Anyone want to talk California primaries?

[sessy]

May 21, 2018 22:21:25 GMT -5 heyjude said:

Also no one has mentioned Delain Eastin. She was great at the debate.

I'm also very intrigued by her. 

[heyjude]

May 22, 2018 0:30:07 GMT -5 sessy said:

May 21, 2018 22:21:25 GMT -5 heyjude said:

Also no one has mentioned Delain Eastin. She was great at the debate.

I'm also very intrigued by her. 

Me too!

[seeyalater52]

I love Delaine Eastin. I actually used to work with her when I lived in CA and she is good people.

Her health care plan is a little bogus but she is a big champion of universal pre-k and always has been. I don’t know enough about the CA education system to know whether her work on public schools as state superintendent was any good, but obviously she has a lot of relevant experience in that realm.

[heyjude]

May 21, 2018 22:26:49 GMT -5 sonrisa said:

May 21, 2018 21:30:43 GMT -5 heyjude said:

Please don’t just focus on the sexy issues when contemplating the Gov. spot. The likelihood that pro gun/anti choice legislation would make it through the legislature to the future gov’s desk is slim to none. 

I don't ignore the other issues, but I also don't think holding police accountable for their violence is just a sexy issue. I think it is crucial for our governor to set the tone on this issue. There are also gun control measures working their way though our state legislature.

Gun violence has been my make it or break it issue for years. The NRA has legions of voters who make it their single issue cause - what they vote by, what they call for. 

Of course there are many other important things out there. I'd be happy to hear more of your (or other posters) thoughts on specific candidates and issues to guide my research :-)

Two issues were presented here as issues to die on the hill over for the gov’s race (guns and choice). They are meat and potato issues for the Ds and none of the Ds running for Gov in a D state, with a D legislature, are probably all that different on these topics. In any given year I’m not sure how often the Gov is asked to weigh in on abortion or guns but he or she is asked every year to make spending priorities for the state that can have serious consequences for people, especially low income people. Brown is actually very fiscally conservative and to his credit the state is sitting on a large surplus. How will the next gov spend that money? I don’t have any idea who to vote for based on this and I think they would all do a solid job, my only point is to suggest people look broader than guns or abortions when thinking about the Gov’s race.

[seeyalater52]

May 22, 2018 8:29:55 GMT -5 heyjude said:

May 21, 2018 22:26:49 GMT -5 sonrisa said:

I don't ignore the other issues, but I also don't think holding police accountable for their violence is just a sexy issue. I think it is crucial for our governor to set the tone on this issue. There are also gun control measures working their way though our state legislature.

Gun violence has been my make it or break it issue for years. The NRA has legions of voters who make it their single issue cause - what they vote by, what they call for. 

Of course there are many other important things out there. I'd be happy to hear more of your (or other posters) thoughts on specific candidates and issues to guide my research :-)

Two issues were presented here as issues to die on the hill over for the gov’s race (guns and choice). They are meat and potato issues for the Ds and none of the Ds running for Gov in a D state, with a D legislature, are probably all that different on these topics. In any given year I’m not sure how often the Gov is asked to weigh in on abortion or guns but he or she is asked every year to make spending priorities for the state that can have serious consequences for people, especially low income people. Brown is actually very fiscally conservative and to his credit the state is sitting on a large surplus. How will the next gov spend that money? I don’t have any idea who to vote for based on this and I think they would all do a solid job, my only point is to suggest people look broader than guns or abortions when thinking about the Gov’s race.

I totally agree with your points on this. 100%. And it’s why I’m so hot on Chiang over all the other good candidates. I think he is unquestionably the best equipped to manage the surplus and promote progressive policy with an eye toward sustainability and responsible fiscal stewardship. You can tell because he isn’t promising things he knows the state can’t afford. The balance of progressive values and feasibility is really important to me, because I find it annoying when candidates get credit for overpromising on things they know they can’t deliver, or even worse, don’t know enough on policy to realize they can’t deliver.

[Mushe]

I’m so glad to see this post! There’s so much going on in CA right now. Tom McClintock is an absolute disgrace, but I’m just outside his district. I’ve been following it closely, though. There are several Dems running, with two female front runners. I was disappointed that the one I like the most did not get the democratic endorsement. She filed a challenge to the ballot listing for the one who did, and the negative ads from the Dems about that are disheartening. You don’t want candidates to have to follow the rules? They’d have been up in arms if an R candidate did what theirs did, listing an occupation at which she hasn’t worked during the requisite period.

[suburbanzookeeper]

May 22, 2018 8:29:55 GMT -5 heyjude said:

May 21, 2018 22:26:49 GMT -5 sonrisa said:

I don't ignore the other issues, but I also don't think holding police accountable for their violence is just a sexy issue. I think it is crucial for our governor to set the tone on this issue. There are also gun control measures working their way though our state legislature.

Gun violence has been my make it or break it issue for years. The NRA has legions of voters who make it their single issue cause - what they vote by, what they call for. 

Of course there are many other important things out there. I'd be happy to hear more of your (or other posters) thoughts on specific candidates and issues to guide my research :-)

Two issues were presented here as issues to die on the hill over for the gov’s race (guns and choice). They are meat and potato issues for the Ds and none of the Ds running for Gov in a D state, with a D legislature, are probably all that different on these topics. In any given year I’m not sure how often the Gov is asked to weigh in on abortion or guns but he or she is asked every year to make spending priorities for the state that can have serious consequences for people, especially low income people. Brown is actually very fiscally conservative and to his credit the state is sitting on a large surplus. How will the next gov spend that money? I don’t have any idea who to vote for based on this and I think they would all do a solid job, my only point is to suggest people look broader than guns or abortions when thinking about the Gov’s race.

Since my words are coming back to haunt me - choice is where I start and I whittle it down from there. I'm a small business owner who works with lots of other small business owners so my fiscal concerns about keeping small business alive and thriving in my state may be different than some others on the board (not to mention that I've personally had nearly a dozen friends in the last two years move out of state because their companies are moving to Texas, Georgia, or Nevada). Right now I'm stuck between Eastin and Chiang. I don't like Newsom.

For local races it looks like there's a solid chance to kick Calvert out of his seat. My choice is running without any signage but is doing lots of door to door canvassing and face-to-face meetings. I love love love her but it's making me super nervous.

[goldengirlz]

Glad to see SoCal posters weighing in on the midterm elections.

For governor, I think I’m now leaning toward Eastin or Chiang though as a recent-ish transplant I agree with heyjude’s sentiment, and basically voting for “oh, thank god, yes.” That said, if I had to pick a pet local issue, it would be funding for K-12 education. I’d sooner have that than free or reduced college tuition. Our spending per-pupil is among the lowest in the country which means our underfunded schools are very, very underfunded. You shouldn’t need to be a millionaire to get a decent public education here.

[phdprocrastinator]

While I have liked much of what eastin had had to say, I'm surprised by the overall positive reception on this board given she identifies as a Berniecrat, doesn't she?

Is this seen as savvy campaigning instead of truly embracing the Bernie revolution?

[heyjude]

May 22, 2018 12:17:19 GMT -5 phdprocrastinator said:

While I have liked much of what eastin had had to say, I'm surprised by the overall positive reception on this board given she identifies as a Berniecrat, doesn't she?

Is this seen as savvy campaigning instead of truly embracing the Bernie revolution?

She does?

[phdprocrastinator]

May 22, 2018 12:27:46 GMT -5 heyjude said:

May 22, 2018 12:17:19 GMT -5 phdprocrastinator said:

While I have liked much of what eastin had had to say, I'm surprised by the overall positive reception on this board given she identifies as a Berniecrat, doesn't she?

Is this seen as savvy campaigning instead of truly embracing the Bernie revolution?

She does?

My bad! It looks like I misread her candidate statement (http://voterguide.sos.ca.gov/candidates/governor-candidate-statements.htm). She's endorsed by the SF Berniecrats, but doesn't say she is a Berniecrat. 

I blame being tired + the ridiculous number of candidates to review!

[seeyalater52]

May 22, 2018 12:58:06 GMT -5 phdprocrastinator said:

May 22, 2018 12:27:46 GMT -5 heyjude said:

She does?

My bad! It looks like I misread her candidate statement (http://voterguide.sos.ca.gov/candidates/governor-candidate-statements.htm). She's endorsed by the SF Berniecrats, but doesn't say she is a Berniecrat. 

I blame being tired + the ridiculous number of candidates to review!

She has been around waaaaay too long to be a Berniecrat! I think of that label as much more inexperienced/first time progressive candidates. She has an impressive political career in her own right.

ETA: I’m not surprised that the Bernie folks like her though (although pleasantly surprised that her being a woman wasn’t a barrier to the endorsement....) since her positions are all in the right place.... even if her policy proposals far exceed her wallet/the budget. In a state like CA that has revenue to be raised that’s not the end of the world but I’m not convinced her revenue proposals are going to fly.

[ellipses84]

I’m so glad this post reminded me to check on my voter status. Apparently when DH and I both went to the DMV at the same time to get our CA licenses, and both checked the box to register to vote, they did not register me! He got his voter card and pamphlet in the mail and I did not. Checked online tonight and there’s no record of me. I’m now registered and can vote but since it’s less than 14 days away I have to do a provisional ballot. I would have been so upset if I missed it!

[heyjude]

This is a good read:

www.sacbee.com/opinion/california-forum/article211667149.html

(Bottom line: the Gov’s race comes down to education policy)

[ESF]

By the way -- across the state, there are some amazing people running for DA.

www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-prosecutor-campaign-20180523-story.html

I'm looking forward to voting for Pamela Price here in Alameda County, but I hadn't realized there are other candidates for DAs around the state that are equally progressive. If these people get elected, CA could have a chance to really lead on police accountability and criminal justice reform.