By Ruth Hull

Suppose you were hiring a doctor, and a mechanic walked into the room Would you hire him for your next surgery? If not, why would you hire someone without financial expertise to be your State Controller, the person who controls California’s finances? John Perez is out of a job next January and many of us feel sorry for him? Maybe the mechanic is down and out too. If Perez wins on Tuesday, maybe there is hope for the mechanic who wants to be try his hand a neurosurgery.

As a voter, you are the hiring manager for the jobs on your ballot. A review of the resumes of the candidates running for the State Controller position, shows that there is one qualified candidate with decades of effective experience in financial leadership and management. Other candidates are making a gallant effort to twist their experience into the appearance of something connected to finances. In politics, winning elections is rarely about qualifications. Usually money, insider deals and power determine outcomes. So things are looking up for mechanic who wants to operate on you.

Sometimes voters actually do research before marking their ballots. To the surprise of John Perez, despite massive pressure, Democratic delegates refused to endorse him at the California Democratic Convention of 2014. With money and power in his back pocket, John is counting on the electorate to be less informed than delegates from his own party. Who needs credentials when you have ads financed in part by private prison guards?

A two person race with results to be determined June 3, 2014

The Republicans have not won the California Controller’s race since 1970. More specifically, nobody but a Democrat has won that seat since 1970. That was 44 years ago. With California’s strong Democratic registration, the long history of elections for that office and the long-established voting trends in California, June 3, 2014, almost certainly, will determine the outcome of this race. On June 4, 2014, the Republicans and independents could wake up to find that the state money, including their money, is about to be controlled by someone whose idea of finances is making deals to keep certain Democrats in power and funding special interests. Republicans, independents and Democrats have a choice and together, on June 3^rd, will decide whether an experienced financial whiz or a Party leader takes charge of their money. Whatever the outcome, based on almost half a century of results, November 4, 2014 will more than likely be no more than a crowning of the effective winner of June 3^rd.

Betty Yee – can her years of relevant experience win her the Controller’s position?

Betty Yee has a history of speaking out against the improper influences of money, power and politics that undermines the rights and interests of the people. In the race at hand, she believes her qualifications and credentials will be enough to defeat her opponent’s political power structure.

Betty Yee has an extensive background in financial management and budgeting. Since 2006, Betty Yee has served the public on the Board of Equalization, which hears tax appeals and handles other financial matters. She has worked hard to reduce the financial burdens that sometimes prove too high for the average person in today’s economy. Ms. Yee has twice been elected unanimously as chairman of that board because of her advanced comprehension of financial matters and her eagerness to help the people enjoy the fruits of their labor and the benefits they should receive from living in the Golden State.

Her experience includes serving as Director of the State’s Budget at a time when the state prospered, acting as an advocate for California to the U.S. Congress on financial matters, and serving on financial policy committees of both state legislative houses.

Her accomplishments and awards received from cities, counties, civic groups, community organizations and businesses in the areas of finance and public service are too numerous to report here. She has been repeatedly recognized for her commitment to the people.

Back in 2005, Natasha Hull-Richter, then chairman of the National Youth Rights Association of Orange County, sent letters to each leader in California’s legislature and government asking for their support on youth rights issues. Enclosed with the letters were return stamped post cards for the leaders to return if they supported the young people of California in their quest for human rights. Sadly, only three leaders retuned those cards. One of those was Betty Yee, and she marked the card with a resounding “yes,” acknowledging her support for California’s youth. Those in Natasha’s organization are now almost all eligible to vote and are planning to vote for Betty Yee for Controller.

The Patrick Henry Democratic Club of America, since it was founded, has endorsed Betty Yee in each of her elections because of her strong positions in support of freedom and human rights and her willingness to stand apart from the political structure in order to support the people over bureaucrats and party hacks.

At the California Democratic Convention of 2014, Betty Yee courageously chastised her party for putting politics ahead of people and for putting power ahead of public interests. Betty is refusing to play politics. She believes that her constituents deserve better. This is the reason so many newspapers have endorsed her and the reason financial experts see her as the most qualified and the most independent candidate this year.

John Perez – the out of a job former Assembly boss with a political battering ram for ordering votes for himself

John is a likeable person. He is very pleasant and polite. If you are having a dinner party, he would be a nice person to invite and would fit in like a pleasant member of the family. However, his role for years has been pushing partisan politics and backing agendas that often fail to meet the expectations of the voters. Though his background involves limited financial deals as dictated by the special interests financing him, he is very good at rounding up the Assembly members of his party and forcing them to vote a certain way – even if that way is not the way the voters want their leaders to vote. In all fairness, politics is money and John has had to worry about financing elections for himself and the Democratic majority. Yes, a lot of Democrats feel they have to make deals and one of the most influential groups with whom the Democratic Party makes deals is the Prison Industrial Complex. Have you noticed that, while laws are less and less enforced against violent criminals, talented professionals are winding up in the California Prison slave labor force at a record rate?

“As it stands California has the highest number of non-violent prisoners behind bars, according to the Progress Report. On top of that, the Population Reference Bureau (PRB) finds that America has been the world leader in incarceration rates since 2002.

“America imprisons people at an alarming rate as well. The PRB report finds that for every 100,000 citizens, there are 500 prisoners. The latest Bureau of Justice statistics report that our prison population is about 1.6 million strong since 2010.”

In fairness to John and other backers of some of the unpopular bills that have passed, most leaders don’t read the bills for which they vote. When I asked him why he supported legislation to make it tougher for domestic violence victims to retain attorneys, he was surprised to learn he had voted for such a bill.

Since Perez has been in office, the prison system has grown, California schools are continuing to get low marks, hospital waits have gone up, civil rights activists are being prosecuted for photographing protests, and domestic violence, child molestation and human trafficking are on the rise in California. Under Arnold Schwarzenegger, a single payer universal health care bill was passed three times. John, where has that bill been since California elected a governor (Jerry Brown) who promised to sign the bill if you presented it to him?

But if you don’t vote for John, be considerate and help find him a new job. He may have made a fortune from lobbyists and taxpayers over his terms in the legislature, but he is not a young man and he needs job security. Since he is so good at increasing the number of activities classified as crimes, perhaps he would make an excellent private prison warden. He’s pretty jolly and a really nice guy. Maybe, they could make him a year round Santa at the local prison, where he could cheer up all the professionals that are being locked away. This would help provide the private prison owners with a happier work force. Perhaps he could be a lobbyist for Blackwater. Or maybe, since he has supported legislation to criminalize dog ownership, he could be put in charge of the spay-neuter program. Wait – my dog opposes that idea.

Where is that Universal Not for Profit health care bill that Governor Jerry Brown promised to sign? Apparently, it won’t be signed into law until John is out of office.

The Behind the Scenes Maneuvering

This year, Democrats attending the California Democratic Convention were ordered to vote to endorse John Perez for Controller. It was an interesting convention where delegates’ bags were searched for contraband literature, which guards confiscated and threw into large trash cans. People were sneaking in anti-fracking literature under their clothing. Oops. I let the cat out of the bag. Next time, they’ll strip search the delegates or maybe do cavity searches.

Endorsement votes are never secret in the Democratic Party. Any party member can look at how a delegate voted. Some delegates have spoken of being punished for voting wrong in internal election. So the risks were high for those not following orders. As the person who could control whether legislators’ bills made it to the Governor’s desk and which Democratic legislators had funding for their races, Perez was able to yield a lot of power to reign in Democratic leaders and to press for a forced vote in his favor. In spite of the pressure, delegates stood up and voted against endorsing Perez – all at much risk to themselves. In whispers around the convention hall, Betty Yee was the popular favorite.

Conclusion

California voters have a choice. They can elect a Controller with the job experience to actually do the work that office requires or, in the alternative, they can elect a political hack without the necessary qualifications, a party man who will put politics before all else. It’s easy to guess for whom the Blackwater executives will vote. Betty is counting on enough voters being informed and voting for responsible government to put her over the top. Regardless of your political background, you need to look closely at the outcome of your hiring decision in this race before casting your vote.