Editorials

Experience or new blood? That was the question at the heart of a debate on Proposition 45 in Professor Alan Ross’s “Election 2002” class at UC Berkeley Wednesday. 

The measure on the March 5 ballot would allow termed-out state legislators to seek four more years in office if a number of voters in their district, equivalent to 20 percent of those who voted in the last general election, sign a petition to get the incumbent on the ballot. 

Members of the state Assembly are now limited to three, two-year terms and state senators are limited to two, four-year terms. 

Mary Bergan, president of the California Federation of Teachers, which is supporting Prop. 45, said the measure is important because it would create a more seasoned legislature. 

“Just as in teaching, we think that in legislating, experience counts,” said Bergan. “We have, in many ways, a real revolving door in Sacramento. 

“(The state legislature) deals with a lot of very, very complex issues,” she continued. “They’re not mastered overnight.” 

But Dan Schnur, a political science professor at UC Berkeley and spokesman for the “No on 45” campaign, said the measure is simply designed to prolong the careers of out-of-touch career politicians. 

“A career politician can’t understand, like a citizen politician can understand, the wants and needs and dreams of ordinary people,” he said, arguing that the legislature benefits from a regular influx of community activists and businesspeople with recent, “real life” experience. 

Schnur cautioned that, if voters pass Proposition 45, politicians will only seek further term extensions. 

“They’re asking for four years,” he said. “But do you think someone who’s been in office since 1964 is going to say, ‘thanks for the four years, I’m going home to find a regular job?’ ” 

According to a Field Poll released last week, only 19 percent of California voters said they had heard anything about Proposition 45. 

When they were read the measure, 52 percent supported it and 37 percent opposed. But when they were told that Proposition 45 might cost California counties several hundred thousand dollars to implement, the numbers changed dramatically. Only 40 percent supported and 45 percent opposed. 

The Field Poll also recorded continued support for the concept of term limits, first enacted in California in 1990. Sixty-four percent of respondents said they like the idea of term limits, with 31 percent opposed. 

After the debate, Schnur said public support for term limits will work in his favor, but acknowledged that a massive fund-raising deficit could work against the “No on 45” campaign. 

“If we only get outspent four to one, we can beat this thing,” he said. “If we get outspent seven or eight to one, it’s going to be tough.” 

According to the latest figures available from the state, proponents of Proposition 45 have a multi-million dollar advantage, and are outspending the opposition by well over the eight to one ratio cited by Schnur. 

Charles Ramsey, running for the 14th District state Assembly seat to replace termed-out legislator Dion Aroner, said he supports Proposition 45. 

“I think term limits have been a disaster for the citizens of California,” he said, arguing that veteran lobbyists know more about the ins and outs of the legislature than representatives. 

But Schnur argued that when both legislators and lobbyists have been around for a long time, they tend to develop cozy relationships. 

“People who find that a compelling argument can vote people out,” said Loni Hancock, another candidate for state Assembly who supports Proposition 45. “Now, you have a situation where legislators are learning on the job and lobbyists are the ones with the institutional memory.” 

Dave Brown, the third candidate for Aroner’s seat, also supports the ballot measure, arguing that it may represent “the best of both worlds.”  

With more terms, Brown noted, a legislator could serve 10 years in the Assembly and 12 years in the Senate, for a full 22 years in office, creating a number of legislators with extensive experience. 

At the same time, he argued, there would be a consistent flow of new voices into the chamber.