by Brian Leubitz [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

My No on 98 Disclosure.

Governor Schwarzenegger has once again abandoned his radical friends on the right, and boy are they pissed. But, here's his remarks on Proposition 98, the constitutional amendment to end rent control, land use restrictions, and governmental regulation of the environment. Arnold opposes it mostly because it blocks him from building dams.

Schwarzenegger said he was opposing Proposition 98 in part because it might block the building of water projects crucial to farmers and residential users.

"Eminent domain is an issue worth addressing," Schwarzenegger said in a prepared statement. "However Proposition 98 would undermine California's ability to improve our infrastructure, including our water delivery and storage." (SacBee 4/25/08)

Apparently the potential harm to tenants was a little lower down on his list. But with this Governor, you take what you can get.  He's opposed to Prop 98, and that's a good thing.

by Brian Leubitz [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

A few months ago, Arnold Schwarzenegger unleashed his "cuts only" budget onto an unsurprised Sacramento. He said all the right things for a Republican: "we have a spending problem, not a revenue problem" yada, yada.  But, underneath it all, many observers thought that the budget was some sort of ploy to get Republicans to actually put everything on the table.  The logic went that the Republicans needed to know that it wouldn't be cuts on the Democratic-favored programs. It would mean closing schools in their districts, axing future water projects, etc.

If the Democrats are going to put their sacred cow on the table, education, at least the Republicans should do the same with their sacred taxation cow. But the Republicans in the legislature were slow to get the message, so Arnold is being a little more direct these days.

"I said and I made it very clear that everything is on the table," Schwarzenegger said.

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by paulhogarth [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

I wrote this for today's Beyond Chron.

To learn about Proposition 98's agenda, look no further than Dan Faller, President and Founder of the American Owner's Association (AOA) - the largest landlord group in California.  In a nine-page essay published in the association's magazine, Faller complains heatedly about rent control, calls pro-tenant elected officials "terrorists" and "suicide bombers," compares the effort to pass Prop 98 with World War II, says that renters "choose not to provide for themselves," and - with rhetoric that channels George Bush - tells landlords: "you are either for us or against us in this fight for your freedom and property rights."  We cannot dismiss Faller as just another right-wing kook, for his organization has already contributed $325,000 to the "Yes on 98" cause - and the AOA has plans to raise even more money in the coming weeks.  And with voter turnout in June expected to be very low, Faller's fringe beliefs might actually become public policy in California - if we don't act now.

by Brian Leubitz [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]



The backers of the California Hidden Agendas Scheme have worked really, really hard to press the idea that they stand for real eminent domain reform. But, oh, by the way, their proposed initiative would also  eliminate rent control and restrict our ability to build water projects and a whole host of other projects.  Nope, the Hidden Agenda is all about tagging along other "reforms" with the eminent domain reform initiative. 

Over the flip you'll find videos of a number of elected officials and commu So, Flip it!

by Brian Leubitz [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]