A Q and A with three governor wannabes
| Friday, Dec 04 2009 05:59 PM
Last Updated Friday, Dec 04 2009 06:01 PM
The three California Republicans who want to be elected this state's governor next year have all made multiple stops in Bakersfield to reach out to the faithful.
Former Congressman Tom Campbell was in town Friday.
Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner was here in November and eBay CEO Meg Whitman was here in August.
The appeal of Republican Kern County and its deep roots in the energy and agriculture industries create an irresistible draw for such candidates. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger hasn't been able to stay away and, it appears, neither can the three Republicans who want to replace him.
So what do these three have to offer Kern County Republicans and the thousands of decline-to-state voters across California who will pick a Republican nominee in June?
We asked them.
Note: Answers include paraphrased comments by the candidates and written responses provided by e-mail from campaign staff.
QUESTION ONE:
How much public money goes annually to salaries and benefits of political appointees, board and commission members, governor's office staff and other positions not paid from the general fund? (That they're not paid out of the general fund has been the governor's office's explanation for not trimming those costs during this year's budget crisis).
Do these expenditures concern you? Is there a mechanism to reduce such expenditures or to include them in general fund budget negotiations? What would your approach be if you are elected governor?
ANSWERS:
Tom Campbell
Roughly $8 to $9 billion is funded outside of the general fund and is not federal. Most of that is transportation. That spending reserve was created by initiative in order to make sure money raised by the gas tax money goes only to transportation projects. You can't change it.
The boards and commissions you could do away with easily. Those are manufactured jobs and they have been shown to be unnecessary. You should blow those up.
Steve Poizner
Steve is very concerned about the way Sacramento manages money. He feels that we need to take a good, hard look at every dollar this state spends. Regardless of whether it comes from a special fund or the general fund, every dollar spent comes from taxes or fees levied on Californians. Steve believes that we need to fundamentally overhaul, modernize and streamline state government so that we can reduce operating expenses across all state agencies.
Meg Whitman
Californians deserve efficient, accountable government and leaders who will spend taxpayers' dollars as if the money is their own. I believe we need to slim down the bureaucracy and that includes reducing the number of agencies, departments, boards and commissions. If elected, I will order a review of the relevancy of departments and regulations, and if they do not function in the best interest of taxpayers, I will propose we consolidate or end them. I also will use the governor's power to appoint more people with private-sector experience.
QUESTION TWO:
You have been portrayed as a Republican centrist with financially conservative and socially moderate stances. How does your campaign speak to the party's social conservatives in Kern County and other Central Valley communities?
Tom Campbell
I talk economics to them. I'm not talking social issues. Everybody is worried about whether they'll have a job.
Campbell said he is talking to the Tea Party officials and connects with them on the core conservative philosophy of limited government involvement IN and repairing the state's financial system. That is more critical now to everyone in the state. Campbell believes government should not be involved in an individual's personal life and, as such, does not oppose the right to an abortion and the legalization of gay marriage.
Steve Poizner
Steve believes that social issues are important and should not be discounted in this campaign. He believes that California's policy makers should work to drive the number of abortions in our state down to zero. Steve opposes late-term abortions and continues to favor a parental notification requirement for minors seeking abortions.Steve also believes that marriage is sacred and that it should be defined as being between one man and one woman.
Furthermore, Steve wants parents in California to be free to choose how they want to educate their children--whether in a traditional public school, a private or parochial school, or through home-schooling.
Meg Whitman
The next governor of California's top priority must be to jumpstart our economy and help the more than 2 million Californians now unemployed find work. There is no bigger or more important job. In the Central Valley, the future of our communities and putting people back to work depends on rebuilding our state's water delivery system to ensure an affordable, safe supply of water.
I am not running on social issues. That said, I am opposed to same-sex marriage. I do believe the choice of whether to abort a pregnancy should be left up to the woman, her spouse and her doctor. I do not support late-term abortions and believe minors should be required to notify their parents before seeking an abortion. And I am a big supporter of charter schools.
QUESTION THREE:
How might it be possible to break the hold that voter-approved spending laws and a dead-locked, partisan California Legislature have on the budget process? If that hold can't be broken, how can you possibly deliver on your promises of economic recovery for California?
Tom Campbell
Campbell supports a constitutional convention to require that any initiative passed by California voters be required to identify where funding for its provisions would come from. He said he would use the initiative process in a more focused manner than Schwarzenegger was able to do by championing a number of reform initiatives during a single election. "Put your muscle behind one initiative," he said. In addition he supports changes to legislative districts that create more fair and moderate legislative make-up and an open primary election.
Steve Poizner
Fixing California is going to require strong leadership and intense focus. That's why Steve is being very clear during this campaign about how he would govern and about his ideas to fix the state. People will know what they're getting when they vote for him, and that will give him a mandate to implement reforms as governor. He also thinks that we need to fundamentally change the legislative process in California by adopting a part-time legislature. We need to go back to a system where legislators are more in touch with everyday concerns and more focused about how to fix the most pressing issues impacting our state, like fixing our broken economy.
Meg Whitman
If elected, I will use four levers of power to move on my agenda. I will place good people who share my philosophy in the thousands of governor-appointed positions and rely on my leadership skills to focus on solutions and push our priorities. The legislature has turned into a "bill factory," often producing legislation that does little to address the state's major problems. I will freely use the governor's veto authority to stop bad legislation and cut wasteful spending in the budget. Finally, we will need to focus the legislature's energy and resources and, if necessary, I will make effective use of the state's initiative system to bring necessary solutions directly to the voters.
