Gov. Jerry Brown says shadow lurkers should be ‘ashamed’

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At a Cal State Chico rally attended by hundreds Monday, Gov. Jerry Brown cast Proposition 30 as a choice between teachers and students backing his call for higher taxes and the ‘shadowy figures’ opposed to his plan.

Brown was referring to an Arizona-based nonprofit that has given $11 million to a committee opposed to Proposition 30. The donors to that nonprofit remain anonymous.

‘They are ashamed of themselves,’ Brown said. ‘That’s why they are concealing their identity.’

Brown also struck populist notes, saying that ‘98% of people who are going to vote next Tuesday will not pay a penny of the income tax.’

Brown’s plan would temporarily hike levies on individual incomes of more than $250,000 and increase the state sales tax by a quarter-cent for four years.

Daisy May, a student from East Los Angeles voting in her first election, said she is backing Proposition 30 in hopes of stopping future tuition hikes.

‘If it freezes tuition, that benefits us,’ she said.

Opponents of Brown’s plan say there is no guarantee tuition will be frozen if Proposition 30 passes. They note that $500 million in university cuts slated to go into effect if the measure fails can be reversed by state lawmakers.

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-- Anthony York in Chico