When thinking about your vote on Proposition 50, ask yourself this question: if legislative leaders really thought Prop. 50 would establish new punishments for legislators, why would they vote to put it on the ballot?
When thinking about your vote on Proposition 50, ask yourself this question: if legislative leaders really thought Prop. 50 would establish new punishments for legislators, why would they vote to put it on the ballot?
The truth is that Prop 50 is a scam. Rather than accepting what legislative leaders want you to believe, I encourage you to look closer at the history of Prop 50 to understand how it will perpetuate the culture of corruption in the State Capitol, deny millions of Californians their voice in Sacramento, and allow capitol insiders to stifle political opposition.
In 2014, three Senators were convicted or indicted for felonies that included perjury, bribery, and gun-running.
The California constitution provides legislators with the power to deal with such criminal conduct within its ranks by expelling, censuring, or reprimanding them.
Unfortunately, even when I introduced an expulsion resolution to deal with the Senator who had been convicted by a jury, the leader of the State Senate, who is also the author of Prop. 50, refused to consider expelling him –his buddy – or any of the other scoundrels.
The Sacramento political class designed Prop. 50 to make you think they want to root out corruption. But when presented with an opportunity to do just that with the tools they already had, they refused.
So if Prop. 50 does nothing to root out corruption, what impact will it actually have?
First, it will deny millions of Californians their basic rights by imposing taxation without representation. When a legislator is “suspended,” which is the new power that Prop. 50 will add to the constitution, that means that their constituents have no one representing their interests in the legislature. Unlike expulsion, suspension means that no election can take place to replace the bad actor because they still occupy their office.
Perhaps the most disturbing part of this measure is that it places into the state constitution a permanent means by which the majority can stifle minority opinion in the legislature.
It is not hard to see where if you are a vocal member of the Senate or Assembly, on an issue that is not popular with your colleagues that they could vote to suspend you and take away your voice in the legislature.
We are in the midst of a movement by the American people to reclaim power from the elites. Prop 50 is a deceptive effort by the elites to accumulate more power for themselves. Do not be fooled. Vote No on Prop 50.
Joel Anderson
Senator, District 38
