CALIFORNIA PROPOSITIONS
1 YES (1a)
Safe, reliable, high- speed passenger train bond act. A whopping $10 billion bond that can connect major APA communities from Los Angeles to San Francisco and linking San Jose and Sacramento.
2 NO
Treatment of farm animals. Statute. The right concept but poorly written law. Wait until this is thought through better.
3 NO
Children’s Hospital Bond Act. Voters already approved $750 million in 2004 and it hasn’t all been spent yet. Don’t approve another $980 million that will increase our property taxes.
4 NO
Parental notification of abortion for minors. Constitutional Amendment. Another in the unending attacks on abortion rights. The voters and the courts have already decided this.
5 YES
Nonviolent offenders. Sentencing, parole and rehabilitation. More prison time breeds repeat criminals. Prevention programs stop crimes before they happen and break the vicious cycle of crimes repeating again and again.
6 NO
Criminal penalties and laws. Public safety funding. Statute. These are tough economic times. Even with law enforcement, let’s not think in terms of set-asides, but also about revenue impact, revenue recovery, savings and sources.
7 NO
Mandating Renewable Energy requirements. Statute. A bad law. It could actually set back renewable energy efforts in California.
8 NO
Limits on Marriage. Constitutional Amendment. Our California Constitution guarantees the same freedoms and rights to everyone – no one group should be singled out or treated differently.
9 YES
Criminal Justice System. Victim’s Rights/ Parole. Constitutional Amendment and Statute. Ensure the rights of victims to be heard.
10 NO
Bonds. Alternative Fuel Vehicles and Renewable Energy. Statute. Spending bond money on something as intangible as privately owned vehicles is a terrible idea unless there is a clear public benefit.
11 NO
Redistricting. Constitutional Amendment and Statute. APA representation in the state legislature and Board of Equalization has reached new highs in the years since the 2000 census under the current redistricting system that enabled the election of three APAs out of the four Board of Equalization members and an increasing number of state legislators.
12 YES
Veteran’s Bond Act of 2008. Unanimously passed in both state houses, this proposition assists vets in the areas of housing, property ownership and farms by allocating 1.8 billion over 30 years.
SAN FRANCISCO PROPOSITIONS
A YES
$887 Million General Hospital Bond. San Francisco must rebuild General Hospital by 2015 under state law or face closure of its acute-care facilities. SFGH provides services especially for uninsured, low-income and MediCal APA patients.
B NO
Affordable Housing Fund. With a worsening economy and therefore declining tax revenues, now is not the time to tie up the city budget that just balanced a $338 million deficit and is likely to operate in the red for the coming year.
C NO
City Employees on Commissions. This measure places a political glass ceiling on the city employees serving on commissions.
D YES
Pier 70 Maritime Plan and Financing. A sensible plan to develop another part of San Francisco’s waterfront.
E NO
Increasing Number of Recall Signatures. Recent attempts to recall politicians happened in heavily APA District 3 (Chinatown/ North Beach) and District 1 (Richmond). They are symptomatic of large APA constituencies who are grossly under-represented under an 11 district system that has no elected APA supervisor.
F NO
Changes to Election Cycle. Since 1991, one impact area for the APA electorate has been electing the next mayor of San Francisco. Moving the election of the mayor, district attorney and sheriff to even-numbered election years, with more infrequent voters, dilutes APA political clout.
G YES
Retirement Credit For Unpaid Parental Leave. Affects a limited number of mostly female employees to “buy back” time on unpaid leave and apply it towards retirement.
H NO
Municipalizing Electric Service. Electrical and gas services work well in our City. Don’t try something new, untested and costly.
I NO
Independent Rate Advocate. This would not provide an independent rate advocate to rein in utility rates.
J NO
Historic Preservation Commission. Backers of this measure need to be clear about how this will affect APA neighborhoods, even as the Japantown we know is disappearing before our eyes.
K NO
Decriminalizing Prostitution. San Francisco’s priorities are misplaced when it sanctions prostitutes on neighborhood corners, while banning youth from participating in character and leadership-building programs through the JROTC program in Proposition V.
L YES
Community Justice Center. Tenderloin, Civic Center and SOMA are centers of growing Chinese, Filipino and Vietnamese American communities whose residents and enterprises could benefit from an alternative justice system to the conventional Superior Court.
M NO
Prohibiting Specific Acts of Tenant Harassment By Landlords. The justice system and laws already provide for tenant protections. Don’t overregulate rental units and discourage mom-and-pop landlords.
N NO
Transfer Tax Increase. This would harm and discourage commercial investment – especially in a small-business community with a high number of APA enterprises.
O YES
Changes to the Emergency Response Fee. As phone service declines and Internet communication rises, this switches funding for 911 services from phone to Internet, keeping up with the times.
P YES
Reform the Transportation Authority. We still need to improve Muni. Streetcar lines in the majority-APA neighborhoods have cut their routes short and dumped passengers to stay on time to the dismay of Assemblywoman Fiona Ma and Supervisor Carmen Chu.
Q NO
Changes to the Payroll Tax. Don’t be fooled. This is a tax increase. This measure targets payroll and thereby discourages job creation especially during recessionary times.
R NO
George W. Bush Sewage Plant. We should not disrespect the President of the United States.
S YES
Identify Revenue for Set Asides. With a declining economy, we can’t afford to reserve money for special issues. Government revenues should only be set aside if a source of revenue is identified.
T NO
Substance Abuse Set Aside.This measure does not identify a source of funding (like raising taxes) and potentially muscles out other equally important programs not “set-aside” in the budget like The City’s anti-hepatitis B campaign to test APAs who are very vulnerable to the virus.
U NO
Non-Binding Resolution Against Funding Deployment of Armed Forces in Iraq. While the war in Iraq should be concluded in an expedited and responsible manner, the supervisors have no business or the expertise in this area.
V YES
Restore JROTC in San Francisco Public High Schools. A grassroots movement led by high-school students – many of them APA -are behind this measure to restore this school leadership and character-building curriculum. This is about choices for students, not ideological pandering to voters.
Your explanations on Prop K and Prop V are quite interesting. You say Prop K sanctions “prostitutes on neighborhood corners.” Aside from the fact that 90% of prostitutes work indoors, your position on Prop K means that you sanction rape, battery and coercion against sex workers.
Prostitutes have no recourse when they are a victim of violence. Voting YES on prop K will give police protection to prostitutes and clean up the streets.
Secondly, you say that Prop V was a grassroots effort led by high school students., but you fail to mention that Prop K was also a grassroots effort led by sex workers. Why can’t sex workers have human rights like everyone else??
While it is important to respect the office of President, respect is earned not granted. President Bush abused our trust by misleading the country into a war on false pretenses (among many other serious offenses). Yes, Prop R is a funny “only in San Francisco” measure, but it also makes a serious point, that Pres. Bush is among the worst executives we’ve had. Politicians like to write their own history. Prop R gives the people of San Francisco an opportunity to voice their opinon about the last eight years.
As one supporter put it, “Sorry sir, no Mount Rushmore for you.”
What a bizarre set of endorsements. In D9 you have the Daly crowd bracketing the only moderate in the race. Ditto D9. And Ammiano? That’s like endorsing Putin.
Proposition P is not about the Muni- it’s about the San Francisco County Transportation Authority which is separate from the Municipal Transportation Agency that runs Muni. Please see http://www.beyondchron.org/news/index.php?itemid=6135 that is actually about Proposition P.
Also — No on P.
Would it help to show you how in Massachusetts the little school-age children are being given packets that show two men living together as normal and natural?
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1815825713
This site clearly explains why a Yes vote on this Proposition is so very important:
http://www.preservingmarriage.org/
OH NO! Children must not be told about love between two people who happen to share the rent!
Dear Gwendolyn:
You seriously underestimate “children.”
Who, minus the unasked-for input of their elders, actually “know” sans “knowing” the “truth” of ANY matter.
They know a lie from a truth, even as they may accede to the guidance, no, make that demands, of those who are bigger and older if not wiser.
Maria Montessori had a point that no “educational” system can gainsay, and that is that “children” left to their own devices usually devise better and more productive, creative actually, pathways to maturation.
So, stop patronizing little ones and start observing and listening rather than preaching your own fears and prejudices.
Frank Eng
Vote for CHRIS JACKSON for College Board!!!
Proposition 3, the Children’s Hospital Bond Act, would provide bond funding for the 13 children’s hospitals in California to purchase state-of-the-art medical technologies and to expand so they can make more room to take care of more kids. Not a penny from Proposition 3 can be spent on anything but construction or equipment at children’s hospitals. These funds cannot be raided or used for other purposes. Proposition 3 is a sound investment in facilities and technology that will enable care of children in communities across the State for generations to come. Proposition 3 funding comes from the state’s general fund. The editorial published by AsianWeek incorrectly states that Proposition 3 will raise property taxes. That is simply not true.
People often express their admiration for Children’s Hospitals and their respect for the life-saving work done. Please make this admiration meaningful by voting “Yes” on Proposition 3. Join Senators Boxer and Feinstein, former Governor Pete Wilson, the California Business Roundtable, the League of Women Voters, California Chamber of Commerce, California Nurses Association, the California Federation of Teachers, and many other leaders who have endorsed Proposition 3. Visit http://www.ImagineWithUs.org for more information.
While the $50,000 to be spent on new signage and letterhead for the renamed Oceanside Water Treatment Plant under Proposition R pales in comparison with what the RNC had spent on Sarah Palin’s clothes and makeup, it still is a lot of money for a cash-strapped city to pay out during a recession. Thoughtful S.F. voters will realize that Bush’s record will speak for itself and decline to vote for Proposition R.
The No on K campaign has a face of a sad Asian woman, and Gavin Newsom and the rest of the rescuing Asian woman from sexual slavery campaign are spending lots of campaign dollars on convincing people that racial profiling is okay when dealing with sex industry businesses. Whatever you feel about prostitution, understand that racial profiling of migrant businesses is NOT okay. Understand that rescuing people from potentially abusive situations is not liberating and does not empower people into getting out of the sex industry. Understand that what is sex slavery to a few non Asian politicians, is a chance to feed a family to many workers. YES ON K Asian America! San Francisco was built by Chinese railroad workers and prostitutes who kept them company.
My friend witnessed a security guard vandalizing a No on Prop 8 poster on Pasadena Art Center campus. He couldn’t get his camera out on time to video tape the action, but did take a picture of the poster (http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq8/kennethlei/Noonprop8Vandalized.jpg). He reported the incident to the head of the security on campus. Sadly they did not take it seriously, even it was committed by a security guard. Note that the security guard appears to be strongly opposed to male same sex marriage but gets turned on by the idea of a lesbian couple. I despise these perverted people who claim that they are morally righteous beings!!
I counted a whooping total of 4 Asian American men on the list! Weeeeee!