Californians now have 1,265 ways to evaluate the governor they
elected a year ago this week.
Californians now have 1,265 ways to evaluate the governor they elected a year ago this week.
In one sense, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is exactly what he promised to be in the recall campaign. He is the best friend business interests could hope to have in the governor’s office.
He vetoed all 10 bills the California Chamber of Commerce identified as “job killers.” They included proposals to increase the minimum wage, reduce air pollution at ports, expand consumer rights on used-car purchases and several measures to discourage offshoring.
The notion that Schwarzenegger would be pro-business should not be a surprise to anyone who was paying attention during the recall campaign.
Where his actions were at odds with his rhetoric, however, were on his promises to change the ways of Sacramento.
For all his criticisms of his predecessor’s acceptance of special-interest money, he received a reported $337,000 from pharmaceutical companies before vetoing industry-opposed legislation to bring cheaper Canadian prescription drugs into California.
He pleased car dealers – among his biggest supporters – by axing a measure that would have required more disclosure and lower rates on dealer-arranged loans.
For all his talk about open government, Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill that would have given journalists broader access into reporting on prisons.
Schwarzenegger’s actions on 1,265 bills showed he is neither an ideologue nor rigidly partisan.
He is not easy to typecast. But if he wants to call himself a populist he must stop accepting contributions from special interests with a direct stake in his actions.
– San Francisco Chronicle.
