Following a battle that some likened to a struggle between "machine" and "grassroots," Democratic state politics, Prop. 1A-- the core of a six-measure initiative package on the May 19 specialelection ballot -- failed to receive the official endorsement of theCalifornia Democratic Party at its annual convention this weekend inSacramento.
Delegates failed to reach 60 percent or better indeciding whether to endorse Prop. 1A, the measure that Gov. ArnoldSchwarzenegger and legislative leaders say is the most important of theinitiative package that was hammered out between leading Democrats andRepublicans last February in order to close a gigantic $42 billionstate budget and finally formulate a state spending plan for the year.
The delegates voted 58 percent in favor ofendorsing the initiative, which would create a state "rainy day" fund,constrain spending and extend revenue-producing tax hikes. The measuredid not make the needed 60 percent threshold to receive the party'sendorsement.
Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) on Sunday urged the delegates to support the measure.
"Do not let the Democratic Party join forces withthe Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association," Steinberg warned, noting thefamed anti-tax group has officially opposed the initiative.
Prior to the start of the convention increasingnumbers of left-leaning Democrats were expressing their opposition tothe controversial ballot measures. The editorial board of the popular Calitics blog summed up their sentiments in this "editorial" against the package:
During the budget week from hell, we mildlycheered on the progress of the budget process. We were concerned aboutthe short-term budget issues, but were also dismayed by the rapidrightward shift of the negotiations. Unfortunately, as an EditorialBoard we simply cannot support the measures as they have been broughtto the May 19 Special Elections Ballot. We share the concerns of theLeague of Women Voters that this package was poorly designed and poorlyexecuted, resulting in a plan that will ultimately create more harmthan good. And since none of these measures address the structuralrevenue gap, adding another layer to an already suffocating fiscalstraight jacket makes no sense whatsoever.
East San Francisco Bay-based convention delegate Dan Wood agreed on his political blog, "A Progressive Alamedan:
The Democrats in the California Legislature, as away to compromise the minority rule of the Republican Party, haveteamed up with the Republicans to write Propositions 1A through 1F, andthen heavily promote them as a way to solve our state's budget crisis.Only this "solution" is not going to actually solve anything in thelong term. These propositions are a nightmare. They are a Republican'swet dream. They are the Democratic Party selling their souls to theRepublicans. They are a wedge designed to split the party (1B soundsenticing, but it can only pass if 1A passes).
Asa delegate, I've been bombarded with fliers and e-mails over the lastcouple of weeks from so-called progressive electeds. Mark Leno, KarenBass, Jerry Brown, and others are trying their darndest to get us, thegrassroots, to support their compromise. I understand their "handstied" position, but the reality is, if these propositions pass, thelegislature's hands will be welded down, almost permanently....
Here is the breakdown of Sunday's delegate vote:
--Prop. 1A: rejected
--Prop. 1B: endorsed
--Prop. 1C: endorsed
--Prop. 1D: rejected
--Prop. 1E: rejected
--Prop. 1F: endorsed
Follow Jeff Mitchell's Bay Area political reporting at BAPolitix.org