Andi’s Progressive Ballot Walk-thru
TL;DR: Scroll to the very bottom to see my ballot selections without any additional context
Why am I writing this?
Disclaimer: I’m not a political expert, I don’t even have a PoliSci degree. I just have the type of autism that makes me want to spend hours researching everything, which, combined with my inflexible desire for truth & justice, means I painstakingly investigate & evaluate every candidate & ballot measure.
Over the years, friends have asked me for my voting recommendations, to the point where I’ve thrown together notes on my phone to share when asked. To this end, I thought it would be worth publishing a Leaflet that both shares my ballot picks, as well as the thought processes behind my decisions.
Who is this guide for?
While this guide will methodically go down the ballot specific to my area (Alameda County, California), I intend to explain a strategy that any progressive voter can use to approach their own local & state elections.
Additionally, if your ballot differs from mine, but you would like help evaluating you choices, please reach out to me, I’m happy to do research for you/with you, or be a sounding board to verbally process your thoughts about your voting options ツ
Considerations
I live in a blue area of a blue state. This means I am able to take more risks in certain races than someone in a purple or red area might feel comfortable taking.
I try to use my vote to achieve the most amount of good possible each election, and I try to do this in two ways.
Firstly, in races where there are multiple progressive candidates as well as at least one establishment Democrat, I don’t necessarily vote for the most progressive candidate. Instead, I select whichever progressive candidate seems to be most likely to garner the most votes, as it is more impactful to me that a progressive wins the office, than that my vote goes to the most progressive candidate.
Secondly, in races where there is only one Democrat (and assuming they are a moderate, as is usually the case), I evaluate third party progressive candidates, and if I like their platforms, I will vote third party. This is because, in California, and in my area specifically, Republicans are pretty much guaranteed to lose every time. It is important to me, in these cases, to improve the possibility of a multiparty system in the future, as well as to communicate to anyone in Democratic leadership who’s paying attention, that a large block of their voting base chooses progressive policy over party loyalty.
Please also note that in this guide, I am mostly focusing on who I am voting for, rather than who I am not voting for. However, if you have any questions about why I didn’t select a specific candidate, please feel free to ask. I am happy to discuss any of these races with you more in-depth!
Down The Ballot
Governor
This is kind of a weird one for me to start with, and as a result, requires a significantly longer explanation than any of my other ballot selections will require.
This is the race where I most feel that I am “holding my nose and voting”. None of our candidates are preferable, I would throw the whole lot of them out and start the race over if I could.
It’s also unique for the reason that I am especially cautious with this race, not only because it’s the highest position in the state, but because there is a clear career pipeline from the California governorship to presidential candidacy. This office legitimizes these politicians as viable presidential candidates in the eyes of the rest of the nation. So it is not enough to simply hold my nose and vote, I must also ask myself, “Do I want to elevate this politician within reach of the presidency?”
That being said, I cringe to admit that I personally am voting for Tom Steyer. I know, I hate that I’m voting for a billionaire. But before you close this tab & block me, hear me out.
But isn’t Steyer the next John Fetterman/Donald Trump?
Obviously, I can’t see into the future, but it seems unlikely that he will become a Fetterman or a Trump.
Fetterman flipped his political perspectives after he had a major stroke in 2022. Correlation does not equal causation, and we cannot prove that the stroke caused a shift in his political convictions, but it’s definitely a noteworthy coincidence.
Trump has never tried to seriously present himself as a particularly good person or do good things with his time & resources. I will not attempt to convince anyone that Tom Steyer is a good person, because I’m not sure whether or not to believe that myself. However, He has built a track record of consistent climate and left-wing political activism over the past 12+ years. If he is secretly a Republican pretending to be a Democrat, he is playing a very long game.
Why not Katie Porter?
Katie Porter is the only other progressive Dem in the race, but voting for her seems less than ideal to me for two reasons:
What’s so bad about Becerra?
Becerra is the only Dem frontrunner who:
Now, how faithfully will Steyer follow through on his promises if he is elected? I have no fucking clue.
But Becerra has already explicitly confirmed that he is not interested in bringing us the change we desperately need in three of the most vital areas:
So yeah, I am begrudgingly voting for Steyer. But I do not blame you if you cannot bring yourself to do the same. I just hope you can appreciate the nuance that has led me to this decision and not judge me too harshly for it.
If you would like to learn more about Tom Steyer’s policies, you can check them out here:
https://www.tomsteyer.com/issues External Link • tomsteyer.comLieutenant Governor
This office has several Democratic candidates running, so I chose the highest-polling progressive candidate, which in this case, is Michael Tubbs. Tubbs stands out among the frontrunners of this race as a battle-tested champion of universal basic income and of climate resilience, and comes endorsed by the Working Families Party, among other fairly large endorsements.
You can take a look at his policy positions in greater detail at his campaign site below:
https://michaeltubbsforca.com/issues/ External Link • michaeltubbsforca.comSecretary of State
Okay, this one genuinely sparks joy! So, because there is only one Democratic candidate in this race (and they’re an establishment Dem, as expected), I branched out to the only third party candidate in this race, and I think he’s cool as hell.
Michael Feinstein is a Green Party candidate, with an established record in elected office as both City Council Member and Mayor of the city of Santa Monica, and has a clear vision for this office.
Everything we hate about elections, Feinstein plans to change if elected. He wants to get rid of “Top Two” elections, he wants to give us ranked choice voting, he wants to kick dark money & corporate money out of politics, and literally so much more.
Seriously, you should read his policies just to see what we’re missing out on by accepting establishment politicians:
https://feinstein4sos.org/issues/ External Link • feinstein4sos.orgController
Another fun candidate to check out! As in the Secretary of State race, there is only one Democratic candidate, and they are the establishment pick. So, I looked into Meghann Adams, the Peace & Freedom Party candidate. Her refreshing platform includes:
Read more about the issues she wants to tackle here:
https://www.meghann4ca.com/#program External Link • meghann4ca.comTreasurer
This is another race with several Democratic candidates, which means I want to vote for the progressive candidate who stands the best chance of winning. In this instance, Anna Caballero is the obvious candidate who fits that bill.
With a proven legislative track record for prioritizing climate action, and as the only candidate who plans to withhold state financial support from ICE as well as from any companies working with ICE, she makes this decision pretty easy.
Check out her policies below:
https://www.annaforcalifornia.com/on-the-issues/ External Link • annaforcalifornia.comAttorney General
For Attorney General, our only two options on the Left are the incumbent establishment Democrat and a Green Party candidate, so we’re going Green!
Marjorie Mikels has an incredibly comprehensive platform, including, but not limited to, plans to fight big tech & surveillance, government censorship, climate change, and a plan to push divestment from Israel & war in general.
I highly encourage you to read through her policies if you have the time:
https://marjoriemikels4justice.com/priority-issues/ External Link • marjoriemikels4justice.comInsurance Commissioner
Since there are multiple Democratic candidates in this race, and there are no clear frontrunners or encumbents, I went with the most progressive Democratic candidate, Jane Kim.
Kim has impressive credentials, including her role as the head of the California Working Families Party, as well as endorsements from Bernie Sanders and Ro Khanna.
She is running on insurance affordability & accountability, with a unique platform of single-payer natural disaster insurance for all, as well as a public option for auto insurance.
You can browse her platform more in-depth here:
https://www.janekim.org/priorities External Link • janekim.orgMember, State Board of Equalization,
2nd District
We’ve got two Democratic candidates running for this position, one of which is the establishment incumbent, so I’m voting for the progressive Democratic challenger, John Pimentel.
His campaign promises to end sales tax on food, as well as to close tax loopholes to ensure that corporations and the ultra-wealthy pay their fair share.
You can learn more about him at his campaign site below:
https://johnpimentel.com/ External Link • johnpimentel.comUnited States Representative,
14th Congressional District
In this race, we’re in a unique position of having a fairly progressive Democratic candidate in Aisha Wahab as the frontrunner.
However, there is a more progressive Democratic candidate in the running, and that candidate is Matt Ortega.
Some of Ortega’s positions that I have yet to see expressed by Wahab are:
Ortega even created a tool on his website that allows you to compare specific candidates to each other on the issues that matter to you:
https://mattortega.com/compare-candidates/ External Link • mattortega.comMember of the State Assembly,
20th Assembly District
No contest here, there is only one candidate on the Left, and that is Liz Ortega!
Superior Court Judge, Office #13
Now we’re getting into non-partisan offices, which sometimes makes the choices a little murkier. Not in this case though!
Between the two judges on the ballot, I’ve selected Cabral Bonner, as his career has been one of defending the people, rather than corporations or the government.
You can check him out here:
http://cabralbonnerforjudge.com/ External Link • cabralbonnerforjudge.comSuperior Court Judge, Office #19
This was one where it’s a little more unclear who the better candidate is. There is nothing particularly unique about Selia Warren’s campaign, other than I gathered that she is more of a “breath of fresh air” than Patricia Miles might be, based on the SF Chronicle’s endorsement of her.
I tried to give Miles a fair shake, but she doesn’t even have a campaign website, which I do consider to be a point against her.
That being said, I’m going with Selia Warren, and you can check out her website & endorsements here:
https://seliawarrenforjudge.com/ External Link • seliawarrenforjudge.comState Superintendent of Public Instruction
The candidate that appears to be the most progressive in this race is Nichelle Henderson.
She stood out to me with her support for universal kindergarten, as well as other safety nets for low-income families.
She also wants to defend educators and students against the weaponization of AB 715 that might unfairly censor them & suppress free speech.
And finally, she has spoken in favor of divesting pensions from fossil fuels and wars.
You can read more about her positions below:
https://www.hendersonforcasuperintendent.org/issues External Link • hendersonforcasuperintendent.orgCounty Superintendent of Schools
Alysse Castro is running unopposed!
Member, Board of Education,
4th Trustee Area
The way I narrowed my selection down in this non-partisan race was to examine each candidate’s background & political careers. Of the candidates, Aisha Knowles and Luis Reynoso had the backgrounds best suited to this position (Aisha being the incumbent, and Reynoso being an educator).
They also both appeared to be the most interested in pursuing a political career, which can be a strong motivator to perform one’s role in office effectively.
However, upon looking up Luis Reynoso in the news, I discovered that he holds transphobic views, which should be an instant disqualifier.
All things being equal, I am voting for Aisha Knowles.
County Supervisor, 3rd District
Lena Tam is also running unopposed.
District Attorney, Short Term
This is a unique race, because Pamela Price has already been recalled, which is why we need a short term DA, to finish out her term. However, she is on the ballot, so she could theoretically be re-elected. I personally don’t have a problem with her platform, however, she is so embroiled in controversy that the public now has a distaste for her, regardless of policy.
Since she is unlikely to win back the public’s favor, I see this as a race between Ursula Jones Dickson and Gopal Krishan.
Gopal Krishan stands out as the most progressive choice, particularly in his platform against cooperation with ICE, whereas Dickson will cooperate with them.
I’ll be voting for Krishan, and you can learn more about his platform here:
https://www.electgopal.com/ External Link • electgopal.comTL;DR Ballot Selections
Governor
Tom Steyer
Lieutenant Governor
Michael Tubbs
Secretary of State
Michael Feinstein
Controller
Meghann Adams
Treasurer
Anna Caballero
Attorney General
Marjorie Mikels
Insurance Commissioner
Jane Kim
Member, State Board of Equalization,
2nd District
John Pimentel
United States Representative,
14th Congressional District
Matt Ortega
Member of the State Assembly,
20th Assembly District
Liz Ortega
Superior Court Judge,
Office #13
Cabral Bonner
Superior Court Judge,
Office #19
Selia Warren
State Superintendent of
Public Instruction
Nichelle M. Henderson
County Superintendent of Schools
Alysse Castro (unopposed)
Member, Board of Education,
4th Trustee Area
Aisha Knowles
County Supervisor, 3rd District
Lena Tam (unopposed)
District Attorney, Short Term
Gopal Krishan
Discussion in the ATmosphere