A November 2022 Voter Guide for California’s Executive Offices

Second in an irregular series.

The Democratic Party, which I generally support because I agree with the notion that we’re stronger together as a nation and a society, is about to be a victim of its own success in California.

As you read down the ballot choices presented here, four of the nine Democratic campaigns involve flawed or questionable candidates. Another one has to overcome a negative impression left by her predecessor. 

These are good candidates, at least from the perspective of what they could do. But being not as bad as the other choice on the ballot isn’t viable as a long term approach.  

Republicans, on the other hand, have made a deal with the devil. Many of their candidates ought to be running for lower tier offices. Another bunch of them are running for office just to be bomb throwers.

It’s a sad time for democracy, even without the shadow of Dear Leader hanging over everything. 

The symbol * means a candidate is an incumbent. Internet sources are largely derived from candidates' websites; if I click on a link and it does not work, I won’t list it. 

California Governor

Gavin Newsom* - Democratic Party Endorsed Candidate
Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram
Media profile worth reading: California’s Newsom Escalates GOP Jabs to Build National Profile
My two cents: He handily defeated last year’s recall attempt, proving that the GOP’s ‘we’re all victims narrative’ was crap and leaving a pile of money to spend on causes dear to his heart, like tormenting idiot Red State Governors. While stylistically different from predecessor Jerry Brown, Newsom has mastered walking the fine line between being too liberal and not liberal enough. And his hair is perfect. 

Brian Dahle - Republican Party Endorsed Candidate
Website / Facebook/ Twitter / Instagram
Media profile worth reading: Candidate Dahle pledges action on water storage, fire prevention issues stuck in Sacramento
My two cents; Congrats to the GOP for nominating a candidate willing to campaign on bread and butter issues important to Californians instead of showing fealty to Dear Leader. Unfortunately the ex-legislator doesn’t have a plan capable of getting the political support it would need. So he just stands on the sidelines, whining “crime bad,” “repeal the gas tax,” and other platitudes.  

Lieutenant Governor

Eleni Kounalakis* - Democratic Party Endorsed Candidate
Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram
Media profile worth reading: Kounalakis signs herself into history
My two cents: She bided her time by not entering the recall fray in 2021, but make no mistake, she will eventually take a shot at the governorship. She talks the liberal talk and impresses others as a pragmatist.

Angela Underwood Jacobs - Republican Party Endorsed Candidate
Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram
Media profile worth reading: Underwood Jacobs makes November ballot
My two cents: The Lancaster Deputy Mayor has the dubious distinction of having zero name recognition and running for statewide office as a Republican. 

Secretary of State 

Shirley Weber* -  Democratic Party Endorsed Candidate
Website / Facebook / Twitter 
Media profile worth reading: If voters don't stop it, election deniers could kill American democracy
My two cents: By now, if you’ve been reading about the so-called Stop the Steal movement, you should know that the GOP solution to not getting enough votes to win an election is to scream “voter fraud” and attempt to disenfranchise voters via state offices (Like Secretary of State). We’re fortunate in California to have a life-long civil rights activist in this position.

Rob Bernosky - Republican Party Endorsed Candidate
Website / Twitter
Media profile worth reading: Primary Election 2022: California Secretary of State
My two cents: The Regional Vice Chair of the California Republican Party has arranged his web page for this race to imply that he’s “non-partisan.” He’d like you to know via his Twitter feed that “We live in the most oppressed state in the nation.”

Controller

Malia Cohen - Democratic Party Endorsed Candidate
Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram
Media profile worth reading: What would Malia Cohen do as California controller?
My two cents: The current Chair of the California State Board of Equalization and Former President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors is focused on the social equity part of the job stemming from the position’s oversight of how money moves around the state. The problem for Cohen and any Democrat who would seek the post is the taint left by outgoing incumbent Betty Yee. 

Lanhee Chen - Republican Party Endorsed Candidate
Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram
Media profile worth reading: The man giving the California GOP its best shot at statewide office in years
My two cents: He’s got name recognition from stints as a talking head on CNN, credentials tied to major universities, and a campaign that’s tried to play the middle of the road. Much of the state’s mainstream media have gone gaga over him because he’s not frothing at the mouth and seems competent. Imagine that! A Republican with a shot of winning statewide office! 

Treasurer

Fiona Ma* - Democratic Party Endorsed Candidate
Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram
Media profile worth reading: CalMatters Voter Guide 
My two cents: She’s obviously qualified for the job in terms of work experience and education. Once again, ethical questions have been raised (but not proven), along with an-employee suing for sexual harassment. 

Jack Guerrero  - Republican Party Endorsed Candidate
Website / Facebook
Media profile worth reading: CalMatters Voter Guide
My two cents: The Cudahy City Council Member has the professional chops for this job. It is just when you get around to looking at his endorsers that a queasy feeling emerges… Way too many Tea Party / MAGAts. We really don’t need a rhetorical bomb-thrower in Sacramento.

Attorney General

Rob Bonta* -  Democratic Party Endorsed Candidate
Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram
Media profile worth reading: Farmworkers Fight Shaped California Attorney General Nominee
My two cents: He’s the kind of no-nonsense law enforcer the state needs, concerned about public safety, not beholden to police unions, and a fierce civil rights advocate. 

Nathan Hochman  - Republican Party Endorsed Candidate
Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram
Media profile worth reading: 2022 election: Q&A with Nathan Hochman, California attorney general candidate
My two cents: He thinks he can prosecute his way into solving the opioid crisis and that recent upswings in crime are unique to California, even though they are replicated in states without any of the “reforms” he obviously loathes. 

Insurance Commissioner

Ricardo Lara* - Democratic Party Endorsed Candidate
Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram
Media profile worth reading: CalMatters Voter Guide
My two cents: He is the first openly LGBTQ+ statewide elected official in CA history, in charge of regulating an unregulatable industry. His willingness to accept, give back, and accept insurance campaign donations again makes me want to puke. Except that the other name of the ballot is just plain worse.

Robert Howell - Republican Party Endorsed Candidate
Website 
Media profile worth reading: CalMatters Voter Guide
My two cents: A “Reagan Republican” with no expertise in the field of insurance. What he does have is a position as a board member for the Liberty Forum of Silicon Valley, an intellectual space where tie-wearing scum from the far right ply their wares.   

Superintendent of Public Instruction  

Tony Thurmond* - Democratic Party Endorsed Candidate
Website / Facebook / Twitter
Media profile worth reading: California Ed Chief Tony Thurmond’s Equity Initiatives Gain National Recognition
My two cents: His efforts to establish a free lunch program for students statewide and hire 10,000 mental health clinicians show that he understands that education is about more than tests. Reports about his (lack of) oversight of a “toxic workplace” show that he falls short on administrative skills.   The Union-Tribune passed on endorsing him for the primary because he avoided the angry masking/vaxx mobs, choosing to stay out of the limelight. He knew it was a no-win situation. In this case, he’s definitely the lesser of two evils. And his political universe doesn’t overlap with those pushing against ethnic studies and freedom of choice in libraries.

Lance Christensen - Republican Party Endorsed Candidate
Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram
Media profile worth reading: CalMatters Voter Guide
My two cents: His website resume describes him as “the Vice President of Education Policy and Government Relations at the California Policy Center, long respected as a foundation built on education opportunities and choice.” Sounds kinda warm and fuzzy, huh?
Think again, or better yet, spend some time on your fav search engine. The CPC is a state affiliate of the $83 million right-wing State Policy Network (SPN), a web of state pressure groups that denote themselves as "think tanks" and drive a right-wing agenda in statehouses nationwide. They received funding from the Bradley Foundation for the wildly unsuccessful effort to encourage teachers and public employees  to quit their unions, not because there was anything better out there, but because privatizing government is a lot harder when organized labor stands in the way.

Email me at: WritetoDougPorter@Gmail.com