Grant's Blog

President
I’m voting for BARACK OBAMA. The reasons are many, you can read why I’m a Democrat generally, but here are a few reasons why I’m specifically voting for Obama:

1. Obama has provided a vision for what America can be, providing a long term goal for us to reach. I believe this is the most important role of the President.
2. Obama’s rhetorical skills are at a level where he can inspire people with his vision and make people believe and have hope in the future of our country.
3. Obama has shown a very metered response to the current problems facing our economy. He has worked to understand the issues and provide solutions that will work over the long term. McCain, on the other hand, has been completely reactionary, acting without a solid understanding of the impact of his actions.

United States Representative 42nd District
ED CHAU. Because he’s not Gary Miller.

Orange Unified School District,
Trustee Area 3
I’ve meet FLORICE HOFFMAN a few times, and she seems to be a reasonable and approachable person. I haven’t stayed informed on OUSD politics since graduating high school, so I don’t know what the issues of the day are for the district. On this one, I’m simply voting for the person I’ve meet.

City of Anaheim, Member, City Council
I’m voting for LORRI GALLOWAY and GAIL EASTMAN in this election. I truly support Lorri, I think she has the best interest of the City in mind when she makes decisions and she understands the implications of those decisions over the long term for the city. Gail, on the other hand, I’m voting for as the least bad of a bad set of candidates. She doesn’t have her own vision for the City, instead doing whatever Mayor Pringle wants. For the most part, I like the mayor, knowing him has served me well. His work has benefited the city greatly over the past six years, however, I worry about the long-term impact that work will have. In other words, I think many of his, and by extension Gail’s, priorities for the city are short sighted and will leave the city worse off in 50 years.

Prop 1A-Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act
I’m voting YES on Prop 1A. High-speed trains are the third most important item needed to indicate the future has arrived (after monorails and jetpacks, of course.) But more seriously, a high-speed rail that runs throughout California would be a boon to our economy, both in the short term and the long. Construction of the rail line would bring in billions of dollars of construction money into our economy over the next few years. Once the line is in place, it will enhance our economy by providing rapid transportation between the major cities in the state. It will be cheaper than flying and faster than driving.

I’m not a big supporter of bonds. However, Prop 1A is an investment in our infrastructure and it will pay for itself, ensuring we won’t have to raise taxes in the future to pay for this construction today.

Prop 2-Standards for Confining Farm Animals
After some hard thought on this proposition, I’ve decided to vote NO. This issue is too complex, and has too many far ranging impacts, for the voters to understand and make an informed decision. The voters have a poor track record on voting for complex issues. This is the main reason I don’t support California’s proposition system. I don’t have a good understanding of what this will do to California’s farming industry. More importantly, I don’t know what this will do to the world food market. There is a reason there are so many farms in California, it’s the best and cheapest place to produce food. If this proposition passes, it will likely make raising livestock more expensive within the state, which means that farmers will either leave, or things will just become more expensive. We’ve recently seen what happens, with corn based ethanol, when a law is passed that indirectly affects food prices, and how that effect ripples throughout the world. I’m not saying that will happen with Prop 2, I’m just saying I’m not well enough informed to know what the effects will be.

Prop 3-Children’s Hospital Bond Act
I’m voting NO on Prop 3 for a couple of reasons. First, much of this bond money will go into basic maintenance and upkeep of existing hospitals. This is something that needs to come out of on-going funds, not a one-time source. These types of activities simply aren’t an investment, and it’s not what we should spend bond money on. Secondly, California needs to invest in all of its hospitals, not just its children’s hospitals. I would be in favor of a bond measure that expanded California’s entire hospital system, but I’m not in favor of Prop 3.

Prop 4-Waiting Period and Parental Notification Before Termination of Minor’s Pregnancy
Prop 4 is another attack on abortion rights, and I’m voting NO on it. This or similar measures have been on the ballot for years in California. The Pro-Life movement will continue put this legislation on the ballot until it passes and doesn’t get struck down as unconstitutional. This proposition needs to be defeated by a resounding margin so we aren’t faced with having to see this same issue on the ballot for the foreseeable future.

Prop 5-Nonviolent Drug Offenses. Sentencing, Parole and Rehabilitation
California does a poor job of deescalating criminal behavior. Prop 5 enables our justice system to treat non-violent drug offenders in a way that will help them get off drugs instead of falling deeper into crime, which is why I’m voting YES on Prop 5.

Prop 6-Police and Law Enforcement Funding
I’m voting NO on Prop 6. The voters of California have put many funding requirements on the state legislature, this is another one. These requirements, combined with the state’s inability to raise taxes, has made it increasingly harder to have a balanced budget or reasonable plan of spending for state services that don’t have voter mandated funding requirements.

Prop 7-Renewable Energy Generation
Prop 7 does two beneficial things: it evens the playing field between public and private utilities and it increases the amount of renewable energy that is generated within the state. That’s why I’ll be voting YES on Prop 7.

Prop 8-Eliminates Right of Same-Sex Couples to Marry
Marriage, from a legal point of view, is a contract between two people. As such, it needs to be open to everybody who wants to enter into that contract. That’s why I’m voting NO on Prop 8. Many people say that gay couples should be able to have “civil unions” that confer the same rights as marriage, but if they are the same in all but name there is no good reason to separate the two with a different name. As the Supreme Court said in Brown v Board of Education (1954), separate is inherently unequal.

Prop 9-Criminal Justice System. Victim’s Right. Parole.
Prop 9 makes many changes to the way inmates are handled during parole and after release from prison. The main factors that are leading me to vote NO on Prop 9 are: taking away parolees’ rights to legal council and restricting parole boards ability to release inmates early to relieve over-crowding.

Prop 10-Alternative Fuel Vehicles and Renewable Energy
Prop 10 is the exact wrong use of bond funds, which is why I’ll be voting NO. This proposition will allow the state to give rebates to Californians who buy alternative fuel vehicles. Hybrid and electric cars need to be able to compete in the market. Encumbering the state for 30 years to provide rebates for goods that will last ~5 years doesn’t sound like a good plan.

Prop 11-Redistricting
I support changing the way California draws its election districts every 10 years. However, I think this is the wrong change and so I’ll be voting NO on Prop 11. We need to have representatives we elect to draw the district map, we just need to give them some guidelines for what we expect to see from them and what they can and can’t do.

Prop 12-Veterans’ Bond Act of 2008
The Cal-Vet Home Loan Program does not cost tax-payers anything, which is why I’m voting YES on Prop 12. These bonds are used to provide inexpensive mortgages to veterans which they then pay back like a conventional mortgage. The benefit of doing this through a bond issuance is it enables the state to get a low interest rate that it can then pass on to the veteran home-buyers.

Measure J
This measure will increase the number of issues before voters, who I don’t believe make very good choices, so I’ll be voting NO on Measure J. We are a representative democracy, we should let our representatives vote on legislation instead of doing it directly.