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March 2002

Judges

I usually go for the candidates who are defenders, not prosecutors, but in this case I have to go the other way. I have seen Spielbauer in action, and he is a jerk.

So for Superior Court Office 9, my recommendation is Bocanegra. He seems to have a broader list of endorsements, and at least recognizes sentencing alternatives. Also endorsed by the Murky News. Priest is probably OK too.

For Office 16, my recommendation is Persky, for pretty much the same reasons. Del Pozzo sounnds OK, too. For what it’s worth, Mercury endorsed Persky as well.

State Superintendent of Instruction

Jack O’Connell. Democrat, former classroom teacher, on Senate education and budget committees. The others look scary, and don’t seem to have any statewide perspective or chops to influence policy.

Propositions

40

Water and park bonds.
Yes (though some reluctance because of costs). Seems to be the only way to secure the funds to preserve resources.

41

Voting bonds.
Yes. Way overdue, though it should be something budgeted by the Legislature rather than through bonds which make the deal expensive. On the other hand, the Legislature never quite is ready to make decisions.

42

Fuel sales tax earmarked for transportation.
No. A shell game, not so much will be available for publictransit, and is mostly for roads. It locks in a fixed formula so that there is even less flexibility for future budgets and priorities.

43

Right to have your vote counted.
No. Stupid measure that shouldn’t even be on the ballot. A waste of time. Like peeing in a dark suit, feels warm for a while, but nobody notices.

44

Chiropractors.
No. Another stupid measure. Why are we voting on chiropractors? Because voters put chiropractic regulation in the constitution in the 1920s!

45

Term limit futzing.
Yes. Actually a stupid measure to fix an earlier stupid measure. A flawed approach to restore some sense. Takke what you can get. I love the ads for it—Voters can choose to keep a good legislator. No duh, so that’s what elections used to be about before term limits.