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Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vowed Wednesday to pursue some of the "good ideas" rejected by voters in last year's special election but promised that he will not revive controversial efforts to control union dues or change the state's voter-approved education funding formula. In a wide-ranging interview with The Chronicle's editorial board Wednesday, Schwarzenegger also said he did not regret stumping for President Bush in 2004, and he denied assertions that he has been inconsistent as governor and veered from a conservative agenda in 2005 to a Democratic one this year. When asked how he would describe himself, he said he was...

Rekindling a political power struggle between unions and business interests, proposed legislation would require corporations to ask shareholders whether they approve of contributions made to California candidates or ballot measures. The legislation--backed by the California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO--orders corporations to provide shareholders with a list of contributions made in California. Shareholders could then reject individual contributions and receive back their pro rata share. (snip) The chamber and other business interests backed Proposition 75 in November, which would have prevented public employee unions from making campaign contributions without approval of their members. In retribution, the California Teachers Association, Service Employees International...

SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - California labor leaders announced a campaign on Monday to defeat Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's re-election bid, calling the former film star anti-worker and beholden to big business. The announcement touches off what could be a fierce re-election fight for Schwarzenegger, who took office after toppling Gray Davis, a Democratic governor with close ties to union leaders. Unions played an important role in the defeat of a series of initiatives last year that Schwarzenegger cast as reforms and workers groups saw as attempts to gut their power. "We will find a suitable candidate and mobilize our people to...

Small business beware, your larger cousin, big-business has dropped their arrows, washed off their war paint and even shot their horses (presumably for food since there will be a long cold winter ahead). Recent media reports suggest that business and industry in California are no longer going to put up a fight against union demands that hurt our overall economy and end up costing jobs. Bill Dombrowski is the President and CEO of the California Retailers Association. He recently told the Orange County Register that the governor's proposal to increase the minimum wage in the state by $1 an hour...

The so-called paycheck protection initiative galvanized public employee unions into an all-out war against the governor and his reforms. Unions used it as a smoking gun for their claims that the governor's real agenda was a partisan power play aimed at weakening his adversaries. Nevertheless, Prop. 75 did come the closest of any proposition to passing in the special election, losing by seven points. Now, the nurturer of Prop. 75, longtime anti-tax activist Lewis Uhler, is planning to create another version of the monster for the November 2006 ballot. Unlike Prop. 75, which would have required public employee unions to...

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...

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Buoyed by a come-from-behind victory over a ballot initiative that threatened labor's powerful role in state politics, union leaders said Wednesday their next move is to defeat Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's re-election bid. "In the coming days and weeks, working families are going to begin our efforts to ensure that in California we elect a Legislature and a governor that will fight for the interest of working families," said Martin Ludlow, executive secretary-treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor. Proposition 75, which would have required public employee unions to get permission from members annually before...

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...

SACRAMENTO - The state employees' union can collect extra money to fight two ballot measures from workers who had objected to having their dues used for political purposes, a federal judge ruled Friday. Eight state employees had sued to stop the Service Employees International Union from collecting an additional two-tenths of 1 percent of their salaries - and from the salaries of all 28,000 nonunion workers - to fight two initiatives pushed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. On Wednesday, U.S. District Court Judge Morrison C. England Jr. issued a temporary restraining order that prevented the state controller from turning over the...

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.

Badly outspent seven years ago when they tried to curtail union money in state politics, supporters of "paycheck protection" are getting thrashed once more when it comes to the fundraising and spending wars. The public employee union-driven No on 75 campaign had banked $42.6 million and spent $41.2 million by Oct. 22, according to the most recent reports. The Yes on 75 side, meanwhile, raised only $2.3 million and spent $1.6 million. Proposition 75, however, has received a significant boost from Gov. Arnold Schwar-zenegger's California Recovery Team. According to its reports filed with the secretary of state's office, the governor's...

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...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger sent both his allies and his enemies into a frenzy Tuesday, a day after he vowed to support a union-backed effort that could take corporate money out of California politics. "If that's the governor's position, we respectfully disagree," said Sara Lee of the California Chamber of Commerce, which has spent more than $1.4 million to support the package of Schwarzenegger-backed initiatives on the Nov. 8 ballot. "We predict this will be his next broken promise," said Charles Idelson of the California Nurses Association, a leader in the fight against the governor's initiative efforts. The dispute swirls around...

We have a saying at the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association: "We can't lead where our members don't want to go." This is an acknowledgement that support for our work comes from member dues and that affiliation with this taxpayer organization is voluntary. If dues-paying members are not convinced that HJTA is working to advance their interests as taxpayers, they won't be dues paying members for long and the organization will wither. Needless to say, we are motivated to pay close attention to their concerns. Let's contrast this approach with that of the leadership of our state's public employee unions. First,...

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...

Off-year elections are usually snoozes, but California's Nov. 8 vote has enough crossfire to be one of Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's old movies. The "governator" is fighting public employee unions in an escalating — and sometimes ugly — war over four propositions on the ballot. Well over $100 million has been spent so far, about $80 million by unions, to sway voters. The key initiative is Proposition 75. Fans and critics alike see it as a potentially devastating blow to the unions' power. If passed, it could cripple their ability to raise money for political activities, decisively shifting the balance...

MA!  He's FLIPPING  again...!!!  ...THIS time in California...!!!  

IN 1998, THIS PAGE OPPOSED Proposition 226, the so-called paycheck-protection measure that sought to bar labor unions from spending a member's dues for political activities in the absence of that member's consent. We considered that initiative a disingenuous "good government" move aimed at diminishing the voice of only one side on public policy debates, and we would oppose such a proposition again if it were on this year's ballot. But contrary to some of the arguments being mustered both for and against Proposition 75, this election's version of "paycheck protection" is significantly different than Proposition 226: It applies only to...

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%....

California Ballot Propositions November 8, 2005 Special Election General Recommendations New endorsements posted as they become available. Click on proposition number to see IGS Hot Topic on the initiative. Or see our ballot measure summary guide at the bottom of this page. LIBRARY Institute of Governmental StudiesUniversity of California109 Moses Hall #2370  Berkeley, CA 94720-2370  510-642-1472 (voice)  510-643-0866 (fax)   ORGANIZATION/NEWSPAPER  73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 Alameda Co. Taxpayers Association                 ACLU of Northern CA  n n n - n - - - Assn. CA Water Agencies    ...

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Entering a fight over union rights that could have national implications, Sen. John Kerry warned Thursday that a ballot initiative backed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger could tip the balance of democracy by muzzling the voice of working people. Proposition 75 would force public employee unions, such as those representing teachers, firefighters and prison guards, to seek written permission from members before using dues for political purposes. Kerry, speaking outside a downtown firehouse, said the initiative would condemn workers to "a completely unfair system." The proposal "represents part of an ongoing effort by the Republican Party to...

For Kevin Brown, "paycheck protection" this year would have amounted to something on the order of $231.71. That's how much money was taken from his paycheck, anyway, and spent on political activities by the public employee union that represents him in collective bargaining. Brown, webmaster for the state Department of Insurance, doesn't officially belong to his union and doesn't particularly care for its politics. But right now, the onus is on Brown, an "agency fee" payer rather than a full-blown member of Service Employees International Union Local 1000, to get his money back. He has only a limited amount of...

'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...

A federal judge in San Jose refused Wednesday to restrain the California Teachers Association from bolstering its political campaign account by imposing an annual $60 surcharge on its members for the next three years. U.S. District Court Judge James Ware's decision in a case filed by the Virginia-based Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation probably will allow the teachers union to raise and spend upwards of $50 million to contest Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's special election initiatives slated for the Nov. 8 ballot, representatives of both sides in the lawsuit said. "This is fantastic," CTA chief counsel Beverly Tucker said. "We...

EUREKA -- Rob Arkley has apparently given more to help pass Proposition 75 than any other single individual in the state of California. According to the California secretary of state’s website, Arkley heads up a long list of big donors supporting Proposition 75 with a total of $302,000 given to groups supporting its passage. The contributions came in two different contributions, one for $250,001 in September and another for $52,000 made earlier in August. Arkley did not return a call for comment by deadline. But an employee for Security National, owned by Arkley, called the Times-Standard and said his boss...

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...

Opponents of Proposition 75, the initiative on the Nov. 8 ballot that would bar public employee unions from collecting and using dues for political purposes without the annual written consent of the employee, launched three 30-second television ads last week. Following is the text for one of the ads and an analysis by Bee Deputy Capitol Bureau Chief Dan Smith.*LISA DICKASON: "I knew I wanted to be a teacher when I was 5 years old. There's just something about teaching. It's imparting something to the kids; it's helping other people." *ANNOUNCER: When the governor diverted billions from schools, threatening our...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Actor-director Rob Reiner campaigned Thursday against Proposition 75, a ballot initiative pushed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger that would require public employee unions to get permission to use members' dues for political purposes. Reiner, a Democrat and longtime political activist often mentioned as a potential challenger to Schwarzenegger, told an audience that Prop. 75, known as "paycheck protection" by its supporters, was designed purely to stifle political speech. "The things I care about - education, health care, energy, environment - I need, we all need, to have everybody's voice heard," Reiner told a small audience of teachers,...

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...

Public employee labor unions say Proposition 75 would "cripple employees' ability to fight on a level playing field," by restricting the use of members' dues for political purposes. But even if the measure is approved, unions would have nearly unfettered ability to collect and spend members' dues for issue advocacy - a catch-all category in state law that can include voter "education" or television ads attacking a politician over a particular issue not related to an election. (snip) Supported by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and business interests among others, the measure would bar public employee unions from using dues collected from...

Proposition 75 proponents have begun airing their first advertisement leading up to the Nov. 8 special election, a one-minute radio spot featuring three public employee union members who oppose having their dues money used for political purposes.Here is the text of the ad and an analysis by Andy Furillo of The Bee's Capitol Bureau: • MALE ANNOUNCER: Teachers, firefighters and police officers support Proposition 75. • FEMALE ANNOUNCER: Because Prop. 75 is about union democracy. • FIRST WORKER: I'm a teacher, and I'm union. But I should have the right to give my permission before my dues money is used...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - A small group of teachers and lawyers who are seeking class action status for a lawsuit against the California Teachers Association was drowned out by screams and chants Thursday as they tried to hold a news conference outside the union's office. The National Right to Work Foundation, which filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in San Jose on behalf of six named teachers and professors, claims the CTA is illegally collecting a $60 levy in each of the next three years to pay for electioneering. The union voted to raise dues by that amount in hopes...

SACRAMENTO - An anti-union group filed a federal lawsuit Thursday to block the powerful California Teachers Association from raising dues to fight four ballot measures pushed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The class-action suit -- prepared by the National Right to Work Legal Foundation on behalf of six instructors, including Franklin Lowenthal, a professor at Cal State East Bay -- alleges the $60-per-member increase is an involuntary loan and violates their free-speech rights. "We should not have to pay that," said Lowenthal, who contacted the nonprofit foundation after learning of the fee hike. The teachers association dismissed the challenge as a...

Bob Baker is a union president and a Los Angeles police officer who considers himself generally conservative. "Don't ever call a cop a liberal," said Baker, head of the Los Angeles Police Protective League. He even blanches at the word "union," saying it reminds him of corrupt Teamster bosses. Baker, who often works in concert with liberal labor leaders, prefers "recognized bargaining unit." So it goes with police unions, a hybrid of law-and-order conservatism and bread-and-butter liberalism. They may tilt Republican in party loyalty, but their labor representatives frequently turn to Democrats on matters such as pay and pensions. That...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger fired up the Republican Party's faithful Saturday by endorsing Proposition 75, an initiative that would make it harder for public employee unions to use members' dues for political campaigns. "The fact is that our employee union bosses have just simply too much power over the budget, too much power over the members' paychecks and too much power over our state," he told a luncheon crowd at the state Republican Party convention. He said public employee union members shouldn't be "forced to contribute to causes, campaigns and controversial issues that they don't agree with. That is not a...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, cheered on by hundreds of grassroots Republican supporters, expanded his Nov. 8 special election reform agenda on Saturday and endorsed Proposition 75 -- the initiative aimed at curbing the political clout of overwhelmingly Democratic public employee unions. "Public employee unions' members should not be forced to contribute to causes, candidates and controversial issues that they don't believe in," said Schwarzenegger, in remarks during a luncheon before hundreds of supporters at the California Republican Convention at the Anaheim Marriott. "That's not a contribution. That is a tax."

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - Turning up the heat in his ongoing battle with public employee unions, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger officially endorsed a ballot measure Saturday that would require those unions to seek written permission from members before using dues money for political purposes. Democrats, the principal beneficiaries of labor union contributions, have viewed the measure as a virtual declaration of war on their political power in the state. Addressing an enthusiastic luncheon crowd at the state Republican Party convention, Schwarzenegger announced his support for the measure dubbed "Paycheck Protection," which will appear on the ballot as Proposition 75. The initiative...

Public employee unions that have collected about $18 million so far to defeat Proposition 75 began spending their campaign largesse this week on a 30-second television advertisement that eventually will run in every media market in the state. The measure would bar public employee unions from using dues collected from members for political purposes without the annual written consent of the employee. Below is a text of the TV spot and an analysis by Andy Furillo of The Bee Capitol Bureau:ANNOUNCER: What's the hidden agenda behind Prop. 75? Here are some clues. When Arnold's cuts threatened our schools, health and...

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 measure would require public employee labor groups to obtain consent from members before spending dues on political campaigns. California's public employee unions, which have formed the core resistance to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's agenda this year, could lose much of their political potency through a measure on the Nov. 8 special election ballot. Proposition 75, backed by a coalition of business groups and anti-tax advocates aligned with the Republican Party, would require unions to obtain written permission from members each year before directing money from their dues into political campaigns. Similar measures in other states have led to dramatic decreases...

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...

SACRAMENTO – With negotiations between Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democratic leaders at a halt, both sides are poised to go to political war in a Nov. 8 special election, even as the number of ballot measures dwindle and new calls are made by some to cancel the balloting all together. "We are so deep into it now, I don't see how you can get the toothpaste back into the tube," said Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles. "We are so far down the path, I think we should have the special election and put the whole issue to rest." The...

SACRAMENTO - Labor groups opposing a special election measure that would restrict the use of union dues are asking a state watchdog agency to order the release of a list of donors supporting the measure. Opponents of Proposition 75 said the identities of individual donors have been illegally hidden behind a business-oriented political action committee that provided more than half the money used to qualify the measure for the ballot. Unions filed a complaint earlier this year with the state Fair Political Practices Commission and said they need to see the list of donors to the Small Business Action Committee...