San Mateo County voters face a formidable number of choices on the November ballot. Their choices — particularly on the 13 state ballot measures — could have a profound effect on California’s ability to pay for major public works, the ability of local governments to control growth and sprawl, and other hot-button issues.
The numbers are daunting. At the top of the ticket, voters will choose among 71 candidates for 19 federal and state positions, including governor, U.S. senator, congressional representatives, and judges.
At the local level, the issues vary from town to town. Every voter in the county gets a say on Measure A, a 1/8-cent sales tax to provide money for park and recreation programs for the county and all its cities.
Locally, Menlo Park has most at stake. Two groups of candidates are duking it out to control where the city is going. In addition, voters will decide whether they want the city to explore putting sports fields in Bayfront Park (Measure J) and whether to support a new tax on utilities to fund city services Measure K).
The Almanac is again presenting this guide to help voters decide how to cast their votes in key local races. We have chosen races in which there is competition for office, major controversy, or a significant community impact, as in local taxes and playing fields in Bayfront Park.
Other local races, issues
While the most attention has focused on the Menlo Park contests, two other local races deserve attention.Retiring Sheriff Don Horsley is running for a seat on the board of the Sequoia Healthcare District, which jointly owns and oversees Sequoia Hospital with Catholic Healthcare West. Also running for three seats are incumbent Arthur Faro; appointed incumbent John Oblak; and incumbent Jack Hickey, a Libertarian who wants to dissolve the district.
In the Menlo Park City School District, incumbent Laura Linkletter Rich, community volunteer Deborah J. Fitz, financial manager Jeffrey B. Child, and repeat candidate Noria Zasslow are vying for three seats.
There is also a lively campaign in the Ravenswood City School District, where eight candidates are vying for three seats on the school board.
The San Mateo County Board of Education has contested elections for Trustee Areas 3 and 4. Policy analyst Jeffrey Tong is challenging incumbent and board president Rhonda Ceccato in Trustee Area 3. Rod Hsiao, chief operating officer of a public interest law firm, and Anthony “Fel” Amistad, an instructor and finance analyst, are running in Trustee Area 4.
There will be no election in the Las Lomitas School District; the election was canceled when three candidates registered for another term, with no challengers. Serving on the board will be incumbents David Bailard and Leslie Airola-Murveit, and community volunteer Jamie Schein.
Two other measures are on some South County ballots:
• Measure F in Portola Valley would reduce the utility users tax from 5.5 percent to 4.5 percent from Feb. 1, 2007, to June 30, 2010.
• Measure O is a technical measure for the Menlo Park Fire Protection District. It would maintain the legal appropriations limit for the district at $25 million for another four years.
Legislators
In heavily Democratic San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, the odds strongly favor incumbents in the 14th Congressional District and 21st Assembly District.Veteran Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, D-Atherton, is being challenged by Republican account executive Rob Smith of Redwood City, Libertarian engineer Brian Holtz of Los Altos Hills, and Green Party nonprofit organizer Carol L. Brouillet of Palo Alto.
In the 21st Assembly District, Menlo Park community activist and businesswoman Virginia Chiang Kiraly is mounting a lively Republican challenge to Democratic incumbent Ira Ruskin of Redwood City.
Voters in Woodside and Portola Valley will help choose a state senator to succeed Sen. Jackie Speier in the 8th Senate District, which extends into San Francisco. The two candidates are Democratic Assemblyman Leland Yee, a child psychologist from San Francisco; and Republican marketing director Michael Skipakevich of South San Francisco.
State propositions
Some of the most important and controversial measures on the ballot are the 13 propositions. These include five bond measures totaling $42 billion, and initiatives ranging from regulating sex offenders to creating new taxes.Propositions 1A through 1E were placed on the ballot by the state Legislature; Propositions 83-90 are initiatives qualified by gathering signatures. State bond and tax measures pass with a majority vote.
Five of the eight initiatives are constitutional amendments, which lock the measure into the state constitution. Once passed, these can be changed only by passage of another initiative or by a two-thirds vote of each house of the Legislature.
The five legislative issues include one constitutional amendment and four bond issues. Proposition 1A would make it harder to divert the state gasoline tax for purposes other than transportation. Propositions 1B to 1E would authorize a total of $37 billion for transportation, housing, public education, disaster preparedness and flood prevention — including repairing levees.
Locally, Proposition 84, a $5.4 billion bond issue for clean water, parks, and coastal protection, has strong support. The Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, the Peninsula Open Space Trust, the League of Women Voters, and most conservation groups back it.
Proposition 90 faces intense opposition from San Mateo County’s City/County Association of Governments and many civic groups. The measure would require compensation to property owners for many types of regulation.
The ballot includes three tax measures, all constitutional amendments. Proposition 86 would add a cigarette tax of $2.60 per pack to fund health services. Proposition 87 would hike taxes on California oil producers to create a $4 billion program to promote alternative energy. Proposition 88 would create a $50 parcel tax to support five K-12 educational programs.
Two other initiatives are also controversial. Proposition 83 would tighten laws and punishments on sexual predators. Proposition 85 is another attempt to require a waiting period and notification of parent or guardian before a minor can have an abortion.
Proposition 89 would create some public financing of elections and impose some limits on expenditures. It is not a constitutional amendment, but a statute that could be modified by the Legislature. It would still require a state-wide vote to amend.
INFORMATION
Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 7.The last day to register is Monday, Oct. 23. Registration forms are available at local libraries, city halls and post offices.
The last day to request an absentee ballot is Tuesday, Oct. 31.
For people who want to vote before the election, a Universal Voting Center will be open during business hours and the two Saturdays before the election in the elections office on the first floor of 555 County Center, at the corner of Bradford St. and Hamilton Ave. in Redwood City.
For information, call the county elections office at 312-5222.
Web sites
Several Web sites have extensive information on candidates, ballot measures and issues:• San Mateo County: shapethefuture.org
• California Secretary of State: ss.ca.gov
• League of Women Voters: smartvoter.org
• Also easyvoter.org and calvoter.org
