Central Valley Business Times September 8, 2008
Sacramento - California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who moved from movies to politics via the recall of a governor, might soon face a recall himself.
The California Correctional Peace Officers Association says it will begin the recall process immediately.
The union faults the Republican governor for both lack of a state budget - now 70 days overdue - and lack of a new contract with the union.
"We are dead serious. Anyone who knows the California Correctional Peace Officers Association knows that once we are committed, we are willing to put our money where our mouth is," says Lance Corcoran, a spokesman for the union.
The union needs just 65 valid signatures to serve the governor with a notice-of-intent-to-recall. But then it would need more than a million valid signatures to put the recall on the ballot.
Mr. Corcoran says the union has both the money and the drive to do it.
"This is an administration that has completely failed. We have one of the largest deficits of all time. We have an enormous budget stalemate. And we have a governor that has a lack of credibility that even his own party distrusts him," he says. "It's time for a change."
"This is the latest in intimidation tactic after intimidation tactic used by the prison guard union in their never-ending effort to extract a huge pay raise out of the Legislature and the Governor," says Adam Mendelsohn, senior advisor to Mr. Schwarzenegger in a written comment.
"It should not be forgotten that prior to [Mr. Schwarzenegger's] election this very same union used their money and influence to buy a 37 percent raise at a time when the economy was faltering and the state was struggling to make ends meet," the statement continues. "When he came into office, the governor put an end to those days and because the governor has stood firm, CCPOA has resorted these types of heavy-handed ploys to buy off and coerce our leaders into doing their bidding.
"The Governor will not be intimidated by these selfish tactics worthy of a schoolyard bully."
Gov. Gray Davis was recalled one year after the second-longest budget impasse, the 2002 budget, which lasted until Sept. 5, 2002. The current impasse is the longest in state history with no sign of any compromise between right-wing and left-wing ideologues in the Legislature.
The 34,000 members of the CCPOA have been without a long-term contract since 2006, Mr. Corcoran says.
The union's bitterness runs deep, Mr. Corcoran says.
"We recognize that with a $15 billion deficit that there's no money - even though the Highway Patrol just got a 4.1 percent increase in their pay," says Mr. Corcoran. "We know that they are the 'golden boys' and we're sort of the Oakland Raiders of law enforcement."
Mr. Corcoran says the union members are incensed over not being exempted by the governor from his mandate that state employee pay be reduced to $6.55 an hour until there is a new budget. So far, that has not happened as state Controller John Chiang has refused to go along with the order, saying the state has enough money to make regular payroll through September.
"He exempted 11 agencies and ironically the California Correctional Peace Officers Association is not on there," Mr. Corcoran says about the governor's order.
In addition to the Highway Patrol being exempted from the pay cut, the state parks department was also spared "and you've got something called - and I don't even know what the . this is - the Office of Spillage Control," Mr. Corcoran says.
He says the recall drive would be stopped immediately if the governor called the union to work out differences "to stop and go forward."
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