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Here are our recommendations for the state measures on the Nov. 5 election ballot. Click on the links to read the full editorials. To read our recommendations on regional and local races and measures, click here. (If you have trouble reaching the individual articles on our mobile app, click here.)
2 – State school bonds – No: Prop. 2 fails to fix broken California school bond program. The measure’s funding for construction favors local districts that already have access to money over those that don’t.
3 – Same-sex marriage – Yes: Voters should protect same-sex marriage from U.S. Supreme Court assault by updating the state Constitution.
4 – California climate bond – No: $10 billion bond favors politics over sound policy with a hodgepodge of environmental programs that lacks priorities.
5 – Lowering bond vote requirement – No: California should end deceitful bond elections before lowering the vote threshold.
6 – Inmate work refusal – No: Inmates should not be entitled to refuse to do chores in prison. While cloaked in language about slavery, the measure is really about prisoners’ ability to refuse to work.
32 – Minimum wage – Yes: Measure would raise lowest pay by 2026 to $18 an hour, about $1 more than it would be otherwise. This modest hike would benefit the neediest workers.
33 – Rent control – No: Rent control discourages investment in new housing, constraining supply and driving up overall housing costs.
34 – ‘Landlords’ revenge’ – No: This measure is an abusive use of the state’s initiative system to silence a political opponent. It would set a horrible precedent if it passes and survives legal challenges.
35 – Medi-Cal funding – No: The winners in this special-interest funding measure would include the doctors, hospitals and emergency ambulance providers bankrolling the initiative.
36 – Drug treatment, theft crimes – Yes: This measure is a smart response to crime, addiction and homelessness, and provides a much-needed adjustment to the criminal justice reform measure state voters passed in 2014.
Originally published at The Mercury News/East Bay Times Editorial Boards