Written by William Roller | 02 August 2010

Even voters with no stake in education ought to support John Laird’s campaign for the State Senate, because education is such a crucial component for California’s future, Laird stated at a press conference in late July. A couple of dozen supporters, mostly educators, came out in a dense fog to the Chris Jesperson Elementary School to hear Laird explain why he is the best candidate.

The state reached another dubious milestone this past year, noted Laird:  California slipped from 46th to 47th in per-pupil spending. He noted that there are two alternatives to resolve the state budget deadlock concerning education. Either the state can cut $250 per pupil from what it spends now or it can add back the funds already slashed so that education funding is restored to more than what it was last year, he said. “A recent study showed California had the best academic standards in the country. So we have the academic rigor but just not the resources to implement it.”

Julian Crocker, SLO County Superintendent of  Schools, said allocations, including kindergarten through 12th grade, as well as the California State University system, comprise 60 percent of the state’s general fund, so education is of vital importance.  “Laird understands the devastation that’s happened over the last 24 months. Education funds have been cut by $40 million. He’s committed to stopping the funding slide and getting San Luis back to being competitive in the global market place.”

Jim Conway, California Faculty Association representative, said his organization is proud to support Laird, “because every student in the state deserves the highest quality education possible.” Conway went on that Laird will make higher education more accessible and affordable, stop lawmakers from slashing the education budget that has been cut by $1 billion over the last two years and stem staff reductions that saw a loss of 1,500 faculty in the same time period. The CSU’s have seen a 200 percent increase (including 10 percent more for next year) in fees since 2002, he added.

“By electing Laird, we’ll return majority rule (to Democrats in the legislature) to California. If you believe in the public education system you must support Laird.”

Sal Caminada, a disabled Vietnam veteran and now an instructor at Hancock College, said, affordable community college enabled him to advance to where he is today.

Veterans do not emerge from a war and transition into a profession without training and many veterans and high school graduates need the training they can get from a two-year program, he said.

“Laird has already shown he’s an ally of education. When he was in the Assembly he supported bills specifically for community college funding.”

Andrea Devitt, a Cuesta College counselor, added, Laird has consistently supported education, while other candidates “talk the talk but do not walk the walk.”

Laird, former Democratic Assemblyman, finished second in the June 22 special election for the 15th District State Senate seat. Laird won 41 percent while top vote getter, Republican Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee received 49 percent. Since no candidate received more than 50 percent, a runoff election is being held on August 17.

The election was called when the former 15th District Senator Abel Maldonado seat was left vacant after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed him as Lieutenant Governor in May. Two other candidates, Independent Jim Fitzgerald of Nipomo and Libertarian Mark Hinkle of Morgan Hill will also compete in the runoff.

Despite finishing 11,000 votes behind Blakeslee, Laird says the election is not about changing the opinions of those who voted in the last election but about the 350,000 who did not vote. “The question is can I energize 15,000 more voters to cast a ballot for me? If I can, I can win this election.”

Written by Cheryl Conway | 03 June 2010

Welcome to June, fellow Californians.  Welcome to TWO elections this month!

Just a reminder that we have two very important elections this month:  the regular primary election on June 8 and the special election on June 22. Both are essential elections to the future of SLO County and to California.

June 8 is the primary election that can actually elect county supervisors in District 2 (Bruce Gibson) and District 4 (Jim Guthrie).  Electing these two in June avoids a run off election in November and will keep a rational, planned growth majority on the Board of Supervisors.  Bruce and Jim have the experience and knowledge to balance good business practices with the need to preserve the open spaces and agriculture properties that make SLO County such a desired place to visit and stay.  Electing their opponents could open us up to looking like Santa Monica. Not what I'd like to see.

June 8 is also where we get the opportunity to vote on propositions.  There are three that it is vitally important that we defeat: 

Proposition 14 - Top Two Primary.  This is Abel Maldonado's last extortion to vote for a budget.  Under this measure, there would be no party designation on the primary ballot and the top two vote getters would go to the General Election.  This would mean that smaller parties would almost never have the opportunity to have a candidate on the General Election ballot and you could end up with two candidates from the same party as your final two choices.  Can you imagine only having the choice between Katcho Achadgian and Matt Kokkonnen on a November ballot.  I call this disenfranchising the voters.

Proposition 15 - Two-Thirds Vote for Local Power.  This is also known as the preserve PG&E's monopoly status initiative.  At last count, PG&E has spent more than $44 million qualifying and promoting their initiative.  They want to be able to prevent local municipalities (like Marin) who negotiate for lower power rates directly from suppliers or want to provide green power to their communities from ever being able to do so. We know that the 2/3's vote has worked so well on the California budget process that PG&E wants to use it to preserve the status quo in power management.  Oh, after spending all of this rate payer money without an approval vote, PG&E is also asking for a rate increase.

 Proposition 17 - Auto Insurance Regulations.  This one is brought to you by Mercury Insurance and wants to penalize anyone who has dropped their auto insurance because, oh, they sold their car or were deployed overseas, or suffer from a condition that makes them unable to drive.  Again, when a big company in the industry is the one putting the money and effort behind an initiative, it is never the average citizen who will benefit.

Now we come to June 22.  This is the Special Election that the Governator called to fill the 15th Senate District race.  By electing John Laird in June, we can once again have representation in the California Senate for the Central Coast.  John has a proven record as a leader, with a great environmental record, experience in passing an on-time budget in the California legislature, and will once again give us a progressive voice in Sacramento.  Unlike his opponent, Sam Blakeslee, John will never vote for off-shore oil drilling (which Sam did just last year).  He will hold California companies to paying their fair share for services and resources they take from the people of the state and will serve with honesty and integrity.

Whether you go to the polls for each election or send in you absentee ballot, please make sure to vote in both elections.  Your vote can and will make a difference.