Many already considering run for governor's job in '10

E-Mail

reprint or license

Comments (0)

Text Size:

tool goes here

You thought the election was behind us, but oh, no. Even as the ballots are still being counted for 2008, a number of candidates for 2010 are warming up.

Lt. Gov. John Garamendi was among the first to announce that he's running to replace Arnold Schwarzenegger, who will be termed out as governor. Garamendi was in Manteca last month at a fund-raising lunch held by and for the Indian community. Realtor Nirvail Singh arranged the gathering and said Garamendi talked about health care and other issues.

Last week, Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, who is seeking the Republican nomination for governor, announced the endorsements of 20 state senators and 20 Assembly members, including the Berryhill brothers -- Tom and Bill.

How many candidates for governor will there be? The folks at Capital Alert, The Sacramento Bee's political Web site, suggest 11 possibilities, though some of those say they're not running.

I realize that this is a blatant promotion for my company, but if you are at all interested in state issues, including how the state budget mess will be resolved, you should check out Capitol Alert regularly. It's available through www.modbee.com. Go to the "Opinion" drop-down menu, then look under the "State Columnists" heading.

Capitol Alert also offers e-mails three times a day on what's going on in state politics, from the significant to the silly. Fun stuff.

Until a few years ago, every credible candidate put a statement in the sample ballot. It was one of the most effective ways to provide a biography and deliver a message to all registered voters. But largely because the cost has gotten so high -- from hundreds to many thousands of dollars, depending on the size of the district -- many candidates no longer do so. I am wondering whether that influences voters? I invite your e-mailed comments. I'll write about this more.

People are angry at politicians right now, with much justification, and that anger is showing up in letters to the editor and in phone calls and e-mails to The Bee. They're so angry at state leaders that they suggest these leaders should all face pay cuts, and perhaps that would solve the state budget crisis. So, to clarify, let me point out:

As governor, Schwarzenegger is entitled to an annual salary of $212,000 but he never has accepted it.

Most legislators make $116,000 a year. (You can see the list at www.dpa.ca.gov/salaries/elected.htm.) So even if all 120 legislators did without their salaries for a year -- which is not something I would advocate -- it would add up only to a little less than $14 million. The state budget deficit is $11 billion or more.

Legislators don't set their salaries.

The amounts are established by the seven-member California Citizens Compensation Commission, which last summer put a salary freeze on the pay of all state officials, but rejected a proposal to cut all salaries by 10 percent.

According to Capitol Weekly, the average legislative and executive staff salary is $67,033. If you want to know the salary of a specific staff member, you can research it at www.sacbee.com/databases.

Finally, a reader called this week and wanted to eliminate the pension George W. Bush will start collecting Jan. 21, after he leaves office. She wanted to know what he'd be getting, and whatever it was, she didn't think he deserved it because of the current economic mess. For the record, Bush makes $400,000 as president and his pension will start at $191,300 a year, according to the Internet Public Library. She then suggested a petition drive to put the matter to a vote. I explained that while this initiative process is popular in California, it doesn't apply to decisions at the federal level.

Sly is editor of the Opinions Pages. Contact her at 578-2317 or jsly@modbee.com.