Assembly member and U.S. house of rep. incumbent candidates plead their cases as to why they should remain being their constituents' representative

By ONME Newswire

(Video - Part 1 October 16, 2024)

Part 1 of the October 16 Central Election Community Forum features California State Assembly District 31 candidates Dr. Joaquin Arambula (incumbent) against opponent Solomon Verduzco followed by US House of Representative candidate and incumbent Congressman Jim Costa who talked about his Central Valley initiatives he looks forward to continuing.

(Audio - Part 1 October 16, 2024)

The Wednesday, October 16, 2024, Central Valley Community Election Forum was hosted by ONME News, in collaboration with community organizations, Black Women Organized for Political Action, Fresno, San Joaquin Valley Chapter, also known as BWOPA) Black American Political Association of California, Fresno Chapter,  also known as Bay PACK; The NAACP #1038, Fresno Chapter; and the African American Clergy Caucus.

ONME News executive producer and publisher Julia Ann Dudley Najieb was the moderator. 

(Video - Part 2 October 16, 2024)

In Part 2 of the October 16 Central Valley Community Election Forum hosted by ONME News, Dr. Venise C. Curry, M.D., a Physician Consultant for non-profit, non-partisan and community-based organizations, addressed the environmental issues affecting our health; hence, the importance of voting in favor of Proposition 4 on the ballot.

(Audio - Part 2 October16, 2024)

A representative for the city of Kerman mayoral candidate, Maria Pacheco, who is the incumbent, talked about Pacheco's dedication to helping the city to build and prosper.

Thereafter, moderator and host, Dudley Najieb, had a sit-down discussion with Fresno State political science professor, Dr. Thomas Holyoke, a specialist in American politics, about some of the difficult-to-understand state propositions on the ballot.

The state of California has 10 measures on the ballot for review by voters for the November 5, 2024 election. The 2024 ballot is still more crowded than in 2022, when there were only seven measures, the fewest in more than a century. Dr. Holyoke, explained some of the key state propositions and local ballot measures.

Below is a review of those measures along with a video provide by media partner, CalMatters.

PROP 2:  Borrow $10 billion to build schools, colleges

This bond issue would authorize the state to borrow $8.5 billion for K-12 schools and $1.5 billion for community colleges for construction and modernization.  

PROP 3: Reaffirm the right of same-sex couples to marry

This constitutional amendment would remove outdated language from Proposition 8 (considered a zombie law), passed by voters in 2008, that characterizes marriage as only between a man and a woman.

PROP 4: Borrow $10 billion to respond to climate change

This bond issue would allow the state to borrow $3.8 billion for drinking water and groundwater programs, $1.5 billion for wildfire and forest programs and $1.2 billion for sea level rise. In part, the money would offset some budget cuts. ($400 million per year for 40 years, 2022 climate commitment had to be scaled back because of the California deficit and budget cuts.)

PROP 5: Lower voter approval requirements for local housing and infrastructure

This constitutional amendment would make it easier for local governments to borrow money for affordable housing and some other public infrastructure projects by lowering the voter approval requirement from two-thirds to 55%.

PROP 6:  Limit forced labor in state prisons

This constitutional amendment would end indentured servitude in state prisons, considered one of the last remnants of slavery. The California Black Legislative Caucus included the proposal in its reparations agenda.

PROP 32:  Raise the state minimum wage to $18

This initiative would raise the overall minimum wage from $16 an hour and adjust it for inflation, fast food workers received a $20 an hour minimum on April 1 and health care workers will eventually get $25, though not until at least Oct. 15.

PROP 33:  Allow local governments to impose rent controls

This is the latest attempt to roll back a state law that generally prevents cities and counties from limiting rents in properties first occupied after Feb. 1, 1995.

PROP 34: Require certain providers to use prescription drug revenue for patients

Sponsored by the trade group for California’s landlords, this measure is squarely aimed at knee-capping the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which has been active in funding ballot measures (see Prop. 33).

PROP 35:  Make permanent a tax on managed health care plans

This initiative is sponsored by California’s health care industry to raise more money for Medi-Cal and block lawmakers from using the cash to avoid cuts to other programs. The tax is set to expire in 2026.

PROP 36:  Increase penalties for theft and drug trafficking

This measure — supported by Republicans and law enforcement but opposed by Gov. Gavin Newsom and most Democrats — may be the most contentious on the ballot. It would partly roll back Proposition 47, approved by voters in 2014, that turned some felonies into misdemeanors.

The night ended with Trustee Area 7 Yolanda Joy Moore who talked about the recent Clovis Unified School District school bond, Measure A that is on the ballot. Moore explains the importance of the measure and that the bond would be issued on the current tax rate for residents--taxes will not increase for local residents: CUSD is maintaining the current tax rate of $155 per $100,000 of assessed value, which is the lowest it has been in the district’s history.

Here is some more general election information:

All registered voters can vote in the General Election

To register to vote in California, you must be:

• A United States citizen and a resident of California,

• 18 years old or older on Election Day,

• Not currently serving a state or federal prison term for the conviction of a felony (for more information on the rights of people who have been incarcerated, please see the Secretary of State's Voting Rights Restored: Persons with a Prior Felony Conviction), and

• Not currently found mentally incompetent to vote by a court (for more information, please see Voting Rights: Persons Subject to Conservatorship).

2024 California General Election Info.

• The last day to register to vote for the November 5, 2024, General Election is October 21, 2024.

• All California active registered voters will receive a vote-by-mail ballot for the November 5, 2024, General Election.

• Your county elections office will begin mailing ballots by October 7, 2024.

• Ballot drop-off locations open on October 8, 2024.

• Vote-by-mail ballots can be returned by mail, at a drop-off location, or your county elections office.

• Vote centers open for early in-person voting in all Voter’s Choice Act counties beginning on October 26, 2024.

• Vote-by-mail ballots must be postmarked on or before Election Day and received by November 12, 2024.