Blue Wave? Red Tide? Here Are Your Choices

My two cents on who and what to vote for

Nov 04, 2022

I have no special talent when it comes to predicting the future. I’ve been wrong and I’ve been right when it comes to prognosticating political events. When I produce voter guides, as I have in every election over the past decade, I make choices based on study, experience, and analysis.

If one were to believe the mainstream press, things are looking bad for Team Blue in the upcoming election. The more I hear predictions from the likes of Politico and the Wall Street Journal, the more I suspect there’s an effort underway to drown out voter outrage with a wave of faux analysis.

It might just work. Maybe all this early voting we’re hearing about will be buried by loyal followers of the Great Leader following his advice and waiting until Tuesday to cast their ballots.

If history is any guide, the results in the general election will be a mixed bag, with not enough political power going to any faction to enact an agenda. Republicans prosper in these situations because their main political accomplishment over the past couple of decades has been obstruction.

I’m hoping for a Blue Wave. I’m praying that the forces seeking to undermine democracy don’t triumph. The difference between myself and the MAGA types is that I’ll accept the final count. If my opinions aren’t vindicated, I’ll work harder next time–provided I’m allowed to do so.

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Below are my suggestions for voters, with a few additional notes, identified by a plus (+) sign.

Follow the (green) links to relevant websites, legacy media, and social media for details on candidates and ballot measures.

California’s DC Delegation

U.S. Senate - Alex Padilla

House of Representatives

District 48 Stephen Houlahan
District 49 Mike Levin
District 50 Scott Peters
District 51 Sara Jacobs
District 52 Juan Vargas

California State Officials

Governor –Gavin Newsom
Lt Governor - Eleni Kounalakis
Secretary of State - Shirley Weber
Controller - Malia Cohen
Treasurer - Fiona Ma
Attorney General - Rob Bonta
Superintendent of Public Instruction - Tony Thurmond
Insurance Commissioner - Ricardo Lara

State Assembly Races

District 74 - Chris Duncan
District 75 - No Good Choice
District 76 - Brian Maienschein
District 77 - Tasha Boerner Horvath
District 78 - Chris Ward
District 79 - Akilah Weber
District 80 - David Alvarez*

(* Georgette Gomez has suspended her campaign)

State Senate Races

District 18 - Steve Padilla
District 32 - Brian Nash
District 38 - Catherine Blakespear
District 40 - Joseph Rocha

Board of Equalization

David Dodson + In my opinion, incumbent Mike Schaefer –who is a horrible candidate to start with– “bought” the endorsement of the SD Democratic Party by offering jobs to key operatives.

Judicial

Seat 35 Rebecca Kanter
Seat 36 Peter Singer

READER INPUT: The best idea I heard for making choices about the high court judges was to understand who appointed them and act on that information.

YES on these Judges:
Newsom: Buchanan, M. Sanchez, J. Motoike
Gray Davis: R O'Leary, E Moore
Jerry Brown: M Rapheal, F Menetrez

Following were appointments by Republicans
NO on these judges: M Ramirez, Conrington, Bedsworth

Statewide Ballot Propositions

Proposition 1: It’s About More Than Abortion YES
Propositions 26 & 27: Betcha Can’t Pick Just One YES/NO
+It appears as though California voters are poised to send both of these measures to the dustbin of history.

SD County Supervisors

District 4 - Nathan Fletcher
District 5 - Tiffany Boyd-Hodgson

County Sheriff, Assessor, and Treasurer Races

Sheriff - No Good Choice + When it came time to mark my ballot, I decided that saying NO to the heir apparent (Martinez) was something I should do. Voting for Hemmerling isn’t going to change the culture at the Sheriff Department, but it is a way of making your dissatisfaction known.
Assessor - Barbara Bry
Treasurer - Greg Hodosevich

SD County Ballot Measure

Measure A - Marijuana Is On the Ballot - YES

San Diego City Council

District Two - Dr. Jenn Campbell
District Four - Monica Montgomery-Stepp
District Six - Kent Lee
District Eight - Vivian Moreno

City Of San Diego Ballot Measures

+ I can’t believe I have to say this, but voting no on any of these city measures amounts to kicking the can down the road, particularly with B&C.

Measure B: Cash Meets Trash YES
Measure C: Reach for the Sky! Or Else? YES
Measure D: Righting a Wrong to Build a Future YES
Measure H: It’s for the Children (And Their Parents) YES

San Diego Unified Ballot Measure

Measure U: More Bonds, More Safety, No New Taxes - YES + When I wrote this analysis I’d hoped to include more information about the provision for building housing for education employees. Apparently this was considered something to be kept on the down-low at the time, so I didn’t get enough information to elaborate on what is a VERY GOOD IDEA.

Boards of Education Contests

The County Board