Phil Angelides has been in politics most of his life. He has served as the chair of the California Democratic Party and treasurer of the state. It seems as though the man has put in his time and would be a worthy competitor for governor.
If anyone is genuinely interested in the race for governor and Angelides’ place in it, they have probably heard much of the propaganda for and against him. Angelides is the Democratic Party’s representative and has many plans for the state if elected. According to the Democratic headquarters in Sacramento, there are some very important issues Angelides and the party believe are in need of repair.
The issue that seemed to be most important is cleaning up the budget of the state. Many experts say California’s budget has been in bad shape for many years, and although it seems far from possible it could be cleaned up by a single governor, Angelides says that he does have a plan. His plan includes many common sense things, such as cutting wasteful spending and making the government more productive. Angelides also wants to impose temporary tax on the top 1% of Californians to feed more money to the budget.
Something that seems to be repeated constantly throughout the party’s platform is helping out the middle class. Angelides is “Committed to putting government on the side of hardworking families,” said Nick Papas, a spokesman for the campaign. He went on to say, “Californians want change in California and the governor’s office.”
Angelides explains that the middle class is the backbone of California. Among other things, he says he will cut taxes for the middle class, protect minimum wage from inflation, and make college more affordable to all Californians.
Another area Angelides believes needs attention is investment in the youth of California, more importantly their education. He recognizes that schools in the state are struggling and test scores are showing this, and, as a state, we are poorly ranked in the nation. In his plan, training more teachers and helping students afford college by grants will give the state more qualified workers.
Another important part of the Angelides campaign, according to Papas, is the unity of the Democratic Party.
When asked what it was like to run a campaign against someone whom probably everyone would recognize by name, Papas replied, “We have tens of thousands of volunteers working for us, and we will continue to campaign hard.”