SPECIAL ELECTION YIELDS SOME INVALUABLE LESSONS.

Byline: Richard J. Riordan Local View

HOPING to make a difference for all Californians during the special election, I leaped at the opportunity. Was it worth it? I say yes! Victory may have been sweet, but knowledge is more powerful. The following are lessons learned:

--If you tell the same lies long enough, people will believe them.

Deceptive ads that ran for months leading up to the election warned of lost benefits and pensions for public-employee union members. Not true.

The ads warned of the loss of education funding, quality patient care and resources for public safety should Proposition 76 pass. Not true.

They warned of silencing the voice of union membership and taking the right to negotiate away should Proposition 75 pass. Not true.

The lies won. True.

--Money wins elections.

Yes on Proposition 75 raised $5 million. Compare that with the union war chest, which spent $40 million dollars to defeat Proposition 75. Not to mention the hundreds of millions of dollars spent to defeat the other measures on the ballot. This incredible amount of money gave the unions the ammunition needed to keep their false messages alive.

--Asking your permission is no longer necessary.

The purpose of Proposition 75 was simple: get permission before taking union members' money to spend on politics. If someone takes money from our paychecks, they need to ask our permission. Can you imagine at the end of a hard workweek discovering money taken from your check without your consent? One would think there would be no opposition to taking without asking. No longer true.

And the taking will continue.

--When falsely accused, you must fight back.

We are taught to always turn the other cheek. During an election, you cannot afford to. When push comes to shove, you have to shove back - the harder the better. When an issue or person is falsely represented, you must immediately respond with the truth.

The intention of elections is not to lie. However, when so much is at stake, you'd be surprised at what people are willing to do. You should not rely on the public to seek out the truth for themselves. You must defend yourself and make certain that truth prevails.

If you don't, nobody else will.

There are consequences to your actions.

Whether you voted or not, one thing is for certain: California faces an $8 billion deficit next year. The bottom line is we will continue to incur debt and pass it down for future generations. Or we can demand that leaders in Sacramento work together and find meaningful solutions.

The measures on the ballot for the special election could have created reform for California. Although victory was claimed by some, it is a hollow one. True victory for California will be when we have a balanced budget, our students outperform the rest of the nation, the safety and health of all citizens is secure, and every Californian has a voice.

Maybe someday - just not today.