Cavala: Another Slap at California’s Italian-Americans as Schwarzenegger Seeks Elimination of “Columbus Day” Fete

By Bill Cavala
A veteran of over 30 years in Sacramento

Why Columbus Day? It’s not a holiday celebrating the discovery of the ‘new world’, but of the achievement of Italian-Americans beginning with the sailor from Genoa. Why would the Governor single out that particular holiday for extinction?

Because he’s an Austrian immigrant?

Because he disdains the contributions to Americas culture of its hard-working Italian American community?

Or is it a personal slap at Democratic Senate leader Don Perata? Speaker Bass doesn’t have to fight to maintain Martin Luther King’s birthday as a Holiday. Nor did Speaker Nunez have to struggle to maintain our celebration of the birthday of Cesar Chavez - although Chavez would certainly have swapped his birthday for the legislation vetoed by Scharzenegger to allow the UFW to sign up members via “card check”.

Why not eliminate the “football” holiday (New Years)? Or the “shopping holiday” (the day after Thanksgiving?!).

The Governor should be warned that former Governor Pete Wilson tried this path in the 90’s. But it never came to anything when Speaker Brown suggested putting legislation on his desk that would make the birthday of former President Reagan a holiday. Too. (A veto might not have been appreciated by California conservatives).

While all proposed budget cuts will have opponents, few are more visible to all than state holidays.

It will be amusing to watch as this Governor learns that lesson.

Bill Cavala was Deputy Director of the Assembly Speaker’s Office of Member Services where he worked for over 30 years. He attended undergraduate and graduate school in the 1960’s and received a doctorate in political science at UC Berkeley. He taught political science at UC Berkeley during the 1970's while he worked part-time for the State Assembly.

Cavala left teaching at UC Berkeley for Assembly Speaker Willie Brown in 1981 until his tenure as Speaker ended in 1995, and he has worked for his five successors as Speaker. He now manages election campaigns for Democratic candidates.

Comments

Posted by: Jay Gould at November 16, 2008 09:40 AM

Posted by: Jack Fritch at November 16, 2008 10:15 PM

Posted by: easyforbuy at May 24, 2009 11:04 PM

Get Email Updates

Want the California Progress Report by email? Once a week, we'll send you the latest and greatest headlines.