The Transition Czar

The Transition Czar wants to help set a new course to create A Better California.

Considering the dearth of vision and leadership in the last administration, the Czar shouldn’t have that much trouble setting a better course based on his extraordinary intellect and heart.

The Transition Czar’s stated goals for the state are: to create a budget surplus where a deficit once was, get all children into school with eventual access to community colleges and universities, become a national leader in job growth, protect our natural resources and make sure our most vulnerable citizens receive the critical services they need. The trick: doing all this and allowing citizens to keep most of their hard-earned dollars in their pockets.

Overreaching? You bet, says the Czar. This is the best time to put this out there, because hope is alive. The Czar thinks this somewhat grandiose plan can be accomplished, but we want to stop short of adapting Arnold’s tendency to throw out broad, vague, feel-good words to placate the voters (see our cover story, “In one era and out the other”).

Now that Arnold’s already putting friends into a leadership team and choosing a menu for the inauguration luncheon, it’s time to get to the tough stuff, like coming up with fair budget cuts, proposing substantive legislation, organizing legislative-session strategies that will bring the polarized sides together and administering state government.

The Czar advises that Arnold get ready for the crisis situations that will roll through town like those winter rainstorms. You can’t account for fires, but you can bet that something like the energy crisis will pop up within a year. Our advice is to get out in front of the problem before it festers, listen to the smart ones from both parties for advice and then act (no, not that dramatic kind of acting) like a leader.

The Czar is available for consultation.