Governor hopefuls may face backlash for taking a stand

The San Francisco Chronicle

A new initiative calling for public financing of California elections is one of 13 measures that could make the November ballot a political minefield for the two top candidates for governor.

Neither Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger nor Democratic Treasurer Phil Angelides has yet taken a position on the campaign finance measure, dubbed the “Clean Money Initiative,” but that won’t last. Like it or not, someone running for the state’s top office has little choice but to take a public stand on high-profile ballot measures.

“When you have substantive issues on the ballot, major policy issues, they generate a lot of public campaigning, for and against,” said Wayne Johnson, a longtime Republican campaign consultant. “The governor has a tough time not announcing his position.”

The clean money measure, which qualified for the ballot Monday, calls for voluntary public funding of all statewide and legislative races, paid for by a $200 million-a-year boost in the state corporate tax rate. It limits corporate, union and individual contributions to candidates to $500 for legislative candidates and $1,000 for statewide candidates. It also will provide matching money for candidates who face an opponent who doesn’t agree to accept public funding or who puts his own money into the campaign.

“It’s critically important to redress the severe inequities… and rampant problems with the unbound influence of big money interests in our political system,” said Charles Idelson, a spokesman for Californians for Clean Elections.

The initiative is sponsored by the California Nurses Association, one of the governor’s most outspoken foes, and has the backing of a variety of liberal groups likely to support Angelides in November.

On the other side, many of the businesses and corporations that would be paying the new taxes have raised millions for Schwarzenegger in the past, while GOP leaders across the state have fought desperately to block any effort to boost taxes.

Other ballot measures could spark similar political wars.

The initiative known as “Jessica’s Law,” named for a 9-year-old Florida girl raped and murdered last year by a convicted sex offender living near her house, would dramatically increase sentences for sex offenders, force them to wear Global Positioning System tracking devices for life and ban them from living anywhere near schools, parks or other sites that could attract children.

While Schwarzenegger has enthusiastically endorsed the initiative, which was pushed by the Republican husband-and-wife team of state Sen. George Runner and Assemblywoman Sharon Runner, both of Lancaster (Los Angeles County), Angelides has yet to take a stand.

Opponents, including a number of Democratic legislators, argue that the initiative is too wide-ranging, overly expensive and ultimately ineffective. Republicans say Democratic leaders in the Legislature have blocked other efforts to get tough on child molesters. Any politician opposing the initiative is almost guaranteed to be slammed as “soft on crime.”

An initiative on a subject where voters have strong feelings can be used to force a candidate to take a stand that may hurt him politically, said Darry Sragow, a Democratic consultant.

“There are some measures you oppose at your absolute political peril,” he said.

Johnson, who is running two statewide GOP campaigns this fall, agreed.

“The candidate who opposes Jessica’s Law will have a lot of explaining to do,” he said.

On another issue, however, Angelides was eager to take a stand. He publicly opposed a ballot measure that would require doctors to notify the parent or guardian of an unmarried woman younger than 18 before performing an abortion.

As a pro-choice candidate with no chance of support from anti-abortion rights voters, Angelides was quick to attack “anti-choice extremists” who allied with Schwarzenegger’s “attempt to chip away at a woman’s right to choose.”

But Schwarzenegger, while an abortion rights supporter, has to deal with conservative backers who oppose abortion. While he quietly supported Proposition 73, a very similar parental notification measure defeated in November’s special election, he has taken no position on the new initiative.

Schwarzenegger also is being careful with the ballot measure that will raise an estimated $400 million annually by taxing oil companies for the next decade. While the governor opposes new taxes, he also knows that with high gas prices, oil companies aren’t the most popular political allies.

Angelides is backing the oil extraction tax, which has the support of numerous Democrat-leaning environmental groups.

Katie Levinson, communications director for the governor’s re-election campaign, said that while the governor personally opposes the initiative, “he believes this is an issue that should be decided by the people of California, and his commitment is to respect their decision.”

While Schwarzenegger opposes new taxes, Levinson said, “he strongly supports the goals of the initiative — increased investment in renewable and alternative energy sources.”

Neither Schwarzenegger nor Angelides has taken a position on an initiative that would raise more than $2 billion for health-related and anti-smoking programs by raising the cigarette tax by $2.60 a pack. Schwarzenegger also signaled that he won’t be spending much of his campaign time on the issue.

“The governor does not support tax increases,” Levinson said, “but he will not lose any sleep if the people of California choose to increase the tax on cigarettes.”

Headed for the November ballot

Here are the measures that have qualified thus far for the November ballot. The qualification deadline is Thursday:

— Transportation Investment Fund: authorizes changes to the procedure for using the state’s sales tax on gas

— Transportation bonds: provides $19.925 billion for projects

— Housing bonds: calls for $2.85 billion for construction projects

— Education bonds: provides $10.41 billion for school modernization and construction of school buildings from kindergarten to the university level

— Disaster and flood protection bond act: authorizes $4.09 billion for projects

— Sex offenders: initiative would increase monitoring and penalties for those convicted of sex offenses

— Water quality and flood protection: initiative calling for $5.38 billion in bond measures

— Parental notification: initiative requires parental notification for minors planning abortions.

— Cigarette tax: initiative imposing $2.60-a-pack tax increase on cigarettes to finance health care programs

— Oil tax: initiative raises taxes on oil products to finance $4 billion in alternative energy programs

— Parcel tax: initiative imposing $50 parcel tax for education programs including class-size reduction

— Public financing: initiative that would raise corporate taxes to provide voluntary public financing for state candidates and reduce contribution limits

— Property rights: initiative that would limit the ability of local and state government to condemn private property under eminent domain for other private uses
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E-mail the author John Wildermuth at: [email protected]