California Proposition Recommendations

California holds its Primary Election Tuesday, June 8, and most of the state's voters got their sample ballot or vote by mail materials this week. There are five propositions up for consideration this time, and they represent both the highest aspirations and worst abuses of direct democracy. Here are my recommendations.

Proposition 13, Property Taxes and Earthquake Safety. YES
Proposition 14, Primary Elections NO
Proposition 15, Public Funding of Campaigns YES
Proposition 16, Local Public Electricity NO
Proposition 17, Auto Insurance NO

Prop 13 is a good idea. Under it, if a property owner pays for an earthquake safety upgrade (seismic retrofitting) the property will not be reassessed for property taxes until it is sold. Currently, a structure built of unreinforced masonry is reassessed after 15 years, providing a disincentive for the owner to make such a building, the very type most at risk of collapse in an earthquake, more safe. This proposition deserves your support.

Prop 14, also called the "Open Primary," may seem like a good idea, but it isn't. It passed the legislature in 2009 as part of a political deal to get a budget agreement. State Senator Abel Maldonado (now Lieutenant Governor) demanded its inclusion as his price for voting for the budget. Prop 14 would pertain to all statewide offices, congressional and state legislative races and state board of equalization members. In the primary, all candidates from every party would be on the same ballot. Then the top two vote-getters in the primary would be on the ballot in the general election in November.

This proposition is bad for several reasons. First, the Second Section part D allows candidates to choose either to declare their parties or keep them secret. Candidates could run stealth campaigns, pretending to be Republican in Republican majority areas or Democrats in Democratic majority areas without having to divulge their true affiliations. Second, this would freeze the minor parties completely out of the general election, since they practically never would finish in the top two in the June Primary. Their voters would be shut out of their choice in November. Third, it could frequently result in two Democrats or two Republicans running against each in the general elections. Not only minor party supporters, but in those districts, even Democrats and Republicans would have no choice to vote for a candidate of their own party in the election. Finally, there is no provision for allowing write-ins, thus forcing everyone to vote for one of the two (or even one) party that got through the primary. Prop 14 is not friendly to free choice among the voters and ought to be defeated.

Prop 15 would establish the office of Secretary of State as a test case for public financing of campaigns in California in the elections of 2014 and 2018. It follows on the lines of systems in place in Arizona, Maine and North Carolina. I think it's a good idea and we should try it. The office of Secretary of State is a good beginning because its main function is to make sure elections in the state are run fairly and impartially. Its other main task is to monitor the activities of lobbyists. Taking special interest money out of this campaign is an excellent pace to start.

To qualify for the funding, a major party candidate would need to get 7,500 $5 contributions. A minor party candidate would need to get 3,750 such contributions. Then they would qualify for state funding. The funding would come from increasing the fees on lobbyists from $25 every two years to $700. The legislative analyst says this would raise more than $6 million every four years. If a candidate was self-funding or getting help from outside groups and going over the public financing amounts, the fund would send matching funds to the qualified candidates.

You can see from the arguments in the voter information guide who is for and against this measure. Impartial groups concerned about good government like the League of Women Voters and Common Cause support it. Interest groups who want to buy and control politicians such as the Manufacturers Association, unions and interest lobbies are opposed. Get the picture? Vote yes on 15.

Proposition 16 is a blatant special interest grab by Pacific Gas & Electric to solidify their monopoly control. Vote no. If a city or county wanted to join Los Angeles or Sacramento in running their own power sources they would need not only a vote of their elected representatives but a 2/3 vote of the electorate. They don't need to do this to pave a road or staff a park, but only would for this purpose. PG & E would be able to overwhelm the jurisdiction with misleading advertising and get only 1/3 of the people afraid in order to defeat such efforts. LA and Sacramento, for instance, did not suffer through the 2001 blackouts and rate gouges the rest of the state did. Do you trust PG & E to watch out for your interests? If you are astute enough to read this blog I would imagine not.

Similarly, Prop 17 is a special interest grab by the auto insurance industry. Mercury Insurance is bankrolling this effort, and if you feel they have the best interest of consumers at heart, I have some Florida swamp land you are probably interested in. While this sneaky scam permits car insurers to give you a discount if you have had insurance with another company for the past five years, it allows them to jack up your rates in other cases. The proponents' own argument in the voter information guide says it could save customers $250, while the respected nonpartisan watchdog Consumers Union says it will hit customers with surcharges over $1000, and points out that states with this type of law have rates ranging from 73% to 227% higher than California. Don't fall for it. Vote no on 17.

If you are voting by mail be sure to send it in so it is received by June 8. If you miss that, you can take your ballot in to a polling place on Election Day. Locations are included in an insert in the voting materials envelope you received. For more material that tries to offer unbiased information, go to http://www.easyvoter.org/ or http://www.smartvoter.org/.