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Literally everything on the ballot: San Francisco & Oakland voting guide, November 2022
State-wide only
State-wide only
Just the choices on all California ballots
👨💼👩⚖️ Candidates
State-wide offices
Governor
Gavin Newsom (D)
He’s no Jerry Brown, but he’s way better than the alternative. He’s gotten more willing to spend political capital to get housing built recently, which I applaud.
Lieutenant Governor
Eleni Kounalakis (D)
Secretary Of State
Shirley N. Weber (D)
Controller
Lanhee Chen (R, yes an R!)
Tough call, but Chen is from the better side of the Republican Party. He worked in the Obama White House, and even garnered endorsement from the SF Chronicle, LA Times, and Andrew Yang. He’s a Stanford professor and Hoover Institute guy (not MAGA).
We need better fiscal oversight in California and I’m willing to take a risk on Chen (despite the “R”!) whereas Cohen seems less willing to challenge the status quo.
This is the first Republican I can remember voting for in I don’t know how long.
Treasurer
Fiona Ma (D)
While Ma is well qualified — and far more so than her Republican opponent who is likely to cause roadblocks to funding issues that the legislature and majority of Californians aim to fund — she is flawed with pending ethics and sexual harassment claims. This is another unfortunate artifact of one-party rule in California, and we’re not left with a better option in this race.
Attorney General
Rob Bonta (D)
Has been a strong advocate for pro-housing policies and the “housing element” plans. Has gone head-to-head against the NIMBYs — and won.
Insurance Commissioner
Ricardo Lara (D)
Not great, better than the alternative.
US Congress
US Senate (Full-term)
Alex Padilla (D)
US Senate (Remainder-of-term)
Alex Padilla (D)
State judicial
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
Yes to all
Generally skeptical of voter recalls of judges. No major reasons I gather to not retain those on the ballot.
Associate Justices of the Supreme Court
Yes to all
Generally skeptical of voter recalls of judges. No major reasons I gather to not retain those on the ballot.
Presiding Justices, Court of Appeal
Yes to all
Generally skeptical of voter recalls of judges. No major reasons I gather to not retain those on the ballot.
Associate Justices, Court of Appeal
Yes to all
Generally skeptical of voter recalls of judges. No major reasons I gather to not retain those on the ballot.
Education
Superintendent of Public Instruction
Tony K. Thurmond
📰 Propositions
California-wide
1: Constitutional Right to Reproductive Freedom
Yes: Guarantees reproductive rights in the state constitution.
While these rights are already guaranteed in state law, this further protects those rights.
26: Allows In-Person Roulette, Dice Games, Sports Wagering on Tribal Lands
No: Enshrines in the state constitution a right for tribal gambling and the taxes taken from the proceeds.
Same reasoning as Prop 27: Can be done through the legislature — which would preserve the flexibility to amend this as needed. In particular an issue with how the revenue is spent. This proposition is instead written by the interested parties i.e. the existing tribal gambling lobby — usurping citizens ability for oversight.
27: Allows Online and Mobile Sports Wagering Outside Tribal Lands
No: Enshrines in the state constitution a right for online gambling with revenue allocated in part to tribes and some social services.
Same reasoning as Prop 26: Can be done through the legislature — which would preserve the flexibility to amend this as needed. In particular an issue with how the revenue is spent. This proposition is instead written by the interested parties i.e. the existing tribal gambling lobby — usurping citizens ability for oversight.
28: Provides Additional Funding for Arts and Music Education in Public Schools
No: Requires 1% of school budgets go to arts programs, mainly around teacher salaries.
While I support the underlying aims, this should happen through the legislative process, not hard-to-fix propositions. Not going to lose sleep if it passes (and would be happy to see this happen through the legislature).
29: Requires On-Site Licensed Medical Professional at Kidney Dialysis Clinics and Establishes Other State Requirements
No: Requires dialysis clinics to submit to more strict staffing rules.
This isn’t about healthcare — this is about a labor dispute that’s dragging voters into the mix. Total waste of money and voters time. Vote no for the I’ve-lost-count-how-many-times-you’ve-voted-no time.
30: Provides Funding for Programs to Reduce Air Pollution and Prevent Wildfires by Increasing Tax on Personal Income Over $2 Million
No: This proposition would tax those earning >$2M/yr to fund EVs, related infrastructure, and wildfire programs.
While I think the carbon reduction goals of this are admirable, it’s focusing (yet again) too much on cars vs transit. If we’re generating $100 billion in revenue as is estimated, this isn’t the highest impact way to reduce carbon emissions.
31: Referendum on 2020 Law That Would Prohibit the Retail Sale of Certain Flavored Tobacco Products
Yes: Bans the sale of tobacco products that are especially enticing to kids.
We’ve seen these bans be successful at achieving those goals. Let’s not undo decades of public health work to keep kids safe and ensure dangerous products stay out of the hands of children.
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