CTA’s president-elect blesses budget
Dean Vogel is confident Brown will get GOP votes
The incoming president of the California Teachers Association said Tuesday that he likes Gov. Jerry Brown’s revised state budget and expressed confidence that the four Republican legislators needed to pass $9 billion in tax extensions would vote for them.
“We believe that this is the best possible budget for us right now,” CTA Vice President DeanVogel said at a forum on the budget sponsored by the Silicon Valley Education Foundation in San Jose. “We believe the potential for four votes is better today than a few weeks ago.”
But Vogel, who assumes the presidency next month, also warned against placing the tax extensions on the ballot in November or earlier, as Brown has implied that he favors. Under that scenario, the Legislature would vote to extend the temporary tax increases – the sales tax, the vehicle license fee, and the personal income tax (which would be suspended next year, then resumed) – for four months, until voters could decide whether to continue them