welcome to assignment 7. today on our program we'll take an in-depth look at the major races and propositions that you'll be voting on in the upcoming november 2nd election. the candidates in the governor's race are in a tie. what brown and whitman want to do about some of the key decisions in our state. plus.... >> proposition 19 decriminals and regulates marijuana. >> taxes will go up and but more people will be under the influence of marijuana. >> will making marijuana hem or hurt the war on drugs? and the effect of pension and health care reform measures will

have on one bay area city. >> we begin with the race for governor. meg whitman and jerry brown have set the economy and state spending as top priorities. mark matthews has more. >> jerry brown and whitman agree on making california business friend. >> i we have to compete for every job, we have to have competitive tax rates and.... >> i cut the red tape. i dismantled and found another way around them. >> as the mayor of oakland, he encouraged growth and was quoted of saying if you want more of something, don't tax it. >> whitman favors targeted tax cuts and where they disagree is over whitman's plan to eliminate the state's capital gains tax. >> if i have to pay taxes on my stock portfolio, how is that a tax on innovation? >> most investments go into new businesses, go into things that

are unproven. >> and investors who aren't investing who are instead sbefgtd in blue chip companies? >> the last ten years, an investment there wouldn't necessarily. >> they turned out okay? >> listen, we need to be competitive. the true facts are that other states don't have this particular tax. >> brown calls eliminating the tax on investments a gift to the rich? >> we looked at the zip codes and the very place where she lives, that group earned more capital gains than any other group in california. >> the past decade the tax has generated anywhere 33.2 to $11 billion. 87% paid from people making more than $200,000 a year. >> what jerry brown forgets that we compete with other states. colorado, utah, texas, who have lower rates or no state capital

gains tax at all. >> the other paying area disagreement on jobs, is the state's greenhouse laws. >> 99% of jobs are in the rest of the economy. >> whitman would suspend ab-32 for a year until the economy improves. >> we need to own green jobs but let's make sure we don't hurt the rest of the economy. >> whitman is going to suspend the underlying law for a year. what about the year after? >> brown says green jobs is the future and whitman's delay would create uncertainty. >> that is the worst thing when business people have to commit funds and take risks. we want certainty. >> i asked them both how they would hold down state spending. jerry brow jerry brown begin by saying what he will not cut? >> we're not going to cut education or road building, or cut out high speed rail. >> when pressed he said he would cut government workers.

>> the big shots, start with the governor's office, start with the pr, start with some of the lawyers. >> cutting the government work force is part of whitman's plan as well by instituting a hiring freeze until the work force is down 33,000. >> we're going to hold people accountable for delivering results based on the number of people they had five years ago. >> but none would come close to make up the projected $19 billion deficit. so where else would they cut? brown says he put that tough questions the voters? >> what is you want and how will you pay for it? i will lead the process forward. >> she says she will ferret out billions of dollars in fraud and waste. >> everybody wants to eliminate fraud and waste. >> she wants legislators focus on that by veto any bill that doesn't deal with spending or jobs or education. >> i want to veto these bills.

>> brown says he'll persuade. >> don't stop the legislators and spend days and days before christmas, after christmas until we get the consensus. >> how will both candidates protect california schools. here is more from mark matthews. >> both brown and whitman want more money for schools but neither is willing to raise taxes. brown's solution, simplify the funding process. >> here is what it is, we have lots of programs, 60 programs called categorical programs. >> he believes collapsing them down to less than 20 will cut expenses. >> then you have a formula, poor children, they will get more. >> whitman's approach, she would simplify. >> you ask teachers they know what is going on. every teacher i talked to, the overhead the bureaucracy and the

paperwork is killing the schools. >> whitman insists it isn't isn't the lag of money, it's how it's being spent. >> only 60% of the money goes to the classroom and 40% goes to administration and overhead. >> her numbers are right but it's also true that california had the same split 20 years ago. overhead costs include heating, cooling, buses, cafeterias, secretaries, janitors, library yanks and california's split is pretty much in line with the average. >> on we need to dismantle the bureaucracy in sacramento. we have two competing bureaucracys. >> cutting the bureaucracy will yield more money for students. on immigration they both say get control of the border and enforce the laws. but for those already in the

country illegal, brown would provide a path to citizenship. >> you can't round them up and deport them like they did in eastern europe. >> whitman refuses to weigh in. >> my view, let's solve the problem first. >> on pension reform she switches civil servants to a 401-k plan. >> we do need to go to that program for a vast majority. >> it's would be replaced by a guaranteed contribution plan like most 401-ks. >> brown says pension reform is needed. >> i review the bills of democrats and republicans. >> he would renegotiate with the unification and increase retirement the age. >> putting jerry brown in charge

of negotiating with the labor unions around pensions, around how many people we have the state government is like putting count dracula in charge of the blood bank. >> brown countered the charge that whitman has caved in on pensions on police and firefighters and she has carved out an exception for them. >> they have to get the best and brightest so it's a the right thing for them to do to offer a defined benefit program. >> and prison reform, brown says it would be smarter to have a range of sanctions to allow prisoners to serve time in local jails and he would fight court ordered spending on prisons. >> i want to save the state billions of dollars by blocking the attempt to build 10,000 new hospital beds. >> whitman points out it's cheaper to move prisoners out of state. >> we have posted our interviews

with meg when it man and jerry brown in their entirety. you can see and hear it all by clicking on the politics page. coming up, a look at state and local propositions, should california take a step beyond medical marijuana? an in-depth look at prop 19. one of the most controversial propositions on the november ballot, a fight overcalifornia'k

>> 14 years ago, california became the first state to make medical marijuana legal. now, california could be the first to legalize pot for recreational use. vic lee looks into proposition 19. >> buying a joint could soon be as easy as buying a drink. last week the governor signed a law that makes possession into a minor infraction with a maximum fine of hundred dollars.

but it's still illegal to sell marijuana unless it's for medical use. that could change. >> proposition 19 decriminalizes regular laces and taxes marijuana. >> joseph mcnamara was a police chief for 15 years. >> let's be honest, the drug war against marijuana has failed. anyone who wants marijuana in california can get it, yet we keep doing more and more of what has worked. >> mcnamara supports proposition 19. it would allow people to have up to an ounce of marijuana. you could also grow it at home. smoking pot would be banned public and schools. commercial production of marijuana would be allowed but to for that, each city and county would create their own regulation and impose taxes. >> it's a golden opportunity to

strike a blow against the drug cartels and drug gangs and to greatly reduce violence and crime that flows from the prohibition of the drug. >> the city of oakland is already taxing medical marijuana and making plans to permit large scale industrial growing, selling pot for recreational use could mean a lot more tax money for any community that okays it. they estimate that marijuana taxes could bring in hundreds of millions of dollars a year. supporters say legalizing potted would save money by having police tackle other crimes. but opponents paint a different picture. pete dunbar is police chief of pleasant hill. >> it means more people will be under the influence of marijuana and more people will be under flut driving the car. >> and they disagree on the finances, no campaign says

proposition 19 could cost the state because it violates federal law. that means washington could try to withhold money from state programs. >> going against federal law is not something you want to do when you have money tied to education and drug free workplace. that money could be gone. >> the obama administration has not said what it will do if proposition 19 passes but some cities and counties may decide not to allow marijuana sales. so chief dunbar believes there will still be a black market for pot. >> there will be all kinds of regulations and we won't know each other's rules. >> to counter that, state senator is already introducing a bill that would create uniform rules for any city or county that allows pot sales. >> supporters believe marijuana smoking may actually go down if proposition 19 passes. they point to the netherlands

where marijuana is legal, but consumption is lower than in the united states. opponents don't buy it and say proposition 19 sends the wrong message. >> our young people, and.... >> under the proposition, giving or selling marijuana to people under 21 would be still be a crime and so would driving under the influence of marijuana. proposition 23, supporters call it the california jobs' initiative. opponents call it the dirty energy proposition. >> whether you are for it.... >> we support yes on 23. small business alliance supports yes on 23. >> or against it. >> we're strongly opposed to the initiative. >> it's created its own media

blitz. >> they are spending millions pushing prop 23 which would clean energy standards. >> it would suspend all provisions of a assembly bill 32. the california global warming law. the goal of ab-32 is to reduce green how long gases. the law requires retrofitting trucks and diesel engines along with other emission controls. those in favor of prop 23 say postponing the start of the regulation would save the state billions in higher energy costs and protect more than a million jobs. the regulations would be reinstated once the economy improves. the director of communications for yes on prop 23. >> the costs that are inherent ab-32, they will have to choose between paying higher energy

bills or paying their employees. they may be able to stay open but going to have to cut back staff. >> it's ironic to me that they are masquerading about saving jobs but this is opposite. >> he is with a solar panel manufacturing company. he grew from 39 employees to over 150 this year. a company will open a $65 million plant next month. he attributes much of the to the state's strong hees. he claims prop 23 is not a jobs initiative but rather an attempt by texas oil companies to repeal regulations under the global warming law. according to map light.org, a political watchdog group, the companies that contributed over $5.6 million to yes, on 23. >> they have totaling made ten

billion dollars in california in the last decade. they make a lot of money. they like it that way. >> it may be expedient to demonize the funders of yes on 23 but our coalition includes organizations that represents hundreds of thousands of california businesses and millions of californians, such as the firefighters association, the hispanic chamber of commerce. >> no on prop 23 has support from clean energy and jobs, national resources defense fund. governor swarzenegger is also against the legislation. he signed the global warming act in 2006. with california unemployment at 12.4%, those opposed say the standards set by prop 23, 5.5% for four consecutive calendar quarters is unrealistic in this economy. >> that is something that has happened only three times since they started keeping records.

>> the threshold of 5.5% has been met ten times in the last decade alone. the discrepancy comes in where some folks are looking at long stretches of periods of unemployment going on for many months and quarters. >> the global warming law requires a reduction in carbon emissions in 2012. other laws protecting clean air and water would not be affected by prop 23. with when we back.... >> we define that category to our members and city workers as a whole. >> we'll take a

[ female announcer ] the sweet moments package is baby blue. calming. tranquil like the sky. but look within and you will find exploding baked chocolate indulgence. coated with sinfulness. oozing with decadence. ooo! observe the dainty birds and tiny curly cues. but look within you will find primal forces of chocolate. instantly satisfying every iota of yearning. new pillsbury sweet moments, brownie bites and bowls. in the refrigerated section.

pension and health care reform measure on the november ballot would change how much san francisco city workers confront krbt to their plan. if it passes it could pave the way for similar measures across california. >> san francisco voters will be asked to weigh in on proposition "b". if passed it would make city

workers pay more for their health care and pension. >> we're spending a billion dollars on pensions and health care costs at a time when we have the deficit. >> he wrote the initiative and got it on the november ballot. >> it doesn't take away or cut anyone's health care. it just requires city employees to contribute towards their pensions, guaranteed pensions and free health care. >> providing health care for san francisco employees and their families will cost taxpayers about 169 amendment this year. according to the city controller san francisco pays between $481 and $660 per employee per month for health care insurance plus $132 for dental. under the proposition, they would pay half the cost of medical and 75% of the dental.

employees would chip in the difference. labor leaders and city workers say prop "b" unfairly burdens families and single parent households. >> if your firefighter starting a family, you see your health care costs go up. >> i'm the breadwinner so i'm wondering how it will affect me. >> it won't be the only added expense. if prop "b" passes. they will have to contribute more to their pensions, currently most city employees chip in 7.5% of their salaries to fund their pension. that percentage would go up to 10% for most employees, 9% for firefighters and police officers. labor leaders say they have already taken concessions. they believe it will further erode deals they have made with the city. >> we think it's unfair to our city workers as a whole.

>> this isn't just a san francisco problem. nearly every city and county around the state is struggling with the rise in public employee pension and health care costs. instead of funding city services taxes are going to city workers and retirees. the city of vallejo are blaming the rising costs to push it into bankruptcy. >> i would say it's the number one problem facing the state for the next three or four years. >> political analyst say many cities are watching it closely. >> if san francisco goes the way it will be an indication that pension reform will happen throughout the whole state. >> the measure has split allies, as well. >> i'm going to vote why yes. >> former san francisco mayor served on the state pension board. he says public employees and pension reform needs to be addressed. >> as with the case with anything in government that is

not affordable, you better pay attention to it. otherwise you will wind up like vallejo or end up like oakland, laying off police officers. >> current mayor says city leaders are well aware there a problem and have been working with city unions to reach compromises. >> none of us are satisfied with the solution but this is not the way to do it. you don't come down on top in the middle of process that has proven to be successful and dictate the terms, particularly with the health care components. >> voters now have the final say. their ballots will carry a strong message to politicians all over the state. dealing with the rising costs themselves or taxpayers will make the decision for them. carolyn tyler, "abc 7 news."

if you want information on all the races, where the candidates stand on the key issues important to you and propositions in the november election, go to our website at www.abc7.com and click on the politics link on the left side of the page. that's all for this edition of assignment 7.i'm eric thomas i'm eric thomas, thanks for joining us. joining us.

>> police investigating the murder of a worker inside napa state mental hospital. the prime suspect? an inmate. this weekend, rain is causing problems around the bay area, from downed trees to power outages. >> and the giants return to the bay area, fresh off their championship victory. next stop? the world ng ring. progresso. oh yes hi. can you put my grandma on the phone please? thanks. excuse me a sec. another person calling for her grandmother. she thinks it's her soup huh? i'm told she's in the garden picking herbs. she is so cute. okay i'll hold. she's holding. wh (announcer) progresso. you gotta taste this soup. so, you can eat them right here... or eat green giant beans at home... ...frozen within 8 hrs to lock in nutrients. up to you. [ green ant ] ho ho ho ♪ green giant.

progresso. hi. we love your weight watchers endorsed soups but my husband looks the way he did 20 years ago. well that's great. you haven't seen him... my other can is ringing. progresso. hey can you tell my wife to relax and enjoy the view? (announcer) progresso. you gotta taste is soup. should we order panda blossom, panda moon... how about chinese at home with wanchai ferry?