City of Camarillo
This guide aims to be a complete list of leftist recommendations for every race on your November 6th ballot. It is being assembled by a volunteer group of DSA members in Ventura County frustrated at the lack of information and guidance on local races, and with the difficulty of finding out who and what each candidate really represents. The recommendations here are based on careful research by individual members, and do not constitute chapter endorsements except where noted. It is not yet complete, but we will continue adding recommendations up until Election Day. We hope you find it useful as you fill out your ballot in the spirit of Rebecca Solnit: ”I think of voting as a chess move, not a valentine.“ See you at the polls, then, just as importantly, in the streets. With your help, we can bring to birth a new world.
– Democratic Socialists of America, Ventura County
NOTE: The following are good-faith recommendations based on research by individual chapter members, they do not constitute official DSA-VC endorsements except where specifically stated.
US Senate
Kevin DeLeon (D) ✓ DeLeon is an imperfect candidate and Feinstein has been stepping up her performance lately (no doubt due in part to the presence of a challenger) but it's time for a state as blue as CA to have two progressive senators. Among other things, seating DeLeon will advance our goals of single payer health care & free public education through college.
CA Governor
Gavin Newsom (D) ✓ Newsom is a fairly progressive Democrat and his opponent is a wealthy Trump wannabe.
CA Lt Governor
Eleni Kounalakis (D) ✓ Kounalakis is the more progressive candidate. She is more keen to social justice issues (e.g. LGBTQ+ rights,) and her opponent's statements mostly focus on past accomplishments.
CA Secretary of State
Alex Padilla (D) ✓ Padilla takes mostly good positions (including support for Prop 10 and the Dream Act) but has some troubling corporate backing.
CA Treasurer
Fiona Ma (D) ✓ More guidance for local governments could be helpful.Seems supportive of single payer. Opponent is pushing tax cuts for corporations.
CA Superintendent of Schools
Tony Thurmond ✓ Thurmond is the more progressive candidate. He is an advocate for community college, CSU & UC colleges.
CA Attorney General
Xavier Becerra (D) ✓ Xavier Becerra is a reliable progressive Democrat and is focused on continuing California's resistance to the Trump agenda on issues from immigration to gun safety to the environment. Vote to keep him as attorney general!
CA Controller
Betty Yee (D) ✓ Yee, the incumbent, has by all accounts been doing a good job as controller, and supports the policies you'd expect from a progressive Dem.
CA Commissioner of Insurance
Ricardo Lara (D) ✓ In the state Senate since 2012, Lara is a child of immigrants with an extremely progressive voting track record, as well as the author of several bills (including SB 562, designed to make CA the first state in the union to enact a single-payer, universal healthcare system.)
CA Board of Equalization, District 3
Tony Vasquez (D) ✓ Vasquez has faced some conflict of interest accusations and generally seems to be the sort of wealthy consultant-class Dem we'd like to see less of. Still, it's 2018 and his opponent is a Prop 13 supporting, anti-taxation Republican, so hold your nose and vote for the Democrat, at least for now (Fiona Ma is in favor of disbanding the Board entirely, so this seat may be gone before it's up for election again.)
CA Prop 1
Yes ✓ More money for housing. From ballotpedia: "Proposition 1 would authorize $4 billion in general obligation bonds for housing-related programs, loans, grants, and projects and housing loans for veterans."
CA Prop 2
Yes ✓ Of course we'd prefer to just enact a higher millionaire's tax to pay for these programs, but using mental health money to provide housing for homeless vets as part of their mental health treatment is a reasonable stopgap.
CA Prop 3
No ❌Prop 3 is written and funded by agribusiness and others with a direct economic stake in getting it passed. It is opposed by the Sierra Club and other groups that put our environment and ecosystems ahead of profits.
CA Prop 4
Yes ✓ This is an easy yes vote. Prop 4 funds improvements to hospitals for children and has no organized opposition. Unless you're an anti-bond zealot (and if you're here you're probably not) there's no reason to oppose this.
CA Prop 5
No ❌Prop 5 takes funding from cities and schools and gives it preferentially to those senior citizens who need it least – those who have been long-time homeowners paying less property tax than anyone else. It's a terrible idea, vote no!
CA Prop 6
No ❌Prop is opposed by all the unions, and takes away funding that provides jobs and fixes unsafe infrustructure.
CA Prop 7
Yes ✓ Permanent daylight saving time would reduce heart attacks by 5%
CA Prop 8
Yes ✓ Privately Owned dialysis clinics must not be allowed to refuse life-saving treatments to patients solely based on payment source. People in need of dialysis don't have a choice in the matter, and the clinics that provide it shouldn't be permitted to gouge their patients.
CA Prop 9
removed from ballot
CA Prop 10
🌹YES!🌹 Prop 10 is a crucial step toward housing justice in California. It removes the rent control restrictions imposed by the Costa-Hawkins Act and paves the way for a real transformation of housing in our state in the form of universal rent and vacancy control. Update: Prop 10 has been endorsed by the national DSA organization! Read the detailed statement signed by all 16 CA chapters here.
CA Prop 11
No ❌Privately owned ambulance companies should not be exempt from giving their staff uninterrupted breaks entitled to them by law. Ambulance crews are some of the most exploited workers in the health care industry and need more protections, not fewer.
CA Prop 12
Yes ✓ Establishes minimum requirements for confining certain farm animals.
House of Reps CA-26
Julia Brownley (D) ✓ She doesn’t believe in Medicare for All, but is better than Trump follower Sabato.
CA Assembly District 44
Jacqui Irwin (D) ✓ A tactical vote. Supports sanctuary policies, doesn't support single payer, takes money from the realtors' lobby.
Camrosa Water Division 2
Jeffery Landis ✓ The Board of Camrosa has been uncontested for decades. It is time for new ideas and fresh culture to keep the Board at its best. As a County Manager, he knows this way around local politics and to processes keep the Board efficient and operating in today's best interest.
Camarillo City Council (choose 3)
These three women are running together as a slate of progressive candidates for Camarillo:
Jessica Romero ✓ Talks about the need to foment greater diversity in representation, and a concern for helping local businesses.
Bev Dransfeldt ✓ She has a more structured platform than the other incumbents, though there are a lot of similarities. She has also voiced opposition to the rising cost of housing.
Susan Santangeleno ✓ She has a personal history of working positively with labor unions, and has laid out a platform on traffic reduction which is a major concern in the area.
Camarillo Measure E
Yes ✓ It's a popular measure and was put on the ballot in large part by a grass roots effort by residents, who feel it would be beneficial and more equitable. Measure E forces long-serving council members to vacate their seats for a full term, after which they can run to win them back fairly without an incumbency advantage.
Camarillo Measure M
No ❌ 8 year lifetime limits on City Council service would limit the pool of qualified and experienced candidates in a way that Measure E's less extreme term limits would hopefully avoid. Having a council full of entrenched incumbents is bad, but having a council full of neophytes is arguably worse.
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