This is an archive of a past election.
See http://www.smartvoter.org/ca/state/ for current information.
LWV League of Women Voters of California
California State Government October 7, 2003 Election
Smart Voter Political Philosophy for Joe Guzzardi

Candidate for
Recall of Gray Davis; State of California

[photo]
This information is provided by the candidate

Many Californians have asked me why I am a candidate for governor in the Recall Election. Since I have never held elective office, the question is reasonable and my answer is simple.

I am running because Californians need to hear the truth about what has happened to our once golden state. And Californians must elect a governor who is not afraid to make the bold decisions to put our state back on its way to greatness.

Enlightened Californians know exactly what's wrong. Every day we see evidence of how illegal immigration has changed California. But you would never know about it if you counted on Governor Gray Davis to tell you.

I pledge that when I am the Governor of California, you - the people - will hear only the truth. Californians deserve candor in government. Unfortunately, that has not always been the case.

I will work to remove every magnet that the government of California now provides to entice illegal aliens to enter California. A government, like a doctor, should first do no harm. The Gray Davis government not only doesn't have solutions for California problems, but its present policies are the primary cause of most of the critical problems like water and energy shortages, traffic congestion, sprawl, environmental degradation, school overcrowding, financial crises in the health, education and the penal system and wage depression among the state's workers.

On the issues section of this website, you can read my position on the major challenges that California faces. But because unchecked immigration is California's most pressing social issue, I will address several aspects of that topic here.

As Abraham Lincoln said, "Let the people know the facts, and the country will be safe."

Davis has mocked those of us who argue that the U.S. immigration laws should be obeyed. Instead Davis, a graduate of the Columbia University Law School, has worked tirelessly to promote illegal immigration. Too often special interests supercede what's best for California.

Examine these two statements Davis made about Proposition 187 during his very first months as Governor:

April 15, 1999, "I'm a governor, not a judge. I've taken an oath to uphold all the laws of the state, no matter how much I may disagree with those laws."

April 16, 1999. "If this (Proposition 187) were a piece of legislation, I would veto it, But it's not. It's an initiative, passed by nearly 60 percent of the voters through a process specifically designed to go over the heads of the Legislature and the governor. If officials choose to selectively enforce only the laws they like, our system of justice will not long endure."

Sadly, Davis was not telling the truth. Despite his sanctimonious pledges of fidelity to democracy, Governor Davis had already entered into mediation agreements with most of the major opponents of Proposition 187, and none of its supporters. Davis' objective was to keep it from reaching the Supreme Court. He was successful with this deceit. (See the article Recalling Davis - And Ending Immigration?).

Davis' capitulation on Proposition 187 marked the beginning of five long years of abandoning decent, hard-working Californians who object to having their voice stifled. Instead of responding to financial and social consequences of the illegal alien invasion, Davis feeds it. (See the article Pitfalls created by lax immigration policies).

Unfortunately, Davis' failure to defend Proposition 187 has the predictable consequences for our K-12 school system. Shortly after being elected for his first term, Davis promised to make education his "first, second and third priority". Now, on the eve of his recall, the high school exit exam - touted as the barometer of California's projected new education standards - has been postponed until
2006.

As a teacher, I will tell you that there are only two types of exams possible. For students to pass, the test would have to be watered down to junior high school level. If the test were meaningful, the percentage of failures would be so high that shock waves would reverberate all over California. (See the article What Does The Class of 2002 Know?).

Why do kids fail? Chief among many reasons is that teachers are so absorbed dealing with the 1.5 million non-English speaking students in the California K-12 system that they cannot focus on their main task - teaching. Take if from me as an education insider; the reason your public school kids don't know anything is because learning isn't number one on the K-12 agenda. Academics are subordinate to English language development, ethnic awareness and diversity. (See the article American Schools Lowering Standards For Hispanics).

Here's a side note on education: the cost to school those
1.5 million English Language Learners (to slip momentarily into education jargon) who don't speak English is about $10 billion. To be sure, because of our nonsensical immigration laws, some of those non-English speakers are U.S. citizens, some are legal immigrants and the rest are illegal aliens. But whether they are legal, illegal or U.S. citizens, the $10 billion you spend to educate them is directly related to immigration. (See the article A Rare Opportunity).

Unconstrained immigration to California has also brought the health care system to its knees. The California Medical Association white paper titled California's Emergency Services - A System in Crisis revealed that 80 percent of the hospital emergency rooms lost money in fiscal 1999. More than 9 million patients were treated that year in emergency rooms at an average loss of $46 per visit. Hospitals statewide lost $317 million in their emergency departments. Emergency physicians provided an additional $100 million in uncompensated care. Since this report was issued, conditions have gotten worse.

Add to this millions of dollars in payments for child delivery services and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families for women illegally in California and you begin to understand why the state is sinking in red ink.

As your Governor, I will use the powerful influence of my office to do the following:

  • If possible, return Proposition 187 to the courts for review and encourage Proposition 187-type legislation to end subsidies to illegal aliens for all but emergency medical care. This was the original and true intention of the 1994 voter initiative. And enforce the section of Proposition 187 which Judge Pfaelzer said was within the purview of the State of California which calls for stronger state penalties on manufacture,sale and use of fraudulent identification.

  • Tolerate no further delays in the high school exit exam.

  • Immediately send the National Guard to patrol the border.

  • Veto SB 60, the assembly bill that would grant driver's licenses to illegal aliens, if it is still pending. If Davis has signed it into law, I will demand a hearing on its constitutionality.

  • Mount an immediate legal challenge to revoke AB 540 that gives in-state university tuition to illegal aliens.

  • Take immediate steps to invalidate the acceptance of the so-called Matricula Consular card currently accepted at government and business offices throughout the state. All such cards issued by any government would no longer be permitted in the State of California.

  • Promote a photo voter identification card to eliminate the growing problem of voter fraud taking place in California. I will initiate legislation that requires mandatory purging of voter rolls every four years. Purging is the most effective way of making sure only registered voters cast ballots.

  • Demand that the Government of Mexico extradite violent felons who have committed capital crimes on California soil. Until those criminals are returned to the proper law enforcement authorities, no Mexican government officials will be welcome at the Governor's Mans

Next Page: Additional Endorsements

Candidate Page || This Contest
October 2003 Home (Ballot Lookup) || About Smart Voter


The League of Women Voters does not support or oppose any candidate or political party.
Created from information supplied by the candidate: September 8, 2003 09:24
Smart Voter   <http://www.smartvoter.org/>
Copyright © League of Women Voters of California Education Fund   http://ca.lwv.org