Handel Voter Guide: November General Elections 2018

Welcome back to round 2 of Handel's voter guide!

This time we're looking at the November elections; the props, the candidates and all the in between.

Before we hop in, here's a few things to know:

• This guide will be continuously updated over the next few weeks as we come up to voting day on Tuesday November 6th.
• All opinions in this guide are just that...OPINIONS! 
  • If you choose to follow what Bill says....well first off why? And secondly, take it all with a grain of salt and use the actual information we provide to make an informed decision.

And now here's the disclaimer from Bill you're really here for: 

• "IF YOU USE THIS GUIDE TO VOTE AND USE MY DECISIONS TO DECIDE HOW TO VOTE, YOU'RE FIRED AS A KFI LISTENER AND ARE A MORON....also no animals were harmed in the making of this voter guide."

Now that that is settled, LET'S GET POLITICAL UP IN HERE!

Handel is mostly interested in some of the bigger offices this time around:

The People:

• Governor:
  • John Cox (R):
    • Has yet to hold any political office.
    • Central themes of his campaign have been repealing the state gas tax and increased vehicle licensing fees.
    • Is endorsed by President Trump.
  • Gavin Newsom (D):
    • Is currently the Lieutenant Governor of California
    • Running on a single payer universal healthcare plan platform and is a major advocate for universal early education.
    • Is endorsed by former President Obama.
  • Read more in depth on the two gubernatorial candidates HERE.

• Handel's pick? He's voting for Cox, but says it doesn't matter as Newsom appears to be the front-runner.

• Senate:
  • Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.)
    • Five term incumbent on the US Senate representing California.
    • Her current campaign is focused on her effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, authoring a ban on assault weapons, and sponsoring legislation to create a public healthcare option.
    • Has support from major national and state figures:
      • President Barack Obama, former Vice President Joe Biden, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, and Governor Jerry Brown.
  • Kevin de Leon (D)
    • Currently on the California State Senate.
    • His campaign priorities include Medicare for all, free college tuition, marijuana legalization, capping carbon emissions and moving towards renewable energy.
    • Endorsed by the California Democratic Party, the Service Employees International Union of California, California Nurses Association, and the California Labor Federation AFL-CIO.
  • Read more in depth on the two senate candidates HERE.

• Handel's take: No contest...Feinstein basically owns the seat and de Leon has no chance.

There are 11 different props on the ballot this November, all of which Bill will be going in depth on in the coming weeks.

For now, here's a few points about what each proposition is to get you going:

• Prop 1: Housing Programs and Veterans' Loans Bond 
  • Would authorize $4 billion in bonds for housing-related programs, loans, grants, and projects and housing loans for veterans.

• Prop 2: Use Millionaire's Tax Revenue for Homelessness Prevention Housing Bonds Measure
  • Would authorize the state to use revenue on $2 billion in revenue bonds for homelessness prevention housing for people in need of mental health services.

• Prop 3: Water Infrastructure and Watershed Conservation Bond Initiative
  • Would authorize $8.877 billion in general obligation bonds for water-related infrastructure and environmental projects.

• Prop 4: Children's Hospital Bonds Initiative
  • Authorizes $1.5 billion in general obligation bonds to provide for the Children's Hospital Bond Act Fund. 
  • The fund would award grants to children's hospitals for various construction, expansion, renovation, and equipment projects.

• Prop 5: Property Tax Transfer Initiative
  • Would amend a prop from 1978 (Proposition 13) to allow home buyers who are 55 or older (or severely disabled) to transfer the tax-assessed value from their prior home to their new home, regardless of:
    • The new home's market value
    • The new home's location in the state
    • The number of moves made by owners

Handel's take: "This basically a screw the poor help the rich situation. I'll buckle just this once and vote NO and help the poor and disabled this time."

• Prop 6: Voter Approval for Future Gas and Vehicle Taxes and 2017 Tax Repeal Initiative
  • The ballot initiative would repeal the gas and diesel tax increases and vehicle fees that were enacted in 2017 and require voter approval for fuel tax and vehicle fee increases in the future.

Handel's take: "This is a win-lose situation, I'll probably just flip a coin because it's all bad."

• Prop 7: Permanent Daylight Saving Time Measure
  • Will allow the State Legislature to establish permanent, year-round daylight saving time (DST) by a two-thirds vote.

• Prop 8: Limits on Dialysis Clinics' Revenue and Required Refunds Initiative
  • Would require dialysis clinics to issue refunds to patients or insurers for revenue above 115 percent of the costs of either:
    • Direct patient care, such as wages and benefits of non-managerial clinic staff who furnish direct care to patients, pharmaceuticals, medical supplies
    • Healthcare improvements, such as staff training and patient education and counseling. 

• Prop 10: Local Rent Control Initiative    
  • Would repeal an act that would allow local governments to adopt rent control ordinances.

• Prop 11: Ambulance Employees Paid On-Call Breaks, Training, and Mental Health Services Initiative
  • Allows ambulance providers to require workers to remain on-call (reachable by a portable communications device) during meal and rest breaks, but will still pay workers at their regular rate during breaks.

• Prop 12: Farm Animal Confinement Initiative
  • Would ban the sale of meat and eggs from calves raised for veal, breeding pigs, and egg-laying hens confined in areas below a specific number of square feet.