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February 27, 2002

283

Arnold G. York

The Malibu Times’ endorsements Governor’s Primary

Only registered party voters and declined-to-state voters get to vote in these primaries. W hat is different than before is there will be no crossover voting in the primary. No Democrat can vote for a Republican or vice versa. The effect is the party faithful will rule in both primaries. That’s why the democratic Gray Davis campaign is spending gobs of money to try and derail Republican Richard Riordan, whom they figure is their toughest opponent. What I find very saddening is how really effective large amounts of money can be when spent early for attack commercials. What it means is we’re going to see lots of this in the future and money is even more important than before. No endorsements in this one.

Congress

In the Democratic primary we have two contenders for the seat, which was moved around in redistricting. I normally don’t endorse in primaries, but I must admit to being totally prejudiced in this one. I went to law school with Democratic Rep. Henry Waxman, who I believe is bright, fair and one of the preeminent members of Congress. He’s an expert in healthcare and energy and is one of the driving forces behind the Enron investigations. Malibu is fortunate to have a congressman with great expertise and enormous clout on Capitol Hill

State Measures

Proposition 40 (Clean Water, Clean Air, Safe Parks and Coastal bond)

In all the years that I’ve been endorsing propositions, I don’t remember ever recommending that you vote No on a bond, but I do this time. This bond is just plain greed. The legislators want $2,600,000,000 (which means $4.3 billion over the life of the bond) and only a few years ago they were asking us to approve, which we did, $2.9 billion for parks. They haven’t even spent all the money from the old bond and they’re back again asking for more. It’s inconceivable to me that in a year when we’re looking at a possible state budget deficit of $12.5 billion, with a possibility that it could even go another $5 billion above that, they still are still asking for this gigantic bond issue. Our state bonded indebtedness is hovering at about 5 percent of our income, which most economists believe is about the maximum it should be, and this bond will send it crashing through the ceiling.

The worst part of it is, it’s bonds like this that help to fund appointed organizations like the California Coastal Commission. And once we vote Yes on these bonds, we have effectively set aside extra money for the commission to play with. The commission presently answers to no one and these bond moneys continue to allow the commissioners to thumb their noses at the Legislature and the people, because there is all this unsupervised money pouring into their coffers.

Don’t be misled by the title that says “The Clean Water, Clean Air, and Safe Neighborhood Parks … Motherhood and Apple Pie Act of 2002.” If there were a “Truth in Politics Act,” like a truth in lending act, this bond would be entitled, “The Unsupervised Pork Barrel Goody Bond of 2002.”

If you’re wondering why I say unsupervised, it’s because there are no effective independent performance audits involved in this bond. There is no independent oversight committee to review and report. There are no effective caps on administrative expenses. Bureaucrats love bonds like this because once they pass they never have to say “Please” again. They don’t have to go before legislative committees and justify their dollars. They don’t have to compete with others for those dollars. They’re in bureaucratic nirvana. Their money just flows and flows like mana from heaven. This bond is pork, plain and simple. Although, in all candor, I must say I expect it to pass. But if it has a tough time and the numbers are close, others might hesitate in following it with 10 other bonds, which are all waiting in the on-deck circle.

A strong No vote on Proposition 40.

Proposition 41 (bond money for voting machines)

A one time $200 million bond issue for new voting machines. It makes sense. We don’t want a repeat of Florida. Recommend a Yes.

Proposition 42 (Transportation Congestion Improvement Act)

They want $1,400,000,000 (that’s $1.4 billion in case all those 000s throw you), which is much too much money in a bad economic year like this one and probably next year. I recommend a No vote. If it’s really a good bond, it will be back in two or four years when times will be better, and we can then take another look at it.

Proposition 43 (Right to have Vote Counted. Legislative Constitutional Amendment)

The Legislature, both Senate and Assembly, were unanimously for this so that means it’s probably O.K. and probably doesn’t do very much either. Recommend a Yes.

Proposition 44 (Chiropractors Unprofessional Conduct Initiative)

I haven’t the faintest idea what this is really all about, so I’ll pass on this one.

Proposition 45 (Legislative Term Limits)

Before we start tinkering with the term limits law, we should give it some time to work itself out. This initiative sounds like an old-fashioned incumbent protection act with a new fancy title.

Recommend a No vote.

County Measure A (Term Limits)

Term limits for county officials with a cap of three consecutive terms. On balance I still believe term limits are a very good idea and tend to keep the system honest.

Recommend a Yes.

County Measure B (Term Limits)

This is a term limit for county supervisors only. I love our supervisor, Zev Yaroslavsky, and I hope we continue to have him for the full possible 12-plus years, but I still believe term limits are a good idea. Recommend a Yes.

County Measure C (Sheriff’s Department Restructuring)

I trust our sheriff, Lee Baca, and I believe he’s done a first-rate job. If he feels the Sheriff’s Department needs restructuring, I’m prepared to back him.

Recommend a Yes.

Measure U (Santa Monica Community College District Bond)

I strongly support this $160 million bond issue. This is the way a bond ought to be written. It’s a bond for specific projects, all of which are local. The money can’t be used for administrators’ salaries. It requires annual performance audits to ensure that funds have only been spent on approved projects. It requires an annual financial audit. It requires an independent oversight committee from a cross section of the community. There is a cap on how much can be assessed in any year and it’s paid locally.

It proves the Legislature knows how to write a good bond and it’s totally different than the pork barrel bond called Proposition 40.

Most of all, it’s a one-timer to fix what many think is long overdue, and the college district hasn’t and won’t be coming to us again and again for more money.

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