Direct Democracy in California - a primer

California has the sixth largest economy in the world and still relies on it's citizens to make up policy as they go along. That's like....totally crazy!

Picture for a moment: Governor Arnold Schwarzenneger sat at the grown-ups' table of the G8 summit with Italy's Berlusconi gesticulating wildly at the impudence of Numero Otto's exclusion from the uber-club of world politics. That's not such a strange thought when you consider that California's GDP is bigger than Italy's.

Say what you like about California. That it's populated in equal part by crazies, hippies and groupies. That its film industry has deflowered our language and depraved our children, or that its 'playful' Governor is an international joke. But don't underestimate this bunch of 35m weirdos with a combined GDP of $1.4 trillion. Theirs is a strip of land that has been a haven for the disenchanted, the oppressed and the hopeful for over 150 years. Ask Californians what their State stands for, and somewhere in their reply you'll hear "Freedom".....or "Dude"

I lived in San Francisco during the late 90's and saw that freedom best expressed in California's Direct Initiatives system. If you think this is unique to California then look again. A total of 10 U.S states now use voter initiatives as a method of partly or completely by-passing the legislature and enabling voter backed 'propositions' to be written into state law. Drive route 101 out of San Francisco at election time and you'll see building sized billboards asking you to "Vote No on prop 77". To the uninitiated this all looks a lot like Government-by-Numbers. I have a picture in my mind's eye of George Bush - tongue out and green crayon at the ready.

California's own system has been in place since 1911 and allows any voter to circulate a petition directly to the electorate for 150 days in all California counties. If the outcome of the petition is intended to revise a state statute then a number of signatures equal to 5% of the turnout of the last Gubernatorial election in each county will suffice. If it involves overturning the Californian constitution then 8% in each county is necessary to get to the next stage of random signature verification and a ballot by voters.

Critics of the system point to its vulnerability as a stalking horse for special interest groups and lobbying organisations. I'd say that depends on your definition of a special interest group. Lately the term has been hijacked by the establishment and taken to mean anybody who disagrees with them. Certainly it's normal for any group of aggrieved people to form themselves into a group before taking action - isn't the rest up to democracy? Were the suffragettes a 'lobby'? Did Luther-King start a 'special interest group'? I don't think these labels forward the debate. What we're talking about here are just plain issues. There are always lobbies on both sides of the ballot paper. A reading of proposition 22 passed in 2000 and outlawing the recognition of gay marriage suggests that despite a huge gay population in liberal San Francisco - the rest of California is yet to be persuaded, even in the face of an organised, solvent and formidable 'pink lobby'. Last month saw the Supreme Court come down on the side of the people who helped enact this Statute when it ordered a defiant San Francisco Mayor, Gavin Newsom to revoke thousands of unlawful marriage licenses.

With more than 1,100 propositions that made the cut over the years, the now almost legendary Proposition 13 in 1978 leads them all. Some say it heralded in the Reagan era of lower taxes and less government. Don't ya'll be forgetting now that Reagan, also an ex film star with a populist knack was Governor of the Golden State in the 1970's. Few expected proposition 13 to survive in the wake of two previous failed attempts. But by 1978 the time was right with high inflation, and property taxes running at 30% of home values. Some families were forced to sell their homes to fill Sacramento's coffers and were moving out of state. Proposition 13 was passed by a two-thirds majority and slashed property taxes by 30% while imposing restrictions on annual rises, which survive to this day, and triggering a nationwide tax revolt that unseated Jimmy Carter. Family friendly taxes brought Californians a second gold rush throughout the 80's and made them the envy of all America.

The electorate's wish for change isn't just reflected in an admittedly "I've got mine and you ain't gonna get none!" message to the tax man. The list of propositions includes everything from the repeal of liquor prohibition (passed 64%), abolition of the death penalty (failed), the end of positive discrimination by the state (passed 54%), limits to congressional terms (passed 52.93%), increased sentencing for repeat offenders (passed 72%) and before and after school programs (passed 56.7%). Take a look here for the full list and a brief history lesson.

It's true that the ability of normal Californians to keep State Government in check is a source of frustration, even for Governors as popular in the public imagination as 'Ahhnuld'. The People Who Know Best tell us that it's vital for Schwarzenegger to impose restrictions on this costly and pesky direct initiative system if he's going to repair the Golden State. The truth is that direct initiative propositions aren't part of the problem - they have become part of the solution. Arnie recently won proposition 57, authorising him to issue a $15bn debt bond which he described as "clearing the state's credit card debts". He did this by parcelling it alongside the more palatable proposition 58, which obliges... politicians to balance state budgets in the future. How novel. Early signs are that California is now coming out of the flat spin that it's been in since 2001. It's leading the way in America's recovery and is proof positive that direct democracy can deliver results - and commonsense policy, with the people telling their Governor- "Hey Big Guy. We'll bail you out....ONCE!
If you could start a proposition today that would be signed by 5% of the turnout in each of your local electoral wards - what would it be? Abolition of wheelie bins? Cuts in council tax? Removal of speed humps?
It's your choice ...and it starts here.

Comments

[John Abercrombie]

Great article, I found it very informative.

I am proposing something similar in Australia.

I have linked your article at my blog.

Cheers

John

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