JIM WUNDERMAN has saddled himself with quite a challenge: fixing a state that The Economist magazine called "ungovernable." Wunderman and his group Repair California want to rewrite a state constitution that has previously been amended 512 times into a bloated, contradictory mess.
California's governance process has followed a parallel evolution and now that the economy has tanked, all the nasty underpinnings are sticking out for the world to see. Ventura County Star Sacramento Bureau Chief Timm Herdt, a panelist at the Repair California event held Monday at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, said he has watched one too many deals made in the wee hours of all-night budget sessions in the legislature: "Now they only have one trick in their book and that's sleep deprivation."
A Bay area businessman, Wunderman says he has been joined in his efforts by a cross section of political groups like Common Cause, The New America Foundation, The Courage Campaign, Orange County Lincoln Club and Joint Venture - Silicon Valley Networks. Others are coming on board.
With so much contributing to the state's dysfunction, agreeing on what to fix may take some doing. For example, the Commission on the 21st Century Economy is currently locked in a partisan battle on tax reform. But Wunderman outlined the following possible issues for a state constitutional convention:
- Eliminating the 2/3 requirement to pass a budget (but not necessarily the 2/3 to pass a tax increase.) California is the only state to require a 2/3 vote for both.
- Revising the fiscal inequities which exist between Sacramento and local governments because of Prop. 13. "They didn't exactly intend for what's happened to happen," Wunderman said of the drain on funds for cities and counties.
- Election reform. "It's a special-interest controlled mob up in Sacramento right now. ... The short terms in the Assembly have given it rookie-league status so they operate at the behest of special interests and staff, the only ones who have experience."
- Reforming the ballot initiative process. "It wasn't intended to become what it's become. It's been taken over by special interests." Initiatives of the future could have sunset clauses and a requirement to reveal economic impact.
- Requiring performance measures for established programs.
THE CURRENT SYSTEM SPECIFIES that the legislature must call for a Constitutional Convention. But Repair California wants to bypass them and go directly to the voters with it. Once the Attorney General's Office issues titles and summaries for a proposed ballot measure, the group has only 150 days to gather 800,000 signatures to qualify it for the November 2010 ballot. The convention would take place in 2011 and the delegates' reform package would be voted on in November of 2012.
How would the citizen-delegates be chosen? Herb Gooch, a political science professor at CLU, told me he thought they should be selected by Assembly district with all potential candidates voted on by the public.
While seasoned Sacramento hands like Herdt believe special-interest lawsuits will torpedo these efforts, the folks behind Repair California remain optimistic. If the packed room on Monday was any indication, the will is there.
"The people have the power to change this and nothing can stop them," Wunderman said.
Good idea...let the crooks and political thugs up in Sacramento rewrite OUR state Constitution
How about:
1. eliminate state income tax
2. eliminate all property taxes
3. eliminate all sales taxes
4. eliminate all vehicle taxes
5. eliminate all utility taxes
I agree with Timm Herdt in that special interests will kill any chance of ammending the constitution and I also believe legislators in Sac will also kill it. There are too many people making too much money off of it - look at Jim Lacey and his slate mailing company, Landslide Communications - Prop 13 and the 2/3 majority is what keeps his business alive. Same with the Jarvis Tax people.
Andy, the Constitutional Convention delegates would be selected from among a pool of citizens. I thought I made that clear.
If you don't want to pay any taxes, then please don't use public services, either.
I believe it's actually Jim Wunderman of Repair California..
Good catch. I fixed it. That's what I get for doing my writing at 2 a.m. :-)
I'd have to agree, though somewhat reluctantly, that this process of voter driven drive to a State Constitutional Convention is probably the only way to get out of the mess this state has become governance wise.
I agree pretty much with base issues outlined above by Wunderman, but the prospect of a battle over who gets to GO to the convention is scary.
I'd add at least one more item to the list of 5 issues mentioned...perhaps if we stay with 2/3rds majority to raise taxes or pass budgets...we should have the same 2/3rds rule to reduce taxes or rebate surplus revenues in good years. Really though, that is like a poison pill, the 2/3rds rule itself transforms legislative action from the rule of the majority to the tyranny of the minority.
If this Proposition would establish firm rules for fair representation of the body whole, I could go for it.
Oh...OH! One other thing!
It would be VERY reassuring that any such Convention exclude from it's delegates ANY currently or previously elected State level officials, currently and previously registered Sacramento lobbyists, employees or hacks of ANY political consulting firm, apparatchik officials of ANY state political party, and any Union management officials. Oh yah..and anybody who broadcasts on talk radio.
Rank and file political party members, members of unions, and rejected candidates are OK as would be any current or past County, City, or other LOCAL governance officeholder.
I know...not gonna happen...but it was a thought!!
Tom,
Herb Gooch and I talked about this awhile. The people running for delegate slots, if they are elected, are going to have to mount some sort of campaign and demonstrate their abilities to serve. Someone in our group suggested maybe they could arrange it like they do for jury duty, but that would give us too many Joe the Plumbers.
I don't think electeds should appoint.
Also, the plans are to have mass communication abilities available so as many people as possible can weigh in via the Internet, etc.
Katie,
I just hate to think we can't fix the problems that plague us here. Constitutional Conventions are fairly common in the U.S. and some states automatically ask voters every 10-20 years if they want to authorize one.
Funny that none of you libs get the fact that the state requires a more business-friendly environment in order to create the jobs and the income to sustain all of your desired largesse. The rats are leaving the sinking ship for a reason. Districts gerrymandered for libs throughout the state are no help. The effort to limit the legislature to less than 6 months per year is building steam. More Joe the Plumbers would be an asset, Marie.
I get it and I've spent a good part of my career helping businesses thrive. You can be pro-business and also in favor of keeping funding for education and programs for the aged and disabled as well as keeping our state parks open, which many businesses and tourism depend on.
Districts were gerrymandered for Republicans, too. McClintock engineered the ultimate gerrymander for himself and passed it onto Tony Strickland.
Libs? Does that mean we can call you a "con" ? OK. Will do.
Marie - Please stop by all the convenience stores in Ventura and tell them how your plan to tax cigarettes is "helping businesses thrive". While you're at it, explain the thriving benefits of an extraction tax to all the Ventura gas station dealers.
An oil extraction fee in CA would not impact the prices consumers pay at the pump or affect gas station owners. Oil prices are set globally. These fees are paid in every oil-producing state in the U.S. except CA. But go ahead and give these oil guys a break to pay their executives $400 million in golden parachutes.
Sorry but I have no sympathy for cancer peddlers. The fewer people smoking the better. Tobacco companies and those who take money from them are immoral.
The Economist piece cited above was written anonymously before the Props. were all voted down. The deficit has been deleted, at minimal cost to taxpayers, thanks in great part to the political theater of people like the John and Ken Show on KFI, who did much to educate California's citizenry with antics far more amusing than those of the ACORN and AFL-CIO goodsquads now hitting the streets at the behest of John Sweeney. Arnold has referred to John and Ken as the real governors of California. Tea Parties have been supplanted with the bipartisan and very effective Heads-On-A-Stick theater. You want to see spontaneous and enthused voters, visit a John and Ken event.
You want to see cretins, visit a John and Ken event
Sorry to those who have capital invested in and hold jobs distributing and retailing a legal product. You are immoral. Now get in the unemployment line.
Same to the many of you with jobs extracting oil in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.
People will still smoke no matter if cigarettes are taxed more or not. What is immoral is letting people die from lack of good health care.