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So in case you care, here's how I voted: ==== NATIONAL President / Vice President: Donald Trump / JD Vance. I like both of them, more on this below. US Senator: Steve Garvey. This is more of an anti- Adam Shiff vote, but I do like Steve Garvey, and not just because he was an excellent first baseman. He's a good positive speaker and his positions make sense.
==== STATE (California) Measure 2 - $10B school bond: No. I don't like specifically authorized expenditures, even when I agree with the target. BTW, California already has $78B in debt. Maybe if we stopped paying for illegal immigrants and DEI programs we could afford to support public education. Measure 3 Right to marry regardless of sex: Yes. This is a silly waste of time and money, since same-sex marriage is already legal due to federal court rulings. Measure 4 Bonds for water, wildfires, climate protection: No. As noted, I'm not a fan of earmarked spending, and on top of that I'm not a fan of "climate protection" spending. So double no. Measure 5 lowers local bond threshold: No. This is a meta-spending measure, it reduces the approval requirement for local bonds from 2/3 to 55%. Why? So that we can have more local bonds for "affordable housing" and "infrastructure". Those are laudable targets for government support but should be paid for out of budgets, not bonds. So no. Measure 6 removes involuntary servitude: No. Currently being in jail or prison means you can be forced to work. So be it. Measure 32 raise minimum wage: No. I feel minimum wage hurts the people it is designed to help. We need more lower paid jobs for more people. Not to mention, it's inflationary. Oh, and California has to compete with the rest of the world, which might not have a minimum wage. Measure 33 expands rent control: No. Keeping government out of markets is the best policy. Like minimum wage, this hurts the people it is designed to help, by discouraging new housing construction. Measure 34 additional regulation for federal drug discount program: No. The federal drug discount program is already market meddling; this measure seemingly adds a layer of additional meddling to restrict spending on housing. Measure 35 make tax on MCOs permanent after 2026: No. Wow this one was complicated to understand. Apparently there is a tax on MCOs which took effect in 2009 and has been renewed several times, and it currently expired in 2026. Seems like it's been in place for 17 years, so be it, it can be renewed as it has been, doesn't have to be made permanent. Measure 36 increase penalties for drug and theft crimes. Yes. What this actually does is roll back Proposition 47 which passed in 2014, and reduced penalties. The real problem here is law enforcement, not penalties. ==== COUNTY (Los Angeles) District Attorney: Nathan Hochman. This is entirely a vote against incumbent George Gascon whose progressive policies have hurt Los Angeles. Judge Superior Court No 39: Steve Napolitano. A tough choice as both candidates appear qualified. Judge Superior Court No 48: Renee Rose. Again, both candidates appear qualified, Rose has more endorsements from other judges... Judge Superior Court No 97: Sharon Ransom. Picking a DA over a public defender, both seem qualified, I like Ransom's endorsements. Judge Superior Court No 135: Georgie Huerta. Both candidates are deputy DAs and appear qualified; tough call. Judge Superior Court No 135: Tracey Blount. Seems experienced and qualified. County Measure G: change to LA County governance. Yes. Makes the head of the county an elected official, expands board of supervisors. Not sure of the cost implications (supposedly budget neutral?) but seems like a reasonable restructuring. ==== DISTRICT (Los Angeles) Measure E fire protection tax. No. I support fire fighters of course but once again, do not like special purpose taxes. If this spending is needed let's put it in the District budget. ==== CITY / LOCAL Las Virgenes School District Board (2): Alan Lazar, Linda Menges. Menges is an incumbent and seemingly doing a solid job, Lazar has made STEM support a priority, which I support. LA Community College District Board of Trustees, Seat 1: Andra Hoffman. Hard to pick here but Hoffman is the incumbent and has a lot of endorsements. LA Community College District Board of Trustees, Seat 3: David Vela. Another tough pick, Vela is the incumbent. LA Community College District Board of Trustees, Seat 5: Nichelle Henderson. Henderson is the incumbent and current LACCD President (elected within the Board). LA Community College District Board of Trustees, Seat 7: Kelsey Lino. Lino is incumbent and opponent doesn't appear to have much experience. Member of State Assembly, 42nd District: Jacqui Irwin. Irwin is a conservative Democrat (not to say a conservative) running for her 5th term, seems to be doing a good job. United States Representative, 26th District: Michael Koslow. I know Michael, he's a member of the Westlake YC, and I'd like to see Brownley defeated, but seems unlikely. Weirdly, this year the ballot sorted as city/local, district, county, state, national, in the past it was reversed. Maybe this is to encourage more people to vote for the local offices? I have an unpopular opinion on this, if you don't know what you're voting for, then don't vote. If all you know is your presidential choice, then that's all you should vote for...
Of course he was not a dictator and did not do horrible things; all the weird stuff you read that might happen if he is re-elected is just propaganda. (For example, he is not in favor of an abortion ban; Roe vs Wade was a states' rights case, not an abortion ruling.) Trump has already been President and has been a public figure for decades, we know what we are going to get. You might not like it and you might not vote for him, but don't lie about what might happen.
So here we are in 2024. Biden was exposed, and Harris was chosen to take his place. She doesn't seem bright and can barely speak, and there is no reason to believe she'll reverse any of the policies which have led to our huge national debt and illegal immigration crisis. She won't be "in charge" and won't be a leader, but the same apparatus which has operated under Biden would continue under Harris. And I fear the erosion of our freedoms will continue. So yeah, I'm voting for Trump, and against Harris.
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The punch line, yes of course I voted for Trump. Just in case you want to stop reading now :). I will have more to say about this below, because I voted FOR Trump, not against Harris, although I think she's a horrible candidate and would have voted for virtually anyone else. I am the classic 'used to be a "centerist" Democrat but now find myself a "far-right" Republican'. 
Okay, now I want to loop back to Donald Trump. I voted for him in 2016 against Hillary Clinton, did not think he was going to win, but I kind of liked him and I kind of did not like Clinton. And I definitely did not like the "leftist" direction the country had taken under Obama, with too much government spending on too many things. So Trump did win, and surprise, he did a great job and the economy recovered, and while spending was not exactly held in check, it did seem the worst excesses were reduced. 
The 2020 election was weird. I'm not sure I'm an election denier, but I'm definitely an election skeptic. The graph at left is what actually happened, how it happened is a matter for debate. Definitely Biden was a terrible candidate, could hardly speak (never the brightest guy and clearly diminished), and Covid gave him a perfect excuse for avoiding doing so. Whether he was elected fraudulently or not, he's been a bad President, not really in charge and not a leader, and his administration has spent money wildly and freely and we are now hugely in debt. His policies and lack of enforcement of laws has enabled millions of illegal immigrants to enter our country, which is a bad thing. (I *am* in favor of legal immigration and expanding it.) And the repression of free speech and government "lawfare" against those with dissenting views is massively troubling. 
A final note: I sincerely hope the election is definitive enough that we won't have endless debating about fraud and who won, and how they won. We need voter id (of course) and we need to get rid of voting machines (of course) and we need to improve our absentee / mail-in ballot systems. Hopefully that will be an outcome of the 2024 election, regardless who wins.
