San Francisco Propositions to Keep Voters BusyPaul Hogarthbyline‚ Aug. 18‚ 2008With 22 local propositions on the November ballot, voters will have a hard time reading the Official Ballot Arguments (never mind the paid ones), unless we break them down by category. Four measures deal with the City’s revenue – and have no opposition besides the usual suspects who always complain about “taxes.” Meanwhile, the Housing Charter Amendment (Prop B), Clean Energy Act (Prop H) and Community Justice Center (Prop L) are all more contentious – but their proponents did not oppose measures that appear designed to undermine them. Two ballot arguments omit crucial information about what they’re promoting – the one for Prop P (SF Transportation Authority) fails to say it takes power away from the Supervisors, while Prop V (which promotes JROTC) doesn’t even mention the military. The fate of four measures won’t be likely affected by the ballot arguments – as Props K, M, R and U all deal with emotional issues decided by turnout. Four others – C, E, F and G – are all basic house-cleaning measures that have unusual political alliances, while the last two – D and J – have no opposition so far. |