Election Guide 2012

THE ELECTION ISSUE A

lmost exactly four years ago, on the night of Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2008, Santa Cruz's Pacific Avenue erupted into celebration when a Democratic senator from Illinois named Barack Obama won the United States presidency. Cars were stalled in the middle of the street as throngs of people cheered, hugged strangers, and waved victory signs. It's hard to believe it has been four years, and it feels, at times, as if we have heard about nothing but this current election from the national media for a good chunk of that period. The last few months, in particular, have been a barrage of poll results, campaign ads, hyper-punditry, and gaffes-turned-memes ("Binders Full of Women," anyone?).

Other than being glad for a respite from those, there’s no telling how you will feel when it’s all said and done. But one way to make sure you feel good at the ballot box on election day—Tuesday, Nov. 6—is to come prepared. That's where our Election Issue comes in. Peruse the following pages for a breakdown of key local races, measures, state propositions, and more, and pump yourself up for the big day. See you at the voting booth.

—Elizabeth Limbach, news editor

For more information, visit these nonpartisan websites: Official Voter Information Guide: voterguide.sos.ca.gov Legislative Analyst's Office: lao.ca.gov California Budget Project: cbp.org Easy Voter Guide: easyvoterguide.org

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Election Guide / National

A Nation At Wits’ End?

The Youth Vote

able. And, maybe that’s not such a bad thing.

Let’s face it: we’re pros at moving through and beyond the most ominous of challenges—from the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake to today’s more recent efforts by the City of Santa Cruz to boost the local economy in big ways. (Although … somebody—and not The City—did drop the ball big time with that La Bahia fiasco a few years back.)

That said, it’s how we maneuver through the discomforts that illuminate our true character. We can either overreact like frightened children who can’t quit crying when confronted by our outmoded beliefs (see Mitt Romney, the GOP’s poster child this round) or, rather, at least attempt to keep an open mind and strive to explore the best possible options for the greater good. (If you haven’t read between the lines yet, we’re talking about President Barack Obama.)

Change isn’t often easy, but clearly, some type of change needs to happen if

ONLINE REGISTRATION COMES NOT A SECOND TOO SOON FOR COLLEGE KIDS THIS ELECTION Young people have the floor on social networking platforms, and politicians have taken note.

“If someone runs for office … and doesn’t have a Facebook page, I don’t know what [they think] they’re

America is to venture forth into a future that is more economically sound. And that is really what this year’s presidential election all seems to boil down to—the economy. So, which presidential candidate can we trust the most to steer us down the best path?

Whatever side of the political fence you sit on, GT would not be serving you fully if we didn’t remind you to do one very important thing before you cast you vote: Listen to the two presidential candidates. Listen to the way they speak. Listen to how they address the masses. Listen to how they speak to one another. Listen to how they act when confronted. This may tell you more about each man than anything their political ads are spoon-feeding America—or how today’s network and cable media outlets spin things. (When did the news become all about the anchor’s opinion?)

Know this: Both candidates are not immune to criticism—Romney for his ques-

doing,” says 20-year-old president of UC Santa Cruz College Democrats, Max Perrey. “But to some degree, a Facebook ‘like’ doesn’t equal a vote.”

The political process in California advanced further into cyberspace this election with the rise of online voter registration.

Since online voter registration began on Sept. 19, more than 400,000 state residents have taken advantage of it—with roughly 5,000 of them hailing from Santa Cruz County alone. Specially designed for young adult use, Santa Cruz County Clerk Gail Pellerin says that a large portion of online registrants are under 26 years old. Statistically

speaking, these voters are more likely to register as Democrat or Independent than Republican.

UCSC, along with other California colleges and universities, has worked in earnest to foster a culture of student voters. Interest has no doubt been fueled in part by the high stakes associated with Proposition 30. Following a wave of on-campus forums, debates, and voter registration events, UCSC will provide five polling locations on-campus. Groups like California College Democrats and CALPIRG have dispensed voting pledges—and will be sending reminder emails and text messages as a follow-up.

tionable stance on women’s issues, healthcare, the environment and his seemingly savage desire to funnel more money toward the nation’s most wealthy (read up on all that Bain banter); and Obama, for often appearing to arrive too late in the game on pertinent issues ranging from foreign policy and LGBT civil rights to boosting job growth. (To be fair, during his term in office, the man did oversee the capture and execution of Osama bin Laden, eliminate Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, come out in support of gay marriage, and, well, give birth to that contentious thing the Far Right so vigilantly opposes: Obamacare.)

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 6. Picture what candidate you would like to see serving the country—and serving you—for the next four years. Your one simple action matters: Vote. | Greg Archer

Now more akin to creating an email account than navigating the DMV, the online voter registration’s streamlined approach comes at a time when youth voter apathy concerns are surfacing in polls and editorials nationwide.

Nelson Tsai, 21, attends Cabrillo College and says a lot of his friends feel disillusioned with the elections.

“In 2008, Obama ran a flawless, top-of-the line campaign using social media to reach young people,” Tsai says, “But, honestly, the reason I’m voting for Obama is because I can’t let Romney win.” | KellyAnn Kelso

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f there’s one thing we’ve learned over the last four years, it may be that nobody seems to really know what kind of economic Lexapro to offer an America suffering from severe financial mood swings. And these days—sadly—more than ever before, all things seem to boil down to one word: Money. Where is it? Who has it?

How will America move into a bright new future with enough of it?

The green stuff is good—jobs are good—and we all benefit from a healthy economy. But at what emotional cost? How much longer will we allow ourselves to be connected to the corporate umbilical cord?

Maybe the nation can take a clue from Santa Cruz. After all, we are a people who don’t mind picking emotional lint out of our navels and, for the most part, many of us seem to embrace the idea that while change and growth are often good things, sometimes, they don’t always feel that comfort-

Election Guide / Santa Cruz

. Santa Cruz City Council MEET THE EIGHT CANDIDATES RUNNING FOR SANTA CRUZ CITY COUNCIL

In the final run-up to the Nov. 6 election, Good Times connected with each of the eight candidates running for four open seats on the Santa Cruz City Council about their positions on four of the most salient issues facing our city: jobs and the local economy, traffic and trans-

Jake Fusari

Don Lane

Cynthia Mathews

ECONOMY: Pamela Comstock, the operations manager at a Scotts Valley tech company, former downtown business owner and co-founder of the Take Back Santa Cruz group, has made support for local businesses and attracting new ones the center of her campaign. Comstock plans to create job growth by making downtown easier to navigate, improving safety and meeting businesses’ needs. She says she will also encourage community members to spend their money on local services and goods.

She wants to create a Business Advisory Council that will share information about local economic developments.

ECONOMY: Carpenter Jake Fusari, who is the youngest of the candidates at 28 years old and is running on a shoestring budget, feels his youth is an asset and that it reflects his personal investment in the future of Santa Cruz. Fusari says he will work closely with large businesses like Costco and the Santa Cruz Seaside Company and learn how Santa Cruz can better accommodate them.

He says he would also be proactive in bringing new businesses to the city and make it clear that Santa Cruz is “open for business.”

His goal is to make Santa Cruz a viable place for college graduates to return home to and be able to find jobs, start businesses, buy homes and raise families—something he says is looking less and less like a realistic option for young people.

ECONOMY: Currently serving as mayor of

ECONOMY: Veteran Santa Cruz politician Cynthia Mathews has served four terms as a Santa Cruz City councilmember and three terms as mayor, a career that began in 1992. She aims to improve the Santa Cruz economy by focusing on funding for the city’s Economic Development Department and reaching out to business owners and leaders in different sectors to identify and address their main concerns. Mathews says she aims to partner the city with other groups to create an environment where a variety of industries can succeed. By helping local businesses flourish, she says she can help lower the unemployment rate, which will, in turn, improve public safety—a key issue for her.

bicyclists on Bay and Mission streets is a priority for her, as is conserving and revitalize areas such as Pogonip and the San Lorenzo River Levee.

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HOMELESSNESS: Comstock says she wants to dispel misconceptions about homelessness and make sure people who need help are getting it in ways that do not enable criminal behavior. She supports the 180/180 campaign, which aims to house 180 of the most vulnerable homeless people in the county, as well as the Homeward Bound Project, which sends transients back to their previous places of residence.

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WATER: Comstock supports Measure P,

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which guarantees the community’s right to vote on desal, and is reserving an opinion on a desalination plant until the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) is finished, though she does not believe the community will go for desal.

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The candidate roster comprises incumbent Lane and former three-time mayor and fourterm councilwoman Cynthia Mathews, and newcomers Micah Posner, Jake Fusari, Pamela Comstock, Steve Pleich, Cece Pinheiro and Richelle Noroyan. | JOEL HERSCH

Pamela Comstock

TRANSPORTATION: Improving safety for

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portation, homelessness and water.

Four of the council’s seven seats will become available as councilmen Ryan Coonerty and Tony Madrigal term-out, and Mayor Don Lane and Councilwoman Katherine Beiers end their four-year terms.

TRANSPORTATION: He wants to improve safety for bicyclists and pedestrians and work for a better transit system between the downtown and UC Santa Cruz. He supports the widening of Highway 1 and says improving the intersection at highways 1 and 9 will improve traffic flow for the entire county. He says creating an Eastern Access route into UCSC through Pogonip is neither realistic nor worth it.

HOMELESSNESS: Fusari talks about his interest in pursuing new homeless service programs through the city that help to rehabilitate and connect the homeless with employers.

WATER: He supports Measure P and opposes the desal option, favoring further research into water catchment systems and greywater recycling.

Santa Cruz, Lane is noted by many for his work helping people to transition out of homelessness, though his current campaign places improving the economy front and center. He is an advocate of the city’s new online system for entrepreneurs, Open Counter, which aims to cut down on the confusion and bureaucracy associated with starting small businesses in Santa Cruz. He also cites his work in bringing the Santa Cruz Warriors D-league basketball team to town, which he says will help to increase tourism revenue during the winter months, create new jobs, revitalize lower Pacific Avenue and help to bridge the beachfront with the downtown.

TRANSPORTATION: To address traffic concerns and reduce carbon emissions, Lane wants to focus on the continued development of city bike and pedestrian paths.

HOMELESSNESS: A leading voice on homeless issues, Lane emphasizes less focus on temporary sheltering and more permanent supportive housing solutions, like those put forth by the 180/180 campaign.

WATER: Lane sees the prospect of a desalination plant as the most likely way to get Santa Cruz its reliable water source. Lane is indifferent about Measure P because he says the city council “already adopted an ordinance guaranteeing people the right to vote on desal.” At a recent candidates’ forum on water, Lane suggested a test year for Santa Cruz to reduce water consumption to verify their need of an alternative water source like desal.

TRANSPORTATION: Mathews is interested in improving the intersection where Highway 1 meets Highway 9, promoting telecommuting jobs and taking other measures to reduce single-occupancy vehicle use.

HOMELESSNESS: Mathews discusses working more closely with other jurisdictions around the county so that the City of Santa Cruz does not bear the burden of homelessness disproportionately.

WATER: Mathews says she believes a desalination plant could be Santa Cruz’s best option to meet long-term water needs, saying she is concerned that other alternatives would not provide water security in a long-term drought, but she will make her final assessment after the EIR is released.

Mathews, like Lane, says Measure P is unnecessary.

Election Guide / Santa Cruz

Visit gtweekly.com to see photos of the candidates as babies.

. Santa Cruz City Council

Richelle Noroyan

Cece Pinheiro

Steve Pleich

Micah Posner

ECONOMY: Former Santa Cruz County Democratic Party leader Richelle Noroyan aims to jumpstart the economy by improving tourist services so visitors stay longer. She also wants to re-assess signage so people can better navigate the city and find the local businesses where they want to shop. She says she wants to coordinate more closely with UCSC graduates working in the video gaming industry and find ways to encourage them to build their businesses in Santa Cruz rather than in Silicon Valley.

ECONOMY: Pinheiro, who runs the nonprofit Special Parents Information Network, says her campaign is focused on economic prosperity. She is a proponent of bringing the National Human Genome Research Institute to UCSC, which she hopes will draw a new wave of scientific industry to Santa Cruz. She also talks about creating a program, called “Education Tourism,” using Kickstarter.com that brings professionals from all over to do continuing education studies in Santa Cruz. Her aim is to boost this kind of tourism in Santa Cruz and encourage forming business incubators.

She also supports bringing the Warriors Dleague team coming to Santa Cruz, and says developments like this will help improve safety in the area. She would like to see the venue used for bands like Coldplay and celebrities such as the Dalai Lama and Stephen Hawking.

ECONOMY: Second-time city council candidate Pleich, who has lived in his Tioga Montara motor home for 13 years, says investing in the next wave of tech-oriented graduates is a viable way to improve the local economy. Pleich wants to streamline the city’s permitting process for getting small businesses started. He says he is also a proponent of the Blue/Green Jobs Initiative, which will use existing city dollars to create a community-based Conservation Corps. to provide jobs for local residents and increase water sustainability.

ECONOMY: Micah Posner, the former

to improving traffic flow will be to set up a public transportation route that does not share the road with cars, such as a public transit line along the rail trail corridor. She does not support an Eastern Access road to the university and instead suggests a sky tram, which she says could become a tourist attraction in itself.

HOMELESSNESS: Noroyan says homelessness is a national problem that requires a national solution, and says she would attend national and state meetings on behalf of the city council in order to make homeless services a priority and petition the federal government for more assistance. She adds that she would also crack down harder on the behavior of transients in the downtown area.

WATER: Noroyan supports the city’s ongoing research on the desalination option but will not come out in favor or against it until she can read the EIR. She says that providing water to the community should be a city’s highest priority, but that she will not support a water alternative that does irreparable harm to the Monterey Bay. She opposes Measure P on grounds that the city council has already voted to allow the community to weigh in on desal.

TRANSPORTATION: She supports the purchase of the Branch Rail Line and believes it will help reduce traffic, and also promotes using motorcycles because of the way riders can navigate through traffic. She suggests more people ride motorcycles, motor scooters, electric bikes and use public transportation. Pinheiro also supports widening Highway 1 and converting Pacific Avenue into a one-way street along its entire length.

HOMELESSNESS: Pinheiro supports the 180/180 campaign but wants to add components, such as job placement.

WATER: Pinheiro says she is endorsed by Nemo—the Pixar clownfish—and Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax. Bottom line: she says she needs to see the EIR before she makes a decision on desal. She says yes on Measure P.

TRANSPORTATION: He talks about his interest in setting up a Personal Rapid Transit system in Santa Cruz, which could start with a gondola-like form of transportation to and from UCSC to reduce traffic.

He is opposed to an Eastern Access route to the university through Pogonip or Harvey West, citing environmental concerns. He is also against widening Highway 1.

HOMELESSNESS: Pleich, who is the director of the Homeless Persons Legal Assistance Project, wants to invest in services that help people transition out of homelessness and to stop the criminalization of homelessness. He expresses some concerns about the 180/180 campaign and says he does not believe there is enough funding to meet the campaign’s goals.

WATER: Pleich is one of the original members of the Right to Vote on Desal Coalition, which qualified Measure P for the ballot, and says he is not ready to consider desal as an option until all other alternatives, including water exchanges with neighboring districts and water neutral policies, have been researched and exhausted.

TRANSPORTATION: A key issue for Posner is encouraging people to use their cars less and pushing for larger and safer areas for bicycling. He says the RTC purchase of the Branch Rail Line is a positive step for the county and will influence the way Santa Cruz approaches environmentally friendly modes of transportation in the future.

HOMELESSNESS: He suggests increasing assistance for homeless people, primarily by directing more social workers and mental health experts to problem zones. To decrease crime, he says he wants to see improved collaboration between service providers, law enforcement and the city.

WATER: Posner is against the desalination plant option, which he calls a big government solution for a problem that is more closely tied to the way the community uses water. He says desal does not address the issue of water waste. He would be willing to use tax increases on water to change the way people use it. Posner supports Measure P, and if voters choose desal, he says he will support having a plant built.

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TRANSPORTATION: Noroyan says the key

director of bicycling advocacy group People Power, is known for his strong environmental values but also brings ideas about economic growth to the race. For example, he discusses an incremental relaxation of ordinances around small-plan development, such as adding rooms to houses, offering home-based business services and offstreet parking requirements. He says these plans would promote job growth, specifically by creating more job opportunities in construction and other trades. He proposes a single point of contact at the city’s Economic Development Department for new business applications.

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Election Guide / Watsonville

Watsonville Ushered In FOUR UNCONTESTED CANDIDATES HAVE A BIG JOB ON THEIR HANDS This year, the majority of Watsonville’s city council will come into office wholly uncontested. Two male incumbents and two new female candidates will glide from ballot box to council seat after the Nov. 6 election.

Candidates Lowell Hurst, Felipe Hernandez, Karina Cervantez and Trina Coffman-Gomez all have city government experience, from Hurst’s 20-plus years as a city councilmember to Coffman-Gomez’s two-year standing on the city planning commission.

In the landmark Voting Rights Act enforcement case Gomez vs. City of

Watsonville, the U.S. Appellant Court of the Ninth Circuit mandated that Watsonville needed to elect each councilmember from within each of seven district zones—two of those districts being predominantly Latino—to correct a documented pattern of white, northside candidates consistently achieving councilmember-ship over Latino candidates. Key to exposing the pattern was an apparent double standard—white candidates would be elected without prior city leadership experience, while Latino candidates lost out due to supposed lack thereof.

Toward the end of the case’s litigation, the Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989 did more to dig up the graves of discrimination entrenched in Watsonville’s agricultural foundation.

Of the many families left homeless by the disaster, the city struggled to aid their minority-majority, Spanishspeaking constituents—starting with

beefing up an inadequate amount of translators. The newly districted city council election later that year brought a much stronger Latino presence to the city council, which has held since.

Incumbent candidate Hurst says that while the earthquake threw the disparity within the community into crude focus, it “ended up sparking a big effort towards unity.” But today, he says, Watsonville faces another calamity, which, like the quake, is leaving no corner unstirred.

“There’s been a lot of history and a lot of water under the bridge since [the Loma Prieta earthquake],” Hurst says. “But the loss in employment, frozen-food worker jobs and the canning industry—that has had a pronounced effect in the community, and is a similar calamity. The economic downturn in the last few years, the outsourcing of manufacturing jobs, the erosion of the middle class … all that

Trina Coffman-Gomez has had a negative impact.”

Under a pressure cooker economy, Watsonville’s newest candidates echo a unanimous desire to develop the local economy through a variety of methods—none of which consistently draw high praise from all constituents of the city. Contested topics include Lowell Hurst land annexation, big-business development, downtown “face-lifts,” and affordable housing construction; it will be in the hands of Watsonville’s newest city council to synthesize the options that are in the best interest of the city as a whole.

“I know [the new candidates] are Karina Cervantez going to be responsive to the constituents,” Hurst says. “The focus will be on business and economic development … it’s going to be a new day in many respects.” |KK

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Election Guide / Capitola

Capitola’s Coachmen

Dennis Norton, Jacques Bertrand and Ed Bottorff all have hot-button Capitola issues on the brain—namely, the local economy, a dried-up rainyday fund, and visitor mobility—but their individual paths to basically similar stances differ, and it shows.

The three are running for two seats on the Capitola City Council.

A retired Alameda county firefighter, candidate Bottorff is a selfavowed “actions speak louder than words” kind of guy. While his threeyear residency barely holds a candle-

stick to Norton and Bertrand’s longtime residencies, Bottorff has served on multiple community committees and commissions, including the General Plan Advisory committee.

Bottorff’s straightforward approach likes to bottom line with clarity. In agreement with the contestants’ unanimous approval of Measure O, Bottorff says that raising sales tax in Capitola is plain “good economics.”

“Even though I’m registered Republican, we’re not talking about nationwide situations,” Bottorff says.

To correct the city’s revenue shortfall, Bottorff has also proposed refinancing the city’s loan on Pacific Cove Mobile Home Park and using assessment fees in “benefit districts.” Using the motto “right project—right place—right time,” to guide a Pacific

Cove long-term development strategy, Bottorff says he brings new ideas to the table and offers voters a “service-oriented” outlook.

City Treasurer Bertrand took a reluctant sabbatical from the campaign because of a foot injury. While Bertrand emerged from his “economic development” 2004 campaign unvictorious, his pro-business stance can hardly be dismissed in 2012.

“I see Capitola in competition with the other areas around here, and we need to push to get those economic dollars,” Bertrand says.

Bertrand hopes his San Francisco community organizing experience will prove a valuably unifying thread within the council.

“I do a lot of talking with people,” he says. “That’s why breaking my foot and ending up in the hospital

[for 10 days] is, to my chagrin, the worst possible thing that could have happened. When you go door to door—you really see everything … that’s how I find out what’s important with people.”

Forty-year resident and incumbent Norton has defended his notwithout-controversy seat without euphemism.

“The city can’t afford to pave any more [land] over with parking,” Norton says, who like his competitors, hopes to wed a need for parking with business expansion and a long-inthe-works hotel. Norton’s priority of fulfilling obligations to city employee pensions and maintaining services with an already reduced city staff puts “everything on the table,” should additional revenue fail to materialize.

Ed Bottorff

Dennis Norton

| KK Jacques Bertrand

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THREE MEN VIE FOR TWO SPOTS ON THE CAPITOLA CITY COUNCIL

Election Guide / Fifth District

Hammer vs. McPherson THE MEN AND SUPPORTERS BEHIND THE HEATED FIFTH DISTRICT SUPERVISOR RACE

T

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he race for county supervisor up in the “valleys” of the Fifth District is the last and most heated contest in this year’s county-level election cycle. Although both candidates—Eric Hammer and Bruce McPherson—have tried to keep mud off their hands, some of their supporters, this late in the campaign, are a little less nuanced.

“We don’t want to elect somebody who is basically running as an experienced Republican,” says long time Felton resident Peggy Waters, who is supporting Hammer.

Jim Reed, a Scotts Valley city councilmember who has endorsed McPherson says, “It’s true Bruce is a high-profile candidate. He’s a great listener and a centrist, and his opponent is somebody very few people even know.”

The race is between a well-liked Boulder Creek local, 43-year-old Hammer, who emphasizes his “passion” for the district in his first bid for a countyelected position, and the respected, accomplished former state lawmaker McPherson, 68, who is promoting his experience and ability to deliver, in what is widely expected to be his last elected office after more than 20 years in Sacramento-level politics.

Despite starkly different backgrounds, the candidates spoke of very similar priorities at a candidate forum at San Lorenzo Valley High School on Oct. 2. Both said the county’s mostly rural, mountainous district, which encompasses the San Lorenzo Valley, Scotts Valley and a small portion of north Santa Cruz, has been the neglected “fifth wheel” of county government that always seems to come up short getting its fair share of funding and county services. Both candidates agree the natural beauty of the district, especially the watershed of the San Lorenzo River, is its greatest asset and needs protection. Both claim they have deep roots in the community and know what constituents most want.

The key differences? Hammer stresses that he grew up in Boulder Creek and has a history of commitment to “the valley,” which he says began with his mother’s insistence he help river clean-up crews at the tender age of 6 years old. Hammer talks about his life-long experience in the valley, starting a family and growing a small construction company,

his key role in turning a dysfunctional Boulder Creek Parks District into an award-winning special district, as well as his leadership on several nonprofit boards that led many community improvement projects over the years.

McPherson touts his political experience and the extensive Rolodex of contacts at his disposal following a long career as a moderate Republican representing Santa Cruz County, including two terms in the State Assembly, two terms in the State Senate, and his tenure as California’s Secretary of State. McPherson was named by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and unanimously confirmed by both houses of the state legislature after his predecessor in that office resigned in 2005. McPherson subsequently lost his bid for a full term to Democrat Debra Bowen in 2006. Prior to his political career, McPherson was the longtime editor of the Santa Cruz Sentinel, which was then owned by his family.

Memories are long in the San Lorenzo Valley.

About 10 years ago, Barbara Sprenger was a key organizer of Friends of Locally Owned Water (FLOW), which led a successful David and Goliath fight to buy the Felton water system from a German multinational company. Sprenger is still miffed that McPherson, then serving as a State Senator, would not, she claims, schedule an appointment with her, much less help out with the fight.

In Sprenger’s view, the race, “feels like the established power structure versus a local, hardworking, grassroots candidate. My experience has been [that] you can count on Eric to listen, to roll his sleeves up, and get the job done without excuses,” she says. Hammer also has the endorsement of current Assemblymember Bill Monning, the Sierra Club, and the Santa Cruz Democratic Central Committee.

McPherson has an impressive list of endorsements, including Democratic Party heavyweight and U.S. Congressman John Garamendi, as well as the successor to his State Assembly seat and current Santa Cruz County Treasurer, Fred Keeley. In campaign handouts, Keeley writes, “Bruce cast the deciding vote in the Assembly to prevent offshore oil and gas drilling along the entire California coast.

In the Senate, Bruce co-authored the two largest park and environmental bonds in the nation’s history. Unequivocally, and without reservation, I am endorsing Bruce McPherson.”

According to Keeley, McPherson came “within a gnat’s eyelash” of winning the Fifth District race outright in the June primary, lacking only 97 votes for a “majority plus one” win. Since the primary, both candidates have doubled up on their walks through the district and person-to-person campaigning. | Patrick Dwire

Eric Hammer

Bruce McPherson

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Election Guide / Local Measures

Right to Vote on Desal Coalition members and allies pose at Mitchell Cove on Sunday, Oct. 7 to show their support for Measure P. Photo by Kelly Vander Kaay.

Measure P: SANTA CRUZ’S DESAL CHARTER AMENDMENT

THAT’S A FACT ELECTION-RELATED FACTOIDS COURTESY OF COUNTY CLERK GAIL PELLERIN

City Charter amendment before voters, and, if passed on election day, the amendment will become part of the City Charter, which the council cannot change without voter approval. The reasoning is explained thusly on their website: “While the Santa Cruz City Council approved an ordinance to put desal on the ballot … how democratic is it if the powers that be have the legal right to withdraw the ordinance before it’s voted on?”

Proponents of Measure P stress that it differs from the city’s already-in-place ordinance in another big way: while both would put construction of the plant before voters, the charter, if adopted via this elec-

148,361 people registered to vote in Santa Cruz County in 2008 146,936 people in Santa Cruz County registered for this year’s Presidential Primary

81,556 of voters in Santa Cruz county are registered as Democratic; 25,800 as Republican; 3,368 as Independent; and 3,061 as Green Party

tion, would also require voter approval (in a regularly scheduled election) before the city moves forward with operation, acquisition, or incurring debt related to desal.

Opponents of the measure—including many local officials—say it is unnecessary given the city’s prior action on this front. In regard to the RTVOD concern that a city ordinance is rescindable, Measure P opponents write in the ballot arguments that “no council ever elected in this town would reverse that decision.” Critics also claim that Measure P “muddies the waters about desalination” and confuses voters, who may think they are voting on whether or not they approve of desalination in gen-

52,817: the number of permanent vote-by-mail registrations in this year’s presidential primary—a record high for Santa Cruz County 0: the instances of voter fraud the county election department has counted to date

147: the number of military ballots issued for Santa Cruz County in 2008

65: the number of military ballots issued for Santa Cruz County in 2012 98,745 voters in Santa Cruz County voted for Barack Obama in 2008

25,244 voters in Santa Cruz County voted for John McCain in 2008 1,484 voters in Santa Cruz County voted for Ralph Nader in 2008

eral. The No on Measure P camp also points to the use of taxpayer money to put this “wasteful” initiative on the ballot (by County Clerk office estimates, it costs approximately $70,000 to do so) “even though it mirrors existing law.”

Endorsements for the measure include Sierra Club of Santa Cruz County, Save the Waves Coalition, Santa Cruz City Councilmember Katherine Beiers, Santa Cruz County Supervisor (and Assembly candidate) Mark Stone, and five city council candidates—Steve Pleich, Jake Fusari, Micah Posner, Pamela Comstock and Cece Pinheiro. Learn more at voteondesalsc.org and scwd2desal.org. | EL

110: the number of ballots turned in on this year’s first day of early voting

17

86.65 percent: the county’s voter

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turnout in 2008

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100 percent: Gail Pellerin’s predicted (read: hoped-for) turnout for 2012.

She says, “there’s no excuse not to

vote.” | Lauren Schiff

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Earlier this year, amidst escalating tensions over the city’s proposed desalination plant, the Santa Cruz City Council passed an ordinance that would require voter approval of construction on the desal plant. But the ordinance just wasn’t good enough for the folks behind the Right to Vote on Desal Coalition, the local group that was already mobilizing at that time.

The group went forward with its ballot initiative, which now sits before voters as Measure P. The main complaint from Measure P supporters is that future city councils could simply change the ordinance. They favor a stricter guarantee that voters will get a say: Measure P places a

Election Guide / Local Measures MEASURES

L/M

Two of the local measures—L and M—are geared toward improving ailing schools.

Measure L / Pajaro Valley Unified School District

Tide Chart LOW TIDE

NOVEMBER 2012

HIGH TIDE

AM Ht. PM Ht. AM Ht. PM 7:13 0.0 1:22 3.8 (11:45 01 Th 5:44 2.8 02 F 6:19 2.9 7:56 0.1 2:13 3.7 12:19 0.3 3:09 3.7 12:57 03 Sa 7:01 3.1 8:43 Pacific Standard Time Starts Sunday, November 4 – 2:00am 04 Su 6:59 3.2 8:33 0.5 3:11 3.7 12:43 1:42 9:25 0.6 4:08 3.8 05 M 8:20 3.3 SUNRISE 6:36 - PST - SUNSET 5:06 0.7 4:54 4.0 2:57 06 Tu 9:51 3.1 10:17 5:30 4.3 4:19 07 W 11:08 2.6 11:05 0.9

Ht. 5.3) 5.1 4.9 4.6 4.3 4.1 3.9

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The Pajaro Unified School District (PVUSD) has a laundry list of needed repairs, from leaking roofs and old heating and cooling systems to aging bathrooms and accessibility issues. In an effort to raise money for these projects, PVUSD has proposed issuing up to $150 million in bonds that could not be taken by the state. The funds would only be used for these repairs and improvements, not for any staff salaries, and would be subject to public oversight and annual audits. (The full school-by-school project list can be found at votescount.com.) The interest and principal would be paid for by a property tax levied within the district, which is estimated at .038 percent per year. In the initiative language, PVUSD Superintendent Dorma Baker says that safety and efficiency upgrades will save roughly $1 million annually, and increase local property values. Opponents cite the poor economy and call the property tax increase that would result from voter approval of Measure L, which requires a 55 percent majority to pass, an unfair tax burden. They also suggest the district is not to be trusted, and highlight that this is the largest local bond measure proposed in the county’s history. The measure also has drawn criticism from The Senior Coalition because the property tax will still apply to those on a fixed income. Proponents counter with the fact that $18.5 million has been cut from PVUSD in the last five years, and that every penny from this measure will go to children, who need better schools in order to be prepared for college and eventually enter the workforce.

Measure M / Pacific Elementary School District Measure M is an $830,000 Pacific Elementary School District Bond Measure, to be voted on and, if passed, funded by property owners within that district.

Supported by principal and superintendent Eric Bitter, the bonds’ interest will accrue an estimated .03 percent property tax for 2013-2014, and will in exchange help repair and replace aging roofs, a portable classroom, and improve student access to technology. Like Measure L, the funding would not go to teaching or administrative salaries. Measure M will also include a yearly independent citizens’ oversight committee.

Measure N / Santa Cruz County The county’s current 9.5 percent transient occupancy tax (TOT) rate could climb to 11 percent, and the resulting $525,000 to $725,000 in revenue generated would funnel into the county’s general fund. TOT’s apply to those staying for 30 days or fewer in hotels, inns, motels, vacation homes and campsites, and, as the county’s third largest source of tax revenue, generate an average $4 million each year. After initial discussion of raising TOT to as high as 12 percent, the county, lodging association, and Santa Cruz County Conference and Visitors Council agreed to cap the increase at 11 percent. Measure N would apply only to unincorporated areas of the county.

Measure O / City of Capitola Endorsed by each of Capitola’s city councilmembers and candidates, Measure O would permanently increase sales tax in Capitola by .025 percent, raising it from 8.25 to 8.5 percent. Revenue would be funneled into Capitola’s general fund—but city leaders have characterized that the revenue won’t sit around, waiting to be spent. Longtime councilmember and candidate in this election Dennis Norton says the money will immediately relieve the depleted reserves of the city, which were milked after flooding last spring. “It really is necessary, especially for Capitola which is prone to natural disasters,” Norton says. Proponents have argued that the

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Local Measures

majority of Measure O’s benefits will come from visiting shoppers, while funding critical services such as the police and fire departments, repairing roads long overdue, and helping fulfill the city’s obligations to city employees. Criticized by some long-term residents for being another tax increase within a city already ahead of its local districts’ tax rates, some residents argue that city council members have not used current revenue wisely to fund community essentials and have instead opted for pension increases.

Measure Q / City of Santa Cruz If Measure Q passes, the City of Santa Cruz’s transient occupancy tax (TOT) would increase from 10 to 11 percent, applicable to residents of hotels, motels, inns, vacation homes and campsites. The measure marks a compromise agreement between the city council, hoteliers and the lodging association, as well as the Santa Cruz County Conference and Visitors Council (CVC). The increase would generate an estimated $470,000 yearly, marked for the city’s general fund. Hoteliers have also agreed to impose a $1-2 nightly assessment fee onto guests, the revenue from which will funnel back into the CVC’s promotion efforts. This will help to supplement a loss in funding from the city of Santa Cruz— willingly agreed to by the CVC in exchange for the 11 percent TOT. The measure has nearly unanimous support from the council, the lodging association, and the CVC.

MEASURE

R

Watsonville mobile home residents are making a preemptive effort to avoid the high-cost legal mess other cities have seen over lawsuits concerning those cities’ mobile home rent ordinances.

Watsonville residents passed their own Mobile Home Rent Stabilization Ordinance in 1996, and now have put Measure R, a “rent control preservation,” on the ballot, which proposes imposing a monthly fee on mobile home residents that would be used by the city to cover legal costs incurred by challenges to the city’s ordinance. While this charge would apply exclusively to mobile home residents, a Watsonville majority vote must approve the fee. If passed, the Rent Control Fee would be $5 monthly, increased annually as per the rate of inflation, to mobile home residents who receive rent stabilization defense benefits from the city—roughly 985 homes total. Failure to pay will not affect tenant standing within the mobile park, but the city may take legal action to collect the funds directly from the resident. The approximately $60,000 in revenue generated will also give mobile homeowners the ability to receive restitution for legal fees in contesting and recovering excess rent charged to them. | KK

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Election Guide / State Props PROP.

30

FIRED UP Gov. Jerry Brown pictured during a Yes on Prop. 30 rally at UC Santa Cruz on Friday, Oct. 26.

Photo by Keana Parker.

PROPOSITION 30

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Gov. Jerry Brown inherited a less than stellar budget situation when he took over the post almost two years ago—with a $25 billion budget deficit to close, it’s unsurprising that he’s had to make some pretty drastic decisions when it came to balancing the Golden State’s pocketbook. Proposition 30 falls in line with his campaign promise to not raise taxes on the public without it going to a vote: on Nov. 6, California voters will weigh in on whether or not to approve temporary tax increases in order to spare $6 billion in cuts to public education.

The ultimatum of whether to temporarily raise taxes or slash funding from education was built into Gov. Brown’s last state budget. If passed, Prop. 30 would mean a seven-year increase in personal income tax on individuals making more than $250,000 a year and couples making more than $500,000 a year, as well as a quarter-cent increase in sales tax for four years. Together, these would garner an estimated $6 to $8 billion for the state. The generated revenue would come out to just over half of what the state lost in 2010 and 2011 when three different taxes expired.

If it doesn’t pass, automatic budget cuts totaling $6 billion to public education would be triggered—$5.4 billion from schools and community colleges and $500 million from UCs and CSUs. At an Oct. 26 rally at UC Santa Cruz, Gov. Brown said that Prop. 30 is simple: “It’s money into our schools or money out,” he said. “When you vote for Prop. 30, you know exactly what you’re going to get.”

He went on to say that the impact of the increases will mostly be felt by those “at the top of the economic pyramid.”

The University of California system has seen its budget reduced by around 27 percent ($900 million) over the last four years. This has meant a 35 percent, or $59 million, decrease in UCSC’s state funding.

Results of UCSC’s cuts have included the elimination of funding for 14 percent of the school’s faculty positions, tuition hikes, and an 8 percent decrease in the number of undergraduate classes.

If Prop. 30 fails, the UC will be forced to make another $250 million in reductions this year and $125 million next year. UCSC spokesperson Jim Burns says it is unclear what this will mean for Santa Cruz’s “city on a hill,” because it is not known how much of the gap would be solved through tuition hikes. If it is not addressed via a tuition hike, Burns estimates that UCSC’s share of the cuts might total 6 percent of the entire shortfall.

In an interview with GT last fall, UCSC Chancellor George Blumenthal said this about the school’s budget situation: “I don’t think it’s at all obvious how we could cut more without seriously degrading the quality of the education we provide.

It’s impressive we’ve been able to do that so far.”

Community colleges like Cabrillo College receive around 60 percent of their funding from the state.

Students at these schools saw an 88.5 percent increase in student fees from 2010 to 2012. Due to budget cuts over recent years, Cabrillo has already seen 400 classes cut, tutoring staff, services and hours shrunk, and about 95 staff jobs eliminated. If Prop. 30 does not pass, Cabrillo will have to reckon with an additional 7.3 percent budget cut. According to the Cabrillo College Federation of Teachers, this would manifest as cutting one in 13 classes, eliminating five “average-sized” programs or majors, and losing space for 780 full-time students.

As for long-term effects, Cabrillo College

Election Guide / State Props

PROPOSITION 32 This heated campaign has pitted corporations against unions and union supporters, and revealed what the latter group is calling an overt attempt to silence the voice of working people in the political process.

Dubbed the “Paycheck Protection Initiative,” the proposition is advertised as a campaign finance initiative. If passed, it would prohibit labor unions, corporations, and government contractors from using payroll deductions to raise money for political purposes or from making direct contributions to candidates and candidates’ committees. It’s worth noting, however, that most corporations and government contractors do not use payroll deductions to raise money for political purposes. Labor unions do, although the deductions are optional for members.

The League of Women Voters and Common Cause—both non-partisan government reform groups—have come out against Prop. 32, explaining their belief that it would increase the political power of corporations and large businesses. The proposition does not inhibit any contributions to so-called Super PACs or independent expenditure committees.

In a July interview with GT , Assemblymember Bill Monning said the passage of Prop. 32 would mean “game over for unions.”

“It’s not a level playing field currently,” Monning said. “You take that right away from working people and unions in California and not only is it game over for unions, it’s game over for democracy in the state.

The stakes are very high.”

Funding for the No on 32 campaign has come mostly from public sector unions and totaled around

POLLS: An Oct. 25 Los Angeles Times poll showed 46 percent of likely voters supported Prop. 30 and 42 percent opposed it. The proposition fared much better in the polls earlier in the year, with as much as 57.5 percent support earlier this fall. The latest poll reported that 41.7 percent of respondents opposed the measure.

ENDORSEMENTS: The California Democratic Party, California League of Women Voters, the California Budget Project, California Civil Rights Coalition, Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors, the ACLU, California Labor Federation, and education entities including the California Community Colleges Board of Governors, California Faculty Association, California Federation of Teachers, Higher Education Coalition, Santa Cruz County Office of Education Superintendent Michael Watkins, the UCSC Alumni Association, and University of California Regents.

OPPOSITION: Opponents include the California Taxpayer Protection Committee, Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, National Federation of Independent Business California, and the Small Business Action Committee.

LEARN MORE: yesonprop30.com, stopprop30.com. For a non-partisan comparison of Prop. 30 and Prop. 38, visit edsource.org/infographicinitiatives.html. | EL

$59 million as of press time. The backer to know on the Yes on 37 side is Charles Munger Jr., son of the vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and brother of Molly Munger, the person behind Prop. 38 (the bill directly competing with Gov. Brown’s tax initiative, Prop. 30). As of late October, Munger had given $35.9 million to the Small Business Action Committee, which is campaigning for Prop. 32 and against Prop.

30. The amount raised by the PAC includes millions in donations from groups with ties to billionaire GOP donors Charles and David Koch.

Prop. 32 follows in the footsteps of two previous California ballot initiatives aimed at regulating or limiting payroll deductions for political purposes: Prop.

226 in 1998 and Prop. 75 in 2005, both of which were defeated with around a 53 opposed/46 percent supporting margin.

POLLS: A late October survey by The Public Policy Institute of California reported 53 percent of respondents opposed Prop. 32, while 39 percent supported it.

ENDORSEMENTS: Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, National Federation of Independent Business - California, California Business Alliance, and the California Taxpayer Protection Committee.

OPPOSITION: ACLU California, California Tax Reform Association, National Organization for Women, California, California Public Interest Research Group, League of Women Voters of California, Public Campaign Action Fund, California Federation of Teachers, Sierra Club California, California Democratic Party, and many labor groups, from AFSCME to SEIU. LEARN MORE: yesprop32, votenoon32.org. | EL and PD

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President Brian King ruminated in a fall 2011 interview with GT that, “As people are being priced out at CSU or UC, the thought is ‘well, we can go to the community college,’ but as we’re being squeezed for resources, the tragedy is that some students aren’t finding a place.” The Yes on 30 campaign had raised $61.8 million as of press time.

At the heart of the opposition argument is a Grover Norquist-esque abhorrence for tax increases, as well a concern that state legislators and special interests will take the new revenue to “spend as they please,” according to stopprop30.com, the website for the Californians for Reforms and Jobs, Not Taxes coalition. (Gov. Brown stresses that Prop. 30 funding will be subject to an annual audit—available to the public—to ensure it’s going to public education and public safety, as advertised). Opponents argue that the measure will destroy small businesses and “kill jobs.” The opposition camp, which has dubbed the prop “the $50 billion tax hike,” had raised more than $52 million, although around $40 million of that was given to the Small Business Action Committee, which both supports Prop. 32 and opposes Prop. 30.

Prop. 30 has competition on the ballot, as well, in form of Prop. 38, which also claims to benefit public schools. See page 24 for more information on Prop. 38.

Election Guide / State Props

PROPOSITION 37

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The rest of the country is watching closely to see if California will become the first state to pass a law requiring that foods containing genetically modified ingredients (GMOs) include that information on their packaging.

Nearly 20 other states have failed at previous attempts to enact GMO labeling laws, and the Just Label It campaign has filed a petition with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for GMO labeling nationwide. The European Union and countries including China, Brazil and Japan already have GMO labeling laws in place.

Iowa-based Jeffrey Smith, who is perhaps the nation’s leading anti-GMO activist, dubbed California the battleground state. Though the California law, if enacted, would take effect in 2014, Smith suspects that the “consumer tipping point” will have happened by then. “There’s a race between labeling and a consumer tipping point—I don’t know which will hit first,” he told GT earlier this year.

At a Thursday, Oct. 25 talk in Santa Cruz, bestselling author Michael Pollan called Prop. 37 “a nationwide issue.”

Santa Cruz County, in particular, has become a hotbed for the movement to label GMOs. One hundred volunteers with the group GMO-Free Santa Cruz gathered 15,544 signatures to help land Prop. 37—the Mandatory Labeling of Genetically Engineered Food Initiative—on the ballot. (One million signatures were collected throughout the state.)

More than 80 percent of packaged foods are estimated to contain GMOs, according to most estimates, and, according to a June ABCNews.com poll, 93 percent of people say they support GMO labeling. Fifty-seven percent of respondents in that poll reported that they would be less likely to buy something if they knew it contained GMO ingredients.

In light of evidence that some consumers, when given the information, will reject products containing GMOs, the massive opposition campaign, fueled and funded mainly by Monsanto (the king of GMOs), reveals a fear that giving consumers the “right to know” could translate into decreased sales. The opposition claims that the initiative is “a deceptive, deeply flawed food labeling scheme” that will create undue bureaucracy, lawsuits and increased food costs. As anyone who has seen a No on 37 commercial knows, they also stress that the proposition contains suspicious special interest exemptions, such as requiring dog food to be labeled but not regular meat, or soy milk but not cow’s milk.

GMO-Free Santa Cruz co-leader Tarah Locke recently told GT that this argument is factually unsound and aimed at confusing and distracting voters. “To be accepted as a proposition, and have a chance of passing, the bill must be about only one subject: any crops or animals

that are genetically engineered,” she said. “Dairy and meat are not genetically engineered themselves, however there is GMO salmon that would be required to be labeled if this [bill] passes. When the opposition’s ad say that soy milk would have to be labeled, but regular milk not, it is because 90 percent of the soy crops are genetically engineered, [and] cows are not. Same with their ad of dog food ... dog food contains GMO soy/corn/canola and sugar beets, and meat is meat. … This is directly from the playbook of the PR agencies that delayed getting a label on a pack of cigarettes for 25 years.”

At the Oct. 25 event, Pollan said, “Big Food knows what’s at stake with this, and that is why they’re spending [so much].”

Locke and other local “right to know” activists hope the opposition’s political and financial sway won’t mislead voters; the fact remains that the approximately $6.7 million spent on the Yes on 37 campaign pales in comparison to the opposition’s $40.6 million. “Thanks to biotech’s deep-rooted myths and now spreading its [more than] $34 million in lies on Californian’s TV screens, airwaves and mailboxes, there are so many misconceptions of GMOs and Prop. 37,” she said. “I hope all California voters will listen to the truths and take a stand that we have a right to know what is in our food, just like the more than 40 other countries around the world.”

Prop. 37 would also prohibit products with genetically altered ingredients from using the word “natural” in the description.

POLLS: Although it boasted a two-to-one margin earlier this year, Prop. 37 had a 44 percent support level as of late-October, according to a poll by the Los Angeles Times and University of Southern California.

ENDORSEMENTS: Carighttoknow.org reports having more than 2,500 organizations and professionals who have endorsed this proposition, including: Sierra Club, Whole Foods Market, Organic Consumers Association, the California Nurses Association, the California Democratic Party, California Labor Federation, and the American Public Health Association. Locally, supporters include New Leaf Community Markets, Staff of Life, Slow Food Santa Cruz, Ecology Action, Happy Boy Farm, Route 1 Farms, and Swanton Berry Farm. The Santa Cruz City Council and Santa Cruz Board of Supervisors have also endorsed Prop. 37.

OPPOSITION: Biotech giant Monsanto leads the opposition pack, with help from other big donors DuPont and Grocery Manufacturers Association. The 40 or so other donors include many familiar faces from Big Ag, biotech and the food industry, like PepsiCo., Kraft Foods, and General Mills, Inc. LEARN MORE: carighttoknow.org, justlabelit.org, facebook.com/nongmosantacruz, noprop37.com. | EL

Election Guide / State Props PROP.

33

PROPOSITION 31

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including the California Democratic Party, AFSCME, California Federation of Teachers, California Labor Federation, Consumers Union, and SEIU. Learn more at yesprop33.com and stopprop33.org.

Proposition 31, the “Two-Year State Budget Cycle” initiative, is an attempt at reforming—or starting to reform—a messy state government by the group, California Forward, that also brought us initiatives for the top-two primary and the citizens’ redistricting commission, both of which were passed by voters. It has several pieces, but chief among them are that it would: establish a two-year state budget cycle, as opposed to our current one-year system; give the governor the ability to make spending cuts “in an emergency” if the legislature fails to act; require the legislature to determine a funding source (or way to offset costs) if they want to create an ongoing program that would cost $25 million or more annually; and require a three day advance public notice of any bills before they are voted on in the state legislature. There’s a local government component, too: it would give local governments some ability to change laws concerning how state-funded programs apply to them. California Forward’s Prop. 31 has endorsers including the California Business Roundtable and California Chamber of Commerce. Opponents include AFSCME, the California Democratic Party, the California Federation of Teachers, the California League of Women Voters and the Sierra Club. Learn more at accountableca.org and prop31facts.com.

Thirteen inmates have been executed since Prop. 7 reinstated the death penalty in 1978. If passed, this year’s “Death Penalty Initiative Statute” would make California the 18th state to outlaw the death penalty.

Prop. 34 would apply retroactively to the 725 people already on California’s death row, adjusting their sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole. It would also require people convicted of murder to work while incarcerated and use those wages to “pay courtordered restitution to victims.” The measure also directs $100 million in grants to local law enforcement over the next four years to aid them in solving homicides and rapes. Nicholas Pritzker, of the Hyatt hotel empire, is a top donor, and supporters include Human Rights Watch, the Feminist Majority Foundation, the California Democratic Party, California Civil Rights Coalition, and the ACLU of California. Former California Gov. Pete Wilson opposes Prop. 34, as does the California Republican Party. Learn more at safecalifornia.org and waitingforjustice.net.

PROPOSITION 33

PROPOSITION 35

The “Automobile Insurance Discount Act” comes to us courtesy of billionaire Mercury Insurance chairman George Joseph, who was behind similar Prop. 17 in 2010, which failed. Prop. 33 purports to save consumers money on car insurance by changing the law to allow providers to adjust rates based on whether a customer previously had insurance. Critics, who point out that Prop. 33 is “industry-backed,” feel the measure is an attack on protections consumers won when Prop. 103 passed in 1988. Joseph’s supporters for Prop. 33 include the California Republican Party, former Democratic Speaker of the Assembly Willie Brown and former Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante. Stop Prop. 33 is lead by the Consumer Watchdog Campaign, and has endorsements

PROPOSITION 34

This initiative aims to beef up laws against human trafficking by increasing punishments for human traffickers, broadening the definition of human trafficking, and by requiring all traffickers to register as sex offenders and disclose their Internet accounts. Critics say the well-intentioned initiative is flawed in its broad wording and would actually harm victims of human trafficking while ensnaring innocent people and making some consensual activities illegal. Prop. 35 is spearheaded by Californians Against Slavery and has endorsements from both the California Democratic and Republican parties. The opposition argument comes from ESPLER Project Inc., a group for people who provide erotic services professionally or are a part of that industry; No. on 35

Election Guide / State Props

A second proposition aimed at funding public schools? You heard right. If you are inclined to vote yes on both Prop. 30 and Prop. 38, you may want to take a closer look at each and choose between them—if both pass, whichever receives the most votes will become law, and the other will not. Prop.

38, the “Local School and Early Education Investment and Bond Debt Reduction Act,” would raise personal income tax on Californians making more than $7,346 (from increases of .04 percent on lowest wage earners to 2.2 percent on highest wage earners) for 12 years. Prop. 38 would generate around $10 billion a year through 2024, with 30 percent of that money going to paying down the state’s bond debt for the first four years. Revenues for schools will arrive at public K-12 schools starting in the 2013-2014 school year. (If Prop. 38 prevails, the $6 billion in public school budget cuts triggered by Prop. 30’s failure would already be enacted by this time.) Preschool spending and early childhood programs would get a boost, and revenues would go straight to K-12 schools—not to districts or to community colleges, as Prop. 30 revenue would.

The Yes on 38 campaign (led by wealthy Southern California civil rights attorney Molly Munger—sister to Charles Munger Jr., the man behind Prop. 32) argues that Prop. 38 is superior because it guarantees that tax revenues go directly to public schools, not to the state’s general fund, as resulting revenues from Prop. 30 would. The opposition has dubbed Prop. 38 a middle-class income tax hike, and points to the fact that the measure’s revenues would be “locked” in until 2024 as a possible flaw, arguing that it’s unwise to prohibit the initiative

Prop. 39 would require businesses that operate in multiple states to pay income taxes based on their sales in the state, closing what supporters call a loophole that “gives corporations the option to reduce their California income taxes by moving jobs and investments to other states.” California would see about $1 billion in new revenues if Prop. 39, the “Clean Energy and Energy Efficiency Initiative,” passes— about half of which would go to alternative energy and energy-efficiency projects over the course of the next five years. On the pro side, this is seen as a way to close a corporate tax loophole and bring jobs back into the state. On the con side, it’s seen as an unfair burden on job creators. Supporters include the California Tax Reform Association, the California National Organization for Women, AFSCME, California Labor Federation, Monterey Bay Central Labor Council, and Sierra Club of California. The opposition side isn’t so visible—just an “under construction” website and five major corporations that announced they wouldn’t lead an opposing campaign, after all. Learn more at cleanenergyjobsact.com and stop39.com.

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PROPOSITION 40 Back in 2008, California voters approved the creation of the Citizens Redistricting Commission, an independent board that would be in charge of drawing the state’s legislative districts. (In 2010, voters extended that so that the commission also took over drawing California congressional districts). Prop. 40—which asks voters to approve or reject the commissiondrawn state senate districts—came about because of a group of Republican lawmakers who thought the newly drawn senate districts were unfair. In January, the California Supreme Court ruled that the districts were, in fact, fair and would be used. The original opponents have backed down, stating in the official ballot language, “our intention was to overturn the commission’s State Senate districts for 2012.

However, due to the State Supreme Court’s ruling that kept these districts in place for 2012, we have suspended our campaign and no longer seek a NO vote.”

Despite this, supporters explain that a yes vote is still needed in order for the Citizens Redistricting Commission state senate districts to remain. Learn more at holdpoliticiansaccountable.org and fairdistricts2012.com. | EL

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PROPOSITION 38

PROPOSITION 39

Caring People...Caring for Pets

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Prop. 36 asks Californians to take another look at the current “three strikes law,” which gives life sentences to offenders with two serious or violent felonies who commit any third felony. If Prop. 36 passes, criminals with two previous violent or serious convictions would receive shorter sentences if they commit a third, non-violent crime. Also, those serving life sentences for having committed a third non-serious/non-violent crime may be resentenced for shorter prison terms. If passed, the state would see estimated savings of $70 million per year, and up to $90 million down the road. Supporters (a group that ranges from the ACLU of California and social justice activists like Van Jones and Geoffrey Canada to Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist) hail Prop. 36 as a much-needed tweak to the three strikes law that refocuses it on violent criminals (rapists, murderers, etc.) and saves the state money.

Opponents feel Prop. 36 would make California soft on crime, and are fearful that it would keep many violent offenders on the streets. Groups including the California District Attorneys Association, California Police Chiefs Association, and California State Sheriff’s Association, have come out against Prop. 36. Learn more at fixthreestrikes.org and savethreestrikes.org.

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PROPOSITION 36

to be legislatively changed even if the economy picks up or in the case of “fraud, waste or abuse.”

Endorsers include the PTA, California School Boards Association, Santa Cruz City Councilmember Tony Madrigal, and the California Civil Rights Coalition. Opponents include the California Democratic Party, California Labor Federation, SEIU, California Chamber of Commerce, California Farm Bureau, Green Party, Peace and Freedom Party and the Libertarian Party.

Learn more at prop38forlocalschools.org and stopthemiddleclasstaxhike.com. Visit edsource.org/infographic-initiatives.html for a non-partisan infographic that compares Prop. 38 and Prop. 30.

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supporters include the California Association for Criminal Justice and the Peace and Freedom Party.

Learn more at caseact.org and esplerp.org.

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Election Guide / State & National

FREE WAX

18TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT THE DISTRICT: A new district that includes pieces of Santa Cruz County (Scotts Valley, Ben Lomond and Davenport), as well as portions of San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.

THE CANDIDATES: Democratic incumbent Anna

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Eshoo and Republican David William Chapman, a software engineer. In the June primary, Eshoo garnered 60.6 percent of the overall vote and Chapman pulled in 30.5 percent.

As the representative for the pre-redistricting 14th District, Eshoo has overseen parts of our county.

Consumer protection, clean energy, environmental protection, and healthcare access are key Eshoo issues. She told GT that her first order of business upon being elected would be rebuilding the economy: “Working with large and small businesses to remove roadblocks to expansion, investing in research and development and opening doors to new capital are the ways I make government a productive partner in getting the economy moving,” she says. “In addition, we must restructure our national budget to reflect the reality of limited resources and we must invest in our people.” [Annaeshoo4congress.com]

Anna Eshoo

David William Chapman

Chapman told GT that he’s a better pick than Eshoo because “she’s a career politician.” “I actually understand the technology issues,” he said. He pegs jobs as the largest issue facing the district, and promises to tackle that beast by reducing immigration fraud that is “causing Americans to be unemployed.” He promises to abolish “Guest Worker Programs,” or H1-B Visas, which he believes engender “Slavery 2.0” through paying foreign workers unfairly, and are a “betrayal of Americans.” He thinks we’re due for a”re-think” of immigration, and favors scrapping the current system and thinking up something new. He advocates reforming the Federal Reserve, and, if elected, will fight for a tax increase on the Federal Reserve and its member banks.

[Davechapmanforcongress.netboots.net]

20th CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT THE DISTRICT: The 20th District includes part of Santa Cruz County, including the City of Santa Cruz, and Santa Clara County, as well as all of Monterey and San Benito counties.

THE CANDIDATES: Two Central California natives square off in this race: Democratic incumbent Sam Farr (D-Carmel) and Republican Jeff Taylor, a Salinasborn-and-raised agri-businessman and publisher of The Good News Herald, an online newsletter with a religious lens. Farr came out of the June Primary Election with 64.8 percent of the total vote; Taylor followed with 21.9 percent. (Notably, among Santa Cruz County votes, those numbers were 72 percent and 4.4 percent, respectively.)

Taylor sees his lack of political experience as a plus, and believes in getting “government out of the way.” He believes government is “intrusive,” and that more responsibility should be shifted to local governments. His plans to fix the economy include reducing or eliminating “stifling” regulations on small and medium-sized businesses, reforming banking regulations, and making the United States more attractive to native companies through a Fair Tax Plan. He’s an advocate for education and restoring public education to its former glory. (Taylor4congress.com) Farr was first elected to the California Assembly in 1980, and carried legislation that created organic standards and increased liability for oil spills. His run

Jeff Taylor

Sam Farr

in Congress began in 1993, where he has focused on veterans’ issues, agriculture (he’s the ranking Democrat and only Californian on the Agriculture, Rural Development, FDA and Related Agencies Subcommittee), ocean health and protection, healthcare access, tourism and immigration reform. As part of the House Appropriations Committee, he is involved in overseeing distribution of the federal budget. Jobs are the most pressing issue in our district, he says, adding that he is addressing the issue by “buttressing our ag industry with new research facilities that will allow them to expand their operations; bringing new tourism dollars to the district to support our hospitality industry—like the new Fort Ord National Monument, the Pinnacles Visitors Center and the new Monterey Bay Sanctuary Visitors Center; and setting up ‘swat teams’ to help with crisis unemployment incidences.” (Friendsoffarr.org)

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Election Guide / State & National

Bill Monning

Larry Beaman

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THE DISTRICT: This newly drawn district covers Santa Cruz and San Luis Obispo counties and parts of Monterey and Santa Clara counties.

THE CANDIDATES: Republican school board member Larry Beaman, of Scotts Valley, challenges Democratic Assemblymember Bill Monning in this state senate race. Monning pulled in 59.4 percent of overall votes in the primary, and Beaman drew 40.6 percent of total votes.

Beaman points to the fact that Sacramento is broke and “broken� as reasons that voters should

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STATE ASSEMBLY: 29TH DISTRICT THE DISTRICT: Most of Santa Cruz County, as well as Marina, Monterey and Carmel.

THE CANDIDATES: Current Santa Cruz County

Rob Bernosky

Luis Alejo

STATE ASSEMBLY: 30TH DISTRICT THE DISTRICT: Includes Watsonville, as well as Gilroy, Hollister and King City.

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THE CANDIDATES: Democrat and Watsonville native Luis Alejo, who currently represents the state’s 28th district in the assembly, and Republican businessman Rob Bernosky.

Creating and retaining jobs is Alejo’s No. 1 priority for the district. The former Watsonville mayor told GT, “Younger legislators are moving state government away from a reliance on new programs to an emphasis on creating jobs. We

consider voting in new people with fresh perspectives. He promises to put aside partisanism and work across the aisle to deliver on what the constituents want, and says he won’t be corruptible by lobbyists and special interests. He’d like to see the taxpayer money spent on education deliver better results. (Larrybeaman4senate.com) Monning has served Santa Cruz in the California legislature as an assembly member since 2008, where he has made a priority out of looking out for the underserved and vulnerable populations in the state. His big issues include accessible and affordable healthcare, environmental protections, and economic growth that is “based on reducing climate change, not worsening it.�

In the June GT candidate questionnaire, Monning pegged the most pressing issues for the district as “local and regional economies, [the] protection of our environment, and support for K-12 and higher education.� Making headway on these would require “prioritization of the state legislature and a state budget that is based on fair and equitable taxation,� he said. (Billmonning.org)

Supervisor and Democrat Mark Stone goes up against Republican candidate Tom Walsh.

Walsh tells GT that his No. 1 priority upon taking office would be pension reform. He also says he would approach fixing the state budget from his belief that one should not spend more than they have. “I’m not a tax and spend person,� he says.

(No website) If elected, Stone says his first orders of business will be to fight for increased educational spending “and giving schools and teachers more flexibility,� increasing access to healthcare, and working to protect the environment, from water supplies to sensitive habitats to the oceans.

Reducing crime and poverty and addressing broken infrastructures are also on his to-do list.

(FriendsOfMarkStone.org)

believe that more jobs paying decent wages are what California needs. I am proud to be a leader in moving us from programs to paychecks. No government program can substitute for a good job.�

Balancing the state budget and changing the current two-third approval requirement are also priorities for him, as are safety, healthcare reform, sustainable water solutions and protecting public school resources. (Alejoforassembly.com) Putting people back to work is also Bernosky’s chief concern. His plans for creating jobs and boosting the economy include making California more business friendly, in part by eliminating “job-killing� regulations. “When elected, I will be working to make California a more business-friendly state so that businesses will stay here,� he told GT. “We can do this by beginning to sunset laws, regulations, and rules that are crushing businesses and reduce taxes and fees owners pay so that we are competitive with other states.� Education reform and shrinking state spending are also on his agenda. (Votebernosky.com) | EL