KATRINA GULSTA
Californian voters may set national precedence for an issue that is once again drawing lines in the civil rights debate. Proposition 209, an act that would end affirmative action programs in state and local government hiring, contracting, and college admissions, is among the dozen initiatives Californians will see on the Nov. 5 ballot.
The initiative has been losing some support of late, but in a recent Field Poll it maintained a 15-point lead. The results showed a two-point drop from September's 17-point lead.
Polls indicate the initiative is supported by most groups, including young voters, the elderly, high school graduates, people with college degrees, men, women, Democrats and Republicans. Hispanics favored the measure by a slight margin, but blacks continue to oppose it.
Affirmative action, instituted nearly three decades ago by President Lyndon Johnson, was meant to eliminate race and gender-based discrimination in education and the work place.
Proponents of 209 argue that the initiative has the same goal as affirmative action: to create a color-blind society.
'The intent of the initiative is to reaffirm our commitment to principles in the 1964 Civil Rights Act: that government treat everybody equally, without regard to race and sex,' said Jennifer Nelson, a spokeswoman for the pro-209 campaign.
Opponents, however, see the initiative as a blow to civil rights efforts, said Dee Martin, a coordinator for Freedom Fall, the Feminist Majority's grass-roots campaign against the initiative. The initiative, she said, essentially destroys 30 years of civil rights work.
Ward Connerly, a University of California regent and supporter of Proposition 209, said in a recent debate that the civil rights movement gave Rosa Parks the right to sit in the front of the bus, but did not guarantee her an assigned seat.
Though black, Connerly said he sees 209 as a positive step toward racial harmony, not as an affront to civil rights.
Though neither presidential candidate has adopted Proposition 209 as a major campaign issue, both have voiced their opinion on the measure.
In a July 1995 speech, President Clinton said of affirmative action that we should 'mend it, not end it.' In contrast, Bob Dole proposed legislation that would eliminate all federal affirmative action programs. Dole publicly endorsed the proposition last Tuesday.
With the exception of last Thursday's San Diego debate, the 1996 presidential campaign has, for the most part, steered clear of the issue, said Brian Blake, a junior from San Jose, Calif. majoring in political science.
Both Clinton and Dole wanted to gain Californians' political-favor, Blake said, and thus remained aloof of the divisive issue, leaving 209 on the campaign back-burner.
Clinton said in Thursday's debate that he was against quotas, but supported 'extra-effort programs,' giving subtle support to affirmative action. Dole continued to debate against affirmative action, but has yet to embrace it as a major issue.