Here is The Filter’s full show, which features interviews with Carly Fiorina and Tom Campbell among other elections-related segments. (Did you know that Tom Campbell was okay with gay marriage because he’s “anti big government?” No? I didn’t either. Logical consistency in the realm of politics is startling wherever you find it.)
In any case, VOTE!
And, whatever your leaning—right, left, or center—I urge you to strongly consider voting for Gloria Romero for CA Superintendent of Public Instruction.
I’m genuinely shocked that the LA Times has chosen to recommend a career school district bureaucrat over reformer Romero. (Bad LAT, no cookie!!)
Okay, as promised, here’s your print out-ready voter guide:
WITNESSLA’S JUNE 2010 ELECTIONS RECOMMENDATIONS
PROPOSITIONS
13 – YES
14 – YES
15 – YES
16 – NO
17 – NO
CANDIDATES
Governor:
Dem: Jerry Brown
Repub: Steve PoiznerLieutenant Governor:
Dem: Gavin Newsom
Repub: Albert MaldonadoAttorney General:
Dem: Kamala Harris
Repub: Steve Cooley
(or John Eastman if you want a good protest vote.)Insurance Commissioner:
Dem: Dave Jones or Hector de La Torre.
(I’m going for Jones. But they’re both good)
Repub: Mike Villines
State Superintendent of Public instruction:
Gloria Romero. Period.
JUDGES
Judicial: Office 28 – Mark Ameli or Randy Hammock (Both are good. I’m voting for Hammock.)
Office 35: Soussan Bruguera
Office 73: Laura Matz
Office 107: Stephen Bolinger
Office 117: Alan Scheider
Office 131: Maren Elizabeth NelsonMEASURE E – NO (see below)
UPDATE: it has come to my attention that I neglected to post about LAUSD’s Measure E.
Here’s the deal: Measure E is a limited parcel tax that will, for the next four years, impose a $100 tax per parcel per year on all property owners in the areas that LAUSD covers.
If passed, LAUSD expects to raise around $93 million per year from the measure.
All well and good. We know the district is in terrible trouble, what with all the state budget cuts and all. How great that we can help it out and get more teachers rehired, more art programs kept in place, more librarians saved from layoffs, right?
Well, maybe. However when asked directly what they intend to do with the funds, LAUSD honchos have been remarkably un-forthcoming.
This past semester a student of mine spent quite a lot of time trying to get someone—anyone—at LAUSD to tell her how the money would be spent. She’s a smart reporter and was quite resourceful and persistent in bugging administrators and board members. But, in the end, all anyone was willing to say amounted to little more than “trust us, we know how to spend it.”
Others have tried as well and have gotten from Superintendent Ray Cortines only that out of the $93 million that the measure will raise yearly, $27 million of that will go to neighborhood schools to save teachers, librarians etc.
Well I did the math, and if the $27 mill is divided between all the district’s schools, that’s $40,000 per school, which isn’t enough to do much. You can maybe hire one teacher’s aide.
As for where the other $66 million would go, the district has turned on its vague-ifiers. It would be used for “programs.”
Right.
Right now my thinking is as follows: until LAUSD can tell us that it is going to use our money for something other than yo no se que, I’m reluctant to hand over any $100 per parcel.
Maybe by the the time I vote I’ll be in a better mood about all this. But for now, I’m voting NO.
How are you voting?
LAUSD, Measure E?
Is that on your ballot?
I’m leaning YES.
Rob, right that should have been on. I’ll put something up now.
I’m ambivalent, frankly, and may vote NO.
I had a student who spent really quite a bit of time trying to get someone, anyone at LAUSD to tell them what they were going to do with the money. And in the end it has amounted to little more than “trust us, we know how to spend it.”
The most that Cortines has said is that out of the $90 something million that they expect to raise, $27 million of that will go to neighborhood schools to hire teachers, librarians etc. Well that’s $40,000 per school, which isn’t enough to do much. You can maybe hire one teacher’s aide.
As to the rest of the money, Cortines turned on his vague-ifiers.
So until LAUSD can demonstrate that it’s going to use our money for something other than yo no se que, I’m reluctant to hand over our $100 per parcel.
Gloria Romero is firme!