Ron's Log

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August 25, 2021

I've been reviewing some of the gubernatorial wannabes in the Newsom recall election. I'm not going to try to study all of them. This morning someone suggested Faulconer, and when I first began looking at his info he seemed like someone who might be barely acceptable except he voted for Trump in 2020. I'm going to assume that every Republican candidate on the list voted for Trump in 2020 (thereby ruling themselves out) unless they prominently bring it to my attention that they did NOT vote for Trump in 2020. But as for the others? Sheesh...

• Richter - Socialist Workers Party. Well, that could be fun. Except he actively "defends" the Castro government in Cuba. For additional info he lists only the website for The Militant, the SWP newspaper. A search for "Richter" on that site turns up little info. He is "for the workers." I haven't met the candidate yet who says he's "opposed to the workers."
• Ross - Democrat. Provides an interesting bio that might get my vote if he were running for a local office, but not governor.
• Blade - Democrat. Couldn't be bothered to provide more than this for the Voter Information Guide: "Leadership for a brighter tomorrow." I interpret reluctance to state your positions to the voters to be extremely disrespectful, so why should I listen to them at all? Her website has more info. She would "Eliminate all covid-economic/political mandates." She would fight wildfies by "watering of too-dry areas with trucked-in or flown in-water where necessary." And where is that water going to come from? She would "Allocate new funding for the GREENING of the Garden State!" We all know that New Jersey is the Garden State. Does she? Free solar on every house and every parking lot. A universal basic income of $60,000/year! In her first 90 days in office she will visit every Native reservation, all low-income and depressed economic housing areas, and all areas for immigrant/migrant workers. IOW, she won't be in Sacramento, except visiting the poor neighborhoods, for the first 90 days. "Lower personal state tax to 0 for all earners of less than $1 million per year." She doesn't limit that to personal income tax. "Personal state tax" would cover any tax I pay to the state, which is (AFAIK) just income and sales tax. "Require utilities to take down all 5g towers and pay for it." Double the number of police officers. "End all mandatory vaccinations." There are no mandatory vaccinations. "Pause all vaccinations for 6 months, to review safety." So for six months you won't be able to get a vaccine in California because she wants to put herself in the role of the FDA. She does say "all vaccinations," so we're not just talking about COVID. "Provide health-education and support for all people who would like to speak with a qualified doctor or health practitioner about their personal medical story, concerns, or needs." IOW, if someone wants to see a doctor, the state will give them "health-education" instead of a doctor. "Provide free emergency-health care for all not insured." So we're not going to provide health care to the uninsured, but we'll cover their emergency room visits. Is that any change from current policy? "End all local-forced building." There is no such thing. Lower the prison population, but she doesn't say how. "Provide monetary transitional support for any parent in a situation requiring protection from abuse whether physical or mental or emotional." Is there some special problem of abuse of parents that I haven't heard of? There is no similar suggestion to deal with child abuse or elder abuse. "Working to lessen the number of cars on the road." How? "Pause any permits or approval to research being done to create non-gendered humans made in test-tubes with Ai capacities." Oh my yes, top priority for our future mecha-overlords. "Pause any permits giving rights to corporations to build space-craft for launch/landing (including satalites) until a more detailed review of their intentions can be determined." Yeah, just what is the intention of the JPL? We must get to the bottom of it.
• Bramante - Republican. "Car Mods. I will the car community and make car mods legal." No, I don't know what that means. He has a lengthy bit on immigration which (as with all the Republicans) fails to recognize that the state has no power over immigration. "There is no sensible reason to not let these hardworking and trustworthy immigrants work in the shadows, when they're so heavily relied upon in construction, farming and food industries." Sounds like it's okay with him if they continue to work illegally, getting paid under the table, but we won't deport them. How is that different from the current situation? He wants more dams. He says homelessness is a mental health issue and that his family was homeless when he was a teenager. He doesn't share with us what his or his mother's mental illness was.
• Collins - Green. Again with the disrespect. She says only this to the voters of California: "Green Party. Immigrant Small Business Owner." No website. No contact info. Googling her name leads us to her only campaign site: a 44-second YouTube video with mediocre sound quality. If she had slowed her speech so that we could understand her, the video might be a full 60 seconds long. "I feel I have good solutions for the homeless problem which I'm going to share with my fellow candidates." Well, great, that might get you as many as 46 votes. How about sharing them with California? She would end the governor's emergency order, but the governor probably has a number of emergency orders, not all dealing with COVID. So which one?
• Hanink - Solidarity. He doesn't provide a website for his campaign, but links to the Solidarity party website. They are anti-abortion, want to repeal no-fault divorce, end same-sex marriage (they don't bother to say what will happen to all the existing same-sex marriages and families that have formed as a result). "Teachers should be free to design their own curricula within general parameters set by local authorities" but also "Sex education classes, when offered, should be required to include accurate information on prenatal development, the risks of hormonal contraceptives, and the scientific evidence that abortion takes a human life." "We acknowledge the persistence of discrimination based on religion, race, ethnicity, and sex, and support laws favoring equal access to the polls, the courts, housing, and education." But not equal access to employment or public accommodations? "We ... support laws which criminalize the production and sale of pornography and deny categorically that pornography is protected speech."
• Hewitt - Libertarian. I've seen this jerk on the job as Riverside County Supervisor, so no further research needed. On the subject of water he says "Upgrade and repair our conveyance systems across the state so we no longer lose 40% of our water in the central valley canal because of subsidence." I don't think he knows what the word "subsidence" means. "Expand our existing reservoirs by simply raising the heights of the dams. This will afford us immediate extra capacity in times when we so desperately need it." Right, because the problem is that our reservoirs are SO FULL they are overtopping the dams as they exist now. You can build the dams as high as you want, but if it doesn't rain, it doesn't rain. His housing solutions are focused solely on single-family home construction. He wants to streamline the permitting process for SFRs and explore the efficacy of 3D printed homes and converting shipping containers to homes.
• Hillberg - Republican. Gives us this murky non sequitur: "Those who walk the halls of power had been in need of addressing for a very long time." He doesn't provide a website, but I did find his info on votersedge.org. His top three priorities are: (1) "Constitutional and lawful governance ( Nancy said 'no one is above the law' I'd like to have that be so, no matter how namy crooked politicins I fire or imprison) = true vote accountability," (2) "remove the burden of the citizens from over taxation, governoment induced employment stagnation, and their micromanaging policies which hammper everyonein the state," (3) "Sanctuary state and city policies that violate law will be rmoved and those who pushed for it in government arrested for aiding and abetting illegal aliens." He describes his own education thusly: "got to be a mental one to take this on — I am certificed as a fire fighter aviation inspector and mechanic and I am a NOUI certified scuba diver, fire technology and aviation technology I also built race cars for my father and brothers (1998)." His solution to homelessness: "where did they comefrom? send them back , and see question 1 . and what are their skills and sercomstances?? are they just HOBOs or people with real problems." To summarize, a moron.
• Angelyne - no party preference. She's a bright spot of honesty. "Angelyne Billboard Queen. Icon. Experienced politician." Homelessness: "Parks will house the homeless while the real solution is activated." IOW, status quo. There will a "The Homeless Project" which will be funded solely by religious organizations! She doesn't say what the project will do, other than putting up billboards and putting out PSAs. Social workers will be hired. The homeless will be homed. How? Once homed, they will be given a job! A department of homelessness prevention will be created. Anyone who is on the verge of becoming homeless should go to this department. That's it. "If a policeman has been reported three times, he or she shall be dismissed." Reported for anything? No hearing? No examination of the evidence? Somebody just drops a dime three times and the cop gets fired? Give it a week and every cop in the state will be unemployed. "There shall be no points for getting as many false convictions as possible." Damn! There go my false conviction points. "CA shall implement an annual masquerade ball for people to dress up like a governor!" "California will have a Bubble Bath Day." "Remove Daylight Savings time. Time shall be set to the lightest time." "Our goal is to have a symbiotic relationship with the insurance companies." IOW, status quo. "Jury duty shall not be required." "Also, jurors should be paid a fair amount." "To save our coast, Otters will begin repopulating." "Annually, there shall be UFO convention. The purpose of this is to divert politicians as a stepping-away strategy for better decision-making."
• Ventresca - Democrat. Misuses capital letters like a subliterate Republican. He seems to claim that he and he alone built and expanded SFO from 1987 to 2018. He has run for mayor of San Francisco. He lists several admirable, progressive goals and gives not a single hint how any of them are to be accomplished or paid for. Very California! I don't think I've ever read something quite like this: "Family & Education: Son of Italian American science teacher & homemaker; Married Asian American immigrant; Step-grandfather to African Americans, Filipino Americans & Cambodian Americans; Related to signers of the Declaration of Independence & Constitution; Jesuit-educated; University of San Francisco Master in Public Administration."
• Marciniak - no party preference. More disrespect. He tells the voters of California to "Search YouTube." He's got a 59-second video. He talks more slowly and clearly than Collins, but says less. It's all just vague cliches. He says (repeatedly) "It's time to take a stand," but he takes no stand.
• McGowan - Democrat. Her platform seems to be nothing more than cannabis. She's been a "cannabis consultant" (no jokes please) for seven years. "I am not a professional politician and so I may not always know what I'm doing." More honest than even Angelyne. When I go to her page on cannabis policy, however, I'm left mostly confused. "Declaration of cannabis as an agricultural product. This should alleviate over regulation at the local level." No, the governor can wave her magic wand say it's an agricultural product (after all, that is what it is), but that doesn't sweep away Prop 64 that was enacted by the voters. "Eliminate the cultivation tax." State only, I assume. "Force any jurisdiction that voted yes on Proposition 64 in 2016 to do one of the following: Pass a local ballot measure opting out, Regulate retail outlets to liquor sales outlets at a ratio of 1:4" What?? Let's say that the majority of voters in Desert Hot Springs voted Yes on Prop 64, which is true, I'm fairly sure. The city would be forced to have an election opting out...of Prop 64? Why the fuck would we want to do that? And how could the state force voters to vote any particular way? (In any case, there would first have to be a state-wide vote to amend Prop 64 to allow local jurisdictions to "opt out.") And then we would be required to have three times as many liquor outlets as cannabis outlets? Why? Is this some sort of pro-alcohol measure she's trying to sneak through? If a city decides to reduce the number of liquor businesses, it would also have to reduce cannabis businesses? Why? "Lower the excise tax based on a report conducted by the Legislative Analyst's Office to ensure no immediate drop in revenue." That sentence started out good. I'm all for lowering the excise tax, but why foist onto the Legislative Analysts's Office the impossible task of finding a tax rate that is both lower and guaranteed to provide the state with the same income? You're the one running for governor. You figure out that magic tax rate. "Prohibit banned assault weapons from being used on legal operators." What? Banned assault weapons are already prohibited by the very nature of being banned. If she's talking about police using assault weapons, well, those aren't banned, are they? I have no guess what she means. "Actively lobby the federal government to allow interstate transport between legalized states." That's the one good idea here, and she's the cannabis expert. She has developed positons on other major issues which all sound like they'd have pretty broad support from average Democrats throughout the state. Nothing crazy or confused. She might be the one who gets my unnecessary (I hope) vote.
• Mercuri - Republican. "As a father, Jesus is my foundation." I never like that particular way of stating an opinion. It makes me want to ask "As a business owner who or what is your foundation?" Or "As a veteran who or what is your foundation?" What he really means to say, simply, is two sentences: "I'm a father. Jesus is my foundation." He "attended school in early 2003 to obtain his degrees in Film and Television as well as Speech and Communication." Hard to believe based on what is written on his website. "State taxes, federal income tax, and the national debt are synonymous." Could anyone be more wrong? If the governor decided to interpret the national debt as a state tax, we would be able to fund everything we could ever wish for - if only people would accept imaginary money as payment. He considers the 16th amendment (income tax) to be "controversial." "The rich already pay 50% of their earnings [in taxes?], which is way more than the average and low income earners at 13%." I'd like to see any evidence to support that and I'd like him to personally refund to me everything I've paid over 13%. "Challenge the Federal Reserve Act of 1913." He doesn't say if we are supposed to go without a national currency, or if we would go back to the silver certificates issued by the Treasury. He would require all state debt to be paid off in one generation. He does not define for us the length of a generation, but I suspect it is not even as long as a 30-year mortgage. "Educate Californians on what the people can do to hedge a potential economic collapse by encouraging the investment of precious metals, gold, silver, palladium along with new commodities such as digital crypto-currencies, like Bitcoin, Etherium and Monero." I think he probably meant "investment in precious metals." "Advance an R.O.E. (Revocation Of Election) Apparatus as a State against the Federal Reserve's uncouth jurisdiction from unhinged taxation over the California citizens." What does that mean?? Any of it. "Any gun used in a crime, should be charged and held under similar restriction as cyber crimes, 18 U.S.C s 1030(e)(1). They must subject themselves, upon release, to probational computer monitoring, be registered like sex offenders are, and held up to the same type of scrutiny." Weird. In order to do this the law would have recognize guns as people, which might not be impossible, since corporations are people. "Every shipping container will be inspected before the containers can be off loaded with the help of public volunteers comprised of human and child sex trafficking preventative committees and organizations. These groups will be granted full access to mitigate shore doc personnel having ties to underground cartels engaging in trafficking." Right, the Customs agency doesn't have the manpower to open and inspect every container, but we're going to find enough volunteers to do it in California without bring all shipping to a total standstill. "A better balance initiative with the needs every city and county requires to maintain their area of civility should be standardized." This is about as clear as his statement on the Federal Reserve. "Have the State negotiate for the same homeless programs and concepts that are working in one county and apply them to the adjacent county that is still struggling." He specifically mentioned Ventura County (where he thinks their ideas are working) and Los Angeles County (where he thinks they are not). How simply logical that homeless solutions that work in primarily rural Ventura County with a population of about 800,000 should work equally well in huge Los Angeles County with its 10 million residents. We should do that with all issues. I think water conservation in our primarily desert Riverside County works well. Therefore, it should be applied rigidly to every other county in the state. Maybe there's a reason this huge state has 58 counties. Maybe there are local issues and local differences. His section on climate change is all about wildfires where he advises "Increase the distance from electric grid and forestry away from small rural and heavily dense populated areas to not effect housing and businesses prone to wild fires." I can't translate that to anything meaningful. Increase the distance of something from the electric grid and also away from "forestry?" And away from populated areas? What? "No more cloud seeding, chemtrailing California skies or blocking out the sun. Let God's green earth and its whether take its natural course." Yeah, its whether. "Allow the 10th Amendment to work the way it was intended to, push back against the Federal Government in leaving our state, if not all states for that matter, to handle their own educational standards at the local level." But also, "Work with our federal representatives to increase federal funding in low-income and rural areas where the state lacks financial expediency." And "Guarantee that our state is granted enough federal funding to provide competitive middle-class wages for teachers in low-income, disabled, and high need student districts." He wants to drive the federal government out of local education while simultaneously accepting federal money for local education. The federal government almost never gives away free, NSA money. Certainly not in education. This guy is just plain stupid.
• Kapelovitz - Green. "Can you dig it?" He's a "Bernie supporter." "He was the Features Editor of Hustler Magazine." "At Hustler Magazine, Dan won the Project Censored Award for his reporting on depleted uranium," so there! "We need to abolish the death penalty (except for certain incorrigible corporations who are legally deemed 'persons')." He proposes to have the state take control of the electrical distribution network and then allow cities and counties to choose whether they want to control electrical distribution or leave it in the hands of the state. Local cities and counties would take over power generation. He provides no estimate of what this would cost or how it would be paid for. He provides little information on his website, linking instead to Green Party sites outside of California.
• Kilpatrick - Democrat. He's on IMDB as "Patrick Kilpatrick." The front page of his campaign website looks like it was vomited up from Myspace. There's nothing on his website about his run for the governorship, so what you see in the Voter Information Guide is what you get. Very short sound bites with no explanation of how to achieve them.
• Loebs - California National. Universal basic income of $40,000/year. Creation of a California Public Bank for various reasons, including cannabis. He says "This bank will be subject to independent audits every 5 years." Really? Local government is subject to annual audits, but we're going to let the California Public Bank run unaudited for five years? Other than the bank, he doesn't see any need for changes in cannabis law. How unimaginative. He wants the state to regulate radio and TV stations, net neutrality, patents and copyright, all of which are federal jurisdiction. He does have a lot of detail on his website and the details have been thought through which really contrasts with every other candidate. He looks to Singapore for an example of large scale government-funded housing and Tokyo for liberalization of zoning laws. "Urban rainwater collection should be the norm and will be incentivized in all new construction, urban and rural, where possible." Okay, but the payoff may not be great in the Coachella Valley! He's got a bad link to his education platform. Here's the correct link: https://californianational.party/platform-ed-2020/ . "Limiting Pre-K through 12 class sizes to 25 students per teacher, which requires hiring more highly qualified teachers and building more real classrooms, not just trailers." "Accomplishments of our ancestors should be celebrated and historic injustices acknowledged." "Educate all students in English and Spanish, the two primary languages of the Western Hemisphere, with a goal of bilingual fluency." "Mandatory proof of all required childhood vaccinations under California law before admission to all public schools, including public charter schools. Annual flu shots and HPV inoculation for all students will be recommended but not required. Individuals who choose not to vaccinate their children may enroll their children either at private schools or in structured and certified homeschooling programs." "Create a supervised and regulated apprentice program combining academic course work with paid, on-site job training for both blue-collar and white-collar employment, leading to an Associate's Degree and job placement." "Tuition costs for California residents should be reduced from their current level and capped." No free college, except..."Students graduating from a California high school with a 3.3 GPA for CSUs and 3.5 for UCs can enter university directly if they wish and will have tuition waived if they maintain those GPAs for their freshman/sophomore years." "Enforce current laws against the exploitation of sex workers while decriminalizing sex work itself so workers can report abuses without fear of legal penalty." "The CNP supports the long-established policy that it is a woman's right to control her reproductive choices and will work to keep abortions safe and legal in California." "CNP" is the "California National Party." "First Nations' lands must be doubled in size in order to provide some compensation for past crimes. Where possible, this returned land will come from 45% of California currently controlled by the federal government. If any present owners must be displaced, which will be avoided if it is practical, they will be paid fair market value for their land by the California government." "Management of California's rivers must ensure sustainable use for irrigators, wildlife, and other consumers of water. Towards this end, we encourage the removal of obsolete dams, close monitoring of water quality, and an ongoing dialogue with industrial, residential, and agricultural consumers to appropriately balance use and preservation." "We support a system of labeling where GMO products are labeled in order to facilitate informed consumer choices regarding the food we eat." "Construction of a hospital in each county, or in smaller counties a clinic if they choose." He acknowledges that immigration is a federal issue, but offers ideas for what California could do, including "California should develop a residency program for anyone who has lived here for five years continuously and who can affirm that they intend to remain in California indefinitely. This residency would allow such individuals to legally work and live in California indefinitely as well as vote in local and California elections." The National Party's ultimate goal is to make California an independent nation. They describe a gradual process. I don't favor secession, but this guy might get my vote for sounding like the most adult person running.
• Lucey - no party preference. He has no campaign website, but he answered questions for votersedge.org. His top three priorities: "[1]50% Child Custody Rights to all Competent Parents; [2] Native Californian involvement in all Environmental Issues, [3] Stop Parental Alienation and Childhood Divorce Trauma." Sounds like he's had some problems with divorce and custody. He teaches in Santa Rose and is a graduate of UC Berkeley. Under "Community Activities" he lists "Homeless Advocate, Self - Helped a Vietnam Vet get off the street and support provider for another." That's two. He supports tiny and mobile homes as a way to provide affordable housing. He has no opinion on water issues. Does he know he's running in California?
• Lozano - Republican. He claims to be "the only candidate with a real solution to homelessness" and he refers the voter to his website to read about it, so I went there. I find nothing special. He says the state will provide "temporary then permanent housing, food, clothing, and soon thereafter jobs – so that these people can once again re-enter society with honor and dignity." "Those homeless that suffer from mental illness, alcohol and drug addiction will be provided medical and psychological support so that they too can return to society." You have to skip a few paragraphs to find his real solution. He proposes that the state will build three major metropolitan cities! One in northern California (that's vague). One northeast of Antelope Valley, that is, the Palmdale/Lancaster area. Northeast of that is Edwards Air Force Base, so you can't build there. But if you go a little further north you've got California City which was proposed as a major metropolitan city in the late 1950s and today sports a population of just under 15,000 living souls. More northeasterly of Antelope Valley is that big stretch of empty desert that is north of highway 58 and east of highway 395. He offers no hints on how he will overcome environmental objections to building a major metropolitan city in virgin desert. A third major metropolitan city would be built "in the Southern tip of California." San Diego pretty well fills the western part of that "Southern tip." Going east you've got mountains with one highway going through them. Can't build a city there. But past the mountains you've got Imperial County. He proposes a major metropolitan city be built on top of the most valuable agricultural land in the U.S. I don't think so. If this jackass knew even the slightest about geography he would have suggested eastern Riverside County for his new city. Out there we've got the ghost town of Desert Center, a state prison and Blythe which is just barely functioning. He's going to run into the same environmental objections there. "The key solution to water management is to put ALL the solutions into effect immediately." Especially the demands to build more dams and the demands to tear down obsolete dams. We must do both!! This guy is yet another (former) L.A. County Sheriff who thinks he's an expert in all things.
• Papagan - no party preference. "Love U," he says. He's got a campaign video that is nothing but still photos of himself with an audio track of his campaign song. He might be the only candidate with a campaign song. Here's his platform: "Stop The Wildfires, End Homelessness, Decrease The Cost of Living, Tax Billionaires, Inform People About Government." I bet the other candidates are beating themselves up, wondering why they didn't come up something so comprehensive. "Ending homelessness means building more homes, and we have the resources to do it." "Wildfires seem to get worse every year. It's time Sacramento fixes the problem." "People should know how government works, which is why I'm documenting my campaign on social media." That's it. What an airhead.
• Drake - Democrat. "A recent community college graduate with a degree in Political Science." He's an immigrant from Latvia. On education: "Raise teacher pay; Support public schools; Reorganize and change the current system." I understand "raise teacher pay" but the other two are pretty vague. On homelessness: "Redirect funds from failing programs; Create affordable public housing; Create incentives to further education and skill-building." Redirect from what failing programs to what? Create affordable public housing. Yeah, why didn't anybody else think of that? Create what incentives? He says he's pro-choice and wants to "Increase sexual education in public schools." He probably means sex education. "John is a member of the LGBTQIAP+ community." But he's not going to tell us which letter is his. He proposes using the money going into the high-speed rail project (which he calls simply "the speed rail") go instead to create affordable housing. He does not say how he plans to override the voter-approved proposition that is funding high-speed rail. He wants to direct 10% of state income taxes into a fund that could be used only when another pandemic arises. It was a hundred years from the 1918 influenza pandemic to the COVID pandemic. If it's another hundred years until the next pandemic that fund will be one of the biggest piles of capital in the world. "Transgender athletes, I support. It is my opinion that transgender athletes are treated equally with their gender identity. However, since Transgender athletes, for the most part, are a huge minority within the state of California, I would say that in response to difficult cases, the state should use discretion and tackle issues of transgender sports case-by-case." I can't tell what he means, but I would not agree that "transgender athletes are a huge minority."
• Watts - Democrat. He supports tuition-free public education. He doesn't say if that ends once a 4-year degree is achieved or if it extends on through Masters and Doctorates. But he would limit that free tuition to only those schools certified by a private organization called The Foundation for Individual Rights which defends "freedom of speech, freedom of association, due process, legal equality, religious liberty, and sanctity of conscience" of students and teachers. That's it. If you think the governor of California should have an opinion on homelessness, wildfires or water supply, look elsewhere.
• Wildstar - Republican. There are at least two African-Americans running as Republicans. "Until recently I lived in Orange County, where I worked as a digital marketing specialist. My wife Crystal and I moved to Fresno to settle down and raise our family away from the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles." Every Californian (except Wildstar) already knows this, but for the benefit of non-Californians, Los Angeles is not in Orange County. Also, what is a "digital marketing specialist?" Somebody with an eBay or etsy account? "I'm asking you to give me your vote in 2022." Yes, he really says that. His solution for economic revitalization is to eliminate business licensing fees and occupational licenses. He's probably right that if we no longer require our doctors to be licensed, we'll get a lot more "doctors." His solution to homelessness is tiny houses. He also proposes to "suspend taxes and licensing fees to bring back jobs to California." He, too, proposes a California bank that would, among other things, support the cannabis industry. His bank would also issue its own currency.

Filed under California,Politics | permalink | August 25, 2021 at 08:47 PM

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