May 19 special election

[Brian]

Although I haven't made up my mind yet -- I usually read the propositions booklet the weekend before the election -- I'm inclined to vote "no" on all of them.

And finding myself in strange company. For once, the California Nurses Association agrees with the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, "no" up and down the ballot. But then, the California Teachers Association and League of Conservation Voters say "yes" on all. The Chamber of Commerce is another big backer. The California Democratic Party only decided to favor three, 1B, 1C and 1F, and gave no endorsements for the rest.

I've almost always voted against writing the budget by initiative. Now we're suffering from the choices voters made up to two decades ago -- and being asked to rectify them by inscribing new parameters into the budget and adding taxes that affect poor people most.

Anybody thinking about the election yet?

[anni]

Just that I've marked it on the calender, and moved the Sample Ballot to the top of several piles...

Joining the 'soon to be unemployed teachers' ranks' I think I'll be voting for money for schools and education....or am I too late??? Wait...I always vote for money to educate

[Brian]

For the past week I've tried to convince myself to vote "yes" on all of the propositions because frankly I'm starting to believe that our state's budget shortfall will be drastically worse if they fail. The Guv was suitably scary today, talking about laying off 51,000 teachers, increasing class size 17 percent and cutting weeks out of the school year. I have to wonder how our deadlocked legislature, with two-thirds needed to pass anything, will even be able to handle the smaller deficit if miraculously these propositions prevail.

I voted against the lottery 25 years ago because I thought it would hurt poor people. Now I'm considering voting to promote it more and borrow against it. California treated its mentally ill criminally, starting with Reagan in 1967, and only significantly funded programs with the millionaires' tax. Now I might agree to divert most of that to the general fund.

We're here because of Proposition 13 in 1978, which I also voted against and which gave two-thirds of the tax relief to commercial property, most people forget. Howard Jarvis was head of the apartment owners' association back then. I heard him tell Ray Briem on the radio late one night that if renters didn't get a reduction from their landlords when it passed, he'd support rent control. He didn't, but I thank him for mine to this day. But I digress.

The rich are still calling the shots in this state, forcing these incredibly hard and distasteful choices upon us. And we're a whiny ass electorate, all the polls prove, wanting more services while paying less in taxes.

Only one week until the election and I can't make up my mind.

[Brian]

I could go on by myself like this through next Tuesday, but I'd welcome any information, opinions or endorsements from other voters in this thread.

The latest strategy I'm trying on for size is "no" on 1A and 1B because most provisions in them won't take effect for a year or two anyway while voting "yes" on 1C, 1D and 1E to divert immediate cash to the general fund and skipping 1F for being freaking weird.

Today in the news bites, I was supposed to be alarmed by the Guv's threat to release 5000 state prisoners, which I've always advocated if they were drawn from those who hurt only themselves, and the proposal to sell the Coliseum, which is probably illegal. If he really wants to scare me, he should threaten again to close state parks.

This weekend I'll force myself to read the Secretary of State's booklet and find more reasons to be ambivalent about all of these propositions.

[Roberta]

I will probably vote no on all except maybe yes on B to send a message about education funding. Why is legalizing (and taxing) marijuana regarding as a joke, yet with a straight face he proposes selling the Coliseum? No, I wouldn't be proud of an economy based on pot, but it is certainly no worse for the human race than alcohol .. or high-tech weaponry.

[Jeanne]

Does he mean the Coliseum in Rome? Are we occupying Italy? I really need to keep up with the news.

[Brian]

I switched on only one proposition since my last post, taking a cue from Roberta about sending a message to protect education by voting "yes" on 1B. I've settled on "no" on 1A, "yes" on 1C, 1D and 1E with no vote on 1F.

I make no recommendations. I'm not touting my decisions. This has been the most agonizing slate of propositions in my life. These are exactly the kind of initiatives I've always voted against. But when I read the projected deficit, I cave in.

So much of my consideration has been spent on wondering how the Legislature, especially the Republicans, will behave if 1A through 1E fail -- and how the citizens of this state will react. We've already hit bottom whether they realize it or not. Radical changes are coming, especially if all the money propositions are defeated, as predicted.

[anni]

I voted at Bolton Museum about 2:00pm. The wonderful citizens manning the polling place were nearly bored out of their gourds. Only a handful of people had shown up. An older Latino man with toddler in tow wanted to vote but, after some checking, the nice ladies figured out he was registered at the other location. And I'm feeling out of step these days.