Why I'm Running (Again) & California's Political History

By Bill Chambers

Why I'm Running (Again), Who do I think will vote for me?, Preface to California's Political History, California's Political History

"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results". (Albert Einstein has been given credit for its coinage.)

California's voters keep voting the same politicians into office. It may be for their re-election or when they run for another office after term limits forced them out. How can we possibly expect anything to change when the same politicians are still making the same decisions? If we don't make changes in the State Legislature in 2010, electing a different Governor will not improve anything. It's the Legislators who introduce and pass new laws and programs that we can't afford. It's the Legislators who spend our money irresponsibly. It's the Governor who has the responsibility to oversee the Legislature and stop them in their tracks with a veto when they err.

I want Californians to have the option of voting for someone that will listen to the people. Californians needs a leader who is in touch with the majority of its people, a leader who is a peer on both a social and economic level, a leader who can explain the reasons for making the decisions he/she does and someone who has experienced California's schools when they were at their best. All of our elected politicians should be held accountable and responsible for their actions. Politics is a field that with every decision you make, someone will disagree with your decision but you have to have thick skin and choose the decision that's best for the people, even if it goes against your own personal opinion.

Who do I think will vote for me?

I think that if all of the registered republican voters were to take the time and educate themselves on my candidacy, the majority would feel that I was the best choice to have their voices heard. I, nor anyone else, will ever change the minds of those party members who only follow the endorsements of "The Party". If the voters who think for themselves are willing to take the time to research the candidates, and realize that our party needs to change, they will be the people who vote for me. Wearing blinders and not looking beyond the boundaries of your own party will not meet our state and country's best interests. I'm hoping to provide the voters with a positive choice, rather than picking the lesser of two evils.

Since the majority of registered voters (from all parties) are fed up with our current politicians and they're not exercising their right to vote, I have a better than average chance of winning, only if the media would be willing to acknowledge my candidacy. Without the assistance of the media via newspapers, television, and radio, a candidate has no chance. If a candidate is not given a chance, then the voters will have fewer choices. How can a fair election be held if the media and political parties don't acknowledge all of the candidates on the ballot?

I need everyone's assistance to overcome the stronghold of the media and Republican Party. Write editorials to your newspapers or call your local radio or TV Station. Call your nearest Republican office for information about me and see what they say. Educate them about my candidacy and insist that they inform others about me. California is your state and you need to take control of its destiny. Don't let politics as usual continue.

Preface

California politics are still dominated by special interests. This didn't end with the election of our current Governor. People must realize that when they ask or expect "The Government" to provide us with something, it's the taxpayers themselves that foot the bill. "The Government" only distributes the money they receive from us through taxes and fees. The only way to create new programs is by increasing everyone's taxes. People need to understand that when they ask or expect "the Government" to provide them with anything, they are actually expecting their families, friends, neighbors, co-workers and all the other tax payers to pay for their wants.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I will not attempt to buy the position with my own money or anyone else's. PERIOD. I will abide by the voluntary expenditure ceiling. The outlandish spending in elections is not getting our citizens the best results. The candidates spending the most money in an election, does not result in us electing the best candidate. You, the voters, need to decide for yourselves who will best represent you and who will best serve California. We need a broader cross section of Californians to represent us in the State Capitol. There are too many lawyers. We need accountants, barbers, chemists, doctors, electricians, firemen, geologists, housewives, inventors, janitors, limnologists, machinists, nurses, ornithologists, etc.

Will the Republican Party snub any of the candidates in this election? Only time will tell. The bottom line is that the California Republican Party leaders only care about winning the election, not providing California with the best candidate to represent the people. This decision to not include all of the candidates was not in the best interest of the Republican Party and especially not in the best interest of Californians. I'd like to see fairness in our own state's elections. Our country has sent ambassadors to other countries to make sure fair elections are held. Do we need Jimmy Carter in California to oversee our elections? Look at one of the debates in the last republican presidential primary election hosted by Anderson Cooper. He allowed John McCain and Mitt Romney to monopolize the debate and ignored the rest. This type of behavior should be unacceptable from the media and the political parties.

Before the Republican Party starts to criticize a competing political party or their candidate, we must be able to scrutinize our own party and its candidates. If we have a member of our party who is currently holding office (or running for office) that is involved in a questionable situation, we as a party should be willing to investigate the improprieties and come to a conclusive decision. If our party finds that one of our own has wronged, we need to be at the top of the list when it comes to condemning their actions. If we are to be leaders, we need to set the highest standard of ethics and honor. We need candidates to represent our party that are honorable, truthful, and who demonstrate class. Some of those in our party have not been up to this standard.

California's Political History

Since California's beginning, we have had thirty-eight Governors. They consisted of fifteen Democrats, twenty-one Republicans, one American Party, and one Progressive Party. In the last fifty years, the Governor's party affiliation has flip-flopped back and forth from Democrats to Republicans (except once when Pete Wilson followed George Deukmejian) for a total of three Democrats and four Republicans. If you look at totals in the last fifty years, we've had thirty years of Republican Governors and twenty years of Democrat Governors.

There is a similarity on a national level with our Presidents. In the last fifty years we've had six Republicans and five Democrats. Twenty-nine years total for Republicans and twenty-one for Democrats. California does with its Governors what the country has done with its Presidents. If our last fifty year's history set the pattern of our voters, does this mean that our next Governor will be a democrat?

The California State Senate had a Republican majority from about the turn of the century until 1957 when a stalemate occurred and the Democrats tied the Republicans for two years (1957-58). From 1959 to 1967 the Democrats controlled the Senate. In 1968-69 we once again had a tie and in 1970 the Republicans held a brief majority until 1971 when the Democrats regained control and have controlled it since.

The California State Assembly was controlled by the Republicans from around 1900 until 1959. Since 1959 the Democrats have only lost control of the Assembly in 1969-70 and 1995-96. Simply put, the Republicans controlled the State Legislature for about sixty years and the Democrats have controlled it for about the last fifty years.

Now let's look how Californians react to our State Legislature (Senate & Assembly) compared to how our country reacts to our Federal Legislature (Senate &House). On the federal level the Senate and House has changed majorities a few times in the last fifty years. In the U.S. Senate, Democrats were in control from 1959+1981 and 1987+1995. Republicans held the majority from 1981-1987, 1995-2001, and 2003-2007. In 2001-2003 and 2007-2009 it was a fifty/fifty split. In the U.S. House of Representatives the Democrats held the majority from 1959-1995 and 2007-2009. The Republicans majority ran from 1995-2007.

In the last fifty years California's voters have upset the apple cart for one year in the Senate and four years in the Assembly. California has definitely not followed the country's changes towards the U.S. Legislature.

Who is responsible for deciding our country's and state's spending, taxes, laws, and policies? It's the Legislatures of the federal and state governments. As a whole, our society wants to blame our President when things have gone awry in our country and our Governor when things have gone sour in our state. Voters have taken the wrong action. They've chosen the wrong branch of government to evoke their powers upon. Our President and Governors only have the ability to approve or veto laws passed by the Legislature. In order to achieve real change the majority composition of the legislature or in the very least, the individuals holding office, need to change. When voters re-elect politicians, they are telling those politicians that they're doing a good job. When voters keep electing politicians to different positions, they're saying those politicians are doing a great job. Politicians will not change their ways unless they fear losing their elected position. If the polls are correct with the 65% to 75% dissatisfaction ratings, then 65% to 75% or more of our elected representatives in the state legislature need to be given their pink slips in this next election.

The over whelming majority of the credit and blame, success and failures, for our laws, policies, and spending goes to our Legislature. In the last fifty years California has gone from having one of the best school systems in the nation to bottom ten percent. We have increased pollution standards to make our air and water cleaner and lost manufacturing jobs because of it. Shell games are used to move revenues from one department to another to mask the over spending by the Legislature. Our current Governor wants to help the state by taking revenues from cities and counties, which will put them in financial chaos. Our infrastructure needs repairs but there are plans for a high speed train and a peripheral canal to the tune of $62 billion. Cities lay-off police officers but used (or want to use) tax revenues on sports arenas. Does anyone else see that we have a problem of massive proportions in our state?

The only jobs a Governor or Legislature can create are government jobs paid for by the taxpayers. They cannot force companies to create jobs. What the Governor and Legislature can do, is change the state's laws and policies to make California more appealing to keep the companies here that we already have and attract other companies to come to California. When companies leave our state they take jobs and tax revenues to another state or country. The state loses revenues from both the companies and employees in the form of income taxes, property taxes, and sales taxes. The remaining companies lose sales generated by the companies and employees who left. A snowball or domino effect is started.

Why wasn't our Governor and Legislature prepared for this recession? For most us over fifty, we have experienced four or more boom/bust cycles in the real estate market. Most of us new this recession was coming. (I was expecting a fifteen to twenty percent drop in real estate prices.) This is the worst I've seen. What exactly caused it? My opinion is that creative financing started the real estate situation again. Why didn't mortgage companies learn from the late 1970s? Why would a finance company promote taking all of your equity out of your home? It's insane. Once people can't make their mortgage payments another snowball / domino effect starts. People stop buying goods and services from other companies which create more lay-offs. Maybe the State and Federal Legislatures set the example of spending beyond your means and too many people followed it.

Californians have become pacifists towards our State Legislature for over one hundred years. Our State Senators and Assemblymen do not fear the electorate. Maybe it's time for a rebellion in California's next election. If you want to make a real difference for California, change the Legislators and elect a Governor with common sense, a strong backbone, and without special interest campaign donations. In our country's beginning, politicians represented many different vocations (farmers, teachers, store owners, ranchers, salesmen, inventors, etc.). They were a true cross section of our society. Now days there are too many lawyers, career politicians, pork barrel projects, and campaign war chests funded by the candidates themselves and/or their contributors. The best candidate may not be the one with the most money. Listen to all of the candidates and decide who will best represent you and lead California to prosperity again.

The best change for California and the Nation may be to replace every incumbent from every party and start fresh. We need people to represent us who are willing to work together to solve yesterday's, today's and tomorrow's problems. If we re-elect the same people to the same positions or re-elect the same people to different positions, we will continue down the same path of destruction we are on. We won't need our enemies to destroy our Nation, we'll do it ourselves.

Bill Chambers for Governor 2010 E-mail: chambers4governor@sbcglobal.net Website: http://www.billchambers4governor.com Phone: (530) 823-3262 Address: P.O. Box 6019, Auburn, CA 95604