It’s that time again, Election Time. I really let this election sneak up on me, and once again I find myself unprepared. I guess a good thing is that there's no props on this ballot which gives us time to focus on the candidates. Still need to simplify it, and fit my schedule, so I decided to focus on the candidates endorsed by a political party. Mainly focused on the third-party candidates. To quickly study the candidates, I’ll be using: the voter resources delivered via mail, Ballotpedia and campaign websites.
First impression, I'm paying attention to the candidates that use common email domains as more grassroots and in touch with everyday people. As for the rules, you can vote in person up to 10 days prior to the election. In California you would automatically receive a ballot before every election. You can use the Dropbox up in the 28 days before the election. There's even same day registration. If you mail your ballot, you can track your ballot online. Referring to the voter resource, candidates can buy space for their statement in the voter guide which seems unfair for the people who don't have large donation pots or super PACs. Or the everyday person struggling to make ends meet. Spending limits are almost $10 million for governor, almost $7 million for lieutenant governor & remaining constitutional offices, and almost $2 million for Members of the Board of Equalization. Almost all the candidates for governor accepted the campaign spending limits except for a handful of them (7). All except two candidates running for lieutenant governor accepted the spinning limits. And most of the other candidates in the other offices also accepted the spending limits, so the problem seems to be mainly with a governor's race.
For Governor we have the incumbent Gavin Newsom (who is endorsed by his party) against 25 other candidates. The Republicans have not endorsed a candidate, the Peace and Freedom party & Green party endorsed Luis Javier Rodriguez. For those of you that know, I am not a supporter of our current governor, but I'm interested in the candidate that two different political parties have endorsed, Luis Javier Rodriguez. I'm not happy that he's for vaccine mandates and would need more info on immigration policy, but I'm not too firm on my stance (due to it being complicatedly human). His campaign plans to raise funds by asking at least a million Californians to give one dollar so we can finally have social, economic, and environmental justice. He will also support the candidacy of Crystal Sanchez, head of the Sacramento Union of the Homeless, for Lt. Governor, but she is not on my ballot and will have to be written in if decided on. He's also for Proportional representation and ranked voting. His principles won me over, being:
The most impacted should lead.
Imagine first.
Imagine big.
Alignment technology should be in accord with nature.
Our consciousness, plans, and actions must be aligned with the objective revolution in economies and technology.
Stop dancing around the problems; stop managing the crisis.
For Lt. Governor the incumbent & Dem endorsed candidate is Eleni Kounalakis. I'm indifferent when it comes to her. Current duties include, California’s Representative for International Affairs and Trade, she is currently a director of the Association of American Ambassadors and a National Democratic Institute (NDI) “Ambassadors Circle” advisor. She has a superficial ass website. The Republicans endorsed David Fennell, being a lifelong Californian is a bias of mine. He believes the Lt. Gov’s main duty is to write the Economic Plan for the state. Want to be more open-minded but the jobs and the crime fighting perspectives were not for me. The PF & Green party endorsed Mohammad Arif. Nothing wrong with taxing the rich, but that's going to be hard to push with the rural areas and a lot of libertarians. Full rights for migrants are also going to be a hard thing to push for right wingers not so much for true libertarians. Not much on his website. Out of all of them, the Republican David Fennel had the most detailed website. I may have to look into another candidate. I think I could just vote for Crystal Sanchez mainly because of her work with the homeless and I think that she should be around a debate so she can at least talk to the incumbent and let her know some suggestions on what can/could be done.
Secretary of State. Dems endorsed incumbent Shirley N. Weber. I voted for her for different positions and so far, will probably continue to support during this election. I want to know how Weber feels about rank choice voting. She's committed to:
Working hand-in-hand with our local elections officials to strengthen, protect, and expand access to the ballot.
Improving transparency in our elections, lobbyist registration, and campaign finance systems so that every Californian can make an informed decision about what issues, causes or candidates to support.
Monitoring and upgrading the Secretary of State’s cybersecurity policies to ensure our elections are protected from attempts to undermine our democratic processes.
Revamping our voter education outreach programs for the formerly incarcerated, especially in light of the passage of Proposition 17, which ensured Californians on parole have the right to vote, so we can ensure all Californians have a voice in upcoming elections.
Republicans have not endorsed a candidate, but I'll look into Rob Bernosky. He expressed that it is a nonpartisan office. He's committed to:
Fair and transparent elections.
Restoring confidence in our election, ultimately increasing voter turnout.
Cleaning California’s voter rolls.
Modernizing voting technology that is safe and secure to protect every ballot cast.
Inspiring civic engagement.
Finding new and innovative ways to register Californians eliminating messes like Motor Voter.
Opposing efforts for taxpayer-funded campaigns; not sure I feel about that.
And creating an environment of opportunity and learning, so vulnerable communities have the convenience of voting like other communities.
P&F and the Green Party have endorsed Gary N. Blenner. He wants to turn the office into a position of advocacy for change. He wants to be the face for a fairer, more transparent, and inclusive elections process in California. I'm not against it at all. Changes he would seek:
Proportional Representation in the State Assembly by Political Party.
Voters will be given more realistic choices on the ballot to reflect their views, and our political climate would become less polarized, which is great, but I don't really understand where he was going with this.
Ranked Choice Voting For All Other Single-Member Races in California. which is something I am definitely for.
Voters can finally choose candidates they really support, and not the lesser of two evils. It’s a system currently used by the State of Maine, San Francisco, Oakland, and other cities. It’s time we implement that system statewide.
Public Financing of Campaigns It’s time to place candidates on an equal financial footing in running for office. We need a state constitutional amendment to take wealthy and corporate buying of campaigns out of the equation.
And the interesting suggestion to end Corporate Personhood Corporations should not have the same rights as individuals.
Senate. This office will have two separate contests on election day. We may vote on both. The first is a regular election for the full 6-year term beginning January 3rd, 2023. Dem endorsed Alex Padilla for my district. The name was wrong in my book so I'm afraid to list the ones I haven't verified. No Republican endorsement. P&F and the Green Party endorsed John T. Parker. From his website it looks like he's going to be a tough pill for anyone in DC to swallow. The second contest is a special vacancy election for the remainder of the term ending on January 3rd, 2023. Likely pick would be incumbent Alex Padilla.
Controller. Dems endorsed Malia M. Cohen. San Francisco Board of Supervisors, Chair of the Budget and Finance Committee, President of the San Francisco Employee Retirement System (SFERS). A few titles and all they really said that she raised taxes to get things done, the couple things that mention got done. She champions endorsing a bill that helped provide around 4,000 affordable housing units out of 12,000 (32%), not even close to half. And San Francisco is one of the most expensive cities in the country to live in. As President of SFERS, she helped manage the $22 billion fund and ensure a secure retirement for our public workers. I'm not sure how much that accounts for or means because not that long ago the government had to bail them out also all the pension funds, and if you're paying attention to certain things a little couple of the funds are still acting shady. So, what can that experience help her bring to this job in spite of that? I don't like how she put gun violence in violence against women under the same little paragraph. And when I see an incumbent I expect (me personally) for them to come with a plan not just the same general BS like you already did the job you need to speak as like you already done the job and that you're still continuing to do the job so you have problems so you need to be telling us what it is the solution and how you're going to bridge us towards that way during the next few years of your term, but I don't get that from candidates they just give us BS. She oversees the spending of every penny you, your neighbors, your employer pay in state taxes. She should be financially experienced, a vigilant watchdog over the public finances and should share your beliefs — because the way our state spends its money reflects what we as a state value. She's on the franchise tax board and we still have that $800 tax on LLCs and small businesses. That's not cool. Checked out Yvonne Yiu the other Democrat in the race and I for some reason was drawn to her so I'll keep an eye out for her.
No Republican endorsements mentioned in the book but they'll naturally back Lanhee Chen. He's obviously the Republicans pick my issue that I think he'll have is his little thing about Medicaid and Medicare. He's probably not going to explain that a little bit more because people going to assume he wants to cut it instead of auditing it and making sure that the money is actually doing what it's supposed to do but I'm actually good with the auditing of everything because I think people probably associate that with cutting it but no once you audit you can see what the money is going and that way you can fix whatever needs to be fixed and improve on whatever needs to be improved on. Focus will be:
Protecting Taxpayers From Fraud.
Holding Sacramento Politicians Accountable.
Providing True Fiscal Transparency.
and Ensuring Honest and Transparent Accounting.
The P&F and Green Party endorsed Laura Wells. She proposes:
Removing the barriers to implementation of public banks at all levels, so that they can fund local infrastructure projects such as social housing, renewable energy, and green transition projects, and can assist in conversions of private firms to worker, community, and public ownership. An Idea that actually gets me excited.
Treasurer. Fiona Ma endorsed by Democrats. No endorsement from Republicans, but I like Andrew Do. And P&F and the Green Party endorsed Meghann Adams.
Attorney General. Democrats endorsed Rob Bonta. No Republican endorsement looked into Eric Early. The PF and green party endorsed Dan Kapelovitz. Leaning towards Dan or Rob.
Insurance Commissioner. Democrats endorsed Ricardo Lara. No Republican endorsement shown. The P&F and the Green Party endorsed Nathalie Hrizi. I'm between Lara and Hrizi.
US Rep. 51. Democrats endorse Sarah Jacobs. Republicans endorse Stan Caplan, bro was ok, and I could probably talk myself into voting for him, but it kept getting worse. Then he talked about Israel. The P&F and Green Party endorsed Jose Cortez.
As for the rest of the candidates for on the ballot for the remaining offices, I need more time and unsure if I even want to cast a vote, especially School Boards.