Prop. 84 is poster measure for state's devious initiative system

Sacramento — It's hard to know whether to shout in anger or chuckle at the chutzpah.

Perhaps we should just nod in respect to the clever tactics.

Maybe all of the above.

Bill Leonard, member of the state Board of Equalization, says: "My reaction is, 'I told you so.' "

That's irresistible and I'll join him.

Proposition 84 -- sold last year as a water protection bond -- was one of five special interest ballot initiatives crafted to spend and/or tax. They represented the sort of ballot-box budgeting that has crippled the ability of elected officials to set spending priorities.

Moreover, Prop. 84 was a "pay-to-play" measure. That's when an initiative entrepreneur shops a bond proposal to potential investors, who agree to back it financially in return for potentially reaping a share of the benefits for their pet causes. Prop. 84, authorizing $5.4 billion in state borrowing, did contain "a buffet of goodies" for its bankrollers, I wrote before the November election.

My advice to voters was to "dump every one" of the special interest ballot measures. And every one was tossed except Prop. 84, which passed with 54% of the vote.

Leonard was the most outspoken opponent of Prop. 84, writing the opposition argument in the state's Official Voter Information Guide. "This measure should have been titled the 'Special-Interest-Hidden-Agenda-Bond,' " the Republican began in his written argument.

"This so-called 'water bond' has no funding for dams or water storage! The authors set aside billions for bureaucratic studies, unnecessary protections for rats and weeds, and other frivolous projects."

Little did Leonard or any of us really know.

As revealed by Times reporter Evan Halper in Monday's paper, some legislators -- in cahoots with the measure's special interest backers -- see Prop. 84 as a pork barrel. No surprise there. Indeed, that's likely why Democratic legislative leaders and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger all endorsed it.

Halper's story detailed how bills are pending that would tap into the bond money for the likes of a bike path through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, overnight accommodations for kayakers at Lake Tahoe, an ocean aquarium in inland Fresno and enhancements at L.A.'s Natural History Museum and the Huntington Botanical Gardens.

This from a bond measure officially titled: "Water quality, safety and supply. Flood control. Natural resource protection. Park improvements."