Editorial: South County candidate to replace Maldonado needed
Dec 7, 2009
Gov. Schwarzenegger appoints MH representative to Lt. Gov.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's nomination of state Senator Abel Maldonado as lieutenant governor is a good pick. It can't hurt having someone who once represented Morgan Hill in a state office.
"Sen. Maldonado has proven he has the strength and courage it takes to reach across the partisan divide and put the interests of Californians first," Schwarzenegger said in a release, "and he is absolutely the most qualified person to take on the role of lieutenant governor."
Under the state Constitution, the lieutenant governor is the president of the Senate and casts the deciding vote in case of a tie.
He or she also serves as the acting governor and on a number of state boards, including the California State Lands Commission and the University of California and California State University systems. Maldonado will be paid $159,134 annually.
Race promises to be hotly contested, win would give Dems 2/3 majority
Maldonado - whose 15th District includes the northern portion of Santa Barbara County, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, and Santa Cruz counties, and the southeast portion of Santa Clara County - must be confirmed within 90 days.
And assuming Maldonado is confirmed, a special election would be scheduled to fill his senate seat until the next regular election in 2012. And, it promises to be hotly contested. If a Democrat wins the 15th District seat, it would give that party a two-thirds majority in the Senate.
Finding someone local to run, and win, would be vital to region
And that's where it would be nice to see someone from Morgan Hill run and win. Maldonado did a good job, but much needs to be done in the 15th district, which includes counties that contain key agricultural areas and some of the state's most popular parks.
These two areas were cut heavily by the governor's budget earlier this year when he penciled in reductions to the Williamson Act open space subsidy and about $70 million to state parks.
In Santa Clara County, that included $305,000 in state assistance under the Williamson Act, which the county had to fill in due to contractual obligations to property owners who enjoy parcel tax reductions under the program. Cuts to parks will also affect northern California's largest state park, Henry W. Coe Park in Morgan Hill, where visitors will see less maintenance and upkeep over the next year.
We have high expectations that whoever succeeds Maldonado, and we hope it's someone from South County, can do better.
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