San Diego Free Press

Grassroots News & Progressive Views

November 2016 Election Progressive Procrastinator Cheat Sheet

by

cat-30 electionBy 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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Doug Porter

Doug Porter

Doug Porter was active in the early days of the alternative press in San Diego, contributing to the OB Liberator, the print version of the OB Rag, the San Diego Door, and the San Diego Street Journal. He went on to have a 35-year career in the Hospitality business and decided to go back into raising hell when he retired. He won numerous awards for his columns from the Society of Professional Journalists in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017. Doug is a cancer survivor (sans vocal chords) and lives in North Park.

Comments

  1. Thanks for this endorsement! Means so much to me. Nadine Scott for Oceanside Treasurer, running against a deceased candidate..no really….

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