[BATN] SCruz Legislators skeptical of Arnold's promised lard-fest Date: 06 Jan 2006 17:42:55 -0800 X-Fingerprint: sentto-2486642-28182-1136689441-news=energy-net.org@returns.groups.yahoo.com-127.127 Published Friday, January 6, 2006, in the Santa Cruz Sentinel Area legislators skeptical of governor's plan By Brian Seals A kinder, gentler Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday offered Democrats what they have been calling for the past year -- a more cooperative approach to governing. But local legislators say the governor's pledge might be too little, too late. "Frankly, this is the speech I wish I had heard last year," said state Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, whose district covers a part of Santa Cruz County. In a half-hour State of the State address the politically beleaguered Republican governor took a page from the Democrat playbook in pushing a massive infrastructure bond and a boost to education funding, among other issues, as well as striking a conciliatory tone and asking for common ground. Coming off a failed special election package of reforms and with a re-election bid on the road ahead, Schwarzenegger's third State of the State address seemed to offer a little something for everybody. But even some Republicans were cautious, while Democrats were taking a wait-and-see stance. "The question is, can he persuade others, particularly Republicans, that this is a good idea?" said Terry Christensen, a political scientist at San Jose State. The governor's bond proposal would build 1,200 miles of new highways, 600 miles of mass transit, 2,000 new schools and 101 new courts, among a host of other public works projects. At least one GOP senator cautioned that the state's needs should be prioritized. "With major investments in public projects, there is risk in making everything a priority," said state Sen. Abel Maldonado, R-Santa Maria, one of the governor's strongest allies. "If we fall into that trap, nothing will be a priority. I look forward to the work ahead to see that hard choices are made and real priorities are set." And Democrats said the governor's remarks were a good start but fell short in some areas. For starters, the governor did not mention things like parks, water quality or libraries, said Assemblyman John Laird, D-Santa Cruz. And the almost $70 billion, 10-year bond plan may stretch the state's finances. "Sixty-eight billion dollars in bonds spread over five election cycles may be too ambitious," Laird said. Also absent was last year's call for more affordable housing. "I hope we can revive that and build it into the bond he is proposing," said Assemblyman Simon Salinas, D-Salinas. More immediately, the governor wants to increase the minimum wage, freeze a scheduled fee hike for UC students and fully fund K-12 spending under Proposition 98, while maintaining "fiscal discipline." While Democrats said they were cautiously encouraged by the speech, they will look to the coming year to see if the governor's overtures will be as friendly once the Legislature gets down to business. "Now is the time for consultation, now is the time to negotiate," Laird said. Contact Brian Seals at bseals@santacruzsentinel.com Email article texts/URLs for posting to . Manage your subscription by sending a blank email message to: BATN-subscribe@yahoogroups.com to subscribe, BATN-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com to unsubscribe, BATN-digest@yahoogroups.com to switch email to digest mode, BATN-normal@yahoogroups.com to switch email to normal mode, BATN-nomail@yahoogroups.com to switch email delivery off. See http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BATN for web access & archives.