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Contributors
Bill Leonard - Contributor
Bill Leonard is a Member of the State Board of Equalization
 A
Week Under the Dome...
Reagan, ballot measures and Governor's faith...
[Bill Leonard] 6/15/04
Honoring Ronald Reagan
I did not have a better idea than Governor Schwarzenegger's
Proclamation to honor Ronald Reagan, which reduced state offices
to skeleton crews last Friday. However, I must admit that to
honor a President and Governor who railed against waste in government
by paying government workers for extra time off is, at the very
least, ironic.
My second thought was remembering my father's advice to Governor
Reagan when he served as a Reagan appointee to the California
Highway Commission. Dad said that Cal Trans would probably get
more transportation projects built if half the department was
sent home with pay. Perhaps Governor Schwarzengger, with thanks
to Ronald Reagan, is belatedly implementing this advice.
My third thought was
also not mine originally. A thoughtful commentator on the state
budget suggested that Governor Schwarzenegger,
again with a nod to Ronald Reagan, has found a way for state
employees to self- identify themselves as either "essential," which
means that they worked last Friday, or "non-essential," which
means they may end up on that layoff list now buried in the Department
of Finance.
Summer Study Assignment
Summer is upon us and you thought studying was over for a few
months. Wrong! You have 20 weeks to study up on 14 ballot measures
before the exam on election day, November 2nd. You may not know
anything about them now, but my guess is that you will be tired
of hearing about some of them even before the World Series starts.
The 13 measures come
in the form of three legislative bills, nine initiatives and
one referendum. Three are bond measures:
high speed rail, $9.95 billion; children's hospitals, $750 million;
and stem cell research, $3 billion. Two ask for tax increases:
one seeks higher income taxes to pay for mental health services,
and the other institutes a new “ telephone tax” to
fund emergency and medical services. The referendum seeks to
overturn the health care mandate on small businesses that was
passed last year by the Legislature. There are two measures about
Indian gaming and one that would effectively undermine California’s
Three Strikes law.
As of this writing,
there were still 28 measures circulating for enough signatures
to make it to the ballot and another four
being reviewed by the Attorney General’s office. Plus,
the legislature could still add more to the ballot before they
finish for the summer. To begin your study so you are ready for
election day, visit http://www.ss.ca.gov/elections/elections_j.htm
Our
Governor’s
Faith
One of the most touching aspect of honoring Ronald Reagan last
week was seeing and hearing how many public officials react to
matters of faith. Those for whom faith is a motivating factor
in their lives put the spiritual touches on their decisions and
actions every day, but unless one is looking for it, that inspired
leadership may go unnoticed. As Governor Schwarzenegger addressed
the California Prayer Breakfast last Wednesday, it was impossible
for his faith to remain unnoticed. I want to share with you some
of the words he spoke at the breakfast to let you know that in
addition to a man of action, you have a man of faith leading
our state. He remembered his experience being raised Catholic
and attending church schools. He said,
“All of those things had a big impact on me growing up.
I learned faith and discipline from the church, but I also learned
faith and discipline from my parents. My parents did not allow
me to just hang out, or to just watch things be done. They wanted
me to be responsible, always be active. My father, especially,
always was asking me, every day, ‘What were you doing today?
What did you accomplish?’ ….It didn’t matter
really what it was, he just wanted me to create something, build
something, invent something, or do something. It didn’t
matter what it was, if it was just building a little whistle
from a wood stick, or if it was studying, creating a kite from
scratch, or going to school, or doing homework, or doing sports… He
wanted me to be active, and to grow and develop myself, because
he wanted me to have faith in God, but he also wanted me to have
faith in myself. He always said it was God who gave me my body
and my mind, but it was now up to me to achieve 100 percent of
my potential. And he always would say it’s criminal for
people not to achieve 100 percent of their potential.”
The Governor did not go on to talk about achieving his potential
in terms of his political work. Rather, he focused on instilling
the same values in his children. He spoke highly of his wife
and her abilities as well as of her parents and their faith.
He talked about teaching his own children to read the Bible daily,
do well in school, complete their chores and be physically active.
In doing all of that, our Governor gives an example of faith
in action and reminds us that we uplift each other in our efforts
to reach our divine potential. CRO
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