My picks for the 2010 Mid-Term elections

This is going to be a great season, but not as good as 2008. There are a lot of serious issues on the ballot and a lot of reason for folks to get involved.

Local Races

Berryessa School Board

• David Cohen

Milpitas City Council

• Bill Ferguson — He’s fighting a dirty system, and that takes courage.

Mayor of Santa Clara

• Chris Stampolis: As a DNC member and party leader, he’ll do well.

Congress

• Zoe Lofgren(CA-16)
• Mike Honda(CA-15)
• Anna Eshoo(CA-14) – She has supported the Catholic Democrats PAC, which I run, so she has my undying loyalty.

Senate

• Barbara Boxer (but just barely…due to her stance on bringing the As to San Jose. And because she was mean to Rebecca).
• Russ Feingold: I volunteered for his first 1992 campaign, and I think is an asset to the senate and to America.

Governor

• Jerry Brown

Secretary of State

• Deborah Bowen – She seems to be doing a good job. Could she be the Doug LaFollette of California? (Obscure Wisconsin politician reference).

State Assembly, 21st AD

• Rich Gordon

State Superintendent of  Schools

• Tom Torlakson: A good guy. I met him once. He’s a triathalete, and good with people.

Santa Clara County Supervisor

• Forrest Williams — A good hardworking public servant, and one of my favorite people in public life.

City of San Jose

• Madison Nguyen (District 7)
• Magdalena Carrasco (District 5). She is an impressive figure, and running against the San Jose machine.
• Donald Rocha (District 9)  — He is a good candidate, and the other guy hates gays.

State Propositions

• Prop 19:Yes: Legalize Marijuana:  — Only so we can tax a regulate it.
• Prop 20: No: Remove elected officials from Re-Districting process. Not a fan of having someone not responsible to the voters taking over the process. Seems dangerous.
• Prop 21: Yes: Vehicle License Fee to fund parks and wildlife programs
• Prop 22:Yes: Prohibits the State for taking county and municipal money
• Prop 23: No: Suspends AB32 Climate Change Law; Funded by Oil Companies
• Prop 24: Yes: We have to pay more to close the budget gap without hurting schools and essential services.
• Prop 25: Yes: Change the vote to pass a budget to a majority, not super-majority.
• Prop 26: No: Requires state and local fees to be passed by two-thirds vote
• Prop 27: Yes: Eliminate Citizens Redistricting Commission. See prop 20 for why.

City Measures

• Measure A: Yes: $29 parcel tax for Children’s Health in Santa Clara County
• Measure B: Yes: Raise Vehicle licensing fees to support road maintenance, re-pavement, fixing potholes.
• Measure C: No: Term limits for Water District. I am not a believer  in term limits. They only serve to through good people out (and sometimes bad ones).
• Measure G: Yes: $268M Bond for improvement of Evergreen Community College District, with no money for administrative salaries and all staying local.
• Measure U: Yes: Marijuana Business Tax. This is the whole point of prop 19.
• Measure V: Yes: Its a fairness issue across all unions.
• Measure W: Yes: Pension Reform. The Pension overhangs that some municipalities have will get force them into bankruptcy. We need this to stave off the possibility

National Races

Congress

• Tom Perriello, VA-5. Tom is a great guy and a great public servant. Read about why I support him here at the Catholic Democrats PAC site.