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Promises made by lieutenant governor go unkept Bustamante's record shows little action on pledges to create jobs and cut waste. By KIMBERLY KINDY The Orange County Register

Cruz Bustamante made big promises about boosting the economy and cutting government waste when he was elected lieutenant governor in 1998 but failed to deliver on most of them, a review of his record shows.

Bustamante, who is running on the ballot to replace Gov. Gray Davis in case the governor is recalled, promised to create jobs - relying in part on an economic-development commission he heads. The commission has a director and received $792,000 in state funding the past two years, but it has never held a meeting, and campaign and office staff declined to provide the Register with any information that would account for what they have done.

Bustamante also promised that unnecessary and fraudulent spending would be rooted out by his Lt. Governor's Commission on Government Waste. But the commission was not formed ..

.. records show the lieutenant governor's annual budget has increased every year since Bustamante was elected to the position. The budget went from $1.7 million in 1999-2000 to $2.5 million in this year's budget - a 139 percent increase over that of his immediate predecessor, Davis ..

Posted by Greg Ransom