With election day just around the corner, Democratic
gubernatorial candidate Phil Angelides visited campus Thursday for
the second time in just over two weeks, stressing not only his plan
to lower college fees but also a variety of national issues.
Angelides was accompanied by Howard Dean, the Democratic
National Committee chairman and a 2004 presidential candidate,
along with Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante and Assembly Speaker
Fabian Núñez.
The theme of the day was “We can do better,”
encompassing both state and national levels.
Dean spoke before Angelides and spent much of his time
addressing national hot-button issues such as alternative energy
sources and federal Pell Grants.
But he opened with a bit of humor.
Discarding his small clip-on microphone before his speech, Dean
compared the tangle of wires to the outcome of the upcoming
election.
“This is all that’s going to be left of
Schwarzenegger when we’re done with him,” Dean said to
appreciative laughter from the 200-person crowd.
After a few more jibes at the governor, Dean began discussing
Angelides’ campaign as part of a larger Democratic election
drive.
Dean linked Angelides’ promise to lower college fees in
California to what he called a national Democratic effort to make
education more affordable and accessible.
“If you want to have a strong country, you’ve got to
have a strong middle class. If you want a strong middle class,
you’ve got to make it easier for kids to go to
college,” Dean said.
He added that he believes the current administration has not
worked toward that goal.
“We can do better. We will do better,” Dean
said.
After Dean’s speech, Angelides came onstage and kept the
focus largely on education.
He promised audience members that if he is elected governor, his
first act will be to lower student fees at California public
colleges and universities.
Additionally, he said by the time he left office, 40,000 more
students per year would be entering the California public college
system than are currently enrolled.
“We’re going to ensure that every child gets the
best education. … Everything their hungry young minds
deserve,” he said.
But Schwarzenegger’s campaign has repeatedly criticized
Angelides for lacking credibility on education issues because he
had not been very vocal until recently.
They also blame much of the student fee increases on recalled
Gov. Gray Davis, under whom fees increased 45 percent before
Schwarzenegger took office in 2003.
“When tuition sky-rocketed, Angelides said nothing, did
nothing,” said Amanda Fulkerson, a spokeswoman for
Schwarzenegger, after Angelides’ last visit to campus on Oct.
10.
But Angelides threw those accusations back at Schwarzenegger
during his visit to campus.
“He’s turned on you,” Angelides told the
crowd. “He said he’d protect education, and then he
took millions out of the classroom.”
Angelides also branched out and discussed issues beyond
education.
He promised to help campaign for Democrats nationwide and to
push for universal health care in California.
“We can do better in the state of California,” he
said, echoing Dean’s theme.
Students who attended the event said they found it useful to
hear Angelides speak on the issues.
“It was very informative,” said David Abate, a
third-year psychology student who said he came mostly to see Howard
Dean. “(Angelides) is a very powerful speaker. He made a
really strong impression.”
Colin Hooper, a first-year mechanical engineering student, said
Angelides’ speech would likely influence his voting in the
upcoming election.
“I learned what he stood for. I hadn’t really heard
about (the issues) before,” he said, adding that he generally
liked what he heard.