San Diego Elections - Overview
Hi everyone!
I'm voting June 5th! Are you? Here's a very short list of who I am voting for!
To find out who you're voting for, head to http://www.kpbs.org/news/election/voterguide/
Propositions
Proposition 68: Yes
Proposition 69: Yes
Proposition 70: No
Proposition 71: Yes
Proposition 72: Yes
Want to know why? Read why here.
US Senate!
The short of it: This is a primary run-off, which means the top two candidates are going to be running against each other in November regardless of their party affiliation. Dianne Feinstein is going to get one of those slots. She's very popular and does a good job. However, I'm voting for Kevin de León. Not because I don't like Feinstein, but because I want to see her face-off against a younger and progressive voice in the Democratic party. Read more about this election here.
Governor
Like the Senate race, the top two will be on the November ballot. There's a whole bunch of crazy running in this election. There are music videos. There are a lot of qualified people running, too. Shout out to Josh Jones, a Green Party candidate that has some good ideas. I'd love to see him try something smaller than Governor first, though. This is a clearly a race for who's coming in second, as Gavin Newsom will be getting the top bill. I'm voting for John Chiang.
US House of Representatives for California's District 53
Top two out of five will go on to the Nov. election. I've been pretty happy with incumbent Susan Davis, so she'll likely get my vote in November. There isn't a real clear choice for second. Conservatives are super keen on Morgan Murtaugh, a blonde 25 yo millennial conservative. Not my cup of tea, but she does appear to have a good head on her shoulders. Bryan Kim, of no party affiliation, is an extreme liberal wanting universal health care and free college tuition. I want to see the left tested a bit more on some universal issues, so I'm boosting Kim's signal.
San Diego County District Attorney
I have SO many opinions about this, and I have not been quiet about my support for Geneviéve Jones-Wright. Admittedly, this started off as an anti-Summer Stephan ideal, as the women basically thinks there's no form of voluntary prostitution. Whatever your personal feelings may be on the subject of prostitution, I do not want my DA to impose her own rigid morality on the system. Stephan, who was appointed never elected to the DA office, also refused to debate Jones-Wright at first, dismissing her as an unqualified candidate. That is some anti-democratic juvenilism, and something she has continued to parrot as Jones-Wright has climbed in the polls. But what has really strengthened my support for Jones-Wright is her responses to critiques thrown her way. She is from Southeast San Diego, an area which has suffered heavily from classist and racist policies politicians like Stephan put in place. She dissects how simply being hard on crime isn't a good strategy. You need to have a system that allows people to climb back up if they fall; not just keep them down till they think they belong there. Stephan acts entitled to this position, while Jones-Wright treats it as a launch pad for reform. This isn't a runoff. Whoever wins this election is the new DA. Vote Jones-Wright.
Sheriff
Like the DA, this is the general election for Sheriff. The winner will be our new sheriff. My vote's for Dave Myers. Bill Gore has a lot of the same issues that Summer Stephan does. Read more about them at KPBS.
Supervisor, District 4
Omar Passons, he's the most progressive candidate. Also, if I get ONE MORE FREAKIN' FLYER FROM NATHAN FLETCHER I am going to scream. Seriously dude, think about the environment, okay?
Ok, here's I'm going to run down some of the more boring elections:
Lieutenant Governor - Ed Hernandez
Secretary of State - Alex Padilla
Controller - Betty T. Lee
Treasurer - Vivek Viswanathan
Attorney General – Xavier Becerra
Insurance Commissioner –Ricardo Lara
Superintendent of Public Instruction –Tony Thurmond
Judge Office 28 - Herbert J. Exarhos
Judge Office 37 - Victor Torres, aka anyone by Gary Kreep
Trustee Area C - Craig Milgrim
Assessor/Recorder/Clerk – Matt Strabone
And that's a wrap! Happy Voting!