Candidates Address Health Care in Final Campaign Stops

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) and Democratic gubernatorial nominee Phil Angelides spent Monday campaigning across the state on the eve of the election, the Los Angeles Times reports.

At a Republican call center in Irvine, Schwarzenegger spoke to callers and recommended voting against any ballot measure that would increase taxes, including Proposition 86, the proposed tobacco tax increase (Finnegan/Martelle, Los Angeles Times, 11/7).

The measure would increase the state tobacco tax to $3.47 per pack of cigarettes to fund health programs and services (California Healthline, 11/6).

Schwarzenegger did not mention his position on Proposition 85 (Folmar/Zapler, Contra Costa Times, 11/7). The measure would require parental notification before an unmarried minor has an abortion (California Healthline, 10/3).

At campaign stops in San Diego, Los Angeles, Oakland and Sacramento, Angelides said he would be more effective at addressing health care and other issues than Schwarzenegger, according to the Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles Times, 11/7).

At a rally in Oakland, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said, "More people will have health care" if Angelides is elected governor (Contra Costa Times, 11/7).

Proposition 86 is a "rare, once-in-a-generation opportunity to help improve the health and lives of California's kids," Wendy Lazarus, founder and co-president of the Children's Partnership, and Gary Toebben, president and CEO of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, write in an opinion piece posted on the California Majority Report. According to Lazarus and Toebben, Proposition 86 would:

• Prevent 700,000 children under age 17 from becoming smokers;
  
  
• Prevent 300,000 premature smoking-related deaths;
  
  
• Reduce health care costs by more than $16 billion; and
  
  
• Provide funds to expand health insurance coverage to all California children.