Arnold Schwarzenegger

Governor Campaigns for Ballot Props

Updated: Wednesday, 15 Apr 2009, 11:55 PM PDT
Published : Wednesday, 15 Apr 2009, 8:41 PM PDT
Text Story by: Text story by Associated Press
Web Producer: Heather Limestahl
Reporter: Phil Shuman

Fresno (myFOXla.com) - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, facing growing opposition to next month's special election, said he will campaign "day and night" for the budget-related measures he and lawmakers put before voters.

Schwarzenegger said voters are telling him they favor Proposition 1A, the centerpiece measure on the May 19 election. It will impose a state spending cap and beef up the state's rainy day fund.

A recent poll found more opposition than support, in part because the measure also would extend increases in the sales, income and vehicle taxes for one to two years.

"More and more people are coming up to me on the streets saying they are going to vote 'yes,"' said the governor, who travels with a security team.

His comments came in response to a reporter's question after he attended an event at Fresno City College to promote a health care program.

Schwarzenegger told a crowd at the community college that he plans to campaign for the ballot propositions in the coming weeks during a series of town hall meetings.

"I'm going to work day and night, up and down the state, to communicate with the people," Schwarzenegger said.

It's unclear whether the governor's support will help. A recent poll put his approval rating at 32 percent.

The Public Policy Institute of California poll taken last month also found that 46 percent of likely voters oppose Proposition 1A, while 39 percent support it. The rest were undecided.

The governor and lawmakers called for the special election when they agreed in February on a plan to close California's budget deficit, then projected to be nearly $42 billion through June 2010.

Part of the budget package was to place six measures on a May special election ballot. In addition to Proposition 1A, the measures would raise $5 billion by selling bonds based on future state lottery revenue, increase future education funding, take money from mental health and early childhood education accounts, and freeze lawmakers' salaries when the state runs a deficit.

Schwarzenegger and other supporters say Proposition 1A will end California's roller coaster budgeting by imposing a strict spending cap on lawmakers and socking away money during good years that can be used for general purposes when times are tight.

The Republican governor said supporting the measure was a "no-brainer."

"For 60 years, this has been plaguing the state -- that we don't have a good budget system in place," he said. "Now the people of California have a chance to fix this and create a budget system where we have a cap and a rainy day fund."

Schwarzenegger and other supporters have a lot of persuading to do in the five weeks before Election Day.

A number of influential groups have lined up against Proposition 1A, including the League of Women Voters and the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. On Monday, the California Faculty Association, California Federation of Teachers and SEIU California State Council filed paperwork with the state to form a ballot committee opposing the measure.

Some state employee unions reject the idea of setting a spending cap, while taxpayer groups oppose the provision of Proposition 1A that will extend tax increases.