State Initiative Process

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The initiative process is being called a threat to representative government. Could the process better serve its intended purpose and be liberated from the influence of big money? We asked Bob Hertzberg, Speaker of the California Assembly; Ron Unz, author of the 1998 initiative that eliminated bilingual education in California; Peter Schrag, author of a book on recent social and political change in California; and Mark Baldassare, senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute.

Prop. 35 would amend the state constitution to allow the state to contract with private engineering and architectural services which would be chosen by a competitive selection process. We'll hear from Carol Evans, spokesperson for "Yes on 35", and Ted Toppin, spokesperson for "No on 35".

  • Newsmaker: In the face of declining voter turnout, Secretary of State Bill Jones predicts a turnout of 76% tomorrow, the highest in 20 years. Arnold Steinberg, Republican political strategist for clients such as Clint Eastwood and Mayor Richard Riordan, talks with us about the 3,000,000 absentee ballots that could delay a final vote count, and about the role of exit polls.
  • Reporter's Notebook A.G. Block, Editor-in-chief of the California Journal, the Sacramento-based non-partisan political magazine joins us to review all 8 ballot propositions, including 32- the Veterans' Bond, 33-Legislators' Participation in PERS, and 39-School Bonds.

Credits

Host:

Warren Olney

Producer:

Frances Anderton