Recommendations for state propositions

By eliminating the 15-year time frame for exclusion, this proposition would provide incentives to make buildings safer by removing the chance the building would be assessed at a higher rate.

PROPOSITION 14: Increases right to participate in primary elections-YES

Proposition 14 would open primary elections to all candidates of any party and send the top two vote-getters to the general election in a runoff. Currently, members of individual parties can vote for their candidate in the primary though decline to state voters can request a ballot for a specific party.

This current system doesn’t allow middle-of-the-road voters to select from any party in the primary and solidifies the current power structure for the major parties. The downside is that candidates from smaller parties would not get a chance to run in the general election since they would not likely be among the two highest vote-getters. The two major political parties are against this proposition because it would dilute their current stranglehold on power in the state capitol. This proposition would help elect more moderate candidates than what the current system allows.

PROPOSITION 15: California Fair Elections Act-NO

Proposition 15 repeals the ban on public funding of political campaigns. In theory, this proposition would eliminate the need for politicians to raise money for campaigns, often from public interest groups. In reality, there would still be special interest money spent on campaigns but it would be through independent expenditures and would be less transparent than the current system which requires candidates to list all their contributors with the secretary of state. It would establish a state-run fund for political campaigns through fees on lobbyists and would encroach upon the rights of those who wish to donate to candidates they support.

PROPOSITION 16: New two-thirds voter approval requirement for local public electricity providers-NO

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. has poured $44 million into this proposition that seeks a two-thirds vote of the people in a certain jurisdiction before it embarks on creating its own power utility. True, creating a new power utility is no small task and has challenges often beyond the scope of many local governments. But voters already elect their own representatives to make decisions in their best interest. If they don’t like their decisions, they have a tool already in place to remove them — regular elections.

PROPOSITION 17: Allows auto insurance companies to base their prices in part on a driver’s history of insurance coverage-NO

On the surface, Proposition 17 sounds good for the average auto insurance consumer. It would allow policy holders to take their history of auto insurance to another company and not lose the current discount. However, it also would increase the amount it would take to begin a new policy if the driver had discontinued a policy for any reason — including the loss of a job or military service. It would also prove to be pricey for new drivers including recent immigrants.