My San Francisco liberal Democrat father called the other night
with great news: I have a new nephew. While we were exchanging good
wishes, he couldn’t keep himself from asking me about the upcoming
election.
My San Francisco liberal Democrat father called the other night with great news: I have a new nephew. While we were exchanging good wishes, he couldn’t keep himself from asking me about the upcoming election. My whole family can’t resist talking politics with each other, just as one probes a sore tooth with one’s tongue, to see if it still hurts.
“What about governor?” he asked. “Have you looked at the Green party candidate? If I weren’t a little worried about Simon getting voted in, I’d be tempted to vote Green.”
“Oh, I’m very happy voting for Bill Simon,” I assured him cheerfully. “I know what you mean, though. For lieutenant governor, we have a real moderate running, so I’m looking very carefully at the third-party candidates, the Libertarian and the American Independent. The Reform party candidate looks surprisingly good.”
I find it amusing that my dad and I apparently use the same modus operandi to pick our opposite-end-of-the-spectrum candidates. We look at our major candidate (MC). If we like him, we vote for him happily. If not, we look longingly at the third party candidates (TPCs) and fearfully at the opposite major party candidate (OMPC). If the OMPC totally stinks, we hold our respective noses and vote for our MC. If our MC has a good shot and the OMPC isn’t the devil incarnate, we might allow ourselves the luxury of voting for a good TPC.
In the meantime, friends and acquaintances are asking me for weeks who I favor for this, who I favor for that. Therefore, I have put together the following Far Right Voters’ Guide. If a conservative prefers to vote a straight Republican ticket, that’s fine, and easy enough. If a conservative prefers never to vote for the lesser of two weevils, he will have to do a little more homework. And if a liberal wishes to use this guide to identify which candidates to avoid like typhoid fever, that’s fine, too.
Asterisks indicate enthusiasm. Without further ado: the Far Right Voters’ Guide, for November 5th, 2002.
• Governor: Bill Simon ***
• Lieutenant Governor: Paul Jerry Hannosh (Reform Party)
• Secretary of State: Keith Olberg *
• Controller: Tom McClintock *****!!!
• Treasurer: Greg Conlon (boring, but steady, which is good in a treasurer)
• Attorney General: Dick Ackerman
• Insurance Commissioner: Gary Mendoza *
• State Board of Equalization: Mark Bendick *
• US Representative: Linda Rae Hermann *
• State Assembly: Jane Howard *
For the following, the justices, you vote yes or no.
• Associate Justice, Carlos Moreno NO
• Associate Justice, Marvin Baxter NO
• Associate Justice, Kathryn Werdegar NO
• Associate Justice Court of Appeal, Eugene Premo NO
• Associate Justice Court of Appeal, Franklin D. Elia (no recommendation)
• Associate Justice Court of Appeal, Patricia Bamattre-Manoukian (This lady has a reputation for being very liberal, but for handing down some good decisions, except on firearms issues. Make up your own minds.)
• Associate Justice Court of Appeal, William M. Wunderlich (generally good, a tentative YES)
• Associate Justice Court of Appeal, Conrad Rushing (Very new, so hasn’t much of a track record. Seems good on property rights, but recently divorced his wife to marry a trophy wife. Make up your own minds.)
Back to candidate selection: • Superior Court 9 no recommendation.
• Superior Court 16 Ron M. Del Pozzo **
• Superintendent of Public Instruction: Katherine H. Smith ***
• Santa Clara County Board of Education. no recommendation.
• Gavilan 2: Laura Perry and Mark Hinkle are both good, unfortunately. Pick one.
• Gavilan 3 no recommendation.
• GUSD Maybe David Oberstadt. Yes, I know we can vote for four, but every single one of these clones has come out in support of Measure I. At least David Oberstadt wishes to avoid further facilities bonds and has a plan for doing so.
And …
• NO on all propositions, 46 through 52.
• Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority: A: NO, B: YES. This is assuming you want more money spent on highways and less on our grossly underutilized public transit system.
• Measure I NO
Cynthia Anne Walker is a homeschooling mother of three and a former engineer. She is a published independent author. Her column is published in The Dispatch every Friday.
