It’s a long ballot for the Nov. 8 election, so let’s dive right in. At the top of the page are many familiar names running for statewide offices. Here are my recommendations: Governor Gavin Newsom, Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis, Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber, Controller Malia M. Cohen, Treasurer Fiona Ma, Attorney General Rob Bonta.

Sharp-eyed readers may have noticed my omission of Insurance Commissioner. Incumbent Ricardo Lara has demonstrated not only chaotic management of his office but also a parade of ethical lapses. Unfortunately, his opponent, Robert Howell, is a far-right-wing opportunist who appears to have little interest in the office and not much knowledge about what it does. All we can do is hold our noses and vote for Lara.

Moving to our ballot’s second column, the nod for Board of Equalization goes to Sally J. Lieber. Then we get to cast two votes for Alex Padilla for U.S. Senate, one for the full six-year term ending in 2029, the other for the (very short!) term expiring on Jan. 3, 2023. Next, it’s always an honor to tick the oval for Jared Huffman to continue representing us in the House. Likewise, hard-working Mike McGuire deserves to continue as our State Senator.

The marquee elective office on the Marin and southern Sonoma ballots is the race for State Assembly District 12. This is an open seat, as incumbent Marc Levine did not run. Damon Connolly has served the area ably as a school trustee, city council member and, for the past eight years, as county supervisor. Sara Aminzadeh is a state representative on the coastal commission who, by contrast, can point to no experience at the local level. She is quick to tout a vast array of endorsements from Sacramento politicians (perhaps she should have run in a Sacramento-area assembly district?). I’m puzzled why she feels entitled to parachute into Marin as our assembly member; it sounds to me like party politics at work. I also have qualms about some positions she staked out in candidate forums, including support for Indian gambling and her categorical declaration that “ranching is not viable” in the seashore. My vote is for Connolly.

The rest of the ballot’s first page is chock-a-block with votes to confirm court judges. I couldn’t find fault with any of these people, so if you have the time, vote yes on all of them.        

Moving on, the reverse side of the ballot opens with State Superintendent of Public Instruction and local offices in many West Marin communities. Vote for Tony K. Thurmond for the state education position. You’re on your own in choosing candidates for various local races (Tam High schools, Bolinas-Stinson schools, Shoreline schools, Bolinas C.P.U.D., Muir Beach C.S.D., Mesa Park and Marin Water Division 3).

The juicier items here are the state propositions, which include one wolf in sheep’s clothing (Prop. 30). Leading the list is Prop. 1, which will cement into the state constitution a protection of privacy in reproductive decisions and the right to abortion in California. I strongly recommendation a yes vote.

Next come Props. 26 and 27, two constitutional initiatives on gambling. Some gaming apologists are hyping that one is the “good” gambling proposition and the other the “bad” one. For me, commercial gambling on a big-business scale is always about separating suckers from their money to the benefit of some of society’s less savory elements. No on 26 and 27.

Prop. 28 will ensure the arts and music have a funded place in school curricula. It’s a tribute to our state that no one submitted an opposition argument to this excellent proposal. Vote yes on 28.

Prop. 29 may sound familiar, as this is the third time a version of this measure to better regulate the greedy dialysis industry has appeared on the ballot. Full disclosure: I have a close relative who requires dialysis three times a week, and from our family’s experience I have no doubt it’s past time to put the brakes to the industry’s gravy train. Contrary to the opposition’s ubiquitous advertising mistruths, Prop. 29 will improve the care of dialysis patients. Vote yes on 29.

The most deceptive proposal on the ballot is Prop. 30, which indeed sounds appealing to those of us scraping by on less than $2 million a year. Why not sock the ultra-rich with an additional income tax levy to pay for such goodies as rebates on purchasing zero-emission vehicles, opening more E.V. charging stations, and tossing a few bucks toward wildfire prevention and suppression? If it were only that simple. As a policy wonk, I must holler about what bad fiscal policy it is to earmark a segment of a general tax, which the income tax is, for a very narrow, constitutionally restricted purpose; that’s what special taxes are for. More importantly, the uses for the money are so narrowly defined that we can justifiably worry that the principal beneficiaries will be the rideshare industry. Understand now why the leading financial backer of Prop. 30 is Lyft? Another lurking threat is that the money raised may tip the state over its constitutional spending limit, which could require spending cuts on a range of essential state services to “make room” for the mandated spending from the Prop. 30 windfall. No on 30.

A yes vote on Prop. 31 agrees with state legislation to prohibit the sale of most flavored tobacco products. It’s a well-crafted measure aimed at squashing the availability to youngsters of such addictive temptations as cotton-candy flavored e-cigarettes. Yes on Prop. 31.

Marin County Measure B renews (with a nominal increase) an existing parcel tax that supports our excellent county library system. A big fat yes on Measure B.

Finally, Inverness and Stinson Beach voters have a say on three local measures. Both the Inverness P.U.D. and Stinson Beach Fire Protection District have submitted their quadrennial override of the anachronistic Gann spending limit that was shoehorned into the state constitution decades ago in the wake of Prop. 13. These are wonkish housekeeping measures that do not affect taxes in any way but do ensure that each district’s entitled taxes get disbursed to the district. Yes on Measures P and Q. For Measure O, the new Inverness tax proposal, please see the explainer in this issue of the Light.

Inverness resident Wade Holland has been sharing his voting recommendations for many years.