The League of Women Voters hosted a forum on Monday, October 7th at the Methodist Church in Redding. Fondly dubbed: Pies and Propositions, the evening featured three presenters discussing the pros and cons of the ten
California Initiatives plus the two local measures, P and Q.
An audience of over a hundred listened attentively and then enjoyed an array of home baked pies and coffee provided by the church members. Sixty-five people in the audience agreed to participate in a Straw Poll. Here are the results:
Shasta County Measures:
P: (Eminent Domain) 9 yes 43 no 13 ?
Q: (BOS appointments for vacancies) 3 yes 50 no 12 ?
California Propositions:
32: (Raises minimum wage) 35 yes 17 no 13 ?
33: (Rent Control) 24 yes 19 no 22 ?
34: (Restricts Rx Revenue spending) 12 yes 24 no 29 ?
35: (Permanent funding for Medi-Cal) 53 yes 8 no 4 ?
36: (Felony Charges, drug and theft) 39 yes 14 no 12 ?
2: (Bonds for Public Schools) 47 yes 9 no 9 ?
3: (Constitutional right to Marriage) 55 yes 8 no 2 ?
4: (Bonds, safe water, fire prevention) 36 yes 19 no 10 ?
5: (Bonds for affordable housing) 29 yes 28 no 8 ?
6: (Involuntary servitude in prison) 41 yes 17 no 7 ?
And, for the record, as the one who did the tabulations, I have to say that if I didn’t like the concept of hand-counting ballots before, I despise it now. It took me over four hours to tabulate 65 ballots with 12 questions that could be
answered 3 ways. There are a lot of ways to make mistakes; I made them all. But after many re-counts I am now reasonably certain of the numbers. During the whole tedious process I kept thinking of how long it would take to tabulate 100,000 ballots with 25 or more different choices. I’d have to be mighty needy or severely deluded to work that job.
The League of Women Voters is a non-partisan non-profit that does not support candidates. However, we do take a position on issues. Many of my friends know I spent considerable time getting ready for the forum and have asked me for my take on the propositions. I can do better than that. The LWV people at the state level have made ballot recommendations on the ten propositions. In brief: they support 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 32. They are neutral on 33 and take no position on 34. They oppose 35 and 36. If you are interested in the reasoning and the details, please click on this link: 2024 vote with the league
The important thing is this: Please vote November 5th. Vote like you know that it is a privilege as well as a duty. Vote even if you’ve never voted before. Vote.
