LOS ANGELES CITY GENERAL MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS:

Mayor: Nithya Raman. But people - please note. The Los Angeles political scene is structured so the mayor has very little power. This isn’t a Mamdani 2.0. We’re at the mercy of our city council members, not the mayor. Yes, we want Nithya, but she can’t enact the same major change as other mayors.

City Attorney: Marissa Roy. Anti-Trump, experienced, activist-friendly.

LOS ANGELES COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT

Member of the Board of Trustees Seat 2: Veres, the incumbent who is backed by the county Democratic Party, labor, and conservation voters.

Member of the Board of Trustees Seat 4: Harris, who works in community affairs at St. John’s Community Health and wants low-cost housing on district land, looking for savings in admin, consultants, and construction before cutting classes.

Member of the Board of Trustees Seat 6: Buelna, the incumbent, an educator and attorney focused on keeping students enrolled with access to basic services, including food.

STATE SENATORS

STATE SENATOR, 20th District: Menjivar, who walks the walk with her diverse, working-class background. She’s all action.

STATE SENATOR, 22nd District: Rubio, the most progressive (though that isn’t saying much with this pool.)

STATE SENATOR, 24th District: Erickson. Goldsmith has money and names. Erickson has the community organizer, Working Families, teacher, and YIMBY lane. (Interestingly, the Democratic Party endorsement candidate didn’t make it past the primaries.)

STATE SENATOR, 26th District: Rascón, 1st gen American who doesn’t think the current Democratic status quo is enough, and we agree.

STATE SENATOR, 28th District: Lola Smallwood-Cuevas, a progressive model for the State Senate.

STATE SENATOR, 30th District: Archuleta against his Republican opponent.

STATE ASSEMBLY

MEMBER OF THE STATE ASSEMBLY, 34th DISTRICT: Randal Putz, the only left-leaning candidate in the race.

MEMBER OF THE STATE ASSEMBLY, 39th DISTRICT: Carrillo.

MEMBER OF THE STATE ASSEMBLY, 40th DISTRICT: Schiavo,‍ the current incumbent.

MEMBER OF THE STATE ASSEMBLY, 41st DISTRICT: Harabedian,‍ the current incumbent.

MEMBER OF THE STATE ASSEMBLY, 42nd DISTRICT: Lopez,‍ the most grassroots-supported candidate.

MEMBER OF THE STATE ASSEMBLY, 43rd DISTRICT: Rodriguez,‍ the more progressive candidate.

MEMBER OF THE STATE ASSEMBLY, 44th DISTRICT: Schultz, the more progressive candidate.

MEMBER OF THE STATE ASSEMBLY, 46th DISTRICT: Gabriel, the more progressive candidate.

MEMBER OF THE STATE ASSEMBLY, 48th DISTRICT: Rubio, who is fine enough.

MEMBER OF THE STATE ASSEMBLY, 49th DISTRICT: Fong, the more progressive candidate.

MEMBER OF THE STATE ASSEMBLY, 51st DISTRICT: Zbur, incumbent and the more progressive candidate by a bit.

MEMBER OF THE STATE ASSEMBLY, 53rd DISTRICT: Rodriguez, though none of the options are great.

MEMBER OF THE STATE ASSEMBLY, 55th DISTRICT: Bryan, the more progressive candidate.

MEMBER OF THE STATE ASSEMBLY, 56th DISTRICT: Calderon, though none of the options are great.

MEMBER OF THE STATE ASSEMBLY, 57th DISTRICT: Elhawary, the more progressive candidate.

MEMBER OF THE STATE ASSEMBLY, 61st DISTRICT: McKinnor. Other guy is endorsed by Trump.

MEMBER OF THE STATE ASSEMBLY, 62nd DISTRICT: Solache, incumbent and the more progressive candidate.

MEMBER OF THE STATE ASSEMBLY, 66th DISTRICT: Deen, the more progressive candidate.

MEMBER OF THE STATE ASSEMBLY, 69th DISTRICT: Lowenthal, the more progressive candidate.

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE, 36TH DISTRICT: Ted Lieu all the way.

LOS ANGELES CITY GENERAL MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS:

MEASURE TE: PROPERTY TRANSFER TAX EXEMPTION FOR VICTIMS OF JANUARY 2025 FIRE DISASTER - No. This tax only applies to sales over $5.3 million, so it’s a tax break for the wealthiest fire victims and is paid for with money from homelessness and affordable housing programs. It also isn’t limited to primary residences.

MEASURE LA: CITY INFRASTRUCTURE, BUDGET, FINANCE, AND CONTRACTING: Yes, because LA has no long-term plan for fixing streets and sidewalks and budgets one year a time. This requires a plan, moves to a two-year budget, and puts on accountable director in charge of Public Works instead of a board. This is backed by Controller Kenneth Mejia.

MEASURE PL: CITY PLANNING DEPARTMENT: Yes, because this cuts bureaucracy and saves money. It replaces the seven Area Planning Commissions and their 35 commissioners with a single Neighborhood Appeals Commission of at least seven members.

MEASURE EE: CITY ETHICS, ELECTIONS, AND GOVERNANCE: No, but only because it’s a bundle that shouldn’t be all packed together. It is presented as ethics reform, but it also cuts City Council meetings and makes it more difficult for residents to overturn city laws by reducing public access to the council.

MEASURE PRK: CITY DEPARTMENT OF RECREATION AND PARKS BUDGET: Yes, because our parks need improvements. We rank 93rd out of the 100 biggest cities in park ratings, and this doesn’t require a new tax.

MEASURE PRT: CITY AIRPORTS, HARBOR, AND WATER AND POWER DEPARTMENTS: Yes, this gives people who live next to the airports get more seats on the Airport Commision, locks in the Port’s existing spending on public waterfront access, and forces companies to disclose how port deals affect the local economy and jobs. No one has submitted an argument against this.

MEASURE FD: FUNDING FOR THE LOS ANGELES FIRE DEPARTMENT THROUGH A ONE-HALF PERCENT SALES TAX:‍ ‍No. Get out of here. No more sales taxes, which is regressive.. This would be the third increase in two years.

MEASURE SC: CAMPAIGN FINANCE RULES RELATED TO BOARD OF EDUCATION ELECTIONS: Yes, this is just cleaning up a bit. School board candidates already follow nearly all of the campaign finance rules as Mayor. This just deletes the duplicate.

COUNTY:

SHERIFF: Incumbent Robert Luna over righty-righty Villanueva, who doesn’t get the hint that Los Angeles isn’t that into him.

COUNTRY JUDGES OF THE SUPERIOR COURT

JUDGE OF THE SUPERIOR COURT: OFFICE NO. 64: Rhona Haymon, a public defender for more than 25 years. Her appointment is a prosecutor.

JUDGE OF THE SUPERIOR COURT: OFFICE NO. 65: Anna Slotky Reitano, though both choices are good.

JUDGE OF THE SUPERIOR COURT: OFFICE NO. 87: Anthony (A.J.) Bayne, who was a teacher in Watts before he entered the LA City Attorney’s office for over the past 25 years.

JUDGE OF THE SUPERIOR COURT: OFFICE NO. 131: David Ross, who is slightly more progressive than Donna Tryfman.

COUNTY MEASURES:

COUNTY MEASURE A: Charter amendment reiterating good faith negotiation obligations and establishing impartial binding arbitration for certified public safety employee disputes - No. This gives the final say on pay for sheriff’s deputies and other public safety staff to unelected arbitrators instead of supervisors we can vote out. The County’s own budget chief warned it could strain the budget. It’s bankrolled by the deputy sheriffs’ union.

COUNTY MEASURE E: Ethics commission and community investment budget allocation - Yes. This makes the County’s new ethics watchdog independent, with subpoena power, fining capabilities, and a budget the Supervisors can’t cut when they’re the ones being investigated.

STATE

GOVERNOR: Xavier Becerra over Trump fanatic Steve Hilton.

LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR: Fiona Ma over her Republican opponent.

SECRETARY OF STATE: Weber over her Republican opponent.

CONTROLLER: Cohen for her second term over Republican Morgan.

TREASURER: Kounalakis has some questionable ties to her own family’s real estate/development business, but she’s almost always supported progressive values.

ATTORNEY GENERAL: Bonta, the incumbent over his Republican opponent who served in Trump’s Justice Department.

INSURANCE COMMISSIONER: Jane Kim, but both options are good.

BOARD OF EQUIALIZATION 3RD DISTRICT: Sam Sukaton, who directed Senator Sander’s 2020 campaign regionally and is an organizer for several community-based organizations. His opponent, Gipson, has taken nearly $200k from the oil and gas industry during his time as state assembly member.

SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION: Richard Barrera over MAGA-Sonja Shaw. Barrera runs the San Diego school board and has the teachers behind him. Shaw has built her following on anti-trans school policies and finished first in the primary because the Dems split the vote.

STATE MEASURES:

STATE MEASURE 1: Authorizes bonds for housing affordability programs - This is complicated, but we vote yes. In 2018, California borrowed money to build affordable homes. Now, the government is asking to borrow three times as much, though they built less than they were supposed to do. A lot of this is because California’s bureaucracy is so tangled, and some of it is because building has gotten so expensive. We recommend you vote yes, but if the opportunity ever comes to simplify the process, we would vote yes on that as well.

STATE MEASURE 2: Increases State’s Rainy Day Fund - we vote yes. California keeps a fund available for years when state income isn’t adequate. Officials want to double it, which would mean tax refunds would be less compared to before. A bigger cushion would prevent funds for schools, health care, and safety-net programs from being cut when the economy dips.

STATE MEASURE 3: Provides permanent funding for schools and health care by extending existing tax on high incomes - Yes, making permanent a high-income tax for those earning over $371k for public K-12 schools, and community colleges. This taxes the wealthiest 2%.

STATE MEASURE 4: Repeals prohibition against public funding of election campaigns - Yes, reversing a ban in California since 1988. (LA currently allows it, though.) It allows those candidates without wealthy donors compete. California is the only state with this kind of ban.

STATE MEASURE 5: Changes recall election process for statewide officers - Yes, making the election to recall and instate a new official in the same election null. It would require two separate elections, and vacancies are filled by a later special election or appointment. A recalled Governor is succeeded by the Lieutenant Governor. The argument here is that the current setup lets a replacement win with a very small margin, which makes a recall a shortcut for a party that can’t win a regular election.

STATE MEASURE 37: Creates loan programs for middle-income buyers of qualified new homes - Yes, creating a state loan that covers up to 17% of newly built homes for buyers who can put 3% down. It’s funded by investors and repaid by the borrowers, and only applies to new construction to get more homes built.

STATE MEASURE 38: Authorizes bonds for immunology medical research - No. This borrows $7.4 billion, half of which goes to a single nonprofit institute. It will cost $500-$600m a year for 20 years. A billionaire put it on the ballot. There are better way to support medical research.

STATE MEASURE 39: Prohibits citizens from voting unless they present government-issued identification - Big time NO. California already checks IDs when you register. It would cost up to hundreds of millions a year to solve a problem we don’t have. This is straight out of the GOP/MAGA playbook.

STATE MEASURE 40: Imposes one-time tax on those who have a net worth over one billion dollars. Tax the absurdly rich - Yes. Most of them have already figured out how to not pay taxes (ahem, Elon Musk), and this would tax them all. Would this push billionaires out, and harm the economy? It’s unclear.

STATE MEASURE 41: Prohibits new state taxes that exclude revenues from state spending limit; requires audits for new state special taxes. No. Yes on 40 only works with a No on 41 and 42. This was put on the ballot by billionaires to cancel out the billionaire tax in Measure 40. It would also make future funding measures harder to pass.

STATE MEASURE 42: Prohibits new state personal property taxes and certain retroactive state taxes. No. This was also put on the ballot as a measure to cancel out Measure 40. It claims to protect your retirement from taxes, but there is no tax to your retirement. Again on this one - yes on 40 only works with a No on 41 and 42.

STATE MEASURE 43: Limits voters’ ability to raise revenues for local government services - No. It allows 1/3rd of voters to block what everyone else wants, which means money for fire, schools, and housing.

STATE MEASURE 44: Requires community health clinics spend 90% of revenue on program services - No. Sounds nice, but anyone who works at a non-profit knows that this isn’t realistic. It takes real overhead to run a clinic and pay people fairly (most people working in nonprofits are not paid fairly. Ask me how I know.) Clinics say it would force cuts and closures.

STATE MEASURE 45: Modifies environmental review for certain projects. - A tough one, but we’ll vote no. This weakens California’s main environmental law, and is backed by the CA GOP and building industry.

STATE JUDICIAL:

Associate Justices of the Supreme Court: Yes on all (Joshua Groban, Kelli Evans. Both appointed by Jerry Brown.

Court of Appeal, Second District: Yes on all 18. Nearly all of them were appointed by Newsom or Brown.

SANTA MONICA:

CITY COUNCIL: Torosis, Ivanov, Morrow - if your priority is renters’ rights and other progressive platforms.

RENT CONTROL BOARD: Gonska, Himmelrich, Thomason - if your priority is keeping renters in their homes and protecting rent-controlled buildings from demolition.

COLLEGE BOARD: Blades-Snell, Castañón, Peters, Roy - if your priority is experienced leadership and stable funding for the college.

SCHOOL BOARD: Lieberman, Mignano, Rouse, Staenberg - if your priority is student well-being, school staffing, and after-school and early childhood programs.

MEASURE ES: Yes, if you don’t care about $500 (though this will go up yearly) per parcel of land as a flat tax. The measure does put the money straight into the district’s pocket, and the LA County Democratic Party and the City Council endorse it. If you’re anti flat-tax, then vote no.

MEASURE GG: Yes. Rent control housekeeping.

MEASURE RR: Yes. No evictions over small amounts of unpaid rent.

MEASURE VV: Yes. Extends eviction protections to renters in condos and single-family homes.

MEASURE TT: Yes. Lets the city tax long corporate hotel stays during big events like the Olympics.

Plainly left-leaning, progressive, no-nonsense