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Dan Kalb’s November 2024 Ballot Recommendations
(scroll down to see State props and local ballot measure recommendations)
U.S. President/Vice-president
Kamala Harris & Tim Walz – We must all volunteer to elect Harris and Stop Trump! (Scroll below for volunteer opportunities!)
Environmental/Climate reasons to elect the Harris-Walz ticket
United States Senate (CA): Adam Schiff
CA STATE SENATE:
#3 – Chris Cabaldon #5 – Jerry McNerney
#7 – pending - am voting for Jesse A. #9 – Marisol Rubio
#11 – Scott Wiener #13 – Josh Becker
#15 – Dave Cortese #17 – John Laird
#19 – Lisa Middleton #21 – Monique Limón
#23 – Kipp Mueller #25 – Sasha Renée Perez
#27 – Henry Stern #29 – Eloise G. Reyes
#31 – Sabrina Cervantes #33 – Lena Gonzalez
#35 – Michelle Chambers #37 – Josh Newman
#39 – Akilah Weber
CA STATE ASSEMBLY:
#2 – Chris Rogers #4 – Cecilia Aguiar-Curry #6 – Maggy Krell
#7 – Porshe Middleton #11 – Lori Wilson #12 – Damon Connolly
#13 – Rhodesia Ransom #14 – Buffy Wicks #15 – Anamarie Avila Farias
#16 – Rebecca Bauer-Kahan #17 – Matt Haney #18 – Mia Bonta
#20 – Liz Ortega #21 – Diane Papan #22 – Jessica Self
#23 – Marc Berman #24 – Alex Lee #25 – Ash Kalra
#27 – Esmeralda Soria #28 – Gail Pellerin #29 – Robert Rivas
#30 – Dawn Addis #31 – Joaquin Arambula #36 – Joey Acuña
#37 – Gregg Hart #38 – Steve Bennett #40 – Pilar Schiavo #41 – John Harabedian #42 – Jacqui Irwin #43 – Celeste Rodriguez #44 – Nick Schultz #46 – Jesse Gabriel #47 – Christy Hostage
#49 – Mike Fong #50 – Robert Garcia #51 – Rick Chavez Zbur
#52 – Jessica Caloza #54 – Mark Gonzalez #55 – Isaac Bryan
#56 – Lisa Calderon #57 – Sade Elhawary #58 – Clarissa Cervantes
#60 – Corey Jackson #61 – Tina McKinnor #62 – Jose Solache
#66 – Al Muratsuchi #69 – Josh Lowenthal #73 – Cottie Petrie-Norris
#74 – Chris Duncan #76 – Darshana Patel #77 – Tasha Boerner Horvath
#78 – Chris Ward #79 – no recommendation
U.S. House of Representatives (Vote Democratic!):
#2 – Jared Huffman #3 – Jessica Morse #4 – Mike Thompson
#6 – Ami Bera #7 – Doris Matsui #8 – John Garamendi
#9 – Josh Harder #10 – Mark DeSaulnier #11 – Nancy Pelosi
#12 – Lateefah Simon #13 – Adam Gray #14 – Eric Swalwell
#15 – Kevin Mullin #16 – Sam Liccardo* #17 – Ro Khanna
#18 – Zoe Lofgren #19 – Jimmy Panetta #22 – Rudy Salas
#24 – Salud Carbajal #25 – Raul Ruiz #26 – Julia Brownly
#27 – George Whitesides #28 – Judy Chu #29 – Luz Rivas
#30 – Laura Friedman #31 – Gil Cisneros #32 – Brad Sherman
#33 – Pete Aguilar #34 – Jimmy Gomez #35 – Norma Torres
#36 – Ted Lieu #37 – Sydney Kamlager-Dove #38 – Linda Sánchez
#39 – Mark Takano #40 – Joe Kerr #41 – Will Rollins
#42 – Robert Garcia #43 – Maxine Waters #44 – Nanette Barragán #47 – Dave Min #49 – Mike Levin #50 – Scott Peters
#51 – Sara Jacobs #52 – Juan Vargas
*I enthusiastically endorsed Joe Simitian in the Primary. Of the two remaining Democratic candidates, it’s a close call, but I recommend Sam Liccardo as the candidate who would be most productive.
Alameda County Supervisor:
D5 – Two good candidates running for this open seat. I am not making any public recommendation here. I know both of these fine public servants well. I urge all to ignore the negative campaigning on both sides. Please consider voting for the candidate with the strongest environmental record, commitment and platform.
District Attorney Recall – No – This one is a bit more textured than the mayoral recall (which is undeserved). I did not endorse Ms. Price when she ran for election to this office. And I understand the criticism in terms of management, as well as people’s valid concerns about overall public safety. However, some accusations against D.A. Price are unfounded. The current D.A.s office is indeed prosecuting crimes—particularly violent crimes—at similar rates as her predecessor and other DA’s. And who would the Board of Supes appoint for two years IF the D.A. is recalled? Someone who supports the death penalty? Someone who will overuse questionable and costly enhancements? The current D.A. is phasing in some needed reforms and accountability for past misdeeds, while still prosecuting suspects accused of serious criminal activity. I realize that there are improvements to be made and that reasonable people might disagree on this one; but on balance, I am voting NO on this recall question.
Contra Costa County Supervisor:
Oakland City Council
D1 – Zac Unger – Firefighter/paramedic; Lifelong Oakland resident; community volunteer; excellent choice to be my successor.
D3 – Carroll Fife (#1) – passionate affordable housing leader / Warren M. Logan (#2)
D5 – Noel Gallo / Erin Armstrong (#2)
D7 – Vote for the candidate who will protect renters from displacement, support strong environmental health policies, work to reduce illegal dumping, and support robust violence prevention/intervention strategies. Iris Merriouns, a long-time Council aide and chief of staff, is a front-runner and would do a fine job as a City Councilmember. She knows the district and city government quite well. Candidates Ken Houston, a community organizer who has taken a leadership role in combatting illegal dumping, would do a good job as a new councilmember, and Merika Goolsby, an Oakland-based environmental justice and housing justice advocate, are each worthy of ranked choice consideration as well.
At-large – Rowena Brown and Charlene Wang (dual endorsement – rank them 1-2 or 2-1) – Charlene and Rowena each have worked in government and understand the challenges we face locally. Click on their websites for further information on their respective backgrounds and priorities. Shawn Danino would be my rank 3 recommendation.
Oakland City Attorney: Ryan Richardson – This is not even a close call. Ryan is the only candidate with the relevant hands-on experience, clear understanding of the job, and composed temperament to be an effective City Attorney. He is currently the chief deputy city attorney, and I can say from direct experience that he has done an excellent job in that capacity. Ryan has certainly earned our respect. He’s up against big special interest money, so we need to spread the word in support of his candidacy. **Vote Ryan Richardson to keep the Office of the City Attorney non-political.
Oakland Mayoral Recall – NO – I’ve seen first-hand how Mayor Thao (with her staff) have worked with thoughtful determination to address the city’s serious challenges. There is still work to do of course, but I’m convinced that she does not deserve to be subjected to such an extreme measure as a recall in the middle of her term. The mayor has been prioritizing public safety, affordable housing and services for homeless residents, economic development, and transportation safety infrastructure improvements. A post-recall special election would cost millions of general fund dollars we don't have. Vote NO and let’s get back to working together for the good of the entire city.
Oakland School Board:
#1 – Rachel Latta #5 – Patrice Berry
Berkeley City Council:
#2 – Terry Taplin
#3 – Ben Bartlett
#5 – Shoshana O’Keefe
#6 – Andy Katz – long-time environmental leader.
Mayor of Berkeley – No formal recommendation here; either Sophie Hahn or Kate Harrison would do fine as Mayor.
Berkeley School Board: Ana Vasudeo, Jen Corn
Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board: Andy Kelley
Peralta Community Colleges Trustee:
#2 – Paulina Gonzalez
Contra Costa Community Colleges Trustee:
#2 – Diana Honig
AC Transit Director
#1 – Chris Peeples #2 – Jean Walsh
#6 – no recommendation (more than one good candidate)
BART Director
#3 – Barnali Ghosh
#5 – Melissa Hernandez
#7 – Dana Lang or Victor Flores (more than one good candidate here; I’m leaning toward Dana.)
#9 – Edward Wright
East Bay MUD Director
#1 – Joey D. Smith
#2 – Luz Gómez
#5 – Jim Oddie
#6 – Valerie Lewis
E.B. Regional Parks Director
#1 – Elizabeth Echols
#2 – No recommendation (more than one good candidate)
#4 – Luana España (more than one good candidate)
Castro Valley Sanitary District – Dave Sadoff
Alameda Healthcare District - Stewart Chen
Albany City Council – Preston Jordan, Peggy McQuaid, Aaron Tiedemann (four good candidates here; I've endorsed these three in this ranked order.)
Piedmont City Council – Conna McCarthy
Livermore City Council (#4) – Kristie Wang
El Cerrito City Council
Lisa Motoyama, Rebecca Saltzman
Walnut Creek City Council – Kevin Wilk; Laura Patch
Mayor of San Francisco – Aaron Peskin (#1); London Breed (#2)
San Francisco City Attorney – David Chiu
San Francisco Treasurer – José Cisneros
San Francisco Sheriff – Paul Miyamoto
San Francisco Supervisor
#1 – Connie Chan (rank #1); Jen Nossokoff (rank #2)
#5 – Dean Preston
#7 – Myrna Melgar
San Francisco Community College Trustee
Julio Ramos, Luis Zamora, Ruth Ferguson, Alan Wong
Santa Clara County Supervisor
D2 – Betty Duong
D5 – Two good candidates here – I have endorsed Sally Leiber
City of Belmont Mayor – Julia Mates
Menlo Park School Board – Francesca Segrè
Santa Clara Valley Water District #2 – Shiloh Ballard
City of Vallejo Mayor – Pippin Dew
Marin Municipal Water District #2 – Diana Maier
Fairfax Town Council – Chance Cutrano, Frank Egger
Novato City Council – Mark Milberg (#5)
San Rafael City Council – Rachel Kertz (#4)
Sausalito City Council – Melissa Blaustein
Tiburon Town Council – Holli Thier
Napa City Council (#2) – Beth Painter
Mayor of Tracy – Dan Arriola
Tracy City Council – Dotty Nygard
Los Angeles District Attorney: George Gascón
L.A. Community Colleges Trustee (#3) – Nancy Pearlman
Culver City School Board – Andrew Lachman
San Diego County Supervisor
D1 – Nora Vargas
D3 – Terra Lawson-Remer
Mayor of San Diego – Todd Gloria
Mayor of Huron – Rey Leon
Sacramento City Council (D2) – Roger Dickinson
U.S. Senate contests in key states:
Independent groups** working to elect and re-elect Democrats to take back the House and keep the Senate and White House in the Democratic column:
**Contact these groups directly to volunteer!
Or volunteer through the…
Democratic National Committee and the Harris Campaign
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State Propositions and Local Ballot Measures
YES on Proposition 2 – General Obligation bond ($10B) for K-12 public schools and CA community colleges – including for much-needed school building repair, classroom modernization, T-K classroom creation, reducing lead in water at public school sites, and more. Vote YES for upgrading our school facilities.
YES on Proposition 3 – Supports marriage equality by amending State Constitution to remove obsolete language that prohibits same sex marriage in our state, thereby officially recognizing the right to marry regardless of gender. Vote YES for the right to marry.
YES on Proposition 4 – General Obligation Bond ($10B) for climate resilience, water quality, stormwater capture, wildfire prevention, parks, natural lands and habitat protection, wetlands restoration, air quality, clean energy infrastructure projects, and more. Requires that at least 40% of the funds be spent for climate/environmental projects that benefit lower income or more climate-vulnerable communities. This is a big deal for climate mitigation, adaptation and resilience. Vote a big YES!!
YES on Proposition 5 – Lowers the voter approval threshold for local affordable housing and public infrastructure bond measures from 66.67% to 55%. This will help more local jurisdictions raise capital funds for affordable housing—including housing for homeless residents—and vital public infrastructure projects (street repair, fire station upgrade, public hospitals, libraries, sewage treatment, etc.). Vote YES to help cities and counties raise funds for affordable housing and needed infrastructure repair!
YES on Proposition 6 – Amends State Constitution by removing decades old language that allows involuntary servitude to be used as a punishment to a crime. Inmates in state prisons and county jails could not be forced to work against their will. However, these correctional facilities could still offer work for pay and work for time credits. Vote YES to stop exploitation.
YES on Proposition 32 – Increases minimum wage statewide to $18 starting in 2025 for employers with more than 25 employees, and in 2026 for employers with 25 or fewer employees. Starting in 2027, these wage amounts would be adjusted for inflation up to, but no more than, 3.5% per year. Cities with higher minimums would not be affected. Vote YES to help lower wage workers keep up with the cost of living.
YES on Proposition 33 – Repeals a 30-year old state law (Costa-Hawkins) that prohibits local jurisdictions from enacting any sort of rent control stabilization on residential rental units that were first created in 1995 or later (in some cities including Oakland, even earlier), on condominiums and single-family homes, and on rental units when a new tenant moves into the unit. This proposition would return control on these matters to locally elected governing bodies and local voters. This will give local elected officials an additional tool to protect their constituents from displacement due to high rents and rent increases. Vote YES to give cities and counties the ability to expand rent stabilization and reduce displacement.
NO on Proposition 34 – Sponsored and paid for by a statewide apartment owners association that has absolutely no expertise in any health care matters. This convoluted initiative purports to severely restrict spending of federal prescription drug funds by nonprofit health care service providers; however, it is written to apply to health-related organizations that do more than direct patient care. In fact, it appears to apply to one organization in particular—the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (in Los Angeles)—as retribution for their strong support of rent control protections in California. This organization happens to also provide low-income housing to people living with HIV/AIDS. Vote NO on this revenge initiative!
No recommendation on Proposition 35 – This one is a bit more layered than it may seem at first glance. Makes permanent an important tax on managed care health plans (pending Federal govt. approval), and modifies, for better or worse, the range of eligible expenditures. Structures expenditures so that it allocates some state general funds to pay for existing Medi-Cal costs that are currently paid for by the dedicated tax, thereby creating a general fund budget set-aside. Funding Medi-Cal service providers certainly is critically important. Please read the Leg Analyst’s analysis in the official voter information pamphlet.
NO on Proposition 36 – Earlier this year, Governor Newsom signed a package of bills to seriously address criminal activity—including retail theft—in our state. Those new laws, not Prop. 36, are likely to reduce crime and hold offenders accountable. This proposition would change Prop. 47 (2014) by adding enhancement penalties for certain property crimes, and by creating a three-strikes type felony for certain crimes (including shoplifting) that would otherwise be an actionable misdemeanor. As it stands, California has a lower felony dollar threshold than most states. Prop. 36 also requires certain sentences that might be served in county jails to be served in state prison, thereby adding to the already over-crowded prison system. Prop. 36 is a costly, knee-jerk reaction to a real problem. Prop. 36 will not make you safer, but it would siphon away a hundred million dollars or more currently being used for rehabilitation and mental health treatment into incarceration. Let’s see how the anti-theft bill package does in reducing crime before we accept a costly Prop. 36. Please Vote NO to protect valuable funding for important rehabilitation!
OAKLAND and other LOCAL BALLOT MEASURES
YES on Oakland Measure MM – Wildfire Prevention Assessment – Provides dedicated funding for vegetation management in the very high fire hazard severity zone to reduce wildfire risk. If you want to volunteer up in the hills to help pass this vital measure, please let me know.
YES on Oakland Measure NN – Public Safety Parcel Tax – Renews and increases parcel and parking tax to fund OPD officers, violence prevention strategies, and the fire department. I have lawn signs for NN - let me know if you want one.
YES on Oakland Measure OO – Public Ethics Commission – Strengthens conflict of interest rules and increases investigative capacity.
Berkeley Ballot Measures: YES on X, BB (No on CC), DD, FF (No on EE)
NO on Richmond Measure J – Costly measure that will lead to some people getting elected in very low turnout primary elections.
YES on Richmond Measure L – Instant Runoff Voting that saves money and ensures majority-based election results.
Los Angeles County – YES on Measure A – Replaces the previous Measure H tax with a new half-cent sales tax to fund affordable housing, rental assistance, and essential services for homeless residents.
Los Angeles County – YES on Measure E – Creates modest parcel tax to fund fire protection services, including emergency response and upgrades for fire safety equipment.
San Benito County – YES on Measure A – Protects local agricultural, rangeland, and rural lands and related sensitive habitat in San Benito County, thereby helping to reduce sprawl development.
San Diego County – YES on Measure G – Half-cent sales tax for transit/transportation infrastructure improvements throughout San Diego County.
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