2010 Battle for the Ballot

611 words.
2010 is gearing up to be a great year for parties-- political parties, that is. With Governor Schwarzenegger’s term ending this year and vacant seats in Senate, the nation is plunging back towards the political frenzy of 2008.
In California, over 90 initiatives are fighting to make November’s election, and while many will fizzle out, dozens are likely to reach the ballot. Initiatives are procedures where a number of voters propose an amendment and try to get voters to pass it. Some are familiar, such as legalizing same-sex marriage and recreational marijuana, while others are new, like outlawing divorce and questioning Christian music in schools. Anyone can draft an initiative, and if it gets the required number of votes, it makes the election ballot. Each initiative needs more than a million dollars in funding to collect the necessary signatures, about 400,000 for a state amendment and 700,000 for a constitutional amendment.
The biggest battle is between business and labor, whose dueling propositions may cause turmoil for the nation. While there isn’t any bloodshed yet, both are posed to attack. Supporters of business interests, called anti-unionists, advocate initiatives trying to ban deductions for unions’ political affairs and revamp pensions of public workers. These propositions would, if passed, harm the power and lifestyle of America’s working class, called unionists.
This possible threat to union sovereignty creates a “if you hit us we’ll hit back harder” mood. Instead of firing back, however, unionists are emulating Roosevelt’s motto of “speak softly but carry a big stick” by choosing initiatives that cancel billions in business tax breaks, raise property taxes, and prevent corporate political donations. "Both are getting ready for battle," commented Thad Kousser, a political science professor from Stanford University. "But if they rattle their sabers enough, it could [create] a truce."
A truce is exactly what some government reformers are hoping for. Bob Hertzberg, the co-chairman of good-government group California Forward, said, “We think it's in the best interests of California to stop the noise and focus on serious issues that affect all of us." Hertzberg, who has been trying to negotiate peace between the parties, and California Forward are pushing for initiatives that will relocate more power to state governments and reform the state’s budget process.
Other groups believe that the conflict is a good thing, and voters ,lexhausted by a possible business-union battle will want a small group of people to remake California’s government. One thing is for sure-this year’s election will be like nothing California’s witnessed before. Fred Kimball, the owner of a Westlake Village firm that gathers initiative signatures, said “It's either a mild season or nuclear war, just depends on which domino falls.”
Whether or not Arcadia joins the party, students have something to say about this year’s political future. Senior and President of the Young Republicans Andrew Hong says, “I think recreational marijuana should definitely be legalized. It impairs judgment but still isn’t as harmful as cigarettes or alcohol, and George Washington even said, ‘Make the most of the Indian hemp seed, and sow it everywhere!’” Winston Chang, a member of the Constitution Team, says,” I support the statewide movement for a California constitutional convention,” which was proposed by a group of government reform advocates. “[This] reform could potentially [ease] the financial harms of our budget crisis that have hurt everything from the UC system to AUSD's teachers.” Another issue at hand is the decision made last year concerning Proposition 8. Junior Ray Chao says, “It’s a really controversial topic, and all the buzz about it will probably guarantee it a spot on the 2010 ballot. After that, like every other proposition, it’s up to voters to decide.”

2010 is gearing up to be a great year for parties-- political parties, that is. With Governor Schwarzenegger’s term ending this year and vacant seats in Senate, the nation is plunging back towards the political frenzy of 2008.
In California, over 90 initiatives are fighting to make November’s election, and while many will fizzle out, dozens are likely to reach the ballot. Initiatives are procedures where a number of voters propose an amendment and try to get voters to pass it. Some are familiar, such as legalizing same-sex marriage and recreational marijuana, while others are new, like outlawing divorce and questioning Christian music in schools. Anyone can draft an initiative, and if it gets the required number of votes, it makes the election ballot. Each initiative needs more than a million dollars in funding to collect the necessary signatures, about 400,000 for a state amendment and 700,000 for a constitutional amendment.
The biggest battle is between business and labor, whose dueling propositions may cause turmoil for the nation. While there isn’t [replace with "hasn't been"] any bloodshed yet, both are posed to attack. Supporters of business interests, called anti-unionists, advocate initiatives trying to ban deductions for unions’ political affairs and revamp pensions of public workers. These propositions would, if passed, harm the power and lifestyle of America’s working class, called unionists.
This possible threat to union sovereignty creates a “if you hit us we’ll hit back harder” mood. Instead of firing back, however, unionists are emulating Roosevelt’s motto of “speak softly but carry a big stick” by choosing initiatives that cancel billions in business tax breaks, raise property taxes, and prevent corporate political donations. "Both are getting ready for battle," commented [comments] Thad Kousser, a political science professor from Stanford University. "But if they rattle their sabers enough, it could [create] a truce."
A truce is exactly what some government reformers are hoping for. Bob Hertzberg, the co-chairman of good-government group California Forward, said [says] , “We think it's in the best interests of California to stop the noise and focus on serious issues that affect all of us." Hertzberg, who has been trying to negotiate peace between the parties, and California Forward are pushing for initiatives that will relocate more power to state governments and reform the state’s budget process.
Other groups believe that the conflict is a good thing, and voters ,lexhausted [exhausted] by a possible business-union battle [comma] will want a small group of people to remake California’s government. One thing is for sure-this year’s election will be like nothing California’s witnessed before. Fred Kimball, the owner of a Westlake Village firm that gathers initiative signatures, said [says] “It's either a mild season or nuclear war, just depends on which domino falls.”
Whether or not Arcadia joins the party, students have something to say about this year’s political future. Senior and President of the Young Republicans Andrew Hong says, “I think recreational marijuana should definitely be legalized. It impairs judgment but still isn’t as harmful as cigarettes or alcohol, and George Washington even said, ‘Make the most of the Indian hemp seed, and sow it everywhere!’” [Insert grade level (senior, junior, sophomore, freshman)] Winston Chang, a member of the Constitution Team, says,” I [no space between "i" and the quotation mark] support the statewide movement for a California constitutional convention,” which was proposed by a group of government reform advocates. “[This] reform could potentially [ease] the financial harms of our budget crisis that have hurt everything from the UC system to AUSD's teachers.” Another issue at hand is the decision made last year concerning Proposition 8. Junior Ray Chao says, “It’s a really controversial topic, and all the buzz about it will probably guarantee it a spot on the 2010 ballot. After that, like every other proposition, it’s up to voters to decide.”