2022 General Election in San Leandro: Who I'm Voting For
As always, here are my votes for the 2022 primary election, along with the reasons and receipts. This will be a long post, so buckle up! I'm starting with the local San Leandro and district elections first, then county races and measures, then ballot propositions, then finally the statewide and federal offices.
If you're strapped for time, you can find the tl;dr version just below and then check out the details further down at your leisure. NB: this post has been updated recently.
City Offices:
Mayor, toss-up with Lee Thomas 1st and Bryan Azevedo 2nd
City Council District 1, Celina Reynes
City Council District 5, Xouhoa Bowen
City Council District 3, Victor Aguilar
SLUSD Board Member Area 2, Jackie Calderón Perl
District Offices:
AC Transit Director-At-Large, Alfred Twu
AC Transit Director Ward 3, Sarah Syed
EBMUD Director Ward 7, Corina Lopez
Eden Township Healthcare District Director Zone 5, Chike Udemezue
Oro Loma Sanitary District Board Members, Mimi Dean, Rita Duncan, and Fred Simon
County Measures:
D, Yes
County Offices:
Supervisor District 3, Rebecca Kaplan
District Attorney, Pamela Price
State Measures:
1, Yes
26, Yes
27, No
28, Yes
29, Yes
30, Yes
31, Yes
State Offices:
Member 20th Assembly District, Liz Ortega
State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tony Thurmond
Member State Board of Equalization, Sally J. Lieber
Insurance Commissioner, Ricardo Lara
Attorney General, Rob Bonta
Treasurer, Fiona Ma
Controller, Malia Cohen
Secretary of State, Shirley N. Weber
Lieutenant Governor, Eleni Kounalakis
Governor, Gavin Newsom
Federal Offices:
U.S. Senator, Alex Padilla (for the partial and full terms)
Judicial Offices:
Chief Justice, yes to retain Patricia Guerrero
Associate Justices, yes to retain Goodwin Liu, Martin J. Jenkins, and Joshua P. Groban
Courts of Appeal Associate Justices, yes to retain Therese M. Stewart, Victor A. Rodriguez, Ioana Petrou, Carin T. Fujisaki, Tracie L. Brown, Jeremy M. Goldman, Teri L. Jackson, Alison M. Tuchner, and Gordon B. Burns.
My local recommendations are based on direct experience working with many of the candidates, players, organizers, and residents, but I also keep certain receipts archived here for future reference. Additionally, I do review local media and subject matter experts for more niche races, as described and linked below. However, for my general overview reference points, please see the Progressive Voters Guide, CalMatters Voter Guide, and the official Voter Information Guide for Alameda County you may have received in the mail. I also always consider individual guides like those by the San Francisco League of Pissed Off Voters and Oakland Rising Action, which are especially wonderful for statewide and countywide issues.
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For Mayor of the City of San Leandro: Lee Thomas 1st & Bryan Azevedo 2nd
This was the most difficult choice for me because both candidates are equally and differently amazing. Having worked with both of them, been to their house, or met their family, as well as having talked with both of them at length in public and private forums, I can say with confidence that they each bring unique strengths, experiences, and approaches to their work as elected officials. However, they both also come with their own baggage and drawbacks in this particular race. Yet, they are both vastly more qualified, personally and professionally, for this role than any other candidate. I could honestly go either way here, but I like to think I'm making a calculated and strategic choice about the composition of the City Council as a whole as much as I am about deciding who would be the best fit for the office of Mayor. So, here we go...
Lee Thomas has been breaking down barriers since he first moved to San Leandro, first as a Black homeowner with a multiracial family in an area notorious for housing discrimination. Now, as a Black mayoral candidate in a place once known as one of the most racist cities in America. He previously served on the City Council (District 3) and continues to serve regularly on community boards, commissions, and local groups to advance the public interest, from supporting low-income students to services for seniors. Meanwhile, he works multiple jobs - a community school manager at OUSD, local 83 union president for OUSD administrators, and even owner of his own home cooking business. In fact, he successfully led the campaign for a countywide home-cooking ordinance during the pandemic that allowed hundreds of people to support themselves and their families as small business owners.
Notably, Thomas lost his seat originally due to taking the courageous moral stand ahead of his time to stop the sale of flavored tobacco products in the city that harm our BIPOC and youth communities. While his work was unfinished, it served as a foundation when I and a coalition of advocates helped finally achieve a ban on menthol tobacco products here in San Leandro. His insight and counsel were invaluable during that effort and that success alone is a legacy to be proud of. If elected, Thomas would be the first Black Mayor of San Leandro, a historic feat for our former sundown town. I believe his experience, particularly with racism and NIMBY hostility, gives him a unique perspective on housing, development, rent control, and equity that is sorely needed.
Yet, Thomas is pretty pro-police, failing to take a critical view of misconduct and not spending enough time reimagining public safety that is sustainable, cost-effective, as well as in the best interests of justice. He does support reform and oversight though. Additionally, he has committed to investing in community services to relieve the pressure on overpolicing and stated he will work with others to explore innovative ways to rebuild the broken trust between our police department and the community they need to be better serving. Another issue is that Thomas is too cozy with many of the old boys club of San Leandro, including bigots like Councilmember Pete Ballew, bullies like former Mayor Stephen Cassidy, or liars like former Councilmember Ed Hernandez and mayoral candidate Juan Gonzalez, which makes me worry that in his efforts to build bridges, he may inadvertently give space to people who have proven that they cannot be trusted. I say this not based on my personal conflicts with those individuals, but my professional ones as an organizer, advocate, and activist. Nonetheless, Thomas gets my first-choice rank vote, but only by a nose and I'll tell you why.
Bryan Azevedo has exemplified service leadership since residents originally confused him as their District 2 City Councilmember. (Back when Hernandez in that district was working for special interests instead of his constituents.) He's been out there helping people directly almost every day for years, from food banking and meal delivery to community clean-ups and house calls. He's the kind of person you can phone, text, or email about a problem, and he'll find a way to help you or connect you to someone who can. He's a union guy who doesn't care about being a polished politician because he's honest, direct, and no-nonsense. I have had the pleasure of partnering with Azevedo on a number of community organizing projects, from protecting low-income mobile-home residents to building accessible parks, and he always put the interests of the people of our city ahead of his own, even when it hurt him politically or personally.
He defeated an incumbent in 2020 (an almost unheard of feat!) through a coalition of progressives, liberals, moderates, centrists, and even some conservatives. This is because people see in him the capability to do what's right for San Leandro, no matter what, whether we're talking about exploring rent control or favoring small businesses over corporate franchises.
Yet, if Azevedo were elected mayor, his seat would be filled by the city council rather than the voters directly. I'm uncomfortable with this situation and I worry about who would be chosen. Additionally, I disagree with some of Azevedo's policy choices, such as dealing with police staffing by creating parallel police patrols of new hires. This reflects the unfortunate tendency for Azevedo to listen best to whoever he hears last, even if their idea isn't a good one. Also, not for nothing, but I want to see Azevedo finish his first full term before taking the next step in his public service journey. I think that Azevedo would be a fantastic mayor, just not like this and just not yet. Because of this, personally, he gets my second-choice rank vote, but only just barely.
That said, I can tell you, DO NOT vote for Juan Gonzalez. I placed him as my fifth-choice rank vote, behind Christopher Bammer at three and a write-in for myself at four. While I have a number of personal disagreements with Juan, his campaign surrogates, and even many of his more vocal supporters, those are not the reasons why you shouldn't vote for him. You shouldn't vote for him because Juan has shown himself to be a corrupt, lying, and wholly incompetent candidate.
Let me lay out some facts: Juan was anti-abortion until called out on it, but still lied about his position and has refused to clarify. Juan was anti-police reform until he realized it was popular, and then tried to take credit for the work of others (including/especially WoC!) in the efforts to implement it, but privately still intends to undermine it. Juan was anti-participatory budgeting until it became a reality, and then tried to hijack the entire project before throwing a fit when he wasn't voted in as chair of the Community Advisory Budget Task Force. Juan was opposed to community priorities like expanding access to mental health treatment and providing services to our unhoused neighbors, until he saw how others supported them and then tried to pretend he was always in favor of those positions. Juan bullied the original chair of the San Leandro Historical Society to resign so that he could host The Gathering this past Summer as a fully-fledged campaign event - until city staff were alerted that he was going to misuse public funds for personal/political gain and told him to stop it right away. What did Juan do when called out on it? He tried to claim that he was only helping to expose a loophole and that we should be thanking him for it! As if breaking campaign finance law was a public service.
Juan was also aware of his wife's work as school board president when the district was systemically ignoring complaints from Roosevelt families about the poor treatment of students and parents, and he did nothing. Yet, Juan loves to tout his alleged good work helping out within SLUSD. The reality is that Juan wants to buy this election and the only reason he ran in the first place is because he was tapped by Cassidy, who has been serving as a campaign surrogate attacking anyone who wants transparency and accountability from Juan. In fact, many of Juan's other campaign supporters and surrogates have taken to attacking local community-based organizations simply for being associated with people opposed to Juan's candidacy. When asked to take a stand against this behavior and show some leadership? Juan again did nothing. Further, Juan's professional background is working for rich corporations helping other rich corporations avoid paying their fair share of taxes. He only started pretending to work for the average San Leandran after he decided to go into politics and has been trying to fabricate a history of service to justify it.
Juan Gonzalez says his campaign is about a brighter future, but the truth is that he would only make our city a dimmer, more uncertain place to live for everyone except the few elites that are his friends.
As I said, this is a difficult race, but I believe that Thomas is the best available choice for building bridges in San Leandro and healing the political polarization that has fractured many parts of the city. He gets my first-choice rank vote and I hope yours as well!
For Member of City Council, District 1: Celina Reynes
Let me be transparent: I have known Celina for a couple of years now and am proud to call her my friend. We first began working together in the community right after the murder of Steven Taylor and continued that partnership along with the coalition of residents, activists, and organizers that developed in response to police brutality scandals across the nation, as well as a myriad of issues raised to critical levels by the pandemic.
As a third-generation San Leandran still living in the same house her grandparents used to, Celina has shown her commitment to this city and the people in it. I have had the pleasure of working with her on successful initiatives for police oversight, participatory budgeting, a mental health response program, a navigation center for our unhoused, protections for lower-income renters against rezoning and evictions, pushing for affordable housing projects, expanding access to city government staff and services, as well as so many other critical issues affecting San Leandro. She's joined community clean-ups of our parks and rivers; supported donation drives for our homeless, our disadvantaged, and our students; pursued rent control initiatives to ensure people who work in San Leandro can afford to live here; founded community-based organizations committed to police reform; and worked for grassroots groups pursuing accountability in city hall.
In every way, Celina has been there for the people of this city to do whatever good she can, and it shows! Celina has been endorsed by most major local organizations, from firefighters and union labor to local Democratic and environmental groups. If elected, she would be the first queer woman on the City Council, and one of the only women on the City Council period. She would be the first and only renter. She would be the first Millennial. But being a trailblazer is nothing new for her. She's already working her way through law school at UC College of Law SF to continue to find ways to give back to the community, including through an internship at the ACLU. If you want someone on City Council who is going to build a better San Leandro for everyone, then vote for Celina Reynes!
As for the other candidates, I ranked David Anderson as second and Ken Pon as third. Both are decent men and have done some good work for this city. However, none of them holds a candle to Celina's passion, commitment, or track record of proven successes for social and economic justice.
For Member of City Council, District 5: Xouhoa Bowen
I first heard about Xouhoa as a founder and CEO of the Community Impact LAB, an organization dedicated to serving families, particularly low-income women and children. She's organized dozens of drives for car seats, diapers, wipes, clothes, food, toys, and other goods. Beyond that, she helped provide spaces for family gatherings, social events, knowledge-sharing workshops, skills and training workshops, as well as other educational initiatives to help families find opportunities that empowered them. While this alone would be enough to get my vote, Xouhoa was only getting started!
She works as a director of strategic development at the San Leandro Boys & Girls Club, helping provide much-needed spaces for youth to learn and play while also hosting numerous community-building events. Further, Xouhoa has served on a number of boards and commissions to support initiatives for improving our libraries, raising money for schools, and women entrepreneurs. During the pandemic, she was out there distributing protective supplies such as masks, gloves, and hand sanitizer. Equally important, she was a critical local leader in combatting anti-Asian hate, sharing her story as a refugee, while also speaking up against gun violence, and helping immigrants through San Leandro's sanctuary city ordinance.
Her history of helping is reflected in the diverse coalition of support she's amassed, from current and former elected officials to unions, teachers, first responders, and environmentalists. Indeed, it was that which first drew me to learn more about her campaign and, in the interests of transparency, become an involved supporter myself. If you want a committed community advocate, then vote for Xouhoa Bowen!
As for the other candidate, Monique Tate, I have nothing negative to say. By all accounts, she's been a capable public servant and school board member. However, she gets ranked second for me because her accomplishments do not compare to what Xouhoa has been able to do that shows how effective she will be on City Council.
For Member of City Council, District 3: Victor Aguilar
Victor is running as the incumbent and unopposed. However, that shouldn't underscore his importance as a progressive leader who defended social and economic justice for years. As a gay Latinx man, he was often the only voice in the room speaking up for underrepresented groups in San Leandro on every issue from police reform and economic inequality to increased mental health treatment access and helping our unhoused neighbors. If I tried to list all of the receipts of Victor's successes on behalf of the people of San Leandro, this guide would quickly become a novel. Suffice to say, I've been a supporter of his for years now. So, please, vote for Victor Aguilar to keep this champion of democratic values in city hall!
For San Leandro Unified School District Governing Board Member, Area 2: Jackie Calderón Perl
Again, I need to be transparent: Perl is a close acquaintance of my wife. They both worked within overlapping educational communities in East Oakland. Additionally, Perl's sister-in-law (and their family) attend my synagogue. That said, I hadn't actually met her until recently. However, I'm impressed by her background and experience. She's been advancing equity in education as a teacher, administrator, coach, and consultant since 2009. Additionally, she was most recently working with the office of State Assemblymember Mia Bonta as district director.
Yet, because of redistricting that moved Bonta to a new area of the county, Perl has been looking for an opportunity to continue to serve our community. At the moment, she serves on a few local boards focused on improving our schools and has been getting more involved in local organizing efforts. Her backstory is compelling - the daughter of immigrants, raised in poverty by a single Latina mother, faced with housing insecurity and public safety concerns, yet found stability and solace in school, becoming an effective proponent for public education. I believe that Jackie Calderón Perl would be a valuable addition to the SLUSD school board and she gets my first-choice rank vote!
Conversely, I have briefly met and spoken with Abby Kerins. My opinion of her is mixed. Conversations with SLUSD parents revealed their belief that she was not an ally in addressing disparities within the district, particularly for English language learners, and that those controversies are what pushed her to start working in Newark instead of sticking it out. However, Kerins asserts that she moved on because the district wasn't doing enough to support students and that she has always been a staunch advocate for shrinking literacy gaps in our schools. While she is an experienced educator with a firm grasp of the technical and logistical challenges we're facing, ultimately I'm siding with SLUSD families who say they don't trust her. As such, she gets my second-choice rank vote.
For AC Transit District Director, At-large: Alfred Twu
This is a race that just hasn't gotten the amount of attention that it should. Twu has been a tireless advocate for paratransit, pedestrians, and cyclists, providing a vision for public transportation that is equitable, inclusive, affordable, timely, and expansive. Notably, Twu has been particularly vocal about traffic violence and sees the role that AC Transit can play in mitigating that by getting more people out of their cars and onto a bus or a bike and encouraging the development of walkable communities. In fact, Twu is downright visionary, literally drawing a picture of just what our neighborhoods could look like if we committed to a new California dream. His constant work has also garnered an impressive coalition of supporters, including the Alameda County Democratic Party, the East Bay Transit Riders Union, and Seamless Bay Area. Like them, I believe he would make a great At-Large District Director for AC Transit. Please vote Twu!
Conversely, the incumbent, Joel Young, leaves a lot to be desired in my opinion. While he's been reelected three times, that doesn't necessarily highlight a good track record. He opposed an integrated fee structure that would help make public transit more affordable across the Bay Area. He supported lifting the mask mandate in the middle of flu season with COVID-19 still spiking. Further, he engaged in some troubling misconduct that resulted in his censure by the rest of the board back in 2013. Yet, Young doubled down, refusing to admit to his mistake, let alone take responsibility for it for years! These issues, among others, are why Young is the wrong choice for AC Transit.
For AC Transit District Director, Ward 3: Sarah Syed
This is another race that hasn't gotten a lot of attention, but it should. Sarah Syed is a transportation planner endorsed by the retiring incumbent and Seamless Bay Area. She supports expanding paratransit services through innovative community partnerships as well as improving relationships between Bay Area transit agencies, particularly for low-income individuals. However, she does support lifting the mask mandate, unfortunately. Still, in comparison, her opponent, Stewart Chen, is a chiropractor who served on the Alameda City Council and had a volunteer role with the AC Transit Parcel Tax Oversight committee. His platform is not particularly inspiring, innovative, or even enthusiastic. Given all of those factors, Syed gets my vote here!
When it comes to the health and sustainability of our community, the Oro Loma Sanitary District has a huge impact as one of the oldest districts of its type in the region. Duncan and Simon are. Conversely, Dean is not a politician, but a teacher and environmentalist. Notably, Dean strongly opposes current Director Sheila Young's attempts to explore "toilet to tap" water changes. She also supports expanding civic education, outreach, and community partnerships to ensure Oro Loma is actually connecting with the people they serve. I admit, I hadn't heard much about Dean originally and I only recently learned why that was. She suffered an unfortunate medical accident that literally prevented her from hitting the ground running on her campaign, including setting up a website and knocking on doors. That said, after speaking with other local activists, she's been shown to be the real deal with has a wealth of institutional knowledge about Oro Loma through years of working closely with current district members and attending every meeting she can, even though they're scheduled in the middle of the work day.
Next, Duncan has been a stalwart environmentalist and protector of our water system with the record and network to prove it. Her policy priorities are a combination of technical and administrative skill that reveals a deep understanding of how to best manage our resources.
For last, Simon is my favorite though. I have worked closely with him in his dual role on the San Leandro City Council, District 4, on a number of projects from ending the sale of menthol tobacco products and protecting renters to seeking justice for the death of Steven Taylor and enshrining police oversight reform. Simon is a courageous and incredibly effective public servant. While most people would have a hard time doing just one of these jobs, Simon manages to do both of them and make it look easy! I feel fortunate to have someone with his expertise in water civil engineering and public administration serving in this position.
Conversely, while the other candidates have some experience and history in this area, I don't believe they have as good of a track record of success that the others do, let alone the enthusiasm. Additionally, I believe Sheila Young is too conservative, mostly relying on a status quo that doesn't adequately serve residents. We need innovative, transformative leadership combined with experience and expertise. So, to keep our water and waste systems clean, healthy, as well as environmentally sustainable, vote for Dean, Duncan, and Simon!
EBMUD Director, Ward 7: Corina Lopez
Again, Lopez is someone I have been proud to work with during her time on City Council, District 5. She has stood up for the local Jewish community, worked to help shine a light on San Leandro's history of housing discrimination, and collaborated with other local leaders on a number of initiatives to help everyday working families in San Leandro. Given Lopez's significant experience in government, financial management, and software development, I believe she would successfully transition into a role with the East Bay Municipal Utility District. I trust her to do what is necessary to maintain our drinking water despite increasing droughts, heatwaves, and other challenges brought by climate change, while expanding accessibility, affordability, and accountability. Conversely, I am not as confident in her opponents' ability to do so. Turner is passionate and knowledgeable, but I question whether he sees this as a stepping stone up the political ladder. Meanwhile, Chan has not been able to give the most coherent reasons why she's running at all. Because of these factors, my vote is for Corina Lopez!
Eden Township Healthcare District Director, Zone 5: Chike Udemezue
Chike Udemezue is a known figure in the community, having run for various offices and served on a number of different boards, committees, as well as other groups. His background is in research and financial analysis, but he's also been at the forefront of progressive change, leveraging his unique combination of personal and professional interests to support improvements to schools, jobs, transportation, and municipal funds. However, I admit that my reason for voting Udemezue is not just because he would be good in this position.
His opponent, Ed Hernandez, is a former and defeated City Councilmember from San Leandro who lost his race to Bryan Azevedo (see above). Why? Because Hernandez lied to constituents about his position on police reform and campaign donations, promoted special interests for developers instead of ordinary residents, as well as allied himself with conservative bigots and bullies in the city to try and salvage his failed campaign for reelection. I myself have had a number of unfortunate experiences with Hernandez, from his mockery about the death threats my family received because I spoke out about local social justice issues, to his fearmongering about crime rates in San Leandro to justify continued overpolicing. Further, Hernandez has no experience in healthcare or even in related fields. His background is in real estate and he's a member of the most toxic parts of the old boy's club here in San Leandro that has so often held back efforts to build a better city for everyone. He's untrustworthy, corrupt, and incompetent.
While I prefer motivating people to vote for something rather than against something. In this case? It's just as important to vote against Hernandez as it is to vote for Udemezue. If we want to continue the successful trajectory of the Eden Township Healthcare District after it nearly went bankrupt some years ago, then please vote to stop Ed Hernandez by supporting Chike Udemezue!
Measure D: Yes
If you don't know about the history of this ballot measure, you might miss how fundamental it has been and why it continues to be an important tool for Alameda County's work to address climate change. Measure D would preserve our open spaces and agricultural lands from urban sprawl without endangering the need for more affordable housing. This measure reaffirms those protections remain in place while increasing the potential for our local wine and equestrian businesses, who have been critical partners in maintaining our conservation goals. This measure also helps to continue the focus on infill housing in core areas closer to transit and jobs, which decreases the need for cars and, by that virtue, reinforces a positive cycle of decreasing pollution emissions.
Supervisor, District 3: Rebecca Kaplan
The loss of Wilma Chan was a tragedy for everyone here in Alameda County, especially those of us in District 3, and the challenge to find a worthy successor for her liberal legacy has been fraught. That said, I believe Rebecca Kaplan is the best candidate for the job, with a track record of progressive victories for housing, healthcare, public safety, transportation, and jobs. Conversely, Lena Tam is a moderate who has shown that she believes in overpolicing rather than community services. For me, that makes this a pretty easy decision. Vote for Rebecca Kaplan!
District Attorney: Pamela Price
I have said this over and over again, and I will keep saying it: Pamela Price is the most qualified person for this job. She embodies our ability to reimagine public safety that is equitable, sustainable, and that truly protects everyone while also rehabilitating those who break the law. County DA’s hold one of the most powerful positions in our legal system, from choosing to prosecute police brutality to waiving cash bail for nonviolent low-income individuals, and even expanding the use of alternatives to the revolving doors of incarceration. While I give credit to Terry Wiley for taking the step of prosecuting Jason Fletcher for the murder of Steven Taylor here in San Leandro, I'm also concerned that Wiley will never be the reformer we need because he's spent too much time playing the role assigned to him by Nancy O'Malley as a punisher rather than a protector. In my opinion, it’s past time we have a DA who is a real changemaker that cares about tackling the root causes of crime. Vote for Pamela Price!
Prop 1: Yes
This is an easy one. Obviously, given the overturning of Roe v. Wade by regressive frauds on the Supreme Court, we need to enshrine a constitutional right to abortion in California. A person's right to make their own healthcare and pregnancy decisions is a moral issue, an economic issue, and a social justice issue, and will be critical in ensuring California is a sanctuary state for reproductive freedom.
Prop 26: Yes
Prop 27: No
This is tricky, but let's break this down: neither of these measures are all that great. However, each prop is voted on separately. If both pass and don’t conflict, then both go into effect. So you can’t just vote for the one you like, you also have to vote against the one you hate. So here are the differences:
Prop 26 would legalize sports betting in tribal casinos. Tribal nations get to maintain their sovereignty in a way that expands jobs and businesses on their own land. It helps reduce any over-proliferation of gambling issues while trying to make some good come of them, including funds for gambling addiction and mental health research. It doesn't repay the debt we owe to indigenous people for the land theft and genocide they suffered from our nation, but it's a lot better than the alternative!
Prop 27 would legalize sports betting on mobile devices. It's basically a cash grab for giant online betting corporations that don't care about crashing our economy and they've tried to hide this fact by pretending it's about helping our unhoused population. They even gave the measure the cringeworthy name of the "California Solutions to Homelessness and Mental Health Support Act"! This whole act is a scam that should be voted down.
Prop 28: Yes
It's kind of ridiculous that we even have to create a special pot of money set aside for arts and music education at K-12 schools, but here we are. This is a straightforward good thing to do that will help diversify the future of art, media, and tech in our state, particularly for low-income families. There's no real opposition to this measure precisely because it's something we should have been doing already for every generation.
Prop 29: Yes
We are back again with another attempt to regulate the corruption, greed, and abuse that is rampant among dialysis clinics across the state. Just like 2020's measure, Prop 29 ensures a physician is present onsite to assist, increases transparency for badly performing clinics, as well as protects individuals against discrimination simply because they are poor. It would also provide rules against price-gouging, improve working conditions, and combat fraudulent billing practices. While the for-profit dialysis industry is spending billions in fines, settlements, and lobbying to protect their margins, BIPOC are suffering disproportionately from inadequate care and outrageous costs. I hope this time around we can finally reign in every last crooked clinic and corporate shareholder.
Prop 30: Yes
Tax the ultrawealthy to fight climate change? By investing the funds in electronic vehicles, infrastructure, rebates for consumers, and wildfire protection? While I understand some people may have concerns about coopting by Lyft and how the management of funds will be handled, this is still a step in the right direction. Certainly, I'm not losing any sleep over the super-rich paying their fair share to help the environment.
Prop 31: Yes
Okay, so I worked my kosher tuchus off to ensure that San Leandro voted in favor of banning the sale of menthol tobacco products. But this is a statewide measure that would do a lot more than that! While Big Tobacco companies have continuously tried to undermine public health by preying on BIPOC and youth, this is a real chance to finally stop the most dangerous poisons they push into the market. Actually, because the Tobacco Industry didn't like losing in 2020, this measure is their own last-ditch effort to continue to profit off killing people by getting enough no votes. Regardless, vote yes and let California continue protecting public health, especially while we're still surviving a pandemic whose virus impacts lung function and breathing!
Member of the State Assembly, 20th Assembly District: Liz Ortega
We're fortunate here that this is a contest between two Democratic candidates. However, one is still better than the other. Ortega has fought over the years to protect workers and their rights, expand healthcare and mental health access, support small business owners, create sanctuary spaces for immigrants and refugees, develop affordable housing and transition housing for the homeless, funding public schools and higher education, championing green initiatives for environmental sustainability, and pushing to reimagine public safety that includes police reform. She's one of the few leaders with the skills and experience to be an effective advocate for our region in the State Assembly and her background as a Latina barrier-buster will give her a perspective we need more of in the state capitol.
State Superintendent of Public Instruction: Tony Thurmond
Tony Thurmond continues to have a mixed record of great accomplishments and unfortunate setbacks. But overall, he's been an effective leader for our school system. Equally important, he's not a crazy hyper-conservative school privatizer like Lance Christensen whose position on school prayer is to the right of even SCOTUS!
Member, State Board of Equalization, 2nd District: Sally J. Lieber
This one is obvious and I reiterate my endorsement from the primary. The Board of Equalization collects tax, and is the only publicly-elected tax commission in the United States! Lieber would be a quiet but powerful advocate who will ensure corporations pay their taxes. She's got a gleaming progressive record and a glorious gallery of liberal endorsements to back it up.
Insurance Commissioner: Ricardo Lara
Lara has a problematic record and troubling ethics complaints. That said, his Republican opponent is far worse and wants to take California back to the Reagan years. Given this threat, I am reluctantly voting for Lara and committing to continue holding him accountable as a consumer advocate.
Attorney General: Rob Bonta
I know many of my fellow coalition organizers have a lot of problems with Bonta but, for my part, I have seen him as an effective criminal justice reformer. He wrote the law abolishing cash bail. He coauthored the law requiring the state to immediately investigate when a police officer kills an unarmed person. As Attorney General, he’s filed out-of-state amicus briefs in support of pro-equality laws that protect trans children. He's even worked hard to support bills holding gunmakers and "ghost" gun manufacturers accountable. Yes, there are some shady dealings with his wife's nonprofits, but the donations weren't actually illegal! (Surprisingly though.) Conversely, his Republican opponent supports the same dangerous "law and order" type policies that disproportionately target Black and Brown communities for unjust overpolicing. Ultimately, on balance, Bonta is the best pick here.
Treasurer: Fiona Ma
Given that she's served superbly since 2018, Fiona Ma doesn't need much to justify her reelection. While there are areas where I could see improvement, those are minor compared to the general good she's done for the state.
Controller: Malia Cohen
I admit... I'm a little bit of a Malia Cohen fanboy here. She's a Black Jewish ("Blewish") woman who has been crushing it in every political office she's ever held. I can't help but see in her the kind of role model I want for my own Black and Jewish daughters. That said, her policy priorities are right in line with every progressive: economic recovery and growth, equity, accountability and transparency, affordable housing, affordable healthcare, police reform, reproductive freedom, and climate protections.
Secretary of State: Shirley N. Weber
Dr. Weber has continued to demonstrate why an effective Secretary of State is necessary to safeguard free and fair elections. Her conduct during the gubernatorial recall, helping get felons restored to the voting rolls, and instituting statewide vote-by-mail are just a few of her many accomplishments. She's exactly who we need, even if we don't deserve her.
Lieutenant Governor: Eleni Kounalakis
There isn't really that much to say here other than that while I didn't support Kounalakis in the primary, I think she will be fine continuing to serve as Lieutenant Governor.
Governor: Gavin Newsom
Oh, there's so much to say about Newsom and yet, so much has already been written. I think it's obvious enough that he's not perfect, but he's done a decent job for California and he's a damn sight better than Dahle's gun-loving marijuana-hating nonsense.
Chief Justice of California: Yes
I obviously have some interest in the outcome of this mostly perfunctory retention election. Guerrero is already making history as the state's first Latina State Supreme Court Justice, but now that she's poised to assume the role of Chief Justice, I'd say things are going to be very interesting in the California judicial branch. Still, I can't think of anyone else more qualified to justify voting no.
Associate Justices of the Supreme Court: Yes
Again, I naturally have a unique perspective on these retention elections, but with no real opposition from a policy perspective or any real replacements, there just isn't any good reason not to keep these great jurists in office.
Courts of Appeal Justices: Yes
Same as above. All of these individuals are excellent appellate justices and there's no real reason not to keep them in office.
United States Senator: Alex Padilla
You might be wondering why Padilla is on the ballot twice. The reason is that when Kamala Harris became Vice President, Newsom appointed him to fill her vacant seat. Because of this, Padilla is running to finish this original term (November 9, 2022-January 2, 2023) and also win a separate election for a new full term beginning on January 3, 2023. He's been a capable junior senator, working to protect California from regressive policies in Washington. Meanwhile, his opponent is a dyed-in-the-hood bigoted Republican who cares more about controlling people than fighting for their constitutional rights.
Well, that's it for my voter guide for the 2022 general election! I hope y'all find it useful, but please take it only as my 2¢. Ultimately, I just hope everyone votes, because our democracy works best when everyone participates.
*Standard caveats: I have not received in fact or in promise any money from any candidate. I have not received in fact or in promise a vote for a specific interest that would benefit me financially or professionally. I have no financial interest, such as a business or investment, that would directly profit from any of the ballot propositions or measures. While these represent my votes for the 2022 general election, my support is not uncritical or unconditional. I reserve the right to modify and/or withdraw it at any time for any reason with or without notice, based on any information or based on no information. Further, the reasons given below for my votes are not meant to be comprehensive and I do not guarantee their accuracy beyond that I believe they are true to the best of my knowledge at the time they were written. Lastly, my opinion is solely my own and should not be misconstrued as the stance of my employer, nor should it be misconstrued as the stance of any group I am affiliated with, except to the extent that we share similar goals or values for our society.*
*Tl;Dr — Thomas over Azevedo, Reynes, Bowen, Aguilar, Dean, Duncan, Simon, Udemezue, Lopez, Syed, Twu, Price, Kaplan, Ortega, Lee, Padilla, Lieber, Lara, Bonta, Ma, Cohen, Weber, Kounalakis, Newsom, and retain all judicial officers. Yes on 1, 26, 28, 29, 30, 31, and D. No on 27.*
Take note and take care.
Take note and take care.
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