Prison guards move to recall Schwarzenegger (it's official now)

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

The state's powerful prison guards' union launched a recall campaign today against Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, charging that his "catastrophic leadership failings" have left the state "in far worse shape" than before his election.

The petition drive by the California Correctional Peace Officers Association is the latest political challenge for Schwarzenegger, who faces a political, legal and administrative battles over his efforts to close a $17.2 billion budget gap and enact a budget that is now 70 days late.

Schwarzenegger was elected in 2003 when voters recalled then-Gov. Gray Davis, who also was mired in a budget mess.

Union officials planned to deliver the petition to Schwarzenegger later today or Tuesday. The governor has seven days to respond, after which the union will file the petition with the Secretary of State to begin a signature drive for a special recall election, said Lance Corcoran, a spokesman for the union. The recall drive would eventually need 1,041,530 valid signatures to qualify for a statewide ballot.

... The union gathered 82 signatures in downtown Sacramento this morning for a petition for a notice of intent to recall Schwarzenegger. According to the state law, such a petition requires a minimum of 65 signatures. "It was real easy to get 'em," said union president Mike Jimenez.



Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/09/08/BAL512Q96A.DTL&tsp=1

This will backfire on them.

How about that?

I'd sign that petition!

They've got to be kidding.

I can't stand Arnold, but any time I get a chance to screw a screw, I'm all for it.

The California Teachers' Association is number one.

There is no reason that prison guards should have as much influence as they do. Teachers at least do something positive for society.

They lobby, not surprisingly, for more laws, more prisons, more Three Strikes...in other words, job security.

I know which side I'm on and I haven't read a thing about the actual issues. :P

the amount of political power the prison guard union has scares the shit out of me

Of all the Republican Governors we could have had, he's the one I would have wanted. He's probably the best Republican Governor we could have asked for, and I think this is a bad idea. While a true Democrat would be great, I think trying to recall every Governor of California is going to be the new fad.

He has cut and slashed funds till California is dying of a thousand cuts. He has done his best to break the backs of unions and it's because unions kicked his ass that he wasn't able to destroy them. Remember the way he talked about the Nurses' and the teachers' unions when he first became governator?

See you at the DMV or the Employment Development Department.

:rofl:

Forever.

in half an hour?

Hawkeye-X

I'll never be able to figure out who I'd rather see fall on their metaphorical face.

payback's a bitch, isn't it!!!

what kind of person/who in their right mind would want to be locked up every day with the lowest form of humanity..I know nothing of the CA issues, just an opinion about prison guards in general.

Come on. Let this happen.

I'd love to see Bustamonte follow through with that lawsuit he had pending before the recall of Davis.

I honestly don't know the facts other than that Arnold was working with energy executives to get Davis out of office to avoid revealing the truth about Enron.

I can't believe it. What a day. Yeehaw.

they could get all million signatures needed just in sacramento!

One of the most corrupt organizations in the state of California. But then again, fuck Ah-nuld too.

...the prison establishment loved Gray Davis, but couldn't save him from a recall. His stance on law enforcement, and his refusal to grant any pardons, was one reason my support for him was less than lukewarm. OTOH, he got a bad rap on the energy crisis, and was actively trying to make the Feds do their job and to get $9B of the stolen money back. As soon as Ahhnuld got in (and remember, he had met with Enron et al before he ran), he settled for something more like $1B, and California got screwed again.

So good on Ahhnuld in this case -- but if they succeed in recalling him, well, that would be a hoot! What goes around, comes around, eh?