Proposition 3: Yes
Proposition 3 gives Californians an opportunity to formally renounce a wrongful moment in our voting history and step forward to positively affirm that bigotry toward same-sex couples has no place in our state or its Constitution.
Proposition 5: Yes
Proposition 5 would get California closer to majority rule by lowering the threshold to pass local bond measures to 55% instead of 66.7%. We think it’s a fairer way to make spending and taxing decisions. Requiring supermajority support gives disproportionate power to the naysayers to decide the appropriate level of taxation and spending. Why should one-third of voters get to set priorities for an entire community?
Proposition 6: Yes
Proposition 6 will remove the language in the state Constitution that allows prisons to force incarcerated people to work and punish them when they refuse. If we want people to emerge from prison rehabilitated — and if we care about public safety, we should — that requires allowing them to access as many opportunities as possible to get an education, learn a skill and get treatment to best prepare them for a productive life.
Proposition 32: Yes
Proposition 32 would give the state’s lowest-paid workers a modest raise, setting the minimum wage to $18 an hour in January, up from the scheduled $16.50 under current law. Businesses with 25 or fewer workers would have until 2026 to start paying $18 an hour. Earning a decent wage shouldn’t be a privilege afforded to people who happen to work in a city that has a higher local minimum wage, and raising base pay statewide is more equitable than a patchwork of rules for different regions and industries.
Proposition 36: No
Proposition 36 won’t end homelessness or crime waves. Existing laws already give police the tools to stop petty thieves and smash-and-grab robbers. Proposition 36 will only refill prisons, push more people to the streets and erase criminal justice reform progress. And it would suck up much of the funding Californians recently approved for mental health care and gut programs that have successfully slashed recidivism.
Check back for more recommendations on the statewide ballot measures.
