Danny Gilmore, the Republican assemblyman from Hanford, is taking some heat for having declared his support for Proposition 1A. That’s the initiative on the May 19 ballot that would extend by up to two years a handful of temporary fees and taxes, including the emergency 1-cent sales tax the Legislature put in place in February to keep the state from sinking into a fiscal bog.
That took guts on Gilmore’s part because it could be fatal for his re-election hopes. Bakersfield talk-radio talker Ralph Bailey said as much Monday afternoon, essentially calling Gilmore a one-termer. Bailey could be right.
Why would Gilmore do such a thing? Maybe because he has decided to do what virtually every politician says he’ll do during the campaign but almost never does once he’s elected — forget his party affiliation and answer to the greater good.
It’ll be disaster if Prop. 1A fails. Disastrous for schools, law enforcement, public health — government services most voters didn’t even know they counted on. (And just in time for a potential swine flu outbreak.)
Gilmore knows this — and I sensed he knew it back when the state senate was trying to resolve the budget deficit three months ago. Gilmore didn’t have to vote to raise taxes then because the assembly already had enough votes to make it happen. Gilmore probably doesn’t have to say so now, either, but he’s willing to do so anyway because understands, as a former CHP guy, what a multi-billion-dollar budget shortfall will mean.
That’s called huevos, folks, and I respect him for it even if some of his constituents don’t.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment