Votivator – March 5 Primary Election
Jim Burklo
I begin by urging us all not only to pay attention to “votivators” like myself, but to consider becoming “votivators” for others. There is nothing at all dishonorable about copying the ballot choices of trusted and respected friends. It is a form of full participation in democracy. But of course, it is wonderful to go a step further and make one’s own carefully-researched choices based on reputable, verifiable sources of information about candidates and issues. And then to go yet another step further and become a “votivator” who shares those choices with others.
While I am in this latter category, I still pay close attention to the choices of “votivators” who are better informed about particular issues and candidates than I am. Please let me know what you’re thinking about the choices before us on March 5! I haven’t filled out my mail-in ballot yet!
I live in Ojai, in Ventura County, California. So my world of “votivation” has shifted since my days in Los Angeles. But I subscribe to the LA Times and read it thoroughly, and do maintain some awareness of what’s going on in the greater southern California region. (BTW, I also subscribe to The Economist Magazine, Atlantic Monthly, and the New Yorker – reading these sources carefully, and listening to local and national public radio when I’m driving to and from work, comprise my primary diet of information on public issues and candidates.)
President: Joe Biden. The survival of democracy is very much at stake in the November election. This becomes more obvious with each passing day, as Trump makes more abundantly clear his autocratic intentions. I want to address my strongly progressive friends here. I share your deep frustration with Biden’s “blank check” support of Israel as its radical right-wing government engages in the wanton killing of tens of thousands of civilians in Gaza. Biden’s administration should have cut off military aid to Israel when this indiscriminate bombing began. I have repeatedly sent emails to Biden and my members of Congress and the Senate with my sentiments. And you have protested vigorously, as well. The good news is that despite our frustrations, our opinions are in fact having a serious impact. Biden is now pressuring Israel to pause the fighting, get humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza, end settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, and accept a two-state solution to the conflict… moves that the US wasn’t vigorously pushing on October 6. And we must remember that Trump is cheering on the Israelis to do whatever they want to the Palestinians. There is a huge difference between the candidates on this issue. In our political system, we face a binary choice in November. If we care about maintaining our Constitution, if we want elections to matter, if we want real peace in the Middle East, we have one choice, and it’s Joe Biden. A vote for anybody but Joe Biden is a vote for Trump. Period. Some of us may have pinch our noses when we vote for Biden and urge others to vote for him, but the alternative is absolutely unacceptable. If Ralph Nader had not made his third-party run in 2000, Al Gore would have won the Electoral College in Florida, and we would have been spared the presidency of George Bush. Let’s not repeat that debacle.
Senate: Katie Porter. It’s highly likely that Adam Schiff will win the primary and will win in November. And I’m good with him. But I really admire Katie Porter’s intelligence and feistiness. I think she’d be a breath of fresh air in the Senate. She’s unabashed and brash, but is also a team player, which is very important in a body like the Senate that is at least supposed to be deliberative. I admire Barbara Lee a lot, and I can imagine having voted for her for Senate ten years ago – but her age, 77, is a real problem. I admire Katie’s statement re: Israel/Palestine – read it here. Another reason to vote for Katie Porter is strategic: she’s has a good chance of taking second place in the primary, which would eliminate from the November ballot the breathtakingly clueless and reactionary Republican candidate, Steve Garvey. A Schiff/Porter contest would make for really lively political conversation… and for those who care about what’s going on in Israel/Palestine, it would make it more likely that this subject would be front and center in the campaign. Both Porter and Schiff need to be pushed further on this topic.
Congress: Salud Carbajal, Democrat, incumbent. Our property is right at the very edge of his 24th CA Congressional district. I like to say that we live on the eastern border of the coastal elite! – because of the right-wing yard signs we see across the street and in the countryside beyond. But Salud Carbajal is anything but a member of that club. He was born in Mexico, the son of a farmworker, and is a military veteran.
California Senate: Monique Limon, Democrat, incumbent.
California Assembly: Steve Bennett, Democrat, incumbent.
Ventura County Supervisors, 1st district: Matt LaVere, incumbent. I’ve met him and am impressed with him. Along with 5th district incumbent Vianey Lopez and 3rd district challenger Kim Marra Stephenson, he’s opposed the oil industry’s lobbying efforts in the County. All three are the picks of the Ventura County Democratic Party.
Judge, Office #4, Superior Court, Ventura: Edward Andrews. He’s a deputy District Attorney and his boss, Erik Nasarenko, whom I admire (and whose Ukrainian parents are friends of mine) endorses him.
State Measure 1: Yes. I’m torn on this one, but persuaded in particular by its endorsement by NAMI – the National Alliance on Mental Illness, which is the advocacy organization of people experiencing mental illness and their families and friends – a group that I have greatly respected since my days of working with it in Palo Alto when I led the nonprofit serving unhoused people there. It is a huge bond that would fund housing and treatment beds and services for people suffering from mental illness. The downside is that it would also redirect substantial existing funds from the “millionaires’ tax” used by local governments to serve this population, prioritizing housing over mental health services. I and many others wish this “devil’s bargain” wasn’t part of the measure. If you vote “no”, I wouldn’t argue very vigorously with you about it! Because there’s always another day, and another, better ballot measure that could be put before us. But now’s our chance to make a big investment in housing and treatment for the most vulnerable among us, and I’m trusting that whatever problems result from this measure can be rectified later.