Ah, yes, California! Our state is known for so much around the United States, whether it is our beautiful cities, Disneyland or Hollywood.Yet there is one more phenomenon that seems to have taken over the image of California and doesn’t seem to go away – the “Governator.” It’s once again time to vote for the governor of California and I don’t know about you, but I believe our last one hasn’t done a thing to uphold the image, economy and quality of our state.

State Treasurer Phil Angelides and current Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger are going head-to-head for the position of governor of California. With both opponents agreeing to an on-campus debate in Capistrano Hall on Saturday, Angelides will surely put the “girlie man” in his place.

As a Sacramento native, Angelides knows the importance of California and he is prepared to fight for rebuilding and reconstruction in order to put California back on top, somewhere Schwarzenegger has never been.

Ryan Kawamoto, legislative assistant at the Capitol, agreed that Angelides will move the state in the right direction.

“I am a strong supporter of Angelides and I believe he has a clear vision for California,” Kawamoto said.

Schwarzenegger has not done much to keep the promises he made over the last couple of years. According to www.angelides.com, Schwarzenegger promised to lower taxes, yet he has only kept his promise for the wealthiest Californian companies, tobacco and oil. The only tax-related matter he has done is encumber middle class families, senior citizens and teachers with $2.5 billion in tax and fee increases. More money coming out of my pocket – sounds like super fun!

Since Schwarzenegger was elected. there’s been a half-billion dollar tax increase on teachers, as well as fee increases in childcare, healthcare, park fees and my ultimate favorite, more than $1.7 billion in higher education fees. I don’t know about you, but the excitement is overwhelming.

Not only did he think the tuition was “too low” and increase tuition on UC, CSU and community colleges, but the only thing Schwarzenegger has been doing is perfecting his signature movie look and making sure that he uses his repetitive, overused sayings such as, “I’ll be back.”

The governator even used these sayings in professional speeches. When he was first elected, he made jokes toward former Gov. Gray Davis’ “Total Recall” and how he would “terminate” that plan. I love how our governor is trying to run our state and still keeping up with his movie star image. Which one will prevail? If given the choice, would he accept a role over bringing up our state?

Shannon McKinley, intern for an assembly member at the Capitol, believes Angelides has California’s best interest at heart and that our state needs a leader who will tell us the truth, even when we do not want to hear it. McKinley believes that anyone can do what is popular, but it takes a real leader to do what is necessary.

“Angelides would ensure that large corporations and the top income earners in California paid their fair share of taxes, which would generate the revenue to fully fund our state’s failing schools, fix our roads and infrastructure, hire more fire and police personnel and provide other crucial public services,” McKinley said. McKinley is also a graduate student at Sac State working towards her degree in government.

It took both candidates a while to agree to this Saturday’s debate. There was an issue where one candidate wanted to be seated and the other standing. Angelides wanted to stand during the debate because, you know, that’s how debates are usually done. Have you ever seen a highly publicized debate where they’re sitting down and having a light conversation over some tea? Arnold needs to grow up and realize that he’s going to be shut down and we’ll finally get to see who really wants to “stand up” for California. And yes, the pun is intended.

The terminator will have nothing to say after this Saturday’s debate once Angelides wins it in a landslide. He’ll definitely show Arnold’s true viewpoints and attitudes for what they really are. It’s time for Schwarzenegger to step back and let Angelides clean up the mess Schwarzenegger has created. Schwarzenegger will be “terminated” and his “true lies” will be the only thing to prevail.

Rosa Pastran can be reached at [email protected]