2020 General Election Endorsements

The people we elect to public office and which ballot measures win or lose has a direct impact on our jobs and our ability to provide the communities we serve with high quality, public services. 

Below are the official endorsements of our union, IFPTE Local 21. Our endorsement process is democratic, nonpartisan, and member-driven.

** Indicates a current or former Local 21 member

 

State

Assembly:

• Bill Quirk, CA State Assembly, District 20

 

BART

• Lateefah Simon, BART Board of Directors, District 7
• Bevan Dufty, BART Board of Directors, District 9

 

Propositions:

Prop 14: Stem Cell Funding (SUPPORT) – Authorizes $5.5 billion in state general obligation bonds to fund stem cell research via grants from the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine to educational, non-profit, and private entities.

Prop 15: Schools and Communities First (SUPPORT) – Increases funding for K-12 public schools, community colleges, and local governments by requiring that commercial and industrial real property be taxed based on current market value.

Prop 16: Opportunity for All (SUPPORT) – Repeals Proposition 209 (1996) which prohibited affirmative action in public employment, public education, and public contracting.

Prop 17: Restore Voting Rights for Parolees (SUPPORT) – Restoration of voting rights for people on parole.

Prop 18: Voting Age Expansion (SUPPORT) – Expands voting age to 17-year old’s in primary and special elections if individual will be 18 by time of general election.

Prop 20: Keeping California Safe Act (OPPOSE) – Imposes restrictions on parole program for non-violent offenders who have completed the full term for their primary offense. Authorizes felony charges for specified theft crimes currently chargeable only as misdemeanors, including some theft crimes where the value is between $250 and $950. Requires persons convicted of specified misdemeanors to submit to collection of DNA samples for state database.

Prop 21: Rental Affordability Act (SUPPORT) – Amends state law to allow local governments to establish rent control on residential properties over 15 years old. Allows rent increases on rent-controlled properties of up to 15 percent over three years from previous tenant’s rent above any increase allowed by local ordinance. Exempts individuals who own no more than two homes from new rent-control policies.

Prop 22: Anti AB-5 Act (OPPOSE) – Defines app-based transportation and delivery drivers as independent contractors, overturning recently passed state legislation AB5. Independent contractors are not entitled to certain state-law protections afforded employees—including minimum wage, overtime, unemployment insurance, and workers’ compensation.

Prop 23: Regulation of Dialysis Clinics (SUPPORT) – Requires licensed physician on site during treatment at outpatient kidney dialysis clinics; or nurse practitioner or physician assistant under certain circumstances. Requires clinics to report dialysis-related infection data to state and federal governments. Requires state approval for clinics to close or reduce services. Prohibits clinics from discriminating against patients based on the source of payment for care

Prop 24: Consumer Privacy (SUPPORT) – Permits consumers to: (1) prevent businesses from sharing personal information; (2) correct inaccurate personal information; and (3) limit businesses’ use of “sensitive personal information”

Prop 25: Uphold Repeal of Cash Bail (SUPPORT) – Upholds the contested legislation, Senate Bill 10, which replaces cash bail with risk assessments for detained suspects awaiting trials.

 

Cupertino

• Joseph Fruen, City Council
• Hung Wei, City Council

San Jose

• David Cohen, City Council, District 4
• Jake Tonkel, City Council, District 6

Santa Clara County

• Otto Lee, Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, District 3
• Dick Santos, Santa Clara Valley Water District, District 3

Valley Water District Ballot Measure “Safe, Clean Water and Natural Flood Protection Program” (SUPPORT) – This measure is a parcel tax that would fund a wide variety of projects, from flood control to creek restoration, along with some costs of rebuilding the county’s largest dam at Anderson Reservoir in the South Bay. It is sponsored by the Valley Water District and is supported by our Local 21 chapter there. 

Sunnyvale

• Alysa Cisneros, City Council, District 2
• Russ Melton, City Council, District 4
• Omar Din, City Council, District 6
• Larry Klein, Mayor (dual endorsement)
• Nancy Smith, Mayor (dual endorsement)

 

East Bay

 

Berkeley Unified School District

• Ana Vasudeo, Board of Education**
• Laura Babbitt, Board of Education

Castro Valley Sanitation District

• Tim McGowan**

Contra Costa County

• Measure X (SUPPORT) – Measure puts in place a ½ cent sales tax in Contra Costa County to fund essential public services. This would generate millions in new revenue for the County Hospital, fire and emergency services, public health services, substance abuse treatment, and programs to support child, elder, and domestic abuse.  

Contra Water District

• Antonio Martinez, Board of Directors

East Bay Muncipal Utility District (EBMUD)

• Lesa McIntosh, Board of Directors, Ward 1
• Douglas Linney, Board of Directors, Ward 5
• William Patterson, Board of Directors, Ward 6

Hayward

• Lacei Amodei, City Council
• Angela Andrews, City Council
• Nestor Castillo, City Council
• Elisha Crader, City Council

Oakland

• Dan Kalb, Oakland City Council, District 1
• Carroll Fife, Oakland City Council, District 3
• Noel Gallo, Oakland City Council, District 5**
• Rebecca Kaplan, Oakland City Council, At-Large

Richmond

• Melvin Willis, District 1
• Gayle McLaughlin, District 5
• Measure U (SUPPORT) – For too long Richmond’s largest businesses and corporate landlords haven’t paid their fair share in taxes. Measure U gives a break to small businesses and asks the wealthiest businesses to pay their fair share to save and invest in city services that help our community thrive.

San Ramon

San Leandro

• Bryan Azevedo, City Council, District 2
• Fred Simon, City Council, District 4**

West Contra Costa Unified School District Board of Education

• Jamela Smith in Area 1
• Otheree Christian, District 2
• Mister Phillips in Area 3
• Demetrio Gonzalez-Hoy, District 4
• Leslie Reckler, Board of Education, District 5

 

 

San Francisco

 

Board of Supervisors

• Connie Chan, District 1**
• Aaron Peskin, District 3
• Dean Preston, District 5
• Myrna Melgar, District 7 (ranked #1)**
• Vilaska Nguyen, District 7 (ranked #2)
• Hillary Ronen, District 9**
• John Avalos, District 11 #1 (ranked #1)**
• Ahsha Safai, District 11 #2 (ranked #2)

 

City College Board of Trustees

• Shanell Williams
• Tom Temprano**
• Alan Wong**
• Han Zou**

 

Propositions

Prop. A: Health, Homelessness, Parks and Streets Bond (SUPPORT) – This $487.5 million general obligation bond measure, supported by the entire Board of Supervisors and the Mayor, will help stimulate the local economy by funding shovel-ready projects.  The bond is timed so that it would not increase the tax burden on property owners.

Prop. B: Department of Sanitation and Streets and Oversight Commissions (NO POSITION) – Creates a new City department and two oversight commissions.  The SF PAC and SF Council is recommending that Local 21 stay neutral to reflect both the positive aspects of Prop. B as well as the concerns of possible negative impacts that it may have on Local 21 members.

Prop. C: Removing Citizenship Requirements for Members of City Bodies (SUPPORT) – Removes the citizenship requirement for commission appointments in the Charter. This would provide for a more inclusive and diverse mix of commission appointments for bodies such as the Police Commission, Human Rights Commission, and Planning Commission. The State of California and other local governments have recently made similar changes.

Prop. D: Sheriffs Oversight (SUPPORT) – Unanimously supported by the Board of Supervisors, this measure creates a Sheriff’s Department Oversight Board (SDOB) and a Sheriff’s Office of Inspector General (OIG).  These oversight bodies would investigate non-criminal misconduct complaints for Sheriff deputies and cadets.

Prop. E: Police Staffing (SUPPORT) – This ballot measure would eliminate a current City Charter-mandated minimum staffing level of 1,971 sworn officers established in 1979 and instead require the Chief of Police to prepare a staffing study and report to the Police Commission every two years.  The minimum staffing level is arbitrary and a barrier to re-defining public safety.

Prop. F: Business Tax Overhaul (SUPPORT) – This iteration of the business tax overhaul is the consensus version, winning support from the Board of Supervisors and the Mayor. This ballot measure will accomplish two important objectives. First, it unlocks the Prop C funds for childcare services, which the City has been collecting but not spending due to ongoing litigation. Second, the measure would create a more equitable tax structure by reducing business taxes on small businesses, eliminating the payroll tax, and slightly increasing rates on industries that have not been paying their fair share. Overall, this measure will stabilize and grow the General Fund by shifting taxes from small or more sensitive businesses and industries, to the most profitable, including those who have continued to be profitable during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prop. G: Youth Voting in Elections (SUPPORT) – This ballot measure will allow 16- and 17-year-olds, many of whom hold jobs and pay taxes, to vote in local elections.  The earlier young people begin voting, the more likely they are to establish a lifelong habit of voting and inspire the adults in their family to vote more often. 

Prop. H: Neighborhood Commercial Districts and City Permitting (OPPOSE) – This ballot measure proposes significant changes in the City’s Planning Code for 3 years in San Francisco’s neighborhood commercial districts.  These changes include definitions, principally permitted uses on all floors, and the elimination of notification for non-commercial districts.  If passed, it would undermine the work that Local 21 members perform and could create work site issues for our members. 

Prop. I: Real Estate Transfer Tax (SUPPORT) – This ballot measure would increase the transfer tax on “the most expensive real estate transactions” — those $10 million or higher.  The Controller estimates that the measure would generate an average of $196 million in new revenue for the General Fund. 

Prop. K: Affordable Housing Authorization (SUPPORT) – This ballot measure would authorize the City to develop, build, or acquire up to 10,000 units of affordable housing. The housing would be funded through the revenue that is collected through Prop I – Real Estate Transfer Tax.

Prop. L: Business Tax Based on Comparison of Top Executives’ Pay to Employees Pay (SUPPORT) – Also known as the Overpaid Executive Tax, companies subject to the tax would pay a 0.1% to 0.6% in additional business tax, only if highest earner is paid at least 100 times more than the median wage of the company’s workers in San Francisco.  The Controller estimates that the measure would raise between $60 – 140 million per year in new revenue for the City’s General Fund.

Prop RR: Caltrain Sales Tax (SUPPORT) – Institutes a modest sales tax (1/8 cent) across San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara Counties to provide a dedicated source of funding to support the operations of Caltrain. Many of our members rely on this affordable transit option and we cannot afford for it to fail.

 

San Francisco Unified School District Board of Education

• Kevine Boggess
• Matt Alexander
• Jenny Lam
• Mark Sanchez

Prop. J: Parcel Tax for Educators (SUPPORT) – The proposed measure sunsets Prop. G, an annual $320 per parcel tax on real property approved by voters in June 2018 that has been held up in litigation, and replaces it with a parcel tax of $288. Funds from the parcel tax will pay salaries for SFUSD teachers, educators, and other district employees, including Local 21 members who work for the School District.

 

 

** Indicates a current or former Local 21 member