1) I promise to keep this brief. Please forgive me though, as I would be a pretty shitty Poli Sci major if I didn't at least try to get all my friends to make it to the polls.
2) I hope that no matter who or what you're voting for, you ALL VOTE.
3) Anyone who wants to watch the results come in tomorrow night, I will be here at Casa de Awesome planted squarely in front of the TV & computer with a drink in my hand & a whole lot of hope in my heart. Join me... for moral support, for the comical amusement, for the drinks... whatevs.
The following is how I will be voting, with a brief reason as to why. If anyone is up for a last-minute discussion, y'all know where to find me.
FEDERAL ELECTIONS:
President & Vice President:
Duh. Obama/Biden. If you have to ask why, I'm not sure you & I have actually met... I like women's rights, equal rights for my lovely non-heterosexual friends, fairness in taxes, equality of opportunity... and swag. I dig the swag.
Senator:
Dianne Feinstein. She's the incumbent, & has been fighting for all the things I hold dear for years. She's the progressive choice.
Representative (52nd District):
Scott Peters. Some issues with him not releasing taxes, which I don't like. However, very strong record of working across the aisle, not a hugely partisan democrat, and did not sign the Grover Norquist Pledge NEVER TO RAISE TAXES ON ANYONE EVER NO MATTER WHAT thing that all the Republicans have signed, making them essentially beholden to some dude rather than the constitution. Peters > Bilbray for sure.
STATE ELECTIONS:
State Senator (39th District):
Marty Block. Nothing really exciting here. Block has a good background in education, which we need backing for in the state legislature.
State Assembly (78th District):
Toni Atkins. Incumbent. Small chance the Dems will gain a majority in the state legislature, & since the Republicans have been so adamant about cutting services & education, I'm not inclined to vote any of them in this time around, so I'm sticking with Atkins.
COUNTY ELECTIONS:
Superior Court Judge (Office 25):
Anyone but Jim Miller. I'll vote for Amador. If you're not familiar with this race, I recommend either voting for Amador or not at all. Miller has a low ranking from the CA Barr Association & has ties to the "birther" movement. He's basically a nut.
School Stuff:
Not gonna lie, I don't know enough about this stuff to say too much. I do know that education is in need of some help here in CA, so I'm going with my party recommendations. This is one area though where I can't really give any other advice.
Board of Education (1st District): Gregg Robinson
Community College District Member (District B): Bernie Rhinerson
Unified School District Member (District A): John Lee Evans
Unified School District Member (District D): Richard Barrera
Unified School District Member (District E): Marne Foster
CITY ELECTIONS:
Mayor:
Bob Filner. The competition, Carl DeMayo is about as sleezy as they come. Doesn't stand up for gay rights, ties to the new owners of the UT & the North County Times Newspapers (more conservatives trying to buy public opinion through media), well-known for being a bully with the people he works alongside. Mayor Sanders (a Republican - see, I don't hate all republicans!) has done a heck of a job getting our city finances in order, & we don't need more slashing from DeMayo - we need sound investment in the future & attention to the environment along our harbor & education. Filner is our guy.
STATE PROPOSITIONS:
Prop 30 (temporary taxes to fund education):
YES. Raises taxes on everyone by a little through a small sales tax increase, & raises taxes on the very wealthy by a little. Helps prevent MORE MAJOR cuts to our education system. As a community college student, I've seen first hand how important funding our schools is. We can't keep cutting here.
Prop 31 (state budget, state & local government constitutional amendment):
NO. Fiscal responsibility is great & all, but this bill would allow important environmental regulations to be steamrolled. We as a state have made a huge effort to have strong environmental protections, & there's no reason for us to arbitrarily override them.
Prop 32 (political contributions by payroll deductions):
NO. I am all for campaign finance reform, but this bill zeroes in on one side (unions). It does nothing to stop PACs or Super PACs, and very little to affect corporations. It's unbalanced & would not actually fix the issue of having too much special interest money in politics. A BIG NO to this one.
Prop 33 (auto insurance prices/discounts):
NO. I was split on this one for a while, but the bottom line is that this prop will end up raising insurance rates for some while lowering them for others, but not for very good reasons. Consumer advocates say no on 33, so I'm rolling with them on this one.
Prop 34 (replaces death penalty with life without parole):
YES. A few reasons... a) I don't like the death penalty on ethical & moral grounds; b) there is a huge catch 22 in that it costs a LOT of money to go through the appeals process, but I really want to make sure we don't kill anyone who's innocent, so I want the appeals process; c) strictly economically speaking, this bill will save our state a ton of money (& still keeps bad guys off the streets, so wth).
Prop 35 (harsher penalties for human trafficking):
YES. Dude. Easy choice. Human trafficking = bad. Harsher penalties for human traffickers = good. Yes, for once we do have a choice that's really that simple.
Prop 36 (three strikes law penalties):
YES. Throwing someone in jail for life for a 3rd offense which happens to be dealing pot seems stupid to me. Quit that ish. Lower our prison population for non-violent people.
Prop 37 (labeling genetically engineered foods):
YES. This bill is actually very important - it's the first of its kind in this country & is probably the only way we're going to get something like this passed (seeing as how our politicians are all bought & paid for by Monsanto). Very simple - we have a right to know what's in our food. Yes, there are some flaws with the bill, but none big enough to warrant shooting this down. Don't let Monsanto win this one.
Prop 38 (tax for education):
YES. Another tax plan for education, but (!), if both 38 and 30 pass, only the one with the most votes will go through. One of them needs to make it through, because we can't afford more cuts to education... we really really can't. Vote yes on both, & we'll at least get something for education. (Note: I do prefer 30, if you insist on only voting for one).
Prop 39 (tax treatment for multistate businesses):
YES. Closes unfair tax loopholes for out of state corporations. Saves CA money, & we sure need money.
Prop 40 (redistricting):
YES. A few years back we voted to have districts drawn up by a NON-PARTISAN group - they did so, & yay for fair districts! This would mess with that, boo!
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Thanks for reading. Thanks for voting.
