(Updated with revised endorsement & proposition info. 10/23/18 – Error on Camarillo endorsements corrected, additional endorsements added)
We at Indivisible Ventura don’t believe we have any more time to coddle those who feel that the answers to the problems of this new century lie in the bones of the last one.
We believe in progress and in science. We believe in women, their sovereignty over their own bodies and their access to equal pay and family leave. We believe in the separation of church and state. We believe that all Americans should have access to clean air, pure water, affordable, accessible healthcare, and a safe place to sleep. We believe in protecting our environment and our wildlife. We believe in our youth and their access to education without crippling debt. We believe in helping our immigrants, our poor, and our homeless. We believe in the rights of workers and a living wage. We believe in strong gun laws to keep our communities safe. We believe in in the fundamental American value that all people are created equal. We believe that the American dream is worth fighting for.
That’s why we vote. Every time. But we need more people to stand beside us.
Although Indivisible Ventura is not officially endorsing any particular candidate, but we’ve pulled together endorsements from other groups we respect, for you to read and compare along with reference materials. We believe the ones featured will help push us forward.
This is a long ballot and we want to make the process easier for everyone.
- Remember: There are no points taken off for leaving a section blank – so don’t let not knowing everything about everything stop you from heading to the voting booths. Vote for what you believe in and what you understand.
- Too busy to research? Find a group that shares your mission or vision (you just read ours) and vote with them.
So sit down with a cup of coffee and run through this list, and you’ll be surprised at how confident you’ll feel filling out your ballot. And really, why should our husbands be the only ones to benefit from our hours of research?
First, make sure you have a Voting Plan!
What the heck is that? Is it boring? Is it painful? A voting plan is described here and “No” and “No.”
The Candidates
Here are the ballot sections. We’ve included a few endorsements in the picture segments to give you an idea of who is supporting each candidate. Click on the links at the bottom of each segment for more complete endorsements information.
Governor
The highest elected official in California: Oversees most state departments and agencies. Prepares annual state budget. Approves or rejects new state laws.
- Gavin Newsom Ballotpedia
- Gavin Newsom endorsement here here
- Sierra Club: Gavin Newsom | Press Release | Why Sierra Club Endorses Newsom
- Sierra Club endorsements: here
- https://www.sierraclub.org/california/2018-endorsements
- Governor race overview and endorsement updates – Ballotpedia
- President Obama’s endorsements here.
Lieutenant Governor
Next in line: Becomes Governor if the elected Governor leaves office. Has a tie-breaking vote in the State Senate. Serves on boards and commissions.
- Eleni Kounalakis Endorsements
- Ed Hernandez Endorsements
Secretary of State
Head of elections and record keeping: Coordinates statewide elections and oversees election laws. Also keeps records about new corporations and businesses and other state databases.
- Alex Padilla Endorsements
- Sierra Club: Alex Padilla | Press Release
- Ballotpedia endorsement updates
Controller
The state’s bookkeeper: Keeps track of how the state’s money is spent. Issues most checks from the state and manages collection of money due to the state. Reports on finances of state and local governments. Serves on the Board of Equalization, the Board of Control, and other boards and commissions.
- Betty Yee Endorsements
- Sierra Club: Betty Yee | Press Release
Treasurer
The state’s banker: Manages the state’s investments and assets. Coordinates the sale of state bonds.
- Fiona Ma Endorsements
Attorney General
The state’s top lawyer: Makes sure laws are enforced the same way across the state. Manages the CA Department of Justice. Oversees sheriffs and district attorneys.
- Xavier Becerra Endorsements
- Sierra Club: Xavier Becerra | Press Release
- Attorney General – Ballotpedia
Insurance Commissioner
Insurance overseer: Manages the CA Department of Insurance. Enforces laws that insurance companies must follow.
- Ricardo Lara Endorsements
- Sierra Club: Ricardo Lara | Press Release
Board of Equalization
A member serves on the Board of Equalization, the state’s elected tax commission, which oversees the administration of tax and fee programs, including those for alcohol and oversees the administration of property tax.
References:
US Senator
Go for a deeper dive with Indivisible SF’s scorecard of senatorial candidates’ responses to interview questions. Click on link here for expanded answers from Kevin De Leon.
- Dianne Feinstein endorsements
- Kevin DeLeon endorsements
- Senate race overview – Ballotpedia
US Representative, 26th District
Check your ballot. You are either in Brownley’s district (26th) or Carbajal’s (24th).
- Julia Brownley’s website here.
- Julia Brownley’s endorsements here.
- Antonio Sabato Jr.’s risque film roles have conservatives questioning his congressional candidacy (LA Times)
US Representative, 24th District
- Salud Carbajal’s endorsements here.
- Ballotpedia here.
- Sierra Club endorsement
State Assemblymember, District 37
- Monique Limón’s website here.
- Monique Limón’s endorsements here.
- Sierra Club endorsement
State Assemblymember, District 44
State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Superintendent of Public Instruction – Head of public schools: Manages the state Department of Education. Provides leadership and assistance to all public schools in California. Enforces education regulations.
References
- The Right Wing, Anti-Gay Crusade Behind Marshall Tuck’s Campaign to Take Over California Schools (LA Progressive)
- Marshall Tuck’s Legacy of Bigotry and Failure (School Matters)
- Green Dot’s failure empty promise (LA Times)
- Green Dot Charter Schools: A cautionary tale (seattle)
- Peter Greene: Marshall Tuck Will Destroy Public Education in California and Then What? (dianeravitch) 2014
- The NAACP writes a letter of protest to billionaire Bill Bloomfield re: Tuck endorsement. (dianeravitch) 2018
- State superintendent candidate Marshall Tuck returns donation from anti-LGBT funder (Edsource)
- What does the Superintendent of Public Instruction do? (Edsource)
- Two candidates for state superintendent raise nearly $2 million (LA School Report)
- Sierra Club: Tony Thurmond | Press Release
- Tony Thurmond Endorsements
- Marshall Tuck Endorsements
The Judges
(This section updated 10/15/18)
The LA Times has stated that we should all just vote “YES” for any judge on the ballot. But, in light of our recent struggles with Brett Kavanaugh, we’re not so sure that we can be so cavalier without further study. Two extremely conservative sites are more than willing to differentiate between judges based on the candidates’ answers to a quiz of sorts. Their responses are graded on a “Activist vs. Constructionist” scale and inserted into their Judge Voter Guide, and Robyn Nordell’s “Judicial Recommendations”. Another conservative site rated judges on how they voted on the infamous Prop. 8 debacle. We have made our selections in direct opposition to theirs and are continuing our research.
Legend
- Conservative-Right rating system explained here. (scroll to bottom of page)
- Note #1 – Carol Corrigan: The LA Times assures us that her opinions don’t label her “as an obvious liberal or conservative, ideologue or pragmatist”. However, in 2008, she earned her conservative stars by voting against same-sex marriage twice, once as a dissenter in re Marraige Cases, and once as part of the CA Supreme Court majority (George, Kennard, Baxter, Chin) which allowed Prop. 8 to stand. Prop. 8 was the hard-right-fueled voter initiative designed to strip a minority class of their basic human rights to marry. Proponents had actually hoped to remove domestic partnership benefits and nullify the 18,000 marriages existing at the time of that election as well, but the Court was satisfied with simply denying new same-sex marriages from occurring. “Proposition 8 must be understood as creating a limited exception to the state equal protection clause.” This odious ruling stood until June 26th, 2013, when it was overturned by Hollingsworth v. Perry. In the 1967 case of Loving v. Virginia, where a married couple was prosecuted for being of different races, Chief Justice Earl Warren stated “Marriage is one of the “basic civil rights of man,” fundamental to our very existence and survival.” Mildred Loving herself wrote eloquently here about how the civil right of marriage belonged to all people, regardless of “race, sex or sexual orientation.” Corrigan had two chances to free us from the ugly prejudices of the last century and she failed. (See our mission statement at top) Vote NO.
- Note #2 – Helen Bendix: She was appointed by Brown. So a “YES“, right? However, she also got a 3-star rating from the conservative sites, so we continued looking. In an case centering around a sexual assault claim at Claremont McKenna College, Judge Bendix stated that female accuser should have been required to answer questions posed directly or indirectly by the accused man, instead of allowing the victim to submit written testimony, a decision lauded in the right-wing press and blogosphere, (NY Post, helpsaveoursons.com, the college fix.com, Academicwonderland). Along with Judge Victoria Chaney (a conservative 4-star), Bendix wrote “We are mindful … of the concerns raised in [previous California rulings] that a complainant’s participation in the hearing may be traumatic or intimidating for him or her.” However, testimony by other methods, such as behind a screen or even over a video call, removes the need for the accused student to “physically confront his accuser.” This is how that’s going to play out… A woman sexually assaulted by a Pomona student stated “I was …forced to answer questions about my sexual history from the respondent, something that is illegal in the United States court system under the [Violence Against Women Act] of 1994,” “My heart starts pounding today just thinking about the adrenaline and anxiety I felt for the total duration of the seven-hour hearing due to poor protocol.” Awesome. (Thanks, Helen! Maybe you should check out #24/pg. 18 of this judicial education manual.) That would be a “NO“.
- Note #3 – Nora M. Manella: This one is tricky. Manella, a Democrat, has consistently been a multi-year 3-star “YES” endorsement for seriously hardcore conservative and evangelical outlets. She has been appointed to posts by Deukmejian (1990), Wilson (1992), and in 1994, on Sen. Feinstein’s recommendation, President Clinton nominated her for U.S. attorney in Los Angeles where she promised to “crack down on environmental crime, illegal weapons trafficking and scams directed at the poor while emphasizing the ethical responsibilities of prosecutors.” Clinton then sent her to the US District court in 1998, Schwarzenegger appointed her to the CA Court of Appeal in 2006 and Brown made her presiding justice in 2018. Her attraction to the right may stem from her eight years as a federal prosecutor. Her most celebrated case was the 1987 conviction of anti-war activist Susan (Katya) Komisaruk, who admitted destroying a million-dollar computer at Vandenberg Air Force base that she believed was a key part of the U.S. military’s NAVSTAR global positioning system for nuclear missiles. There are, in fact, far more judges that were former prosecutors than were public defenders or civil rights lawyers and that’s a problem. Kyle Barry, of Alliance for Justice states “Judges bring their life experience and professional experience, which informs their perspective… Understanding how the law affects the more vulnerable and marginalized members of our society is incredibly important.” She has both “YES” and “NO” recommendations from Democratic and progressive groups.
State Measures
There are 9 state propositions. You do not have to vote on everything, but there seems to be some clear consensus on the progressive side. Blue Squares = YES, Red circles = NO (Yellowed ones are our current favorites.)
- (Voter’s Edge) Prop. 1. Prop. 2. Prop. 3. Prop. 4. Prop. 5. Prop. 6. Prop. 7. Prop. 8. Prop. 10. Prop. 11. Prop. 12.
- Greenbelt Alliance – “YES” for Prop. 1 and 2, ‘NO” for Prop. 6.
- Environmental endorsements against Prop. 3 here.and here.
- YES on Prop. 4, NO on Prop. 4
- NO on Prop. 5, funded only by CA realtors!
- NO on Prop. 6
- YES on Prop. 8
- “The truth behind Prop. 11” (Vote NO!) here
- Jessica Barajas, labor lawyer, analyzes Prop. 11. (NO, NO, NO) here
- YES on Prop. 12
- League of Women Voters Recommendations: here.
- ACLU endorsement of Prop. 10 here.
- Additional endorsements, including GOP, here.
City Measures
City Candidates
Not all races are represented below. We’ve included only the ones that have endorsements.
Ventura
District Elections: This is Ventura’s first district election. Here’s the new map. You can type in your address in the upper left-hand corner if you’re unsure which district you fall under. Here’s a link to all the “Candidate Statements“.
Ventura County Community College: The Community College Board is also split into districts (Map here). Here’s a video of candidate statements for Area 1.
Oxnard
District Elections: This is also Oxnard’s first district election. Here’s the new map. You can type in your address in the search function at the top if you’re unsure which district you fall under. FAQ’s here.
Ojai
Santa Paula
Fillmore
Camarillo
OK, you finished! YAY! Now, what do you do with your mail-in ballot?
1. Return it!
You can return your ballot by:
- Mailing it to your county elections official. Vote-by-mail ballots that are mailed must be postmarked on or before Election Day and received by your county elections office no later than three days after Election Day. If you’re not sure your vote-by-mail ballot will arrive in time, bring it to any polling place in your county between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. on Election Day.
- Returning it in person to a polling place or the office of your county elections official. Vote-by-mail ballots that are personally delivered must be delivered no later than the close of polls at 8 p.m. on Election Day. DON’T FORGET TO SIGN THE ENVELOPE!
- Dropping your ballot into one of your county’s ballot drop boxes. Vote-by-mail ballots that are personally delivered to a ballot drop-off location must be delivered no later than the close of polls at 8 p.m. on Election Day. DON’T FORGET TO SIGN THE ENVELOPE!
- Authorizing someone to return the ballot for you. Anyone can return your ballot for you as long as they do not get paid. In order for your ballot to be counted you must fill out the authorization section found on the outside of your ballot envelope.
2. Make sure your mail-in ballot has the right postage.
Counties will have varying costs in postage due to the different sizes and weights of a ballot. Ballots for Ventura County require two first class stamps ($1 total) this year.
3. DON’T FORGET TO SIGN THE ENVELOPE!
If you don’t sign, your vote won’t count!
4. There is still time to apply to vote by mail.
Registered voters can still apply for a vote-by-mail ballot. There are three ways to apply for a mail ballot:
- By mail. Yes, you can apply for a mail ballot by mail but your application must be received no later than seven days before the Nov. 6th. The deadline to apply for a vote-by-mail ballot by mail is Oct. 30th. You may use the application printed on the voter information guide that is mailed to you by your county elections official prior to every election. You may also visit or write to your county elections official for an application or you may use the California Vote-By-Mail Ballot Application (PDF).
- In person. You can apply in person at your county elections office to request a vote-by-mail. This can be done any time after seven days before Election Day. (Oct. 30th)
- By telephone. You can contact your county elections official to see if your county allows you to apply by telephone. Ventura County allows this. Call at (805) 654-2664
AAUUUGH! I MISSED EVERY DEADLINE!!!
YOU CAN STILL VOTE! This isn’t Georgia.
More information on how NOT TO LOSE YOUR RIGHT TO VOTE here.
Go in person to the Elections Division, in the basement of the County Bldg. – 800 S. Victoria Ave., Ventura. You can register and VOTE right there up to and on Nov. 6th!
- Confirm your voter registration: https://iwillvote.com/
- Info for overseas/military voters here
- Early voting May 5 – June 4, more info here
- Find your polling place here
- Check ID requirements here
- Protect Your Vote: California’s Voter Bill of Rights
Endorsements/Information:
- Democratic Club of Ventura here
- Ventura Co. Dems. – Santa Paula here.
- Ventura Co. Dems. – Ojai here.
- Ventura Co. Dems. – Fillmore: here
- Ventura Co. Dems – Camarillo: here.
- Ventura Co. Dems – Oxnard here.
- Greater Oxnard Democrats – GOOD Club here
- Democratic Socialists of America – Ventura here
- Democratic Socialists of America – Oxnard here.
- Ventura County Women’s Political Council here
- League of Women Voters Recommendations: here.
- ACLU endorsement of Prop. 10 here.
- CAUSE Action Fund here.
- Sierra Club endorsements here
- California League of Conservation Voters (ECOVOTE.org) here.
- AFT Ventura County Federation of College Teachers here.
- Central Coast Labor (AFL-CIO) here
- SEIU endorsements here
- National Nurses United here
- California Federation of Teachers here.
- Giffords Courage to Fight Gun Violence here
- Indivisible Conejo’s endorsements here.
- Indivisible Santa Barbara endorsements here
- Indivisible SF endorsements here
- SF League of Pissed off Voters: here
- San Diego Progressive Voter Guide here
- LA Progressive Guide here
- LA Times Endorsements here
- Equality California here.
- Emily’s List here and here
- Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California here.
- Now here.
- NARAL Pro-Choice America here
- Find in-dept information about what’s on your ballot here.
- Why doesn’t a candidate have a statement in the Voter guide?
- General information on candidate statements.
- Who chose not to have a statement?
- Why don’t people vote? here.
- Official Voter Guide for California: here.
- Voting guide for Ventura County: here.
UPDATE: This is not the Democratic endorsement guide you’re looking for…
Voters are now gettting something that looks like this in the mail.
This is NOT FROM THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY! This is a commercial advertisement mailer from “Voter Guide Slate Cards“, paid for by the candidates that appear on it.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/oct/12/trump-administration-plans-crackdown-on-protests-outside-white-house
Saturday, October 13, 2018
Dear Indivisible Ventura:
I didn’t know about this plan…did you all know about this plan? Did you know that the public has until October 15 to comment on this plan? Where are the voices of those who are supposed to be representing us and protecting out right of protest? If the Press does not inform the people who will? What if the plan in 2020, is to call off voting completely by manufacturing a crisis? What then…..do we just sit and wring our hands?
In her book Tomorrow Is Now, Eleanor Roosevelt said, “The world is waiting for us to provide an example of dynamic drive, a bold reaffirmation of the values on which our nation was founded. Staying aloof is not a solution; it is a cowardly evasion.”
Yours in Peace,
Barbara Hensley
Camarillo, CA
Right to protest
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Right to protest is a definite human right arising out of a number of recognized human rights. While no human rights instrument or national constitution grants the absolute right to protest, such a right to protest may be a manifestation of the right to freedom of assembly, the right to freedom of association, and the right to freedom of speech.[1]
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Yes, we were planning on re-publishing our first notice on this subject from 8/17 today. Hopefully we’ll get more participants this time. Comments do not have to be long. Thank you for your vigilance and that’s a great quote by the way!
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Thank you for this information. I appreciate it.
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