Fear and loathing coming to the ballot box this November

If voters are as angry as some recent opinion polls suggest,
they will find plenty of targets to vent their frustrations in the
Nov. 2 General Election.
Dozens and dozens of seats from the U.S. Senate and California
governor to local fire districts, school boards and city council
vacancies will share space on the crowded General Election
ballot.
For the really irate or maddened electorate there also will be
at least 10 statewide propositions asking voters to legalize
marijuana, approve $11 billion in water system bonds, cancel a
far-reaching greenhouse reduction law, increase vehicle
registration fees to fund state parks and several measures to
change how statewide district boundaries are set and budgets are
approved.
With the official local candidate nomination and filing period
opening this week, there is also one qualified countywide measure
being supported by the Sonoma County Transportation Authority.
The as-yet unnamed measure seeks to assess an annual $10 per
vehicle fee to fund $5 million a year for local street repairs, bus
services and school safety and bicycle projects.
“This is going to be the most complicated ballot we’ve ever had
to put together,” said Gloria Colter, Assistant Registrar of
Voters. “There’s an election in every single district in the
county, plus all the statewide elections as well.”
There are almost 250,000 registered voters in Sonoma County,
with the majority being permanent mail-in or mail-only precinct
voters.
Candidates for local school, fire, city and other small
districts have until Aug. 6 to file nomination papers at the
county’s Registrar of Voters office inside the County Clerk’s
office in Santa Rosa. (City Council candidates can file papers at
their local city hall.) The nomination period for any seat where an
incumbent fails to file is extended to Aug. 11.
Along with other local cities, Healdsburg, Sebastopol and the
Town of Windsor all will be selecting new majorities, with three
seats being contested at each 5-member council.
All the early news headlines and opinion polling has been about
the governor’s race between Democrat Jerry Brown and Republican
finalist Meg Whitman, as well as the divisive race for U.S. Senate
between incumbent Democrat Barbara Boxer and Republican challenger
Carly Fiorina.
The Nov. 2 ballot could have reached epic proportions if another
48 voter-initiated propositions had collected enough qualifying
signatures by a June 24 deadline. At this date, only the state
legislature can vote to add any additional propositions or proposed
constitutional amendments to the ballot.
A recent Field Poll tested voters’ awareness and early leanings
about Proposition 19, which would legalize the personal use of
marijuana. Surveyed voters opposed Prop. 19 by a narrow 48 percent
to 44 percent margin.
In the same poll, voters offered strong support (65 to 20
percent) for Prop. 25 which calls for requiring only a majority
vote to approve the state budget while retaining a two-thirds
threshold to increase taxes.
Voters are also opposing Prop. 23 that seeks to repeal AB 32,
California’s greenhouse reduction law. The margin is 48 percent to
36 percent.
Following is a brief rundown of the 10 statewide measures
certified by Secretary of State Debra Bowen:
Prop. 18 — Safe, Clean, and Reliable Drinking Water Supply Act
of 2010. This is an $11 billion bond measure that may be withdrawn
by the legislature as some Prop. 18 supporters are now opposing the
timing of the vote, including Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Prop. 19 — Legalizes Marijuana and allows it to be regulated and
taxed. People over age 21 would be permitted to possess, cultivate
and transport for personal use. Local governments could regulate
and tax commercial production and sale. Passage of the law would be
directly opposed to federal laws.
Prop. 20 — Redistricting of Congressional Districts.
Redistricting authority would be transferred from the state
legislature to a new 14-member statewide redistricting commission,
recently approved in another election.
Prop. 21 — Establishes an $18 annual Vehicle License Surcharge
to fund state parks and wildlife protection. Registered vehicles
would gain free access to all parks. The overall fiscal impact is
uncertain but supporters claim the fee would raise $500 million
each year.
Prop. 22 — Prohibits the State from Taking Funds Used for
Transportation or Local Government Projects and Services. This
measure would add significant constraints on state authority over
city, county, special district, and redevelopment agency funds. A
similar measure was approved by voters once before but found
unconstitutional by the state Supreme Court.
Prop. 23 — Suspends air pollution control laws requiring major
polluters to report and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. If this
measure passes, implementation of what is known as AB 32 would be
delayed until the state’s unemployment rate drops below 5.5
percent. Currently it is 12.4 percent.
Prop. 24 — Repeals recent business tax breaks totalling about
$1.7 billion. Passage of this measure would disallow businesses to
shift operating losses to prior tax years and that would extend the
period permitted to shift operating losses to future tax years.
Prop. 25 — Changes the legislative vote requirement necessary to
pass the state budget from two-thirds to a simple majority. Being
called “Stop Hidden Taxes,” this measure is being supported by most
Democrats and some more progressive voters. The two-thirds
requirement approving new or increased taxes would not change.
Prop. 26 — Increases legislative vote requirement to two-thirds
for state levies and charges, with limited exceptions. The major
language here changes the meaning of some “fees” to new “taxes”
adding a two-thirds majority vote requirement. Supporters or Prop.
25 are opposing this measure.
Prop. 27 — Eliminates 14-member redistricting commission
selected from applicant pool picked by government auditors. This
measure provides that voters will have the authority to reject
district boundary maps approved by the Legislature and requires
populations of all districts for the same office to be exactly the
same.
Final ballot arguments and rebuttals are due today (July 15).
Statewide ballots will be printed on Aug. 9 and sample ballots will
be mailed beginning Sept. 23. The last day to register to vote in
the Nov. 2 General Election is Oct. 18.