October
2, 2003 What’s up with guys? They never want to listen to the girl…even when she’s right. During California’s budget debacle, State Controller Kathleen Connell warned Governor Davis that California would spend around $30 billion to buy power just to keep the lights on. Construction of new freeways, school classrooms, and other state projects would be halted. She insisted that across the board, services would be slashed or new fees would be required to keep the state functioning. But Governor Davis insisted she was wrong. In his own words, “The state will be out no money, none, zero, zilch.” Connell, a Democrat like Davis, was relentless. She refused to pay the $50,000 monthly salaries to Davis’ two political operatives hired to spin the budget crisis away from his administration. An $11,000 bill for “emergency” meals, including a $1,000 sushi dinner, was also ignored. “It all goes back to government agencies that have grown 47 percent,” Connell said. “The question is why. How is that possible over eight years? It’s a stunning factor. The government chooses to just grow. The result is this immense budget crisis.” She fought for government spending to be restrained and a zero-based budgeting strategy adopted. Connell’s department grew at 0 percent during her eight years in office. Connell ordered an audit of the state’s power-buying. She accused Davis of withholding key financial information from her office, the legislature, and the public. She refused to transfer $5.6 billion into a “rainy day fund” she said was set up to impress Wall Street as the state issued $10 billion in revenue bonds to cover its power buys, calling the transaction a “shell game”. Steve Maviglio, Governor Davis’s spokesman, went on the attack. In July of 2001, at the height of the crisis, he told the press that “Unless (Connell) wants to go home and bake a few pans of lasagna for the guys on the front lines who are trying to keep the lights on, she should stick to the job of writing checks.” Maviglio’s credibility was later tempered by the Los Angeles Times disclosure that he bought stock in Calpine and Enron Corp. (California energy providers) during contract negotiations. At the statewide Democratic Convention Connell delivered a scathing rebuke. “We are well into the fifth month (of the energy crisis), and we have yet to find any answers from the administration. There will be no excuses for Democrats in this state… Whatever solution (the governor) provides must come fast and be shared openly with the people of California.” Garry South, the governor’s senior political adviser responded to Connell’s warnings with “It’s all air…not only hot air, but a foul wind.” Now the state of California faces a structural deficit that would qualify a Third World country for International Monetary Fund assistance. Last year California had a negative immigration flow. People are fleeing the state, especially people with money. Davis should have fought his administration’s boys-club only mentality. He should have listened to her advice. She took unpopular stands based on credible data. Connell was the rational one, the truth-teller. This Tuesday Californians will decide if Davis should remain their governor. Polls indicate he will lose his job. If he does, it will be the second time in the United States history a governor has been recalled from office. Maybe then Davis and his good ol’ boys will admit they should have listened to Kathleen Connell and her message of fiscal responsibility. |