While it is still unclear how political changes from this month’s election will affect university students, political aficionados at Sacramento State have offered their opinion.

The virtual sweep by the Democratic Party at the state level &- including several significant posts and key propositions &- has left-leaning advocates optimistic, while the more conservative ones see no change in the status quo.

Among the more notable victories was the election of San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom as the state’s next lieutenant governor, which gives him a seat on the California State University Board of Trustees and UC Board of Regents, the governing bodies that vote on student fees.

“I’ve been very impressed with Newsom’s appreciation for higher education as mayor,” said Lois Boulgarides, president of the Capitol chapter of the California Faculty Association.

Newsom was against the proposed CSU fee increases being voted on this week, said his campaign director Francisco Castillo.

In Sacramento, Newsom will “continue to be a strong outspoken supporter of higher education,” Castillo said.

Some of the strongest election opinions were directed at Jerry Brown’s return to the governor’s chair.

“I don’t think the election of Jerry Brown will make any difference. Brown, Schwarzenegger and Whitman were pretty much the same,” said Kevin Fisher, Sac State College Republicans’ treasurer. “Politicians are still going to have a hard time finding money in this economic climate.”

The College Democrats had a different view.

“Our California Democrats have been really good on education,” said John Ryan, president of Sac State’s College Democrats. “We hope to see student fees at least start to freeze.”

During Brown’s first two terms as governor, the CSU budget increased by 117 percent &- going from $454 million in 1974-75 to $987 million in 1982-83.

On his website, Brown attributed the rise in CSU budgets to “prudent management of the budget and state spending.”

Brown’s education plan calls for a “major overhaul of many components of the post-secondary education system,” according to his website.

He advocates revising California’s Master Plan for Education, ratified in 1960 to increase overall efficiency in the higher education system and allow access to college education regardless of income.

Brown plans to increase higher education revenue by diverting state prison system funds, according to his website. He cited an example as attorney general where he blocked a proposed $8 billion prison hospital expansion.

“By relentlessly pursuing similar cost savings, we can channel needed funds to our higher education system,” the website states.

Brown’s campaign manager, Sterling Clifford, refused to give any specifics about how the Brown administration would help higher education. When asked if he could provide details, Clifford said he “cannot.”

“Listen, I already said he was committed to education,” Clifford said, referring The State Hornet back to Brown’s website.

Another crucial victory for Democrats was in the state’s 5th Assembly District, which includes Sac State. Physician Richard Pan beat out attorney Andy Pugno, who was author and legal counsel for the 2008 proposition to ban gay marriage.

Ryan, who campaigned in the 5th District, said he had a heart-to-heart with Pan following the victory.

“Pan looked me in the eye and promised he was going to make student fees a priority,” Ryan said.

Matt Ward, Pan’s campaign director, said Pan would be “completely committed to empowering students,” but conceded that “the state budget is going to create obstacles to getting that done.”

Among the ballot measures potentially affecting the CSU was Proposition 25, which lowers the threshold for passing a state budget from a two-thirds vote to a simple majority. The CSU must wait to pass its yearly budget until the state decides how much money it will give to higher education.

Boulgarides said an on-time budget would enable the CSU to make more logical budget decisions without having to plan for a worst-case scenario.

“The state budget delay affects students who can least afford it, but hopefully Prop 25 will cause the budget to be in on time, even if it’s an awful one,” said retired communication studies professor Barbara O’Connor.

Ryan said the two-thirds majority threshold allowed extreme politicians to hinder the fiscal process.

“The simple majority budget will be great because it won’t allow those extreme minorities to hold things up for sweetheart deals,” Ryan said.

Prop 24, which failed at the ballot box, had drummed up huge support among teachers’ unions. The law would have repealed three corporate tax breaks and given the state an additional $1.3 billion in tax revenues, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office.

Its failure could mean “fewer tax dollars for higher education” due to the decrease in state revenue, said Yes on 24 campaign spokesman Richard Stapler in an interview last month.

But there could be a backdoor effect to Prop 24’s failure, which could ultimately boost state funds to higher education, Fisher said.

“If there’s more business revenue in Sacramento because the corporations are doing better, then that means more money for higher education,” he said.

Ken Paglia can be reached at [email protected].