Flap’s California Morning Collection: June 9, 2011
Radio hosts change tune on tax election, then so do GOP lawmakers
Gov. Jerry Brown and Democrats in the Legislature have long complained that Republicans in the Legislature take their policy cues from radio hosts John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou.
The timing of Republicans’ new position in budget talks –- that they would now support an election on tax extensions, but not a “bridge tax” until that election -– will likely only add fuel to that fire.
The new GOP stance comes only days after Kobylt and Chiampou, whose KFI-AM (640) drive-time show reaches more listeners than any other non-syndicated talk program in California, changed their own opinion on the matter.
After months of pillorying Republicans who dared to negotiate about a special election on extending current vehicle and sales tax rates to help balance the budget — calling for the “head on a stick” of any GOP legislator who would relent to Brown’s proposal — Kobylt announced last Thursday that he had changed his mind.
“I think we ought to go and have the referendum since it probably will be voted down, all the taxes,” Kobylt said. He said his change of heart was the result of studying poll numbers for the tax extensions that Brown seeks. “The Republicans that we put the heads on a stick? Let them put this on the ballot now, because I think we’re going to win,” he said.
Brown said in an interview Tuesday that Republicans are now supportive of a fall election in exchange for concessions on a spending cap, public-employee pension changes and regulatory overhaul. The “sticking point” concerns extending the current tax rates until an election can be held, Brown said. State Senate Budget Committee Vice Chairman Bob Huff (R-Diamond Bar) concurred.
GOP’s SF Invasion: Romney, Pawlenty and Coulter coming!
Oh, sure the GOP loves to dis San Francisco and its “values” — but they do love the cash that pours out of the Bay Area. Yes, even for Republicans.
That’s why we’ll be seeing Republican Prez hopefuls Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty passing through town this month toting burlap bags to scoop up the local cabbage.
Not that we will be permitted to attend Mitt’s fundraiser. They are closed to the press, his spokesperson tells us. Hmmmm. President Obama allows the press in to his fundraisers — even if his flacks get their blue blazers in a bundle when we actually, oh, report what goes on there.
Nevertheless, the ex-Massachusetts Guv is scheduled to show at a BBQ at the Portola Valley home of Sun Microsystems founder Scott McNealy. 6 p.m. June 21. McNealy, you remember, is a pal and major donor to the guv campaign of fellow Silicon Valley CEO Meg Whitman — who is helping Mitt with fundraising.
The cost of being within combing distance of Mitt’s mane: $1,000 per person or $10,000 to host, according to the invite.
David Kieffer, head of Service Employees International Union California, sees an opportunity to defeat conservative Republicans in 2012 by taking advantage of the state’s new “top-two” primary system.
He told The Bee’s Capitol Bureau on Wednesday that SEIU would even discourage Democrats from running in places they can’t win to avoid taking votes from moderate Republican candidates. And he wants Democratic voters who have selected the “D” candidate for years to start thinking more strategically in red districts.
Union Chief Says Jerry Brown’s Tax Vote is “Fraught With Peril”
As Gov. Jerry Brown presses Republicans for a mid-September election on taxes, a major Democratic labor ally warned Wednesday that going to the electorate is “terribly fraught with peril.”
David Kieffer, executive director of the Service Employees International Union California State Council, instead wants lawmakers to reach a bipartisan agreement to extend taxes in the Legislature.
He said his group is not obligated to finance a fall tax campaign and would have to weigh that multimillion-dollar expense against spending in 2012 legislative races.
“It’s my members’ money,” Kieffer told The Bee’s Capitol Bureau. “And if I went to my members and my board and said we can either play heavily and do good politics in 2012 or we can lose an election with this money, I think I don’t even have to pose the question to get the answer.”
Brown said Tuesday he is eyeing a mid-September special election in which voters would decide whether to extend higher taxes on sales and vehicles, as well as reinstate an income tax surcharge.
The main negotiating hurdle, Brown and GOP lawmakers said, is whether to approve a funding bridge that maintains higher sales and vehicle taxes until the election. They are close on other items, such as a spending cap and pension cuts for new employees.
The idea of having a special election remains popular among voters, including those who oppose the taxes. A Public Policy Institute of California poll showed last week that 62 percent of likely voters support going to the ballot.
Kieffer said his polling shows only half of voters support extending higher taxes, even though a greater share is opposed to further spending cuts. He said one problem is that taxes won’t be framed on the ballot as a choice between taxes and cuts.
Enjoy your morning!