Groups announce opposition to ballot initiatives

Published online on Friday, May. 08, 2009

Fresno was the site of not one, but two news conferences Wednesday in opposition to key ballot initiatives in the upcoming May 19 special election.

Near Fresno City College, the Fresno League of Women Voters joined with Fresno community college faculty to announce opposition to Proposition 1A, the linchpin in a deal between lawmakers from both parties and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger that raises broad taxes on most state residents, borrows heavily and slices deeply into state services.

If approved by voters, Prop. 1A would extend $16 billion in tax hikes, strengthen a rainy-day fund and constrain future state spending.

Opponents on Wednesday posted the entire 3,000-word text of the initiative and challenged people to decipher the fine print.

Terri Figgs, legislation director of the Fresno League of Women Voters, said the initiative was "hastily written, with no public hearings, by the governor and legislature in Sacramento. We all want to fix the budget, but even after reading all the small print in Prop. 1A, you cannot find a single thing it does to help solve the immediate budget crisis."

As opponents of Prop. 1A gathered, those in opposition to Prop. 1D did the same at Stone Soup, a nonprofit that serves Southeast Asian refugees in Fresno.

They said the proposition would force deep cuts in child protection.

The proposition would redirect tobacco-tax funds from early education programs to the state's general fund.

"This is a very dangerous initiative," said Sheila Boxley, president of the Child Abuse Prevention Center, in the Sacramento suburb of North Highlands. "Voters need to know just how high a price children and taxpayers would pay if Proposition 1D passes."