California Forward

This article is outside of Ballotpedia's coverage scope and does not receive scheduled updates. If you would like to help our coverage scope grow, consider donating to Ballotpedia.

California Forward
Basic facts
Location:	Sacramento, California
Type:	501(c)(3)
Top official:	James P. Mayer, President and CEO
Year founded:	2008
Website:	Official website

California Forward, a California-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, was founded in 2008. Its aim was to reform policies regarding fiscal and government accountability in California. In 2016, the organization was active in advocating for reform ballot measures in California through policy research and advertising.

Mission

According to the California Forward website, the group described its mission as follows:

“

CA Fwd is driven to make the promise of the California Dream attainable for all. Its mission is to inspire better decision-making by governments at all levels in order to: Grow Middle-Class Jobs Promote Cost-effective Public Services Create Accountability for Results

”

Background

California Forward was created in 2008 by California Common Cause, the Center for Governmental Studies, the New California Network, and The Commonwealth Club of California's Voices of Reform Project. The California Endowment, the Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, The James Irvine Foundation, and The David and Lucile Packard Foundation advocated for the formation of California Forward. The organization was created in 2008 "with $16 million from [these] five major foundations."

Work

In 2016, California Forward identified three primary areas of focus, which included seeking to generate more middle-class jobs, government fiscal responsibility, and government accountability. The three areas are based on initiatives that California Forward developed in 2008, which sought to improve government performance, to bring government closer to the people, to invest in the longterm, and to "promote a viable, inclusive and responsive democracy."

California Forward formed three partnerships to support their mission; the partnerships are as follows:

• Partnership for Community Excellence: This program aimed to advocate for legislation that created cost-effective public services, such as education, employment, public health, and safety.
• Partnership for Economic Prosperity: "CA Fwd, along with our partner the CA Stewardship Network, is working with 16 regional organizations, uniting employers, public officials and advocates on state actions that will equip workers with needed job skills, build infrastructure, and modernize regulations."
• Partnership for Public Accountability: This program aimed to make government more accessible and transparent by advocating for reforms such as term limits, citizen-led redistricting, and simple majorities.

Ballot measure activity

Overview

The following is a list of bills and ballot measures that California Forward actively worked on and supported, according to its website.

Bills and measures worked on by California Forward
Year	Measure/Bill	Title	Result
2014	Proposition 2	Rainy Day Fund	a
2014	SB 1253	Ballot Initiative Reform	a
2014	Proposition 42	Public Records Reform	a
2012	Proposition 31	Combined initiated constitutional amendment and state statute	d
2012	Proposition 28	Term Limit Reform	a
2010	Proposition 25	Simple Majority Vote for the State Budget	a
2010	Proposition 14	Top-Two Primary	a
2008	Proposition 11	Citizens Redistricting	a

2012

Proposition 31

For the November 6, 2012 statewide ballot in California, the organization supported a Government Performance and Accountability Initiative. The initiative, known as California Proposition 31, was on the November 6, 2012 ballot in California as a combined initiated constitutional amendment and state statute, where it was defeated. To earn a spot on the state's 2012 ballot, sponsors of the initiative needed to collect 807,615 signatures.

Proposition 31 sought to accomplish the following:

• Established a two-year state budget cycle.
• Prohibited the California State Legislature from "creating expenditures of more than $25 million unless offsetting revenues or spending cuts are identified."
• Permitted the Governor of California to cut the budget unilaterally during declared fiscal emergencies if the state legislature fails to act.
• Required performance reviews of all state programs.
• Required performance goals in state and local budgets.
• Required publication of all bills at least three days prior to a vote by the California State Senate or California State Assembly.
• Given counties the power to alter state statutes or regulations related to spending unless the state legislature or a state agency vetoed those changes within 60 days.

2010

Bob Hertzberg, who was the co-chair of California Forward at the time, told a reporter in early 2010, that his group wanted the California State Legislature to use the legislatively referred constitutional amendment process to put a "package of reforms" which would altogether amount to a constitutional revision on the November 2, 2010 statewide ballot. According to Hertzberg, "We have a significant challenge here in California, and we need to fix it as quickly as possible." Hertzberg also said, "Unfortunately, when ballot initiatives are too long and too big, they just scare people. They're easy for the interests to kill. People would rather vote 'no' than 'yes,' especially in these times when they're so nervous. The only way you can do it is piecemeal. Take a simple bite at a time and do it over two or three elections."

Proposition 25

Bruce McPherson, a former California Secretary of State, said in Santa Cruz in November 2009, that the group supports proposals that end the two-thirds requirement for the California State Legislature to raise taxes, and that end the ability of the state government to borrow money from local governments: Tony Strickland, Republican assistant minority leader in the California State Senate, said in 2010 that the state legislative Republican caucus would fight California Forward's effort to qualify a measure to lower the state's two-thirds requirement for passing a state budget.

In mid-March 2010, top Democratic leaders of the California State Legislature said they were encouraging the state legislature to refer an amendment to the ballot that would eliminate the two-thirds requirement, an idea aligned with some of California Forward's goals. Ultimately, Proposition 25, which ended the requirement that a two-thirds (66.67%) vote be taken to pass a state budget, was on the November 2, 2010 ballot, and was approved.

Proposition 14

Professor R. Michael Alvarez and political consultant T. Anthony Quinn wrote a 33-page argument on behalf of California Proposition 14, Top-Two Primaries Amendment (June 2010).

Other initiatives

California Forward also drafted a plan they call the "Best Practices Budget Accountability Act" which, they said, "requires that clear goals and performance measurements be specified for every program in the governor's budget proposal."

In January 2010, the Long Beach Press-Telegram reported that the California State Legislature "seems poised to approve only the most incremental of California Forward's proposals: a two-year budget cycle and performance-based budgeting. More substantive reforms, like forcing legislators to identify a funding source for any new program and allowing a budget to pass with a simple majority, will probably be left on the cutting-room floor."

Leadership

Below is the list of the California Forward leadership:

• Lenny Mendonca, Co-Chair
• Peter Weber, Co-Chair
• Carl Guardino
• Jennifer Hernandez
• Joanne Kozberg
• Laurie Madigan
• James P. Mayer, President and CEO
• Thomas V. McKernan, Founding Co-Chair
• Eloy Ortiz Oakley
• Pete Peterson
• Cruz Reynoso
• Constance L. "Connie" Rice
• Eugene J. "Gene" Voiland

Finances

The following is a breakdown of the California Forward's revenue from contributions and grants received, total revenue and expenses for the 2010-2014 fiscal years, as reported to the IRS. (Note: the California Forward's fiscal year is July to June.)

Contributions and grants received, total revenue and expenses for the California Forward, 2010-2014
Tax Year	Contributions and grants received	Total annual revenue	Expenses
2013/2014	$512,221	$555,000	$4,019,835
2012/2013	$96,383	$109,465	$4,628,375
2011/2012	$1,643,514	$1,851,243	$6,906,514
2010/2011	$16,312,031	$16,350,705	$7,365,835

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms California Forward. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

California Forward - Google News

See also

• California Proposition 2, Changes to State Budget Stabilization Fund Amendment (2014)
• California Proposition 42, Public Access to Local Government Records Amendment (June 2014)
• California Proposition 28, Change in State Legislative Term Limits Initiative (June 2012)
• California Proposition 25, Simple Majority Vote to Enact State Budget Amendment (2010)
• California Proposition 14, Top-Two Primaries Amendment (June 2010)
• California Proposition 11, Creation of the California Citizens Redistricting Commission Initiative (2008)
• California Common Cause
• Center for Governmental Studies
• 501(c)(3)

External links

• California Forward
• California Forward on Facebook
• California Forward on Twitter