Debate Sponsor Lists Questions

The California Broadcasters Assn. released a list of 12 questions, ranging from policy positions to legislative priorities, for its scheduled debate at Cal State Sacramento on Wednesday.

The 90-minute encounter is the only one of the debates that Arnold Schwarzenegger will participate in.

He’ll be joined by Cruz Bustamante, Peter Camejo, Arianna Huffington and Tom McClintock.

The CBA has been criticized for releasing the questions in advance. But Mark Powers, the association’s government affairs chief, said the round-table format demands that the candidates be well-prepared for the discussion topics.

The debate will be moderated by Stan Statham, president of the CBA. Questions -- which were chosen by a panel of academics, independent campaign strategists and journalists based on public submissions -- will be asked in random order.

The candidates will also be encouraged to challenge one another on specific points, along the lines of a Sunday morning talk show. “Voters want to see what they do under pressure,” Powers said. “Do they get angry? Do they interrupt when challenged?”

Still, Bustamante this week criticized Schwarzenegger for agreeing to participate in only one debate.

“The only one [debate] he’s agreed to do is where he takes the questions and answers them at home,” Bustamante said. “It’s like kids taking tests home and filling them out and taking them back to school. We don’t let our kids do that. What we should do instead of going to that scripted debate, we should have an unscripted debate right outside, at Sacramento State.”

Among the 12 questions released Wednesday were:

* How would you propose enhancing revenue and/or what specific cuts would you propose to achieve a balanced budget?

* Everybody talks about wanting a colorblind society, but what does that mean to you?

* Leaders in the business community are convinced that this state is losing jobs and unable to attract new businesses.

If you agree, what are two things you would change to make this a more business-friendly state? If you disagree, what are the misconceptions you would like to correct?

* How are you going to ensure that all Californians have adequate health care?

* Do you support reducing the vehicle license fee (car tax) and if so, where would you find the revenue to replace the loss to the budget?

* What are your positions on Proposition 53 and what will you do to invest more in California’s aging infrastructure?

* If elected governor will you support the expansion of charter schools in California?

*

Actor’s Committee Gets $100,000 Donation

Arnold Schwarzenegger reported Wednesday that his efforts to remove Gov. Gray Davis from office had received a significant financial boost from a retired Idaho businessman.

William A. Robinson, the former majority owner of the freight company DHL Airways -- recently renamed Astar Air Cargo -- gave $100,000 to Schwarzenegger’s Total Recall committee. Except for money deposited by Schwarzenegger himself, the donation matched the committee’s largest contribution.

Schwarzenegger reported Wednesday that Robinson, who lived in San Francisco when DHL was based in the city, also contributed $21,000 to the candidate’s campaign fund.