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Effort under way to recall State Senator Ashburn |
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Thursday, 19 March 2009 |
 Roy Ashburn By Mike Bodine
Register Staff
3-17-2009 Following the lengthy state budget impasse, a Bakersfield man is taking steps to recall 18th District California State Republican Senator Roy Ashburn for breaking a pledge.
Michael Moore, business owner and self-proclaimed Libertarian, said he is pursuing the action primarily because Ashburn had signed a “Taxpayer Protection Pledge” in 2006 promising his constituents that he would not raise taxes and then did exactly that by voting for the mid-year 2008-09 and the 2009-10 budget that would potentially raise taxes for residents by $16 billion over the next four years.
According to California’s Legislative Accounting Office, the budget that was signed on Feb. 20, nearly 100 days overdue, will raise personal income tax by 0.25 percent, increase sales tax by 1 percent and nearly double the vehicle license fee, or VLF, to 1.15 percent.
The VLF goes into effect May 19, and the sales tax increase will begin April 1, both continuing through 2011. However, in a May 19 Special Election voters will be asked to decide whether to extend the tax increases, the VLF for an additional two years and the sales tax for one more year.
Moore points to the problem he sees in California finances in that there is a large flow of “taxpayers, not tax tumors” leaving the state, while the state continues to provide services to illegal immigrants and other non-taxpayers.
“I’m really offended,” Moore said Friday, of Ashburn’s actions. Moore said that not only did Ashburn, who represents “a conservative area,” vow not to raise taxes, Ashburn “very cowardly” abstained from initially voting on the tax increases, and instead waited until the budget was sure to pass before he voted in favor.
“We’re (California) already number one in taxes,” Moore added, “and they’re not even fixing the problem.
“They should all be recalled,” Moore asserted of the state legislators.
Moore said he’s been watching “the state budget debacle for many years” and as things “came to a head” this latest budget cycle, he decided he’d “had enough.”
According to Moore, he has been motivated by other recalls and by the overwhelming positive response his movement has received thus far.
“I’m hoping to clean house.”
Moore said the recall is not a personal attack. “I think he’ a very civil individual and personable, which is very refreshing in politics.”
Despite this and the fact that this is Ashburn’s final term, as the eight-year term limit forces him out in 2010, “look at the waste of money so far – one less year of him is one more year of protecting our wallets.”
There are similar efforts to recall the other Republican legislators who voted contrary to prior vows not to raise taxes. These efforts are not related, but Moore said they do support each other and hope to collaborate as the recall process advances.
The other legislators are 59th District Assembly Member Anthony Adams of Heperia, 71st District Assembly Member Jeff Miller of Corona and 15th District Senator Abel Maldonado of Santa Maria.
Moore said that there has been a minor setback in the initial stage of the recall process. According to the state’s constitutional provisions for recalling an elected official, the first stage involves a scant 65 signatures as a Notice-To-Proceed, and the second stage is a 160-day period in which recall efforts must collect signatures from 20 percent of district voters who voted in the election of the official being recalled. The final stage allows the official to appeal and then the recall is voted on by citizens.
He explained that the first set of 65 signatures was tossed by the Secretary of State, as many of the signatures were not from Ashburn’s district, which covers Kern, Tulare, Inyo and San Bernardino counties.
Moore called this a “gerrymandering move” as most of the signatures came from Bakersfield residents, but Bakersfield is on a district boundary and so many of the signatures did not count. He said he plans on obtaining those official 65 votes by the end of this week. Moore said he also plans on getting at least 50,000 votes, more than the 20 percent, or 43,000 signatures for the next petitions, “just to play it safe because of the gerrymandering.”
Ashburn was asked for an interview, but responded only by e-mail, stating, “It is a privilege to serve in an elected office on behalf of the people of the 18th Senate District. I will always respect their right to elect or un-elect me.”
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 25 April 2009 )
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