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Here’s what the polls are saying: In the Democratic primary race for governor, Phil Angelides, who last week trailed Steve Westly by almost 10 points, has pulled ahead and now leads by three points, with a lot of voters still undecided.

Another poll weighs how each candidate would do in a match with Arnold Schwarzenegger: Westly wins by a mile; Angelides loses by a hair.

This is not a good enough reason to vote for Westly.

Some voters who are eager to see The Governator unseated in November will choose Westly simply because they believe Angelides’ tax-and-spend campaign is not going to sell in the general election. Others will vote for Angelides because his plan for the state—centered on a rather brave proposal to raise $5 billion to $10 billion from corporations and very-high-earning taxpayers—seems both fair and wise. Either way, the race could come down to a referendum on taxation.

“When it comes to running our government, we get three choices: Tax and Spend, Just Spend, or Just Say No.”

Here in my office, this has created a bit of a paradox: the Weekly has endorsed every tax increase on the ballot, and at the same time endorsed Westly and his plan to save money before we spend it. Both endorsements make economic sense.

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When it comes to running our government, we get three choices: Tax and Spend, Just Spend, or Just Say No. Democrats famously choose to Tax and Spend: if they pass a program that costs money (which they love to do), they raise taxes to pay for it. Every week, most of us pay for this way of doing business in the form of payroll taxes. And so we have public schools, highways, and fire departments.

Republicans generally Just Say No. This can help spur business growth that ultimately helps everyone, and it hurts every public enterprise from local libraries to the National Parks Service.

Both parties occasionally choose to Just Spend—but this is more of a Republican thing. Our current national deficit shows what happens when you Just Say No (to taxes) and Just Spend (anyway).

On Tuesday, in addition to the governor’s race, we face several key decisions in which to ponder these choices. In each case, the smart thing for California voters to do, Monterey County voters included, is to Tax and Spend—put up some money, and get some work done.

This decision presents itself most clearly in state propositions and a local ballot measure. To fund preschool education, Prop 82 would pull $2.1 billion into the state’s coffers every year by  tacking a new 1.7 percent income tax on individuals who earn $400,000 a year or more. Prop 81 would fund the construction and renovation of public libraries by raising $1.2 billion through a 30-year bond, which would be paid back by the state. And Measure A would raise $350 million for the Transportation Authority through a half-cent county-wide sales tax.

Varying degrees of controversy are attached to each plan.  Prop 82 is described as tax-the-rich class warfare. Prop 81 spends money we don’t have (its opponents somehow paint it as welfare for illegal immigrants). Measure A subsidizes big government (the argument from the right) or big business (the argument from the left).

In each case, the taxes raised and spent by these proposals would improve our lives. And cost us money. Tax and Spend—that’s how it works. It’s the formula that made this country great. You get what you pay for: in this case, libraries, roads (plus some buses and trains), and a classroom for every 4-year-old in the state.

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Steve Westly’s stop in Salinas Tuesday was important for a couple of reasons. It was good to see him waging a ground war—conducting his campaign by bus. It was also good to see him standing with Lucy Pizarro of Chapala restaurant, a powerful local activist Democrat and business owner.

Even proud Tax-and-Spend Democrats—even as we elect to continue the liberal legacy of well-funded public institutions—ought to face the fact that California’s government is in need of reform. And we ought to be happy to send our own reformer to battle with Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Just Spend Governor who has raised the state’s expenses by almost 10 percent after promising to cut costs. Not just because Westly can win, but because he should.  

For a complete list of the Weekly’s endorsements, see page 17, or view online here