Barbara Selfridge’s Crib Sheet for November 7, 2006

Feel free to pass this along -- and pass your opinions back to me, since I’ll probably change at least one of these votes before the election.

Phil Angelides, gov. I like the Green’s Peter Camejo, but I need this Democrat who fights to raise taxes on the rich and fund human needs.

John Garamendi, lt. gov. The Bay Guardian thinks conservative Republican McClintock has a shot, but then again, they’re supporting all the Dems.

Debra Bowen, secy of state. A close race and an important vote for the Dem fighter for fair elections.

Laura Wells, controller? Wells is one of the Greens who helped put Instant Run-Off Voting on the Oakland ballot, but John Chiang, Dem, needs votes to win.

Mehul Thakker, treasurer. Why vote for pro-Swartzenegger Lockyear if his Republican opponent’s a can’t win unknown? The Green’s a social investor.

Jack Harrison, atty gen. Peace & Freedom because I don’t trust Jerry Brown (tho my man in Sacto says the Republicans think they can win this race).

Tom Condit, insurance commish. Smart Peace and Freedom insurance expert.

Betty Yee, state bd of equalization. A hard-working incumbent.

Marsha Feinland, senator. Feinstein’s way too pro-war/anti-rights. Vote P&F.

Barbara Lee, congressperson. The best.

Edward Ytuarte, state senator. I’m glad Sandre Swanson got the Dems nod, but Peace & Freedom Ytuarte has a rep as an effective disability advocate.

Judges
Note, the Bay Guardian and others say it’s a mistake to target judges unless they are malcreants, discriminate or otherwise use the system illegally. The Greens say judicial selection should be reformed and non-endorse Carol Corrigan. I still target judges myself. (Quote’s from lawyer friends.)

Joyce Kennard--Yes. A conservative who has since moved left, now one of the more liberal of the 7 Supremes.

Carol A Corrigan--Yes? The Greens say not another Republican-appointed former DA, but I heard she was smart and funny with tremendous integrity.

James J Marchiano--Yes. Great.

Sandra L Margules--Yes. A Gray Davis appointee.

Paul R. Haerle--No. A Wilson appointee, former chair of the CA Republican Party.

James A Richman--Yes. Appointed by Wilson, works with Loaves & Fishes (Catholic charity for the homeless) and Downs Syndrome Connection.

William R McGuiness--No. A Wilson appointee with only DA experience.

Peter Siggins--Yes? Schwarzenegger’s former Legal Affairs Secretary and Assistant Atty Gen under Lockyear.

Ignazio John Ruvolo--No? A Republican.

Patricia K Sepulveda--Yes. Tho conservative.

Maria P. Rivera--Yes. A Gray Davis appointee.

Barbara Jones--Yes. Great.

Superior Court Judge, Office #21: Denis Hayashi. The public interest lawyer who worked on and won so many civil rights cases. (Note: it’s okay to vote FOR a judge in a contested race!)Alona Clifton, Peralta bd. The Greens like Abel Guillen, but the incumbent’s an African-American woman who’s doing a good job.

Courtney Ruby, Oakland auditor. Because the incumbent’s hard to work with.

Rebecca Kaplan, AC Transit bd. A great smart Green.

Andy Katz, EBMUD, ward 4. An environmentalist running unopposed?

State Propositions
1A--Highways Uber Alles. NO. The road construction industry wants to stop sales taxes--the only tax regressive enough to sometimes appeal to Republicans--from ever funding human needs.

1B--$19.9 Billion for Highways. NO. Costly short-sighted fix for a post-oil future.

1C--$2.9 Billion for Low Income Housing. Yes. Cuts in housing funds = more homelessness.

1D--$10.4 Billion for School Facilities. Yes? IMPACT says no, that local bonds meeting locally assessed needs would work better (repeal Prop 13!).

1E--$4.1 Billion for Disaster Prep. No? Why pay Brownies to do heckuva jobs when Prop 84 does it better?

83--Lifetime Ankle Bracelets for Misdemeanor Sex. NO. The felony part of this package already passed, so this is just the non-violents--like 19-yr-olds who sleep with their 17-yr-old girlfriends--unhelped by lifetime punishments.

84--$5.4 Billion for Environmental Projects. YES. Goes a long way.

85--Torture Pregnant Teens from Dysfunctional Families. NO. So mean.

86--Make Tobacco Addicts Pay for Kid’s Health Care. Yes? I favor methadone/ tobacco clinics, but anything that hurts tobacco companies saves lives.

87--Make Big Oil Pay Back $4 Billion to Subsidize Alternative Energy. YES. See 1A and 1B if you think the oil industry has never received gov’t hand-outs.

88--A Chicken-Shit Regressive Property Tax. NO. To raise money for schools, repeal Prop 13 and/or tax by value, not the same $50 for a home or a power plant or a 500-unit apartment bldg.

89--Make Corporations Fund Elections, Not Buy Them. YES. Go democracy!

90--Compensate Corporate Criminals for Lost Profits If Caught. NEVER. Disguised as don’t take my home, but if this had been law 100 years ago, taxpayers would still be paying off mill-owners hurt by child labor laws.?? on M, the Stockbrokers’ Dream. Oakland’s closed-club pension fund wants to stop being conservatively invested.

No on N, the Developers’ Dream Dressed as Library Upgrades. Shouldn’t there be a city-wide discussion about what we want to do with the Kaiser Convention Center’s lakefront property and/or the also desirable site of the current main library? Or should we just accept whichever developer proposal comes first? Should we pay them $100 M to build a bottom floor library and then let them collect $$$ on high-rent units on all other floors?

YES on O, Instant Run-off Voting. More than ending costly run-off elections, this will end voting out of fear: Greens could vie with Dems without the bugaboo of a Republican victory. A good precursor for representational democracy.