Published: June 22, 2005
CONTROLLER STEVE WESTLY KICKS OFF 2006 CAMPAIGN FOR GOVERNOR WITH 150 HOUSE PARTIES ACROSS THE STATE
Former Educator and Businessman Declares: “Our State Needs a New Direction!”
ARCADIA, CA - June 18, 2005 – California State Controller Steve Westly today kicked off his 2006 campaign for Governor with 150 house parties held for him in 29 counties across the State. Controller Westly – a former teacher and Silicon Valley high-tech executive – formally announced his candidacy at a house party in Arcadia, the city of his birth, on a statewide conference call, and through a live web chat with supporters.
“Today, with all of you, on the call and online, I am formally announcing my candidacy for Governor of California. Our state needs a new direction,” said Westly. “Forty years ago, I went to public schools that were the envy of the nation. Today, as my daughter starts kindergarten, we trail Alabama. Thirty years ago, my wife immigrated here from China and found a land of bright opportunity. Today, that dream is fading. We must not let it.”
Controller Westly laid out his vision for a brighter California via a teleconference call and interactive web chat that reached grass roots supporters at Westly for Governor house parties in the counties of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Orange, San Diego, Sacramento, San Mateo, Riverside, Alameda, Napa, Kern, San Bernardino, Sutter, Solano, Nevada, Yolo, San Joaquin, El Dorado, Sonoma, Butte, Placer, Marin, Santa Cruz, Amador, Mendocino, Humboldt, Stanislaus, Santa Clara, San Luis Obispo, and Contra Costa. Californians living in Utah, Virginia, Massachusetts, and the District of Columbia also held house parties and participated in the call and web chat.
“I’m running for Governor to restore the California dream, to reinvest in education and a new economy,” declared Westly, a former Stanford business teacher and eBay executive. “I’m running because we need a Governor as innovative as the people of California.”
Controller Westly candidly laid out the challenges facing California and called for a bold transformation of our government.
“Make no mistake,” said Westly. “We need big solutions. The numbers are staggering: a million children without health insurance, a million adults without a job, and $55 billion in debt.”
The Controller highlighted the importance of investing in infrastructure and our universities, and called for a revolution in education that starts with local control of schools, empowering parents and teachers, hiring more teachers, and a greater focus on career and technical education.
“Just as Silicon Valley has been an incubator of the best technologies, California must be an incubator of the best minds,” said Westly.
Westly also affirmed his commitment to protecting California’s natural resources and promoting clean energy technologies, declaring, “as Governor, I will lead the charge for smart solutions to our environmental crisis. Where Washington has failed, California must lead.”
Westly also highlighted Governor Schwarzenegger’s total failure to fulfill his pledge to end the partisan polarization that has paralyzed the Capitol, and his belief that the last thing the State needs is another Sacramento insider to lead it.
“We have a government mired in partisan gridlock. Arnold Schwarzenegger said he could fix it. He hasn’t. He won’t. Some say we need a Sacramento insider to solve our problems. I’ve spent enough time there to know that solutions won’t be found under the Capitol dome,” said the Controller. “I come from a different place…one that understands the future—that is building the future.”
Westly also pledged to be a tough fiscal watch dog and root out waste; saying, “Over the next few months, I’ll offer new ideas for California. But here’s the truth. Taxpayers don’t trust us with their money—and I don’t blame them. That’s why, as Democrats, we need to be the ones demanding—and delivering—accountability.”
“By rooting out waste and fraud, we can regain the public’s trust. I believe in a government that empowers citizens, gives them choices, and spends their money wisely,” Controller Westly added.
“As Controller, I’ve delivered the results to match the rhetoric. When partisans in Sacramento clamored for tax hikes and spending cuts, I said ‘There’s a better way.’ I launched two bipartisan tax reforms that have brought in over $3 billion without raising a nickel in taxes—money that’s now going to hospitals, schools, and roads. We don’t need someone who just acts like an innovator. We need a governor who is one,” Westly remarked.
“At the heart of my campaign is a new way of doing business. I’m not a career politician. I’m not a Sacramento insider. I’m a businessman and an educator. And I’m running on my record, not my one liners,” Westly added.
Please visit our website at www.Westly2006.com for additional information.
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