THERE'S AN EXPRESSION called "Hawaiian Time" which loosely means you get around to it when you can. It's the laid-back attitude of the island of Kauai which I just spent the last nine days visiting. So in the aloha spirit, please forgive my week-late commentary on last week's state budget vote. Also in the Kauai spirit, I dedicate this blog to the island's unofficial birds: the wild chickens that roam loose everywhere on the island.

My fellow Democrats in the state legislature: with some notable exceptions, you generally lack spinal columns. How is it possible that the majority party with all public polling on its side kowtowed to the minority Republicans and our governor in slashing billions to schools, children's health insurance, state parks, the elderly, sick and disabled?

Why, when recent polling showed that over 70 percent of voters, across party lines, supported a cigarette and tobacco tax increase that could generate $1.2 billion a year, did you discard the idea? (We are number 32 in the nation in such fees. Forty-six other states have raised their cigarette tax rate a collective total of 93 times since California last raised its tax in 1998.)

Why, when other polling showed that 73 percent supported oil extraction fees like every other oil-drilling state has, did you also discount that plan? These fees could generate $1.3 billion a year.

Big Tobacco and Big Oil have spent millions fighting these ideas and you let them win.

Why did you instead agree to let the state borrow or take billions away from our cities and counties, leaving local governments to further cut their own decimated budgets? The City of Ventura alone will lose an estimated $2.76 million this fiscal year to Sacramento's budget debacle, according to a calculation tool provided by the Sacramento Bee. These grabs are sure to trigger lawsuits.

Another tip: Our unions want to save jobs, too. Bring everyone to the table to talk and don't let wedge issues like public employee pension reform be used as last-minute ammo by our governor in the next budget talks.

AND NOW FOR THE EXCEPTIONS:  Kudos to State Sen. Fran Pavley, (D-Agoura Hills) who refused to vote for the raid on local gas taxes which would cut street repairs to cities, according to Star reporter Timm Herdt. The Assembly fought that one back, too. Pavley also voted no on over $334 million in reductions in state spending for developmental services.

More no votes from Democratic Senators Gil Cedillo, Lou Correa, Mark DeSaulnier, and Leland Yee on the main budget bill forced perennial Republican no voters Sam Aanestad, Roy Ashburn, Dennis Hollingsworth, Bob Huff, George Runner, and Tony Strickland into voting yes. This time around they won't be able to issue hypocritical press releases afterward saying they didn't actually vote for these cuts.

And hooray for our local Assembly member Pedro Nava (D-Santa Barbara) who stood up to the governor's sneaky plan to override the State Lands Commission's denial of the first new offshore drilling deal in state waters in 40 years. Irregardless of what you believe about oil drilling, bypassing long-established procedures and public decisions in a hurried budget deal is wrong.

"I think it should be very troubling to the public that a decision that was made through a public process in the light of day can be overturned by a few leaders behind closed doors," Victoria Rome, deputy California advocacy director for the Natural Resources Defense Council said. Nava, who is running for State Attorney General, gathered the support of more than 60 environmental groups, editorial writers and the state Democratic Party in defeating the oil deal.

These Democrats with guts will continue to have my vote.

ALL OUR LOCAL REPUBLICAN state legislators were no-shows at a meeting held Friday by local educators to talk about the state budget and how it will affect our schools. Absent from the gathering with Ventura County school superintendents were Sen. Tony Strickland, Assemblywoman Audra Strickland, and Sen. George Runner.

Yet our local Democratic representatives made time in their busy schedules to attend. Sen. Fran Pavley,  Assemblywoman Julia Brownley, and Assemblyman Pedro Nava were all present and paying attention. "The legislators who were there took copious notes and wanted to understand our concerns. It was a really important meeting," said Ventura Unified School District Superintendent Trudy Arriaga.

The event was set up three weeks ago and all legislators were asked to attend at that time. "Our county superintendents left their districts for this meeting," Arriaga said.

WHERE OH WHERE was Tony instead? At exactly the same time as the 2 p.m. meeting with school officials, he was camped on a rainy day outside the Borders Bookstore in Goleta at an outreach event only noticed to the public the day before. Indeed, the press release sent to the media about the event was dated January 22.

It looks like Tony needed a quick excuse for ducking a meeting with school officials. But why would that be? Perhaps it was because he supports a Republican version of the budget which would cut $10.6 billion from K-12 schools and community colleges. 

According to Education Week's 2009 Quality Counts report, California spends $7,571 per student, compared to $9,963 per student nationally. The report gave California an "F" in the category of school spending and ranked it 47th in the nation in this area.

Everyone agrees that the education community will likely see some cuts when a budget plan is agreed upon, but the degree varies according to ideology. The Stricklands seem far more interested in helping their extremist friends than they in do working for our children, and were part of a recent lawsuit to stop a Democratic budget.

Where was Audra on Friday? Apparently she called just an hour and a half before the meeting and said she had a family emergency. No explanation was given for Runner's absence.

UNFORTUNATELY FOR TONY, he didn't escape the wrath of public education advocates by retreating to Goleta. He was instead peppered with questions by activists who traveled from UCSB and Ventura County to talk to him. "The event was dismally attended," said Katherine Holland, who drove up from Ventura. "His little table and chair with the State Senate sign were empty for about 30 minutes as he was inside Borders with a lone person or two and a camera."

When Holland was finally able to engage Strickland, he told her he was in favor of a "flat tax" plan.

"Strickland's attempts to raise the flat tax as a possible reform only served to reveal the extent to which ideology, rather than common sense, is holding the state budget hostage," said Holland, a political and marketing researcher based in Ventura. "The idea of raising a significant, regressive sales tax to replace the state tax system did not strike Strickland as being at odds with the current economic climate in which consumers are already reducing purchases. And it's doubtless safe to say that with the state about to run out of money in February, now is not the time to be chasing after what amount to hypothetical and whimsical fancies."

Arriaga said the superintendents plan to try again to corral the missing Republican legislators.

"We're going to ask for another meeting and our Democratic legislators said they are happy to return and are going to ask their Republican counterparts to come," she said.

Be sure to look for another last-minute "card table" event coming soon from Tony Strickland