I am ecstatic that Proposition 82 was easily defeated. Finally the voters of California have chosen not to add more debt under the guise of taxing the rich. Prop. 82 was a rather dubious initiative in the first place, but frankly, I am quite surprised that the typically uneducated California electorate was overwhelmingly opposed to it.
It is also interesting to note that the voters also rejected Prop. 81, which would have funded library construction.
Locally, Measure G, the colossal bond measure proposed by Mt. San Jacinto Community College, was also defeated by a rather handy margin. Apparently local voters decided that they didn't want to spend the "only $19.50" per $100,000 in assessed value when they are paying more than $3 per gallon for gas.
My hat is off to Temecula City Councilman Mike Naggar for being the most visible public figure to come out against this ridiculous bond.
A school bond, Measure E, in Murrieta passed by the slimmest of margins. Had it not been for a previous proposition dropping the passage requirement to 55 percent, Measure E would have failed. Voter sentiment, based on the slim passage of this bond and rejection of others, seems to be, "No more new taxes, whatever form they take."
In the race for the Republican nomination in the 66th Assembly District, Kevin Jeffries was the winner. One issue I am hoping that Jeffries comes along on is the proposed Liberty Quarry. Unlike his opponents, who came out strongly against the quarry, Jeffries did not. As a Republican who doesn't want Temecula to turn into Irwindale, Jeffries will not have my vote in November unless he comes out against the quarry. I urge my fellow Temecula Republicans to do the same.
Jeffries' Web site lists some of his top issues as fighting illegal immigration, being a strong fiscal conservative and protecting our gun rights. These are great "hot button" issues in a very conservative district like the 66th, but breathing clean air and not having to live next door to a rock quarry are much more important to the residents of Southwest County.
The biggest race in Southern California was the Brian Bilbray/Francine Busby race to replace criminal mastermind Duke Cunningham in Congress. This is a race that supposedly was going to set the trend for the fall elections. If Bilbray loses, Republicans would be in trouble nationwide in November. Although the race was close, Bilbray did not lose and he is not going to lose the general election.
Busby was able to improve her percentage of the vote -- she lost to Cunningham by 21 points in 2004, but the fact remains she is still a loser. Add on last week's "You don't need papers" comment by Busby about illegal aliens voting, I believe you will find that she has reached her high water mark in votes.
Overlooked in the final results is the extraordinary strength of the Republican slate of candidates at the state level. At the top of the ticket is Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, seeking re-election and the exceptionally talented Tom McClintock running for lieutenant governor. The other Republican candidates for statewide offices essentially ran unopposed and are well-positioned financially to take on the Democrats in the fall. Maybe Democrats, not Republicans, need to be worried in the fall?
Mark Mush is a regular columnist for The Californian. He can be reached at markwmush@hotmail.com.
