As I was reflected on the results of how all of the ballot measures fared in last Tuesday’s election, I was struck with a sense of déjà vu. No on 91. No on 92. No on 93. Yes on 94. Yes on 95. Yes on 96. Yes on 97. Then it struck me, and I looked back through my e-mails and sure enough, the 
California Chamber of Commerce put out a release urging ALL of these positions. Or, to put it another way, the CalChamber went seven for seven, or 100% on election day!
All of the measures either passed or failed by pretty wide margins on Tuesday, with the exception of Proposition 93, that was so close that newspapers had to go to print for Wednesday morning without a definitive answer on whether it passed or failed.
Relative to that close measure…
There is no doubt that in the hotly charged effort by legislative leaders to extend their own terms, the Chamber’s opposition to Prop. 93 made a big difference. No doubt that the fortitude of California business owners to reject the immense pressure being put on them by the Speaker were bucked up knowing that the CalChamber stood tall. As well they should. CalChamber CEO & President Allan Zaremberg was a key player in very real negotiations for a package that would have included real redistricting reform with a modification of term-limits. It was Nunez who walked away from the table, in remarkable bad faith, and put his own self-serving measure on the ballot. The CalChamber opposition to 93 places the organization in a strong position for other negotiations on policy and political matters in the Capitol… Because they demonstrated that they mean what they say.
This is a good opportunity to give a "shout out" to the leadership that Allan Zaremberg is giving to this group. Zaremberg not only gets credit for leading his organization to take positions on all of these measures, but he also has a strong message to send back to his membership — we made a difference.
Congrats to the CalChamber for an impressive showing on election day.
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