Governor Schwarzenegger: Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?

I'm sorry I missed you. I attended a rally outside your office today. It wasn't anything like the rally I attended when I supported your first campaign. We were a small group, possibly 200 in total.

Most of our group were disabled. I sat on the lawn, just in front of the south steps, beside a woman with a cane. Standing in front of me, because he didn't know he was blocking my view, was a very vocal and young blind man. Behind me were wheelchairs with their occupants, seniors with their infirmities and transit employees who took an early lunch hour like me.

You see, Mr. Schwarzenegger, I work for Sacramento Regional Transit. I noticed that there weren't many transit employees there. As Mr. Mike Wiley, our General Manager, expressed, we have already cut all the fat we can cut. There is no fat remaining. The lean staff was back at the office, keeping the wheels rolling for your public.

As I said, I work for Sacramento Regional Transit. I struggled to get my job. I am an entry-level administrative assistant working in the Customer Advocacy Department. The road to that desk also led to my story.

I arrived in Sacramento in 2001. I could not afford to live here. Something had to give. I gave up my automobile. In 2001 I estimated that I was saving between six hundred and one thousand dollars a month. I had no car payments, no insurance, no repair bills and, obviously, no gasoline to purchase.

I used transit to fill most of my needs. I found a place to live on a bus line. I found a job on a bus line. I lost the job because the bus wouldn't run late enough for my shift. I got another job on a bus line. I met my husband on a bus line.

My husband came to Sacramento when he became disabled. He cannot drive. He depends on Regional Transit. He found a place to live on a bus line. He found a place to work on a bus line. He met me on a bus line.

Everything we do outside our home depends on a bus or our own two feet.

It seemed only reasonable that I would go to work for the bus company. I make an extremely modest salary. But I am very grateful for my job and for the service I can give to the community.

About two weeks ago, I sent you a letter that read like this:

"I urge your strong opposition to the anti-transit components of your proposed 2008-2009 State Budget. The proposed diversion of $1.4 billion from the Public Transportation Account (PTA) will drastically impact our mobility and quality of life. The current proposal balances a disproportionate amount of the State's budget shortfall solution on the backs of millions of Californians (like us) who rely on transit.

My husband and I are totally reliant upon public transportation. We settled in Sacramento because we cannot afford to own a car and Sacramento has a respectable public transportation system. We are not yet elderly but my husband is physically disabled. We both work outside the home and cannot fathom the effects that a reduction in transit services would have on our lives.

With the recent increase in gas prices, Sacramento Regional Transit District (RT) has seen a substantial increase in ridership figures. It reflects the fiscal responsibility of many Californians who are turning to public transportation in order to balance their own budgets in spite of rising gas prices. RT should be adding service, not eliminating it."

Do you know what your staff sent to me as a response? Are you aware of how callous and uncaring they have made you appear? Here are just a few lines from that response email.

I appreciate your input during this challenging budget year. Do you really?

Your letter went on to say:

"This crisis is real, and it is very serious. Because of the size of our deficit, we need to make some very difficult cuts. I know they will be painful, which is why they are so hard for me to make."

Oh, really? Painful cuts, you say? I cannot fathom how you are you going to feel the pain of reducing public transportation.

Did you hear that 43% more people rode public transit in Sacramento immediately following the increase in gas prices to over $4.00 a gallon? I hear from light rail passengers crammed aboard standing room only trains. They travel like that for 30 minutes each way. Buses are also full to standing room only. By the way, most disabled patrons cannot stand while a bus or train is in motion.

Now we anticipate gas prices to climb to $5.00 a gallon and many more people will turn to public transit to make ends meet. What will they do next winter when Sacramento Regional Transit is forced to cut 10% of their service to these folks?

Last year, when you stole money from public transportation to balance the state budget, RT eliminated weekend service for some of the bus lines. My heart breaks because I hear about it everyday. I hear from the stranded elderly and disabled unable to enjoy the simple things in life on the weekends. They call and cry and try to convince me that going to the grocery, the movies or to church is precious to them. One lady calls every Sunday to remind me that she can't attend church services anymore. Everyone else basically gave up calling. They know they don't count. They blame Regional Transit because they don't know that you caused their pain.

The rest of your response letter detailed how you plan to "be creative and find new revenues without raising taxes. In fact, my revised budget does just that by eliminating half of our deficit through spending reductions and the other half through new sources of revenue, while fully funding Proposition 98 for education, keeping our state parks open and not releasing inmates early."

I'm sorry Governor. That is all empty rhetoric to those of us who will bear the pain when you shift $1 billion in transit revenue to the General Fund deficit.

You are robbing us of freedom and mobility. Your budget will make many Californians prisoners in their own homes.

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