About the author

Pete Stahl has been rating California ballot propo­sitions since 1980. A native of San Diego and grad­uate of La Jolla High School, Pete started writing his reviews while a student at Harvard.

As a new voter, he was appalled at the hysterical tone and utter lack of objectivity of the official arguments in the ballot pamphlet. He felt an acute need for a dis­interested party to cut through the posturing and provide sensible summaries and opinions. It struck him that his own research and ideas might be of use, so he wrote up his positions and circulated them among friends and family. Thus Pete Rates the Propo­sitions began.

Since then, Pete Rates has grown into a popular resource for voters across the state, first in news­letter form, and now as a website, at www.peterates.com.

Pete has appeared as a speaker on ballot propo­sitions for the League of Women Voters in several cities. He has been interviewed on radio, and his reviews have been used as course material at UCLA, where an instructor noted, "Even if you disagree with some of Pete's opinions, his explanation of each propo­sition is succinct and clear, and his views are worth reading."

Pete Rates the Propo­sitions is non-partisan and unaf­filiated with any candidate or organization. Pete remains obstinately undoctrinaire, consid­ering each ballot propo­sition on its merits. He is proud to have offended (and persuaded) voters of all political stripes.

Pete first got involved in politics in 1974, when his mother, Jonnie, ran for State Senate. He spent the campaign plastering her hot-pink campaign posters across the sprawling district, which stretched from the Pacific Ocean to the Colorado River.

Professionally, Pete Stahl has worked in Silicon Valley as a computer program­mer and web site designer since 1982. His past employers include a number of distin­guished and innovative com­panies, such as Netscape, AOL, PlaceWare, GO, and Ashton-Tate. He is currently Lead User Experience Designer with a major online service.

An active classical musician, Pete plays oboe and English horn in Redwood Symphony, a community orchestra specializing in ambitious works from the last 100 years. He has studied with several prominent oboists, including John De Lan­cie at the Aspen Music Festival. In 2004 Pete was soloist in the West Coast premiere of Spaghetti Western, an English horn concerto by leading American composer Michael Daugherty. A founding member of Redwood Symphony, Pete has served as president of the orchestra's board of directors. You can hear him on these CDs.

Pete lives in Mountain View with his lovely wife, Janet Sloan, who is an engi­neer, tech­nical writer and cellist, and their two adorable children who, contrary to rumor, are not named Initiative and Refer­en­dum.

 
 
 
Copyright © 1980-2008 Peter L. Stahl
Your comments are welcome at pete@peterates.com