Many colleagues have asked for voting suggestions given the complexity of the November 3 ballot. For your consideration, here is a voter guide derived from recommendations of teacher unions and sister unions throughout the state.

For a conservative perspective, here are the recommendations of the County Republican Party (https://www.lagop.org), the Chamber of Commerce (https://advocacy.calchamber.com/elections), and the conservative Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association: https://www.hjta.org/

I have listed these in the order in which they appear on the sample ballot.

2020 Voter Guide

LOS ANGELES CITY COUNCIL District 4 Nithya Raman District 10 Grace Yoo

LOS ANGELES UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT District 3 Scott Schmerelson District 7 Patricia Castellanos

Measure RR Yes

Vote Yes on Measure RR. It will repair and renovate LAUSD’s aging public school facilities and create thousands of jobs, providing a boost to the local economy. It ensures that more students get access to updated, modernized schools and learning technology. It also provides new and necessary COVID- 19 upgrades to keep students, teachers, and staff safe when they are engaged in in-person classes. The measure would not increase property taxes but rather continue the existing tax rate that otherwise would decrease when prior bonds expire.

STATE SENATE District 21 Kipp Mueller District 25 Anthony Portantino District 27 Henry Stern District 29 Josh Newman District 33 Lena Gonzalez District 35 Steven Bradford

STATE ASSEMBLY District 39 Luz Rivas District 41 District 43 District 44 Jaqui Irwin District 45 District 46 District 49 District 50 District 51 District 52 District 53 District 54 Sydney Kamlager-Dove District 55 Andrew Rodriguez District 57 District 59 Reggie Jones-Sawyer District 62 District 63 Anthony Rendon District 64 District 70 Patrick O’Donnell

U.S. CONGRESS CA 25 Christy Smith CA 26 Julia Browley CA 27 Judy Chu CA 28 Adam Schiff CA 29 Tony Cardenas CA 30 Brad Sherman CA 32 Grace Napolitano CA 33 Ted Lieu CA 34 Jimmy Gomez CA 37 Karen Bass CA 38 Linda Sanchez CA 39 Gil Cisneros CA 40 Lucille Royball-Allard CA 43 Maxine Waters CA 44 Nanette Barragan CA 47 Allan Lowenthal

LOS ANGELES COUNTY District Attorney George Gascon Board of Supervisors, District 2 Holly Mitchell LA Superior Court 72 Myanna Dellinger LA Superior Court 80 David Berger LA Superior Court 162 No recommendation

Measure J Yes

Vote Yes on Measure J to increase spending on housing and mental-health services while decreasing funding for law enforcement. Measure J will divert at least 10 percent of Los Angeles County’s unrestricted funding to community- based programs, such as affordable housing and rent assistance, job training, and mental-health and social services. These funds will not be invested in police departments, jails, or prisons. Based on the current $34.9 billion budget, an estimated $360 million to $490 million will go to community-based needs. In the event of a budget emergency that threatens mandated programs, county supervisors can vote to decrease that amount.

LOS ANGELES COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT Trustee #1 Andra Hoffman Trustee #3 David Vela Trustee #5 Nichelle Henderson Trustee #7 Mike Fong

STATE BALLOT MEASURES

Proposition 15 Yes

Vote YES on Prop 15 to provide between $6.4 billion to $11.5 billion in additional funding to local schools and governments. Proposition 15 asks California voters to raise an estimated $6.4 billion to $11.5 billion in funding for local schools and local municipal services by increasing property taxes on the largest commercial and industrial properties based on current market value instead of the price they were purchased for. The 10% of the biggest corporate property owners will pay 92% of the funding and more than 75% of total revenues will come from properties that have not been reassessed since prior to 1990 -- just 2% of all commercial and industrial properties! Proposition 15 will maintain the existing commercial and industrial property tax at a 1% limit and will also maintain existing exemptions for small businesses, homeowners, agricultural lands, and renters.

Proposition 16 Yes

Vote YES on Prop 16 to repeal 1996’s Prop 209 and reinstate affirmative action in the state. Proposition 16 asks California voters to amend the Constitution of California to repeal Prop 209’s restrictions on local and state governments from considering race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in public employment, education, and contracting. If passed, Prop 16 will permit governments to consider those protected categories in order to promote inclusive hiring and admissions programs in California’s public universities, government, and public agencies. It is time that California follows the other 42 states that have taken gender, race, ethnicity, and national origin into account for college admissions and hiring in government and public agencies.

Proposition 17 Yes

Vote YES on Prop 17 to restore voting rights to Californians on parole. Proposition 17 asks California voters to amend the Constitution of California to restore voting rights to persons who have been disqualified from voting while on parole. If passed, Prop 17 will restore voting rights to approximately 50,000 Californians currently on parole.

Proposition 18 Yes

Vote YES on Prop 18 to allow 17-year-olds to vote in the primary election if they will turn 18 by the following general election. Proposition 18 asks California voters to amend the Constitution of California to allow 17-year-olds to vote in the primary election if they will turn 18 by the following general election. At the age of 18, Californians are technically given the right to vote in all elections. A subset are currently prohibited from voting at 18 if they are 17 during the primary election. Prop 18 amends the constitutional loophole that prevents all 18-year-olds from being able to vote in general elections.

Proposition 19 No

Vote NO on Proposition 19 to maintain property tax savings for all and avoid increasing housing inequity. Proposition 19 asks voters to amend sections of 1978’s Proposition 13 to increase the number of times a property tax base can be transferred to three times for longtime homeowners. Prop 19 is almost exactly the same as Proposition 5, which was on the 2018 California ballot and overwhelmingly defeated by voters, with 60 percent having voted against the proposition. The main difference in the proposition this year is that Prop 19 includes an additional amendment to Prop 13 that narrows an existing inheritance property tax break and promises to distribute any revenue generated from that amendment toward fire protection agencies and schools. The powerful Realtor lobby has contributed over $36 million in support of Proposition 19.

Proposition 20 No

Vote NO on Prop 20 to protect criminal justice reforms and constitutional rights to privacy and to stop efforts to promote tougher parole. If passed, Prop 20 increases penalties for low-level offenses and would create a state database that collects DNA samples from persons convicted of specified misdemeanors for use in cold cases by repealing parts of Props 47 and 57. Prop 20 would expand the list of offenses that disqualify inmates from a parole program, consider an individual’s collective criminal history and not just their most recent offense, and impose stronger restrictions for a nonviolent offender’s parole program. Additionally, Prop 20 would reclassify theft between $250 and $950 as a felony. The law enforcement industry, which is behind Prop 20, claims that Prop 47 has led to increased crime. This is false. The nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California found that Prop 47, which Prop 20 attempts to roll back, not only decreased racial disparities in bookings and arrests, but also found that violent crimes did not increase after it was passed.

Proposition 21 Yes

Vote YES on Prop 21 to allow cities and counties to establish and regulate rent control. Proposition 21 asks voters to amend state law in order to allow (not require) local governments at the city and county levels to establish and regulate rent control on residential properties. This proposition would affect residential properties over 15 years old and exempts individuals who own up to two residential properties, so it will not impact single-family homeowners. Additionally, Prop 21 would allow rent in rent-controlled properties to increase up to 15 percent over a period of three years with the start of a new tenancy. The largest corporate landlords are opposed to Prop 21 because they know it will end rent-gouging and unfair evictions. Proposition 22 No

Vote NO on Prop 22 to protect labor rights and classify app-based drivers as employees, not contractors. Proposition 22 asks voters to classify ride-share and delivery companies as “independent contractors,” not employees. Additionally, Prop 22 would restrict local regulation of app-based drivers and would criminalize the impersonation of drivers. By classifying workers as “independent contractors” and not employees, companies like Lyft, Uber, Postmates, and DoorDash are not required by state employment laws to enforce minimum wage, overtime, unemployment insurance, and workers’ compensation. These companies are sponsoring and paying for Prop 22, which would repeal AB 5, which guarantees paid family leave, paid sick days, and unemployment insurance to those classified as gig employees. These labor rights are essential during a global pandemic.

Proposition 23 Yes

Vote YES to require kidney dialysis clinics to have at least one physician present during all operating hours, and to report infection data to the state. It also would require that clinic operators get approval from the state’s health department before closing a clinic, and prohibit clinics from discriminating against patients based on insurance type. The number of people with kidney failure who require dialysis treatment continues to grow; about 80,000 Californians depend on it. That also means a boom in the dialysis industry that wants to weaken patient and worker safety regulations in order to increase its profits.

Proposition 24 No

Vote NO on Prop 24 to protect consumers’ personal information. Proposition 24 asks voters to amend the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA) to include pay-for-privacy schemes, which provide better services and internet connection to those who pay more in order to protect their personal information while providing suboptimal services for Californians who cannot or do not want to pay more. Additionally, Prop 24 caters to tech companies by allowing them to upload a California resident’s personal information as soon as that resident’s device, computer, or phone leaves the state’s borders, and permits tech companies to completely ignore a programmable universal electronic “do not sell my information” signal. Under current law, privacy follows a Californian wherever they go, and businesses must honor the electronic signal. Prop 24 erodes a consumer’s request to delete their data and would completely end CCPA protection of biometric information. Among the groups that oppose Prop 24 are the American Civil Liberties Union, the Consumer Federation of California, and Public Citizen.

Proposition 25 Yes

Vote Yes on Prop 25 to replace money bail with a system based on public safety and flight risk. Today, rich Californians can afford cash bail, while poorer people either pay bail bond companies or wait for trial in jail. This measure, if passed, would uphold a 2018 law that sought to eliminate cash bail and replace it with an algorithm to assess a person’s risk for not appearing at trial — the higher the risk, the less likely they are to be released. If Prop 25 passes, no one would pay bail to be released from jail before trial. Instead, people would either be released automatically or based on their assessed risk of committing another crime or not appearing in court if released. No one would be charged fees as a condition of release. Prop 25 will help reduce mass incarceration, particularly among low-income people and people of color.

PRESIDENT/VICE PRESIDENT: Joe Biden/Kamala Harris