On the Ballot Today

[Jen]

Originally posted by SW MI Planner
So how did it all turn out for you guys? Like you thought it would?

Here in Michigan, Jennifer Granholm will be govenor. Having some mixed feelings about that. I think it is awesome that she is the first female Govenor, and she is I think the first Democrat to hold the position in 40 years. However, I've been following the campaign, and she comes across like a first class &%$@#!!! You know, I am all for being a proud strong female, but this is ridiculous. She seriously is worse than Hillary.

Well i'll be dipped, Jen is gov!!!!???

Cool, though call me sentimental good ol boy John Engler was starting to grow on me,
AND Hudsonville is still a DRY city.!!!Great , we'll see how long the Pinnacle Center will continue to get great music.Ok so they'll still get the alt gospel rock bands, but If'n Im at a show spending $3.50 to whet my whistle it had better be a beer!

[nerudite]

I hear the Valley Secession was defeated and that now L.A. is thinking about moving to boroughs in order to address the growing discontent of outlying communities. Does anyone know of this proposal or how it would work?

-- Just an interested ex-Valley Girl. Fer sure.

[nerudite]

Originally posted by Michael Stumpf
It sounds like you all have some pretty bad election problems. Other than our governor's race (I do not think it is so bad as bturk suggests) there won't be a whole lot decided tonight. Everthing looks pre-decided, and at the county level there is no opposition!

I will be watching Berkely, CA, the entertainment center of American politics. They will be voting on a ballot measure to prohibit the sale of any coffee that is not certified organic or shade-grown or free-trade certified.

Lol... I hadn't heard about this yet. It sounds like something that would have gone on in Davis, CA. If it passes in Berkeley, it's only a matter of time 'til Eugene and Bellingham jump on the bandwagon. Mmmmm... organic coffee.

[Mastiff]

The mayor retained his seat by 70 votes. That's damn near a landslide here...

[Floridays]

More important than the pregnant pig issue -- South Florida ran a smooth election! Woo hoo! I was volunteered to work at a polling place, and I am VERY relieved that it's over. Exhausted, but relieved.

[nerudite]

Originally posted by Mastiff
The mayor retained his seat by 70 votes. That's damn near a landslide here...

Sweet... now you don't have to pound the pavement. Oh wait... maybe in that part of Oregon they only have dirt roads still.

[nerudite]

Originally posted by BKM

Sadly, we also have a ballot measure to keep our Utility Tax, which the City "discovered" requires an election after all. If not, a couple of us in my department may be joining boinker (Peoria). I hope not me (I've been here 11 years), but you never know .

So how's it going today BKM?

[Mastiff]

Originally posted by nerudite


Sweet... now you don't have to pound the pavement. Oh wait... maybe in that part of Oregon they only have dirt roads still.

This coming out of Alberta?! Even the logging roads are paved around here...

But yes, I'm glad to be staying.

[BKM]

Nerudite: Good and bad

The citizens passed Measure H, which means we get to keep our 2% utility tax. There are some folks in my department that are sleeping a little easier. Including myself. I really don't want to do current planning (I'm not very good at it, to be honest), and staff cuts of two or three people mean that I would have had to-even if I survived.

Our transportation tax did not get the 2/3 vote (59% or something). I voted for it-it did have some interesting goodies attached (including funding to buy an infill/mixed use site right in the heart of one of my project areas). Have to admit I had real mixed feelings, though. Solano County is located right at a bottleneck in the Bay Area freeway system, and Measure E would have provided funding, EVENTUALLY, for this major undertaking (I-80/I-680 backs up EVERY evening now). I know that it needs to be fixed, but I'm just not sure that a sales tax is the right approach. Plus, fixing it, to me, encourages/facilitates further population growth for commuters to the Bay Area. I know California needs housing, and I know I am being selfish and unrealistic, but in my heart I would love to "just say no" to more traffic and population growth. As a rational planner, I know that can't be, but emotionally . . .

[nerudite]

BKM...

I hear you on the planner/resident philosophical dichotomy... I think we've all been there. I-80 is going to be a headache forever (unless the "big one" hits sometime soon). I think I heard that there was an average speed projection between Reno and San Francisco of 20 m.p.h. on I-80 in the year 2025. (Something I read when I lived in Davis a million years ago).

It's such a regional problem, and I don't think a sales tax will be enough to even make a dent. Wasn't there a proposition several years ago to extend light rail between Sacramento and San Francisco? Or maybe it was enhanced commuter rail. Maybe something like that will help... but the money it would take to do it is astronomical.

In some ways it may be good that the transportation facility sales tax was defeated... because it IMO 2% sales tax won't fix the situation and when people are still sitting in traffic several years from now, they would all be pissed about how much money they spend in taxes... And spending without results may risk actually having a proposition with a worthwhile solution be shot down by voters later.

The good news is that you still have the utility tax. It's always hard when money like that is lost... look at Prop 13.

Glad to hear your job is safe!

[nerudite]

Originally posted by Mastiff


This coming out of Alberta?! Even the logging roads are paved around here...

But yes, I'm glad to be staying.

We don't need paving... we have permafrost to drive on.