In case it somehow slipped by you, the special recall election
will be held Tuesday. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. If
you’re a registered voter, perform your patriotic duty and vote. If
you’re eligible to vote, but haven’t bothered to register, shame on
you.
With gubernatorial candidates dropping like flies and polls
showing dramatic shifts in sentiment among so-called likely voters,
many people are reconsidering how to cast their ballots. It’s a
good opportunity to review our endorsements and recommendations for
the upcoming election.
In case it somehow slipped by you, the special recall election will be held Tuesday. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. If you’re a registered voter, perform your patriotic duty and vote. If you’re eligible to vote, but haven’t bothered to register, shame on you.
With gubernatorial candidates dropping like flies and polls showing dramatic shifts in sentiment among so-called likely voters, many people are reconsidering how to cast their ballots. It’s a good opportunity to review our endorsements and recommendations for the upcoming election.
By a one-vote margin, we recommend voting yes on the first question of the recall ballot: Should Gov. Gray Davis be removed from office? That endorsement is a pragmatic one – a no vote won’t save the state money or prevent the recall from happening, so we believe it is best to take advantage of the opportunity to steer the state in a more fiscally sound direction.
Republican state Sen. Tom McClintock is the candidate a plurality of the editorial board believes makes the most economic sense. Since the fiscal crisis is the most pressing issue facing the state, we believe choosing the candidate with the best plan to stem the tide of red ink is the wisest decision. This decision cannot be called pragmatic, because if the polls are correct, McClintock will not garner the most votes Tuesday.
Our recommendations on Propositions 53 and 54 are both pragmatic and principled – and unanimous.
We believe it is unwise to further hamstring the state budget by passing Prop. 53, which would require that up to 3 percent of the state’s general fund be spent on infrastructure projects. Since the legislature currently has discretion with just 30 percent of the general fund, there’s no sense in further limiting the state’s already too-constrained spending options. Vote no on Prop. 53.
We also recommend a no vote on Prop. 54, which would bar state and local agencies – governments, schools, hospitals, law enforcement, etc. – from collecting and classifying data based on race. Unless ignorance is your cup of tea, this proposition deserves a sound defeat at the ballot box. The only beneficiary of ignorance is the person or group trying to pull the wool over your eyes. Vote no on Prop. 54.
Whether or not you choose to vote your conscience, even if it means casting a ballot for a sure loser, or vote the polls – switching allegiances to cast an “anybody but Arnie” or an “anybody but Bustamante” vote – at least do your basic duty as a someone who has the fortune to be both a citizen of America and California – vote.
For more information on polling places, call 636-4016.
