7
2003
As soon as the dust settles here in San Francisco, the state’s political junkies will, once again, turn their attention to Gov. Arnold and his budget woes.
Schwarzenegger’s scuffling with the Democratic state legislature hasn’t gone well. He wants to put an initiative before voters authorizing a $15 billion bond measure as a way of managing the state’s massive debt. It’s an idea, let’s put it that way. And it’s one that’s going to draw some very funny lines, lines that are going to be important in the future.
Two men who would be Governor, Treasurer Phil Angelides and Steve Westly are on opposite sides of this issue. Westly, from Silicon Valley, Arnold country, has been cautiously supportive. Angelides, a traditional Democrat, thinks Schwarzenegger’s plan is a bad idea.
Watch this space. These guys are playing for keeps and their contest could very well turn into another fine illustration of the ways in which the Democratic Party is remaking itself. It’s Westly, who more and more embodies the ideas of his fellow tech entrepreneurs, an independent but business-minded crowd of Progressive Liberatarians, versus Angelides’ traditional little guy v. goliath corporate interests.
A look at how high the stakes might become is in the Dec. 22 Fortune. Non-subscribers have to pay to read on-line, but this magazine in particular, with stories about Schwab and Google and the challenges both these influential San Francisco and Silicon Valley companies have ahead of them is pretty much required reading.