Poll: Voters Agree that Proposition 15 is First Step in Undoing Prop 13 for Homeowners
UC Berkeley’s Institute of Government Studies’ (IGS) poll asked voters if Proposition 15, the initiative to raise taxes on commercial property, would be the first step in making “similar” changes in the Proposition 13 property tax restrictions for homes. Voters agreed by a solid 56% to 19% margin with 25% undecided. While Proposition 15 enjoys […]
A Tale of Two Fires
“Greatest Fire in History Ravages Napa County” read the headline in the St. Helena Star. Only this was not the terrible 2017 fires, nor the August 2020 fire, nor the devastating Glass Fire just controlled. It was the Hanley Fire, and headline is from the Star for September 16, 1964. It is a lesson, Napa […]
DiFi and the Test of Time
Perhaps nothing in the California political scene is more telling about the change state politics has seen over the last couple of decades than the attitude toward United States Senator Dianne Feinstein. She has gone from a position as the most respected California politician to one who is polarizing within her own majority party. Will […]
Despite Concerns, Initiative Process is Here to Stay
For its October poll, the Public Policy Institute of California tested support for California’s initiative process. In a series of four questions the pollsters asked voters if they were satisfied with the initiative process, if the process was controlled by special interests, if there are too many propositions on the ballot, and if initiative wording […]
What New Polling Tells Us About Propositions 15 & 16
The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) tested two ballot propositions in its October poll and while things can certainly change as the election campaigns head into the home stretch the poll results have something to say about the campaigns and the issues they represent. In a couple of words, on Prop 15: a difficult […]
Ballot Integrity Questions Could Upset Typical Vote Patterns
Fire in official ballot drop boxes, unofficial ballot drop boxes set up to harvest ballots, the attorney general demanding the names of voters using the unofficial drop boxes, questionable ballots mailed in California, warnings of violence erupting around the election, and the COVID-19 crisis have all made the process of counting this year’s vote the […]
Consider Another Option to the Prop. 24 Debate
Proposition 24 is tough stuff—tough to get through and understand that is. The measure runs 52-pages. The politics are a bit confusing, too. While proponents argue that Proposition 24 will strengthen California’s current privacy law, some privacy advocates say it’s not strong enough and that’s why they want it defeated. But it has always seemed […]
Small Business Retail Theft a Major Concern this Election Season
Shoplifting and stealing are becoming a bigger problem in California, which is why small businesses are showing interest in two statewide ballot measures that deal with crime and justice. Proposition 20 seeks sterner criteria defining felonies, while Proposition 25 is a referendum on the Legislature’s no cash bail law. A survey by the National Retailers […]
San Francisco’s Not So Universal Basic Income for Artists
San Francisco proposes to pay artists $1,000 a month as part of the movement for a Universal Basic Income, this while the city sees many markers of decline due to the coronavirus, a hole in the city budget and multiple tax increases facing city voters on the coming ballot. While an unbalanced Universal Basic Income […]