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Election Wrap-up
Posted 6/9/2010 10:54 AM PDT on MyDesert.com

Well, it's all over and election wrap-up time is here. No more Meg Whitman versus Steve Poizner daily mudslinging airwave spectacles. Meg, as the winner in that nasty war of words, will still be with us. But it probably won't be the same without Steve around determined to prove which is the genuine political Neanderthal. Just think of all that money spent on advertising. Too bad neither zillionaire appears to have the same interest in charitable giving. Makes me respect Microsoft's Bill Gates and Warren Buffet all the more.

I wasn't able to vote for either Meg or Steve - and perhaps that's a blessing. My ballot was a Democratic Party one, and it had a 90%+ success rate. In addition to the winners, I voted for the former Facebook attorney from San Diego, but he lost to a lady from San Francisco. My vote against Proposition 17 proved to be in the minority for that contest, as well. And I was saddened to learn that locally the highly respected Justin Blake lost to a carpet bagger in his bid for a State Senate seat.

PG&E spent tons of money promoting their Proposition 16 effort to strengthen the firm's monopoly as the state's largest gas and energy supplier. Their defeat was well deserved. On the other hand, Mercury Insurance spent gobs of money on their Proposition 17 automobile insurance business expansion plan. They won but at least there could be some benefit to a portion of the state's automobile drivers. Really good drivers may see lower premium rates. (Correction: Proposition 17 lost.)

Another political Neanderthal bit the dust when Judge Zellerbach handed county District Attorney Rod Pacheco his walking papers. Pacheco was one who appeared to only listen to his own drummer and that's probably why he marched over the cliff and lost his reelection bid. Zellerbach is expected to bring a needed breath of fresh air, including commonsense and fiscal restraint, into the District Attorney's office.

Was delighted by Supervisor John Benoit's win against the Riverside Sheriff Association's bought-and-paid-for candidate. That obvious power grab on the part of the RSA was apparently too much for voters to stomach. Must confess to really tiring of unions and employee associations buying candidates and elections. Somehow, someway, that's got to stop.

The biggest win for California voters may well be the passage of Proposition 14. It will vastly reduce the stranglehold political parties have on our partisan elections. Most agree the state's legislative system is broken and incumbents have lost the respect and trust of the public. Proposition 14 holds the promise of bringing change to the process that's responsible for producing the current mess. If that promise proves false, well, there's always someone with another proposition ready to try again. One point is certain. Voters are angry and promises of change have the best chance of winning at the ballot box these days.

Now that the primary elections have produced gubernatorial candidates, Jerry Brown and Meg Whitman will face off in the contest for governor. If that election were held next month my gut instinct leaves me believing Whitman would win. She's the candidate who appears to represent change, apparently has the most money to spend in pursuit of the job, would be the first woman elected to the position in this state, and comes across as the most determined, energetic and qualified candidate ready to serve. However, the votes won't be cast next month and much can happen between now and November. One thing's certain - the primary election battle may prove to have been little more than an opening act in this year's contest for state governor.  And when the dust settles, if it's Meg Whitman and Gavin Newsom in the top two slots, well - what a combination.

Bond Shands
Palm Springs