Dangerous Ideas

Progressive friends from around the neighborhood got together and filled out our absentee ballots after watching the debate. This was mostly [CJWP] folks and our friends. Here’s what we came up with (we’re all in Oakland near downtown/Chinatown):

Elected officials:

• President: Barack Obama
• Representative: Barbara Lee
• State Senator: Loni Hancock
• Assembly: Sandre Swanson
• Superior Court Judge: Dennis Hayashi
• City Council, At Large: Rebecca Kaplan
• AC Transit, At Large: Chris Peeples
• AC Transit Ward 2: Greg Harper

Propositions and measures

We have exclamation marks after ones we feel especially strongly on. A couple we either couldn’t agree or really didn’t feel strongly one way or the other.

• 1a – we split; on the one hand it could decrease global warming emissions and lots of people do travel between LA and the BAY/Sac, on the other, who’s really going to benefit from a high speed rail system? probably not low income communities with the potential high user fees and any possible displacement by the project. Also, from a transportation planning perspective, these type of regional transit systems could induce/increase sprawl and development in less developed areas, and it does not address the issue of job-housing locality like encouraging people to live where they work through affordable housing policies and investment in good local transit systems. Update: This info is also posted on a Facebook page, and someone there argued that urban sprawl will be minimized and pointed us to this link.
• 2 yes
• 3 no – mostly because it largely funds private institutions and may not result in better services; also the money won’t go to clinics, etc.
• 4 no!!! – Protect women’s and girls’ privacy!
• 5 yes
• 6 no!!! – We don’t need more prisons!
• 7 no – seems green on surface, but a lot of green proponents are against it.
• 8 no!!! Protect marriage equality!
• 9 no
• 10 no – “green” measure that basically would only benefit car companies and rich folks. Think subsidies for “green” Hummers.
• 11 no – basically would give Republicans more control over re-districting
• 12 yes

Oakland and Alameda County measures:

• N No clear decision. But after we broke up, one of the teachers we called called us back and said that the Oakland Teacher’s Union is against it. Then again, the Bay Guardian is for it
• OO yes!!!
• VV yes
• WW yes

Here are some resources we used when voting:

• The Chinese Progressive Association’s voting guide. It doesn’t seem to be online, so I’ve included a PDF e-mailed to us from a friend who works at CPA.
• Green Party of California
• SF Bay Guardian
• Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies roundup of who’s endorsed what
• Oakland Education Association
• Two friends involved in city planning and teaching