First, the good news: the 2024 March primaries do not feature a Prop related to dialysis clinics. This can't last of course, but let's be glad for the reprieve, however short.
This election has a relatively short list of issues and offices and given that it is a primary, you are likely to see some of the same candidates again in November, for the runoff. So, this should be relatively painless - let's dig into it.
Presidential Primary
Yes, it is probably largely inconsequential, but you should probably cast your vote in this race anyway. This one is not quite an open primary - you can vote for a GOP candidate only if you are a registered Republican, but you don't need to be a registered Democrat to vote in their primary. If you happen to be a registered Republican, I recommend a vote for Nikki Haley if only as a protest (Trump is going to win easily), but otherwise, just Vote for Biden (even though we all wish he had let somebody else run).
US Senate
This one offers two primaries for the price of one. First there is the primary to select the candidates to finish off the remaining two months of Diane Feinstein's term (that started in 2018) and there is the one to take over her seat outright (a term that would start in Jan 2025). The slate of candidates for the two elections overlap considerably, as might be expected. It is also hard to imagine that the same candidate wouldn't win both elections. In CA, primaries for the US Senate are open, which means that you can vote for any candidate, irrespective of your registered party affiliation (or indeed, even if you have none). The top-2 vote getters in the primary will duke it out in Nov and given the number of prominent Democrats in the field, it is safe to assume that two Democrats will be fighting it out in Nov for both of these positions.
The field is crowded, but the three names stand out on the Democratic side: Adam Schiff, Katie Porter, and Barbara Lee. All three are in the House from various CA districts.
Adam Schiff is likely the one with the most name recognition - having been one of the Trump impeachment managers (to mostly strong reviews). However, he is also the one that comes across as the quintessential Washington insider, whose positions have shifted (albeit not drastically) with the political winds.
Katie Porter is the youngest of the three and rose to prominence with her vigorous and no-nonsense questioning at congressional hearings, but has also been dogged by scandal.
Barbara Lee, meanwhile is the oldest of the three, but also the one that has remained remarkably consistent in her convictions and voting record (she is the only member of the House to have voted against military action in Afghanistan in the wake of 9/11). Her personal story is also easily the most remarkable one.
On the GOP side, the most prominent name is Steve Garvey, whose is an ex-Dodger and ex-Padre, but has been mired in scandal for much of his post-baseball life. He is also a two-time (2016 & 2020) supporter of Donald Trump, which is pretty much the kiss of death in CA. While he is currently polling in third place (behind Schiff and Porter), I don't see him gaining enough support to make it to the Nov runoff. While I would like to see a race between Barbara Lee and Katie Porter, I doubt we are going to get that. But, that's not going to stop me from making the following recommendation: Vote for Barbara Lee.
US House (District 50)
The incumbent, Scott Peters, will win this safely-Democratic seat. Given that he seems a competent and decent congressman, there is really no good reason to vote against him. Vote for Scott Peters.
State Assembly (District 76)
This one probably registers somewhat close to home for many in my immediate friends circle, given that many of us know one of the prominent candidates - Darshana Patel - quite well. She has served on the Poway school district board for a few years now and has managed to garner the endorsement of the SD Democratic Party over her main challenger - Joseph Rocha. Dr Patel's biography is certainly noteworthy, but pales in comparison to the struggles that Joseph Rocha has gone through - one of which was completing high school while being a homeless Senior, after his parents threw him out for coming out as gay.
In all candor, I probably would have recommended a vote for Rocha if I didn't know Darshana Patel somewhat personally. I going to be very surprised if we don't see these two candidates again, in the Nov runoff. For now, Vote for Darshana Patel.
SD County Board of Supervisors (District 3)
This one pits old friend, Kevin Faulconer vs the incumbent Terra Lawson-Remer. Some of you may recall Faulconer's time as SD Mayor, which started off well, but is possibly best remembered for the mishandling of the Hepatitis-B outbreak and the failure to keep the Chargers in town. If you needed additional reasons, he actually voted for Trump in 2020 (after refusing to do so in 2016). Vote for Terra Lawson-Remer.
Judicial Candidates
Thankfully, most of the candidates are running unopposed. The two exceptions are for Office 41 and Office 43 of the Superior Court. While these are nominally non-partisan elections, the affiliations of the candidates in both races is rather obvious if you look at their endorsements. For whatever reason, in both races, the Republican-leaning candidate has much of the establishment support which alone is sufficient for me to oppose them. The bios of their opponents reinforces this reflex. Here are my recommendations:
Office 41: Vote for Jodi Cleesattle
Office 43: Vote for Koryn Sheppard
SD City Attorney
This is an open seat and the fight is between two Democrats: Brian Maienschein, who got termed out of the State Assembly (the same seat that Patel and Rocha are fighting for), and Heather Ferbert, who is the chief deputy City Attorney. Maienschein got mostly good reviews as an assemblyman, but the thing that caught my attention is that he hasn't practice law in the longest time. So what is he doing in a fight for the top legal advisor to the city? Vote for Heather Ferbert.
SD City Council District 5
I wish all of the races were this easy to call: Incumbent Marni Von Wilpert is running unopposed. My recommendation? Surprisingly, it is to Vote for Marni Von Wilpert.
Prop 1 - Bonds for Mental Health and Homelessness
I struggled with this one. Homelessness is quite possibly the biggest crisis being experienced by CA cities and has remained stubbornly intractable. This is actually a two-part prop. The first part authorizes the diversion of a portion of the funds from the "Millionaire Tax" initiative (passed in 2004) from local (county) control to state control and a further restriction on the how another portion of the same funds must be used locally. The second part gives the state the authority to issue bonds worth around $6.4 Billion to be used for building more mental health facilities and affordable housing. It sounds like a lot of money, but the additional housing is only expected to make a 3% dent in the state's unhoused population. I am glossing over a number of the details of course, but I found myself switching positions with every new piece of data/commentary about this prop. The one that finally resonated with me (somewhat) is that status quo is not acceptable and while this prop may not go far enough, it does attempt to drastically shake up the situation. Vote YES.
SD Mayor
I left this for the last, not because it was difficult to call (it wasn't), but because I wanted to end with a line from a write-up about one of the long shot candidates (Danny Smiechowski). We will get to that in a minute, but first the pertinent stuff: The race is between incumbent Todd Gloria and three others, including the aforementioned Danny S. Jane Glasson, has the distinction of not being endorsed by the SD Republican party even though she is the lone Republican in the field, while Genevieve Jones-Wright is a public interest lawyer who has positioned herself to the left of Gloria. Danny S mostly touts his accomplishments as a triathlete (his campaign website features a slideshow of him in various races) and has about a zero chance of winning. Todd Gloria has not exactly been very successful in tackling the challenges of homelessness and our crumbling infrastructure, but he has done enough to deserve another term. Vote for Todd Gloria.
Which brings me to the favorite line I encountered as I read up on these races and the candidates. The entry for Danny Smiechowski in the KPBS Voter Hub concludes this way: "His Instagram account includes several pictures of him exercising, sunbathing and dancing in a see-through thong."
Go Vote!
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