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| Sensible opinions on the California ballot propositions since 1980 by Pete Stahl | |
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Home Read the ratings: Prop. 1A - YES Prop. 1B - NO Prop. 1C - NO Prop. 1D - YES Prop. 1E - YES Prop. 1F - NO Election resources About the author Best of Pete Rates Past results Contact Pete Previous elections: November 2008 June 2008 February 2008 November 2006 June 2006 November 2005 November 2004 March 2004 October 2003 November 2002 more... |
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Pursuant to the resolution (or not) of the budget stalemate, there will be a special statewide election on Tuesday, May 19th. Six ballot propositions await your judgment. The first five, numbered 1A through 1E, relate directly to state finances and deserve serious consideration. In my opinion, they are a mixed bag; I'm recommending "yes" votes on three of them and "no" on two. Please take a look at my ratings for details. The sixth, Prop 1F, is a ridiculous and feeble pot shot at the Legislature, apparently intended to let voters vent their fury at the budget mess. I may be the only person in the state who opposes Prop 1F, but oppose it I do. It will solve nothing and further poison the atmosphere. As I was browsing the Secretary of State's Web site on a late-February Sunday afternoon, I noticed that she had given the public a scant one business day to prepare arguments for the ballot pamphlet. This is also ridiculous and feeble. Nevertheless, I had a few spare hours, so I threw together a case against Prop 1F and faxed it in. Much to my surprise, my submission was accepted, and now appears in the official Voter Information Guide. I hope you enjoy it and take it for what it's worth. It will be fun to see whether this results in any notoriety. The Sacramento Bee ran an article painting me in rather Quixotic hues, which predictably elicited a storm of derision from the anonymous trolls on their bulletin board. The Christian Science Monitor, on the other hand, was very fair and polite, and the hot blogs Calbuzz and America's Finest Blog were downright complimentary. I'm hoping this is just a sideshow, though, because the coverage really ought to go to Props 1A through 1E, which are actually meaningful. Happy voting,
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Hey, voters!