California post election news

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/california-politics/2012/11/california-democrats-.html

California Democrats emerge more powerful after election

November 7, 2012 | 8:08 am

Democrats, already the dominant political force in California, are only getting more powerful in the Golden State.

From ballot measures to state legislative races, voting results available Wednesday morning showed the balance of power in the Capitol skewing more than ever in Democrats' favor, sometimes in unexpected ways.

For starters, they are poised to gain a two-thirds majority in both houses of the California Legislature. While such a supermajority was always within reach in the Senate, it was a much longer shot in the Assembly.

“It’s a mandate to govern in the interest of the people of the state,” Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez (D–Los Angeles) said. “It means we’ve got to be very serious about focusing on the crucial issues of the state like job creation.”

If the preliminary results hold, it would be the first time since 1933 that one party has had a supermajority in both houses of the Legislature. It would also rob Republicans of their one trump card in Sacramento, their ability to block tax increases, which require a two-thirds vote.

Republicans have already been cut out of the budget process, since new rules approved by voters in 2010 allow lawmakers to approve spending plans with a simple majority vote.

Democratic leaders say raising taxes is not on the agenda, especially since Gov. Jerry Brown's tax-hike plan was approved by voters, according to the Associated Press. Proposition 30 took an early lead on election day and the margin only widened as more results came in overnight.

Poll results showed support for the tax increases on sales and high earners' incomes dipping last month, but the campaign appeared to swing in Brown's favor as election day approached.

In addition, unions and their allies defeated Proposition 32, which would have curbed their political influence. The ballot measure, which the Associated Press said early Wednesday morning was headed for failure, would have prevented unions from using paycheck deductions for political purposes -- a major source of money for Democratic candidates and causes.

The road ahead doesn't appear to get any easier for Republicans in California. New statistics show that less than 30% of the state's voters are registered Republicans, which the AP said was the lowest level for the party since recordkeeping began.

Edited November 8, 2012 by Bad_Daddy

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

The backlash is coming. 2014 will be an interesting Gubernatorial race.

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-city-id-card-20121108,0,3937808.story

L.A. council approves ID cards for illegals

By Catherine Saillant, Los Angeles Times

November 7, 2012, 4:55 p.m.

Los Angeles City Council members Wednesday gave enthusiastic backing to the creation of a controversial city identification card that could be used by illegal immigrants to open bank accounts, borrow library books and pay utility bills.

Councilman Ed Reyes called it a way for the city's poorest workers to "come out into the light."

While the federal government has failed to pass immigration reform, the city of Los Angeles is able to manage its own affairs, said Councilman Richard Alarcon, who along with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is a chief sponsor of the card plan.

An ID card that would allow as many as 400,000 residents who now live in a cash economy to access banking services and learn the intricacies of finance is beneficial to everyone, Alarcon said, not just undocumented immigrants, who are expected to be the main benefactors.

"Everyone has used their service at one time or another," he said. "And yet we don't want them to say who they are and what their address is."

Councilman Dennis Zine, echoing others, said he didn't see a downside to the cost-neutral program. "It will help people use a system that is there for them to use and hopefully not abuse," he said.

The 12-1 vote to pursue selecting a vendor to develop and administer the identity card program was a bittersweet victory for Alarcon, who is serving his last term on the council. On Tuesday, voters rejected his bid for a state Assembly seat, leaving him with no public office after next June for the first time in 19 years.

Council President Herb Wesson lauded Alarcon for coming to City Hall to push for the ID card program just hours after he had learned of his defeat.

"It takes a courageous man to come here today," Wesson said. "Your loss is a loss to the state government and a loss to the people of Los Angeles."

Alarcon, bags under his eyes, left quickly after the vote. His Assembly campaign was complicated by the fact that he and his wife face fraud and perjury charges alleging that they did not live in the council district he represents.

Republican Councilman Mitch Englander cast the sole "no" vote, saying the city is in too tough of a financial bind to take on a new program. Though city staff said the program would be self-sustaining through fees charged to obtain a card, Englander said he questioned whether that was true.

"This is starting an entirely new program in Los Angeles when we are at the fiscal cliff," Englander said. "It think it's important to focus on our core functions ... before expanding into services that aren't under our purview."

The photo ID would be available to any resident of the city, regardless of immigration status. Holders could use the card not only as identification but to check out library books, pay bills, make reservations and use city job centers.

The cards would also carry a separate debit card feature that users could pre-load with cash. Oakland, Richmond and San Francisco already have similar cards.

Opponents of illegal immigration have lambasted the cards as an accommodation to lawbreakers. But no one spoke in opposition to the Los Angeles initiative Wednesday.

An array of speakers from civil rights, labor and ethnic organizations urged the council to move forward. Betty Hung, policy director at the Asian Pacific American Legal Center, said a municipal identification card would ease hurdles for immigrants.

For instance, she said, some schools won't release kids into the custody of someone who has no identification.

"Many parents have difficulty picking their children up from school because they don't have IDs,".

Edited November 8, 2012 by Bad_Daddy

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

No big deal. California law enforcement already accept readily the consular matricula cards issued by the Mexican consulates as legal ID in lieu of California driver license and ID cards.

California is Mexico, well, except for the part I live in that used to be part of Czarist Russia.

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

The worst ####### hole in Mexico has Alaska beat big time. I take it you have not been there in a while, if ever.

That must explain the illegal immigration from our southern border these past five decades. Btw I hear the drug cartels are opening up a new vacation mecca for foreigners. I mean when you only have 24,000+ people die in the past 6 years due to the drug wars including cutting off of body parts you know it's a utopia in the making.

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

The worst ####### hole in Mexico has Alaska beat big time. I take it you have not been there in a while, if ever.

Seeing how I don't have access to the internet, I can't read news, no TV up here, and I'm not literate in the English language maybe you could help me out here.

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_1764.html <------ What does this mean and what's that last country listed at the bottom of that link?

[spookyturtle 9,466]

I still chuckle when I see Kip's new sig. What about Danno?

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

I still chuckle when I see Kip's new sig. What about Danno?

We don't talk about that or someone gets reported for going off topic.

[Ban Hammer 13,746]

one post removed per op request, along with one quoting.

[Penny Lane 8,159]

I still chuckle when I see Kip's new sig. What about Danno?

I don't think Danno was involved, actually. I think it might have been Stu and Marvin and someone else. Maybe Herschel? I forget.

We don't talk about that or someone gets reported for going off topic.

Edited November 8, 2012 by Evylin

[MyLittlePony 340]

Kip is jealous of the summer like weather we have all year round.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Kip is jealous of the summer like weather we have all year round.

Doesn't feel like summer this morning at 48F.

[JohnR! 5,495]

The photo id would not grant them any status. Immigration matters fall under the powers of the Federal Government, as set forth by the Constitution.

The photo ID would be available to any resident of the city, regardless of immigration status. Holders could use the card not only as identification but to check out library books, pay bills, make reservations and use city job centers.

"I want to take this opportunity to mention how thankful I am for an Obama re-election. The choice was clear. We cannot live in a country that treats homosexuals and women as second class citizens. Homosexuals deserve all of the rights and benefits of marriage that heterosexuals receive. Women deserve to be treated with respect and their salaries should not depend on their gender, but their quality of work. I am also thankful that the great, progressive state of California once again voted for the correct President. America is moving forward, and the direction is a positive one."

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

http://seattletimes.com/html/nationworld/2019631788_elxnprops08.html

Californians OK $6 billion tax increase

Originally published November 7, 2012 at 10:05 PM | Page modified November 8, 2012 at 6:01 AM

SAN FRANCISCO — California voters decisively approved a ballot measure that would raise taxes by $6 billion annually over seven years, according to election results Wednesday. Voters heeded the pleas of Gov. Jerry Brown, who said the new revenue was necessary to save the state's public schools and balance the budget.

The vote — 54 to 46 percent, with all precincts reporting Wednesday — ended an acrimonious, $123 million battle that pitted the governor against conservative opponents in and outside the state. It was a victory for Brown, who had staked his personal prestige on the initiative's success.

Voters backed the governor's tax increase because they believe in "our schools and our universities, and in the capacity of our state government to make some wise investments, that will benefit all of us," Brown said.

But nowhere was the fight over ballot measures fiercer than in California, where spending on campaigning for and against 11 measures totaled nearly $370 million, according to MapLight, an organization that tracks campaign spending.

Under Brown's tax initiative, Proposition 30, income-tax rates for those earning more than $250,000 annually would be raised for seven years, and a 1/4-cent increase in the state sales tax — to 7.5 percent from 7.25 percent — would be put in place for four years. Under the income-tax increase, those making $1 million or more would pay 13.3 percent, the most of any state.

Without the new revenue, Brown said, California would need to cut $6 billion a year in spending, mostly from the state's already battered education system.

Brown, supported by California teachers unions, was tenacious in seeking support for the initiative, but he encountered fierce and sometimes unexpected opposition.

Edited November 8, 2012 by Bad_Daddy

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

It's so sweet that you care so much about California.

Of course, in part that's because Alaska is financed by California. But don't worry, we'll be fine here, so you have nothing to worry about either.