Voter Recommendations for California’s November 6, 2012 General Election
Last updated November 2, 2012 at 5:04 a.m. PT.
BALLOT MEASURES
There are extremely good and extremely bad ballot measures for this election.
Here are recommendations for California statewide Propositions 30 – 40; Los Angeles County Measures A, B, and J; and El Camino Community College District Measure E, followed by a brief summary for selected ballot measures.
Check back before you vote for any updates.
Summary Information:
Please vote "YES" on Propositions 32 and 35, and "NO" on all others, including all tax and bond measures, all Los Angeles County measures (except neutral on L.A. County Measure B requiring condoms for adult movies), and El Camino Community College District Measure E. Taxes are unreasonably high. We’re forced to pay for wildly excessive and unsustainable government employee salaries, raises, benefits and pensions; massive welfare fraud (at least 25 percent, billions of dollars per year statewide); and K-12 education costs for illegal alien children who are not supposed to be in California (about 40 percent, $20 billion per year). Prop # Vote Type of Measure / Subject / Measure Web Site 30 NO Constitutional Amendment Income and Sales Tax Hikes (Jerry Brown) Tax hikes will only be used to pay for wildly excessive and unsustainable government employee union and manager salaries, benefits, and pensions that are bankrupting cities, counties, and the state. http://www.StopProp30.com/ 31 NO Constitutional Amendment Two-Year Budget Cycle & Related Governance Changes (California Forward) 32 YES Statute Prohibits direct union and corporate contributions to political candidates, and prohibits automatic payroll deductions for political purposes (Paycheck Protection). Employees and other individuals can still make voluntary contributions to candidates of their choice. Necessary to help prevent city and county bankruptcies due to wildly excessive and unsustainable salaries, benefits, and pensions given in exchange for union campaign contributions. Government employee unions contributed 98% of the $43 million in campaign money to defeat it. http://www.YesProp32.com/ 33 NO Statute Auto Insurance Price Setting: Driver Coverage History Proposition 33 repeals consumer protections provided by Proposition 103. It allows insurance companies to charge more for auto insurance if you let your policy lapse for any reason. 34 NO Statute Repeals Death Penalty in all cases, no matter how many victims, and even if murder prison guards or other prisoners while serving a life sentence for murder. Prevents saving money by using the threat of a death penalty to get murderers to plead guilty and avoid an expensive trial in return for a life sentence. Put on ballot by long-time death penalty opponents. 35 YES Statute Human Trafficking: "Californians for Sexual Exploitation Act" 36 NO Statute "Three Strikes" Dilution 37 NO Statute Genetically-Engineered Foods: Mandatory Labeling This is a Trial Lawyers Full-Time Employment Act. It is a scam designed to allow trial lawyers to extort money from farmers and grocers using shakedown lawsuits even when there are no injuries or damages. http://www.NoProp37.com 38 NO Statute Income Tax Hike: Education (Molly Munger) Taxes are already excessive and tax hikes will chase more businesses, jobs, and taxpayers out of the state. 39 NO Statute Taxes on Multi-State Businesses: Single Sales Factor Taxes are already excessive and tax hikes will chase more businesses, jobs, and taxpayers out of the state. 40 NO Referendum Overturn Citizens Redistricting Commission State Senate Plan (A "NO" vote is a vote to overturn the gerrymandered redistricting plan.) Los Angeles County Ballot Measures: A NO Advisory Vote Advises changing the Los Angeles County Tax Assessor from an elected position to an appointed position not accountable to the voters and taxpayers. B NEUTRAL Ordinance Regulation of adult movie industry requiring condoms for adult movies, public health permit, proof of blood borne pathogen training course. Will likely chase adult movie industry to other counties. J NO Tax Increase Measure J is another 30-year sales tax hike after the previous 30-year sales tax hike approved as Measure R in 2010. It is dishonest and deceptive to ask for yet another 30-year sales tax increase in only two years. Measure 30 will also increase the sales tax if it passes. California will have the highest sales tax in the country, pressuring consumers to purchase over the internet from other states and countries, reducing sales tax revenues. El Camino Community College District Measure E: E NO Bond Measure Measure E is $350 million in new bond debt, probably costing about $700 million with interest. Bond measures create additional debt and require taxes to pay principle and interest. Bonds often cost double the amount borrowed with interest.
President / Vice President: Mitt Romney / Paul Ryan The economy, jobs, business climate, $16 trillion national debt, reduced national defense, and foreign policy all indicate it is time for a positive change in the White House. President Obama's presidency has been a re-run of a bad movie: Jimmy Carter's failed presidency with a failed economy, high unemployment, failed domestic policy, and failed foreign policy. Many people are calling President Obama's presidency "Jimmy Carter 2.0". President Obama's actions follow a clear pattern to:Be sure to see the movie, "2016: Obama's America". It is a documentary movie that clearly explains what makes Obama tick, and how his upbringing and mentors shaped his world view and his view of America's future as a downsized, less powerful, less influential, and less important player on the world stage of nations. For more information, also see: Obama's Record: Investor's Business Daily series of editorials
- Weaken and undermine America;
- Weaken, undermine, alienate, and antagonize longtime American allies; and
- Strengthen, help, and embolden America's enemies and competitors.
United States Senator: Elizabeth Emken Her opponent Dianne Feinstein is 79 years old and will be 85 at the end of her six-year term if she is elected. Feinstein is rabid enemy of the Constitution, Second Amendment, self-defense rights, and property rights. She also has been at the center of much corruption. Feinstein may be suffering from onset Alzheimer's Disease. She has refused to participate in any debates or public appearances with Elizabeth Emlkin.
United States Representative: Bill Bloomfield Bloomfield is a former Republican who ran as an independent. He is somewhat liberal, but not as extreme as his opponent, Henry Waxman. Waxman iis at best a socialist if not an outright Marxist. He is a self-described "progressive". Waxman does not respect individual liberty and property rights.
Detailed Information:
Prop # Vote Type of Measure / Subject / Measure Web Site 30 NO Constitutional Amendment Income and Sales Tax Hikes (Jerry Brown) Tax hikes will only be used in a financial shell game to pay for wildly excessive and unsustainable government employee union and manager salaries, benefits, and defined benefit plan pensions that are bankrupting cities, counties, and the state. Increasing taxes from their already excessive and Draconian rates is both immoral and counter-productive. It will only chase more businesses, jobs, and taxpayers out of California, reducing tax revenues. http://www.StopProp30.com/ 31 NO Constitutional Amendment Two-Year Budget Cycle & Related Governance Changes (California Forward) 32 YES Statute Mandatory Public-Sector Union Dues: Prohibition "Stop Special Interest Money Now" Vote "YES" on Proposition 32 to help prevent city, county, and state government bankruptcies and to reduce government corruption. For every thousand dollars in campaign contributions, corrupt labor unions and contractors typically get more than an extra million dollars of our tax money. Prop. 32 prohibits direct union and corporate contributions to political candidates, and it prohibits automatic payroll deductions for political purposes (Paycheck Protection). The corrupt firefighter, police, and teacher unions are spending millions of dollars in dishonest campaign ads to defeat Prop. 32. http://www.YesProp32.com/ 33 NO Statute Auto Insurance Price Setting: Driver Coverage History Proposition 33 repeals consumer protections provided by Proposition 103. It allows insurance companies to charge more for auto insurance if you let your policy lapse for any reason including periods when you did not have a car, or were away on a work assignment or military duty, etc. 34 NO Statute Repeal Death Penalty Prop. 34 repeals the Death Penalty in all cases, even for terrorists, mass murderers, and inmates serving life sentences who murder prison guards and other prisoners, no matter how many people they murder. Under Prop. 34, the infamous New York City Nightclub Mass-Murderer could not be executed. Julio Gonzalez quickly murdered 87 people using one dollar worth of gasoline and two matches, when he set fire to the Happy Land Social Club nightclub in the Bronx, New York City, on March 25, 1990. He set the nightclub ablaze after he had an argument with his former girlfriend who worked there, and was ejected by the bouncer. Gonzalez was found guilty of 87 counts of arson and 87 counts of murder on August 19, 1991. New York did not have the death penalty, even though Republicans in the New York legislature repeatedly passed Death Penalty statutes, because they were always vetoed by liberal Democrat governors including Mario Cuomo. Gonzalez was sentenced to the maximum of 25 years to life for each count (a total of 4,350 years). It was the most substantial prison term ever imposed in the state of New York. However, Gonzalez will be eligible for parole after only 25 years, in March 2015, because New York law states that multiple murders occurring during one act will be served concurrently, rather than consecutively. (Source: Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Land_fire) Thus, Gonzalez did not get a death penalty, and will be eligible for parole after serving less than 3.5 months for each of the 87 murders. That places an extremely small value on human life. Under Prop. 34, the movie theater mass-murderer in Aurora, Colorado who murdered 12 and wounded 58, also would not be subject to the death penalty had he committed the mass-murders in California. Murder is an unforgivable crime, because only the murder victim can legitimately forgive the murderer, which is impossible once the victim is dead. The murderer has stolen the one thing that is of the greatest value and that can never be returned. Anything less than the death penalty for clear-cut cases of murder devalues human life, especially in the case of multiple and mass-murderers. Thus, it is absurd and unconscionable for liberal news reporters to ask anyone, including the victim's family members, if they forgive the murderer. They only promote the myth that murder is a forgivable and less serious crime. If Prop. 34 passes, prosecutors will not be able save substantial prosecution time and money, get more convictions, and keep murderers in prison longer, by using the threat of a death penalty to get murderers to plead guilty to a life sentence or a long sentence as part of a plea bargain. Additional information on why you should vote NO on Prop. 34 appears below. 35 YES Statute Human Trafficking: "Californians for Sexual Exploitation Act" 36 NO Statute "Three Strikes" Dilution Prop. 36 weakens the Three-Strikes law and allows the early release of dangerous felons. For many dangerous felons, their "third strike" is really the fifth, eight, or tenth strike, if you count violent felonies for which they were not caught or that were not counted by the criminal justice system. Many people believe that three strikes is too many, and there should be at least a 25 years to life sentence after only one or two murders, rapes, child molestations, or other violent felonies. 37 NO Statute Genetically-Engineered Foods: Mandatory Labeling http://www.NoProp37.com 38 NO Statute Income Tax Hike: Education (Molly Munger) Tax hikes will only be used in a financial shell game to pay for wildly excessive and unsustainable government employee union and manager salaries, benefits, and defined benefit plan pensions that are bankrupting cities, counties, and the state. Increasing taxes from their already excessive and Draconian rates is both immoral and counter-productive. It will only chase more businesses, jobs, and taxpayers out of California, reducing tax revenues. 39 NO Statute Taxes on Multi-State Businesses: Single Sales Factor Tax hikes will only be used in a financial shell game to pay for wildly excessive and unsustainable government employee union and manager salaries, benefits, and defined benefit plan pensions that are bankrupting cities, counties, and the state. 40 NO Referendum Overturn Citizens Redistricting Commission State Senate Plan (A "NO" vote is a vote to overturn the gerrymandered redistricting plan.) The Citizens Redistricting Commission produced safe, non-competitive election districts, resulting in entrenched incumbents who can ignore the voters and taxpayers, and cater to government employee labor unions, lobbyists, and other special interests with impunity. Los Angeles County Ballot Measures: A NO Advisory Vote Advises changing the Los Angeles County Tax Assessor from an elected position to an appointed position not accountable to the voters and taxpayers. B NEUTRAL Ordinance Regulation of adult movie industry requiring condoms for adult movies, public health permit, proof of blood borne pathogen training course. Will likely chase adult movie industry to other counties. J NO Tax Increase Measure J is another 30-year sales tax hike after the previous 30-year sales tax hike approved as Measure R in 2010. It is dishonest and deceptive to ask for yet another 30-year sales tax increase in only two years. Measure 30 will also increase the sales tax if it passes. California will have the highest sales tax in the country, pressuring consumers to purchase over the internet from other states and countries, reducing sales tax revenues. El Camino Community College District Measure E: E NO Bond Measure Measure E is $350 million in new bond debt, probably costing about $700 million with interest. Bond measures create additional debt and require taxes to pay principle and interest. Bonds often cost double the amount borrowed with interest.
Additional information on ballot measures:
Prop. 34 – Vote NO – Repeals the death penalty in California
(Continued from above.)
See the abstract and the conclusion in the Criminal
Justice Legal Foundation Working Paper 09-01, titled
“The Death Penalty and Plea Bargaining to Life Sentences”,
by Kent S. Scheidegger, February 2009, at:
http://www.cjlf.org/publications/papers/wpaper09-01.pdf.
It states the following.
From the abstract on page 1:
“Consistently with expectations, significantly
more defendants plea bargain to a life or long sentence
in states where the death penalty is available. The average
county with the death penalty disposes of 18.9% of
murder cases with a plea and a long sentence, compared
to 5.0% in counties without the death penalty.”
From the conclusion on page 15:
“The widespread assumption that repeal of the death penalty
would produce an immediate and dramatic savings in trial
costs is not justified on the information currently available.
If a state repeals the death penalty but is unwilling to accept
a greater number of murderers going free after relatively short
sentences, then greater number of life-sentence cases will
probably have to go to trial rather than being resolved
by plea.”
We at the Public Safety Project believe that Prop. 34 is
supported by radical Leftist organizations and people
who are opposed to the death penalty in all cases, no
matter how many victims were tortured and murdered,
and who have no real interest in saving taxpayer money.
Many opponents of the death penalty believe that criminals
are somehow “victims of society”, and that their violent
crimes are somehow the fault of their crime victims who
are members of society. Thus, they have reversed the
victim-criminal relationship in their own minds.
The death penalty helps guarantee there will be no repeat
offenders, or early releases on technicalities or inappropriate
pardons or commutations for bribes or as political favors for
prisoners sentenced to “life without parole”.
Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
commuted the 16-year prison sentence of Esteban Nunez
down to only seven years for the October 2008 stabbing
murder of college student Luis Dos Santos near San Diego
State. Esteban Nunez is the son of Democrat State Assembly
Speaker Fabian Nunez, a personal friend and political ally
of Schwarzenegger.
Esteban Nunez could have received a a life sentence, but
prosecutors accepted a plea bargain that allowed him to
avoid standing trial on murder charges. Schwarzenegger
made the commutation at the very end of his term without
notifying the prosecutor or victim’s family, and later boasted
that he did it to help a friend.
For additional information, see:
California Republican Assembly ballot measure endorsements for the November 6, 2012 General Election
http://californiarepublicanassembly.com/content/cra-endorsements-ballot-measures-november-6-2012-election
California Republican Assembly ballot measure endorsements for the November 6, 2012 General Election (printer-friendly web page)
http://californiarepublicanassembly.com/print/content/cra-endorsements-ballot-measures-november-6-2012-election
President / Vice President:
Mitt Romney / Paul Ryan
Just as responsible American citizens want the next generation to be better off than they are, presidents should do everything possible to ensure that America and Americans will be better off at the end of their term in office than at the beginning. Ronald Regan passed this test, but Barack Obama failed this test. The economy and unemployment are much worse than when Barack Obama took office, they are not improving, and Obama’s polices hinder rather than help in the much-needed economic recovery.
El Segundo Police Officers' Association (ESPOA) Exposed