Categorías: Todo - recall - governor - elections - issues

por Steven Lee hace 2 años

204

2021+ Recall Elections

In 2021, the recall election for California Governor Gavin Newsom became a pivotal and highly contested political event. With the pandemic prompting an extension for signature collection, the race tightened unexpectedly.

2021+ Recall Elections

2021+ Recall Elections

Run of Show

60 min school board
30 min D17

State Assembly, D17

Debates
1/12 Homelessness
1/10 Public Education

Recall

Algebra moving back

dont know

the proposal was made during his tenure as BOE

supported the proposal made by staff, but says needs to look at the current state proposal

wants high standards that follow UC

does not want curriculum to be watered down

1/4 - Potrero Hill Forum (no haney)

Housing - how to increase building - bilal - ban exclusionary zoning - allow all types all heights of housing, fund social housing. renter protections. -campos - developers shouldnt be allowed to build anything they want. too much luxury housing, not affordability. santa clara built a lot of housing through public bond. CA needs to increase funding affordable housing -selby - need more funding. somehow get more fed funding. land - private education institution to sell the land so state can build on it.

environment legislation selby - 100billion income/wealth tax toward reducing cars. public transport. hydrogen cell trucks. mode shift from cars to bikes/ walking bilal - working with AOC chief of staff to write a war production type legislatoin. green loans to retrofit homes and businesses - 100k. david - "i think the reason that x endorsed me" experience - free muni for youth, clean power SF. green new deal. jobs away from polluting environments and towards underrepresented communities. follow up - non use of automobiles strategy -selby - change conception of public transpo. bike lanes, bike shares, slow streets, - bilal - car free. eastern neighborhood lack of transpo. cutting red tape. funding to muni. carbon tax and other funding towards muni, bikes. seamless transit system for entire region. high speed rail. - campos - transit should be a public utility. more investment and taxing corporations. more efficient regional thea - CEQA is not ; cap and trade is problematic. not aggressive enough.

building codes and inspection - should state take a larger role? david - yes. need more transparency. no more status quo. 'experence' holding agencies to account. experience running agencies in santa clara. thea - no. references state running of EDD. skeptical of state. unless this is a statewide problem. bilal - probably needs more oversight of sf. sf requires higher permits and building codes. leads to higher costs and rents. campos - experience matters. audit led to resignation of housing authority. investigated corruption. more oversight needed.

UCSF housing/land use policy bilal - local policies are too strong. dont want institutions to be hindered by local control/zoning. no difference between local and state entity campos - not for local governments getting in the way. but no carte blanche on state agencies. listen to community. states sometimes are too unregulated. rebuttal - bilal - accountablility. the need for care and housing may outweigh the cummnity concerns thea - neighbors in d5 did not get heard in discussions with UCSF. community needs to be listened to.

assess david chiu's tenure campos - workhorse. housing was good. develop relationships. no disagreements, but finding resources to build more *affordable* housing. bilal - coalition building between moderate and progressive. david pushed for unpopular legislation. passion, conviciton, not political feasibility. values. same with climate change. thea - advocacy group - ask the people what legislation they want to see. regional transit plan vs a 'regressive' model

how to increase SF influence in Sacramento. term limits BAHA, scott weiner bilal -outcomes -prove that our values are right -maintain authority through effectiveness david -effectiveness = wanting to be in Sacramento. want to be there. - proven results discussion -high speed rail - selby collaboraTE with other legislators to unite the area

Transit

Transit as A Public Utility

Centralizing Regional Transit

High Speed Rail

is CEQA the problem?

Yes

Homelessness
Poverty
Healthcare

Universal Healthcare

Education
Public Safety/ Crime

Campos was Chesa's chief of staff

Climate

Cap & Trade : Smart or Regressive?

Regressive

Financing Projects

Climate public bank

Car Free - Reducing dependence on Cars

Climate Commission - set production targets (homes, bikes, solar panels), cut red tape

Green New Deal

Zoning

Restrict Local control if counties do not meet certain goals, take away road funding.

campos

state shouldnt punish neighborhoods and cities for 'speaking their mind'

Where to increase density?

All + west side. ban exclusionary zoning

bilal

Little to no restrictions on zoning

develops build for profit housing

Local control (vs state)

Bilal

David

Thea

Housing (Affordable vs Market Rate)

Reform Ellis Act

Social Housing

Funding

State acquires private university lands

Estate Transfer Tax

Public Bonds

Candidates
Mahmood

child of immigrants

Selby

woman, mom, small business owner

As your Assemblymember, I will combine my progressive values with my record of pragmatic accountability to achieve big things for our city and state, like affordable housing, accessible transit, safe streets and neighborhoods, and a middle class that can get ahead.

Member, CCSF Board of Trustees

turned CCSF around

Haney

identity

Priorities: • Build 100,000 new housing units in San Francisco over 10 years to make housing more affordable for all. • Expand supportive housing and mental health care to dramatically reduce street homelessness. • Confront climate change with investments in renewable energy and sustainable transit. • Make huge corporations and CEOs who made billions during the pandemic pay their fair share. • Fully fund California’s schools and universities. • Protect LGBTQ+ rights, civil rights, and women’s rights under attack by national Republicans. • Support community policing, stop anti-Asian hate crimes, and get guns off the streets.

guaranteed mental health care for all, 24-hour bathrooms, 5,000+ new housing units in my district, and oversaw record investments in housing, public safety and economic recovery as Budget Chair. When the pandemic hit, I authored legislation to house 2,000+ people experiencing homelessness, worked shifts at a COVID shelter hotel during a staff shortage, delivered mass vaccination sites citywide, and launched relief programs to save our most cherished small businesses.

Campos

Identity

immigrant, ESL

potentially Misleading representation of current job, omission of being chief of staff for chesa

“David was hired by the district attorney’s office to be a civil rights attorney,” Anderson said. “David is an attorney and the focus of his work is upholding the civil rights of San Franciscans.”

who knows what the actual focus of david's work was in chesa's office - was it truly a championing of chesa's policies, or actual civil rights work? what civil rights issues are there in SF

Immigrant, ESL, Stanford, Harvard

Raise the minimum wage to a living wage. • Make healthcare affordable with Medicare for All. • Ensure the entire state does its part to cover the costs of homelessness. • Make billionaires pay their fair share – so working families can pay less. • Ban corporate contributions to campaigns. • Lower utility bills and create middle-class jobs with a Green New Deal. • Cut crime by cutting poverty and treating mental illness and substance abuse.

SF School Board

Individuals
Faauuga Moliga

Personal Statement

I am the first Pacific Islander ever elected to office in San Francisco, giving my marginalized community a voice in local government for the first time. During my two years on the Board, I authored substantive legislation that will increase teacher retention through the construction of teacher housing. I also authored legislation regarding transportation and Medi-Cal services that will save San Francisco Unified School District over 20 million dollars and improve services to students and families tremendously. COVID-19 has created a volatile situation, exposing aging structures as unhealthy work environments, and causing fiscal difficulty. Through painstaking planning we addressed the facilities challenges, and with the development of vaccines and federal stimulus dollars SFUSD will emerge from this pandemic on solid footing. The Board of Education adheres to all legal requirements regarding giving the public notice and opportunity to speak on all matters before the Board. While I have been a Commissioner, the Board has not deviated from these requirements. I am a proud graduate of Balboa High School who is focused on doing substantive work to improve our public schools. I respectfully ask you to reject this recall.

This attempt to recall me is unjustified. Arguments made by the proponents are false. I was clear throughout 2020 and 2021 that I wanted schools open as soon as safely possible for students and staff because of mental health concerns. I was also very supportive of the community hubs initiative, playing a crucial role in getting a hub opened in Visitation Valley. My focus before and during this pandemic has been on increasing enrollment, fiscal responsibility, and improving learning and services for students, families, and staff. Specifically, I have authored resolutions to: • Increase enrollment, by opening an enrollment center in southeast San Francisco • Upgrade transportation and mental health services that will save $30 million over the next five years • Increase learning opportunities for Pacific Islander students, including the first Samoan language immersion program • Build housing to retain teachers. I believe I am an effective legislator and am honored to be the first Pacific Islander ever elected to office in San Francisco.

Gabriela Lopez

Support of Alison Collins

Allies for diversity must remain strong together

allowed collins to vote on her a resolution to remove collins from the board, as opposed to having collins recuse herself

response: she might have asked her to and collins may have refused

see: Alison Colins, Collins's lawsuit

Voted against the budget rebalancing plan

Racist tweets against Asian Americans caused board to strip her of her positions

While the tone is regrettable, some viewers can look past it and see the criticism of the social situation

get someone else that can communicate it better!

She was being racist

https://rafu.com/2021/04/chinese-progressive-associations-statement-on-school-board-member-collins/

Collins did not issue an apology

Sued the district for 87$ million, many typos, later thrown out by judge

the money would come directly from the school district's operating budget

Recall Abuse

Only when there is malfeasance

the positions are too important to wait a long time.

Requires 51k+ voters, about 10% of registered voters

The process is fine. This is the first successful recall in 40 years. It take s a lot of time and effort to run a recall election. It wouldn't be successful without legitimate concerns. They had to up their campaign donation cap and pay canvassers otherwise it's impossible

Management Questions

Running Board Meetings

Unprofessional, biased

Math Policy

Methods

Framework suggests introducing social justice topics in math, which should be taught in a separate classroom. Such topics are potentially distracting to students. Math is hard enough without having to also be asked to consider morals and politics

Cost

It's too late to cancel, it will be paid for by the school district

Effectiveness

It is a backwards way to try and close achievement gap. Basically saying we're going to make the curriculum easier so more people pass, instead of doing the hard work to help more people pass the higher standards

Professors argue that they weren't consulted in the proposal to alter the math timelines, and their expertise is valuable because they know the entire math curriculum as well as its value in STEM majors. By relaxing standards, students will not be prepared for STEM majors

mathmeticians have different skillset than education. it is more relevant for public schools to achieve social goals, as opposed to purely educational ones

Facts

2014 to delay algebra instruction until 9th grade and to push advanced mathematics courses until at least after 10th grade as a means of promoting equity

California’s achievement gaps for Black, Latino and low-income students, which remain some of the largest in the nation.

CA ranks in the bottom quartile in US for 8th grade math scores

COVID Policies

decision not to bring on a consultant to form pandemic plans

that current members couldn't come up with ways to improve education during COVID

Financial Management

Voted for a balanced budget in Dec 2021

They could have spent the last months/years working to address the deficit but instead chose to do other things. District admins noted they have presented options and proposals to the board since September on the budget

Collins She voted to continue to use resources to appeal a lawsuit the district resoundingly lost to cover up the Washington murals just hours after being advised by California Department of Education officials and its fiscal consultant to refrain on new spending for activities not directly benefiting students.

Existing Budget Situation

District officials passed a budget balancing plan on week of 14 DEC which would cut $50 million from school sites and another $40 million from school services, operations and administration next year, with the remaining $35 million covered in savings and new grant funding. The plan did not take into account the $3.25 million for the cost of the recall election.

State has an official monitoring the budgeting process, a first step in a potential takeover

Ideological Activism

Lowell Admissions (Lottery vs Merit)

implemented due to pandemic effects on measurements of merit,

GWHS Murals

Renaming of Schools

Links

https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-san-francisco-school-renaming-debate-is-not-about-history?fbclid=IwAR1Cf1bAxdzn2EEz8_Y5HaXy4mhfpGorLRUmuxkJJZ758xll7pyA_5tlKVg

the effect of the names

we should keep the names of illustrious people in history, whether they are good or evil, to prompt reflection

they shouldn't have to be renamed every few decades - as we'd have to do if we judged all people by 'modern' standards - the goalposts keep moving

Are kids really affected by names?

seriously ask yourself whether you lost any sleep over the namesake of your school. the population of kids that are truly traumatized by the names should be taught to be more resilient and as reason to fight harder for justice, etc. taught to gain some historical distance

Appeared to focus on this issue instead of figuring out better ways to educate in covid times

issues with methodology; sloppy research, incompetence, amateur process

these positions of responsibility require that processes be taken seriously. These commisioners have shown they are not capable of doing that, and should be removed.

https://www.familiesforsanfrancisco.com/updates/gjz61nozz886f7gxcxcnlmyo9mqwk7

Fact sheet

factual errors and historical contexts were not considered

one committee member stated the review consisted of quick casual google searches

assumed the conclusion, arbitrary application,

did not engage professional historians

committee chair Jeremiah Jeffries ridiculed the notion of consulting a historian: What would be the point? History is written and documented pretty well across the board. And so, we don’t need to belabor history in that regard. We’re not debating that. There’s no point in debating history in that regard. Either it happened or it didn’t, as historians have referenced in their own histories. So, I don’t think there’s a discussion about that. And so, based on our criteria, it’s a very straightforward conversation. And so, no need to bring historians forward to say – they either pontificate and list a bunch of reasons why, or [say] they had great qualities. Neither are necessary in this discussion.

paul revere was purported to conquer Penobscot Indians, when in fact he was involved in the Penobscot Expedition, a battle against the british

james russell lowell's wiki page was cited and it was said that he did not want black people to vote. a scholarly biography said he unequivolcally advocated giving the ballot to recently freed slaves

https://missionlocal.org/2021/01/the-san-francisco-school-districts-renaming-debacle-has-been-a-historic-travesty/

did not engage larger community

discussion on legacies, moral relativism of the history

6-1 vote in jan 2021 to rename 44 schools, to prune symbols or racism and white supremacy

SFUSD sued by San Francisco for failure to reopen schools
the five responsibilities of the school board: prioritizing student learning, managing district finances effectively, governing professionally, integrating community input and making smart personnel decisions.

https://sfparentaction.org/accountability/

District has lost 9k students in the past 7 years, without similar declines in employment
Recall details
Alison Collins

Sues SFUSD, other school board members for 87 mil (Tax dollars)

poorly executed lawsuit brings into question ms collins' ability to view policy making dispassionately and objectively; her alleged claims represent a misguided view of the world and reinforces the notion that she is too distracted/distracting to do the work

criticized for comparing her situation to that under Nazi Germany

School board strips her of assignments

collins' behavior and dismissiveness of asians prompts calls for her resignation

partisan opponents of collins spark media outrage

12/4/2016 Racist tweets calling asians house n*ggers

a discussion on race (and commentary on the power of words)- do her comments inflame hostilities between blacks and asians, or were they said in good faith, with the goal of uniting against white supremacy?

response: asians felt generalized and stereotyped by collin's comments

asian friend felt ostracized in her community for speaking up for BLM, etc

Governor

Other Candidates
Larry Elder

tougher on crime, overturn prop 47

no minimum wage

housing

suspend CEQA, alloweing more development of housing

homelessness

empower religious and non profits, not gvt

school choice

fire 15,000 of state's worst teachers

declare state of emergency, provide vouchers to families. increase competition

controversial opinions on women

employers should be allowed to ask women if they plan to have children

anti vaccine mandates + mask

repeal mandates

anti abortion

trump supporter

Issues
Wildfire response?
The Recall Process

newsom was elected with 62%+ of the vote, but can be recalled and replaced by someone with a plurality of the votes, making this an entirely undemocratic coup to gain power. the process must be fixed

once on the ballot, a candidate only needs a plurality to win. meaning 49.9% of voters could want to keep the current gov, but a tiny amount of voters could determine the new governor newsom could have more votes than the challenger and still lose

currently being challenged in federal court

unable to convince voters of their merits, repubs consistently go on recall offensives, requiring only 12% of total voters (other states require 25%)

Not voting is a negative act - it helps the recall effort. The 5th largest economy in the world could be handed over to someone else if

Cost of Special Election: $215 million - $276 million

This is a huge waste of public money. There will only be 2 questions on the ballot - and the same question will be on the ballot in just one year!

You can't put a price on democracy! It's what the people want and it was done through a legal process as defined by CA law

First Lady's Non Profit

received over 800k in donations from companies that lobbied or did business with state of CA

EDD Fraud

It was more important for money to go out first and help the needy, instead of being stingy

'better for 10 guilty people to walk free than to have 1 innocent person condemned"

EDD mismanaged unemployment funds and paid out 11 billion (+19bil identified as suspicious) to fraudsters (164 billion total) while at the same time not paying people who deserve it. State auditor recommended overhaul As Governor, Newsom is responsible. He did not prioritize this issue, which is a lifeline for many people and families

New director appointed in december, signaling a change, and an act of leadership by newsom

https://abc7news.com/edd-suspended-verify-identity-california-audit-suspension-of-claim/10352271/

changes being made

2014 - jan 2020. jan 2020 - dec 2020. dec 2020 - present

Governor has a lot to deal with, it's his administrators that are to blame.

state labor agency oversees EDD (Julie Su)

Su nomintaed by Biden for Dpt of Labor #2 position

Su directed agency to drop certain measures in order to get money out quicker

gov brown ignored a previous 2011 audit

COVID 19 Response

lottery for vaccines

rebates due to budget surplus

No-Bid contracts to allies and donors

$5.2 billion in back and future rent relief

This will help thousands of households who lost work during the pandemic. This will help landlords who lost income. This will prevent homelessness.

This is unfair to all the people who paid their rents diligently, and who sacrificed on other comforts to meet their rent. Incentivizes bad behavior (why pay rent when you know it will be paid off for you?

Is not a perverse incentive. People who had crappy behavior before will still have crappy behavior after. People with good behavior won't decide to act poorly because they are still at risk of being evicted and no one knew this was coming. No one can expect governments to do it again in the future.

Newsom is just trying to buy votes

Tier System and Business Closures

The State made available at least 500 mil in funds to small businesses and nonprofits. Also some tax relief measures

Whiplash from Tier System causes confusion and outrage - a sign that the policy is poorly designed (and someone else could have done better)

They did not make sense. Caused a lot of businesses to close down. Were unfair - large corporations were able to stay open while small ones went under.

School Closures

many school policies are up to school boards

mandatory vaccines for teachers and staff

frustration at closures

newsom has tweaked rules to hasten school reopenings

Newsom claimed he has been living through Zoom school when his kids are actually receiving in person private school instruction

French Laundry: Broke his administration's guidelines that limited private gatherings to 3 or less households. Hypocrisy: How much do individual actions matter in executive leadership?

He went to a restaurant once, or a few times. None of us were perfect at COVID prevention measures. Despite this, his policy decisions helped CA prevent a lot of cases and get vaccinated quickly. When measured side by side, it is not enough to recall.

It matters a lot. A lack of judgement even in personal instances means person can't be trusted to make other decisions. Micro decision making connects to macro decision making. Newsom demonstrated that he can't connect the two types of thinking.

And yet he made the right calls on macro policy decisions

Money

58.4 mil

rules are in favor of governor

Campaign finance rules have worked in Mr. Newsom’s favor. California law treats his defense against the recall as a ballot issue, but treats the candidacies of his challengers as regular elections. So the governor can raise unlimited sums to fend off the recall, while his rivals, unless they are self-funding, must abide by a $32,400-per-election limit on individual contributions. Mega-donations for and against the overall recall campaigns are not restricted by those single-candidate limits.


7.8 million

You can vote no on Question 1 and also vote for a candidate on question 2

because it may show a weakness in the party?

not sure why dems are discouraging voting on the second issue.

there's no real downside. why would you not voice your opinion on such an important question?

Most who signed the petition for recall of Gov. Gavin Newsom came from Southern California, with Los Angeles county leading with 264,000 signatures, followed by Orange County with 215,000 endorsements. A little over 9,400 signatures came from San Francisco county, which is a trifle over 1 percent of The City’s population.btopic
with questionable turnout expected, this race is tighter than previously thought
1 of 6 attempts to recall Gov. Newsom. Deadline for signatures extended by Sac County judged due to pandemic.

SF District Attorney

Debate 21 March 2021
questions

supporters of recall - republicans?

no

democrat led.

what should the benchmarks be for DA

public safety -

safety. but safety depends on more than DA

would a 'tougher' DA be in line with the electorate that elected chesa

we are asking for competence and public safety. most progressive of prosecuters have left chesa. rani singh was replaced by someone who was too lenient to offenders.

role of DA for overdoses

what should be the DA's role in drug issue

public health issue, not a crim justice issue. not enough treatment beds. probation doesnt prevent people from using. this DA is not better or worse than previous DAs regarding drugs.

DA decides on drug dealing offenses. if arrest for theft and have substance abuse issues, can incentivize for drug treatment with fear of jail, etc. DA must use office to get people in treatment and hold drug dealers accountable.

what is crim justice reform if not DA

young adult court behavioral court intensive supervision court chesa doesnt have a single new program

rebuttal - Chesa's accomplishments growing victim outreach program

DA working with mayor and cops

Subtopic

failure of system is not based on DA, but also other departments.

property crimes clearance rates (<10%)

for

police hear from criminals that DA is weak and they will walk soon. DA isnt building trust.

rebuttal: chesa has reached out to union and police officers

property crime closure rates are low. not due to DA

retailers not using security, pass the cost on to consumers. citizens arrests from security. DA doesnt affect the business decisions

is the DA to blame for specific cases or statistics?

for - why not praise him for the good that he did?

half of the prosecuters and victim advocates left under chesa's management. Chesa has never addressed why he let troy mccallister free. unjustified.

rebuttal - DA did take responsibility for the fault of the system that led troy to be free

environment is created where crimes are acceptable. criminals understand there is no consequences.

rebuttal - criminals don't consider the DA and legal environment

sharia musyoka - jogger killed near lake merced

focus on overall public safety not specific cases. every case has nuances and fact patterns that can't be disclosed and analyzed in a public forum.

why recall vs wait for vote?

against

the system is complex

what ocurred that supports recall?

disregard need for public safety, doesnt want to hold offenders accountable

troy mccallister. waiting trial for 5 years, faced life sentence based on robbery and criminal history. chesa released him before waiting for sentencing. troy was arrested 4x, never charged. stolen vehicle killed 2 women in sf.

rebuttal - daly city did not arrest him after he stole the car?

specific people died because they werent locked up

Opening statements
Against
For
Fact Sheet
Boudin and office doing good work

https://48hills.org/2021/12/high-praise-for-boudin-from-judge-whose-words-have-been-used-to-attack-him/

Reviewed a case where defendant was sentenced to life, determined that the sentence was unjust and now lets a convicted person out on the streets after 21 years served

History
18 JAN DA drops charges on police stabbing and burglar suspect

District Attorney Chesa Boudin enraged police brass and the department’s union this week when he decided to drop charges against a suspected burglar accused of stabbing an officer during an arrest last February in the Castro.But new photos and an internal police report from the case obtained by The Standard show that the encounter left the officer with minor cuts to his pinky finger and knee, while the suspect suffered a fractured left cheek bone and cuts and bruises to his head after being punched “15 to 20 times.” The case serves as the latest litmus test for a district attorney facing a recall election this June. Police critics have accused the officers of using excessive force, while opponents of the progressive prosecutor view the decision to drop charges as another example of Boudin putting police and the public in danger.