I find it harder to make choices between candidates than I do choosing whether to support or oppose a proposition. There are several races on this ballot where I think that both (or more candidates than I am allowed to select, for some of the multiple candidate positions) candidates would be qualified, vote in office in ways that I generally would approve of, and in general do a good job. But it’s my duty as a voter to choose.
That said, the race for the Presidency is not one of those races. Donald J Trump is a threat to the republic. His actions and rhetoric have done more to undermine the norms maintaining our civil society than anyone since at least McCarthy, and quite possibly since Calhoun. His support of racist, if not outright white supremacist groups and journalists has normalized their discourse and worsened race relations in the United States. His foreign policy positions seem tailor made to please one of his major supporters, the President of Russia Vladimir Putin- from weakening if not dismantling NATO to encouraging nuclear proliferation. His language and actions towards women make a hollow mockery of his claim that “no one respects women more than I do”- few candidates in the 20th century, let alone the 21st have been so blatant about their disrespect and contempt for women. His tax policies would create colossal long term debt to give tax breaks to him and his 1% friends. His “poll monitors” searching for non-existent voter fraud exist to intimidate minority voters in a tradition that goes back to the first KKK. And his outright refusal to accept the outcome of the election if he loses weakens the peaceful transition of power that has been a core part of our Republic since George Washington left office. But Donald Trump is not some Great Man standing alone. Many of his ideas are ideas that have been part of the Republican party since at least the 1980s, amplified to their natural conclusion.
From Ronald Reagan making a speech on “states rights” in Neshoba, near where civil rights workers were murdered in the 1960s to build his 1980 presidential campaign in the South, to constant Republican attacks on people dwelling in the inner cities (always understood to be minorities, often with racist assumptions attached), to mass disenfranchisement of African-American voters by GOP-controlled legislatures across the south after the supreme court’s dismantling of the voting rights act, the modern GOP has built its power on racism. For the most part, less blatantly than Donald Trump, but in the same way nonetheless.
But let’s say you want to set racism aside. Trump’s refusal to accept the outcome of the election is a logical progression of the GOP’s refusal to accept the legitimacy of Democratic presidents to govern. From the Birther conspiracy against Barack Obama that Trump played a major part in creating and perpetuating; to shutting down the government; to refusing to even vote on any supreme court nominee- first at the end of Obama’s term, and then into the entirety of Hillary’s hypothetical one; the GOP has acted to de-legitimize any Democratic president. Trump’s racism and degeneration of civil norms are simply the GOP’s actions taken to their logical conclusion.
As a result, I am voting against every single Republican candidate on my ballot, and I urge everyone to do the same to hasten the GOP’s rejection of Trump and Trumpism. Only a crushing defeat will force the GOP to abandon the racism that lies at the heart of Trump’s agenda.
President/Vice-President: Hillary Clinton/Tim Kaine
United States Senator: Kamala D Harris
United States Representative District 5: Mike Thompson
State Senator District 9: Nancy Skinner
Member of the State Assembly District 15: Tony Thurmond
Contra Costa County Board of Education Area 1: Fatima S. Alleyne
West Contra Costa Unified School District Governing Board (choose 2): Tom Panas, Mister Phillips
Supervisor for Contra Costa County District 5: Anamarie Avlia Farias
East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) Director Ward 1: Lesa R. McIntosh
San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) District Director District 7: Lateefah Simon
I am voting for Hillary Clinton because I believe that she is qualified, has the necessary experience to implement her policy goals both domestically and internationally in the face of adamant opposition, and would generally seek to implement policy goals that I agree with. There are some areas where I don’t agree with her- I dislike her working to undermine internet encryption, for example. But those areas are outweighed by the many areas where I do, including her commitment to overturn Citizens United.
The US Senate race is a hard race. Kamala D. Harris and Loretta L. Sanchez are both competent politicians who have the necessary experience to succeed as Senator and state that their policy goals align with mine. But Sanchez has sought out the support of Republican members of congress and worked to paint Harris as left-wing- which inclines me to support Harris.
I’m voting for Mike Thompson and Tony Thurmond because they’ve done competent jobs as the incumbents, and their opponents are Republicans.
The State Senate race for District 9 is another hard race. Nancy Skinner and Sandre R Swanson are both qualified, have prior experience in government, and would most likely seek to implement policy positions I would agree with. The question then becomes who has a higher priority on issues that I care about. Here Nancy Skinner wins- she argues that she wants to reduce income inequality, work in climate protection and criminal justice reform. By contrast, Sandre R Swanson says that education is his top priority (“I worked hard to make Education California’s top budgetary priority”). While I think that education and education funding are important, I don’t think that they should be my state senator’s highest priority. That’s why I’m voting for Nancy Skinner, but Sandre R Swanson remains a well-qualified candidate.
I’m voting for Fatima S. Alleyne because she argues for a uniform data-based approach to be applied to charter and traditional public schools alike, while also seeking to mitigate the harshness of our educational systems punishments towards students.
West Contra Costa Unified School District has had marked problems with its finances of late. Therefore, I support Tom Panas, because he did a fair amount of work to make the audit happen in the first place in his role on the oversight board, and hopefully his experience as an accountant would help prevent future issues. I also support Mister Phillips because of his legal experience- it will be useful for the board to have a member on it knowledgeable about the law rather than having to rely entirely on their counsel.
I’m voting for Anamarie Avila Farias because Federal Glover’s efforts have been primarily focused on East Contra Costa County, and it’s time that West Contra Costa county received a proper share of attention from the 5th district supervisor.
I’m voting for Lesa R. McIntosh because she’s done a competent job as EBMUD director, and is working to expand recycled water usage. I also can’t find much information on her opponent, other than her being CEO of exponential power Inc, which doesn’t really seem relevant to water issues.
While I appreciate Zachary Mallet’s efforts to extend BART along the I-80 corridor, his campaign to undermine the BART union has drawn too much of his focus, and if successful would undermine wages in the Bay Area generally. Therefore I oppose him. Lateefah Simon advocates for more transit-oriented housing development while maintaining affordable housing, and spending RR funds on infrastructure maintenance. She wants to achieve consensus rather than dividing workers against transit riders against people needing housing. She goes into more depth about the goals she wants to achieve than the other candidates opposing Mr. Mallet. For all of these reasons, I’m voting for Lateefah Simon for BART District 7 transit director.
Rafael's thoughts 