From Either Side of the Aisle, Prop. 140 Stands for Profound Change : OTHER COMMENTARY : Fresh, Able Faces Will Rattle Cages

In a state of 30 million people, you’ve got tens of thousands of capable people who can come in and and operate the government. In my judgment, you’re going to have a lot of fresher thinking. You’re going to have people who are not afraid to come in and shake things up, people who are much less prone to be captured by their staff. One of the arguments (of Proposition 140 opponents) was they think that the staffs are going to be in control. The staffs are in control now, because they’re so large and entrenched. And, of course, the current Legislature is hardly immune from special interests, as they suggest.

The average bright person can go into the Legislature and catch on in a matter of weeks. You don’t have to be a genius, especially if you don’t have to deal with all the entrenched leadership stranglehold, which has probably made it very difficult for incoming legislators. If you’ve got a a leadership that is changing and evolving, there’ll probably be fewer constraints and fewer restrictions on people coming in.