State Assemblyman Tom Ammiano says he want to"clean the slate" and "move forward"
following a questionable message from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in a veto that apparently contained an F-bomb.
At issue is Assembly Bill 1176, a routine measure that would have financed redevelopment at the Port of San Francisco.
"This was the second time it was vetoed. But the first time, not so colorfully," Ammiano said. "And we look forward to submitting it again next year."
The veto message came after Ammiano lead a cattle call of boos after Schwarzenegger arrived at Democratic fundraiser in San Francisco earlier this month. Schwarenegger was invited to speak, but had a hard time being heard for all the calls of "You lie!" and at least one, "Kiss my f--got ass." Ammiano admits to being the voice of the latter.
Like a find-the-word puzzle, the governor's message was visible by stringing together the first letter of each line down the left-hand margin. It consisted of a common four-letter vulgarity followed by the letters "y-o-u."
"My goodness. What a coincidence," said Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear. "I suppose when you do so many vetoes, something like this is bound to happen."
For the record, the NPR host of All Things Considered got a professor at Goucher College to do the math. Robert Lewand told her the odds of those letters appearing exactly where they did are, "About 5.5 in 1 trillion."
"I guess the governor is feeling his oats and wanted to get creative about it," Ammiano said. "I think some people feel that it would be inappropriate. To me, it's part of 'Welcome to Sacramento.'"
Bob Stern of the Center For Governmental Studies said the word "shouldn't have been used" in the veto message.
Stern theorizes that a staff member composed the letter, thinking they could get away with the wordplay, but that, in his words, "somebody was caught."
"I don't think the public's confidence could be undermined much more, I think in a sense the public might appreciate this," Stern said.
