Nov 2022: Alameda County Measures, Judges, & Elected Officials

Here are my recommendations on measures, judges, and elected officials I vote on in Alameda County (plus one I don't).

Alameda County Measure

Measure D: Yes for Regulation of Ag Land near Livermore

Judges: Just say Yes!

Alameda County Elected Officials 

District Attorney: Pamela Price

Special Districts 

AC Transit At-Large: Alfred Twu

AC Transit Ward 3: Sarah Syed

Elected Officials

AC Transit At-Large: Alfred Twu

AC Transit Ward 3: Sarah Syed

Plus (for all of you who ask me about Oakland every year), see Edie's recommendations. 

For details, read on ...

Alameda County Measure

Measure D: Yes for Regulation of Ag Land near Livermore

This measure amends existing zoning for open space passed by voters in 2000. This measure changes the allowable size of a variety of agricultural buildings on lands that are outside the county's urban growth boundary, while keeping other environmental protections in place. It mostly applies to land south of Livermore. It will make it more likely that those lands continue to be used by wineries and horse-related facilities in the area, instead of becoming areas that developers are trying to build suburban sprawl. It is supported by Greenbelt Alliance, Save Mount Diablo and the City of Livermore. The Sierra Club is neutral. Only organized opposition I see is the Alameda County Taxpayers' Association. I'm voting Yes. More info: Voter's Edge. 

Judges: Just say yes!

California has a funny setup with judges on the Supreme Court + Court of Appeals. When there's a judicial vacancy, the new judge is appointed by the Governor, confirmed by the state Commission on Judicial Appointments, and then confirmed again by the voters at the next general election. Judges also go before voters at the end of any 12-year term. So we get to vote 'yes' or 'no', not choose between different people. In general, I vote Yes unless I've heard something bad. 

In this case, I've heard good to great things about the four Supreme Court Justices: Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero, and Associate Justices Goodwin Liu, Martin J. Jenkins, & Joshua P. Groban. And for the Court of Appeals judges, I relied on the SF Chronicle's useful editorial that both explains the process and asserts that all 9 are great: Therese M. Stewart, Alison M. Tucher, Victor A. Rodriguez, Ioana Petrou, Carin T. Fujisaki, Tracie L. Brown, Jeremy M. Goldman, Teri L. Jackson, and Gordon B. Burns. 

Alameda County District Attorney: Pamela Price

First, the good news: after this election, Alameda County will have a Black District Attorney. 

I supported Pamela Price in the 2018 primary, when she challenged incumbent Nancy O'Malley and came close. I supported her again in the 2022 primary, when this was the *only* race that I spent time researching and writing up. She's a progressive reformer who is running to "restore public trust in our criminal justice system, ensure public safety, end mass incarceration and root out racial, socioeconomic and gender disparities within Alameda County’s criminal justice system." 

Her opponent is Terry Wiley, who's been in the district attorney's office for 35 years. He was my 3rd choice in the primary -- a decent and principled man, but came across as a law-and-order D.A. He does have lots of experience running the office, in other places he'd be considered liberal. But there's no reason to think he'd change things significantly, and I have the impression our criminal justice needs big changes. 

I'm voting for Pamela Price. I understand she doesn't have the same administrative experience running a large bureaucracy. If elected, she'll probably make some mistakes. And there will be people out there ready to jump on every single one and blow it up. So when somebody runs a recall campaign, I'm committing now to working to stop it. 

More info: see campaign websites for Pamela Price, for Terry Wiley, or Voter's Edge. 

Districts: AC Transit

At-Large District: Alfred Twu

I love Alfred Twu. He's a transit and housing nerd I met through the North Berkeley BART planning process. He's creative and thoughtful. He's a planning commissioner, artist, architect, and most recently worked on design and construction for SF's Central Subway Project. I agree with his priorities for AC Transit, and so does my friend who's worked there forever. He understands that what AC Transit most needs now is to hire bus drivers. 

Alfred is also a terrifically interesting combination of creativity and ability to work in political and administrative structures. He's created two board games about urban planning. And he has also won endorsements from 2 AC Transit Board members, 3 BART Boardmembers, 4 Assemblymembers (including Wicks), 6 Mayors, and 26 City Councilmembers -- plus the Democratic Party, more Democratic party clubs than I ever knew existed, and the nonprofit Seamless Bay Area. Check him out at his campaign website.

I encourage you not to vote for Joel Young. Here's how I described him in 2018: "exploiting conflicts of interest to make himself money, credibly accused of domestic violence, avoiding campaigning to avoid questions, and being qcensured by his colleagues on the AC Transit Board." I know many of these missteps are from 8-9 years ago. He's skated through the past two elections because he didn't have a credible opponent -- now he does, and I sure hope Alfred wins. 

More info: Voter's Edge.

Ward 3: Sarah Syed

Ward 3 covers Alameda and parts of Oakland -- so I don't vote in this race. But if I did, it'd be an easy choice! Sarah Syed has been a transportation nerd at least since I met her over 20 years ago when she volunteered at TransForm! She's since been a planner for BART and VTA, and she's now a transportation researcher at UC Berkeley. She knows what AC Transit needs. She's endorsed by 3 AC Transit Boardmembers, as well as by Alfred Twu and the nonprofit Seamless Bay Area. 

Her opponent Stewart Chen is a City of Alameda Councilmember (and chiropractor) who has no apparent relevant experience. More info: Voter's Edge.

Oakland

Every year, lots of people ask my opinion about Oakland races. I used to be a bit plugged in, but not anymore. So now I refer people to my friend and colleague Edie Irons, who along with her mom puts together a voter guide for every election. Check out Edie and Janet's November 2022 East Bay Voter Guide.