Dear Friends,

Election day is here. Today, voters in Ventura, Santa Barbara and Oxnard will elect new city representatives and vote on several important measures. This is a critical election, so please go vote today. Below are my election recommendations and some important polling place information and ballot drop off instructions.



Oxnard

Yes on Measure E

Measure E will help protect Oxnard schools from budget cuts that have threatened vital education programs by maintaining key math and science programs, keeping school libraries open, maintaining preschool programs and keeping qualified teachers on the job.




Santa Barbara

Mayor and City Council

I'm supporting Helene Schneider for Mayor and Grant House, Dianne Channing and Bendy White for City Council. These individuals are also the choice of the Democratic Party and the City Firefighters.


No on Measure B

The Democratic Party and I are also recommending a "No" vote on Measure B, the Building Heights Initiative. Measure B could hurt our ability to provide middle-income housing in downtown and undermine efforts at planning for long term sustainability.


Santa Barbara Voting Information

Santa Barbara is conducting it's first all vote-by-mail election. If you still have your ballot you must drop it off at one of the locations below. If you lost your ballot you can also get a new one at these locations. The drop-off locations are open from 7AM to 8PM. If you have any questions call the City Clerk at 805-564-5309.

Braille Institute
Auditorium, 2031 De La Vina Street

Cleveland School
Multi Purpose Room, 123 Alameda Padre Serra

Grace Lutheran Church
Fellowship Hall, 3869 State Street

Holy Cross Church
Parish Hall, 1740 Cliff Drive

Pilgrim Terrace
Activity Center, 649 Pilgrim Terrace Drive

Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History
Fleischmann Auditorium, 2559 Puesta Del Sol

City Clerk's Office
City Hall, 735 Anacapa Street



Ventura

Ventura City Council

I am supporting Brian Brennan and Ed Summers for Ventura City Council. Both are great choices for Ventura and will work hard to revitalize the economy while protecting the environment.


Yes on Measure A

Measure A is a half cent local sales tax that will help protect city services like the Wright Library, roads, parks and emergency services from cutbacks threatened by state raids on the Ventura city budget.


Yes on Measure C

Measure C will prevent big box stores -- like Wal-Mart -- from expanding, including preventing the already-giant Wal-Mart on Victoria Avenue from turning into a behemoth Wal-Mart. The measure protects good paying local jobs, Ventura's small businesses, and the character of the area.

Labels: elections, Santa Barbara, Ventura

Das' Assembly Campaign email newsletter went out today, with endorsements in the forthcoming elections. If you don't currently receive the newswletter and would like to, please send email to: das.williams2010@gmail.com

Das wrote:



ENDORSEMENTS

Santa Barbara Mayor and City Council

In Santa Barbara, I'm supporting Helene Schneider for Mayor and Grant House, Dianne Channing and Bendy White for City Council. These individuals are also the choice of the Democratic Party and the City Firefighters.


Santa Barbara - No on Measure B

The Democratic Party and I are also recommending a "No" vote on Measure B, the Building Heights Initiative. I respect those who brought it forward, but Measure B is too extreme and could hurt our ability to provide middle-income housing downtown. If Measure B passes, a restrictive code will be written into our city charter which will hamper the development of affordable housing and undermine efforts at planning for long term sustainability.


Santa Barbara Elections Cannot Be Bought

Santa Barbara is conducting it's first all vote by mail election and ballots are being mailed on Monday. The Santa Barbara campaign season has been distorted by the participation of Texas Republican billionaire developer Randall van Wolfswinkel. Wolfswinkel has personally spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in support of reactionary right-wing candidates and Measure B. It is going to take a huge effort to prevent our city from being bought, and losing a Democratic majority on the city council-which has a long history on the progressive cutting edge of environmental and social policy. Santa Barbara, it's time to fight back!

Democrats are conducting massive outreach activities and phonebanks all week and next weekend. Contact the Democratic Party office to knock on doors, phone bank, phone from home or find out what else you can do to help: 805-965-8030, sbdems@gmail.com


Ventura - Yes on Measures A & C

In Ventura, it's just as important to participate. I want to particularly highlight Measures C and A.

Measure C will prevent gigantic big box stores-- like Wal-Mart-- from expanding, and will effectively prevent a giant Wal-Mart from turning into a behemoth Wal-Mart on Victoria Avenue. The measure protects good paying local jobs, Ventura's small businesses, and the character of the area. Wal-Mart's lousy corporate ethics and exploitive labor policies, not to mention increased traffic on Victoria, lead us to strongly advocate for C. Call me at 637-7711 to get involved.

Measure A protects city services like the Wright Library, roads and parks and emergency services from cutbacks threatened by state raids on the Ventura city budget. The Measure establishes a half percent increase in the local sales tax, and at an average of $1.44 a week for Ventura residents is a small price to pay for core institutions like Wright, and a safe, clean city. Call the Measure A campaign at 805-832-6824 to get involved.


Ventura City Council

You can also vote for up to three candidates for City Council in Ventura. I strongly urge you to vote for Brian Brennan and Ed Summers. I have the highest degree of confidence in Brian and Ed. They both are working hard to revitalize our economy while protecting the environment.

Labels: city of santa barbara, elections

[ From Taking Full Measure By Cheri Rae, Daily Sound, Sept. 24, 2009 - see original article for full text and comments]


With all the talk about Measure B, voters might assume that the citizens’ height limit initiative is the only ballot measure to consider in the upcoming election.

But lost in the discussion about who loves Santa Barbara the most by the way they stand on B is an alphabet soup of ballot measures, known as C, D, and E, placed there by City Council.

... since each measure would amend the City Charter, voters ought to have some idea about them, especially since in this city-run election, not a single argument, much less a rebuttal, against any of these measures appears in the voter handbook or on the City’s website.


Measure C: Parks and Recreation Commission

Measure C seeks to create a new seven-member Parks and Recreation Commission by combining the five-member Board of Park Commissioners and the five-member Recreation Commission—who now serve concurrently. It also provides for the appointment of a “youth member of age 16 or older” to the new commission. According to the argument for Measure C, signed by Council Members Das Williams and Roger Horton, the consolidation will “save money and staff time. It will also mean there are seven citizens that can hold city staff accountable for the condition of our parks and the results of our senior and youth recreation programs.”

There is no argument on the ballot opposing the measure. But the question remains: as admirable as the notion is to add a “youth member of age 16 years or older,” how does that square with the membership requirement “members must be qualified electors of the City.” Can someone who is too young to vote actually, legally, serve—and vote? The City Attorney’s Impartial Analysis does not address the question, but does offer, “The manner of appointing the youth member and the term of office for the youth member would be established by an ordinance to be adopted by the City Council.”

Would the terms then depend on the age of the youth at appointment? An 18-year-old, for example, would age out of the youth division pretty quickly. Do we really want to amend our City Charter with an age requirement?


Measure D: Harbor Commission

First proposed back in 1999, Measure D seeks to expand the membership of the Harbor Commission from five members to seven, and allows a non-city resident to serve. The argument signed by Mayor Marty Blum argues that a larger membership will facilitate the work of subcommittees; allow them to more effectively handle increased responsibilities at the waterfront; commissioners could consult with two other members; and, “Since the harbor is the only port in the County, it is reasonable to allow individuals from neighboring communities the right to have a voice in its administration.”

Again, there is no argument on the ballot opposing this measure. But on May 21, in their discussion to advise City Council on their position, the Harbor Commission voted 4-0 “not to approve the Charter Amendment proposal to expand the Board of Harbor Commissioners from five to seven members, but allow for appointment of one member to be a non-city resident.”

Along the lines of “if it’s not broke, why fix it,” harbor commissioners agreed that they already run an efficient operation with five members; “lean and mean; actually quite pleasant,” was one commissioner’s description. It should be noted that longtime proponent of the measure, Commissioner Ken Owen, was absent from that meeting.

But it’s clear that the Harbor Commission advisory vote meant little to City Council. And by the time commissioners learned the ballot measure had been placed, it was too late to write an argument against Measure D.


Measure E: Architectural Board of Review

Measure E seeks to reduce the membership of the ABR from nine members to seven — and allows up to three members to be residents of the county, not just the city. The argument in favor of the measure notes, “These changes will improve the efficiency and cohesiveness of the ABR, and make it easier to recruit talented contributors to one of the city’s most important volunteer boards.” The signatories to the argument in favor of Measure E are Mayor Marty Blum, and two former ABR chairs: William Mahan and Bruce Bartlett. They further argue, “These sensible and prudent changes to the membership requirements of one of our most important volunteer review boards are long overdue.”

There is no argument against Measure E on the ballot; I can’t imagine any good one that could be made — unless by architects seeking to add even more members. As anyone who has followed a project at ABR, nine members can be very unwieldy; absences sometimes create inconsistency in how a project is reviewed, depending on which members are in attendance on a given day; allowing individuals who are not city residents to apply could bring a fresh perspective to the Board.

One of the spoils of victory, sometimes lost on the voting public, is the opportunity for City Council to appoint members of boards and commissions to carry out their common vision. These powerful positions are often a steppingstone to higher office, so voters are wise to pay attention to candidates and their appointments—as well as any and all changes that are made to these advisory bodies...

Labels: elections

Santa Barbara Young Democrats recently interviewed candidates for City Council.





"The purpose of the meeting was to give the local Democrat candidates a chance to introduce themselves, and hopefully earn SBYD's eventual endorsement.

"The format was simple. Each candidate was given a few minutes alone with the YD's to introduce themselves, pitch, and answer some brief questions. Any other candidates vying for the same position were asked to wait their turn outside the door...

"Candidates in attendance were Helene Schnieder, Grant House, Iya Falcone, David Pritchett, Dianne Channing & Olivia Uribe. Das Williams was there in his capacity as a young democrat...

I have made up some ratings for each candidates web-savviness based on whatever I could (easily) find..."

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Please click on post title to go to full text at City2.0

Labels: 2009, elections