By Doug Porter
So you’ve put off getting your act together about the election because it’s not as fun as watching cat videos on Facebook, right? Or you’ve been off the grid for six months. Or you just can’t stand all that political bullshit but need an “I Voted” sticker to impress your co-workers.
Now it’s time to vote and you have no friggin clue as to what’s what and who’s who. Or you’ve got questions. Or you’ve realized that it’s really, really, important to vote all the way down the ballot because not voting is how bad candidates get elected. (And people are saying the Republicans will drown these kitten if they win. I saw it on the internet.)
Fear not. We’re here to help. And if you don’t like our choices, we’ll tell you where to go for further information.
First up. Where do I vote? In San Diego, the Registrar of Voters has a look-up page where you can type in your home address and get information about your polling place. Unfortunately, the County’s database offering sample ballots by location doesn’t seem to be working. (404 error) The California Secretary of State has a listing of all the counties offering these services.
The League of Women Voters Voters Edge allows you to enter your zip code and address to see the items on the ballot in your area.
Already have a ballot, but can’t figure out where you hid the stamps? No problem. Here’s a handy map. Click on the blue thingie closest to where you live and you’ll know where to go. (h/t KPBS)
Who do I vote for? We thought you’d never ask. After our cheat sheet listings, you’ll find links to visit should you be inclined to question our judgment.
Got time? Here’s the full San Diego 2016 Progressive Voter Guide, with links explaining a lot of these contests, plus symbols indicating who else has endorsed candidates and ballot measures.
Here’s the quote from that guide explaining our thought processes:
We tried not to let perfect be the enemy of good in our decision making.
We endorsed (or didn’t) contests where editors and contributors had some working knowledge of the issues and the personalities involved. There were some races where we just opted to show the candidates with codes indicating who else had endorsed them.
Thus, out of the 638 candidates appearing on various ballots throughout San Diego County and City, we only weighed in on 130+ of them, plus the thirty odd propositions and measures.
We’re an all-volunteer organization doing what we do because we think it’s important to share progressive values.
Endorsements or lack thereof reflect a majority opinion of the Editorial Board, which includes: Brent Beltrán, Anna Daniels, Frank Gormlie, Patty Jones, Rich Kacmar, Annie Lane, Doug Porter, and Barbara Zaragoza. It should be noted there were many non-unanimous decisions.
Note: Candidates marked with asterisks were not endorsed by the SDFP editorial board, but probably (IMO) are a better choice than their opponent.
President – Hillary Clinton
US Senate – Kamala Harris
House of Representatives
–District 49 – Doug Applegate
–District 50 – Patrick Malloy
–District 51 – Juan Vargas **
–District 52 – Scott Peters **
–District 53 – Susan Davis **
State Senate
–39th District – Toni Atkins
State Assembly
— 75th District – Andrew Masiel Jr**
— 77th District – Melinda Vasquez**
— 78th District – Todd Gloria
— 79th District – Shirley Weber
— 80th District – Lorena Gonzalez
Statewide Ballot Measures
(Clicking on the Prop Number will take you to our coverage)
YES Proposition 51 $9 billion in bonds for education and schools
YES Proposition 52 Extends fees protecting MediCal funding
NO Proposition 53 Voters must approve revenue bonds more than $2 billion
NO Proposition 54 Conditions under which legislative bills can be passed
YES Proposition 55 Personal income tax increases on incomes over $250,000
YES Proposition 56 Increase the cigarette tax by $2.00 per pack
YES Proposition 57 Sentencing Reform
YES Proposition 58 Bilingual education in public schools
YES Proposition 59 State’s position on Citizens United
NO Proposition 60 Require the use of condoms in pornographic films
YES Proposition 61 Prescription drug price regulations
YES Proposition 62 Repeal the death penalty
YES Proposition 63 Background checks for ammunition purchases
YES Proposition 64 Legalization of marijuana and hemp
NO Proposition 65 Would undo parts of the plastic bag ban.
NO Proposition 66 Make Death Penalty Easier
YES Proposition 67 Ban Plastic Bags
Local Measures
(Clicking on the Measure Number w/ links will take you to our coverage)
San Diego County
NO Measure A – SANDAG Sales Tax for Roads & Stuff
NO Measure B – Ballot Box Zoning (Lilac Hills)
City of San Diego
NO Measure C – Buy the Billionaire a Stadium
NO Measure D – Briggs/ Hall Tourism Funding Proposal
YES Measure E – Replace the Mayor Procedure
YES Measure F – Deputy City Attorney Good Cause Protection
YES Measure G – Rename Police Civilian Review Board
YES Measure H – City Purchasing Rules
YES Measure I – San Diego High School / Balboa Park
NO Measure J – Shift Park Funding Mission Bay to Balboa
YES Measure K – All Candidate Races Finalized in November
YES Measure L – Ballot Measures To Be Moved to November Ballot
YES Measure M– Increases cap on Affordable Housing
NO Measure N – City Tax on Pot
Other Local Measures
YES Measure O – Carlsbad Fire Station
YES Measure P – Chula Vista Sales Tax to fix stuff
NO Measure R – Del Mar voter approval for developments larger than 25,000 Sq ft
YES Measure S – El Cajon, City Council Districts
YES Measure T – Encinitas, Update to General Plan Allowing Increased Density
YES Measure U – La Mesa Medical Marijuana ordinance (Regulating)
YES Measure V – Lemon Grove Medical Marijuana ordinance (Regulating)
NO Measure W – Poway. Allows Sunroad to build a hotel
YES Measure X – Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District Bond
YES Measure MM– Miracosta Community College Bond
YES Measure Z– Southwestern Community College Bond
YES Measure BB– Grossmont Union High School District
YES Measure CC– Term Limits for Sweetwater School Board
YES Measure HH – National City Schools $30 million in bonds for repairs
Board of Supervisors -Dave Roberts
San Diego City Council
District 1 – Barbara Bry
District 9 – Georgette Gomez
City Attorney – Mara Elliott
National City
City Council (Pick Two)
Alejandra Sotelo-Solis
Jose Rodriguez
Candy Morales
La Mesa
City Council – Colin Parent
Lemon Grove
Mayor – George Gastil
City Council (Two Seats)
David Arambula
Charlene McAdory
Chula Vista
City Council – District 4
Rudy Ramirez
Encinitas
Mayor – Catherine Blakespeare
Imperial Beach
City Council (Two Seats)
Mark West
Robert Patton
Oceanside
City Council
Esther Sanchez **
Victor Roy **
City Treasurer
Nadine Scott
Education Boards & Districts
CV Elementary School Board Election
Seat 4 – Glendora Tremper
Grossmont Union High School District
Trustee Area 1 – Chris Fite**
Trustee Area 2 – Elva Salinas
National City School Board Election – Barbara Avalos
San Ysidro School District – Irene Lopez
Southwestern College Board of Trustees
Seat 3 – Roberto C. Alcantar**
Sweetwater Unified High School – Kevin Pike
San Diego Unified School District
District A- John Evans
District D – Richard Barrera
District E – Sharon Whitehurst-Payne **
San Diego County Board of Education
District 5 – Rick Shea
NOTE–Extremely important contest.
San Diego Community College Board
District D – Mary Graham
Poway Unified School District – Kimberley Beatty
Palomar Community College Board (Top Three)
Nina Deerfield
John Halcon **
Nancy Ann Hensch**
Water Districts
South Bay Irrigation District
Division 2 – Jose Cerda
Division 3 – Jose Preciado
Division 5 – Ernie Zamudio
Otay Water District
Division 2 – Mitch Thompson
Further Reading
San Diego 2016 Progressive Voter Guide
San Diego Democratic Party Endorsements
San Diego & Imperial Counties Labor Council Endorsements
ACLU San Diego Voting Rights Resources
On This Day: 1920 – Railroad union leader & socialist Eugene V. Debs received nearly a million votes for president while imprisoned for opposing World War I. 1963 – Dion stormed out of a taping of the English TV show “Ready Steady Go!” He complained that the go-go dancers were distracting him from his performance. 2003 – In the U.S., the Episcopal Church diocese consecrated the church’s first openly gay bishop.
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Nadine Scott says
Thanks for this endorsement! Means so much to me. Nadine Scott for Oceanside Treasurer, running against a deceased candidate..no really….