Primary Eve

Republican voters will get to choose between two millionaires, one of whom has set a record for election spending, and the other who has continually tried to buy his way into office.

Watch out for Proposition 16, the so-called 'Taxpayers' Right To Vote Act' - which would bar the state from using tax revenue to create its own municipal power vendors without a 2/3 majority vote ... the same requirement that has turned our budget process into a mess. (Speaking of which, it's June, and time for that dance to begin again.)

But what Proposition 16 really does is keep the state from competing with PG&E, by exploiting the trend of anti-tax populism. So much for the free market, eh?

Proposition 17 is another corporate-backed bit of boondoggle, ostensibly to benefit drivers, but actually carving out a nice little niche for a specific insurance company.

And then there's local measures like Vallejo's Measure A, where backers have hired a bunch of out-of-state script-reading drones to make calls. I'm sorry, but if you sound like you're reading a script, I can't possibly believe you when you express concern about 'our schools' and 'our public safety.'

I'm not expecting you to crank out a perfect read, but really - would you talk to a friend or neighbor like that? I hope not. Smile, say hello, remember that you're trying to persuade me to vote for this issue. Be polite. Say the name of the city correctly. (A call from Maine failed, while a call from Utah got it right. Wonder if these are the poor schlubs who agreed to 'work from home, make $$$$'?)

And the usual caveat: if you don't vote, help yourself to a nice big cup of STFU.

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