Alameda native and Ca. Senate leader Don Perata was carjacked at gunpoint on Sunday night whilst on his way to deliver a Christmas gift to Oakland politico Ignacio De La Fuente. His chariot of choice was a 2006 Candy apple red Dodge Charger with 22" bling bling rims leased for him with our tax dollars. Don was not harmed and his ride was recovered later near HillTop Mall in Richmond. You can see articles in the L.A. Times, S.F. Chronicle, or the San Jose Mercury for more details. Don did indicate that he might drive something a little more sedate in the future.
Mr. Perata is far from the first politician in California to take flak for their choice of state leased cars. This is an issue that pops up from time to time (mostly on slow news days). This is a widely abused perk that is decades overdue for reform. The basic issue is that if you are a California legislator in either the House or Senate you are entitled to have the state lease a car for you so that you have transportation while you are away from home doing the people's business in Sacramento. There is nothing wrong with that in itself. The issue is that there seems to be no upper end on what you can lease. I won't go through the list of outrageous rides that have been leased over the years because that has been well covered elsewhere. I do think there should be a flat upper limit to what the state lays out for a lease. I'm thinking something on the order of $350 a month plus a mileage allowance would be far more appropriate than the current system. Or perhaps something more radical, that makes a statement, such as getting a fleet lease on a whole raft of Toyota Prius cars. That would be in line with California carbon reduction goals and would be a whole lot more palatable to voters than the current system.
A few unkind words for Mr. Perata to close this post. Although he and I share a party affiliation and basic liberal outlook we don't share much of anything else. Mr. Perata is an old school politician of the, "Bring home the bacon to my district and never met a perk I didn't like variety". Mr. Perata carries with him a cloud of ethically dubious actions that damages what could have been a stellar political career. This is all well documented for anyone who cares to Google the relevant news articles. He is a style of politician that America can simply no longer afford. I am ashamed to say I voted for Mr. Perata several times in the past. That is a lapse of judgement that I will never repeat.
You probably won't see much of this style of rant in my blog but this one really pissed me off.
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I do not even live in that other country called the State of California, but I certainly have to agree with this rant. I especially like the suggestion that poloticians should live by the rules they lay down. I really, really like the idea of the state of California renting the smallest and most gas efficient vehichles available for their LaLa land legislators. To take this just a step further, any elected official should be forced to drive the smallest and most fuel efficient car made in the world for the entire time he or she is feeding at the public trough. This would include for personal business as well as public business. Live by the rules you wish to impose on others.
Final note: Get out and vote, folks.
Yip
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