Story of the Session of the California Legislature of 1909Hichborn, Franklin
History
Story of the Session of the California Legislature of 1909
Hichborn, Franklin
California -- Politics and government
Senator Caminetti also left the meeting. Caminetti is a strong advocate
of the Oregon plan for the election of United States Senators. When
Caminetti found Senator Wright, the accepted leader of the pro-primary
forces, opposed not only to the Oregon plan, but to any plan that would
give electors a State-wide vote for United States Senators, he refused
to go to Wright's assistance. Later on, however, when Wright went to
Caminetti pleading for support, Caminetti agreed to abide by the
decisions of the anti-machine caucus. Curiously enough, after the
machine had worn the anti-machine forces out, Caminetti was the only
Senator who refused to accept the machine's amendments to the bill which
the anti-machine caucus had agreed upon.
With Price and Caminetti out, the anti-machine forces were reduced to
eighteen Senators, although it was known that Rush sympathized with the
movement but was not present because he had been unavoidably detained.
The eighteen organized by electing Senator Estudillo chairman, and
Senator Boynton secretary. Senator Wright made a short address in which
he virtually threw up his hands. He told what the Wolfe-Leavitt element
had done with the bill in committee, and stated that unless the
anti-machine forces got together, the machine would amend the measure
into ineffectiveness. Following Wright's address the anti-machine
Senators considered the original Wright-Stanton bill under three heads:
(1) Shall a mere plurality, or a majority, or a high plurality be
required to nominate at a primary election?
(2) Shall the partisan features be eliminated from the measure?
(3) Shall the provisions of the measure be extended to the election of
United States Senators?
The first question was brought up on Stetson's motion that a twenty-five
per cent plurality be required to nominate. The machine aimed to fix the
plurality at forty per cent, but even the twenty-five per cent
compromise was denied. The motion received but four votes, in its favor.
Then came discussion of the clause quoted in the previous chapter, which
requires of each primary candidate that he make affidavit that he
supported his party ticket at the previous election, and proposes to
support it at the coming election. It was understood by all who had any
thing to do with the Direct Primary bill that the clause made it
impossible for a primary candidate to run on two primary tickets.
Cartwright moved that the clause be stricken from the bill. The motion
was lost by a vote of 14 to 4. Senators like Black of Santa Clara voted
against the motion in the interest of harmony, although personally they
favored the elimination of all partisan features.
The question of primary nomination of candidates for the United States
Senate was then taken up. Senator Wright moved that the vote for
Senators be advisory only, and that it be by Assembly and Senatorial
districts instead of State-wide, as the original bill provided. The vote
was as follows:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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