Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "voting"

Light Up Midtown 2011

2011-11-24T20:12:18Z

The Midtown Business Association is inviting businesses to light up Midtown by transforming their store windows into a winter wonderland this season with an opportunity to win a $1,000 advertising grant from the MBA.

This is the second year the MBA has hosted “Light Up Midtown” in the hope of opening the doors of local businesses to more customers this holiday season.

“We wanted to find a way to dress up the district and be festive and let people feel very involved in it,” said Heather Philpott, MBA communications and events coordinator.

“Businesses can take ownership of the project and get an opportunity to be a part of making the district look great,” Philpott said Wednesday, “and besides, who doesn’t like a little competition?”

The prizes – advertising grants of $250, $500 and $1,000 – will be awarded to the top three vote-getters. The grants are coming from the MBA events/marketing budget, Philpott said.

“Instead of us spending $1,000 to put lights up and do a little decorating Midtown,” Philpott said, “we let the businesses decorate and win something that is valuable for them in the long run.”

Midtown business owners and their elves have until Tuesday to register for the competition. Businesses must be located within Midtown Property Business Improvement District boundaries to apply, according to the competition rules.

Then, they can deck the halls – and storefronts and windows and anything else that will hold garland and sparkle – to transform their businesses into festive displays.

Visitors and shoppers will vote online for their favorite starting Dec. 1.

Voting continues through Dec. 12, Philpott said, and winners will be announced live Dec. 14 on the morning newscast of Good Day Sacramento.

More than 50 Midtown businesses participated in the competition last year. The top three winners of 2010 were Trés Chic Boutique, Mulvaney's B&L and Cyber Electronik.

Mulvaney’s and Trés Chic Boutique have already registered to compete again this year, Philpott said Wednesday.

Summer Hairabedian, lead stylist at last year’s big winner, Trés Chic Boutique, said that she and the other Trés Chic employees are already planning this year’s decorating scheme.

“I can’t disclose that information,” Hairabedian, 28, said when asked what this year’s theme would be. “It’s top secret.”

Trés Chic Boutique, 2228 J St., a clothing store specializing in prom, pageant and special occasion dresses, won Light Up Midtown 2010 with a glimmering “white wonderland” theme, Hairabedian said.

“We had a white crystal ball gown in the window,” Hairabedian said, “with white reindeer and snowflakes and lights and gold presents to accent it.”

Trés Chic used its 2010 prize to advertise in local school newspapers and Midtown Monthly magazine. Hairabedian said she is unsure what they would spend the prize on this year if they were to win again.

Other businesses already getting their icicles and ornaments ready for the fun include Relles Florist, Mr. Pickle’s Sandwich Shop and Mosaic Salon.

“We mostly decorate the windows and add light to it,” said Jim Relles, 64, owner of Relles Florist at 2400 J St. “This year we might do some exterior (decorations), but either way, we will have very festive Christmas windows.”

Relles said if his business wins one of the advertising grants, he would like to put it toward radio advertising just before Valentine’s Day.

“We had 18,000 lights in our window last year,” said Todd Buckley, 34, co-owner of Mosaic Salon at 2700 J St. “We’ll do a little twist on the decorations this time, but the lights will be included.”

Although most of Mosaic’s advertising is word-of-mouth, Buckley said he’d probably try to do some radio advertising if his business wins a prize this year.

Philpott said there are some new competitors this year, too: Faces Nightclub, Felicia Strati, City Suds and J 27 Gallery are just a few.

Felicia Strata is a clothing boutique at 1901 Capitol Ave., and City Suds is a neighborhood laundromat at 1830 L St.

The initial idea for Light Up Midtown came from Amber Schmaeling, MBA marketing and outreach director, and Philpott and other MBA staff helped make the idea a reality in time for the 2010 winter holidays.

“People enjoy the way the malls dress up for the holidays,” Philpott said. “Hopefully this gives the same warm, fuzzy feeling and gets people to shop at smaller local businesses.”

For more information and to cast your vote, visit www.exploremidtown.org. Only one vote per person is allowed.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

100 Years Later...We Won the Vote! Exhibition Debuts at Sacramento History Museum

2011-05-16T19:33:02Z

Nearly 100 years ago in a special election on October 10, 1911, women successfully won the right to vote in California. Now, two museums in Sacramento will celebrate the hard-earned victory for full voting rights for women with the compelling exhibition We Won the Vote! 100 Years of Equal Suffrage in California.

Produced jointly by The Center for Sacramento History and California State Parks, the exhibition will officially premiere at the Sacramento History Museum in Old Sacramento on Thursday, June 16, 2011. After a three-month display period at the Sacramento History Museum, the exhibition will move to the State Capitol Museum (located inside the State Capitol building) with an opening on October 1, 2011. The We Won the Vote! exhibition will remain at the State Capitol Museum through September 30, 2012.

The We Won the Vote! exhibition will showcase interactive displays, historical photographs, period campaign materials, clothing worn during the campaign, and oral histories designed to guide guests through the tumultuous history of the movement that resulted in a successful resolution in 1911. The Capital City was the stage where legislative and lobbying efforts culminated 100 years ago amid changing political, economic and social conditions. Triumphs in the West and in California -- the sixth western state to grant women the right to vote -- helped to build much needed electoral power and political support in the nation’s capital to ensure passage of the 19th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution that awarded women across America the right to vote in 1920.

Note: Traci Rockefeller Cusack represents a number of businesses and organizations throughout the greater Sacramento region including the Historic Old Sacramento Foundation.

Thanks, Mr. A - Opinion

2011-02-18T22:11:29Z

Sacramentan Phil Angelides was in town yesterday signing reports at a local bookstore (thankfully there are still some). Noteworthy? Apparently not, there was hardly a mention in the local media.

There was, of course, some buzz in January when Mr. A released the report of his federal commission, “The Financial Crisis Inquiry Report,” after an exhaustive 18-month investigation of the worst U.S., perhaps worldwide, financial crisis since the great depression, nearly a century ago.

The commission’s work is the definitive piece (apologies to Michael Lewis and other contributors) on this debacle, which is so aptly described in Mr. A’s report as an avoidable result of “human action and inaction.” Quite unlike the famous characterization of the financial crisis by Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein (one of the human actors in this drama) as “an act of God.”

Why is this important? Well, as any biblical scholar can tell you, it was necessary for the prophets of the Old Testament to recount the “bad news” of societal injustice before the storytellers of the New Testament could declare the “good news.”

And Sacramento is still mired in the bad news – struggling housing and construction, anchor public services problematic what with the State budget crisis, one of California’s leading communities in unemployment and foreclosures. According to Realty/Trac, one of every 151 homes in greater Sacramento received a foreclosure filing in January. Local real estate prices are being driven down by absentee owners buying lucrative short sales and foreclosures. Just coincidentally, Harper’s March edition features “Homeless in Sacramento.” Sad, given all the local politicking and confusion over this uniquely human issue.

What do we generally know about all this? A quick review of readily accessible federal and state reports reveals that out of every 30 American adults:

1 is in prison, jail, on parole or probation
2 are “officially” unemployed
2 have quit “looking” for employment or can’t find full-time employment
2 are under-employed, working at near-minimum wage
2 work two or more jobs just to get by

Thus, nearly one out of every three American adults has lost out on the “American Dream.” Startling numbers for “the most-wealthy nation on earth.”

More numbers: one percent of Americans account for 25% of the nation’s income, the worst wealth inequality in modern history. (Fifty years ago, the top 1% accounted for just 10%.) Of every five homeowners, one is now “under water” (a mortgage greater than the home’s value) and 100,000 homes are foreclosed every month. Or: one in every four - yes, an incredible ¼ of - U.S. children live in poverty. And despite healthcare reform, many Americans will continue to lack health insurance, joining a long queue at the nearest ER for urgent health care, entirely foregoing needed preventive care.

How did we get here? Repeal of the Glass-Steagill Act in 1999 enabled banks, Hedge funds, and assorted scoundrels to market risky derivatives and other instruments, setting up the financial crisis. Wall Streeters pushed the no-regulation, free-market mantra of Ronald Reagan, supported by SEC “regulators” in a revolving-door employment dance with Street firms who paid them handsomely to not-regulate, all abetted by inept financial ratings agencies.

But the problems began much earlier. Over the past three decades unions lost the right to organize, employers finding ways to ignore the Wagner Act, the result: flat median hourly wages (the bottom one-fifth declining) while, astonishingly, worker output per hour nearly doubled and (equally astonishingly) executive salaries rose by five times.

At the same time, big employers found ways, through “reorganizations” (aka bankruptcies) to unload their health, severance and pension obligations to workers. With flat or lost wages and disappearing “fringes,” workers traded their union cards for credit cards. And, unfortunately, usury has been simultaneously legalized. Examined your credit card interest rate and fees lately?

There you have it: higher productivity, but lost purchasing power; easy credit, easy debt; defaults; worthless derivative instruments (except for those insiders who sold short on the way down and now lazily drink their Coronas on a Cayman beach); firms like Lehman Bros. imploding, others like Goldman Sachs bailed out by taxpayers only to now pay huge bonuses to the same staff who created the mess; problematic, never-ending wars pushing us ever more into debt. “Financial reform” legislation by the last Congress does little to prevent all this from recurring.

The point of all this dismal information? Perhaps in our arguably still the best of all capitalist democracies, the old adage “caveat emptor” or for us monolinguists: “let the buyer or, even more important, voter beware.”

Oh, by the way, a big thanks to Mr. A for reminding us about how we got into this fine mess; many of us have short memories.

Chuck McIntyre
Sacramento economist, writer and small business owner

District 5 candidate Patrick Kennedy trailing in votes

2010-11-03T08:08:45Z

District 5 City Council candidate Patrick Kennedy is behind in votes with 3,781 compared with Jay Schenirer's 4,309 votes. 41 of 41 precincts have been counted.

There are, however, still “tens of thousands” of absentee votes turned in on election day countywide that have yet to be counted, said Brad Buyse, Sacramento County’s campaign services manager

District 5 City Council candidate Kennedy gathered with his campaign party, family and friends at Coffee Garden to watch the results of the race as the polls closed and the votes were counted.

Kenny Alvarado, campaign manager, was positive about the outcome of a multi-month effort.

“It's tough to say how the votes will go,” he said. “I feel positive. When we started it was ground, ground, ground – walking the neighborhoods, and we'll see how that works for us in the end."

Coffee Garden was open as usual, with space for Kennedy’s party where owner Michael Madsen served wine, beer and food. There was a computer monitoring the stats, and the display was put up on the wall with a projector.

When Kennedy arrived, he gave a speech to thank everyone for their support and for showing up to be with him on election night.

"I got up at 5 a.m. and got back on the streets,” Kennedy said about his final day of campaigning. “We hung door hangers at 6 a.m. around the neighborhood. I went around with Lauren Hammond for about four hours before coming here."

The mood was positive even as the votes were tallied, and it was apparent that Kennedy’s results were behind. Supporters wore their Patrick Kennedy stickers proudly as the evening continued.

Kennedy said there were many people who helped his campaign, and if he had to choose a group to thank, it “would be the support of the Latino community. The neighborhoods have always been positive toward me, and I have always focused on helping local neighborhoods in return."

Video from election party:

Sac Press Election blog

2010-11-03T01:44:51Z

Check in here for hourly updates from Sacramento Press as we cover the election all over the city.

Turnout was light this morning at Park Folsom Retirement Home on Wales Dr., Folsom.

Volunteers were ready to help voters.

Photos by David Alvarez

Kevin Johnson cast his vote at 11 a.m. at Pat Anderson Education Center at 2751 Wilmington Ave.

After he voted, he commented on the World Series. "It was great ... when you're a Sacramento resident and you grow up in this community you root for the A's and the Giants and I can't think of any better prize on November 1st than the Giants clinching it on the road."

Johnson added, "When I see people, my first question is, 'Did you vote?' If not, it's, 'When are you going to vote?'"

Photos and reporting by Brandon Darnell.

1 p.m. update District 5

Jay Schenirer voted this morning around 9 a.m.

He said his volunteers have been calling supporters and undecided voters today. The 20 or so volunteers have been working all weekend and will continue making calls until 7:30 p.m. before heading over to Pangaea Two Brews Cafe for the election party.

“We’ve worked really hard. We’ve talked to a tremendous amount of people,” Schenirer said Tuesday afternoon. "I feel confident that the hard work will pay off.”

2:30 p.m. update District 5

Patrick Kennedy voted at 8:45 a.m. Since then he said he’s been walking the precincts with Lauren Hammond. The rest of the day he and his volunteers will be out on the streets reminding those who haven’t voted to cast their ballot, he said.

When asked how the campaign has treated him, he replied “My feet hurt.”

He also said that it is “extremely encouraging when people you’ve never met before come up to you and give you a thumbs up and tell you they believe in you and they voted for you.”

The campaign has been a “tremendous experience.”

–Colleen Belcher

3rd District Congressional seat update

The Democrat running for the 3rd District Congressional seat was meeting with his volunteers Tuesday morning, while his opponent’s campaign was out with voters.

Democrat Ami Bera “fired up his troops” this morning, said David Bergstein, spokesman for Bera’s campaign. Bera met with volunteers at various spots, including a SEIU office, Bergstein said.

Meanwhile, Republican Rep. Dan Lungren’s campaign said it was working to get out the vote.

“We're going to keep pushing to turn out voters until 8 p.m., not only in order to get Dan across the finish line but also to help the entire Republican ticket,” said Lungren’s campaign manager, Saulo Londono. “We couldn't feel better right now.”

–Kathleen Haley

Voters around the Capitol

Sacramento Press staff reporter Brandon Darnell walked around the Capitol to chat with voters about this election.

Paul Merriam, Sacramento resident

“What I’m trying to do is keep a reminder of Prop. 8 in front of the public.” He is pro-prop. 8 and knows it’s not part of this election, but he said he has been coming out to the Capitol grounds for 8 weeks to hold his 8 on a stick to remind people.

When asked how important voting is to him, Merriam said, “It’s like life itself. When the guys (colonists) came here, they said, ‘We don’t want a king.’ ”

The most important issue to Merriam? “Prop. 19 is highly important. I’m against it. I was a doper for a decade or more and realize it’s deleterious for our health and minds.”

Kim Royce, teacher at Olinda Elementary School in Contra Costa
He is in Sacramento for a field trip to the Capitol.

“We thought it’d be a good time to come up and teach them about elections and government. Fourth grade is when they learn California history, so it’s perfect.”

Royce said he thinks all measures are important. “If I had to choose one it would be the proposition to lower the requirement to pass the budget to be a simple majority.”

“I think we have a small minority that’s holding up the passing of the budget (each year).”

Doug McKeown, Sacramento resident and state worker for the Department of General Services

“I voted absentee three weeks ago.” He said nothing came to light that made him wish he had voted any other way.

“I think the governor’s race is the most important because of the talks of laying off state workers,” McKeown said. “That’s a big issue, because I’m a state worker.”

“As far as state workers, it’s up in the air. There’s always layoffs and cutbacks. Every day is a new rumor.”

When asked how important is voting, he replied, “It’s very important. You’re dealing with the future for the next term. We’ll see if they can make things better.”

Staci Heaton, Sacramento lobbyist

“I work in the political arena, so all the measures and races are important to me,” Heaton said. “It’s extremely important that people get out and vote. They like to complain about the government, but they don’t vote. That’s your recourse. You have got to go out and vote.”

When asked which measure was most important, she replied, “As an individual, it’s Prop. 19. It’s poorly written, and if it’s passed, there will be a lot of unintended consequences. There’s no provision for enforcement.”

She said people, by and large, don’t understand Prop. 19.

“It’s all about getting out there and educating yourself. Unfortunately, it is up to you to get yourself educated.”

Heaton said she does not like attack ads.

“If people told the truth and gave all the information, more people might be compelled to get out and vote, but politician aren’t going to tell you where they stand on everything, or they’d be shooting themselves in the foot. That’s why it’s important for people to get out and educate themselves.”

–Brandon Darnell

Measure B update

Mayor Kevin Johnson waited until the very last minute to take a position on Measure B, which, if passed would overturn a 9.2 percent utilities rate increase.

Johnson blogged about his “reluctant” opposition to Measure B on Monday.

“Cuts in revenues from utility fees could lead to reduced resources for our cops and firefighters,” he wrote. “And this is a risk we cannot afford to take.”

While he opposes the rate rollback, he simultaneously supports an audit of the city’s Utilities Department.

“When I ran for mayor, there were many examples of waste and abuse in the department,” he wrote.

Learn about the debate over Measure B here.

–Kathleen Haley

Photos of Sacramento HIgh Charter School polling location

Doug Reid and Dave Brown greet voters at the voting site on 34th St.

Mother Rose (Georgia West), Mayor Johnson's mother receives her voting ballot from Tom Sumpter Tuesday.

Elizabeth Johnston hands her completed ballot to Barbara (left) after voting.

–Kati Garner

Measure D update

Those for and against the incorporation of Arden Arcade as a city took the opportunity for last-minute campaigning Tuesday.

“We’ve had people in the street corners waving our placards,” said Mike Duveneck of the No on Measure D campaign. He added that his group campaigned over the weekend, and he said he is “cautiously optimistic” of a win tonight.

“I will take a 51 percent win, but I won’t be happy unless we get over 55 percent,” he said. “We want a strong message. We want a message that tells people, ‘Don’t come back. Stay out of our business.’ ”

Mary Ose, an Arden Arcade City Council candidate and supporter of Measure D, said her side has also been out today.

“We’ve all been walking and calling, getting out the vote,” she said.

As for a Measure D victory and her own chances of winning one of the seven seats on the proposed city council: “I’m cautiously optimistic about both.”

Ose said she thinks Measure D stands a very good chance of passing, but that unless the election is a landslide, it will likely take several days to count all the ballots and have the final result.

–Brandon Darnell

Measure B campaign efforts

Yes on Measure B campaign workers hit the road Tuesday asking voters to support rolling back city utility rates.

Campaign Manager Adam Willoughby and Arnold Duplantier, an outreach worker, hoisted a 16-foot sign over I-5 at Sutterville Road during the morning and afternoon rush hours.

They also hung the sign over Highway 99 at 12th Avenue Tuesday from 7:30 - 9:30 a.m. until a California Highway Patrol officer requested they leave.

"We're making a last-minute appeal to Sacramento voters to vote yes on Measure B," Willoughby said above the noise of vehicles below speeding southward.

The proposed city ordinance sponsored by the Sacramento County Taxpayers League would repeal a 9.2 percent increase in rates for water, sewer and garbage services that was approved by the City Council in June 2009. The measure also would require voters to approve any future rate increases that are higher than annual increases in the Consumer Price Index.

"This is the worst time to increase rates on ratepayers," said Willoughby, who works as a political consultant. "Folks are struggling. Anything that will help their pocketbooks at the end of the month is really popular these days."

–Suzanne Hurt

Measure C update

A local police union representative and an advocate for medical marijuana patients take opposing views on taxing medical pot shops in Sacramento.

If voters approve Measure C, a business operations tax could be placed on medical marijuana dispensaries in Sacramento. The measure would enable the city government to set the tax on the medical pot shops as high as 4 percent of gross receipts each year.

Ryan Landers, an activist for medical marijuana patients, said that Measure C would harm patients. The new tax would mean that patients would have to pay for higher-priced medical pot, Landers said.

“Who gives businesses every dime they make?” Landers said. “The patients.”

Medical marijuana businesses are already required to pay sales tax, Landers said.

Meanwhile, Mark Tyndale, the vice president of the Sacramento Police Officers Association, said Measure C would bring revenue to the city’s general fund. Many city departments, including the police department, receive general fund money.

If Measure C passes, Tyndale hopes that a chunk of the tax revenue could go to the police department. The department would like to use Measure C revenues to beef up the law enforcement presence in areas where medical pot shops are located, Tyndale said.

– Kathleen Haley

Photos from Sierra 2 Center polling place

Jim Ricketts sits by the entry into the voting room.

Barbara Schierenberg and Lynda Languasco check a voter in at Sierra 2 Center.

Richard Wilson accepts a voter's finished ballot.

Ed Harris sits next to the handicap-friendly voting booth.

A voter checks her phone after leaving the polling place.

–Kati Garner

Election specials at Esquire Grill

Twenty-five businesspeople were at Esquire Grill for happy hour, all in suits coming in after work. The customers were drinking wine and eating appetizers (mostly the free salmon cakes). Election coverage was on the one flat screen above the bar.

The place was dimly lit with soft music in the background, but most attention was focused on the election coverage and friendly chatting.

The happy hour appetizer menu included a fresh herb dip, grilled truffle cheese sandwiches, barbequed chicken sliders, grilled chicken skewers and the salmon cakes. The salmon cakes were only free between 5 and 6 p.m. and only for election night.

Cynthia McDonald, 50, from Sacramento, was there for happy hour.

"This election is different from others in that there's a lot of bad vibe chaos and sniping, but I vote because it makes a difference," she said. "So I just ignore all that and do what I do... We came here to get some of the results, but we usually go back to a girlfriend's house to watch some of the results when it comes to election day."

Debra Frank of Carmichael was also at Esquire Grill.

"This election is different in that there's a whole lot more mudslinging than there has been in the past, and I think people's views on what elections are about is very different than it has been in the past, and I think people want results," Frank said. "They want jobs, and they want results. The unemployment rate is high, and I think they're not just voting their party, I think they're voting their cause."

She said she'll be getting her election results from her TV at home.

Wendy, a saleswoman who lives in the grid, commented on the difference of this election.

"There's a tea party out there, and that's different than anything anybody has experienced ever before, so it'll be very, very interesting," she said. "I came down here to be around people who all want to see what's going on with the election. I'll be done looking at the election in the next couple hours or so, but I'm probably going to pick it up again tomorrow."

Philip Dinh, general manager at Esquire Grill, said he looked forward to seeing a lot more customers come throughout the evening to watch the election.

"We thought the free salmon cakes and happy hour specials would be a good incentive to get people out to look at the elections and polls and start drinking," he said.

–Mariel Tagg

Update: Roger Dickinson on Election Day

Assembly District 9 candidate Roger Dickinson voted at Woodlake Elementary School in North Sacramento.

He said he hasn’t been doing any last minute campaigning for himself, but has been spending most of his time helping others campaign.

Dickinson said he’s optimistic about his odds. “I hope they’re good. It’s a strongly Democratic district. I’m optimistic about my chances.”

He said he will be at Hot Italian with his wife tonight, waiting for the results along with the Jerry Brown party.

“It’s my 17th year on the Board of Supervisors. People know who I am.”

He said that voters know where he stands on the issues and the outcome ... will be a result of his years serving on the Board of Supervisors.

“Every election is different. The unique character of this one is the times we’ve experienced. Many people are being furloughed; many people have lost their jobs; people are going to school or trying to pay their mortgage," he said.

"In Sacramento and in California and across the country people are apprehensive about these circumstances and hoping conditions will improve.

“I’m looking forward to the prospect of moving to the state level.” He said he was also looking forward to taking on the challenges associated with that responsibility.

“I’m a great believer in the idea that we can all work together to solve our problems.”

–Colin Wood

Last votes come in as polls close

With minutes to go before the polls closed at 8 p.m., voters filed into polling places like this one inside Hart Senior Center in Midtown's Marshall Park neighborhood.

–Suzanne Hurt

Midtown restaurant prepares for election results, party

The TV in the bar displayed CNN election results at L Wine Lounge as staff were beginning to set up for Sheriff candidate Jim Cooper's election party. Co-owner Marcus Marquez said they were expecting 150 people for Cooper's party. The restaurant was pretty quiet at 6 p.m.

"Everything's going to happen when the polls are closed," Marquez said. "(These parties) usually go late, especially how this [Sheriff's race] is going to be a close race."

Marva Diaz was one of 20 people in the restaurant. She said she would be checking her computer throughout the night to get her election results.

Diaz said she planned to stay for Cooper's party and attend Dr. Richard Pan's party as well as Darrell Fong's party.

Kasey Jones, an attorney who lives in Midtown, said she works for the Attorney General and that she thinks this election is significant because this is the first opportunity to elect the first female Attorney General.

Jones said she would get the rest of her results on TV. She commented on how she voted, "I generally vote no on all the propositions because they are usually not that well-written."

–Jon Mortimer

Assembly District 9 update for candidate Rick Redding

Rick Redding and supporters spent Tuesday evening watching election results at Socals Tavern on Folsom Boulevard.

"This has been one of the easy days,” Redding said. “I've tried to make today like any other day. Business as usual."

Redding said his volunteers have been doing some grass roots campaigning and that he didn't have enough money for TV commercials or mass mailings.

Instead, he’s been knocking on doors and calling people and attending candidate forums.

He pointed out that Dickinson has a three-to-one voter registration advantage as far as registered Democrats in the 9th District.

When asked about the prospect of defeat, Redding said, "You regroup, you spend some time with your family.

“I'm a Christian, so you pray about it, and I'm never going to say never," and that goes for running again, too. Redding said he won’t say he’ll never run again.

"As long as I'm breathing, I've got a chance. Me and my staff have worked so hard to say we don't have a chance."

Redding's most exciting campaign experience was during a public speaking engagement. He said he spoke to 300 people, stumbling over his opening statements because he was so nervous. After he got past the first few sentences, Redding said he realized, “I belonged there and I wasn’t in over my head.”

He added, "If we don't win, it doesn't mean we did poorly."

He said it's hard for Republicans to win in District 9, but that if he gets more votes than a Republican usually gets, he'll feel successful.

–Colin Wood

Sacramento Sheriff candidate Scott Jones celebrated his campaign with supporters Tuesday night.

Jim Cooper, who is running against Scott Jones for Sacramento Sheriff, also shared the evening Tuesday with supporters at L Wine Lounge.

–Kati Garner

Local businesses show voter appreciation this Tuesday

2010-10-28T23:13:07Z

This Tuesday people will (hopefully) be flocking to their polling places around Sacramento to vote. In honor of democracy, there are a few places around Sacramento who want to thank those who took the time to vote with special election day deals.

Marilyn's on K (908 K St.)
Guests with an “I Voted” sticker will get a discount on the cover charge ($3 instead of $5) to see the band MRQ at 8 p.m.

MVP Sports Bar and Grill (2110 L St.)
Guests with an “I Voted” sticker will be treated to the “Democrat Special.” Shots of Jack Daniels for $4, mixed drinks for $4, draft for $2.

L Wine Lounge (1801 L St.)
With the proper sticker, guests get happy hour all night: $3 beer, $6 featured wines and $4 cocktails.

Go vote, then celebrate democracy!

Political Cues

2010-06-08T20:09:22Z

Today is “mini” Super Tuesday – Election Day. And in California that means it is time to vote in the primaries to determine who will represent each party in the general election next November. It also means that we will determine the outcome of a number of initiatives that we, the people, supposedly put on the ballot in an effort to do what the legislature cannot or will not. Of course, there is very little of the “people” involved in the initiative process anymore. For some time it has been an instrument of special interests to get custom tailored laws on the books that are portrayed as benefiting the general good, but in reality specifically target a much narrower interest. Among the most egregious to date is Proposition 16, euphemistically named “The Peoples Right to Vote.” Almost entirely funded by PG&E, if passed this measure would solidify a near monopoly the utility has in the state.

My purpose here isn’t to weigh in as for or against this or any other proposition (for the record, I will be voting against it), but rather to address the argument that those who do not take the time to get informed should not vote. The predicted turnout for this election is characteristically low with estimates as dismal as only one third of those registered taking the time to cast a ballot. I am also not going through an exercise that argues the much-trumpeted call that those who do not vote have no right to complain. Comedian George Carlin turned this argument upside down, but I would argue that every citizen who is affected by the laws of our land has the right to complain – it is, in fact, a constitutional right. But I do believe that voting, even if “uninformed,” is a sacred responsibility and that the daunting amount of propaganda should not be a deterrent – there are many avenues to getting informed.

Most people voting do not research the issues as thoroughly as I do. Most people take their cues from other sources and I would hope that those sources are at least a little deeper than the 30-second spots that those with a vested interest provide us with relentless fervor. There are other cues that can be much more reliable reflections of how a voter would vote if he or she had taken the considerable time it takes to be “informed.” The most common is one’s political affiliation, though with the disarray and inconsistency the two major parties display in their platforms – or perhaps more in their actions versus their rhetoric – this is not as reliable a cue as it perhaps once was. This is nowhere better evidenced by the growing trend of voters registering “decline to state.”

But there are other cues that voters can and do utilize that reflect their ideology without having to go through the tedium of researching the issues directly. They include columnists, analysts, peers and friends. I have had many a political discussions recently with a number of friends who know that I make it my business to stay on top of the issues and that I can see through the deluge of propaganda. I have no idea if I have influenced their vote and I never advocate for a particular decision, but I can answer questions with a balanced perspective. If I am asked, I will indicate how I intend to vote, but that question rarely comes up – those friends are seeking information, not advice. And I am interested in their views as well because I do not come up with my perspective out of thin air – I cannot see a given issue from all possible perspectives.

The bottom line is that I reject the idea that those who are not informed should not vote. Essentially I reject the idea that they are not informed – most are far more than they realize. Stephen Colbert ridiculed President Bush at the 2006 White House Correspondents' Association Dinner for relying on his gut to make decisions, and while making decisions such as waging war should be far more informed than a gut feeling, a feeling is more than sufficient for casting a ballot. Even relying only on the advertising can be sufficient to form an opinion if one pays attention to what is not included and listens to opposing arguments. But perhaps the best way is to bounce ideas off those whom we already respect – our friends. That can be the most accurate cue available.

Strong mayor progresses, questions remain

2009-07-09T04:49:29Z

Two weeks after taking office in December, Mayor Kevin Johnson launched a ballot reform initiative to expand the executive powers of the Sacramento mayor, suggesting that enhanced executive powers would make city government more efficient and accountable. It would also make him one of the more powerful executives in any California city.

Throughout its short, tumultuous life, the so-called "strong mayor initiative" has been praised or criticized by citizen groups as either a democratizing modern reform or a gateway to tyrannical government.

Last Friday, the primary group promoting the change, Sacramentans for Accountable Government, presented City Hall with a petition to put the initiative onto the 2010 ballot; by the group's figures, it was signed by more than 50,000 city residents. Others have come out in strong opposition, including Stop the Power Grab, a citizen group started this January. The Sacramento City Council formed an 11-member Charter Review Committee in February to consider the issue, and it has been holding hearings for the last few months.

Sacramento's current council-manager system has been in place since the city charter was drafted in 1920. Sacramento’s position of mayor is essentially just a modestly embellished city council seat. As laid out by the charter, the chief executive officer of Sacramento is actually the city manager, which is an unelected position.

This means that Ray Kerridge, the present city manager, wields most of the powers you would expect of an executive arm of government, including enforcing laws, appointing department directors and proposing the budget.

Under the council-manager system, the city manager is appointed by the city council and serves "at their pleasure," with no term limit until he or she retires or a majority of councilmembers decides to fire him.

In the strong mayor plan, the council-manager system would be replaced by a mayor-council system. That plan installs the mayor as executive of city government, removes him from the city council and gives him a wide degree of political independence. If approved, this measure would give the mayor all the executive powers of the city manager and more.

The mayor could hire and fire department directors, including the city manager, treasurer and attorney. He could also run without term limits and could propose a budget that could only be blocked with council override. The strong mayor initiative also grants the mayor a powerful tool that the city manager doesn't have: veto power over any city council ordinance.

City Attorney Eileen Teichert voiced concern over the initiative's provisions in an analysis presented to the April 20 hearing of the Charter Review Committee.

"Essentially, this proposed strong mayor initiative creates an imbalance of powers," she wrote. "It lacks important checks and balances and blurs the lines of authority and accountability contained in other strong mayor cities' charters."

Over-expanded budget control was a primary concern Teichert listed, as was the strong mayor's comprehensive appointment power that would eliminate intra-governmental checks.

Steven Maviglio, Johnson's volunteer spokesman and a key figure in Sacramentans for Accountable Government, conceded that the plan is a stiff prescription that would give the mayor many powers.

"It depends in how you look at it," he said. "But it's definitely one of the strongest ones out there."

Maviglio also voiced strong disapproval of the charter review committee and dismissed them as being "politically appointed." Each of the 11 members was appointed by a city councilmember, including the mayor, with two other committee members nominated by a subcommittee. "They were put in place by councilmembers who had their views already set in stone," Maviglio said.

Committee Chairman Bill Edgar replied to this claim, "It's simply not true.... Everybody on the committee has an open mind on the matter and everyone is invited to testify." Ultimately, the charter review committee can review proposed changes and make recommendations, but cannot and will not make the definitive choice. That's the job of Sacramento voters.

Strong mayor systems are common to major California cities including San Francisco and Los Angeles. Fresno introduced the system in 1997, while San Diego started its strong mayor system in 2004.

Fresno Bee columnist Jim Bowen wrote this January that the strong mayor system was "one of the smartest things that Fresno voters did," and the initiative's wide passage suggests that Fresnans agreed. Strong mayorship, Bowen writes, "put an end to the confusion of who would control Fresno" and allowed the economic development expertise of Mayor Ashley Swearengin to reign with less resistance.

However, the Sacramento plan would allow for greater mayoral impunity than any of these other cities and should be taken with corresponding gravity.

For many, the question remains: What is Johnson restrained from accomplishing under the current council-manager system? The central benefit of a strong mayor, according to the initiative's author, Tom Hiltachk, is increased accountability.

"A more representative form of city government will lead to a more effective and accountable government," he wrote in the initiative. "If city services are inadequate, citizens should be able to hold their elected representative responsible for such failures.

This still leaves unanswered what issues a stronger [strong?] mayor would be able to address, or for that matter, in what ways the current system is ineffective. Opponents to the measure make almost precisely the same argument for the reverse outcome: A stronger mayor, to skeptics, would be less accountable due to greater political license.

Maviglio has much to say on the strong mayor initiative, but not a lot on what Johnson would actually plan to do with that unleashed power. Under a strong mayor system, Johnson "would be able to get things done," Maviglio said, but those precise "things" weren't quite clear. "He'd put more cops on the street, work for economic development, and support our schools," he said.

Those changes are political bread and butter. A councilmember would risk their public image by opposing any of those reforms. Again, what would a strong mayor do?

The clearest answer may be tighter control over Sacramento's budget, but many argue that enough can be done in the present budget system.

"I have a vision for what I think the city can become," Johnson told The Sacramento Bee last week. "But if I can't allocate some resources toward making that vision happen, then it never will."

Whether a strong mayor in Sacramento is a means to accomplish otherwise impossible goals or merely an end in itself is a contentious point in the ongoing debate. City Hall is presently counting petition signatures and the charter review committee met July 2 to continue discussion in a forum open to the public. According to Edgar, no decisions will be reached until August.

Reminder: VOTE!

2009-05-19T02:57:17Z

Tuesday, May 19th, polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. for a statewide special election for six budget-related propositions. For those Sacramento Press readers who already registered, the following is a resource guide to make sure your vote gets counted:

Statewide, the Official Voter Information Guide is a great place to read a summary of the issues 1A-1F in a number of different languages, and it includes the following forward from Debra Bowen, Secretary of State:

Dear Fellow Voter:

By registering to vote, you have taken the first step in playing an active role in deciding California’s future. Now, to help you make your decisions, my office has created this Official Voter Information Guide that contains impartial analyses of the law and potential costs to taxpayers prepared by Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor, arguments in favor and against all ballot measures prepared by proponents and opponents, text of the proposed laws proofed by Legislative Counsel Diane F. Boyer-Vine, and other useful information. The printing of the guide was done under the supervision of State Printer Geoff Brandt.

Voting is easy, and any registered voter can vote by mail or at a polling place. The last day to request a vote–by–mail ballot is May 12.

There are more ways to participate in the electoral process. You can:

Be a poll worker on Election Day, helping to make voting easier for all eligible voters and protecting ballots until they are counted by elections officials;

Spread the word about voter registration deadlines and voting rights through emails, phone calls, brochures, and posters; and

Help educate other voters about the issues by organizing discussion groups or participating in debates with friends, family, and community leaders.

For more information about how and where to vote, as well as other ways you can participate in the electoral process, call (800) 345-VOTE or visit www.sos.ca.gov.

It is a wonderful privilege in a democracy to have a choice and the right to voice your opinion. Whether you cast your ballot at a polling place or by mail, I encourage you to take the time to carefully read about your voting rights and each ballot measure in this information guide.

Thank you for taking your civic responsibility seriously and making your voice heard!

See if you are registered in Sacramento.

Find your local polling place.

You can track the election night results for Sacramento County.

You can also track the precincts in Sacramento.

Local Excitement for the 2008 Presidential Election

2008-11-04T00:50:34Z

Am I the only one?

Okay. So I know what I am about to write may not have anything to do with Southside Park, or downtown. I don’t have a story about flooding on 9th and J Street, nor can I write about an old abandoned building that is scheduled for demolition in a few days time. I can, however, right about something that is truly going to affect everyone in this town and towns all across this nation.

On Tuesday, November 4, 2008, millions of people will exercise the “hard-fought-for” right to vote for the President of the United States. I can’t control the excitement I feel inside. I have voted for a president four times in my life and only one of my guys won (two consecutive terms). This time, I might be in for a real treat.

Am I the only one who is so excited about this election, that I think it should be a national holiday? Am I the only one who thinks this is the single, most, important election of my lifetime? Am I the only one asking myself, “Angela, when have you ever looked at poll numbers and speeches and political debates with such obsessive vigor in your life?

One day, driving home from work, I was listening to 103.5 The Bomb on the radio. The DJ was asking for people to call in and express whether voting truly makes a difference. A young woman called in and said, “Voting doesn’t make a difference, ‘cause politicians are going to do what they want anyway (paraphrasing).” She went on to admit, “that’s why she [isn’t] voting.”

My 75-year-old, stepfather grew up in Mobile, Alabama during the Jim Crow era, where black people couldn’t walk on the same sidewalk as white people. He couldn’t go to the same schools, or drink out of the same faucets. He couldn’t look a white person in the eye if he was walking on the same dirt road. He was called “boy” up into his late 20’s. These things are tangible for me. This isn’t ancient history.

I know we’ve all heard stories like this before, but to think these things happened to not just one, but many of family members and friends, who are still alive, makes me think how fortunate I am to have the right to vote. My family makes it that much more necessary to be a believer in the voting system and not a cynic like that caller on the radio.

So, am I the only one who is super, fantastically, crazy excited about this election
? No!

Oh! And, on election night, if you happen to see people partying in the street like it’s New Year’s 2000, all over again, you’ll know why.

Adventures in absentee voting...

2008-11-03T05:54:12Z

I am from Mississippi and have been living in Sacramento for a year attending school.

My father arranged to have the absentee ballot sent to me here. Disappointingly, the ballot was the only straight-forward document of the bunch. The instructions were convoluted to say the least. The envelope required to mail the ballot was even more confusing. What was clear was that I had to fill out my ballot in front of a witness. The witness could be a notary public, postmaster, asst. postmaster or postal clerk.

In the last general election, the directions were very clear cut. It stated that a notary should be the witness and there was room for their seal. In the new and improved procedure, there was no space for the seal. Despite this fact, I went on a search for a notary. After calling several places, I found a notary I could see immediately at Downtown Mail and Shipping.

He was equally confused by the ballot instructions. It was clear he had to sign the envelope, attesting that he saw me vote without any aid from others. However, there was only room for a signature and not a seal. He scratched his head and said that he was reluctant to sign because he would have to also send a form to put his seal on. This, he worried, may factor against my vote (the instructions were very specific that only the ballot should be in the envelope) and he said he would hate to aid in not making my vote count. He recommended that I go to the post office on 801 I St. It was only a couple of blocks away and he felt I would have no problem.

His kind advice proved wrong. I waited nearly twenty minutes in line, frantically filling out the parts of the forms that I was allowed to without a witness. Finally, I was called to the clerk. I explained to her that I am an absentee voter and that I needed here to watch me vote as well as sign the sealed envelope. She, then, would sign the envelope as my witness.

She said that her boss was not there. I replied, "Oh, no. The asst. postmaster or a clerk could sign."

"I won't sign." She waved her hand dismissively.

I rifled through all the government documents in my hand, taking out the directions. I pushed the instructions toward her saying, "The directions clearly state that you are totally qualified to sign."

She did not look at the paper but at me with disgust, as if I was trying to con her. "I'm not signing anything."

I asked if she would at least look at the directions. She said, "You can wait as long as you want. I won't sign."

Dejected, I returned to Downtown Mail and Shipping and told my tale of woe to the notary. He was aghast that she had turned me down so blatantly and seemed to genuinely feel bad for me. He looked over the directions for the ballot and discovered that a clerk in charge of a contract postal station could sign as witness. He signed free of charge. I mailed the letter overnight, hoping that it meets the 11/03 deadline. I was glad to support his store and him, as well.

Most of the people I have told this story to are outraged and feel that the postal clerk was leaving me disenfranchised by not only refusing to sign, but refusing to read the government mandated instructions. I really do not believe that was her intent. I think she was clueless regarding absentee voting. What she should have done is to say that she did not feel comfortable signing any government documents and would prefer that I come back at a later time to talk to her manager.

Have any other absentee voters had similar problems out there? Or, for that matter, do any postal clerks have some advice to enlighten me as to what protocol is?