Today is Election Day! Go Vote!!

Here, again, are my endorsements for the 2010 California Statewide General election:

Proposition        ME   LAT  CALITICS CA DEM LA DEM LWV
19 (Marijuana)     YES   NO    YES    ---    YES   ---
20 (Redistricting) NO    YES   NO     NO     NO    NO
21 (State Parks)   YES   NO    YES    YES    YES   ---
22 (Local Funds)   NO    NO    ---    NO     NO    ---
23 (Suspends AB-32)NO    NO    NO     NO     NO    NO

24 (Ends Tax Cuts) YES   NO    YES    YES    YES   YES

25 (Majority Vote) YES   YES   YES    YES    YES   YES

26 (2/3 Fee Vote)  NO    NO    NO     NO     NO    NO

27 (Undoes Prop 11)YES   NO    YES    YES    YES   NO

Statewide Races          ME         LA TIMES DEMOCRATS
Governor                 Brown      Brown    Brown

U.S. Senator             Boxer*     Boxer*   Boxer*
Lieutenant Governor      Newsom     Newsom   Newsom
Attorney General         Harris     Cooley   Harris
Secretary of State       Bowen*     Bowen*   Bowen*
Treasurer                Lockyer*   Lockyer* Lockyer*

Controller               Chiang*    Chiang*  Chiang*
Insurance Commissioner   Jones      Jones    Jones   
Supt. of Public Inst.    Torlakson  Aceves   Torlakson

Bd. of Equalization, #1  Yee*       ---      Yee*    

Bd. of Equalization, #2  ---        ---      Parker

Bd. of Equalization, #3  ---        ---      Christian-Heising

Bd. of Equalization, #4  ---        ---      Horton*

WATCH: Boxer's Last Ad Is All Obama

CA-GOV: Brown Endorsed By LA TIMES, SF CHRONICLE, SAC BEE

There are exactly four weeks until the November 2nd statewide election. Actually, starting today, vote-by-mail ballots can be mailed in. One of the most important races is for California Governor, where Jerry Brown is now leading Meg Whitman.


Additionally, many major newspapers in the state, specifically the Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle and Sacramento Bee, all endorsed Brown for Governor this weekend.

CA-SEN: Boxer Maintains Measurable Edge

United States Senator Barbara Boxer is maintaining a distinct lead in her re-election race against former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina.


The Saramento Bee explains why Boxer is currently favored to win her fourth Senate term:

The poll found that impressions of Boxer are sharply divided and highly partisan, with 93 percent of all likely voters having an opinion of her. It found that Boxer still has a high unfavorable rating of 48 percent. But it has declined from a high of 52 percent two months ago.

"She's hanging in," said Mark DiCamillo, the poll's director. "It looks like she's had a pretty good month or two."

DiCamillo attributed the results to Boxer's television advertising, which began last week, while Fiorina unveiled her first television ad on Thursday. DiCamillo noted that Fiorina's unfavorable rating has jumped from 29 percent to 38 percent since July.

"Fiorina has definitely taken a hit," he said.

[...]

The poll found that most respondents are basing their choices on how they feel about Boxer. Among Boxer supporters, 67 percent said their vote is more a vote for Boxer than it is a vote against Fiorina. And 65 percent of those who supported Fiorina said their preference is more a vote against Boxer than it is a vote for Fiorina.

MadProfessah has endorsed Barbara Boxer.

MadProfessah Endorses Kamala Harris for AG

I attended the Equality California statewide candidates forum on Sunday April 25th which was a rare opportunity to see all 6 Democratic candidates running to be the next Attorney General of California.

From left to right, the candidates in the picture are Assemblymember Ted Lieu, Facebook Chief Privacy Officer Chris Kelly, San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris, former Los Angeles City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo, Assemblymember Pedro Nava and Assemblymember Alberto Torrico. The likely Republican opponent in November is Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley.

I have seen a number of the Attorney General candidates in small group settings in my capacity as Steering Committee member of the Stonewall Democratic Club and elected delegate of the California Democratic Party.

Previously, I had been impressed with Pedro Nava. He has been endorsed by the smartest politician in California politics, LA County Democratic Chair Eric Bauman and he generally is a very effusive and energetic speaker. Unfortunately, he has very little money, although he does have Parke Skelton as his political consultant.

At the forum, it was the first time I was seeing Assembly Majority Leader Alberto Torrico in action, and he said some very impressive things about education ("should be a civil right") and rehabilitation that made me want to take another look at him. Torrico has nice ideas but doesn't seem to be ready for the scale of a statewide race. Yet.

Ted Lieu is probably the strongest supporter of the LGBT community and hardest worker of the group (the male Judy Chu!) which has won him many LGBT Democratic club endorsements, even in such a hotly contested field. He points out that he can repeat the Ted Chiang statewide win of 2006 for State Controller, but I just don't think one can equate a State Controller race with a State Attorney General race. I do agree that the Southern California candidates have an advantage. Those are Delgadillo, Torrico and Lieu. Lieu is the only Asian in the race, and they vote in excess of their proportion in the population, which statewide is nearly 12% (statewide the Black population is close to 6%).

It's true that Nava, Delgadillo and Torrico all have Spanish surnames in a state which is hurtling towards majority-minority status, but the electorate, even the Democratic primary electorate is still majority white. Delgadillo ran for and lost this race to Jerry Brown, and instead of giving him a leg up in this race, the odor of food past it's purchase date lingers around his campaign.

However, I think this is trumped by Kamala Harris being the only woman in the race. I think the fact that she is a prosecutor (even if she is from the liberal enclave of San Francisco) will allow her to distinguish her from the crowd of guys she is running against. She's a pretty electrifying speaker and has the most "star power" of the group. She's also raised the most money (except for the self-financing Chris Kelly, who has essentially "pulled a Whitman" and written himself two $2 million checks).

On the issues, I would be happy with any of the candidates as the next Attorney General, but by electing Kamala Harris California would be really signaling we have truly entered the Obama era of politics, by electing the first African-American statewide official since Mervyn Dymally for Lieutenant Governor a generation ago when Jerry Brown was his running mate in 1974.

CA-33: Bass Gets Big $$ Rival and Big Endorsements

Former Speaker of the California Assembly Karen Bass received endorsements from Congresswoman Maxine Waters and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in her recently announced attempt to represent the 33rd Congressional District of California, which Diane Watson represented for over a decade.
The endorsement by Rep. Waters is noteworthy, because it signals a unanimous blessing of the entire Black political establishment of Los Angeles, which has rarely been united behind single candidates in electoral races.

In addition to receiving important endorsements, Bass received unwelcome news in the form of a well-funded, independently wealthy challenger for the Democratic nomination for CA-33: Dr. Howard Mandell, who announced his candidacy and transferred $500,000 into his candidate account. MadProfessah has endorsed Karen Bass for the 33rd District and will be watching developments in this race more closely.

In other, less local news, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom made waves by announcing his run for Lieutenant Governor, about five months after he suddenly dropped out of the race for the top job. His entry will complicate the race for the previously announced candidates Los Angeles City Councilperson Janice Hahn and Dean Florez, the latter of whom immediately dropped out. MadProfessah has not (yet) made an endorsement in this race.

AD-43: And then there were two!

Mike Gatto, candidate for AD-43

More local political news. In the race to replace former Assemblyman Paul Krekorian in the 43rd Assembly district, another candidate has dropped out and so there are now only two main candidates remaining: MadProfessah-endorsed 35-year-old Stonewall Democrat Club member Mike Gatto and Glendale school boardmember Nayiri Nahabedian, 40.

Councilmember Herb Wesson staffer Andrew Westall suspended his campaign after the sudden death of his colleague, Wesson's chief of staff of a brain aneurysm over the weekend. Westall endorsed Nahabedian as he exited the race.

The special primary election is on April 13th, and then there's a primary election and the special general election on June 8th. The candidate who wants to be the Assemblymember from the 43rd Assembly district should win all three, but the primary election on June 8th is the most important.

According to the Secretary of State's financial records, Gatto had $200,000 plus on hand as of 12/31/2009 while Nahabedian appears to have had significantly less than $100,000. Typically (but not always, Meg!) the person who spends the most and/or raises the most wins these elections.

MadProfessah Endorsements for May 19 Election

Finally, the moment you have been waiting for! Here are MadProfessah's positions on how I think you should vote in the May 19th Special Election.

Proposition Number (Topic)             MadProfessah LA TIMES  CALITICS CA DEM PARTY
1A (Budget Cap, Rainy Day Fund)            NO         YES        NO     NEUTRAL
1B (Education Funding Plan)                YES        NO         NO     YES
1C (Lottery Modernization Plan)            NO         YES        NO     YES
1D (Children's Services Funding            YES        YES        NO     NEUTRAL
1E (Mental Health Services Funding         YES        YES        NO     NEUTRAL
1F (Elected Officials Salaries)            NO         YES        NO     YES

CA-32

Additionally, if yu live in the 32nd Congressional district MadProfessah strongly endorses Judy Chu. She is an incredibly strong supporter of LGBT, Labour and people of color and a true progressive voice. It would be amazing to have her on Congress representing a portion of Los Angeles County. Judy has raised the most amount of money and received the lion's share of endorsements but is thought to be in a tough race with Gill Cedillo.

SD-26

If you live in the 26th State Senate District, MadProfessah endorses Curren Price. Assemblymember Price is a strong supporter of LGBT equality, including marriage equality. Having won the Democratic primary fairly easily in March, he should win election easily in this overwhelmingly Democratic district, replacing now-County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas.

Los Angeles City Attorney.

This is the race that has all the political geeks' tongues wagging. Carme Trutanich and Jack Weiss have been slugging it out in the run-off election for weeks, with multiple negative television ads. I'm not sure exactly what Weiss has done to some people (but he's clearly pissed off several!) but I have met him and he makes the right noises about supporting civil rights for all people and seems to understand the power of the City Attorney's office. Weiss was running on Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's re-election ticket along with Wendy Gruel for City Controller but Weiss was the only one dragged into a run-off. Electing him would allow the Mayor to complete his sweep of the elected citywide (nonpartisan) offices. MadProfessah endorses Weiss for City Attorney.

City Council District #5. Paul Koretz is a guy who is one of the longest-serving members of the Stonewall Democratic Club. He is a true progressive, who in his too-short term-limited 6-year stint in the Assembly introduced a civil unions bill (way before it was cool!) as well as Center for Health Justice's condoms-in-prisons bill. He is also the author of the state's law prohibiting insurance discrimination on the basis of gender identity. He is running for a westside city council seat being vacated by Jack Weiss in District #5, and MadProfessah endorses Paul Koretz for LA City Council, Seat #5.

Los Angeles Community College District
Office #2: Angela Reddock. Reddock is the only African American representative on the 7-member body which represents an organization whos mission is critically important to the future well-being of generations of Black and Brown people in Los Angeles County.

Office #6: Robert Nakahiro. Nakahiro is openly gay and running against an incumbent named Nancy Pearlman who seems to take her relection for granted and was forced into a run-off, surprising everyone.

SD-26: Curren Price Winning Endorsements Battle

Assemblymember Curren Price has been racking up the endorsements in his attempt to replace Mark Ridley-Thomas in the 26th District of the State Senate in a special election to be held March 24th, 2009.

MadProfessah has been carefully monitoring the race between two African American elected officials to replace a pro-LGBT equality politician. Price's opponent is Assemblymember Mike Davis who has previously refused to support pro-LGBT legislation.

The statewide LGBT lobbying group Equality California Political Action Committee endorsed Price last week.

In both 2007 and 2008, Price received a 100 percent score on the Equality California scorecard. In 2007 he voted for the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act, which would have allowed same-sex couples to marry in California. This year, he is a co-author of HR 5, a resolution in the State Assembly urging that Proposition 8, which amended the Constitution to eliminate the right to marry for same-sex couples, be invalidated.

"I am proud to have the support of Equality California and its members for my campaign for State Senate," said Assembly Member Price. "EQCA members are on the front lines fighting for civil rights and equal rights for all people, but they are, most importantly, a powerful voice for justice on one issue we should all agree upon: full equality under our state's Constitution and its laws for members of California's LGBT community."

[...]

The 26th Senate District includes the cities of Baldwin Hills, Baldwin Vista, Beverlywood, Carthay Circle, Century City, the Crenshaw District, Culver City, Hancock Park, Hollywood, Hyde Park, Jefferson Park, Ladera Heights, Lafayette Square, Larchmont, Leimert Park, Los Feliz, Miracle Mile, South Central Los Angeles, View Park, West Los Angeles and Windsor Hills, among others.

In addition, this week Price was endorsed by Senate Pro Tem Darrel Steinberg, the head of the State Senate and one of the most powerful politicians in California. Previously Price was endorsed by both Service Employees International Union and the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor. Davis has been endorsed by Congresswoman Maxine Waters (what was she thinking?)

MadProfessah has endorsed Curren Price.

LA TIMES harshly condemns Proposition 8

Sunday's Los Angeles Times harshly condemns the campaign to pass Proposition 8 in a strongly worded editorial repeating their endorsement of NO ON PROP 8:

Clever magicians practice the art of misdirection -- distracting the eyes of the audience to something attention-grabbing but irrelevant so that no one notices what the magician is really doing. Look over at that fuchsia scarf, up this sleeve, at anything besides the actual trick.

The campaign promoting Proposition 8, which proposes to amend the state Constitution to ban same-sex marriages, has masterfully misdirected its audience, California voters. Look at the first-graders in San Francisco, attending their lesbian teacher's wedding! Look at Catholic Charities, halting its adoption services in Massachusetts, where same-sex marriage is legal! Look at the church that lost its tax exemption over gay marriage! Look at anything except what Proposition 8 is actually about: a group of people who are trying to impose on the state their belief that homosexuality is immoral and that gays and lesbians are not entitled to be treated equally under the law.

That truth would never sell in tolerant, live-and-let-live California, and so it has been hidden behind a series of misleading half-truths. Once the sleight of hand is revealed, though, the campaign's illusions fall away.

Take the story of Catholic Charities. The service arm of the Roman Catholic Church closed its adoption program in Massachusetts not because of the state's gay marriage law but because of a gay anti-discrimination law passed many years earlier. In fact, the charity had voluntarily placed older foster children in gay and lesbian households -- among those most willing to take hard-to-place children -- until the church hierarchy was alerted and demanded that adoptions conform to the church's religious teaching, which was in conflict with state law. The Proposition 8 campaign, funded in large part by Mormons who were urged to do so by their church, does not mention that the Mormon church's adoption arm in Massachusetts is still operating, even though it does not place children in gay and lesbian households.

How can this be? It's a matter of public accountability, not infringement on religion. Catholic Charities acted as a state contractor, receiving state and federal money to find homes for special-needs children who were wards of the state, and it faced the loss of public funding if it did not comply with the anti-discrimination law. In contrast, LDS (for Latter-day Saints) Family Services runs a private adoption service without public funding. Its work, and its ability to follow its religious teachings, have not been altered.

That San Francisco field trip? The children who attended the wedding had their parents' signed permission, as law requires. A year ago, with the same permission, they could have traveled to their teacher's domestic-partnership ceremony. Proposition 8 does not change the rules about what children are exposed to in school. The state Education Code does not allow schools to teach comprehensive sex education -- which includes instruction about marriage -- to children whose parents object.

Another "Yes on 8" canard is that the continuation of same-sex marriage will force churches and other religious groups to perform such marriages or face losing their tax-exempt status. Proponents point to a case in New Jersey, where a Methodist-based nonprofit owned seaside land that included a boardwalk pavilion. It obtained an exemption from state property tax for the land on the grounds that it was open for public use and access. Events such as weddings -- of any religion -- could be held in the pavilion by reservation. But when a lesbian couple sought to book the pavilion for a commitment ceremony, the nonprofit balked, saying this went against its religious beliefs.

The court ruled against the nonprofit, not because gay rights trump religious rights but because public land has to be open to everyone or it's not public. The ruling does not affect churches' religious tax exemptions or their freedom to marry whom they please on their private property, just as Catholic priests do not have to perform marriages for divorced people and Orthodox synagogues can refuse to provide space for the weddings of interfaith couples. And Proposition 8 has no bearing on the issue; note that the New Jersey case wasn't about a wedding ceremony.

Much has been made about same-sex marriage changing the traditional definition of marriage. But marriage has evolved for thousands of years, from polygamous structures in which brides were so much chattel to today's idealized love matches. In seeking to add a sentence to California's Constitution that says, "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized," Proposition 8 supporters seek to enforce adherence to their own religious or personal definition. The traditional makeup of families has changed too, in ways that many religious people find immoral. Single parents raise their children; couples divorce and blend families. Yet same-sex marriage is the only departure from tradition that has been targeted for constitutional eradication.

Religions and their believers are free to define marriage as they please; they are free to consider homosexuality a sin. But they are not free to impose their definitions of morality on the state. Proposition 8 proponents know this, which is why they have misdirected the debate with highly colored illusions about homosexuals trying to take away the rights of religious Californians. Since May, when the state Supreme Court overturned a proposed ban on same-sex marriage as unconstitutional, more than 16,000 devoted gay and lesbian couples have celebrated the creation of stable, loving households, of equal legal stature with other households. Their happiness in no way diminishes the rights or happiness of others.

Californians must cast a clear eye on Proposition 8's real intentions. It seeks to change the state Constitution in a rare and terrible way, to impose a single moral belief on everyone and to deprive a targeted group of people of civil rights that are now guaranteed. This is something that no Californian, of any religious belief, should accept. Vote no to the bigotry of Proposition 8.

Wow. Tell us what you really feel :-) No go and vote or volunteer to defeat Proposition 8.

MadProfessah Endorsements For Nov 4 Election

Finally, the moment you have been waiting for! Here are MadProfessah's endorsements for the November 4, 2008 election. Below are my positions on California's state ballot measures but I also have specific endorsements on City, County and Local Judges available on the web.

Proposition Number (Topic)                            MadProfessah
1A (High Speed Train Bond)                             YES
2  (Humane Farming)                                    YES
3  (Children's Hospital Bond)                          NO
4  (Teen Safety Initiative)                            NO
5  (Non-Violent Drug Offenses)                         YES
6  (Prison Expansion)                                  NO
7  (Renewable Energy Expansion)                        YES
8  (Eliminates Marriage Rights)                        HELL NO
9  (Victim Rights Amendment)                           NO
10 (Billionaire Renewable Energy Scam)                 NO
11 (Republican-Favored Re-districting)                 NO
12 (Veterans' Housing Bond)                            YES

Have you voted yet? I have!

Al Gore Endorses Obama

Al Gore endorsed Barack Obama at a rally in Detroit, Michigan.

CA Openly Gay Candidates Win Primaries

Openly gay Assemblymember Mark Leno easily won the hotly contested Democratic primary in State Senate District 3 last night with 43% of the vote, while openly lesbian incumbent Carole Migden placed 3rd with 27.7% behind Joe Nation at 29.3%.

Openly gay John "Tony's Cousin" Perez won his primary in the State Assembly District 46 race with more than 54% of the vote.

San Francisco Supervisor Tom Ammiano won his uncontested primary to replace Mark Leno in the California Assembly in District 13.

Sadly, Greg Pettis and Chris Cabaldon lost their primaries by just over 1000 votes each, in Assembly District 80 (Palm Springs) and Assembly Distrist 8 (West Sacramento), respectively.

So, as Mad Professah predicted many weeks ago the new LGBT Legislative Caucus in 2009 will be: State Senators Christine Kehoe and Mark Leno, and Assemblymembers John A. Perez and Tom Ammiano, a reduction to 4 members from last session's 5 and down from a high of 6 in 2005.

In the last three years term limits have forced John Laird, Sheila Kuehl and Jackie Goldberg out of the Legislature.

Mad Professah had endorsed Perez and Leno in their contested primaries.

Endorsements for June 2008 Primary Election

Today is the date of the statewide primary election. It is the second of three statewide elections scheduled in 2008. California's Presidential Primary was February 5th. Hillary Clinton won the most votes for the Democratic nomination, defeating Barack Obama.

STATEWIDE

Proposition Number (Topic)                             MadProfessah
Proposition 98 (Eminent Domain. Repeals Rent Control)            NO

Proposition 99 (Eminent Domain. Overturns Sup Ct Decision)       NO

LOS ANGELES COUNTY
Although I don't live in District 2, Mad Professah endorses Mark Ridley-Thomas over Bernard Parks for Los Angeles County Supervisor.

Figuring out which judges to vote for is always difficult, particularly with limited information. I used the Los Angeles Times and Stonewall Democrats endorsement pages as sources of information. Here is who I voted for:

Judicial Office             MadProfessah Voted For
Judge of the Superior Court
Office 3               Daniel Ramirez
Office 4               Ralph Dau
Office 35              Juan Carlos Dominguez
Office 41              Michael Villalobos
Office 55              Hector M. Guzman
Office 69              Serena Racquel Murillo
Office 72              Hilleri Grossman Merritt
Office 82              Cynthia Loo
Office 84              Pat Connolly
Office 94              Michael J. O'Gara
Office 95     Patricia Nieto

Office 101           Daniel S. Lopez
Office 102             Jose Sandoval
Office 119             Jared Moses   
Office 123             Kathleen Blanchard
Office 125     James N. Bianco
Office 154       Michael V. Jesic

L.A.TIMES endorses Parks for County Supervisor

The Los Angeles Times editorial page endorsed Bernard Parks for Los Angeles County Supervisor on Tuesday.

The Times included the editorial on the same day it carried a story ("Black political leaders face a new era in Los Angeles") where it allowed Parks and his main opponent Mark Ridley-Thomas to sling insults at each other.

Leaning back in a swivel chair at his headquarters on Jefferson Boulevard, Ridley-Thomas issued a scathing assessment of Parks, describing him as vindictive and contemptuous of critics.

"It's amazing how anybody can alienate so many groups," Ridley-Thomas said, noting that law enforcement unions have sided unanimously with him over Parks.

He also accused Parks of trying to exploit sympathy over his ouster as police chief. He said the eruption of the Rampart corruption scandal when Parks was chief exposed his failure to fight police misconduct. And every morning, he said, Parks wakes up and asks himself, "What can I go and do to mess with Bill Bratton today?"
Parks said he never could have made it to the top LAPD job if he did not work well with others. He described the department's system for civilian complaints against officers as a showcase achievement of his reform efforts. He recalled that Ridley-Thomas wrote lavish praise of his tenure as police chief in 2002, saying in a newspaper article that Parks' "work ethic is unmatched and his competence unparalleled."

Parks criticized Ridley-Thomas' record on the City Council, saying he had left too many streets unpaved and failed to stop the spread of fast-food restaurants in the district.

Mad Professah has endorsed Mark Ridley-Thomas. If neither candidate gets 50% of the vote next Tuesday, there will be a runoff between the two top vote-getters in November.

Endorsements for February 5, 2008 Statewide Election

Here is who (and what) I voted for and urge you to do similar in California's statewide presidential primary election today:

Democratic Presidential Primary
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Barack Obama
Statewide Ballot Measures
PROPOSITION 91 (Sequestering of Transportation Fees): No
PROPOSITION 92 (Guaranteed Community College Funding): No
PROPOSITION 93 (Modifying Term Limits Initiative): Yes
PROPOSITION 94 (Indian Gambling Compact): Yes
PROPOSITION 95 (Indian Gambling Compact): Yes
PROPOSITION 96 (Indian Gambling Compact): Yes
PROPOSITION 97 (Indian Gambling Compact): Yes
Local Ballot Measures
PROPOSITION S (City Tax For Municipal services): Yes