California Ballot Recommendations: November 2018

by Tony Medley

Proposition 1: Allows the State to issue $4 billion in bonds “for various housing programs.”

        Recommendation: No. This is more debt for government to throw away money on an issue that should be left up to the market. Keep government out of free markets.

Proposition 2: Allows the state to issue $2 billion in bonds previously authorized.

        Recommendation: No. Unnecessary because the Legislature authorized counties to pay for housing for their severely mentally ill in 2017.

Proposition 3: Authorizes issuance of $8.877 billion for water related projects.

        Recommendation: No. Since 1996 there have been 8 statewide water issue bonds for $29 billion. What has that accomplished? Nothing! We have to stop giving money to these people.

Proposition 4: Authorizes $1.5 billion for work on children’s hospitals.

        Recommendation:  No. Been there, done that. No more debt.

Proposition 5: Constitutional Amendment that gives a more flexible tax break to seniors who sell their home and buy a more expensive home. Under present law, they get no break and have to pay property tax based on the cost of the more expensive home. This measure would allow them to transfer the basis of their old him to their new home even if the new home is more expensive than the old home.

        Recommendation: Yes.

Proposition 6: Constitutional Amendment that repeals the democrats and Gov. Brown’s 12 cents/gallon gas tax imposed in 2017 that has made Californians pay more for gas than residents of any other state but one. The corrupt Attorney General made the title to this misleading. Don’t let him get away with it.

        Recommendation: Yes (duh!). Who wants to pay 12 cents more for gasoline than people in the rest of the country? California has enough money in its general fund to fix the highways and bridges; it uses its discretion to use this money for purposes less important to taxpayers but more important to politicians’ contributors and allies; this is corruption at its highest level. This was just a dodge to get more money out of the taxpayers.

Proposition 7:  Allows Legislature to change daylight savings time period.

        Recommendation: No. Presently how daylight savings time is handled has to be approved by voters. This takes the decision out of the voters’ hands and puts it in the control of the state legislature. I don’t want the state legislature deciding anything on its own with impunity from voters.

Proposition 8: Reduces amounts paid to outpatient kidney dialysis clinics.

        Recommendation: No. This seems extremely hard-hearted as it takes money away from clinics which provide this life-preserving service. If passed, it could drive many clinics out of business.

Proposition 10: Repeals limits on rent control in the Costa Hawkins bill.

        Recommendation: No. The reason why housing is scarce in California is because of rent control, not due to a lack of more of it. Housing responds to the market and the market will by definition result in affordable housing. Who is going to build housing that is too expensive to rent or sell? Nobody. But also nobody is going to build housing that is not profitable due to government regulation. This measure is just another socialist measure that will make things worse instead of better. This is the most important measure on the ballot. It needs to be defeated handily.

Proposition 11: Requires hourly emergency ambulance employees basically to be on-call at all times.

        Recommendation: Yes. Would you want an ambulance to wait for its driver to finish his coffee break before they came to save your life?

Proposition 12: Claims to set new standards for the treatment of farm animals and poultry.

        Recommendation: No. As near as I can determine this is a fraudulent initiative because it apparently actually lessens the protection given to hens, for example, by Prop 2 in 2008.

CANDIDATES

Governor: John Cox. His opponent is a fool, a socialist who will continue to destroy the economy of California, and the safety of its residents.

Secretary of State: Mark P. Meuser

Controller: Konstantinos Roditis

Treasurer: Greg Conlon

Attorney General: Steven C Bailey. His opponent is a morally corrupt person, in the mold of Kamala Harris who was corrupt and incompetent.

State Board of Equalization: 3^rd District: G. Rick Marshall

U.S. Senator: This is a Hobson’s Choice akin to having to choose between Hitler and Stalin. Feinstein is particularly noxious, given her inexcusably dishonest actions on the Kavanaugh vote, but especially how she and her husband using her political clout have combined to make hundreds of millions of dollars in commissions by him getting a sweetheart deal to be the exclusive broker on selling Post Office properties. Alas, her opponent is worse. No vote.

U. S. Representative, 37^th District: Ron J. Bassilian

JUDGES

I don’t know any of them. Well, I’ve met a couple at fund raisers, but I don’t really know much about them. For these I rely on my good friend who has worked with most of them. Unless I know them or have a recommendation from someone upon whom I know I can rely, I don't cast votes on them. Here is what he recommends:

Judge of the Superior Court Office No. 4: Alfred A. Coletta

Judge of the Superior Court Office No. 16: Sydne Jane Michel

Judge of the Superior Court Office No. 60: Tony J. Cho

Judge of the Superior Court Office No. 113: Javier Perez. I’ve met him and was impressed.

LOCAL MEASURES 

County Measure W: No. Wants to increase a property tax which is a bad  idea, regardless of the reason and the reason here, "water purity" is political gibberish just trying to get more money. Los Angeles already has the best water in the country and if you don't trust it you can get your own water purifier, which is what I did. This asks for $300 million annually "until ended by voters"! Which is an open-ended rubber stamp to just keep taking your money ad infinitum.

LA City Measure B: No. Wants to amend the City Charter to allow the City to establish a bank. Keep government out of the private sector if at all possible. Do you really want the people who have created such a traffic hell running Los Angeles actually running a bank?

LA City Measure E: Yes, makes the City primary election date coincide with the State’s.

School Measure EE: Yes, similar with Measure E, supra.