Several people have messaged me asking me for my recommendations for the upcoming election. Here’s my slate so far:
Delaine Easton for Governor. She’s the only candidate in the race who supports high speed rail + universal healthcare AND has realistic proposals to pay for them. She’s also a long time advocate for education and for kids in general, which I like.
Gayle McLaughlin for Lt. Governor. She is the former mayor of Richmond, a strong progressive and an independent, endorsed by both DSA and Our Revolution + lots of other progressive groups.
David Hildebrand (self-identified Libertarian Socialist) for Senate. He has solid positions on most of the key issues and a host of progressive endorsements.
I’m seeing good stuff about Pamela Price for Alameda County DA but haven’t done enough research to explicitly endorse her.
Jovanka Beckles is a strong candidate for State Assembly District 15 if you’re in her district.
No other candidate endorsements from me.
Prop 68 is a No – we should not be issuing Bonds to pay for Park maintenance. This is an absolutely terrible way to finance normal maintenance and unnecessarily adds to the State’s debt.
Prop 69 is a No – tying the legislature’s hands about where to spend tax revenue serves no purpose except to guarantee wasteful spending in some areas while other lower profile programs are under-funded.
Prop 70 is a hard No – this is another republican effort to cripple the legislature by requiring a 2/3 majority before spending revenues from cap and trade.
Prop 71 – No endorsement
Prop 72 is a Yes – People should be able to add rainwater capture systems without their property taxes going up. Especially in urban areas most rainwater drains directly to the ocean and is wasted. Catching and storing that water instead helps the whole State weather droughts more easily and should be encouraged.
Measure D in Oakland is also a Yes. This is a Parcel tax to fund libraries here in Oakland. Even if you never set foot in a Library they provide critical services – everything from free meeting space for community groups to internet access for low-income people to, you know, books.