PLEASE END THE PHONY KITCHEN CABINET TOUR

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

Potemkin village \puh-TEM(P)-kin\ n.
Something that appears elaborate and impressive but in actual fact lacks substance:
[After Grigori Aleksandrovich POTEMKIN, who had elaborate fake villages constructed for Catherine the Great's tours of the Ukraine and the Crimea.]
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Today in California, Grigori Aleksandrovich Potemkin, has been replaced by Alan Zaremberg, President and CEO of the California Chamber of Commerce.

Playing the role of Catherine the Great is Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger riding a Hummer from village to village.

So far his carefully managed tour has reached such far flung villages as Fresno and Long Beach. Hiding behind the façade built by the Chamber of Commerce and called “reform,” the Governor has met with real people.

These commoners were handpicked by the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce (recently named the California Chamber of Commerce Advocacy Partner of the Year) and the Fresno Chamber of Commerce. The highlights include:

Clips from Long Beach (Long Beach Press Telegram, March 12, 2005):

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's motorcade rolled into one of Long Beach's historic neighborhoods Friday for his first Citizens' Kitchen Cabinet' meeting, giving seven local residents a chance to pitch their questions on redistricting, unions and government downsizing in an unusually intimate setting.

All were connected through the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce, which hosted the governor's visit.

At the end of the meeting, the governor handed out petitions to the group and enlisted their help in gathering the 600,000 signatures needed to get each of his reforms on the California ballot this fall. His top reforms cover redistricting, public employee pensions, and education.
After shaking hands and thanking his hosts, Schwarzenegger walked to his heavily guarded car and declared his first Kitchen Cabinet meeting a success.

"It was unbelievable," he told reporters. "I learned a lot from my new Kitchen Cabinet, and it was a wonderful thing. It's great to be out here with the people."


In Long Beach, the governor’s “kitchen cabinet” was hand picked by the Long Beach Chamber, which also put big money into the governor’s choice for Assembly, Steve Kuykendall. Their PAC contributed over $50,000.00 to Kuykendall. Here is a little background on some of the common folk:

* Janet Nguyen, billed as a newly elected member of the Garden Grove City Council, she also is the Vice President of Government Affairs for the Long Beach Chamber and the lead staffer for the Chamber’s PAC.
* Cheri Kinley, billed as a stay at home mom, she is married to a Board Member of the Long Beach Chamber who also chairs the Chamber’s Government Affairs Council and sits on the Chamber’s PAC committee.
* Kathleen Thurmond, the business owner who hosted the event, happens to be a donor to the Long Beach Chamber PAC.
* Doug Carpenter, owns Paragon Steel and donated money to the governor’s candidate in Long Beach and the recall election.
* Edward Wallace, owns a Landscaping company and donated money to the governor’s candidate in Long Beach.


Clips from Fresno (Fresno Bee, Thursday March 24, 2005):

His main focus was a series of proposals aimed at giving the governor more control over state spending, turning redistricting over to retired judges, changing the way public school teachers are paid and altering the state pension fund.

Schwarzenegger said he likes to visit "with ordinary citizens" to hear their concerns and ideas.

Garcia asked the governor to consider the financial outlook for hospitals, particularly those such as Community that treat large percentages of uninsured patients.

Schwarzenegger was sympathetic and said officials must work on getting health insurance to more people.

The common folk in Fresno included:

· Anne Speake, billed as president of Harbison International Inc., is also former President of the Fresno Chamber and its PAC.

· Barbara Farris, billed as homemaker, is a member of the Fresno County Republican Central Committee (District 5).


Hey Governor – end the phony Chamber of Commerce home tour and get back to work on the real issues facing this state. Maybe YOU can be one of those officials getting health insurance to more people (like that Healthy Families Program that you raved about during the recall campaign…)