Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/394471
2014ELECTIONCOVERAGE PROP.2 RAINYDAYFUND Whatitdoes Overhaulsthestate'srainydayfund, setting aside 1.5percent of revenue each year as well as capital gains tax revenue over a certain threshold during boom years. For the first time, half the money will be redirected to pay pension li- abilities and other state debts, while the other half is available to pad the state budget during economic downturns. Who supports it Gov. Jerry Brown and unanimous support of Democrats and Republicans in the Legislature. Also, business, local govern- ment and civic groups. Who opposes it A parent group called Educate Our State, which pushes for more funding to be kept with local school districts, and Common Cause, a progressive group that wants social service spending restored to pre-recession levels. Campaign spending The primary committee supporting the rainy day fund and a separate water bond measure has raised nearly $1.7million on top of $2.8million the committee already had available. Groups opposing the mea- sure have not reported raising money. PROP. 47 MISDEMEANORSENTENCING What it does Under Proposition 47, felony drug possession, petty the , shopli ing, receiving stolen property, and forg- ing or writing bad checks would be reduced to misdemeanors. The non- partisan Legislative Analyst projects annual savings of hundreds of millions of dollars: 65percent of the savings would go to mental health and drug treatment programs, 25percent to school truancy and dropout prevention programs, and 10percent to help crime victims. Who supports it San Francisco District Attorney and former police chief George Gascón; William Lansdowne, a former police chief of San Diego and San Jose; vic- tims' advocate Dionne Wilson of Crime Survivors for Safety & Justice. Who opposes it Associations representing police, sher- iffs, district attorneys, crime victims, sexual abuse victims and businesses. Campaign spending Supporters have raised more than $3 million. Opponents raised less than $45,000through mid-September. PROP. 48 TRIBALGAMBLING What it does Proposition 48gives California voters a chance to approve or reject a deal signed by the governor and passed by the Leg- islature that would allow the North Fork Rancheria Band of Mono Indians to build a casino with up to 2,000slot machines about 30miles northwest of Fresno. Who supports it Gov. Jerry Brown and narrow majorities in the Legislature. The Democratic State Central Committee of California. Las Vegas-based Station Casinos, which is behind the project. Who opposes it Other casino-owning tribes, including the Table Mountain Rancheria and the United Auburn Indian Community of the Auburn Rancheria. New York-based Brigade Capital Management, an investment firm that backs the Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino, another Indian casino near the site of the proposed North Fork casino. Campaign spending The groups opposing the measure had raised nearly $4million from April through Sept. 18, while the groups sup- porting it have raised about $350,000 over the same period. PROP. 45 INSURANCERATES What it does Requires the California insurance commis- sioner to approve rates for certain types of health insurance, specifically individual and small group health plans. The rate-approval process would be similar to a process that is currently used for other types of insur- ance, such as automobile and homeowner's policies. Who supports it Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones and Consumer Watchdog, a Santa Monica- based group founded attorney Harvey Rosenfield; California Democratic Party. Who opposes it A coalition of doctors, hospitals and labor groups, with major funding from health plans that include the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Inc., Wellpoint Inc. and Blue Shield of California; California Medical As- sociation; California Hospital Association; California Chamber of Commerce; California Professional Firefighters; California Repub- lican Party. Campaign spending The groups supporting the rate regulation have raised at least $2million through Sept. 22, while the groups opposing it have raised at least $37million through the same period. TheAssociatedPress By Judy Lin The Associated Press SACRAMENTO Orange County Supervisor Janet Nguyen has been on the campaign trail telling vot- ers how Democratic dom- inance would be bad for democracy. Her Democratic com- petitor, former Assem- blyman Jose Solorio, says sending a majority party member back to the Cap- itol will mean better re- sults for the district's res- idents in Long Beach and Orange County. As California Demo- crats try to maintain their supermajority status in the state Legislature this November, Republicans are targeting the compet- itive Senate District 34 to prevent what Nguyen, a Republican, calls the "one- party rule." Although 100 of the 120 state legislative seats are up for grabs, just a handful of races, partic- ularly in Orange County and the Central Valley, will determine whether Democrats will win su- permajority control in the Assembly and Senate. That would give them the power to raise taxes, pass emergency legislation, put measures on the bal- lot and override guberna- torial vetoes without Re- publican support. Turnout will play a ma- jor role in a midterm elec- tion with no overriding narrative or contentious state ballot initiatives to drive voters to the polls in large numbers. Just 25.2 percent of registered vot- ers turned out for the June primary, the lowest on re- cord for a statewide elec- tion in California. "A lot of it depends on voter turnout and a lot of it depends on Jerry Brown's margin of vic- tory over (Republican challenger Neel) Kash- kari," said California Tar- get Book publisher Allan Hoffenblum, who analyzes legislative and congressio- nal races. Democrats are partic- ularly concerned about regaining supermajor- ity status in the 40-mem- ber state Senate, in part because it has the power to confirm gubernatorial appointees. During the legislative session, Dem- ocrats fell below the 27- seat supermajority after two termed-out senators were indicted on federal bribery and corruption charges. A third, Sen. Rod Wright, resigned in Sep- tember after he was sen- tenced to three months in jail for lying about where he lived when he ran for of- fice. Two termed-out Dem- ocratic Assembly mem- bers, Steven Bradford and Isadore Hall, have an- nounced their candidacies for Wright's vacant seat. A low-turnout election has historically favored Republicans, and sev- eral GOP candidates were able to outpoll Democrats in districts with a Demo- cratic voting advantage. "I've also tried to keep our senators working across the aisle so there's no gloating about when other members are stum- bling, but there's a working together to get things done for the people," said Senate Minority Leader Bob Huff, R-Diamond Bar. STATE LEGISLATURE De mo cr at ic d om in an ce at issue in November By Kevin Freking The Associated Press WASHINGTON Political strategists mapping po- tential gains in the House next month are circling, of all places, California. For decades, the state was largely an afterthought in the fight for control of the House. The state's in- cumbents were impervious to a challenge because con- gressional boundaries were drawn to protect them, just as they are in most states. In recent years, Califor- nia has ditched the parti- san gerrymandering that predominates in most of the country and has gone a different direction. Vot- ers approved creation of an independent citizens redistricting commis- sion to draw state legisla- tive and congressional dis- tricts without regard to in- cumbency. Commissioners are se- lected in a random, lot- tery-style drawing, and their work has helped cre- ate at least six congressio- nal races this year that are considered winnable for ei- ther political party in the Nov. 3 general election. A handful of other races are on the cusp of being com- petitive. Democrats are defend- ing four freshmen who rode President Barack Obama's coattails to victory in 2012. Republicans are defending one freshman and also have to defend an open seat in Southern California cre- ated by the retirement of Rep. Gary Miller. Nation- ally, Democrats need to net 17 seats to gain control of the House, a goal most ana- lysts believe the party is un- likely to meet. Rep. Steve Israel, chair- man of the Democratic Con- gressional Campaign Com- mittee, called California a "center of gravity" for the two major political parties. With 53 seats, it has by far the largest congressional delegation of any state. "I think California repre- sents the strongest array of offense and defense in the entire country," Israel said in describing how Demo- crats are approaching the state's congressional races. Democratic candidates appear to have more hur- dles to overcome than Re- publicans this election. In California, Obama suffers from the worst ap- proval ratings of his pres- idency and voters appear disengaged. Only a fourth of registered voters par- ticipated in the June 3 pri- mary, the lowest turnout for a regular primary election in California history. At the same time, Gov. Jerry Brown is coasting to re-election over a little known and underfunded GOP challenger, meaning there is little to energize Democratic voters. The Democratic expecta- tions this year are a far cry from those of 2012, when California gave Democrats four of the eight pick-ups they netted in the House. "The turnout model is different. The political en- vironment is wildly differ- ent," said Jason Roe, a Re- publican strategist based in San Diego. "... We're poised, and it just comes down to: Do we have enough money to make the sale?" Then again, this is Cali- fornia. Republican support has fallen dramatically over the years and GOP can- didates have consistently failed to take advantage of favorable national trends. CONGRESS Ca li fo rn ia r ac es a re k ey t o parties' House strategies 7THDISTRICT Democratic Rep. Ami Bera vs. Republi- can Doug Ose Bera is trying to distance himself from Washington. He's empha- sizing that he gave up his pay during the government shutdown last fall and has reimbursed the treasury for the nearly $5,000 he accrued in pension benefits. Ose served three terms in Congress before declining to seek re-election in 2004. He's calling for tax cuts and repeal of the health insurance law that Democrats pushed through in President Barack Obama's first term. Competitive races The down low on Congressional candidates in hotly contested districts 52ND DISTRICT Democratic Rep. Scott Peters vs. Republican Carl DeMaio Peters is one of the few Democrats serving in Con- gress to get the endorse- ment of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. DeMaio served on the San Diego City Council from 2008-2012. He helped lead ballot campaigns to privatize services, defeat a sales tax and reduce public pensions before narrowly los- ing a race for mayor. He also is openly gay and has challenged the GOP to be more inclusive on social issues. 21ST DISTRICT Republican Rep. David Valadao vs. Democrat Amanda Renteria Valado is the lead sponsor of legislation that would set aside environ- mental laws and allow more water to be pumped for irrigation. While the bill had no chance in Congress, it's popu- lar with many constituents. Renteria is an American political aide who has worked for United States Senators Dianne Feinstein and Debbie Stabenow. Renteria is the first Latina chief of staff in Senate history. Turnout will play a major role in a midterm election with no overriding narrative or contentious state ballot initiatives to drive voters to the polls in large numbers. Bera Ose Peters DeMaio Valadao Renteria PROP 46 MEDICALMALPRACTICE What it does Li s ceiling on damages for pain and suffering caused by medical negligence to $1.1million, from $250,000; requires doctors with hospital privi- leges to submit to random drug and alcohol tests; requires doctors to check a statewide database before prescribing powerful drugs, such as painkill- ers, in an attempt to reduce abuses. Who supports it Trial lawyers, Consumer Watchdog advocacy group, Sen. Barbara Boxer. Who opposes it California Medical Association; California Hospital Association; California Chamber of Commerce; com- panies that provide insurance coverage for doctors. Campaign spending The groups supporting the proposition have raised $6.5million through late September; the groups op- posing it have raised $57million through the same period. PROP 1 WATERBOND What it does Authorizes $7.5billion for water storage, and treatment and conservation projects; includes $7.1billion in new bor- rowing. Also provides money for habitat restoration and about $300million for regional conservancies that primar- ily preserve land for recreation or wildlife habitat. Who supports it Gov. Jerry Brown and near unanimous majorities of Demo- crats and Republicans in the state Legislature; U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer; a long list of agricul- tural, business and conservation groups. Who opposes it Regional groups, mostly in Northern California, that repre- sent delta farmers or sport fishing interests. Campaign spending The primary committee supporting the rainy day fund and water bond measures has raised nearly $1.7million through Sept. 23. That's on top of $2.8million the committee already had. The groups opposing it have raised $50,000 through the same period. "It strikes a balance, trying to meet long-term water needs for people, the economy and environment." — Jay Ziegler, Director, The Nature Conservancy "We need a good bond act, not something that was sloppily put together." — Zeke Grader, executive director, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Association Voters are being tricked into "something the consumer attorney lobby has wanted to do for a long time." — Paul Phinney, former president, California Medical Association Doctors "will never police themselves because they won't even acknowledge there is a problem." — Jamie Court, president, Consumer Watchdog WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2014 REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM | STATE | 7 B