# California gubernatorial election 2014 **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [June 5, 2014, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-gubernatorial-election-2014/690139 "2014-06-05T17:42:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2014, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-gubernatorial-election-2014/690139/21 "2014-06-06T19:59:30Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > I can’t think of any other governor in my lifetime that has that depth of knowledge of California and it’s problems, the political capital and contacts to make things happen, and the balls to actually get dirty doing what needs to be done. Well, he was born into the trade. Willie Brown had the same potential but traded it all for power-for-power’s-sake. It was about the game, and the Willie Brown Show, and not about the state. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2014, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-gubernatorial-election-2014/690139/22 "2014-06-06T20:15:52Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > But back to the OP: Brown 2.0 I exactly what we needed after the Governator got done ruining the state. Another demonstration of what happens when Republicans get control of a state government. Was Ahnold really that bad? If so, how did he win a second term? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2014, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-gubernatorial-election-2014/690139/23 "2014-06-06T20:17:20Z")
> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > You would think that spending billions of dollars just to make it easier for Californians to spend money _in another state_ would be the _last_ thing a governor wants. Well, the train would run both ways, wouldn’t it? And Nevadans must get kinda sick of spending every weekend in a desert, however neon-glitzy. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2014, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-gubernatorial-election-2014/690139/24 "2014-06-06T21:00:07Z")
The HSR would be the last item developed in the expansion. The Cajon Pass needs to be widened for rail traffic desperately, and has been for decades. That should be the major push. Running HSR would just be gravy. But from Victorville or Barstow, you could run HSR along the 99, straight up the Central Valley. Or over to Bakersfield and then up to the Bay Area. But you have to get through the Cajon Pass before any project can connect LA to anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2014, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-gubernatorial-election-2014/690139/25 "2014-06-06T21:39:26Z")
> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > In fact, the only reason he isn’t considered already elected is that California law mandates a runoff. Brown got 54% of the vote. (Since this is not a Presidential election year, all primary ballots in California are the same; there was one list of names for Governor, each voter got to vote for one, and the two with the most votes - Brown, and Neel Kashkari - will runoff in November. The primary for every state or federal office except for President will work this way.) Except for those that are nonpartisan, like State Superintendent of Education, but nobody got 50% of the vote for that, so there’s a runoff anyway. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2014, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-gubernatorial-election-2014/690139/26 "2014-06-06T23:40:27Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > If Sacramento was smart (I know, I know) they would invest a billion in widening the rail link through the Cajon Pass. That’s a pretty ballsy suggestion! ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2014, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-gubernatorial-election-2014/690139/27 "2014-06-07T08:41:38Z")
I don’t really see why. Yes, I saw the argument above that it would make it easier for Californians to go to Vegas for their gambling, but that’s really only if they want to ride trains there, and I don’t think there’s a lot of evidence to suggest that they (we) do. The carrying capacity of the current lines for freight, however, do limit SoCal ports’ effectiveness/attractiveness for goods to arrive in LA or San Diego rather than Portland and Seattle (although I’m not prepared to say by how much). ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2014, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-gubernatorial-election-2014/690139/28 "2014-06-07T08:46:40Z")
P.S. Okay, I saw what you did there (eventually). Knowing the difference between _cojones_ and _cajon_ did put me at a disadvantage, though. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2014, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-gubernatorial-election-2014/690139/29 "2014-06-07T15:24:51Z")
I’ll have to do a search to find them, but we used to have a train engineer on this board who explained the limiting factors in some detail. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2014, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-gubernatorial-election-2014/690139/30 "2014-06-07T16:05:54Z")
I don’t think a high degree of expertise is needed to see the problems. It’s less about specific technical issues than general problems with implementation. In a nutshell, HSR is one of those gosh-wow “solutions” that mistakes technological advancement for actual usefulness. Building out light rail to a useful density and coverage through our cities would be far more effective, just not sexy. Putting in one or two high-speed links, where normal-speed links already exist (Sac/SF/LA, or BosWash) accomplishes very little at very high cost. Even the rather modest Acela took years to roll out and still has a low percentage of “high speed” travel segments and achieved speeds. All this without even getting to just how much fun the criminal/terrorist set can have with 200MPH trains that run through unpopulated areas. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2014, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-gubernatorial-election-2014/690139/31 "2014-06-08T16:11:39Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > The carrying capacity of the current lines for freight, however, do limit SoCal ports’ effectiveness/attractiveness for goods to arrive in LA or San Diego rather than Portland and Seattle (although I’m not prepared to say by how much). You would think that it would be easier to move freight through LA/SD then Seattle, Portland, or even San Francisco because you don’t have to go over the Sierra Nevada or Rocky mountains to get it anywhere. Then again, at what point is it easier to ship it to an eastern port? > [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Building out light rail to a useful density and coverage through our cities would be far more effective, just not sexy. Putting in one or two high-speed links, where normal-speed links already exist (Sac/SF/LA, or BosWash) accomplishes very little at very high cost. You consider 11 hours from San Jose to Los Angeles “normal speed”? ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2014, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-gubernatorial-election-2014/690139/32 "2014-06-08T19:02:40Z")
> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > You would think that spending billions of dollars just to make it easier for Californians to spend money _in another state_ would be the _last_ thing a governor wants. > > Do you honestly think there would be that much traffic on an LAX-LAS high speed rail link other than people going to Vegas on Friday afternoon and returning on Sunday morning? There’s a reason hotel prices in Vegas as much higher on weekends than they are on weekdays. Yeah, let Sheldon fricking Adelson pay for it, he’s the one who’ll profit. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2014, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-gubernatorial-election-2014/690139/33 "2014-06-09T01:22:06Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > In a nutshell, HSR is one of those gosh-wow “solutions” that mistakes technological advancement for actual usefulness. Building out light rail to a useful density and coverage through our cities would be far more effective, just not sexy. Well, those are for different problems. The point of light rail is to replace cars, the point of HSR is to replace airplanes. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2014, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-gubernatorial-election-2014/690139/34 "2014-06-09T06:24:33Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Concur. Jerry Brown the first was a bit of an inexperienced, idealistic dork, but the second edition was his father on super-soldier serum. > > **He took over a “nation” of idiots with about as much sense and future as Haiti, and got enough of them to take the hard step of marching towards the same goals, no matter how much it hurt.** > > California’s a long ways from being fixed, but it’s on one holy hell of a lot better road than when Ahnold left it. _California Uber Alles!_: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quLqEu4mUOU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quLqEu4mUOU) ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2014, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-gubernatorial-election-2014/690139/35 "2014-06-09T19:42:27Z")
> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > In fact, the only reason he isn’t considered already elected is that California law mandates a runoff. Brown got 54% of the vote. (Since this is not a Presidential election year, all primary ballots in California are the same; there was one list of names for Governor, each voter got to vote for one, and the two with the most votes - Brown, and Neel Kashkari - will runoff in November. The primary for every state or federal office except for President will work this way.) And just to note that Brown got 54% of the vote without spending a penny in advertising. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-gubernatorial-election-2014/690139.md?page=1)