March 2020 Elected Officials

Here's how I'm voting for all the elected offices on this primary ballot. I make NO recommendation in the big race -- for President -- 'cuz I don't know who I'll vote for on March 3. But I do make rec's in races you don't hear about every day on TV. 

Here's the summary -- details are after the jump:

President: I'm still figuring it out
Alameda County Central Committee, 15th Assembly District: for sure Echols, Waters, Lopez, Neal, Barnett, Tregub, and probably Rosales + Laverde
Congress, 9th District: Barbara Lee
CA Senate, 9th District: Nancy Skinner
CA Assembly, 15th District: Buffy Wicks
Superior Court Office #2: Elena Condes
Alameda County Supervisor, 5th District: Keith Carson

And now for the detailed writeups ...

Party-Nominated Offices

President: I'm still figuring it out

If you care enough to read my blog and email, you’re probably thoughtful enough to know your own mind for the presidential election. And if you don’t, you should seek advice from people who are following it more closely. Everything is changing fast enough that I’m not confident now who I’ll vote for on March 3rd. I could go on for pages about how I'm torn, but I don't think that would help the rest of you. So I'm focusing this writeup on races that aren't in the news every day.

Alameda County Central Committee, 15th Assembly District: 

This is super inside baseball Democratic Party politics. It’s also hard to research, unless you’re a party insider (which I’m not). But I figure this is where my writeup is really useful to the rest of you, so I did the research.

This time there are 18 candidates for 8 seats. I read all the statements and info available on Voters Edge, and I also looked at endorsements by Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club, Berkeley Democratic Club, Stonewall Democratic Club, and at who’s endorsed by BWOPA (Black Women Organized for Political Action). In the process, I found three different groups who ALL called themselves ‘progressive’ Democrats and each endorsed a different set of candidates -- oy!

I’m not voting a particular slate -- I’m voting for people who’ve shown they can work in political forums and work with people of differing views. I have some people who are on the CCC already, some who would be new to it.

Here are 6 people I’m definitely voting for (and what I like about them) -- in the order they appear on my ballot:

• Elizabeth Echols: longtime CCC member, on EBRPD Board, worked on Obama Transition Team. Endorsed by BDC.
• Julie M. Waters: experience working for AFSCME, AC Transit, and CA Senator Nancy Skinner. Endorsed by BDC and BWOPA. 
• Barbara “Bobbie” Lopez: ‘pragmatic progressive’, works for Rebecca Kaplan and previously for Jane Kim. Endorsed by WDRC, BWOPA. 
• Kathy Neal: long experience in government, a few years on CCC. Endorsed by BWOPA.
• Michael Barnett: research physicist (aww, like I thought I might be) with 14+ years experience in Democratic Party politics. Endorsed by WDRC + BDC, and gobs of politicians of all (Democratic) stripes. 
• Igor Tregub: relatively young but with several years of experience in politics. Endorsed by WDRC, Mayor Arreguin, and CA Assemblymember Buffy Wicks. 

I’ll probably also vote for these next 2:

• Ces Rosales: less experienced but I hear good things about Ces from involved friends. Endorsed by BDC + Asian Pacific American Democratic Caucus of Alameda County, plus my favorite Berkeley CC-member. 
• Paola Laverde: public information officer for a state agency, lots of media background. Endorsed by WDRC. 

Lots of the others are also great, and I’m sure would do a good job if elected. I’ve also thought about Julie Caskey, James Chang, Andy Kelley, Nick Pilch, and Alfred Twu, but I like the eight above better.

I’m not voting for 3 candidates who had no info available on Voters Edge: Soli Alpert, Bonnie Wheatley, and Dianne Martinez.

Voter-Nominated Offices

U.S. Representative, 13th Congressional District: Barbara Lee

Barbara Lee still speaks for me. Plus her only opponent is a Republican.

CA State Senator, 9th Senate District: Nancy Skinner

Nancy has been terrific in Sacramento. And she’s unopposed.

CA State Assembly, 15th Assembly District: Buffy Wicks

I voted for Wicks in 2018 (after lengthy research and internal debate). Now she has only nominal opposition.

Judges

Superior Court Judge, Office #2: Elena Condes

There are three candidates for this judgeship, but only Condes + Fickes filed ballot statements, so I’m only considering them. After reading both of their ballot statements and all of their websites, I’m definitely voting for Condes. Her ballot statement says: “As a trial attorney with 25 years of courtroom and as a Latina, lesbian, mother, defender and small business owner, I am running to enhance the diversity of experience and perspective on Alameda County Superior Court.” She’s endorsed by the outgoing Judge Carol Brosnahan (40-years! classmate of Ruth Bader Ginsburg!!), MANY judges, plus a bunch of elected officials I like.

Mark Fickes looks like a good guy too -- 24 years of legal experience on a similarly wide range of topics. As his ballot statement says, he’s a gay man whose grandparents fled Nazi persecution. He’s endorsed by a few judges and by the Democratic Party.

For a judge, I care more about legal endorsements than about the political ones. And Condes sounds more like my vision of what our judges need to be.

Alameda County

Supervisor, 5th District: Keith Carson

I’ve respected Supervisor Carson since I met him in the late 1990s while I was doing transportation advocacy. He’s just plain a very good man -- fair, tough-minded, strategic, and genuinely caring. He’s also one of the longest-serving African American men in elected office in the East Bay (serving since 1993).

His opponent, Nick Pilch from Albany, is a perfectly nice guy. Nick started a pro-walk/bike group in Albany and is currently Mayor of that fair city. He’s a good guy.

But for our district (North Oakland/Berkeley/Emeryville/Albany), I’m not going to vote for a white man from Albany to replace a black man from Oakland, when that black man has been and continues to be an effective representative.