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…
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Oakland and Alameda County ballot measure recommendations, November 2020
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…
Statewide ballot measure recommendations, November 2020
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.…
March 2020 ballot measures, California, Alameda Co., Oakland
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.)…
Ballot recommendations, Nov. 2018: Oakland and area
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…
Ballot recommendations, Nov. 2018: Statewide
I usually write up my recommendations for California ballot measures assuming intelligence but little context on the part of my audience. When measures increase taxes to fund government programs, I lay out, step by step, the case that these are important social priorities that need more public investment. The events of the last two years…
Ballot recommendations: Oakland/Alameda County, June 2018
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…
Ballot measure recommendations: Statewide, June 2018
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…
What’s the Deal with Ranked-Choice Voting in the Bay
The cities of Oakland, San Francisco, Berkeley, and San Leandro all use the new method of Ranked-Choice Voting (RCV) to elect most of their city officials. But in my experience, even if you live in one of those places, you likely have only a rough handle of how that specific system works. Which is a…
Knowing and Fighting the American Health Care Act
I’m writing this for people who want to know with the ACA (Obamacare) repeal: What on earth is going on? How much trouble are we really in? And is there anything I can do about it? Fundamentally, of course, nobody really knows what’s going on – it’s all a blur of Republicans and meat. And…