California Democratic Presidential Primary, We Recommend Anybody but Bernie Sanders

Voting started in California on February 22 but continues through to the official election day, March 3 - Super Tuesday. We were asked by our whip-cracking publisher to provide a guide to voting for Santa Monica voters. We will do so, ensuring we infuriate the bleeding hearts and validate those who want to see the Golden State return to prosperity, opportunity, and some semblance of law and order.

Federal -

Each party is conducting their primary election at this time. Those who've registered to vote without party preference may request presidential ballots for the American Independent, Democratic and Libertarian parties, which are parties that allow crossover ballots. They will not be able to vote for the Green, Peace and Freedom, or Republican primary presidential candidates.

Democratic presidential primary, we recommend: Anybody but Bernie Sanders.

Sanders calls himself a Democratic Socialist. From his description of his Medicare-for-All plan, which he himself admits will cost $30 trillion (trillion!), to his disdain for the efficiencies and poverty-lifting power of the free market, we believe Sanders' idea of a "Democratic Socialist" means an avowed Communist. He's never done a productive thing in his life but has instead fed off the taxpayer dollar for the decades he's spent in public office - accomplishing nothing. He has no qualification and his ideas are horrible.

Anyone but him. Unless you want to guarantee 4 more years of the current administration.

United States Representative, 33rd District

James P. Bradley (R) (rated 4 stars by Craig Huey)

California State - Member of the State Assembly, 50th District

Honestly, we can't recommend anyone here at all. Richard Bloom, former member of the Santa Monica City Council, has been a devoted tool of the progressive, crime-loving, middle-class-hating legislative supermajority ever since he entered office. His biggest claim to fame is trying to destroy Sea World, a marine park that is largely responsible for educating a generation about the beauty and significance of whales and other marine life. Greenpeace and the destruction of the whaling industry in the 1970s would probably never have happened without Sea World. Kudos, Richard Bloom.

Measure 13 - NO

In an ironic twist of fate, this measure has received the same number as the historic Proposition 13 from 1978 that capped property taxes to prevent long-time elderly residents from losing their homes. It also prevented the wholesale theft by the state government of its citizens.

This very different Measure 13 would end those caps. Today, school districts are prevented from asking for bond measures that would create too much local indebtedness. Measure 13 would ease that limitation by raising the old Prop 13's caps on property tax valuation. From 1.25 percent of assessed property value to 2 percent for elementary- and high-school districts. From 2.5 percent to 4 percent for unified school and community college districts. That's almost double.

The state should have funded school improvements with their highest-ever $220 billion budget. Bond funding is an expensive way to spend money.

Los Angeles County - District Attorney: Jackie Lacey BY FAR

George Gascon is the former DA for San Francisco. We wrote about him here [https://www.smobserved.com/story/2020/02/22/politics/george-gascon-of-san-francisco-wants-to-be-your-county-district-attorney-but-you-dont-want-him/4383.html]. Gascon is the co-author of Proposition 47, the law that demoted many crimes from felonies to misdemeanors. This is the law that allows shoplifting and theft from cars up to $950. And he's proud of it. Crime in San Francisco rose under his regime, rapes rising by 100 percent and property theft by 50 percent. Violent crime in San Francisco became 54 percent higher than the rest of California, 82 percent higher than the national average.

Rachel Rossi is a defense attorney. She wants to eliminate cash bail, as if violent criminals aren't released often and early enough in our county. She wants to make sure illegal immigrants aren't charged with the sort of crimes that might get them deported - even if they might have committed the crime. So you'd go to jail for that crime, but illegal aliens wouldn't. Justice. She wants to prosecute landlords and big developers for creating homelessness. Intellect. You can learn more about her here [https://www.smobserved.com/story/2020/02/02/politics/only-someone-whos-crazy-would-vote-for-rachel-rossi-for-la-county-da-literally/4394.html]

Measure R - NO

This feel-good measure is not so good in reality. It wants to reduce the jail population by diverting those with mental illness to community-based programs. Wow. That would be great - if we actually had those programs. We don't. Or at least not nearly enough of them to handle the large number of mentally ill criminals we don't want on our streets. Measure R would put them on our streets - as if we don't have enough of them already. You can read more about it here. [https://www.smobserved.com/story/2020/02/02/politics/measure-r-connects-citizen-oversight-of-the-sheriff-and-inmate-release/4392.html]

Judges of the Superior Court

I rely on Craig Huey and his system of rating judges based on a combination of their qualifications for the office and their judicial philosophy, with more points going to judges who are strict constructionists than activists. If you don't agree with this philosophy, then simply vote the opposite of what I recommend.

On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest:

Office 17: Shannon Kathleen Cooley (unchallenged)

Office 42

2 Linda L. Sun

5 Robert "Bob" Villa

Office 72

5 Steve Morgan

3 Robert F. Jacobs

3 Myana Dellinger

Office 76

6 Emily Cole

3 Judge Mike Cummins

Office 80

4 Klint James McKay

4 David A. Berger

6 Nick C. Rini

Office 97

5 Timothy D. Reuben

3 Sherry L. Powell

Office 129

5 Mark Maccarley

4 Bruce A. Moss

3 Kenneth M. Fuller

Office 131

Michelle Kelley (unchallenged)

Office 141

Lana Kim (unchallenged)

Office 145

10 Troy Slaten

3 Adan Montalban

Office 150

3 Sherri Onica Valle Cole

3 Tom Parsekian

6 Manuel Alejandro Almada

Office 162

3 Scott Andrew Yang

5 David D. Diamond

3 Caree Annette Harper