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2 January 2010
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P&F Campaigns in Alameda County

Local Candidates

State Senate

Marsha Feinland of Berkeley was the Peace and Freedom Party candidate for state Senate in the 9th Senatorial District, which in Alameda County includes the cities of Albany, Berkeley, Emeryville, Oakland, Alameda, Dublin and Livermore, as well as most of the unincorporated community of Castro Valley and rural areas in the county's northeast corner of Alameda County, as well as part of Contra Costa County (almost all of Richmond and about half of San Pablo). She came in third of three candidates, with 26,996 votes (7.66%) district-wide, 25,308 votes (7.74%) in Alameda County.

U.S. House of Representatives

Gene Ruyle of Oakland was the Peace and Freedom Party candidate for Congress in the 10th Congressional District, which in Alameda County includes the city of Livermore and rural areas to its north, south and west, as well as larger parts of Contra Costa and Solano counties and the southwest corner of Sacramento County. He came in third of three candidates, with 11,062 votes (3.75%) district-wide, 1,346 votes (3.71%) in Alameda County.

In addition, the Alameda County Peace and Freedom Party organization recommended that its supporters write-in Dave Heller for Congress in the 9th Congressional District, which is entirely within Alameda County including the cities of Albany, Berkeley, Emeryville, Oakland and Piedmont, as well as most of the unincorporated community of Castro Valley. Heller is a Green, whom we previously endorsed for KPFA Local Station Board when he ran on a slate with our own Gerald Sanders and Stan Woods, who filed as an official write-in candidate in response to Barbara Lee's vote for the Wall Street bailout bill. He came in fourth of five candidates (three on the ballot and two official write-ins), with 37 votes (0.01%).

State Assembly

There were no Peace and Freedom Party candidates for State Assembly in Alameda County.

Local Non-partisan Offices

The Alameda County Peace and Freedom Party organization endorsed one individual candidate for local non-partisan office and one slate of five candidates, and we also recommended that our supporters vote for another individual candidate.

For Berkeley City Council, the Peace and Freedom Party endorsed Jon Crowder in District 2. Jon is an active member of the Peace and Freedom Party. He came in second of two candidates, with 955 votes (17.08%).

For Berkeley Rent Board, the Peace and Freedom Party endorsed Nicole Drake, Jack Harrison, Judy Shelton, Jesse Townley and Igor Tregub, the Committee to Defend Affordable Housing's (CDAH) pro-tenant slate running city-wide. We participated in the nominating convention for the pro-tenant slate, and, though we were disappointed that only one of the P&F registrants running was nominated there, we endorsed the slate in its entirety. Drake, Harrison, Shelton, Townley and Tregub were all elected, the top five of seven candidates with 24,704, 21,169, 23,990, 18,320 and 24,489 votes respectively.

For Berkeley Mayor, the Peace and Freedom Party recommended that our supporters write-in Zachary RunningWolf. He came in fourth of five candidates (two on the ballot and three official write-ins) with 388 votes (0.70%).

Local Measures

There were thirty-eight municipal and regional measures on the ballot November 4th in Alameda County, from L to WW; the Peace and Freedom Party considered most of them and took positions on nine:

  • Measure N (Oakland Unified School District): Would levy a $120/year parcel tax for 10 years. This measure was placed on the ballot by the state-appointed administrator of the Oakland school district, without the support of Oakland's elected school board. The tax would support charter schools, not just regular public schools, and Oakland's teachers union opposes it. The Alameda County Peace and Freedom Party urged that you vote NO on N. With our opposition, Measure N failed to reach the two-thirds majority needed to pass, with a vote of 92,132 (61.45%) Yes to 57,805 (38.55%) No.
  • Measure P (city of Alameda): Would increase Alameda's real estate transfer tax from $5.40/$1,000 to $12.00/$1,000 for 20 years. Proposition 13 and related state measures severely limit the ability of local government to raise taxes to pay for needed services, so that we usually see only regressive parcel taxes and sales taxes when cities, counties, school and special districts want to raise funds. While transfer taxes depend on a thriving real estate market to actually raise money and aren't particularly progressive, they can discourage the speculation that drives up housing costs and are not regressive. The Alameda County Peace and Freedom Party urged that you vote YES on P. With our support, Measure P passed, with a vote of 16,178 (50.84%) Yes to 15,642 (49.16%) No.
  • Measure DD (city of Albany): Would increase Albany's real estate transfer tax from $11.50/$1,000 to $14.50/$1,000. Proposition 13 and related state measures severely limit the ability of local government to raise taxes to pay for needed services, so that we usually see only regressive parcel taxes and sales taxes when cities, counties, school and special districts want to raise funds. While transfer taxes depend on a thriving real estate market to actually raise money and aren't particularly progressive, they can discourage the speculation that drives up housing costs and are not regressive. The Alameda County Peace and Freedom Party urged that you vote YES on DD. Despite our support, Measure DD failed, with a vote of 3,130 (44.89%) Yes to 3,842 (55.11%) No.
  • Measure HH (city of Berkeley): Would increase Berkeley's spending limit to allow the city to spend money collected by previously approved taxes. One of the state measures related to Proposition 13 prevents local governments from spending more than a calculated limit without a vote of the people, even if they are collecting more than that amount in taxes. The Alameda County Peace and Freedom Party urged that you vote YES on HH. With our support, Measure HH passed, with a vote of 41,178 (77.22%) Yes to 12,148 (22.78%) No.
  • Measure II (city of Berkeley): Would delay the drawing of new council districts from the year after the census to the third year after the census. Many electoral reform advocates see Instant Runoff Voting, which has already been adopted for Berkeley elections but not yet implemented, as a step towards proportional representation, with city government seeing a switch to "single transferable vote" as less painful that a knock-down, drag-out fight over redistricting once voters are used to ranking candidates. This measure might make this scenario more likely in Berkeley, by delaying redistricting until 2013 after voters will have used IRV in Berkeley elections in both 2010 and 2012. The Alameda County Peace and Freedom Party urged that you vote YES on II. With our support, Measure II passed, with a vote of 39,372 (78.46%) Yes to 10,807 (21.54%) No.
  • Measure JJ (city of Berkeley): Would greatly loosen rules for medical marijuana in Berkeley. This measure is the same as Measure R from November 2004, which we endorsed at the time. Measure R appeared to have lost by less than 200 votes out of 50,000 cast then, but when the Alameda County Registrar of Voters was unable to conduct a genuine recount of votes cast on the electronic voting machines used then, a judge ordered a new vote on the measure. The initiative was a good idea four years ago, and it still is. The Alameda County Peace and Freedom Party urged that you vote YES on JJ. With our support, Measure N passed, with a vote of 34,502 (62.71%) Yes to 20,515 (37.29%) No.
  • Measure KK (city of Berkeley): Would require a vote of the people before transit-only lanes could be created on city streets. This measure was written in order to stop AC Transit's plans for Bus Rapid Transit. We're not convinced that the current Bus Rapid Transit plans are a good idea, but this measure would be to effectively prevent any expansion of public transit that needed to take away traffic lanes now used by cars. The Alameda County Peace and Freedom Party urged that you vote NO on KK. With our opposition, Measure KK failed, with a vote of 12,427 (23.30%) Yes to 40,914 (76.70%) No.
  • Measure LL (city of Berkeley): Would change Berkeley's Landmark Preservation ordinance. This measure is a referendum on a plan passed by the City Council, over the opposition of its most progressive members, that purports to strengthen the Landmark Preservation ordinance but actually weakens it. The Alameda County Peace and Freedom Party urged that you vote NO on LL. With our opposition, Measure LL failed, with a vote of 21,743 (43.24%) Yes to 28,537 (56.76%) No.
  • Measure NN (city of Oakland): Would adopt a parcel tax to be used to hire more police. This measure would enact a regressive tax to help fund a wrong-headed approach to crime reduction. We opposed previous parcel taxes for "crime reduction" that mixed spending on more cops with spending on programs that would actually help prevent crime. This is even worse, and some City Councilmembers have proposed modifying Oakland's rent control ordinance to force tenants pay half the cost of this tax if it passes. The Alameda County Peace and Freedom Party urged that you vote NO on NN. With our opposition, Measure NN failed to reach the two-thirds majority needed to pass, with a vote of 81,859 (54.41%) Yes to 68,598 (45.59%) No.

Presidential Ticket

The candidates on the Peace and Freedom Party's Presidential ticket were:

Statewide, the ticket came in third of ten candidates (six on the ballot and four official write-ins), with 108,381 votes (0.80%). In Alameda County the Nader/Gonzalez ticket had 5,557 votes (0.90%).

The Nader/Gonzalez campaign had a local campaign office in Berkeley, at 1952 University Avenue (between Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Milvia Street, near where Bonita Street makes a "T" intersection with University). The office phone number was 510/705-8864. The office closed on November 8th.

Statewide Measures

There were twelve propositions on the statewide ballot November 4th, numbered 1A and 2 through 12. The Peace and Freedom Party took positions in favor of Propositions 2 and 5 and against Propositions 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11.

  • Proposition 1A (see Smart Voter page for more "neutral" information): "Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train." This measure will issue almost $10 billion in bonds to be used for a high-speed train service linking Southern California, the Sacramento/San Joaquin Valley, and the San Francisco Bay Area, with at least 90 percent of bond funds spent for specific projects and with federal and private matching funds required. The Peace and Freedom Party generally opposes bond measures, as increasing the costs of projects while benefiting the rich who buy tax-exempt bonds, but we're generally in favor of improving rail systems to replace inefficient and polluting automobile and air transportation. If it had been clear that Proposition 1A would really build a good rail system, we probably would have reluctantly supported it. If it had been clear that Proposition 1A was a boondoggle for real estate and construction interests that built a poor or mediocre rail system as a side product, we would have opposed it. Neither was clearly the case. The Peace and Freedom Party decided not to take a position on Proposition 1A. Proposition 1A passed by a statewide vote of 6,680,485 (52.7%) Yes to 6,015,944 (47.3%). In Alameda County, the vote was 362,725 (62.8%) to 214,939 (37.2%).
  • Proposition 2 (see Smart Voter page for more "neutral" information): "Standards for Confining Farm Animals." This initiative measure was intended to reduce animal cruelty and improve food safety. The Peace and Freedom Party urged you to vote YES on 2. With our support, Proposition 2 passed by a statewide vote of 8,203,769 (63.5%) Yes to 4,731,738 (36.5%). In Alameda County, the vote was 414,122 (70.6%) to 172,719 (29.4%).
  • Proposition 3 (see Smart Voter page for more "neutral" information): "Children's Hospital Bond Act. Grant Program." While children's health care is a worthy cause, the combination of bond financing and private medical care corporation involvement means that only 25% to 40% of the money would actually go to the promised programs. The Peace and Freedom Party urged you to vote NO on 3. Despite our opposition, Proposition 3 passed by a statewide vote of 6,984,319 (55.3%) Yes to 5,654,586 (44.7%) No. In Alameda County, the vote was 343,670 (59.9%) to 230,342 (40.1%).
  • Proposition 4 (see Smart Voter page for more "neutral" information): "Waiting Period and Parental Notification Before Termination of Minor's Pregnancy." This was the third try by the sponsors, whose first two initiatives were defeated by the voters. This poorly-drawn, overreaching, backhanded end-run around Roe v. Wade should have been defeated again. The Peace and Freedom Party urged you to vote NO on 4. With our opposition, Proposition 4 was defeated by a statewide vote of 6,220,473 (48.0%) Yes to 6,728,478 (52.0%) No. In Alameda County, the vote was 211,293 (35.7%) to 379,585 (64.3%).
  • Proposition 5 (see Smart Voter page for more "neutral" information): "Nonviolent Drug Offenses, Sentencing, Parole and Rehabilitation." This measure would have required more drug treatment and provided alternatives to incarceration. It would have saved money now wasted on imprisonment of non-violent offenders. The Peace and Freedom Party urged you to vote YES on 5. Despite our support, Proposition 5 was defeated by a statewide vote of 5,155,206 (40.5%) Yes to 7,566,783 (59.5%) No. In Alameda County, the vote was 289,041 (50.4%) to 285,215 (49.6%).
  • Proposition 6 (see Smart Voter page for more "neutral" information): "Police and Law Enforcement Funding. Criminal Penalties and Laws." The "Runner Initiative," named after its fanatical right-wing proponents, would have put more people, especially young people, in jail for lesser and lesser crimes, and taken money away from schools and hospitals. This is the opposite of what California needs. The Peace and Freedom Party urged you to vote NO on 6. In Alameda County, the vote was 151,743 (27.1%) to 406,842 (72.9%).
  • Proposition 7 (see Smart Voter page for more "neutral" information): "Renewable Energy Generation." This plan, apparently written to benefit a few companies, was so badly drawn that almost all environmental groups opposed it. The Peace and Freedom Party urged you to vote NO on 7. With our opposition, Proposition 7 was defeated by a statewide vote of 4,502,235 (35.5%) Yes to 8,155,181 (64.5%) No. In Alameda County, the vote was 188,869 (32.8%) to 385,314 (67.2%).
  • Proposition 8 (see Smart Voter page for more "neutral" information): "Eliminates Right of Same-Sex Couples to Marry." This one was just plain bad. It would take away the legal right of same-sex couples to marry, and throw into legal limbo existing same-sex marriages. It would enact bigotry, which is why it needed to be defeated. The Peace and Freedom Party urged you to vote NO on 8. Despite our opposition, Proposition 8 passed by a statewide vote of 7,001,084 (52.3%) Yes to 6,401,482 (47.7%) No. In Alameda County, the vote was 232,923 (38.0%) to 378,692 (62.0%).
  • Proposition 9 (see Smart Voter page for more "neutral" information): "Criminal Justice System. Victims' Rights. Parole." This measure was designed to further increase the prison population, in part by undercutting the already slim chance that prisoners who pose no further risk to society can be paroled. It will be a remarkably bad law. The Peace and Freedom Party urged you to vote NO on 9. Despite our opposition, Proposition 9 passed by a statewide vote of 6,682,465 (53.9%) Yes to 5,728,968 (46.1%) No. In Alameda County, the vote was 259,651 (46.4%) to 299,847 (53.6%).
  • Proposition 10 (see Smart Voter page for more "neutral" information): "Alternative Fuel Vehicles and Renewable Energy. Bonds." The bond financing would have more than doubled the cost of this program, which was not well-targeted in the first place. It mainly was meant to further enrich one billionaire. The Peace and Freedom Party supports alternative energy, but not through this expensive bond program. The Peace and Freedom Party urged you to vote NO on 10. With our opposition, Proposition 10 was defeated by a statewide vote of 5,098,666 (40.5%) Yes to 7,464,154 (59.5%) No. In Alameda County, the vote was 224,252 (39.5%) to 343,343 (60.5%).
  • Proposition 11 (see Smart Voter page for more "neutral" information): "Redistricting." This scheme will slightly rearrange how the wealthy control the state legislature, but will do nothing to challenge their stranglehold on power. We need proportional representation through multiple-member districts, and an end to big-money control of politics. This one was not worth our support. The Peace and Freedom Party urged you to vote NO on 11. Despite our opposition, Proposition 11 passed by a statewide vote of 6,095,033 (50.9%) Yes to 5,897,655 (49.1%) No. In Alameda County, the vote was 240,907 (44.8%) to 296,212 (55.2%).
  • Proposition 12 (see Smart Voter page for more "neutral" information): "Veteran's Bond Act of 2008." This measure will issue $900 million in bonds, but they will be paid back by the veterans who buy homes with its assistance. The state's role is only to guarantee the bonds, allowing veterans to borrow money to buy homes at lower interest rates, and none of the Veterans Bond Acts over the last half-century have cost taxpayers a cent. The nature of the program was enough to overcome our general opposition to bonds, but its benefits being limited to military veterans kept us from supporting it. The Peace and Freedom Party decided not to take a position on Proposition 12. Proposition 12 passed by a statewide vote of 7,807,630 (63.6%) Yes to 4,481,196 (36.4%) No. In Alameda County, the vote was 356,145 (65.1%) to 191,526 (34.9%).
 

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