Steve Westly for Governor in Califonia! Let's beat Ahrnuld!

[Clarkie1]

He's a problem solver who seems to think outside the box, and I like that. This is my official DU endorsement of Steve Westly for governor of California. What follows is a response to an e-mail I sent the campaign recently:

“I am a California public school teacher. I just visited your website today for the first time. Looks good, but I am wondering what you think most differentiates you from Phil Angelides. What makes you the better candidate, specifically. On what issues do you and Phil Angelides differ?”


Dear XXXXXXXX,

Thank you for your interest in Steve Westly’s policy positions. Steve is a problem-solver with a long history of getting results in both business and government. His successful programs to crack down on tax cheats have brought in $4.8 billion in new and accelerated tax revenues without raising a nickel in taxes. His top priorities are fixing California’s education system and cleaning up California’s environment. We’re happy to address your questions.

Steve is a problem solver, not a politician. He hasn’t spent the last three years bashing the Governor. He’s been working to get things done like his programs to crack down on tax cheats. Steve believes it’s more important to bring people together and hammer out solutions than to throw partisan bombs.

With regards to specific policy agenda items, there are at least three key areas to note:

§ First, Steve’s primary opponent believes raising taxes is the first answer to every problem. The Controller believes raising taxes should be the last resort. He believes if we’re willing to roll up our sleeves and think outside the box, we can find a better way. This is what he did in the business world with Ebay and what he did in government with his innovative programs to collect the taxes already on the books.

§ Second, Steve supports solar and alternative energy. He supported the Million Solar Roofs legislation to put solar panels on homes across the state. His primary opponent did not.

§ Third, Steve believes in openness and transparency in government. He’s released ten years of his tax returns—his opponent has not.

It’s also worth noting that Steve outperforms his primary opponent in a head-to-head contest against the Governor in nearly every poll. He’s the Democratic Party’s best chance to unseat the governor.

Unfortunately, our campaign is in high gear now, so we may not be able to address further follow up questions in a timely fashion. We encourage you to check our website for further updates and information at www.westly2006.com. We thank you for your interest and hope to earn your support.

Sincerely,
Policy Staff
Westly for Governor

Steve is proud to be endorsed by a broad coalition of education, environmental, business, labor, public safety, LGBT, African American, and party leaders.

Campaign Co-Chairs
Congresswoman Grace Napolitano
Congresswoman Diane Watson
State Senator Martha Escutia
State Senator Carole Migden
Herb Wesson, Councilmember, City of Los Angeles

Elected Officials
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) (ret.)
U.S. House Majority Leader Richard Gephardt (D-MO) (ret.)
Congressman Doug Bosco (ret.)
Congressman Tony Coelho (ret.)
President Pro Tempore, State Senate David Roberti (ret.)
State Senator Herschel Rosenthal (Ret.)
Assemblymember Ron Calderon
Assemblymember Joe Canciamilla
Assemblymember Ed Chavez
Assemblymember Ted Lieu
Assemblymember Barbara Matthews
Assemblymember Nicole Parra
Assemblymember Steve Clute (ret.)
Assemblymember John Dutra (ret.)
Assemblymember Richard Katz (ret.)
Assemblymember Fred Keeley (ret.)
Assemblymember Ted Lempert (ret.)
Assemblymember Rod Wright (ret.)
Conway Collis, Member, Board of Equalization (ret.)
Bevan Dufty, Supervisor, San Francisco County
Sean Elsbernd, Supervisor, San Francisco County
Richard Gordon, Supervisor, San Mateo County
Liz Kniss, Supervisor, Santa Clara County
Jerry O’Banion, Supervisor, Merced County
Dave Potter, Supervisor, Monterey County
Tim Smith, Supervisor, Sonoma County; and Former President, CSAC
Ruth Kessler, Supervisor, San Benito County (ret.)
Mike Nevin, Supervisor, San Mateo County (ret.)
Betty Chim, Commissioner, City of Torrance
Dennis Herrera, City Attorney, San Francisco
Larry Stone, Assessor, Santa Clara County
Doris Ward, Assessor, San Francisco County (ret.)
Dan Arguello, Mayor, City of Alhambra
Hugh Argumedo, Mayor, City of Commerce
Karen Avilla, Treasurer, City of Carson
Hugh Argumedo, Mayor, City of Commerce
Ian Bain, Councilmember, City of Redwood City
Gary Bosworth, Councilmember, City of Desert Hot Springs
Jim Burch, Councilmember, City of Palo Alto
Becky Campo, Councilmember, City of Patterson
Renee Chavez, Mayor, City of La Puente
Dean J. Chu, Councilmember and former Mayor, City of Sunnyvale
Jim Costello, Mayor, City of Pacific Grove
Mike Dages, Councilmember, City of Fresno
Dominic Dutra, Councilmember, City of Fremont
Kelly Fergusson, Councilmember, City of Menlo Park
Mike Ferreira, Councilmember, City of Half Moon Bay
Mario Gomez, Councilmember, City of Huntington Park
Barbara Green, Councilmember, City of Truckee
Isadore Hall, Councilmember, City of Compton
Mike Healy, Councilmember, City of Petaluma
Olden Henson, Councilmember, City of Hayward
Ben Hueso, Councilmember, City of San Diego
Michael Keegan, Councilmember, City of Hermosa Beach
Breene Kerr, Mayor, City of Los Altos Hills
Yoriko Kishimoto, Vice Mayor, City of Palo Alto
Judy Kleinberg, Mayor, City of Palo Alto
Laura Lee, Councilmember, City of Cerritos
Sue Lempert, Councilmember, City of San Mateo
Robert Livengood, Councilmember, City of Milpitas
Louie Lujan, Councilmember, City of La Puente
Billy Nwoye, Councilmember, City of Altadena
Terry Nagel, Councilmember, City of Burlingame
Dan Nguyen-Tan, Councilmember, City of Chico
Ron Oden, Mayor, City of Palm Springs
Rosalie O'Mahony, Councilmember, City of Burlingame
Stephen Padilla, Mayor, City of Chula Vista
Greg Pettis, Mayor Pro Tem, Cathedral City
Will Pieper, Councilmember, City of Desert Hot Springs
Jeffrey Prang, Councilmember, City of West Hollywood
A. Sepi Richardson, Mayor, City of Brisbane
David Roberts, Councilmember, City of Solana Beach
Ralph D. Rodriquez, Councilmember, City of La Palma
Elba Romo, Councilmember, City of Huntington Park
Mark Rosen, Mayor Pro Tem, City of Garden Grove
Ricardo Sanchez, former Mayor, City of Lynwood
Dolly Sandoval, Councilmember, City of Cupertino
Greg Sellers, Councilmember, City of Morgan Hill; Former staff, Santa Clara County Open Space Authority
Tony Spitaleri, Councilmember, City of Palo Alto; President, Palo Alto Firefighters Union (ret.)
Paul Tanaka, Mayor, City of Gardena; Assistant Sheriff, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
Toni Taylor, Vice Mayor, City of Half Moon Bay
Albert Vera, Councilmember, Culver City
Larry L. Waldie, Former Mayor, City of Walnut; Undersheriff, Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department
David Weinsoff, Councilmember, City of Fairfax; Environmental plaintiffs’ attorney
Hope Withkowsky, Councilmember, City of Torrance
Ken Yeager, Councilmember, City of San Jose
Patty Davis, Councilmember, City of Chula Vista (ret.)
Jerry Estruth, Councilman, City of San Jose (ret.); Founding Chair, Silicon Valley Land Trust
Janet Gray Hayes, Mayor, City of San Jose (ret.)
Henry Manayan, Mayor, City of Milipitas (ret.)
Dan Nguyen-Tan, Councilmember, City of Chico (ret.)
Gail Slocum, Mayor, City of Menlo Park (ret.)
Jim Thurber, Mayor, City of Los Altos (ret.)
Manuel Valerio, Mayor, City of Sunnyvale (ret.)

Education Leaders
Stephen Cassidy, Trustee, San Leandro Unified School District
Donald Kennedy, President Emeritus, Stanford University; Editor-in-Chief, Science Magazine; Former Board member, California Nature Conservancy
Victor King, Trustee, Glendale Community College; Legal Counsel, Cal State LA
Michael Kitzes, Trustee, Vacaville School Board
Lori Livingston, Trustee, Woodside Elementary School District
Marcelino A. Lopez, Trustee, Ravenswood City School District
Michael Menesini, Vice President, Martinez Unified School District School Board
Phyllis Moore, Trustee, San Mateo-Foster City School District
Dave Pine, Trustee, Burlingame School District; President of the San Mateo County School Boards Association; Member, San Mateo County Central Committee
Hal Plotkin, Trustee, Foothill DeAnza Community College District
Thomasina Reed, Inglewood School Board, President (ret.)
Gina Ramirez, Board of Education Member, Little Lake City
David Siegrist, Trustee, Rio Hondo Community College Board (ret.)
Jose Luis Solache, Vice President, Lynwood School District

[LeftyMom]

1. I'm not crazy about Westly or Angelides,

but right now I think either one could defeat Arnold, as his approval rating is somewhere between that of pubic lice and used car salesmen.

[Clarkie1]

2. I like that Westly has solid Democratic values, but seems less partisan.

That's the argument he's making anyway, that he puts problem-solving before poltics.

[demosincebirth]

4. He was for the re call election. That tells you what kind of dem he is.

If he gets the nomination I'll have to vote for him.

[Clarkie1]

5. Do you have a link to back that up? Never heard that charge made. n/t

[demosincebirth]

6. I don't have a link, but I did hear it (about a month ago) on

a local news channel or on a local talk show, here in the Bay Area.

[Clarkie1]

7. I can't find evidence that is true anywhere, including Angelides website.

nt

[Mz Pip]

3. I'll probably support Westly, too.

I think he can defeat Ahnold, too.

Mz Pip
:dem: