Policy or issue position
Jerry Brown
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Nov. 4, 2010He said Californians passed Proposition 25, which ends the two-thirds legislative majority for passing a state budget, while also approving Proposition 26, which calls for a two-thirds vote to pass fees. "The taxpayers gave - and they also took away," he said. "On the one hand, people said, 'by majority give us a budget' and on the other, they said, 'don't pick my pocket.' "What we have to do is win the confidence and trust of the people of California," he said. That, he added, will require competing groups - Republicans, Democrats, labor unions and business - to "push toward a common interest."
Source: San Francisco ChronicleTags: Budget, Leadership style, Taxes, Policy or issue position
Jerry Brown
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Nov. 4, 2010Brown said he has started reaching out to legislative leaders on both sides of the aisle, but had sobering words for Democrats who control both houses of the Legislature. "My message is: Get ready for hard surfaces and benches as you sit in the kind of austere environment of a very-carefully-put-together state government and budget," he said.
Source: San Francisco ChronicleTags: Budget, Campaigns and politics, Leadership style, State legislature, Policy or issue position
Jerry Brown
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Nov. 4, 2010"I want to rethink the structure, I want to flatten the administration," he said, adding that he wants to explore "organizing state government to make it leaner, more responsive and more coherent."
Source: San Francisco ChronicleTags: Government services, State legislature, Policy or issue position
Jerry Brown
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Nov. 4, 2010"The voters last night turned down a mere $18-a-year (car) tax by about 60 percent, so I would say that the electorate is in no mood to add to their burdens."
Source: San Francisco ChronicleTags: Taxes, Policy or issue position
Jerry Brown
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Nov. 4, 2010"I'm going to try to pare down as much as I possibly can," said Brown, speaking to reporters in his Oakland campaign headquarters. "I will engage in a process that will be exhausting, and it will be exhaustive - and it will be inclusive," he added, saying he will talk to labor, business leaders and voters.
Source: San Francisco ChronicleTags: Business, Spending, State workers, Policy or issue position, Promise
Meg Whitman
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Nov. 1, 2010"It's all going to depend on voter turnout." she told reporters. "I feel great about it. I'm really excited." If she does win, one reporter asked, would there be a place in her administration for her opponent, Jerry Brown? Whitman thought about it for less than a second and then said, "No."
Source: San Jose Mercury NewsTags: Campaigns and politics, Policy or issue position
Jerry Brown
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Nov. 1, 2010"Victory brings even more challenges -- in fact, the campaign is a piece of cake (compared) to fixing the budget," he said. "I didn't make this mess, but I sure want to fix it."
Source: San Jose Mercury NewsTags: Budget, Campaigns and politics, Assertion of fact, Policy or issue position
Jerry Brown
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Nov. 1, 2010"We're going to vote Democratic tomorrow, all right, and of course when we get there, this is the thing about democracy, we also have to listen to the other side," Brown said to restrained applause.
Source: San Jose Mercury NewsTags: Campaigns and politics, Leadership style, Policy or issue position
Jerry Brown
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Oct. 31, 2010Brown said the deep recession and California's persistent budget problems mean the next governor will face tough decisions immediately. He said he wants a "grand civic dialogue" that will include people from throughout the state and from all socio-economic backgrounds to talk about what they want California to be. Brown talked about unifying people rather than dividing them because he said every Californian has a stake in pulling the state out of its current tailspin.
Source: Associated PressTags: Budget, Leadership style, Policy or issue position
Meg Whitman
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Oct. 28, 2010"She is here illegally. She's breaking the law right now, so we'll leave it for the federal authorities," Whitman said.
Source: Associated PressTags: Immigration, Personal life, No comment or deflection, Policy or issue position
Meg Whitman
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Oct. 27, 2010Well, the answer is it breaks my heart, but she should be deported because she forged documents and she lied about her immigration status. And it breaks my heart! Gloria Allred pulled off a political stunt. And you know what? On November 3rd, no one's going to care about Nicky Diaz. But the law is the law and we live in the rule of law. It's important. So here's the plan for illegal immigration. And it is a problem not only in California but across the country. First and foremost, we have to secure the border between California and Mexico. I'm here in San Diego. A couple months ago, I spent a day on the border between California and Mexico. We have not given the border patrol agents the resources they need either in personnel or technology. And there are many countries around the world who have proven that they can secure borders. We need to do that. Second we have to hold employers accountable for hiring documented workers. We need a great e-verify system that allows people to know whether that worker is 100 percent legal or not. Gosh, I'm a testament to someone who saw a valid California driver's license, a Social Security card, and it was all, you know, was -- she was not here legally. So we've got to do that. If you hire, knowingly hire undocumented workers, you know, there has to be a penalty for that. Then we've got to eliminate sanctuary cities, San Francisco being the case in point in California. But then we've got to combine that with a temporary guest worker program. There are many industries that need to rely on a guest worker program to get their work done. And we need to have people here legally, be out of the shadows, but it has to be a temporary guest worker program.
Source: Fox NewsTags: Immigration, Policy or issue position, Quotable
Meg Whitman
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Oct. 27, 2010Well, you're right, our state is in big trouble. But we can turn it around. And here's how we're going to do it. We're going to focus on doing a small number of things well. You know, when your house is on fire, you don't worry about the termites in the basement. You fix the things that need to be fixed first and foremost. And we've got to fix the business climate in California. We've got to make it easier for new jobs to be created. So we're going to cut taxes, we're going to streamline regulation and bust the bureaucracy that is strangling businesses. And then we're going to have an economic development team that's going to hang onto jobs here in California. So that will increase the revenue side of the equation. I mean, if we don't put Californians back to work, there is actually no way out of this fiscal mess. And then on the cost side of the equation, we have got to run the government more efficiently and effectively. I've talked about downsizing the government. I've talked about using technology to do more with less. And then perhaps our biggest problem is the public employee pension problem, which is not dissimilar from other states. We have given away lavish pension benefits to the public employee unions. We have to renegotiate those or we're going to run out of money in California. So it's getting Californians back to work and making sure that we have a government we can afford, which we don't right now.
Source: Fox NewsTags: Economy, Spending, State workers, Taxes, Policy or issue position
Meg Whitman
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Oct. 27, 2010Well, we talked about a lot of the same issues. And he was right. I'm right. We need more jobs here. But here's the difference between me and Governor Schwarzenegger. I am a proven job creator. I have spent 30 years creating jobs, working in the private sector. I bring the real world, common sense experience to Sacramento. Governor Schwarzenegger was an actor and investor, but that's very different from being an operating executive who's accountable for results every single day. So here's what I will do. Very important -- the appointments you make to your administration are absolutely essential. Everyone knows you're only as good as the people you work with. So I'm going to look at the top 300 people in that administration, and they're going to be the right people in the right job with the right skills on the same agenda as the governor and we're going to all march in the same direction. And then you asked about the Democratic legislature. Well, first let me say if Jerry Brown is the next governor of California, a Democratic governor with a Democratically-controlled legislature, you won't recognize California in two or three or four years. So I will provide a check to that legislature and I will also lead that legislature. Like in so many other states, and frankly, in America, the legislature's become a bill factory. Last year, the governor signed into law nearly 700 bills. Greta, some of them were things like how long cow's tails should be, regulating tattoo parlors, renaming highways for disgraced politicians. All those bills -- guess what they come with? ... Spending!
Source: Fox NewsTags: Jobs, Spending, State legislature, State workers, Policy or issue position
Meg Whitman
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Oct. 27, 2010Yes. So I call it tough love. The tough part is I'm going to veto things that don't make sense. And let me tell you, there's going to be a lot to veto because the legislature is just ginning things up that don't make a difference. I'm going to focus this legislature on jobs, on cutting wasteful government spending and our education system. Legislation that isn't on point to those three things -- veto. And then how do we make the legislature famous for doing the good work of the people of California? You know, after this election, we're all going to have to be Californians and we're going to have to solve our very real problems. And let me give you an example. So I'm in San Diego today, the home of biotech in California. They lost one of their big research institute's expansion to Florida. We didn't stand up and compete. Big expansion in Orlando, Florida. Governor Bush competed for that expansion, and he won. California lost. We have got to turn that around. And if we're able to hang onto these big companies, then let's make at assemblyperson and state senator famous for holding onto these big companies. I don't need the credit. You know, what I've learned in business over many years, is if you don't care who gets the credit, it's amazing what you can get done. So let's get the incentives ... right for the legislature to do what really matters.
Source: Fox NewsTags: Business, Spending, State legislature, Policy or issue position
Meg Whitman
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Oct. 26, 2010"Here's what I will do," she said, "I will take down any ads that could even be remotely construed as a personal attack, but I don't think we can take down the ads that talk about where Governor Brown stands on the issues."
Source: KPCCTags: Campaigns and politics, Policy or issue position
