ALAMEDA -- Fighting discouraging poll numbers for the May 19 Special Election initiatives (Props. 1A through 1F), Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Jerry Brownappeared Tuesday morning in front of an East Bay fire station sayingthat voters must pass the propositions or risk throwing the state intofurther economic chaos.
Thepowerful political odd couple, who wouldn't normally be able to agreeon the time of day, were in lockstep in their promotion of thepropositions, themselves a product of the strained and extended budgetnegotiations that finally gave the state a spending plan and whichtheoretically closed a yawning $28 billion deficit.
Working under the banner of the organization, Budget Reform Now - Yes on Propositions 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E, 1F, Schwarzenegger and Brown admitted that the package of initiatives are not a panacea that will solve the state's economic woes.
"Failure,in this case, is not an option," Schwarzenegger said standing on thewind-blown concrete apron of Alameda's Fire Station 1 on Park Street.
The presidents of the California State Sheriff's and PoliceChiefs associations and Alameda City Fire Department Division ChiefMike Fisher were also present.
"Should these initiatives not pass there would beimmediate cuts in the billions of dollars to programs that support ourchildren," Brown said.
Schwarzeneggersaid that should the package fail at the ballot box, the statewould be looking at an immediate $14 billion deficit that would forcenot only draconian cuts to children's services but public safety,education and healthcare programs as well.
Brown,who is exploring a possible gubernatorial bid in 2010 (he served twopre-term-limit era stints as governor from 1975 to 1983) agreed.
"[Thesepropositions] are not perfect, but our problems will grow bigger ifthey are not passed by the voters," Brown said. "To me, this is ano-brainer. [This is] an incremental response to an immediate crisis."
But political bi-partisan star-power aside, the Schwarzenegger-Brown duo are running up against the powerful Service Employees International Union and the California Federation of Teachers, which are both opposing Prop. 1A. A recent Public Policy Institute of Californiapoll showed that with the exception of Prop. 1F (which would stop statelawmakers from receiving pay raises during years when the state isrunning a deficit) the remainder of initiatives have received onlylukewarm support from the state's likely voters.
BudgetReform Now officials, however, dispute the findings of the March 25PPIC survey, calling into question the statistical models thenon-partisan San Francisco-based institution used.
"Onething the PPIC (survey) makes clear is that voters are not happy withthe economy, their elected leaders or the state budget. This presentsus with an opportunity to communicate a strong message to voterscentered around the theme that Propositions 1A through 1F are aboutbringing both short and long term reform and stability to all three ofthese areas," said Budget Reform Now's Rick Claussen in a March 25 memodistributed to the news media Tuesday.
Jeff Mitchell is a Bay Area based journalist and longtime observer of Golden State politics.