For a no frills version of what is below, I have a…
First and Foremost! My Shout Outs:
If you see a glaring mistake, LET ME KNOW ASAP!
We vote on Tuesday, November 8th;
Your absentee (vote by mail) ballot has to be postmarked NO LATER than the 8th as well.
Okay, let’s get started. In this voter guide I will have links to supporting stories, but in my DOWNLOADABLE PDF, it will be just the guide for Santa Clarita Valley (SCV)/Newhall area. Of course this is a contentious season. Many do not like the choices we were dealt. I even started a political site to help defeat Trump in the primary season… but here we are. So, here are some links to help the person on the fence consider why voting for “The Donald is the best choice. Following are reasons to vote for Trump and reasons to defeat Hillary:
- What Does The Lesser of Two Evils Mean? (An Open Letter) – Christian
- Theologian Wayne Grudem Deals with the Moral Objections for Voting Trump – Christian
- Dr Michael Brown On Why He Is Voting for Trump – Christian
- “Ahhh ‘Heller’ No!” Hillary Shot Down by John Lott – neutral
- Sargon of Akkad (an atheist) Explains “Why Hillary Must Lose” – Atheist
- Michael Moore Explains To Us Why Trump [should] Will Win -neutral
- Dinesh D’Souza Explains Why Christians MUST Vote Trump – Christian
- Steven Crowder’s “Top-Ten” Wiki Leaks” – neutral
- We Want Answers! ~ Liz Wheeler – neutral
- Voter Fraud ~ Guess Who? -neutral
- Hillary Clinton’s Plan for the Supreme Court – neutral
- The Most “Racist” Thing Trump Said: “SJW Confronted with Facts… and Coyotajes” – neutral
If those do not give you pause, then so be it. On to the ballot:
PAGE 1
PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENT
- Trump and Pence – #11
PAGE 2
UNITED STATES SENATOR
- Loretta Sanchez – #37
UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE
- Steve Knight – #41
STATE SENATOR
- Scott Wilk – #45
MEMBER OF THE STATE ASSEMBLY
- Dante Acosta – #48
PAGE 3
JUDICIAL
Superior Court
- (Office #11) Steven Schreiner – #63
- (Office #42) Efrain Matthew Aceves – #66
- (Office #84) Susan Jung Townsend – #68
- (Office #158) David A. Berger – #71
County
- (Supervisor 5th Dist) Kathryn Barger – #76
PAGE 4
STATE MEASURES
Proposition 51: NO
- (J&K) Let’s stop spending money we don’t have huh? How about we try that for once? NO
- (GOP) $9 Billion general obligation bond to fund school construction projects. The Measure is sponsored by the Building Industry Association and supported by the California Republican Party. This will not result in a tax increase. YES
- (Dennis Prager) Schools Bonds – NO. More money (borrowed, with interest) won’t fix the problem.
Proposition 52: YES
- (J&K) It looks like a tax money shell game involving Medi-Cal, but there are federal matching funds involved so let’s keep it. YES
- (GOP) Uses existing hospital fees paid to the state to fund Medi-Cal, uninsured patients and children health care. Saves State from spending for this purpose. YES
- (Dennis Prager) Medi-Cal Fee Program – YES. Very complicated, but yes vote will ensure Feds continue to share in cost of medical care for illegal immigrants (which they allow in) and other non-payers who overtax our health care facilities.
Proposition 53: YES
- (J&K) This gives back the power to the people to approve state-revenue bond measures. California voters would get to vote on any large scale project that costed more than $2 billion (High Speed Fail anyone?) YES
- (GOP) Requires statewide voter approval on any state revenue bond projects exceeding $2 Billion. Only involves State bond issues, not local governments. YES
- (Dennis Prager) Voter approval for large bond offerings – YES. Sacramento needs as much supervision as possible.
Proposition 54: YES
- (J&K) Again, time to keep the crooks in Sacramento responsible! Vote yes to make any bill that the legislature wants to pass, available online for the public to review for at least 72 hours before the Legislature can pass it. The Legislature would also be required to ensure that its public meetings are recorded and make those videos available on the internet. YES
- (GOP) Requires any bill to be printed and published online for 72 hours before the legislature can vote on it. Requires legislature to record and post video of all legislative proceedings other than closed session proceedings. YES
- (Dennis Prager) Legislation Transparency – YES. Contrary to Nancy Pelosi’s recommendation on ObamaCare, give the people a chance to find out what is in bills the legislature wants to pass before our lawmakers vote.
Proposition 55: NO
- (J&K) A no vote on this would allow the ‘temporary’ income tax increase passed in 2012 to expire in 2018 as it was designed to. Let’s make sure that ‘temporary’ still means something in Sacramento. NO, NO, NO!
- (GOP) Extends the temporary personal income tax imposed by Proposition 30 in 2012 by an additional 12 years. Money to be used for K-12 schools and for healthcare programs. NO
- (Dennis Prager) Tax Extension – NO. More money for politicians to waste.
PAGE 5
Proposition 56: NO
- (J&K) Another attempt to raise your taxes, this time on cigarettes. You may not smoke them, but do we really need to give more money to the Legislature? Plus, the $1.6 billion tax gives $1 billion to health insurance companies and special interests. Total giveaway. NO
- (GOP) Would increase the cigarette tax by $2.00 per pack. Funding goes to healthcare and tobacco use prevention programs. Supported by Tom Steyer. Benefits insurance companies and special interests. NO
- (Dennis Prager) Cigarette Tax – NO. More money for politicians to waste.
Proposition 57: NO
- (J&K) We’ve already seen the fallout from prison realignment and proposition 47, this is just Jerry Brown doubling down on that. 57 would allow early release for violent criminals, including those who rape unconscious victims. NO, NO, NO!
- (GOP) Gives prisoners convicted of nonviolent felonies to be given early release. Sponsored by Gov. Brown. NO
- (Dennis Prager) Criminal Sentences and Parole – NO. Not interested in coddling criminals or releasing them from prison early.
Proposition 58: NO
- (J&K) Prop 58 wouldn’t do much to modernize how we teach English to students. It would be pointless to try and change it. Immigrant kids are learning English faster than ever and record numbers of immigrant students are being admitted to California universities. NO
- (GOP) In 1998 California voters approved an initiative requiring that children be taught English in our schools unless parents disagreed. This measure would modify that initiative and allow children to be taught in other languages. This measure from 1998 has resulted in children learning English at a much faster rate than in a bilingual environment. NO
- (Dennis Prager) Multilingual Education – NO. Terrible idea. We voted this failed practice out in the ‘90s with Prop. 227. This would put it back in place.
Proposition 59: NO
- (J&K) They’re trying to overturn Citizen’s United at the state level, the problem is, they can’t! The proposition even says this for Yes voters. All the measure says is that voters are asking elected officials to seek increased regulation of campaign spending and contributions. No specifics are offered. No suggestions on how they could effectively limit spending. It does nothing at all. NO
- (GOP) Asks voters to decide if there should be a federal Constitutional Amendment to overturn the ruling in Citizens United vs. FEC. This Proposition has no real effect other than sending a message to Congress. NO
- (Dennis Prager) Political Spending – NO. It’s called free speech.
PAGE 6
Proposition 60: NO
- (J&K) Do you want to see the adult film industry chased out of California? Do you really care if there are condoms in adult films? NO
- (GOP) Requires the use of condoms for adult films. This proposition is opposed by both the Democrat Party and the Republican Party. It is proposed by a special interest group. NO
- (Dennis Prager) Condoms for Adult Movie “Actors” – NO. They’re adults, and they have chosen to work in an adult industry where they know their risks. Let them make their own decisions.
Proposition 61: NO
- (J&K) It’s a limited price control attempt on some drug purchases. It could lead many other drug costs to increase. NO
- (GOP) Establishes pricing standards for state prescription drug purchases. The proposition would increase drug costs to veterans, would result in a new bureaucracy costing taxpayers millions. Was written by an individual who stands to benefit financially if it passes. NO
- (Dennis Prager) Pricing on Prescription Drugs – NO. More government meddling will only raise costs.
Proposition 62: NO
- (J&K) This gets a bit confusing as there are two death penalty initiatives on the ballot this year. This one wants to repeal the the death penalty entirely. The Death Penalty might not be used that often in California, but we shouldn’t get rid of it. Repealing the Death Penalty means allowing brutal killers to live the rest of their lives on the taxpayer’s dime. NO, NO, NO!
- (GOP) Repeals the death penalty and replaces it with life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Applies retroactively to prisoners already sentenced to the death penalty. Opposed by most law enforcement agencies. NO
- (Dennis Prager) Repeal Death Penalty – NO. We should strengthen the death penalty.
Proposition 63: NO
- (J&K) A Gavin Newsom special. If we can’t stop the guns, let’s stop the bullets. Crazy. NO
- (GOP) Requires a background check to purchase ammunition and bans large-capacity ammunition magazines. Requires ammunition purchases be reported to the Department of Justice. This proposition is opposed by the law enforcement community. Sponsored by Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom. NO
- (Dennis Prager) Register and Undergo a Background Check to Buy Ammo – NO. We don’t need more gun control. All this measure will do is make ammunition sales/purchases hard and more costly for lawful dealers/gun owners while creating a black market in ammo for those who can’t pass a background check. It won’t stop a single criminal from getting bullets.
Proposition 64: NO
- (ME) I will vote yes on this when they can tell if a driver is under the influence using some sort of breathalyzer. This will be available soon. NO
Just some of my posts on or related to the matter — for the curious:
- (J&K) It’s inevitable. People want to smoke weed legally? Fine. Whatever. Don’t bother us with the smoke and we’re all good. It’s about time to legalize it anyway, and California may as well get all that sweet sweet revenue from taxing the devil’s lettuce. So vote yes and toke up Cheech! YES
- (GOP) Legalizes marijuana. Imposes a 15% excise tax on retail sales of marijuana. A marijuana legalization initiative was on the ballot in 2010 but was defeated by voters. Would allow marijuana ads on TV. This proposition is designed to benefit special interests in the marijuana business. NO
- (Dennis Prager) Legalize Marijuana – NO. Dangerous in every respect. States like Colorado and Oregon where recreational use has been made legal are seeing big problems.
Proposition 65: NO
- (J&K) So the money either goes to the grocery companies or to the state for vague environmental projects. Just vote NO on Prop 67 and kill the whole thing. NO
- (GOP) Redirects money collected by grocery and other retail stores for carry-out bags to a special fund managed by the Wildlife Conservation Board to support environmental projects. NO
- (Dennis Prager) 65 — Proceeds from Grocery Bag Sales – This is very confusing, but here’s how it seems to work out best: NO on 65 65 hands those fees over to environmental groups. We don’t want that. We want to keep the money out of the hands of leftist environmentalists.
PAGE 7
Proposition 66: YES
- (J&K) The second of two initiatives on the death penalty, A Yes vote on this measure would reform the death penalty appeal system. Nowadays, an inmate sentenced to death could spend years wading through appeals. Proposition 66 would speed this up, and help bring closure to victims’ families and justice to brutal murderers. No brainer here. YES, YES, YES!
- (GOP) Shortens the time for legal appeals to a death penalty conviction. Requires habeas corpus petitions be held in trial courts instead of the State Supreme Court. YES
- (Dennis Prager) Shorten time for Death Penalty Appeals Process – YES. Long overdue.
Proposition 67: NO
- (J&K) Bag litter is minimal, kill the bag ban! NO, NO, NO!
- (GOP) A referendum to overturn the plastic bag ban passed by the Legislature. The language here is tricky. If you want to overturn the ban on plastic bags, vote No. A yes vote retains the ban on plastic bags. A No vote would allow stores to once again provide single-purpose plastic carry-out bags. NO
- (Dennis Prager) YES on 67. 67 leaves paper bag fees with retailers who are forced to buy them.
COUNTY MEASURES
Measure A: NO
- (J&K) Money for parks is basic. No special new tax increases should be needed. NO
- (GOP) NO
- (Dennis Prager)
Measure M: NO
- (J&K) It’s for the subway to the sea and will last forever. NO
- (GOP) NO
- (Dennis Prager)
PAGE 8
CITY
Santa Clarita City General Municipal Election
- Bob Kellar – #184
- Cameron Smyth – #187
DISTRICT
Castaic Lake Water Agency
- (At Large) William Cooper – #198
- (Division 2) E.G. Gladbach – #199