HONEY’S VOTE

It’s come to my attention that a majority of folks in SF STILL HAVE NOT VOTED. I get it. There is a lot going on and so much information out there. I know there are several good voting guides, and all of them have slightly different opinions on what you should be voting for. Some of my friends have already voted, and I’ve been telling others to take looks at the Milk Club Voter Guide and then SF Democratic Party Voter Guide and The Queer Agenda Voter Guide, and yet I still have friends asking me to do my own, so this weekend I was finally able to make the time. Without further ado, for those of you who have yet to cast your ballots, here it is. 

*** SCROLL DOWN TO THE BOTTOM FOR A QUICK CHEAT SHEET ***

Now, GO VOTE!

PRESIDENT - Joseph Biden / Kamala Harris

I’ll be 100% honest and say that Joe was not my 1st or 2nd choice for President; however, it is absolutely positively important for progressives to vote for President in this race, and I urge you all to vote for Joe. I say progressives specifically because I know many of my friends are unhappy that the Democratic Party has chosen yet another moderate ticket for the presidency. Yes, I would love to see a far left, progressive democrat or democratic socialist in the White House, but at this point Joe is all that stands between us and another 4 years of horror and hate infecting not just our country but the world. And this year's election may be contested and lead to uprisings all over the country if there isn’t an overwhelming victory. So yes, every vote counts. Please vote for Joe.

CA FEDERAL REP DISTRICT 12 - Nancy Pelosi

Nancy Pelosi has been the standard bearer for the Democratic Party these last few years. She has stood up to Trump in a way that has been both bold and strategic, and we need strong decisive leaders in the White House right now. Do I agree with all of her policies and positions? No, I do not, but I do think that we need strong proven leaders like Speaker Pelosi right now, especially if the Presidential Race doesn’t go the way we want it to. Also, there have been some pretty messy things that have come out about her challenger, and at this point, I don’t think we have that much room for error.

CA STATE SENATE DISTRICT 11 - Jackie Fielder

Jackie is a true progressive. She is a queer indigenous woman who has a proven track record of being consistently on the right side, fighting for justice and the people. She fought on the frontlines against the Dakota Access Pipeline and took on Wall street and is helping establish the first municipal bank in the country here in San Francisco. She has earned pretty much every progressive endorsement in San Francisco including the support of Teachers and Labor.

CA STATE ASSEMBLY DISTRICT 17 - David Chiu

There is no real choice here, vote for David Chiu (or not, he will win)

San Francisco BOARD OF EDUCATION - BOGGESS, ALEXANDER, SANCHEZ, FISHER

I support the recommendation of the teachers (United Educators of San Francisco) for the following:

Kevine Boggess

Matt Alexander

Mark Sanchez

I would add:

Alida Fisher - a strong advocate for disability rights and would also be wonderful on the Board!

San Francisco COMMUNITY COLLEGE BOARD - WONG, WILLIAMS, ZOU, TEMPERANO

There is a diverse Progressive Slate of candidates who I fully support and believe in. The slate represents a good combination of leaders who have already proven themselves on the Board and newcomers who have been endorsed by CCSF teachers and have a track record of working on education issues in SF.

Alan Wong

Shanell Williams

Han Zou

Tom Temprano

BART DISTRICT 7 - Lateefah Simon

Lateefah Simon is an incredible advocate and has been working for civil rights and social justice in the Bay Area since she was 19 years old. She has used her role on the BART board to advance issues of social justice and accessibility and we need her to keep this seat. 

BART DISTRICT 9 - Bevan Dufty

Please vote for Bevan Dufty who, alongside Supervisor Hillary Ronen, woke up early in the AM for weeks to personally clean the 16th Street BART Station which has been woefully neglected to bring attention to the issue and demand better. Bevan has worked tirelessly to make BART safe for passengers and employees during the pandemic.

CA - STATE PROPOSITIONS

14 - Tentative YES

Since the Federal Government won’t fund this, I guess Californians need to pick up the bill. The cost is pretty high though (billions of dollars), during an economic crisis, and yet, it could eventually lead to a cure for any number of diseases.

15 - YES

California Public Schools are chronically underfunded and teachers underpaid. This will help the state address this problem by imposing a tax on multi-million dollar commercial properties. Absolutely. Yes.

16 - YES, YES, YES

Repeal California's Ban on Affirmative Action. Racism is not over. Systemic racism still exists and serves as a barrier to students and job seekers. If you’ve been marching in protests these past few months, or posting Black Lives Matter on social media, you should be voting YES on Prop 16.

17 - YES, YES, YES

Not so fun fact, it was only AFTER black people won the right to vote in this country that people exiting incarceration were subsequently banned from voting (know your history). Voting YES on Prop 17 will undo an important part of the systematic disenfranchisement of people of color in this country. VOTE YES.

18 - YES

Let 17 year olds vote in primary and special elections IF they will be 18 by the next general election. Basically, allows them to vote for the primary candidates that they will be eligible to vote for by the time they are 18. This only seems fair. 

19 - YES

We need to close these tax loopholes that directly impact how our schools, among other things, are funded. This still protects people 55+ and also adds protections for victims of disaster.

20 - NO

This is not prison reform, this is “let's spend more tax payer dollars putting people who don’t need to be in prison in prison and keep them there.”

21- YES

Would actually make Rent Control make more sense by allowing local governments to apply rent control to any building older than 15 years old vs only applying to buildings built before 1978. This is how we help prevent homelessness and keep SF affordable.

22 - NO, NO, NO

This would overturn State labor laws and gets a few companies like Uber and Lyft out of paying their fair share in taxes. It also prevents them from having to treat full time drivers like employees so they don’t have to pay them a living wage, overtime, offer health insurance, pay taxes, etc. This in no way helps independent contractors. If you are an independent contractor who was impacted by AB 5, THIS WILL NOT HELP YOU. It only helps Uber, Lyft, and Doordash and they’ve spent about $200 million that they could have spent paying taxes and providing healthcare to their employees trying to convince you to vote yes. Also, they put in that this can only be overturned by a 7 / 8 majority vote. That is crazy. VOTE NO.

23 - YES

Dialysis Clinics are medical facilities that need proper supervision and regulation.

24 - No

It talks about privacy but leaves huge loopholes benefiting those entities we actually need protection from.

25 - SADLY NO

I initially supported this based on the part that eliminates cash bail which is inherently problematic, however, the system that they are replacing it with is really sketchy and could lead to more people being needlessly incarcerated longer. :(

CITY AND COUNTY (San Francisco) PROPOSITIONS

A - YES

A BOND to address homelessness, parks and open space. We need all the help we can get.

B - YES, YES, YES

I personally worked with Supervisor Matt Haney and the on the ground workers of DPW to craft this measure that will provide accountability and break up an overly big department so that street cleaning and urban forestry among other things can get the attention that it needs in our city. Again, we need all the help we can get here. VOTE YES

C - YES

Help make boards and commissions more equitable by allowing non-citizens/immigrants to participate.

D - YES

Provide the Sheriffs with oversight! They need it, and they support it!

E - YES, YES, YES

For some reason we have an arbitrary number written into our city charter that tells us how many active police officers SF has to have and the city cannot go below this number. Good government says that the city should be able to define that number based on need and analysis. This will not defund the police, but for those folks who are interested in having that conversation, we can’t do that til this stipulation is gone so… VOTE YES.

F - YES

This helps small businesses and exempts them from paying certain taxes while ensuring big corporations, many of whom are making more money now than ever, are paying their fair share. 

G - YES

Let’s get the youth further engaged in our political process. Many of our most pressing issues directly impact our youth, especially things like climate change and schools. We need them. They are our future. Vote yes.

H - NO ENDORSEMENT

Honestly very conflicted here. Yes small businesses are struggling, but I believe this ballot measure goes too far in completely removing protections for neighborhoods that could allow for unmitigated gentrification vs actually serving the needs of those communities. At the same time, yes, we do need to allow for more flexibility for the businesses that are still alive right now… I’m just not sold this is how we do it. 

I - YES, YES, YES

A small tax on properties worth over $10 million? This isn’t going to impact the average San Franciscan, or even the well-off San Franciscan. This will slightly impact the extremely wealthy and big corporations. The city absolutely needs this funding and it should come from the pockets of those who can afford to give and who benefit from the obscenely high property values that SF provides.

J - YES

Support SF Teachers! Let’s get our teachers the pay they deserve and fix a couple things that were wrong with the previous proposition that was voted on in 2018.

K - YES

We need to be acquiring and rehabilitating more affordable housing.

L - YES, YES, YES

This proposition addresses the core of most of what is wrong with our country. The insane disparity in the distribution of wealth. This would tax those companies who have CEO’s that make more than 100 times the median salary of their employees. It’s a modest tax increase that won’t hurt these companies, but will provide tens of millions of dollars to the city to help offset the impacts of these inequities. A rockstar team of folks crafted this measure. That’s Supervisor Matt Haney and my colleague Abigail Rivamonte-Mesa.

RR - YES

For the sake of our planet, support alternatives to cars.

SUPERVISOR RACES

I’m supporting the supervisors with proven track records of supporting progressive initiatives who share my values and who are committed to making San Francisco a more safe, equitable, and affordable place for everyone.

District 1 - Connie Chan

She has the endorsements of all the people we trust most: teachers, nurses, fire fighters, the Sierra Club, the Milk Club… and Vice President Kamala Harris. She is who we need in District 1. Vote for Connie.

District 3 - Aaron Peskin

He is the most progressive candidate running in this district, has a prolific and long track record, and he probably will win by a landslide. Vote for Aaron.

District 5 - Dean Preston

This one is IMPORTANT. We need Dean to stay on the Board. He has only been here a year, but in that time he has proven his commitment to protecting the most vulnerable San Franciscans, especially renters. He is bold, and forward thinking, and he has been a hugely indispensable ally on the Board, and he is one we can’t afford to lose! Republicans are so afraid of Dean that they have launched a baseless attack campaign on him. Don’t let them win. Vote Dean!

District 7 - Vilaska Nguyen #1, Myrna Melgar #2

I implore you to vote for the two progressive candidates in this race in a 1 / 2 strategy. I put Vilaska first for a variety of reasons, but ultimately because I believe he would be the best person for the job and, importantly, a reliable ally to progressives on the Board. He has done tremendous work in the Public Defender’s Office prior to running, and is the victim of another multi-million dollar effort by Republicans who are against things like corporations and the extremely wealthy paying their fair share in taxes. They really don’t want to see him win. So vote Vilaska! 

District 9 - Hillary Ronen

She is running unopposed because everyone knows that she is a fearless and bold advocate for District 9. You can trust her to always be on the right side of things no matter what. It was her leadership that got us Mental Health SF which will provide direct mental health services to those that need it most, helping to reduce police involvement in healthcare, and addressing one of our city’s biggest issues. Vote Hillary!

District 11- John Avalos

Avalos is another progressive champion that we need on the Board. He authored the legislation that made SF pursuing a Public Bank possible. His track record is incredible, so you should definitely look it up, but I will highlight that when he was last at the Board he served as Budget Chair during the recession and helped to balance out the city’s $500 million deficit. He helped to green D11 and improve parks and public spaces, fought hard to establish just cause protections against evictions, and strengthened the City’s Sanctuary City Laws. Vote John!