The Queer Crowd
2018 Voter Guide
Welcome to The Queer Crowd voter guide. Below are our recommendations for the upcoming mid-term elections. Candidates included here are not necessarily endorsed by TQC but are folx who we feel are the best choice in these elections. We will be updating this list with additional recommendations as we attend Candidate Forums and other information becomes available leading up to November 6th.
SAN LUIS OBISPO
This measure will allow SLO City to implement a tax on marijuana, and allow cannabis businesses to begin operating in the city.
Note: the details of the tax (up to 10% of gross receipts for retail and businesses and up to $10.00 per canopy square foot for cultivation, raising approximately $1,500,000 annually for the general fund) have already been decided, leaving voters with the decision to either move forward with implementing it, or vote no and continue to have a ban on marijuana businesses in the city. TQC advocates a Yes vote.
Vote for up to two candidates.
Erica Stewart has been involved in the SLO community for decades, and will provide an important link between Cal Poly (where she is a staff member) and the rest of the San Luis Obispo community. She has been endorsed by IBEW as well as other labor/progressive organizations.
Carlyn Christianson was first elected in 2013, and has been a pragmatic voice on the council. She generally (although not always) votes progressively, and provides throughful and deliberate reasoning behind her votes. TQC hopes she will continue to grow as a voice for queer folx and other marginalized groups in our community.
Heidi Harmon is a strong progressive who has led the city to many accomplishments during her two years as Mayor, including a commitment to the city being carbon neutral by 2035.
Many of the ads against her have focused on the increased construction/development occurring over the past two years; it is important to note that the projects underway now were approved before Heidi became mayor, many as far back as 2007.
Yes yes yes!!! There are tons of ads running against Measure G right now (thanks to $4 million being spent by Chevron alone), but it is important that we vote yes to protect our local environment and waterways.
Vote for up to two candidates
MORRO BAY
Vote for up to two candidates.
Yes yes yes!!! There are tons of ads running against Measure G right now (thanks to $4 million being spent by Chevron alone), but it is important that we vote yes to protect our local environment and waterways.
Vote for up to two candidates
PASO ROBLES
Vote for up to two candidates.
First of all, it has been 34 years since a woman was elected to Paso City Council. That is ridiculous. IT has also been 20 years since a Latino candidate ran for office, even though Latino residents make up 30% of the city population.
Maria Garcia is a pharmacy technician and Mary Kay consultant who helped found the Hispanic Business Association and serves on the Library Board of Trustees. She supports Measure G and has been endorsed by Indivisible SLO, as well as Bill Ostrander.
Yes yes yes!!! There are tons of ads running against Measure G right now (thanks to $4 million being spent by Chevron alone), but it is important that we vote yes to protect our local environment and waterways.
Vote for up to two candidates
ARROYO GRANDE
Vote for up to two candidates
Yes yes yes!!! There are tons of ads running against Measure G right now (thanks to $4 million being spent by Chevron alone), but it is important that we vote yes to protect our local environment and waterways.
Vote for up to two candidates.
TQC found minimal information available online about the candidates in this race. However, LMUTA (the LMUSD teacher's union) has endorsed Stacy Meko and Chad Robertson, so we would recommend voting for them as well.
ATASCADERO
Vote for up to two candidates.
Yes yes yes!!! There are tons of ads running against Measure G right now (thanks to $4 million being spent by Chevron alone), but it is important that we vote yes to protect our local environment and waterways.
Vote for up to four candidates.
KERN COUNTY
Flip the district! Matta believes in funding public infrastructure, raising the minimum wage, and making community and technical college education free. She has been endorsed by a variety of groups, from the local Stonewall Democrats to Labor to Indivisible.
Whitney Weddell is a longtime activist in the Kern County queer community, and has taught middle and high school in the region for three decades. She has been endorsed by United Domestic Workers of America and LiUNA Local 220, as well as an array of other unions and political organizations.
SANTA MARIA
Gloria Soto is a regional development manager for Planned Parenthood Central Coast who was born and raised in Santa Maria, and is a strong progressive. Her campaign has been youth led, and she will add a vital voice to the Santa Maria City Council.
TQC saw Rafa at both the Santa Maria Pride event, and at the protest at the ICE facilities later that day. In addition his platform is very progressive and supportive of immigrants and environmental protections in the Santa Maria area.
Vote for up to two candidates.
Abe Melendrez is an organizer for CAUSE (Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy) and has worked on many campaigns to support immigrants and farmworkers in our region. He is also strongly pro-LGBTQ.
Vote for up to three candidates.
TEMPLETON
Vote for up to two candidates.
Barby Wunsch is director of development and programs at Grid Alternatives, a non-profit that provides solar power to low-income communities. She has previously worked in education and continues to serve as the K12 liaison for the organization.
Yes yes yes!!! There are tons of ads running against Measure G right now (thanks to $4 million being spent by Chevron alone), but it is important that we vote yes to protect our local environment and waterways.
SAN SIMEON
Yes yes yes!!! There are tons of ads running against Measure G right now (thanks to $4 million being spent by Chevron alone), but it is important that we vote yes to protect our local environment and waterways.
GROVER BEACH
Vote for up to two candidates.
SHANDON
SAN MIGUEL
Vote for up to two candidates.
CALIFORNIA
PROPOSITIONS
This proposition would allocate $4 billion in general obligation bond funds to various housing related programs, benefitting vets and low income residents of California. These include the CalVet Home Loan Program ($1 billion), the Joe Serna, Jr. Farmworker Housing Grant Fund ($300 million), the Local Housing Trust Matching Grant Program ($300 million), and several others.
[UPDATED] Proposition 2 would authorize California to use revenue from a 2004 proposition (1% tax on income above $1 million for mental health services) on $2 billion in revenue bonds for homelessness prevention housing for persons in need of mental health services. Based on the initial information available, TQC advocated a no vote on this proposition because of fears that it would divert this $2 billion from existing mental health treatment programs. As more information has come out, however, we have changed our recommendation to yes in recognition of how homelessness exacerbates mental health issues, and makes individuals difficult to reach for treatment. This is in addition to the fact that homelessness is one of the great issues facing our state today, and although Proposition 2 would serve a limited population, it is at the very least a step in the right direction.
Our state critically needs to address water resiliency, but this proposition is not the answer. It would re-allocate funding from climate action in some cases, as well requiring less oversight to build new dams in environmentally sensitive areas.
This proposition would authorize $1.5 billion in general obligation bonds for construction/expansion/renovation of children's hospitals. There are many obvious upsides to this, but TQC is concerned that it would bypass normal legislative methods of providing such funding, and would provide funding to private hospitals in addition to public and not-for-profit hospitals.
Proposition 5 would allow homeowners age 55+ to transfer the (outdated) tax assessments from an older property to a new one, resulting in artificially lower taxes. The stated intention would be to allow retirees to downsize to smaller homes without drastically increasing their taxes, but in reality this would decrease funding for schools and public services, and would not assist older adults who are not homeowners, bring down housing prices, or tackle the issue of homelessness.
This proposition seeks to repeal the gas tax. Although not perfect, this tax is funding vital infrastructure improvements and should not be repealed.
This would allow California to establish year-round daylight savings time (DST) if the federal government allows it and the California legislature votes 2/3 in favor.
Although there is no guarantee that those two items will occur, TQC supports this proposition - the time change is disrupting and causes negative health impacts, especially for older residents.
This proposition supports requiring dialysis clinics to issue refunds to patients or patients' payers for revenue above 115 percent of the costs of direct patient care and healthcare improvements. Dialysis clinics average 5x higher profit margins than typical hospitals, and many patients have no alternative but to receive dialysis for months or years on end. Proposition 8 will incentivize higher quality, more affordable medical care for dialysis patients.
Yes yes yes!! Proposition 10 will allow local governments to implement rent control measures, which was previously banned by Costa Hawkins. This is especially necessary in a state where 1/3 of residents spend more than half of their income on rent.
This proposition seeks to force EMTs and paramedics to remain on call and attending their radios during meals and rest breaks, even when working 12+ hour shifts. This is unsafe for everyone involved, including those being treated. This proposition began as a dispute between unions and ambulance companies, and the ambulance companies have now brought it to the state as a proposition.
This proposition sets minimum standards for space/care of egg laying hens, beeding pigs, and calves for veal. It's not perfect (and is opposed by PETA and other groups that are completely opposed to breeding animals for food), but seems to be a step in the right direction.
JUDGES
Leondra Kruger has a wide array of experience, from clerking for Justice John Paul Stevens to serving as an assistant to the US Solicitor General during the Obama administration. She is the California Supreme Court's second African American woman justice, and one of the youngest justices on the court.
Carol Corrigan was one of the three justices that voted against same-sex marriage in 2008
TQC advocates a no vote because her judicial appointments have come from conservative governors, and because she has generally sided with corporations in the rulings we were able to find online.
Helen Bendix has significant experience on the bench, and has also taught law and mediation at several universities. She appears to be a fair judge who favors mediation/alternative dispute resolution. She is a child of holocaust refugees and is involved in several diversity related law organizations.
Not too much information is available about Elwood Lui's rulings (although People v. Ritchie makes for a noir story of the break-up of a gay relationship), but he has a significant amount of experience (he received a professional achievement award from UCLA in 1992), and has been appointed by a Democrat.
Like many of the judges, not too much information is available. She was appointed by Schwarzenegger, but of her rulings that we could find there was not a conservative bent. She has also worked on a panel to reduce judicial bias in courtrooms, although there is not much information about the results from that. Overall, we would vote yes on her appointment.
Luis Lavin is the third openly LGBT appellate judge in California, and the first to be appointed to the Second District Court of Appeal in Los Angeles. He has ruled consistently and fairly, including against police targeting of gay men in undercover stings in Rodriguez v. Commission on Professional Competence.
Halim Dhanidina is the first Muslim appointed as a judge in California. In one of his most publicized cases, he ruled that the city of Long Beach police department unfairly targeted gay men when it carried out lewd conduct stings. He has taught law for many years, and also serves on the boards of several organizations (Asian Americans Advancing Justice, the Asian Pacific American Bar Association, and Muslim-Jewish NewGround).
JNE Commission Rating: Not Yet Posted
Anne Egerton was the West Coast Counsel for NBC prior to serving as a trial judge to the LA Supreme Court for 16 years. She was on a three judge panel which ruled against the LA County Sheriff, in favor of the LA Times right to use confidential information in an investigation on police misconduct.
JNE Commission Rating: Exceptionally Well Qualified
[UPDATED] Nora Manella was on a recent list of recommendations from the Log Cabin Republicans to Trump regarding the 9th circuit, when the administration was “seeking help finding candidates who were constitutional conservatives, residents of California, and worthy of such a nomination”. So, TQC initially recommended a no vote.
However, we recently heard from a lawyer who has worked with her who stated, “Presiding Appeals Court Justice Nora Manella is an excellent judge, with a long and relatively progressive record. She was appointed by a Democrat, President Clinton, to be the US Attorney for the Central District of CA, and has demonstrated excellence in both intellect and temperament for her entire career. She should be a definite YES on your guide.” On this basis, we have updated our recommendation to a yes vote.
JNE Commission Rating: Exceptionally Well Qualified
Thomas Willhite appears to be strongly conservative from the rulings we found online. In a 2013 ruling he claimed that he could not convict a man of rape because he had snuck in a slept with a woman while impersonating her boyfriend, rather than her husband, based on an 1872 law stating “any person who fraudulently obtains the consent of another to sexual relations escapes criminal liability… unless he (or she)… masquerades as the victim’s spouse”.
JNE Commission Rating: Extremely Well Qualified
Dorothy Kim is the first Korean-America judge on the Court of Appeals. She spent 12 years as a federal prosecutor, focusing on fraud, environmental crimes, and public corruption. One of her highest profile environmental pollution cases resulted in a $37 million criminal penalty for deliberate pollution from ships
JNE Commission Rating: Well Qualified
Carl Moor spent five years with a public interest law firm, focusing on cases where the government had been defrauded, and where environmental regulations had been broken. He as also served as a federal prosecutor, counsel at NBC, and other roles.
JNE Commission Rating: Exceptionally Well Qualified
Lamar Baker served as Special Assistant to the President and Associate Counsel to the President under Obama. Most of the information I can find online is from 2015, when he was first nominated to the Court of Appeal, and right wing sites complained that he was too young and too liberal. His highest profile ruling that I can find was in regards to the Aliso Canyon methane leak, which he temporarily blocked from re-opening when the company that owned it tried to rush it back into use.
JNE Commission Rating: Qualified
Thanks to his blog and writings for the LA Times, there is an overwhelming amount of information online about the thought and inner workings behind Arthur Gilbert's rulings. He has been on the court since 1982 (nominated by Jerry Brown… during Round 1 of his governorship). He has spoken out against the three strikes law, but still sentenced people using it, citing the necessity of upholding the law. Similarly he has worked to make courts more accessible for marginalized communities (making documentation available in multiple languages before that was mandate across the state), but also stated that he hopes the pendulum doesn't swing too far the other way (in a strange piece that cited the Wonder Woman movie of all things). Overall, he appears to rule fairly, but we would recommend checking out http://gilbertsubmits.blogspot.com/ for some light reading.
JNE Commission Rating: None… because he was first nominated in 1982 before JNE began giving ratings.
Hometown judge Martin Tangeman has been a Central Coast resident since 1978, when he graduated from UC Hastings. He worked for private firms in Morro Bay and SLO until he became a SLO County Superior Court Judge in 2001. According to the Tribune, he “has been involved in the Land Conservancy, the Festival Mozaic and the Chamber of Commerce… He has made news in recent years, ruling against a challenge to San Luis Obispo County’s smart-growth policies by the Coalition of Labor, Agriculture and Business in 2011and rejecting a challenge to the county’s emergency ban on new pumping from the Paso Robles groundwater”.
JNE Commission Rating: Extremely Well Qualified
Gail Feuer was an attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Counsel for 12 years, and then served as a judge for the LA County Superior Court.
JNE Commission Rating: Well Qualified
Not too much information available… He wrote a landmark ruling requiring better standards of care for elephants in captivity, and there are several right wing sites that have written articles disparaging him for being too liberal…
JNE Commission Rating: Exceptionally Well Qualified
Has written and spoken out widely against the recent changes to the California three strikes law (complaining that if the third strike isn't violent/serious the offender can't automatically be sentenced to 25 to life). Extremely conservative.
JNE Commission Rating: Well Qualified