Election 2012

Gov. Jerry Brown tells supporters in Los Angeles the latest poll numbers for Proposition 30 "look good, but we're not there yet."

0 comments | Print

Gov. Brown calls on Prop. 30 forces to redouble efforts, counter

Published: Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012 - 11:00 pm | Page 3A
Last Modified: Friday, Mar. 29, 2013 - 4:37 pm

LOS ANGELES – Gov. Jerry Brown, rallying union workers and volunteers here Saturday for his campaign to raise taxes, continued to hammer his opponents for accepting an $11 million donation from an opaque, out-of-state group, while urging supporters to intensify their efforts in the final days before the election.

"You are so powerful and so important, and we are up against secret money coming across the border from Arizona, from where we don't know," Brown told about 100 members of a Service Employees International Union local at a school in South Central Los Angeles.

He told union members – a major part of the Democratic governor's own donor base – that they are "a combination, a collection, a coming- together of individual people, school workers, to counteract the millions and millions of dollars from billionaires and others who evidently don't care as much as you do about the schools of California."

Brown chanted "Yes on 30," pumped his fist and said, "I feel the power."

Proposition 30, Brown's proposal to raise the state sales tax and income taxes on California's highest earners, appears headed to a close finish Tuesday. Likely voters favor the initiative 48 percent to 38 percent, with 14 percent undecided, according to the most recent Field Poll, released last week. "The surveys look good," Brown said, "but we're not there yet."

Brown's appearance at the school – and at an event later at a phone bank in East Los Angeles – highlighted his organizational advantage over the opponents of Proposition 30, potentially significant in turning out voters on Election Day. Union allies and other supporters of Brown are canvassing neighborhoods and calling voters throughout the state for Proposition 30 and against Proposition 32, a controversial campaign finance measure.

The No on 30 campaign acknowledges its own effort to turn out voters is nowhere near as comprehensive.

Brown is continuing his prodigious fundraising as well, collecting more than $1.2 million for the initiative Thursday alone, according to a report filed Friday. The donations include $600,000 from Service Employee International Union locals in Los Angeles, Sacramento and Oakland. Brown and his supporters have raised more than $55 million for the effort since the beginning of the year.

A committee formed to oppose Proposition 30 and support Proposition 32 has raised about $50 million, including major contributions from GOP donor Charles Munger Jr. and the Arizona-based nonprofit Americans for Responsible Leadership. That committee has provided the majority of the nearly $13 million raised by a separate committee specifically opposing Proposition 30.

Brown has used the $11 million donation from the Arizona group as a rallying cry for two weeks, and he showed no sign of letting up Saturday. One day after California's 3rd District Court of Appeal denied the state's emergency request to force Americans for Responsible Leadership to disclose its donors' identities, Brown said he is optimistic on a favorable review by the state Supreme Court.

Asked about his fundraising advantage, Brown said, "We're going to do everything we can to fix our schools and get California back on track, but we disclose our donors, and we have a much broader base."

The committee that accepted the $11 million donation has said it was legal and that Brown's criticism is politically motivated.

Aaron McLear, a spokesman for the campaign against Proposition 30, criticized the source of Brown's own campaign money, which he described as public employee unions "who want to prop up the status quo because they're benefiting from it."

McLear said, "We don't have armies of union workers who are encouraged to take days off of work to campaign for Prop. 30."

At the school event, union members in purple shirts lamented the effect on Brown's measure of a rival tax initiative, Proposition 38, which is lagging in public opinion polls but threatens to siphon votes from Proposition 30.

Courtni Pugh, executive director of SEIU Local 99, called Proposition 38 – backed by wealthy civil rights lawyer Molly Munger – a "spoiler." Manuel Helguera, a custodian and union member who was canvassing neighborhoods Saturday, said Proposition 38 comes up when he visits voters at their doors.

"People are hearing a lot of things that are confusing," he said. "Some … ask, 'What about 38?' "

In East Los Angeles, Brown visited a nonprofit where California Calls, a group attempting to reach minorities and infrequent voters for Brown's initiative, has set up one of 16 call centers around the state.

"It's really important that each of you contact people," Brown said. "There are a lot of TV commercials. They only go so far."

Brown will visit four predominantly African American churches in Los Angeles this morning. Following a relatively quiet summer, he has held public events at a pace of about one per day in recent weeks.

© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.

Read more articles by David Siders



About Comments

Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "Report Abuse" link below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.

What You Should Know About Comments on Sacbee.com

Sacbee.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. (See our full terms of service here.)

Here are some rules of the road:

• Keep your comments civil. Don't insult one another or the subjects of our articles. If you think a comment violates our guidelines click the "Report Abuse" link to notify the moderators. Responding to the comment will only encourage bad behavior.

• Don't use profanities, vulgarities or hate speech. This is a general interest news site. Sometimes, there are children present. Don't say anything in a way you wouldn't want your own child to hear.

• Do not attack other users; focus your comments on issues, not individuals.

• Stay on topic. Only post comments relevant to the article at hand.

• Do not copy and paste outside material into the comment box.

• Don't repeat the same comment over and over. We heard you the first time.

• Do not use the commenting system for advertising. That's spam and it isn't allowed.

• Don't use all capital letters. That's akin to yelling and not appreciated by the audience.

• Don't flag other users' comments just because you don't agree with their point of view. Please only flag comments that violate these guidelines.

You should also know that The Sacramento Bee does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "Report Abuse" link to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at feedback@sacbee.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa.

If you submit a comment, the user name of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them.

hide comments
Sacramento Bee Job listing powered by Careerbuilder.com
Quick Job Search
Buy
Used Cars
Dealer and private-party ads
Make:

Model:

Price Range:
to
Search within:
miles of ZIP

Advanced Search | 1982 & Older



Find 'n' Save Daily DealGet the Deal!

Local Deals