January 20th, 2003

SCHWARZENEGGER AND WESTLY KICK OFF BIPARTISAN “YES ON 57 AND 58” CAMPAIGN IN FRESNO

FRESNO, CA – Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Controller Steve Westly today officially kicked off the “Californians for a Balanced Budget – Yes on 57 and 58” campaign at a town hall-style event at Duncan Enterprises’ ceramic packaging facility in Fresno. The event was the first in what will be a series of similar events across the state, headlined by Schwarzenegger and Westly, in support of 57 and 58.

“Californians for a Balanced Budget – Yes on 57 and 58” is a broad and bipartisan coalition of elected officials, business and labor leaders, associations and advocacy organizations, as well as regular Californians, who have put aside partisan differences in order to come together to put the state’s fiscal house in order. Over the coming weeks, the campaign will announce a series of endorsements from all sides of the political spectrum, designed to show that California voters are united in their support of Propositions 57 and 58 on the March 2, 2004 primary election ballot.

“What we are doing with Proposition 57 and 58 is no different than what financial counselors tell people to do who overspent themselves into deep, deep debt,” stated Gov. Schwarzenegger. “You consolidate your debt into a single loan at a lower interest rate. Then, most of those financial counselors advise people to cut their credit cards in half so that they can’t overspend again. This is how California families recover and put their lives back together and it’s exactly what California must do.”

Controller Westly said, “Propositions 57 and 58 is the best solution to prevent drastic cuts to education, healthcare, police and firefighting,” Westly noted. “The Governor and I – and the vast majority of Californians agree – that we need to balance the state budget and keep it balanced. That’s what 57 and 58 do.”

Proposition 57 provides for a one-time $15 billion Economic Recovery Bond to refinance past budget deficits while interest rates are low. This allows California to start over with a balanced budget and gets the fiscal mismanagement of the past behind us. Proposition 58 makes sure we never get in a deficit crisis again by requiring California politicians to balance the budget every year in the future, prohibiting bond financing of any future deficits and limiting state spending to no more than the growth in the state’s economy. It also creates a “rainy day savings account” to be used for paying the bonds off early and helping the state through any future economic downturns.

Fresno-based Duncan Enterprises is a manufacturer, importer and distributor of paints, glazes, coatings and other products. Founded in 1946 as a home-based ceramic arts business, the company today sells products in over 38 countries and has over 300 employees.

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