Coalitions offer true reforms, the kind California really needs

Teachers have banded together with other public servants "because the governor has labeled us 'special interests' and has declared us to be the enemy," says CTA President Barbara E. Kerr.

CTA is a major player in the Alliance for a Better California, a coalition of organizations representing 2 million teachers, nurses, firefighters, school administrators and public employees. "We have joined forces because the state's education, health care and public safety programs are under attack, which threatens the future of California."

The coalition is getting stronger and broader every day, she says, as it picks up the active support of seniors, parents, consumers, minority, environment, good government and citizens groups.

In addition to generating public opposition to the governor's initiatives, the coalition is making sure that, if a special election does occur, issues important to California's working families will also appear on the ballot.

The coalition has already gathered enough signatures to qualify three initiatives for the ballot, all of which are based on bills that passed the Legislature, but were vetoed by the governor. By rights, they should have received the support of the "people's governor," but the big businesses that opposed them are some of the governor's biggest contributors.

The measures include:

The Car Buyer's Bill of Rights, which allows used car buyers to get out of a purchase within a three-day period, prohibits predatory loan practices by car dealers and prohibits hidden charges on finance contracts. At press time, the Alliance had withdrawn the initiative after working out a legislative compromise between lawmakers and used car dealers.

The Cheaper Prescription Drugs for California Act, which requires the state to negotiate real discounts for uninsured and under-insured citizens.

Regulation of Electric Service, which would undo the deregulation of resources that sent the state into a tailspin in recent years.

Another measure, which would make the sponsors of ballot initiatives live by their own rules, is still in signature-gathering. The Same Percent Vote Requirement initiative would make initiatives that impose new "super-majority" vote requirements be approved by the same "super-majority" vote.

CTA is also part of a coalition called Californians for Tax Fairness, which is offering its own substantive reform proposal — an initiative that would generate critical resources for local schools, law enforcement, transportation projects and senior citizen programs.

The Tax Fairness Act of 2005 would reassess corporate property taxes annually beginning in 2006-07 with the additional revenue it raises remaining in the county of collection to ensure that big businesses pay their fair share for public services. Because of a loophole in Proposition 13, many big businesses pay taxes based on assessments dating back to the 1970s, making California commercial property taxes among the lowest in the country — 43rd out of 50.

"Property taxes are the most stable source of school funding," says Kerr. "This measure closes a corporate tax loophole and forces big corporations to pay their fair share of taxes."

"Over the last three decades, California homeowners have shouldered a heavier load of property taxes than businesses, and that's just not fair," says Pat McNamara, president of the Riverside Sheriffs Association, which is sponsoring the initiative. "Businesses are reaping all the benefits without paying their fair share."

The signature-gathering effort is being funded by CTA and the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, both of which are part of the Coalition for Tax Fairness, which was formed to restore fairness to the tax code and provide critical resources for local infrastructure needs.

In a state the size of California, campaign strategies must include using television and radio effectively, and CTA was first to air TV ads taking on the governor's broken promises and challenging his credibility. Parents and the Education Coalition are joining CTA in these efforts.

The extensive barrage of radio and TV commercials combined with community-supported picket lines at the governor's fundraising events and "Save 98" rallies have taken their toll on the governor's popularity. According to the Public Policy Institute of California, the governor's popularity has plunged 20 points just since January, leaving him with a 40 percent job approval rating.

Former Contra Costa County Teacher of the Year Liane Cismowski, a member of the Mt. Diablo Education Association, was featured in wave after wave of CTA television ads criticizing the governor's broken promises on education funding and imploring him to take his promises on education as seriously as teachers do. Her sudden fame put her on the front page of her local paper.

"I don't want to go mano a mano with the governor," she told the Contra Costa Times, "but I'm not a special interest. I'm a person, a teacher."

"Children are our special interest," says CTA's Kerr.