Contact:
John Grubb
Spokesman, Repair California
O: 415-398-4385
California Constitutional Convention Campaign Put On Hold
Without Significant New Funds by March 1, Reform Movement Must End
SAN FRANCISCO, February 12, 2009 — Today, Repair California, a group pushing for a Constitutional Convention to fix California’s broken system of government, announced that they were putting the campaign on hold. Buoyed by widespread bi-partisan support in polling, activation of more than 1,000 volunteers, newspaper and TV editorial support, excitement for change, and public disenchantment with California’s government, the Convention movement grew from a single op-ed into a viable political movement. While significant funds have been received, and more have been pledged, a lack of cash on hand has forced the campaign to press the “pause” button. However, if significant new funds arrive by March 1, Repair California will continue the campaign.
“The work on the Constitutional Convention received tremendous praise, but praise doesn’t put your measures on the ballot,” said Jim Wunderman, the President and CEO of the Bay Area Council, the organization that started the Convention movement. “Despite the great need and appetite for reform, we are in a tough economy. This was the ultimate good government movement, which is always a hard sell, and unless an angel or two appear, the official campaign needs to end. From the bottom of my heart, I wish it wasn’t so.”
“More than anything else I have seen in a long time, the Constitutional Convention demonstrated the power of an idea in a democratic society,” said Lenny Mendonca, Chair of the Repair California campaign. “Whether or not the Convention succeeds on this year’s ballot, there is no question it broke open a big path for current and future reform efforts in our state.”
“The Convention movement focused public attention on the obvious need for reform in California,” said Andrew Giacomini, Managing Partner of Hanson Bridgett, which drafted the Convention ballot measures and provided other legal assistance on a pro bono basis. “My firm is honored to have helped navigate the legal maze to make the Constitutional Convention movement a political reality.”
“We always knew this would be hard, and there is no question we gave it our best shot,” said John Grubb, Campaign Director of Repair California. “We thank those that put their life on hold, opened their checkbook, contributed pro-bono time, argued for the Convention or otherwise supported the campaign. While we are putting this movement on ‘pause,’ the need for reform remains. We will continue to fight to fix our state through the best means we can find. If reform does not arrive soon, there is no reason to stop the push for a Convention on a future ballot.”
“Special interests still have a stranglehold on Sacramento, and I continue to believe it will take a citizens’ movement to change that,” said Clint Reilly, the chief strategist for Repair California. “If the opportunity to reignite this movement arises, it would be my honor to help out.”
Repair California turned in ballot language to call the first Constitutional Convention in California in more than 130 years. Citing a broken system of governance, the measures would call a limited Constitutional Convention to reform four areas of the constitution: the budget process; the election and initiative process; restoring the balance of power between the state and local governments; and, creating new systems to improve government effectiveness. The Convention was specifically prohibited from proposing tax increases or from considering changes to social issues such as marriage, abortion, gambling, affirmative action, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, immigration, or the death penalty. Voters would decide on calling the Convention on the November 2010 ballot, the Convention would be held in 2011, and its proposed reforms would require voter approval in one of the three scheduled statewide elections in 2012.
In a poll of 1,000 registered California voters, conducted by EMC Research, with a margin of error of 3.1 percent, Californians appeared ready to approve the two measures to call the Convention. After explaining basic details of the proposal, such as who could serve as delegates and what issues would or would not be considered, more than two-thirds of Californians (69 percent) would vote yes on “Proposition 1,” which would allow the voters of California to directly call a Convention. A similar supermajority of 71 percent would vote yes on “Proposition 2,” which would immediately call a limited Constitutional Convention. Both measures only require a simple majority of 50 percent of voters to win on Election Day.
Support was strong among subgroups of California. The measures were supported by 70 percent of registered Republicans, 71 percent of Democrats and 74 percent of decline to state voters. Across different age groups, support was highest among 18-34 year-old voters with 73 percent reporting they would vote yes, and 71 percent of those 55 years-old or higher would also approve the measures. Support for the Constitutional Convention was particularly high with Latino voters (80 percent). The poll was conducted September 8-13, 2009.
To draft the ballot measures, and ensure that they reflected the sentiments of the state, Repair California held a series of Town Halls often attended by hundreds of people at sites in Los Angeles, San Diego, Alameda, San Francisco, Irvine, Santa Monica, Fresno, the Sierra Nevada, Silicon Valley and Orange County. The movement also heard from thousands of others through Web 2.0 technologies. Finally, Repair California consulted with experts, historians and lawyers, and other experienced leaders who often offered their assistance pro bono.
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About Repair California
Repair California is a non-partisan, non-profit organization formed to fix California’s broken state government. Learn more at www.repaircalifornia.org.
