State Sen. Jeff Denham, the Republican from Merced who
represents San Benito County, faces a recall election on the June 3
ballot.
He recently sat down with the Free Lance to answer questions
about the recall launched by Senate president and Denham rival Don
Perata, D-Oakland.
State Sen. Jeff Denham, the Republican from Merced who represents San Benito County, faces a recall election on the June 3 ballot.
He recently sat down with the Free Lance to answer questions about the recall launched by Senate president and Denham rival Don Perata, D-Oakland.
While his naysayers have pointed to his opposition of last year’s state budget that legislators ultimately approved months late as evidence that he doesn’t support education funding, Denham notes how the budget deficit has ballooned too much and how he has been the only senator to vote against every proposed education cut and suspending Proposition 98.
Free Lance
How much campaigning have you done compared with the normal campaigns you’ve conducted in the past?
Sen. Jeff Denham
It’s been completely different. This is always something (that) I always expected to go away. It’s certainly politics at its worst. This was launched against me because of last year’s budget. (When) I talked to people, not only in my district, but people in Sacramento, I think they felt that it was ridiculous, too. Every day I woke up, I expected the recall to end, and then in January, February, it became a reality. Normally in a race like mine, I put together a two-year campaign, and in this one I (have) to put together a two-month campaign. We’re very active now, but it’s pulling a lot of time and resources together very quickly.
Free Lance
One of your opponents’ main arguments is that you said your campaign is about supporting education. With that, why did you feel you could not approve the budget when around half of California’s budget goes to education?
Denham
My campaign isn’t about education. My personal philosophy is about education, (and) that is the reason I wanted to go to Sacramento and its been my number one focus. It’s unfair to the people of my district or to the people of this state to pass an unbalanced budget. The day that budget was signed into law … we had a huge deficit, which we predicted. I was on all the TV (stations) and newspapers here … I said it’s going to be a $5.7 billion deficit the day that the governor signs this. I was off a few billion, unfortunately. Our deficit is much bigger than that. I also predicted as soon as this is signed into law, the pro tem Don Perata will once again cut education first with mid-year cuts. If you support education … you don’t want to see cuts at all to education.
I’m the only member of the Senate to always vote against every cut to education. Nobody else can make that claim, but I think it’s even worse when you try to push a mid-year cut. The education system is not prepared to take mid-year cuts. You just can’t arbitrarily go out and start cutting teachers or classified employees in the middle of the year. There are a lot of school districts around the state that are struggling with that.
My third prediction was beyond mid-year cuts. The first thing that’s going to be on the table is suspending proposition 98, which again, I’m the only member of the Senate to never vote against and to support a cut to Prop 98. The pro tem has cut Prop. 98 several times now. The governor is proposing a 10 percent cut across the board, and I disagree with both of them.
I’m not going to be bullied into a position. I’m going to continue to fight. I would ask them to stand up for education because it’s been a very personal and frustrating issue.
Free Lance
Where do you get the idea that this recall is politically motivated by Don Perata, and how have you been getting citizens to believe it’s politically motivated?
Denham
I don’t think it’s a case I have to make. Don Perata has said it himself. He’s been on the record many times. His bank account is funding it, his letters to the members of the Senate mandating that members of the Senate have to come down and campaign against me and mandating that they use state resources against me in this campaign. So, it’s not me talking about it. It’s every news agency throughout the state talking about it and Don Perata himself, making that own claim himself.
Free Lance
What has this recall done to impair your chances at running for the lieutenant governor position, if anything, and do you still want to run for that job?
Denham
I’m still interested in it. It’s a decision that I will make next year. I’ve always said that I would make it during that time frame. My job is to represent the people of the 12th district, and I’ve done that well and I’m very proud of my record. I don’t know what the future has for me. There’s nothing that’s happened that would impede any future aspirations that I have. They’ve brought more attention to my accomplishments and more attention to the fact that I will stand up for my district and stand up for the people of this state. So, I think if anything, it’s brought more recognition to who I am and what I stand for.
Free Lance
Has this changed your view on the recall process?
Denham
No, not at all. I would qualify that answer with some changes that I do think needs to be made in the recall process.
The recall process is set up to be a home-grown and grassroots system. If people are frustrated with you, if you have broken laws (or) if there is some type of malefic, then people should have the right to recall you. This recall was done with people coming in from out of the state and paid for by somebody out of my district.
Many laws were broken all the way through the process. You could talk to people throughout my district, Republican and Democrats, independents and locally electives … that have not been involved in this recall at all and are quite frankly frustrated about it as well.
So, I am pushing through some laws right now that won’t affect my recall, but certainly will affect certain ones as well as future initiatives. This illegal signature gathering and allowing these signature gatherers to say anything that is far related from what their actual petition says, as well as having them come in from other states, is not only illegal, but it shouldn’t happen to anybody. From that standpoint, I am willing to change it, but I support the recall process. It just needs to be done by your district.
Free Lance
Has this recall distracted you or other officials from dealing with other issues?
Denham
It’s certainly a distraction. It has taken a great deal of time, but my job is in Sacramento Monday through Thursday. I’m there every day. I’m focused on my job and on the votes I’m voting on that day, as well as focused on the budget. I do think it’s a distraction for other legislators, at least for Don Perata. He has yet to bring the budget through the committee fully, venting it in the budget committee. He seems to have this wait-and-see attitude on what’s going to happen on June 3. My frustration is that people … can’t afford to wait for June 3. Every day that goes by, we get further into debt.
