Former Gov. Gray Davis and former State Senate Minority Leader
Jim Brulte will be on campus to lead a panel discussion on the
upcoming California special election today.
Students from each of the three departments of the School of
Public Affairs and one undergraduate student will pose questions
about the propositions and the election in general, then Davis and
Brulte will have the opportunity to respond and debate the
issues.
The discussion, titled “Can California Be Fixed? The
Special Election and Beyond,” marks the leaders’ first
event since their appointment as Distinguished Policy Fellows for
the 2005-2006 school year by Chancellor Carnesale last month.
As Distinguished Fellows, they are meant to serve as resources
for issues concerning California state politics and will each speak
in policy classes during the winter and spring quarters, in
addition to leading panel discussions.
Jeric Huang, a fourth-year history student and president of the
Public Affairs Society, said the focus of the panel will be issues
that pique student interest, such as abortion. He said students
were involved in planning the event.
“They gave us, the students, the power to set up the
agenda and address the policy issues we care about,” Huang
said.
“We have taken this as an opportunity for the voices of
our peers to be heard.”
Each student panelist will address a different aspect of the
special election ““ from the value of the initiative process
to how much is at stake to how Sacramento will emerge from the
election.
Nicolle Larkins, a social welfare graduate student, said this is
the first time that students have been involved in planning the
panel discussions.
Students were given a survey in which they ranked the
propositions in order of concern to gauge student interest.
Propositions 73, 78, and 79 were found to be the top
priorities.
These propositions deal with a minor’s ability to get an
abortion and discounts on prescription drugs.
The panelists want to address not only the propositions, but
also how the propositions affect how the government is run, said
Josh Mukhopadhyay, a law and public policy graduate student.
Mukhopadhyay said most of the propositions for the upcoming
election, unlike those in the past, deal with issues about how the
state government functions, like redistricting and how the budget
is drafted.
For the purpose of the panel, Davis, a Democrat, and Brulte, a
Republican, will not come to the discussion as political
adversaries, but as public policy experts and private citizens
concerned about the potential outcome of the election, Huang
said.
Davis and Brulte were “very agreeable and happy to be a
part of the school’s program,” said Mukhopadhyay, who,
with the other student panelists, spoke directly with Davis and
Brulte in preparation for the event.
Eighty to 100 students and faculty are expected to attend, said
Stan Paul, communications director for the School of Public
Affairs.
Davis and Brulte are also scheduled to take part in a
post-election panel to discuss the outcome and potential effects of
the special election on Nov. 17 at the Public Policy Building.