Pasadena Chamber of Commerce

In soundly repudiating all but one of the ballot measures California voters expressed an utter lack of confidence in state elected officials. by overwhelming margins, Propositions 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D and 1E failed. Passage of 1F, that limits legislative elected officials salaries if a budget is not passed on time, clearly rebukes our elected officials for their inability to govern effectively.

So, what will happen now? Already Karen Bass, Assembly speaker has asserted the measures failed because voters didn’t understand them. She’s missing the point that voters understand very clearly that California is not working and voters expect more from our state government than gridlock.

Voters understand perfectly well that our state government is incapable of attending to important business and making the painful compromises necessary to balance the budget and get our state government in order. It’s not just about finances, people are fed up with special interest legislation that cripples our ability to do business, make a living and profit.  People are fed up with back-biting, partisan fighting, inertia and the embarrassing dysfunction that is business as usual in the state house, governor’s office and state offices.

Voters clearly said STOP IT and get down to business. They said that to Democrats and Republicans.  To the governor, every member of the State Senate and the State Assembly.

It remains to be seen if elected officials pay attention enough to heed that message, stop their adolescent bickering and get down to real work.

If the electeds fail to heed the voters’  message will we see initiatives to create a part time legislature? Will we see initiatives to dismantle the state commission system?  Will we see a populist third party emerge to wrest control of the state away from the entrenched powers in Sacramento? Will we see more momentum for a state constitutional convention? Would that even help, given the likely control by the existing leadership in Sacramento?

The voters did not hesitate one bit in telling Sacramento to get down to business.  Will the state government and our elected leadership actually do it?

Paul