of projects was far different than what Schwarzenegger had proposed -- Democrats had taken out prison projects, increased spending on community colleges and added funding for public transportation -- and it carried a much smaller price tag. Schwarzenegger looked over the list for a few minutes and then set it down. I can live with this, he told Núñez. But can...

Standing on a wind-swept hill overlooking the ocean in San Pedro, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger stumped Wednesday on behalf of a slate of statewide ballot propositions aimed at cleaning up the coastline, protecting California's supply of drinking water and rebuilding levees and highways to serve a growing population. "We still have a long way to go so that further generations can enjoy all the incredible landscape we have here in our beautiful state," Schwarzenegger told members of the media and others who gathered for the outdoor news conference. The governor, speaking near the Korean Friendship Bell at Angels Gate Park, was...

There are very few absolutes in politics, but let's be clear about this November's election - a vote for any of the proposed bonds, Propositions 1B - 1E and Prop 84, is a vote for the same type of fiscal recklessness that led to the recall of Governor Gray Davis in 2003. Think about it. Since 2003, tax revenues have exploded in California - up $20 billion annually. The Governor's Workers' Compensation reforms are an underappreciated reason for this increase and the economic activity associated with this increase. Unfortunately, the Legislature, Democrats and some Republicans, and the Governor, have spent...

A lot of comments have been directed at this country’s “greatest generation,” those who suffered the Great Depression, fought World War II, and then rebuilt this country from the ruins of those catastrophic events. I remember, as my generation attended college and entered the workforce, a lot of debate among my peers as to what we would do when we take over. We all thought we would “do it right,” make this country a better place to work, live and raise a family. I think I can say, having inherited a sizable legacy from the “Greatest Generation,” the baby boomers...

SAN FRANCISCO — Five months ago, state Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata had called November's infrastructure bond package "a textbook example of bipartisan cooperation." Perata, D-Oakland, and Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles, stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger that day on the Oakland International Airport tarmac. Perata said lawmakers "weren't sent to Sacramento to be stalking horses for anybody running for office," and Nunez said, "Don't underestimate the role that the governor played." But the governor's name barely was mentioned Friday as prominent Democrats, union members and others rallied for the bond package at Pier 30, just south...

Voters appear to be skeptical about spending more than $37 billion on infrastructure projects, and it may take a big push by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger if the four bond measures on the November ballot are going to pass. Polls show that it may be the sheer size of the bonds -- which are to pay for transportation, housing, education and water projects -- that concerns voters. Television commercials in support of the measures are expected to begin airing today, said Paul Hefner, a spokesman for the bond campaign. "As much as people would like to see improvements in transportation and...

One of the reasons why I think that everyone reading the Flashreport should help Tom McClintock in his campaign for Liuetenant Governor of California is McClintock's strong, decisive leadership on policy issues both in the legislature, and before Californians on the ballot. Back in early August, Senator McClintock took positions on every matter on the November election and listed all of his positions (along with explanations for them) on his campaign website. I took the opportunity to take a look at the website of Tom McClintock's opponent, John Garamendi, to see where he stands on the statewide ballot measures --...

Tom McClintock visited our editorial board and delivered a devastating analysis of the infrastructure bonds that changed my vote on 1B. (I was already opposed to 1C and 1D.) He noted that historically bonds were used to pay for major projects that last for at least a generation, under the theory that if it takes 30 years to pay off, the people here in 30 years should still be benefiting from it. He said that argument was crucial to rationalizing passing bonds, since, with interest costs, they end up costing $2 for every $1 spent. But McClintock said the highway-transit...

We will devote quite a bit of space in the FlashReport in the coming weeks to articulating why the five "big bonds" measures on the November ballot -- Propositions 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E and 84 -- should all be rejected by California voters. You've heard me make the case over and over if you are a regular reader, but if you are new to this site, I can sum up the main over-arching reasons to reject all of this borrowing in just a few paragraphs: For decades, the liberals who control the state legislature, along with a string of Governors...

Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democratic state Senate Majority Leader Don Perata were friends and allies again Wednesday, a day after a political dispute threatened to torpedo a bipartisan effort to pass $37 billion in state infrastructure bonds. Perata and Schwarzenegger each spoke at a $50,000-a-head breakfast fundraiser at the Palo Alto Hills Country Club, then strolled out to the patio by the golf course to ask reporters what all the fuss was about. "There's been some noise recently, last day or so, that Republicans and Democrats, specifically the governor and the legislative leadership, are not going to be campaigning...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger kicked off the bipartisan, $37 billion state-rebuild bond campaign Tuesday absent two of his biggest Democratic co-stars at most stops -- thanks in part to President Bush's visit to California. Those in the know said problems between the governor and Democrats Don Perata and Fabian Núñez surfaced right about the time Bush decided to campaign for two House Republicans in California, the same day as the bond kickoff. According to one Democratic operative close to the negotiations between the two sides, it soon became apparent to the Dems that the governor would be using his appearances with...

As Phil Angelides' chances of becoming California's next governor sink slowly in the west, the wonk talk is slowly turning to the possible effects of his electoral weakness on the down-ballot races. The speculation isn't so much about whether moderate Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger's coattails are long enough to drag an unlikely conservative such as Tom McClintock in as lieutenant governor . . . But the talk is less about the governor's strength than about Angelides' negative coattails: Is he so weak that many Democratic voters won't turn out at all? And if that happens, could Schwarzenegger's relative strength ironically weaken...

CBS) SHERMAN OAKS Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger urged Tuesday voters to support a $37.3 billion plan on the November ballot to improve California's roads, schools and levees. The governor appeared at the Sherman Oaks Galleria to build support for Propositions 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, and 1E, which together represent a multibillion-dollar plan to overhaul the state's infrastructure. "California has always been an economic, environmental and technological leader, and this November we have the historic opportunity to make sure we continue this trend by building the roads, schools, levees and housing of the future," Schwarzenegger said. Proposition 1A would protect Proposition 42...

SACRAMENTO - The Legislature's Democratic leaders on Tuesday abandoned plans to campaign with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for the massive package of public works bonds on the November ballot, a development that signals an abrupt end to the bipartisan dealmaking that has buoyed the governor's re-election bid. It also could jeopardize the record $37.3 billion borrowing plan. Polls released last week show voters supporting the four infrastructure bonds, but just barely. Tuesday's change of direction came after Schwarzenegger and the two top legislative leaders - Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles, and Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland - had...

-Proposition 1B: The biggest chunk, $19.9 billion, is for transportation projects that will cost $38.9 billion to repay. Most of the money, $11.3 billion, would be spent to improve highways and local roads... YES Proposition 1C allots $2.85 billion for housing and shelter...But this is a sector of our economy in which public and private funds compete. NO Proposition 1D would upgrade and build more schools at every level...NO Proposition 1E is a $4.1 billion bond to improve disaster preparedness and flood prevention...YES We cant afford everything we need right now. But voting no on every measure is not in...

A $37-billion package of proposed public works bonds that has strong bipartisan support in Sacramento is in some peril among voters, along with ballot measures dealing with alternative energy and a cigarette tax, according to a new Los Angeles Times poll. The vast majority of likely voters knew too little about the infrastructure bonds — backed by both Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democratic legislators — to express an opinion. After poll respondents were read a ballot summary of each measure, none of the items generated much enthusiasm. Only two eked out a bare majority: those on housing and disaster...

No one can seriously question one of the two major assumptions behind the $38 billion worth of construction and repair bonds proposed on the Nov. 7 state ballot. Traffic relief is a must in myriad parts of California. Port security isn't a tenth as tough as it needs to be. Who can argue against battered women's shelters and housing assistance for senior citizens, veterans and working families? Overcrowded public schools need relief. And the levees in the Sacramento-San Joaquin river delta area are a disaster waiting to happen. Taken together, all those realities make up one big assumption behind the...

Californians' wariness of new debt is just one problem facing backers SACRAMENTO – After years of criticism about failing to invest in infrastructure, lawmakers now face questions about whether they are trying to do too much. The Legislature and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger placed a record $37.3 billion package of public-works bonds on the Nov. 7 ballot for roads, schools, housing and flood control. BIG BONDS The governor and legislative leaders have placed a record bond package on the Nov. 7 ballot: Proposition 1B – $19.9 billion for transportation Proposition 1C – $2.85 billion for housing Proposition 1D – $10.4 billion...

The cast of characters at Monday's press conference was unusual, to say the least. The participants represented each of the major factions in last year's special election: the drug companies, big-business Schwarzenegger allies and unions. But this time they were all on the same side. They all opposed Proposition 89, which would create publicly financed campaigns in California. "It's a murderers' row of political spenders in California," says Common Cause's Ned Wigglesworth, who supports Proposition 89. If, as the saying goes, politics makes for strange bedfellows, then California's 2006 elections are one giant slumber party. Held in the twelfth-floor suite...

Politics: Two policy groups say plan would increase state's debt SACRAMENTO - Two nonpartisan policy groups on Tuesday said there are major problems with the $37.3 billion public works package that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Legislature put on the November ballot, representing the first opposition to the plan by an organized group. The Reason Foundation, a nonprofit libertarian think tank based in Los Angeles, and the Performance Institute, a San Diego-based for-profit that describes itself as nonpartisan and dedicated to improving government performance, said the bonds would dangerously increase the state's debt load without providing clear benefits to residents....

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - In his bid for re-election as governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger has a comfortable lead over Democratic challenger and state Treasurer Phil Angelides among the state's "high propensity" voters, according to a report released on Tuesday. These voters also back two of four general obligation bond measures that lawmakers put on the November 7 ballot that seek billions of dollars in debt issuance for public works. The celebrity governor, a Republican, has the support of 53.6 percent of high-propensity voters, compared with 31.4 percent backing Angelides. Another 11.4 percent of these voters favor other candidates and...

No one can seriously question one of the two major assumptions behind the $38 billion worth of construction and repair bonds proposed on the Nov. 7 state ballot. Traffic relief is a must in myriad parts of California. Port security isn't a tenth as tough as it needs to be. Who can argue against battered women's shelters and housing assistance for senior citizens, veterans and working families? Overcrowded public schools need relief. And the levees in the Sacramento-San Joaquin river delta area are a disaster waiting to happen. Taken together, all those realities make up one big assumption behind the...

The Reason Foundation, which is dedicated to promoting Libertarian ideas, is out today with a white paper arguing against the package of bonds -- at a total cost of $84 billion -- put on the November ballot by lawmakers and the governor. The authors, including one economist who served on Gov. Schwarzenegger's California Performance Review, argue that the bonds only add to the state's debt and avoid the type of long-term planning needed to meet infrastructure requirements. The bonds, they say, "represent a new pinnacle of fiscal irresponsibility and lack of policy imagination. Rather than taking on record-breaking debt to...

This November California voters will be faced with a wide array of ballot measures, mostly looking for ways to raise taxes or borrow money. What does this tell you? It tells you that the appetite for state government SPENDING is voracious. These measures all come at voters during a time when an unprecedented amount of taxpayer funds are already being sent to Sacramento. The current state budget is well over a HUNDRED BILLION dollars, and this represents sharp increases of funds in the state budget over recent years. It is important for every FlashReport reader to join together in sending...

Public works bonds flounder Big spenders, other woes threaten support for infrastructure SACRAMENTO — Public-works bond supporters fear they won't have the cash to sell voters on costly infrastructure improvements because monied oil and tobacco firms fighting propositions are inflating the political television ad market. At the same time, other problems are piling up — uneven support based on regional concerns, awkward politics, the sheer size of the multibillion-dollar bond total, and disclosures that much of the money for transportation would not go directly to easing traffic congestion. "It's going to be difficult to have a voice to be heard...

Environmental groups, lured by the prospect of more than $4 billion for public-transit projects, are backing away from opposing the massive transportation bond on the November ballot. The environmentalists also are daunted by the nearly $7 million in campaign funds amassed by the bond's supporters. Over the weekend, the 75-delegate board of the Sierra Club of California decided against opposing the $19.95 billion bond package, which includes the money for public transit and $14 billion for road construction, plus other projects. Bill Allayaud, the group's legislative director, said Northern California members pushed to fight the bond, while many Southern California...

SACRAMENTO — The historic $37.3 billion bond package on the November ballot not only would be California's biggest investment in roads, schools and housing in more than 40 years, but also it's at the center of a political drama being played out in the governor's race. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's strong embrace of the investment plan — which entails four separate bonds — reflects his move to the political center to rehabilitate his image, badly damaged in 2005 with his ill-conceived special election that ended in political humiliation. Just as significantly, it has complicated Democratic challenger Phil Angelides' approach to the...

Up and down the November ballot, Californians face choices about vast sums of money: how much to spend, how much to borrow, how much to generate by raising taxes. Together, the proposals would open a $46-billion gusher of spending on highways, schools, levees, hospitals, housing, parkland and more. They would add $84 billion in debt and interest to state budgets over the next 30 years. Taxes, mainly on oil and tobacco, would rise by more than $3 billion a year. The torrent of money on the ballot gives voters a chance to set California's fiscal course for decades: They could...

Propositions 1A through 1E are a rare case in the world of elections: they will appear on the November ballot as a package deal supported by both major political parties, with no organized opposition. The bonds, which are supported by U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer as well as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democratic challenger Phil Angelides, seek to use existing funds to improve California’s infrastructure in the long term. While each bond deals with a specific problem, together the five separate measures provide a plan for rebuilding. “It’s a rare case of bipartisan cooperation,” said Paul Hefner, spokesperson...

Can california go back to the future? At a time when Americans distrust their leaders and doubt government's ability to deliver, California voters are being asked to approve massive bond issues, totaling $42.7 billion, to rebuild schools, roads and other parts of the state's crumbling infrastructure. The package of five bond issues on the November ballot, four of them the product of an elaborate compromise between Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Democratic-controlled Legislature, overshadows everything else on the ballot. In terms of California's future, they are arguably more significant than the governor's race, in which Schwarzenegger has maintained a...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger leads Democratic challenger Phil Angelides by 13 points, and voters -- though hit with sticker shock -- are backing four of five multibillion-dollar public works bonds, according to a poll released Wednesday. The Public Policy Institute of California survey shows likely voters favor the Republican governor over the Democrat 45 percent to 32 percent. Preferences have changed little since July, when the poll indicated the governor was leading 43 percent to 30 percent. The governor's approval rating among likely voters also is up by eight points since May, with 50 percent of voters approving and 42 percent...

It was a priceless photo for a Republican governor running for reelection in a blue state: Him standing at the mike, the two Democratic legislative leaders at his side. All three grinning into the cameras in the Capitol news conference room — announcing their bipartisan agreement last week on a bill to raise the minimum wage. But that was not an abnormal picture in this atypical year. Bipartisan deals, aberrant in the past, have become commonplace: a $37.3-billion package of state bonds for public works, a rare on-time budget and — the most recent — legislation forcing drug companies to...

While Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger worshipped with a mostly Democratic congregation Sunday morning, his political party rejected two of five bond measures he's supporting on the Nov ballot. Conservative activists had urged the California Republican Party to reject all five of the $42.6 billion in bond measures during its three-day convention here. "By passing these bond measures, we are passing the buck to our children and grandchildren," said Jon Fleischman, former California Republican Party executive director. But behind-the-scenes negotiations produced a compromise that led to the party rejecting two of the measures, endorsing two and taking no position on one. The...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger tried to narrow his rift with conservatives Saturday by casting himself as tougher on illegal immigration than his Democratic challenger, Phil Angelides, but failed to quell a Republican revolt over his call for billions in borrowing for housing and school construction. The Republican governor told party loyalists at a state GOP convention in Century City that he had put National Guard troops on the Mexican border — as demanded by President Bush — to help federal authorities "get their act together." "My opponent wants to pull the National Guard off the border," Schwarzenegger told the crowd of...

California must spend $107 billion on its roads, ports and other transportation infrastructure to keep its economy competitive and its quality of life decent, a member of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's Cabinet said Thursday in Oxnard. Sunne Wright McPeak, California's secretary of business, transportation and housing, was one of the architects of Schwarzenegger's massive public works proposals, some of which will appear on the Nov. 7 ballot. McPeak spoke about those proposals and some of the other challenges facing the state at a dinner held by the World Affairs Council of Ventura County. Voters will decide on four bond measures worth...

General Election - November 7, 2006 Prop. 1A Transportation Funding Protection: YES! For years, the Legislature has raided our highway taxes for general fund spending. Though it’s more window dressing than relief, this measure makes it marginally harder to do so. Prop. 1B Transportation Bond: NO! Although some of this money is for long overdue road construction, most goes for equipment, maintenance and social programs that will be obsolete decades before our children have finished paying off the debt. Californians pay the third highest tax per gallon of gasoline in the country – and yet we rank 43rd in per...

SACRAMENTO – Support for a record $37.3 billion public-works bond package placed on the Nov. 7 ballot by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Legislature is slipping as Republicans switch to opposition, according to a new Field Poll. Bond measures for transportation, schools and flood control still have leads, but a housing bond is trailing. A separate $5.4 billion water and parks bond, placed on the ballot by gathering signatures, also has a lead. After months of negotiations, the governor and the Legislature reached a bipartisan agreement on a massive bond package intended to rebuild California's neglected infrastructure and prepare for...

Last fall, when it was evident that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's "year of reform" ballot measure package was doomed and had seriously eroded his popularity, he and his advisors began looking for a political life ring and hit upon "infrastructure" -- doing something about the state's badly neglected highways and other public facilities. It was, in a sense, a natural choice. Schwarzenegger had assumed the governorship on a three-word slogan, "recover, reform and rebuild." The first referred to the chronically and dangerously unbalanced state budget, the second to making the political system more responsive and the third to improving the infrastructure....

BALLOT MEASURE: He has championed the issue, but didn't make a statement on it for the voter guide. SACRAMENTO - Since taking office, Gov. Schwarzenegger has signed 10 ballot arguments in voter information guides, lending his well-known name for or against initiatives on matters such as tribal gaming and a $15 billion deficit-recovery bond. But Schwarzenegger's name will be missing in statements surrounding a signature issue in the voter guide for the November election. Ballot arguments in favor of a $37.3 billion borrowing plan to improve roads and levees, build schools and expand affordable housing are signed by leaders of...

Angelides touts bond package Treasurer agrees with governor that voters should approve $37 billion OAKLAND — They were not on stage together, but they came as close as these electoral rivals probably ever will. State Treasurer Phil Angelides set aside his bid to unseat Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for a few moments to agree with his Republican opponent that the state's voters should pass the $37 billion infrastructure bond package. Even the few slight jabs he did throw in Schwarzenegger's general direction failed to incite a response from the Join Arnold campaign. "This bond package will not be an issue in...