By Tim Redmond
It was hardly a bill of cosmic import, but Assemblymember Tom Ammiano’s AB 1176 would have helped the Port of San Francisco with some financing issues. It’s the kind of bill that legislators offer on behalf of their cities all the time — and generally, they are non-controversial. This one was the same — no substantive opposition, it passed both houses easily — and normally, the governor would sign it with little fanfare.
But no: Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed the bill — and sent Ammiano and the legislators a remarkable veto letter. The letter says nothing about the substance of the bill; in fact, the language is really convoluted and it’s hard to figure out what the gov is really saying.
Here’s the official message:
But wait — there’s a real message, an actual missive from the Gov to Tom, embedded in this text. And it’s not hard to find — in fact, it’s hard to believe it could have been a coincidence.
Read down the letters on the left side of the message
Well, maybe Arnold is still mad at being told to “kiss my gay ass”, but this is a rather puerile way for the governor of California to be spending his time.
Let’s not forget — there was a substantive bill here that would have helped San Francisco. So the gov is not just telling the entire Legislature Fuck You, he’s also saying it to the city and county of SF.
What an asshole. No wonder it’s hard to get anything done in Sacramento; the gov’s office is full of frat boys spending hours (and it would have taken hours to get this exactly right) making stupid little-boy jokes.
(His press office hasn’t returned my call seeking comment on this; I’ll let you know if they do.)
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Guardian graphic by Ben Hopfer