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Interview With Green Party California Gubernatorial Candidate

Aired August 28, 2003 - 15:16   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: Checking more of the day's developments in the California recall, former L.A. Olympics organizer Peter Ueberroth is invoking the memory of the '84 Games with the first of what he's calling Carry the Torch for Peter Issue Forums. The town-hall-style meeting in wrapped up just a short time ago. Ueberroth took questions from about 50 to 60 people who have preregistered on his Web site.
Arianna Huffington held a news conference with reporters today in Sacramento. Just yesterday, Huffington took the politically risky step of proposing changes to some of the tax provisions created by the popular Proposition 13.

Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante today proposed state regulation of gasoline. Bustamante said the oil companies should be regulated because they are guilty of what he called irresponsible price-gouging.

Well, with me now to talk more about the California recall race is Peter Camejo. He's the Green Party candidate in the recall election for California governor.

First of all, Mr. Camejo, "L.A. Times" poll last week, it had Cruz Bustamante at 35 percent, Arnold Schwarzenegger at 22 percent, several others. You were down there, I think, seventh on the list with 1 percent. How are you going to translate that into victory?

PETER CAMEJO, GREEN PARTY, CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: Well, the Green Party's been growing continuously over the last five years. I got 5.3 percent statewide. We got over 10 percent in the north. We beat the Republicans in the whole area of the Bay area. We have more and more people elected every year. We're up to 65 elected officials in California.

The problem with those polls is, they're likely voter polls that only cover 20 percent of the population; 80 percent are not included in those polls. And the 80 percent that are not included is where our strength is, which is people of color. Those polls are 80 percent white, even though the white population in California is 45 percent.

WOODRUFF: So you're saying those other people are going to turn out to vote.

I want to ask you about your positions vs. Lieutenant Governor Bustamante. The two of you seem to agree on a number of things, from abortion rights to same-sex unions, and I could go down the list. What about the argument that, even if you're just taking a few percentage points away from him, you could end up costing the Democrats the election and handing it to a Republican?

CAMEJO: Well, the problem is that, in California, we tax the average person a lot more than we tax the rich people; 99.9 percent of the people of California pay a higher tax rate than Arnold Schwarzenegger.

I'm alone in calling for the 5 percent richest people, whose income has risen 100 percent in the last seven years, that they pay the same as the average Californian. That would balance the budget. I'm calling for a fair tax. That's the difference between us and all the other candidates, including Bustamante, who I do agree that he has come up with some good proposal. And some of them, I'm going to support. In fact, all the candidates...

WOODRUFF: So 5 percent richest people would pay what tax?

CAMEJO: We want to increase people above $200,000 by 2 percent and people who are making over $500,000 5 percent, which would bring them and the actual taxes they pay to about the same as what the average taxpayer is paying in California. The poorest 20 percent pay 11.3. The richest 1 percent are paying 7.2.

WOODRUFF: And you're saying that would help make up the $8 billion budget deficit?

CAMEJO: We would have a surplus.

Also, the corporations used to pay 14 percent. They now pay 7 percent. We haven't assessed their properties in almost 20 years, over 20 years. If we did that, that would bring in $3 billion more. I today announced a whole plan for how to balance our budget. And, in fact, we could have a surplus, as we should have.

Do you know that California got the most income ever in the last five years, way above the norm? We should right now be sitting on about a $30 billion surplus. And Gray Davis lost it all, plus created a massive deficit.

WOODRUFF: You have an interesting agreement I want to ask you about with Arianna Huffington. And that is, whichever of the two of you has less support as you get closer to Election Day is going to drop out and throw support to the other one. It sounds like neither one of you is serious about this campaign. How do you explain this?

CAMEJO: Well, no.

What is happening, again, is, the polls so far are showing you only likely voters. And we haven't had the debates. On September 3, for the first time in California history, a third party will be in the televised debates. This is a big breakthrough happening because of the recall. The mass people, the millions, will finally be able to hear what the Green Party says and its position of fair taxes and social justice and peace and democracy.

So this is a great opportunity for us. Arianna Huffington is saying many of the same things I'm saying. I welcome her. We're friends. We're working together. We're trying to get a message out. And we hope that the voters will turn to us. And the only agreement we've made, really, is that if either of us had a chance to win, the other would do whatever they could to help that happen.

WOODRUFF: And you'll make that decision between now and Election Day?

CAMEJO: Yes, Judy, if the opportunity actually existed.

WOODRUFF: OK, Peter Camejo, thank you very much for talking to us, the Green Party candidate for governor of California. We appreciate it.

CAMEJO: Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com





Candidate>


Aired August 28, 2003 - 15:16   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: Checking more of the day's developments in the California recall, former L.A. Olympics organizer Peter Ueberroth is invoking the memory of the '84 Games with the first of what he's calling Carry the Torch for Peter Issue Forums. The town-hall-style meeting in wrapped up just a short time ago. Ueberroth took questions from about 50 to 60 people who have preregistered on his Web site.
Arianna Huffington held a news conference with reporters today in Sacramento. Just yesterday, Huffington took the politically risky step of proposing changes to some of the tax provisions created by the popular Proposition 13.

Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante today proposed state regulation of gasoline. Bustamante said the oil companies should be regulated because they are guilty of what he called irresponsible price-gouging.

Well, with me now to talk more about the California recall race is Peter Camejo. He's the Green Party candidate in the recall election for California governor.

First of all, Mr. Camejo, "L.A. Times" poll last week, it had Cruz Bustamante at 35 percent, Arnold Schwarzenegger at 22 percent, several others. You were down there, I think, seventh on the list with 1 percent. How are you going to translate that into victory?

PETER CAMEJO, GREEN PARTY, CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: Well, the Green Party's been growing continuously over the last five years. I got 5.3 percent statewide. We got over 10 percent in the north. We beat the Republicans in the whole area of the Bay area. We have more and more people elected every year. We're up to 65 elected officials in California.

The problem with those polls is, they're likely voter polls that only cover 20 percent of the population; 80 percent are not included in those polls. And the 80 percent that are not included is where our strength is, which is people of color. Those polls are 80 percent white, even though the white population in California is 45 percent.

WOODRUFF: So you're saying those other people are going to turn out to vote.

I want to ask you about your positions vs. Lieutenant Governor Bustamante. The two of you seem to agree on a number of things, from abortion rights to same-sex unions, and I could go down the list. What about the argument that, even if you're just taking a few percentage points away from him, you could end up costing the Democrats the election and handing it to a Republican?

CAMEJO: Well, the problem is that, in California, we tax the average person a lot more than we tax the rich people; 99.9 percent of the people of California pay a higher tax rate than Arnold Schwarzenegger.

I'm alone in calling for the 5 percent richest people, whose income has risen 100 percent in the last seven years, that they pay the same as the average Californian. That would balance the budget. I'm calling for a fair tax. That's the difference between us and all the other candidates, including Bustamante, who I do agree that he has come up with some good proposal. And some of them, I'm going to support. In fact, all the candidates...

WOODRUFF: So 5 percent richest people would pay what tax?

CAMEJO: We want to increase people above $200,000 by 2 percent and people who are making over $500,000 5 percent, which would bring them and the actual taxes they pay to about the same as what the average taxpayer is paying in California. The poorest 20 percent pay 11.3. The richest 1 percent are paying 7.2.

WOODRUFF: And you're saying that would help make up the $8 billion budget deficit?

CAMEJO: We would have a surplus.

Also, the corporations used to pay 14 percent. They now pay 7 percent. We haven't assessed their properties in almost 20 years, over 20 years. If we did that, that would bring in $3 billion more. I today announced a whole plan for how to balance our budget. And, in fact, we could have a surplus, as we should have.

Do you know that California got the most income ever in the last five years, way above the norm? We should right now be sitting on about a $30 billion surplus. And Gray Davis lost it all, plus created a massive deficit.

WOODRUFF: You have an interesting agreement I want to ask you about with Arianna Huffington. And that is, whichever of the two of you has less support as you get closer to Election Day is going to drop out and throw support to the other one. It sounds like neither one of you is serious about this campaign. How do you explain this?

CAMEJO: Well, no.

What is happening, again, is, the polls so far are showing you only likely voters. And we haven't had the debates. On September 3, for the first time in California history, a third party will be in the televised debates. This is a big breakthrough happening because of the recall. The mass people, the millions, will finally be able to hear what the Green Party says and its position of fair taxes and social justice and peace and democracy.

So this is a great opportunity for us. Arianna Huffington is saying many of the same things I'm saying. I welcome her. We're friends. We're working together. We're trying to get a message out. And we hope that the voters will turn to us. And the only agreement we've made, really, is that if either of us had a chance to win, the other would do whatever they could to help that happen.

WOODRUFF: And you'll make that decision between now and Election Day?

CAMEJO: Yes, Judy, if the opportunity actually existed.

WOODRUFF: OK, Peter Camejo, thank you very much for talking to us, the Green Party candidate for governor of California. We appreciate it.

CAMEJO: Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com





Candidate>