Who said San Francisco doesn’t have a conservative bone in its body? Voters in SF voted down a measure to decriminalize prostitution, supported Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps in the schools, and rejected the idea to humiliate President George W. Bush by naming a sewage treatment plant after him. At this rate, we’ll see Republican Clubs popping up all over the city any day now.
Could it be that African-American voters, eager to put Barack Obama in the White House, were also the reason Proposition 8, the gay marriage constitutional amendment, passed? According to exit polling provided by the Sacramento Bee’s Capitol Alert, African-Americans made up 10% of the California electorate on Tuesday. While they were voting 95% to 5% to elect Barack Obama president, they also voted 70% to 30% in favor of Proposition 8. While Latino voters made up a larger portion of the electorate, 19% overall, Latinos nearly split on Prop 8, 51% Yes, 49% No.
Bad economy probably means a tough time to get money to build schools. Well, apparently, not so tough after all, at least for Los Angeles County area schools. There were 23 bond measures on the ballot for K-12 school and community college improvement bonds and all 23 bond measures passed.
Are we living in a new California? Two weeks ago in a Fox and Hounds Daily commentary, I asked if Californians are, as often described, fiscally conservative and socially liberal. I thought the election would be a good measure of that theory. So what to make of the voters passing three of the four bonds on the statewide ballot while also supporting the ban on gay marriage? Not to mention all those local bonds and taxes passing?
The Proposition 11 redistricting measure passed surprising many pundits. This is the first redistricting measure to pass after numerous failures stretching across a number of decades.
Redistricting measure passes … Voters support bond and taxes … San Francisco voters take the conservative view on various measures … this is not your mother and father’s California. At least for one election.