KPFA - California Ballot Breakdown

Yay! We get to vote (again) on nuanced regulation of the kidney dialysis industry. The Debators: David Miller is SEIU-UHW’s Research Director and a member of the Yes on 29 campaign. DeWayne Cox is a dialysis patient and a member of the No on 29 campaign. Music credits: “T Shirt Weather” by Poddington Bear, used under CC BY-NC 3.0 US Browse through all our election segments here. Subscribe to get new ones with Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Spotify, or by pasting this link into any podcast player. The post Proposition 29: Dialysis Clinics appeared first on KPFA.

California voters are confronting not one but two ballot initiatives to legalize sports betting — and an onslaught of advertising owing to the nearly half a billion dollars that’s been spent on both sides of each. We host a debate on Prop 26, a discussion with the only side of 27 that would talk to us, and a reporter covering the historic sums of money that have entered both races. The Debators: Kathy Fairbanks, spokesperson for the Yes on 26, No on 27 Coalition. Becky Warren, spokesperson for the No on 26 Coalition On the money behind the campaigns: Taryn Luna, covers California politics for the LA Times. (Where’s the Yes on 27 campaign? We made repeated requests to book them for a debate, but they never replied. They had just pulled a bunch of their TV ads after this poll showed the campaign trailing by a 20+ point margin). Music credits: “T Shirt Weather” by Poddington Bear, used under CC BY-NC 3.0 US Browse through all our election segments here. Subscribe to get new ones with Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Spotify, or by pasting this link into any podcast player. The post Propositions 27 and 27: Sports Betting appeared first on KPFA.

Left to right: Maurice Chenier, John Hamasaki, Joe Alioto Veronese, Brooke Jenkins San Francisco’s holding a special election for District Attorney, with four people running on a ranked-choice ballot to take over an office that became a punching bag for right-wing media, got rocked by a recall, and is now considering the first homicide prosecutions of San Francisco Police Department officers in that department’s 173-year history. We spoke to 75% of the candidates. The Candidates: 02:12 Maurice Chenier, currently a partner at the firm Resnick and Louis. 11:40 John Hamasaki, criminal defense attorney and a former member of the San Francisco Police Commission. 23:08 Joe Alioto Veronese, a principal at the Alioto Law Group, also a former San Francisco Police Commission member, and a former California Criminal Justice Commission member. The Not-Candidate: 35:20 Joe Eskenazi, managing editor at the nonprofit newsroom Mission Local. (Where’s appointed incumbent Brooke Jenkins? Starting in September, we made repeated requests via phone and email to schedule her for an interview, but neither she nor her staff followed up to get her booked) Music credits: “T Shirt Weather” by Poddington Bear, used under CC BY-NC 3.0 US Browse through all our election segments here. Subscribe to get new ones with Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Spotify, or by pasting this link into any podcast player. The post Who wants to be a San Francisco DA? appeared first on KPFA.

Proposition 22, the push to lock gig drivers into permanent independent contractor status, has spent more money than any ballot initiative campaign in state history. The gig companies financing it are also using their apps to advertise, arm-twist, and cajole. Ariel Boone has a report on how that’s changing the terrain of campaign. PLUS: Puzzled why California NAACP president Alice Huffman has put her name, and that of her organization, on the big-business side of so many propositions? It *may* have something to do with the nearly $2 million her political consulting firm has collected from the campaigns whose positions she’s endorsed. 08:09 Laurel Rosenhall covers politics and power for the nonprofit news site Calmatters. Music credits: “T Shirt Weather” by Poddington Bear, used under CC BY-NC 3.0 US Browse through all our election segments here. Subscribe to get new ones with Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Spotify, or by pasting this link into any podcast player. The post Turning cash into clout: Prop 22’s in-app arm-twisting, CA NAACP’s perplexing positions appeared first on KPFA.

In the wake of the uprisings over the police killing of George Floyd, cities and counties across California are putting policing reforms to a vote. We’ll take you through a roundup, starting with San Francisco’s Proposition E — which asks voters if they’d like to take minimum police staffing requirements out of the city’s charter. Joe Eskanazi, editor and columnist at Mission Local, a nonprofit newsroom in San Francisco. Music credits: “T Shirt Weather” by Poddington Bear, used under CC BY-NC 3.0 US Browse through all our election segments here. Subscribe to get new ones with Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Spotify, or by pasting this link into any podcast player. The post Local Edition: Where policing is on the ballot appeared first on KPFA.

Voters in San Francisco are about to vote on whether to create California’s first tax on inequality. Prop L would raise the gross receipts tax on every business in the city that pays its top manager at least 100x more than its median employee. PRO: Supervisor Matt Haney represents San Francisco’s District 6; he sponsored Proposition L at the San Francisco Board of Supervisors CON: Richie Greenberg is a political commentator and the former Republican candidate for mayor of San Francisco. Music credits: “T Shirt Weather” by Poddington Bear, used under CC BY-NC 3.0 US Browse through all our election segments here. Subscribe to get new ones with Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Spotify, or by pasting this link into any podcast player. The post Debate: San Francisco Proposition L – An Inequality Tax appeared first on KPFA.

Prop 15 would let property taxes rise with property values, but only for large owners of commercial and industrial real estate. The argument from the no campaign is that prop 15 would hurt some small businesses, too. They couldn’t actually give us an example when they came on to debate it–so we had our reporter Lucy Kang follow up, and ask both sides to point us at one building that makes their case. She found a skyscraper partially owned by Donald Trump, and a small business owner panicked by a tax hike … that probably won’t impact her the way she thought. Music credits: “T Shirt Weather” by Poddington Bear, used under CC BY-NC 3.0 US Browse through all our election segments here. Subscribe to get new ones with Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Spotify, or by pasting this link into any podcast player. The post Prop 15 followup: A tale of two buildings appeared first on KPFA.

Oakland’s District 3 is mostly West Oakland. That’s a historically Black neighborhood, an epicenter of the 2008 foreclosure crisis, now rapidly gentrifying. Last year, it was also the site of an action that drew national attention: “Moms 4 Housing.” A group of unhoused Black mothers took over an empty home owned by a private equity firm, occupied it for over two months, and eventually – after the sheriff mounted a militarized eviction – forced the owner to sell the property to a land trust to become permanent affordable housing. Now one of its organizers, Carroll Fife, is trying to unseat the incumbent who represents the neighborhood, Lynette McElhaney, in a race exposing deep cleavages over who housing policy should work for. Music credits: “T Shirt Weather” by Poddington Bear, used under CC BY-NC 3.0 US Browse through all our election segments here. Subscribe to get new ones with Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Spotify, or by pasting this link into any podcast player. PHOTO: Tyler Casey The post Oakland D3: A Push from the Streets to City Hall appeared first on KPFA.

First: Wayne Hsiung is mounting a left-flank challenge to incumbent Berkeley mayor Jesse Arreguin that is quite well-financed and -organized for someone who’s never held office. Hsiung’s also a hardcore animal rights activist, leading a group some ex-members describe as cult-like, who co-authored a strategy document calling for supporters to move to one city, take over its government, and work from there towards getting legal personhood for animals into the US constitution. Needless to say, this has not made it into the campaign’s literature. Also: the Vallejo mayoral campaign of Hakeem Brown is bleeding endorsers, after a nonprofit news outlet documented his extensive history of domestic violence charges and convictions. 00:55 Frances Dinkelspiel is co-founder and executive editor of Berkeleyside, where she’s covering Berkeley elections. 14:30 Geoffrey King is an attorney and journalist, and founder of Open Vallejo, a new non-profit newsroom. Music credits: “T Shirt Weather” by Poddington Bear, used under CC BY-NC 3.0 US “Something Elated” by Broke for Free, used under CC BY 3.0 US Browse through all our election segments here. Subscribe to get new ones with Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Spotify, or by pasting this link into any podcast player. The post Local Edition: Berkeley and Vallejo appeared first on KPFA.

First: Oakland’s at-large council election, where outside money from Lyft has piled on to the effort to oust incumbent councilmember Rebecca Kaplan, and her main challenger is … not the business owner his campaign lit claims. Then: a tour through the late flood of attack money into San Francisco’s local races. 1:06 Darwin BondGraham, news editor of The Oaklandside 15:32 Tim Redmond, founder of 48hills.org, which covers the city and county of San Francisco Music credits: “T Shirt Weather” by Poddington Bear, used under CC BY-NC 3.0 US “Something Elated” by Broke for Free, used under CC BY 3.0 US Browse through all our election segments here. Subscribe to get new ones with Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Spotify, or by pasting this link into any podcast player. The post Local Edition: This race may not be what it appears, part 1 appeared first on KPFA.

If Proposition 25 passes, it will end cash bail — no one will spend time incarcerated just because they couldn’t pay for a ticket out before trial. That’s why the bail bond industry’s poured millions into defeating it. But could the risk assessment tools it uses to replace cash bail be even more unfair? That question’s divided groups that work on civil liberties and mass incarceration. YES: John Bauters is the Budget Advocacy Director with Californians for Safety and Justice NO: Robert J. Apodaca is the co-founder of California Community Builders, a non-profit affordable housing developer Music credits: “T Shirt Weather” by Podington Bear, used under CC BY-NC 3.0 US Browse through all our election segments here. Subscribe to get new ones with Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Spotify, or by pasting this link into any podcast player. The post Debate: Proposition 25 – ending cash bail appeared first on KPFA.

Proposition 24 in an overhaul of our California’s brand-spanking-new Consumer Privacy Act, which regulates what businesses can do with our data. The changes in prop 24 would change who that act applies to–it would wind up covering fewer businesses. It would add some restrictions, it would take some restrictions away, and it would fund a $10 million dollar-a-year agency to do enforcement. It is also 52 pages of dense statutory language that has divided groups that say they care about data privacy, so we try to tease out the major points of disagreement. YES: Ariel Fox Johnson is Senior Counsel on Policy and Privacy with Common Sense Media, a group that rates content for age-appropriateness. NO: Richard Holober is President of the Consumer Federation of California Music credits: “T Shirt Weather” by Podington Bear, used under CC BY-NC 3.0 US Browse through all our election segments here. Subscribe to get new ones with Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Spotify, or by pasting this link into any podcast player. The post DEBATE: Proposition 24 – 52 pages of privacy law changes appeared first on KPFA.

Proposition 22 is a $188 million (and counting!) push by Uber, Lyft, Doordash, Instacart, and Postmates to permanently classify the workers who drive for them as independent contractors, and effectively bar the state legislature from passing a law to let them unionize. It’s already shattered all state records for spending on ballot initiatives in California, outspending the “no” campaign–which is financed by several unions–almost 13 to one. PRO: David Cruz is the President of council number 3288 of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), the only one of 37 local LULAC councils in California listed as Prop 22 supporters CON: Minister Cherri Murphy is a Lyft driver and an organizer for Gig Workers Rising Music credits: “T Shirt Weather” by Podington Bear, used under CC BY-NC 3.0 US Browse through all our election segments here. Subscribe to get new ones with Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Spotify, or by pasting this link into any podcast player. The post A Debate on Prop 22 – California’s most expensive initiative, ever appeared first on KPFA.

In 2016, California Republican Devin Nunes won re-election in CA-22 by a 35-point margin. Then Nunes, as House Intelligence Chair, became a national symbol of House Republicans’ feverish defense of misconduct by Donald Trump, and his 2018 victory margin dropped to five percent. We talk to the person challenging Nunes–Phil Arballo–about why he thinks it’s possible to close those final five points, what he wants to do when he gets to Congress, and how a moderate in a swing district thinks about working with progressives on policy. (Nunes’s campaign has not granted our interview requests). Music credits: “T Shirt Weather” by Podington Bear, used under CC BY-NC 3.0 US Browse through all our election segments here. Subscribe to get new ones with Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Spotify, or by pasting this link into any podcast player. The post Phil Arballo wants to unseat Devin Nunes appeared first on KPFA.

California is one of only ten states that ban affirmative action. Voters put the ban in our constitution during an era when Republicans started turning to anti-immigrant and anti-affirmative action policies as wedge issues that could split some white voters away from the Democratic party. Our elections reporter Ariel Boone produced this brief history of how we got where we are today, and how the arguments over affirmative action have stood the test of time. Music credits: “T Shirt Weather” by Podington Bear, used under CC BY-NC 3.0 US Browse through all our election segments here. Subscribe to get new ones with Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Spotify, or by pasting this link into any podcast player. The post A Brief History of Prop 16 appeared first on KPFA.

In California, a State Senator represents more people than the average member of Congress. And there’s an open seat in the Bay: Senate District 15, covering big chunk of San Jose and the surrounding area. Voters will face a choice between two Democrats, which can make it hard to suss out the differences, so we walk them both through their positions on some of the biggest policy fights at the ballot and in the legislature. 01:08 – Ann Ravel, formerly an Obama Appointee on the Federal Election Commission 24:26 – David Cortese, currently a member of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors Music credits: “T Shirt Weather” by Poddington Bear, used under CC BY-NC 3.0 US “Something Elated” by Broke for Free, used under CC BY 3.0 US Subscribe with Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Spotify, or by pasting this link into any podcast player. The post Senate District 15: Ann Ravel vs. David Cortese appeared first on KPFA.

Under a law called Costa-Hawkins, California’s local governments can’t regulate rent increases in anything built after 1995 (earlier, for places that already had rent control on the books when Costa Hawkins passed), can’t regulate rent increases in single-family homes, and can’t regulate how much rents go up after a rent-controlled tenant moves out. Proposition 21 would ease those restrictions: letting cities and counties regulate rents in any building more than 15 years old, regulate rents in single-family homes if they’re owned by large landlords, and limit the rent increase after a tenant moves out to 15%. PRO: Rene Moya is formerly a housing advocate with the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, the principal financier of Proposition 21; now he’s the Chair of the Yes on Prop 21 campaign CON: Steven Maviglio is a political consultant with Forza Communications, and with the No on Prop 21 campaign, which is principally financed by large real estate and landlord businesses Music credits: “T Shirt Weather” by Poddington Bear, used under CC BY-NC 3.0 US Subscribe with Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Spotify, or by pasting this link into any podcast player. The post Debate: Prop 21 – easing restrictions on local rent control laws appeared first on KPFA.

There are two big tax changes on California’s ballot–part of a push to roll back an era of anti-tax politics that started when California voters approved prop 13 in 1978. We’ll debate prop 15, which is pitting public sector unions against big real estate investors; and prop 19, which has pulled together an odd coalition of unions, firefighters, and . . . realtors. PLUS we walk you through a massive labor fight on the ballot in the form of prop 22. 2:06 – Proposition 15 Debate 26:00 – Proposition 19 Debate 48:15 – Special Report: Proposition 22, explained Music credits: “T Shirt Weather” by Poddington Bear, used under CC BY-NC 3.0 US “Something Elated” by Broke for Free, used under CC BY 3.0 US Subscribe with Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Spotify, or by pasting this link into any podcast player. The post Tax debates! Propositions 15 and 19 appeared first on KPFA.

Housing is front and center in San Francisco’s state senate race, where a prolific legislator faces a left-flank challenger who’s secured enough funding and endorsements to pose a serious threat. We speak to both candidates about how their politics would shape California’s response to its housing crisis. Plus: everything you need to know about the mechanics of voting this year, from COVID measures, to mail-in rules, to how new “voting centers” work. 01:09 Ariel Boone on California’s pandemic voting challenges 08:45 Scott Wiener, State Senator for District 11 (San Francisco) 33:52 Jackie Fielder, Democratic Socialist contesting for the D11 seat Music credits: “T Shirt Weather” by Poddington Bear, used under CC BY-NC 3.0 US “Something Elated” by Broke for Free, used under CC BY 3.0 US Subscribe with Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Spotify, or by pasting this link into any podcast player. The post SD11: Scott Wiener vs. Jackie Fielder appeared first on KPFA.

Here’s what we’re planning, posted early so we show up in podcast feeds. (Music Credit: “Something Elated” by Broke for Free, used under CC BY 3.0 US The post Introducing California Ballot Breakdown appeared first on KPFA.