Dan's June Primary Voting Recommendations
Governor of California – JOHN CHIANG – There are four decent and experienced Democrats running for Governor. Each of them brings something helpful to the table, although I do have concerns about all the ‘charter school’ and big business money going in to support former Mayor Villaraigosa.
I’ve known John Chiang for nearly 20 years and have developed tremendous respect for him as a person and as an elected official. He was a member of the Board of Equalization, our State Controller for eight years, and now State Treasurer for the past nearly four years. He has the right combination of fiscal stewardship, progressive and social justice values, a steady hand at analyzing and advocating for forward-thinking policies, and a deep knowledge of state government.
He knows that government is part of the solution and cares deeply about public education, our environment and helping those who need help the most. Even if one doesn’t agree with him on every issue, his reputation is that of being sincere, self-assured and not easily swayed by the political winds. www.johnchiang.com
Lt. Governor – Jeff Bleich – This is an easy one for me. Plain and simple, Jeff is super smart and head-and-shoulders above the other candidates on a number of levels. Nice to see that he is endorsed by the Sierra Club. That’s important because the Lt. Governor sits on the State Lands Commission and the Ocean Protection Council. More info about his background and priorities can be found at https://www.jeffbleich.com.
Secretary of State – Alex Padilla – Alex is doing a good job as our Secretary of State. He deserves another term.
State Controller – Betty Yee – Betty is running for re-election as our Controller. She’s smart, has done an excellent job and certainly deserves re-election.
State Treasurer – Fiona Ma – Former Assemblymember Ma is a CPA and is qualified to do this job. Moreover, she does not appear to have any opponent who can come close to winning this race—although Mr. Vivek Viswanathan is a smart guy with good experience who probably has a political future.
Attorney General – Dave Jones – Two very good candidates running for A.G. including the appointed incumbent Xavier Becerra. I’ve known Dave for over 15 years and he has a strong record as a smart and determined consumer advocate. More info at www.davejones2018.com.
Insurance Commissioner – Ricardo Lara – Senator Lara has been a strong leader on criminal justice, consumer protection and the environment. He will do a good job as our state’s insurance commissioner. www.ricardolara.com
Member, Board of Equalization (#2) – Malia Cohen – No-brainer here. Malia is the liberal-progressive Democrat in this race; her primary opponent is a moderate Democrat. Vote Malia. www.electmalia.com
U.S. Representatives in Congress
Most of the Democratic incumbents in CA, including our own Barbara Lee, are in safe seats and deserve re-election. Our collective efforts this year must be toward flipping as many CA Congressional seats as possible from red to blue. Go to www.flipthe14.com to get more info on how you can help. Additionally, special thanks to Bay Area Members of Congress Jared Huffman and Jerry McNerney for their good work on environmental and clean energy issues.
CA State Assemblymember
A.D. 15 – DAN KALB – www.dankalb.net
Check out Dan’s Campaign Videomercial here
CA State Senator (partial list)
SD #2 – Mike McGuire
SD #4 – Michael Worley
SD #6 – Dr. Richard Pan
SD #10 – Bob Wieckowski
SD #12 – Anna Caballero
SD #18 – Bob Hertzberg
SD #20 – Connie Leyva
SD #22 – Mike Eng
SD #26 – Ben Allen
SD #30 – Holly Mitchell
SD #32 – Rudy Bermudez
SD #34 – Tom Umberg
State Superintendent of Public Instruction – Tony Thurmond – Tony, a social worker by training, our current State Assemblymember, and a former School Boardmember, is a long-time passionate advocate for our youth. He will make a great State Schools Superintendent. Check out his education plan at www.tonythurmond.com/tonys-plan. His chief opponent is being financed in large part by big business charter school advocates.
Superior Court Judge (#11) – Tara Flanagan – This has become a competitive race because incumbent Judge Flanagan is being challenged by a retired Deputy Public Defender with a good reputation. While I like the idea of electing more public defenders to judicial seats, I don’t see a compelling reason to take out this incumbent judge. More info can be found here: https://judgetaraflanagan.nationbuilder.com
Alameda County Superintendent of Schools – Karen Monroe – She is doing a good job as our county schools superintendent finishing up her first term. She is running unopposed.
Alameda County Board of Education Trustee – Joaquin Rivera – Joaquin has done a very good job as a County Board of Ed trustee and certainly deserves re-election. He is a scientist and professor, and cares deeply about our youth. More info can be found at https://www.joaquinrivera.org/about-joaquin.html.
Alameda County District Attorney – Nancy O’Malley – This has become a very expensive and somewhat negative contest between the incumbent D.A. and civil rights attorney Pamela Price. I’ve been impressed by Nancy’s work on family violence and human trafficking issues. She created the Alameda County Family Justice Center, which provides comprehensives services for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, elder abuse, child abuse, and human trafficking. https://www.nancyomalleyforda.org
Alameda County Assessor – no recommendation – There are four candidates running for this office, with two of the candidates highly likely to be in the runoff for the November General Election. I do not know any of the candidates well enough to make a recommendation at this point.
Alameda County Auditor-Controller – no recommendation – There are two apparently well-qualified candidates running to become our next Alameda County Auditor. I’ve heard very good things about each of them and they each have a solid list of endorsers. Unfortunately, I haven’t had time to fully explore their respective philosophies, so I can’t make an informed recommendation.
Alameda County Sheriff – No endorsement – Our current County Sheriff has become a Trump ally and deserves to be voted out of office. Unfortunately, no one filed to run against him.
Alameda County Treasurer – Henry ‘Hank’ Levy – Hank, an experienced CPA, was appointed several months ago by the County Board of Supervisors to fill this vacancy. I know Hank well and believe he was a strong appointment. I’m happy to support his election.
Contra Costa County Supervisor (1st District) – John Gioia – John is a long-time County Supervisor as well as the Bay Area’s representative on the CA Air Resources Board (CARB). He’s done a very good job as Supervisor and is well-respected within the community.
Contra Costa County District Attorney – Diana Becton – Former 20+ year Superior Court Judge with progressive values and a strong sense of fairness and justice. This is one of the most important East Bay contests this year. Her opponent, a Republican, would not be a leader on criminal justice reform. Please vote for and help keep Diana Becton as our Contra Costa D.A. https://www.becton4da.org
Contra Costa County Superintendent of Schools – Lynn Mackey – This open seat has attracted a number of candidates. Lynn has the most relevant experience among the lot. More info can be found at https://lynnmackey.org/about.
San Francisco Mayor – Mark Leno (Jane Kim #2) – Among a few good candidates, Mark is clearly the most experienced person running to lead San Francisco for the next several years. www.markleno.com
State Propositions and Local Ballot Measures:
Proposition 68 – YES! – $4 billion general obligation bond to fund state and local parks, environmental restoration and wildlife conservation projects, and climate adaptation and flood protection projects. More info at https://yes68ca.com.
Prop. 69 – Lean Yes – Puts into the State Constitution a strict requirement that all SB 1 gas tax funds MUST be spent for eligible transportation-related purposes.
Prop. 70 – NO! – Would require a two-thirds vote to decide on how to spend billions of climate cap-and-trade revenues, thereby giving Republicans tremendous leverage as to how to allocate money that is supposed to go to reduce pollution. Do we really want the Republicans controlling these funds? Several years ago, we passed another proposition to make our state budget a majority-vote budget to stop the hostage-taking by the Republican minority. Prop. 70 would be a step backwards. https://stopprop70.org
Prop. 71 – YES – Specifies that any state ballot proposition, if passed by the voters, becomes effective five days after the Secretary of State officially certifies the election results, unless the proposition explicitly states that its operative date is a specified date later than the default 5-day effective date. This creates some certainty so the effective date can’t before the election has been certified (current law says that its effective the day after the election—even though the final results may not have been tallied).
Prop. 72 – YES – Minor constitutional amendment to exclude new rain-capture systems from the Prop. 13 reassessment requirement in order to encourage property owners to install such a water conservation system.
Alameda County Measure A – YES – Enhances Child Care availability and services countywide! Authorizes an increase of ?￠ sales tax to fund improved access to quality child care services. Child care is a vital need for many residents in our County—a need that is not being adequately met today. This measure will help address this serious problem.
Oakland Measure D – YES – Protect/enhance our local Libraries! Our Public Libraries are one of the great equalizers in our society. Please vote YES on Measure D to ensure that children, families, and seniors continue to have access to our local public libraries. Our branch libraries provide a safe after-school space for our youth, and provide resources that enable students to succeed. As budget cuts have eliminated library hours in many Oakland public schools, students are relying on Oakland Public Libraries now more than ever. https://www.protectoaklandlibraries.org
Emeryville Measure C – YES – Affordable Housing Bond for Emeryville.
Regional Measure (RM) 3 – Yes – Bridge toll increase authorization to fund Bay Area transportation infrastructure improvements.
Orinda Measure J – Yes – Supports important Library Services in Orinda
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A few Southern California races of interest:
Riverside County Supervisor (#2) – Penny Newman
San Diego County Supervisor (#4) – Nathan Fletcher
San Diego County District Attorney – Genevieve Jones-Wright
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