Free Republic

Dear Governor: November 9, 2005 06:19 AM EST There is no such thing as a fusion candidate, no such thing as a bipartisan campaign or a non-partisan issue, and come election night, there are just two parties, one at the GOP HQ and one at the Dem HQ. There's a winners' party and a losers' party. Last night you were speaking to the losers' party. I didn't go. Why bother? The polls had shown for a few days that only Prop 75 had a chance (the measure to stop public employee unions from deducting political dues from their members' paychecks...

TODAY, Californians are heading to the polls to vote on several major propositions that shall dramatically affect both the political and economic future of our state. We are following the activity and will report the results. California Propositions 2.8% of precincts reporting as of Nov 08 08:13 PM PST Results: http://www.sfgate.com/election/

CA Propositions 75, 76, 77 Defeated; Propositions 73, 74 Could Go Either Way: On the Eve of a Special Election, California voters defeat Propositions 75, 76 and 77, but divide on Propositions 73 and 74, according to a final SurveyUSA tracking poll. Support for Propositions 73, 74, 75, and 77 continues to erode. (Proposition 76 is addressed separately in the next box.) Proposition 73, on parental notification for abortions on minors, led by 11 points 1 week ago, and leads today by 4 points. It may hang-on and win, but if so, by the narrowest of margins. Extending the trend...

"On Church and State", by Lores Rizkalla, Freeper 'JustaWoman' Billy Graham said that "bad politicians are elected by good people who don't vote." I think the same is true of "bad propositions" passing because good people decide to stay home on election day. This Tuesday, California (among many other states) has a special election. Statistics say that an average of 5% of registered voters get out to vote in an off-year election. What's worse is the truth so beautifully, yet sadly, written by William Butler Yeats': "The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity." Where...

The John Ziegler Show on KFI has revealed the identify of the questioners of last night's state-wide broadcast forum on NBC and Telemundo. The forum included Arnold, Barbar Kerr (teacher's union) and Fabian Nunez (Dem legislator). Two of the questioners for Arnold are members Democrat central committees and one is a Democrat Congressional candidate! This forum allegedly included an independently selected balanced audience.

NO side leads YES side on all four of the propositions backed by Governor Schwarzenegger.

The second wave of the Stanford University/Hoover Institution/Knowledge Networks (S/H/KN) internet poll conducted during the final week of October shows two of the four propositions supported by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger with comfortable leads, one narrowly ahead, and one trailing badly. The latest poll results show Proposition 74 (teacher tenure) slightly ahead, 53-47, but with a margin that is within the sampling error of the poll. The two most controversial propositions appear to be heading in opposite directions. Proposition 75 (public employee union dues) has a comfortable lead, 64-36, but Proposition 76 (state budget process) trails by double digits, 45-55. Finally,...

SACRAMENTO - As Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger struggles to make his case for reform measures on the Nov. 8 special-election ballot, he and his opponents have stepped up their battle for the state's Latino voters. The governor taped a town-hall forum on Spanish-language Univision that aired statewide over the weekend, even as opponents launched their first Spanish-language TV ads featuring Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa attacking the governor's proposals. The high-profile events are just the latest campaign efforts aimed at courting the 2 million Latinos registered to vote in California, accounting for 14 percent of the statewide electorate. "We've been on the air...

A Public Policy Institute of California polls shows none of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's initiatives on the Nov. 8 special election ballot with majority support. The poll also found voters also dissatisfied with the job performance of the governor, the state Legislature and President Bush. All results are from the sampling of likely voters. _ Proposition 73, the parental notification initiative, had support of 42 percent of likely voters but was opposed by 48 percent. _ Proposition 74, the teacher tenure initiative, was supported by 46 percent of likely voters and opposed by 48 percent. _ Proposition 75, the union dues...

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. (AP) - Defending his special election before an audience of voters, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday said his "year of reform" ballot initiatives are crucial to continue the changes he started after taking office two years ago. He cast the Nov. 8 election as the next step of the 2003 recall election that propelled him to office. Voters, he said, sent him to Sacramento to rebuild the state's economy and fix a moribund political system. After 400,000 new jobs and billions in new revenue, it was time for him to enter Act II, he said. "Now is...

Prop. 74 Has Some Teachers at Odds # The governor's initiative to make it easier to fire problem instructors pits colleagues against one another. Many are not at ease airing their views. By Erika Hayasaki, Times Staff Writer Throughout California, teachers can barely make a photocopy or check a school mailbox these days without getting slapped by competing campaign slogans over a controversial teacher quality initiative. The issue has pitted teachers against each other. Some hold quiet conversations in campus corners, avoid volunteering for union phone banks and keep their heads down when the subject arises in the faculty lounge....

I keep reading that stories that support for the ballot propositions backed by California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is very weak. Even the Washington Times claims two are failing ("in the polls"), as if that finding represented a concensus of polls (Oct. 17, "For Arnold stakes are high"). I had thought I had seen them doing well, so I looked it up on the internet. The most recent poll I could find was done by Survey USA, released October 2nd. Its results: Proposition 73: Physicials must notify a parent of a pregnant minor 48 hours before performing the abortion. Yes, 59%....

'Curtain up! Light the lights! You got nothing to hit but the heights!" Arnold Schwarzenegger might not sound like Ethel Merman, but he's belting out her song as the curtain rises on the November special election. He's gambling as Merman puts it in the 1960's Broadway hit "Gypsy," that his "lucky star is due." And soon we'll know whether "everything's coming up roses" for Arnold and the GOP. With a month to go until the Nov. 8 vote, the oddest thing about this election is that it is not really about the four initiatives he's endorsed, nor the four others...

SACRAMENTO - Television commercials released this week by the California Teachers Association ask voters to reject Proposition 74, the teacher tenure initiative promoted by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Proposition 74 would increase the probationary period for new teachers from two years to five. It also would change the way districts can remove veteran teachers. Those with permanent status could be fired after two consecutive poor evaluations. Schwarzenegger has said he wants to shake up a system that he says grants teachers a virtual job for life once they pass the two-year probationary period. Making it easier to get rid of poor...

NEW! POLL SHOWS OVERWHELMING SUPPORT FOR REFORM A recent public opinion poll of likely voters in California shows overwhelming support of Propositions 73, 74, 75, 76, 77. Proposition 75- Paycheck Protection- received the highest level of support at 60% in favor. Among Likely voters: PROP 73 59% Yes 39% No 2% Undecided PROP 74 55% Yes 44% No 2% Undecided Prop 75 60% Yes 37% No 3% Undecided Prop 76 58% Yes 36% No 6% Undecided Prop 77 59% Yes 36% No 5% Undecided Conducted by: Survey USA Sponsoring News Organizations: KABC-TV Los Angeles , KPIX-TV San Francisco 1,200 California...

In January, the governor issued a challenge to the Legislature's Democrats: change how you do business, or I will change it for you. The Democrats yawned. They were sure that Schwarzenegger would cave. The Democrats had been in charge before he got there, and they would be in charge long after he was gone. But a funny thing happened: Schwarzenegger didn't cave. How could that be, they asked, since he knows we are in charge. Schwarzenegger said: Tough: change is necessary. He said he would qualify initiatives, call a special election, and get the people to bring about change. The...

MENLO PARK, Calif. (AP) - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger campaigned in Silicon Valley for several "year of reform" ballot initiatives Wednesday, comparing his quest for change in state government to the technological advances that the region's famed computer companies have brought to consumers. At a "town hall"-style campaign gathering at Sun Microsystems, Schwarzenegger urged the audience to support four ballot measures aimed at curbing the power of the Democrat-controlled Legislature and their allied public employee unions. He is pushing Proposition 74, which would extend, from two to five years, the time teachers must work to receive tenure; Proposition 75, which would...

-----Original Message----- From: Tiffany Delepine To: director@contracostagop.com Cc: tgfdg@aol.com; joe@joinarnold.com; tiffanymoffat@randallcommunications.com Sent: Wed, 28 Sep 2005 15:16:18 -0700 Subject: CTA to Protest at Private Dinner for the Governor...we need your help!! ***HIGH PRIORITY*** The Governor is attending a dinner this evening at a home in Lafayette. The CTA have caught wind of the engagement and are planning to ?crash the party? (See the email below) This is an opportunity for us, as members of the Contra Costa Republican Party to show the media and the Governor that there is strong support for his reform agenda here in the East Bay!!...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's campaign posted a form on its Web site asking Californians for stories about inferior teachers to support the ballot initiative to lengthen teachers' probationary period. The form was then removed Wednesday after an Associated Press reporter called to inquire about it. Posted on the Web site http://www.joinarnold.com the form asked: "Have a story about a teacher who just might not be cut out for the job, yet nothing can be done because of tenure? Please tell us. We'd like to share the stories of Californians like you!" It was part of Schwarzenegger's campaign in favor of Proposition...

PROPONENTS, most notably Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, have dubbed Proposition 74 the "Put Kids First" act. Opponents call it the "Punish New Teachers" act. The measure, which will appear on the November special-election ballot, would extend the probationary period for new teachers from two years to five years and would allow districts to fire permanent teachers after they receive two bad performance reviews. Alan Bersin, Schwarzenegger's public-school point man, supports the measure. As a former superintendent of San Diego public schools, Bersin sees the measure as a way to put an end to "the proverbial dance of the lemons." The first...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - The California Teachers Association, among the most vocal opponents of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's special election initiatives, contributed $21 million this week to groups campaigning against the governor. The high-dollar distribution comes just as the fall campaign is set to begin in earnest, with both sides targeting the Labor Day weekend as the unofficial kickoff. Schwarzenegger helped raise and spend nearly $20 million during the first half of the year to qualify and promote his ballot measures and has raised about $6 million since July. Marty Wilson, the governor's fundraising manager, said he expects Schwarzenegger will reach the...

I've been getting calls about the various ballot propositions for the Special Election. Here's how I see them: Proposition 73: Parental Notification for Abortion. If parental consent is required for a child to use a tanning booth or get her ears pierced, shouldn’t parents at least be notified if she’s getting an abortion? YES. Whether you’re pro-life or pro-choice, this should be the all-time no-brainer. Proposition 74: Teacher Tenure. Do parents have a right to expect a higher level of competence before a teacher is granted life-time tenure? YES. This modest measure simply increases the teacher probation period from two...

The following initiatives have qualified for California's Nov. 8 special election ballot. Propositions 74, 76 and 77 are part of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's "year of reform" package. PROPOSITION 73, PARENTAL PERMISSION FOR ABORTION: A constitutional amendment promoted by anti-abortion activists that would require girls 17 and younger to get parental permission to receive an abortion. It is opposed by abortion-rights organizations that say many minors live in homes where they risk emotional abuse or physical violence, or where the pregnancy is a result of incest. PROPOSITION 74, TEACHER TENURE: Would increase the time required for public school teachers to gain...

In California, "Principal Faye Banton can walk through the classrooms of Edison Middle School in south Los Angeles and quickly identify her weakest teachers. But Banton knows she can't dismiss them without a drawn-out fight," the Los Angeles Times reported this week. "It takes much too long to get rid of them," she said. Under California law, school districts can dismiss teachers during their first two years on the job without providing any reason. But after two years in the classroom, teachers earn the more protective "permanent status." Before dismissing a permanent-status teacher, district officials must meticulously document poor performance...

UNIQUE AMONG education reformers, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has zeroed in on underperforming teachers as a principal reason why millions of California students are doing so poorly in our schools. The initiative he is pushing to make it more difficult for teachers to get "tenure" is a classic case of a solution in search of problem. Let's put aside for the moment the fact that teachers don't actually get tenure. They get "permanent status," which still means under state law they can be fired for all kinds of reasons, including inadequate performance. But they are entitled to a hearing and other...

(snip) Schwarzenegger has said he remains open to negotiating a compromise on all of his proposed initiatives, even though they're heading for the ballot. If so, he should start with the tenure proposal. It's an odd issue to go to war over anyway, considering the multitude of education initiatives he could be staking his political career on. Written by Bonnie Garcia, a Republican assemblywoman from El Centro, it was plucked from obscurity without much analysis. After a merit pay proposal for teachers fell by the wayside, tenure became the No. 1 issue by default. The initiative would make two changes...

SACRAMENTO – In January, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced a "bold new era of reform" that he said would make government more accountable, improve education and control state spending. He later endorsed a series of five ballot measures for the Nov. 8 special election intended to turn his rhetoric into reality. But mistakes have shrunk Schwarzenegger's once broad agenda. Two of the measures were written so poorly that the governor decided to jettison them. A third, which deals with how political districts are drawn, faces a legal challenge today over a flaw that could cause it to be dropped from the...

Proposition 73 would require notifying parents when a minor seeks an abortion, Proposition 74 would extend the probation period for new teachers from two to five years. Proposition 75 would require public employee unions to get annual written permission from members to use dues for campaign contributions. Proposition 76 would limit state spending, alter minimum school funding requirements, require the governor to cut appropriations in certain circumstances and impose prior year appropriations when there's a budget deadlock in the Legislature. Proposition 77 is an attempt to take the power to draw legislative and congressional districts away from the Legislature and...