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When I went door-to-door talking up a candidate who wanted to fund more affordable housing, people sometimes replied, “OK, but what does ‘affordable’ really mean? Who is it affordable for?” This question comes up a lot. I remember being unsure at the time whether this was genuine confusion or just casting uncertainty and doubt as…

We here in the 18th district, which is most of Oakland, San Leandro, and Alameda, have a special election June 29th to identify a successor to Rob Bonta, who was appointed Attorney General to replace Xavier Becerra, who was appointed U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services. There are several good people to choose from.…

Here I follow up my previous guide on the state measures this year, adding to them those being voted on by Oakland residents – meaning, Oakland city and school measures, and Alameda County measures. Thank you for reading. Spoiler: I say yes on all. But they weren’t slam-dunks. Jurisdiction Designation & description Recommendation Alameda County…

Hello all of you braving the treacherous fields of 2020 to vote once again on the California propositions. A lot has happened this year that we wouldn’t have predicted, but nothing has reduced the need for a bold, empowered government ready to tax and spend more than before to ensure everyone is included in society.…

We face another election and, as always, I am here to inform you on the proposals on your ballots – not so many this March, but come November, there will be a deluge. (In the presidential primary, vote Warren! And sign up here if you want to get email alerts to future updates like this.)…

I dearly want Elizabeth Warren to become President. Ideally, I would be less emotionally invested. Our political culture focuses too much on Presidents, too little on movements. A progressive Democratic movement of regular people and non-famous politicians is what will flip statehouses, build unions, and campaign for new protections; victory at the federal level will…

Thank you for continuing to read my ballot writeups. See my statewide recommendations for Props 1-12 in my previous post here. My measure discussions for Oakland can be briefer, because a guiding principle unifies most of them. As I introduced my last post: I think most of my readers would now accept that we are…

Here are my recommendations on the ballot measures this June 5 that people in Oakland and Alameda County will be voting on – including the Bay Area-wide Regional Measure 3. Please vote, and find the official voter guide here. A summary of my local and statewide recommendations (which were in the last post): Measure number/description Jurisdiction…

The statewide ballot measures up in June 2018 are sedate and understated by comparison with November 2016, but there are some stinkers hidden among them.As usual, I offer dual recommendations for you to consider – one recommending a “yes” for anything with objective benefit (“utilitarian”), the second also weighing whether it needed to be a ballot measure…