The Santa Clara County Democratic Party will be endorsing candidates in many of the November 2003 local races (city councils, school boards, etc). The process will begin with the close of filing in August. If you are a candidate in Santa Clara County (and a registered Democrat) and would like to request the SCCDCC endorsement, download the Questionnaire, fill it out, and email it to endorsement@scc-democrats.org.
Local Non-Partisan Races, Nov 2, 2010
Local Ballot Measures for November 2010
Measure A: Santa Clara County Children's Health Protection. Healthy Kids is one of our region's most significant achievements and provides health insurance to all uninsured children who are not eligible for other public programs. Measure A's $29/ year parcel tax will prevent disenrollment in Healthy Kids and ensure all eligible children in the county have access to health insurance and the preventive care they need. VOTE YES.
Measure B: Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority. Our local roads are in need of repair. Adding $10 to the fee for each vehicle registered in the county will enable us to repair potholes, repave and maintain local streets, pay for projects to mitigate congestion and pollution, and increase our access to state and federal matching funds. VOTE YES.
Measure E: Foothill-DeAnza Community College District. Community colleges have never been more important, both as an affordable entry to college and as centers for retraining workers displaced in today's harsh economic times. This six-year $69/year parcel tax would guarantee a stable base of local funding, immune to state budget cuts, ensuring continued access to a quality, affordable education and training for the careers of tomorrow. VOTE YES.
Measure G: San Jose/Evergreen Community College District. This bond measure would fund construction of energy efficient, technology-driven teaching classrooms and labs; upgrade outdated plumbing and electrical systems; and make needed repairs throughout existing facilities. These upgrades and repairs are crucial to meeting the increased demands on our local community colleges. VOTE YES.
Measure H: Santa Clara Unified School District. Funds from this bond measure would pay for upgrading fire, safety and security systems; installing solar panels to increase schools' energy efficiency; and upgrading and expanding existing school facilities. VOTE YES.
Measure I: East Side Union High School District -East Side Union High School District. A six-year, $98/year parcel tax would provide funds to retain and attract teachers and support staff, increase student access to science, math and core academic classes required for college admission, and ensure continued funding for art, music and athletics. VOTE YES.
Measure J: Franklin-McKinley School District. This bond measure would fund much-needed repairs and upgrades to current facilities by modernizing classrooms and replacing old roofs, plumbing and electrical systems, and increasing energy efficiency. VOTE YES.
Measure K: Moreland School District. Funds to upgrade science labs and computer technology, maximize energy efficiency, improve disabled access, and repair existing facilities would be provided by this bond measure. VOTE YES.
Measure L: Cambrian School District A six-year, $96 parcel tax would ensure local funding to maintain strong core accelerated programs, attract and retain quality teachers, support smaller class sizes and improve access to computers and libraries. VOTE YES.
Measure M: City of Campbell Business License Tax. This measure would raise the business license tax, set in 1982, by $50 (limiting annual cost-of-living adjustments to 2%) to maintain and protect city services. VOTE YES.
Measure N: City of Campbell Transient Occupancy Tax. To avoid deep cuts in city services, this proposal would increase the existing tax charged to hotel guests from 10% to 12%. VOTE YES.
Measure O: City of Campbell (Clerk and Treasurer). Currently, only two cities in Santa Clara County elect their City Clerk and Treasurer. Making these offices appointive, as this measure provides, would enable the city council to set professional criteria for the jobs and potentially consolidate these positions, saving thousands of dollars in salaries and benefits as well as the cost of periodically placing these positions on the ballot. VOTE YES.
Measure P: City of Morgan Hill (Clerk and Treasurer) Currently, only two cities in Santa Clara County elect their City Clerk and Treasurer. Making these offices appointive, as this measure provides, would enable the city council to set professional criteria for the jobs and potentially consolidate these positions, saving thousands of dollars in salaries and benefits as well as the cost of periodically placing these positions on the ballot. VOTE YES.
Measure S: City of Palo Alto Consolidate Elections to Even Years. Consolidating the city election cycle with county and state elections will help reduce the city's election costs. VOTE YES.
Measure T: City of Mountain View Utility Users Tax. This measure would update the city's Utility Users Tax to apply to both older and newer telecommunication technology. The existing rate of 3% would not be increased. The tax would not apply to Internet access, e-mail, video programming or digital downloads. VOTE YES.
Measure U: City of San Jose Marijuana Tax. Funding for city services like emergency response, libraries, pothole repair, and youth and senior programs would get a boost from this measure authorizing a tax of up to 10% on gross receipts from marijuana businesses in San Jose. VOTE YES.
Measure V: City of San Jose Arbitration. This measure places limits on binding arbitration for police and firefighters. VOTE NO.
Measure W: City of San Jose Retirement Plan. Measure W is a hastily crafted measure that creates a two-tiered pension and benefit plan, effectively excluding future hires from the current employee benefit structure. VOTE NO.
November 2010 Statewide Propositions
Proposition 19: California Democratic Party is NEUTRAL on the intiative to legalize Cannabis.
Proposition 20: This initiative expands the Prop 11 redistricting commission to include Congressional districts. Funded largely by a Republican billionaire, this measure could cost Democrats seats in the House of Representatives, weakening our ability to fight an increasingly radical Republican Party. VOTE NO.
Proposition 21: The state parks initiative, authored by former Assemblyman John Laird, raises the vehicle license fee by $18, keeping all parks open at restored hours, reducing the maintenance backlog, and allowing all Californians with a registered vehicle to get into any park free of charge. VOTE YES.
Proposition 22: This measure would prevent the state from borrowing funds used for transportation, redevelopment or local government projects, even during severe fiscal hardship. While local governments bristle at state raids on local coffers, this bill would effectively divert a large chunk of funding for education and other essential state services toward local redevelopment agencies. VOTE NO.
Proposition 23: Funded by millions in campaign contributions from out-of-state oil companies, Prop 23 would repeal AB 32, the state's landmark global warming law, stifling our ability to generate green jobs and locking into place for the foreseeable future our dependence on fossil fuels. This initiative must be defeated. VOTE NO.
Proposition 24: This initiative closes corporate tax loopholes that add at least $1.7 billion annually to the budget deficit. According to the League of Women Voters, "These tax breaks primarily benefit larger, multi-state businesses, and appear to have gone primarily to very large, profitable businesses." At a time when schools, healthcare and public safety are being cut to the bone, California doesn't need to give away billions to wealthy corporations. VOTE YES.
Proposition 25: Restoring majority rule for the state budget process is crucial to getting our state moving again. Prop 25 replaces the current two-thirds requirement for passing the state budget and related bills with a simple majority. Passing this ballot measure means that Californians will no longer be held hostage by an intransigent minority. We cannot afford to let this one fail. VOTE YES.
Proposition 26: The exact opposite of Prop 25, Prop 26 would require a two-thirds majority for fees, levies and other potential revenues that now require a simple majority. The last thing our state needs now is another buckle on the budget straitjacket. Just as Prop 25 must pass, Prop 26 must fail. VOTE NO.
Proposition 27: This proposition would eliminate the Prop 11 Redistricting Commission entirely. The current commission is overwhelmingly white, male and wealthy - hardly a representative group of Californians. Redistricting would again fall to the hands of the legislature, which is elected by the voters to make these kinds of decisions. VOTE YES.
