In this story from today’s Bee, following up on the bond deal made by the legislature yesterday, one legislative leader’s comment stands out: "It would appear that we've made a major down payment on 40 years of neglect in California's infrastructure.", calling forth the obvious question, where has the public leadership been for those forty years?
Here is an excerpt.
Putting aside partisanship: Bonds package sparks rare cooperation between parties
Democrats, GOP both celebrate
By Andy Furillo -- Bee Staff Writer Published 2:15 am PDT Saturday, May 6, 2006
California's biggest public works project in generations has made it to the November ballot, thanks to one of the most stunning displays of bipartisan cooperation Sacramento has seen in recent years.
Politics bubbled near the surface of Friday's $37.3 billion predawn deal, but Democratic and Republican leaders did not let them boil over - resulting in a package for roads, schools and levees that figures to favor the interests of all the plan's key architects. "To some extent, the Democratic leadership stepped up," said Jaime Regalado, executive director of the Edmund G. "Pat" Brown Institute, named for the late governor whose support for water and public university projects some 45 years ago gained him a legacy as the godfather of California infrastructure.
"The fact is that the Republicans have not been carping as much as they otherwise might have and have basically laid back, and of course, the governor (Arnold Schwarzenegger) was getting the message out in his State of the State speech, even if he was trying to resurrect his career."
Democratic legislative leaders congratulated the Republican governor Friday as well as themselves and their GOP colleagues on a day they characterized as a California milestone in bipartisan accomplishment.
"Today is a good day for California," Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez, D-Los Angeles, told reporters. "I believe that as we look forward to what's to come, (the) ...ideological differences that continue to tear us apart are going to be a thing of the past in Sacramento." "It's a fabulous piece of work," said state Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland. "It would appear that we've made a major down payment on 40 years of neglect in California's infrastructure."
