Today is the California primary election, a chance for most voters to choose between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary — or to stump for Donald Trump, who is projected to easily win the state in the Republican primary.
But there are also local candidates and measures on today’s ballot that will shape San Francisco for years to come. Voters can choose their representatives for the local branch of the Democratic Party, vote for judges and state senators, and weigh in on ballot measures taking on such issues as affordable housing, funding for city parks, and investigations into police shootings.
Below is a quick run-through of what will be on the ballot today for those voting in person. To find your polling place, go to the Department of Elections website here and enter your address and zip code. Polls are open from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m.
The Local Democrats
The big election that voters likely know nothing about is for the Democratic County Central Committee — the San Francisco branch of the Democratic Party, known by policy wonks as the D-Triple-C.
The DCCC is important because it endorses candidates and measures, and since most voters in San Francisco are Democrats, many will simply vote along party lines when they see the Democratic endorsement on campaign flyers.
That’s a lot of power for candidates for other political offices — like Melissa San Miguel and Joshua Arce, both running for District Nine supervisor, who are also running for DCCC. Supervisor David Campos — who already sits on the DCCC — is also running, likely hoping to retain some influence after he’s termed-out of the Board of Supervisors in November.
Grabbing a seat on the 32-person committee is an outsized way to influence local elections, including the upcoming election in November, which will profoundly change the balance of power on the Board of Supervisors for years to come.
That was the idea, anyway, and likely the reason for a historic $1.6 million in campaign spending in what would otherwise be a sleepy race. But in a last-minute change, the current chair of the DCCC opted to have endorsements wrapped up by June 15, before those who are elected today have a chance to be sworn in.
The moderates who dominate the committee — including the chairperson, Mary Jung, a lobbyist for realtors — are facing a progressive backlash and may be voted out of power today, meaning those same moderates will be responsible for November’s endorsements whether or not they retain their seats past midnight.
That change doesn’t mean the election is inconsequential, however. The body is still responsible for various positions on issues throughout the year and will take up endorsements for next year’s June and November elections.
For voters, there are 60 candidates vying for the 24 open spots today — eight are reserved for state- and national-level Democrats — but just two main coalitions: the Reform Slate and the Progress Slate. Arce is on the Progress Slate, Campos is on the Reform Slates, and San Miguel is independent of both.
The former is made up of left-leaning progressives hoping to oust the current party chair, while the latter is made up of the less-left-leaning moderates currently in control of the DCCC. The Reform Slate is generally skeptical of private developers and market-rate housing, while the Progress Slate is more bullish on the market’s role in the housing crisis and wants to build, baby, build.
Judges and Senators
Local judges are up for election today — little-known and little-seen elected officials for most voters, but still incredibly important for those who find themselves in front of the bench.
For instance: Just over the weekend, the judge who gave a convicted Stanford student rapist a six-month sentence — less than the prescribed minimum of two years under state law — faced a massive online backlash and reminders to voters of Santa Clara County that he is, after all, up for re-election on Tuesday.
The judges running for San Francisco Superior Court face no such controversy. Paul Henderson is the choice of the aforementioned DCCC and worked both in the mayor’s office and as a prosecutor for the District Attorney’s Office. Victor Hwang is endorsed by a number of progressive politicians and has a career in civil rights law, including a stint as a public defender.
Sigrid Irías pulls in lesser-known endorsements from judges and lawyers. She immigrated from Nicaragua and claims pro-bono work on behalf of Mission District residents fighting evictions.
Jane Kim and Scott Wiener, sitting supervisors who are running for State Senate, will also be on the ballot Tuesday, but because California has a top-two system for state- and national-level offices — and they are facing a lone Republican opponent — the real race between them will come in November.
On the state level, Attorney General Kamala Harris is running for Senate and has a comfortable lead in the polls. Again, the real contest — assuming there is one, since she outspends all her opponents combined 2–1 — will be in November because of the top-two system.
Phil Ting and David Chiu, incumbent assemblymembers, are running for an easy reelection against Republican opponents, as are Nancy Pelosi and Jackie Speier for the House of Representatives.
Ballot Measures
June’s ballot measures are mostly uncontroversial, with one big fat exception: Proposition C, the affordable housing ballot measures that would require private developers make 25 percent of their buildings — if 25 units or more — affordable to low- and middle-income tenants. Currently, developers need to build just 12 percent affordable on-site.
The initiative also takes the affordable housing requirement out of the City Charter, meaning that in the future if the percentage is changed it would only have to go through the Board of Supervisors, not voters.
Opponents say it could be disastrous for the production of affordable housing because no feasibility study was done before the 25 percent standard was set, meaning private projects might not pencil out financially with the added costs of so much affordable housing.
But supporters say that the housing crisis requires that private developers help subsidize the construction of below-market-rate housing. They also say that a feasibility study — also required by the measure — will be finished by July 31. If it finds private developers cannot make 25 percent work, they say, the Board of Supervisors will lower the requirement.
The Board of Supervisors unanimously supported the measure alongside Mayor Ed Lee and a number of developers, whose projects were grandfathered in so they would not have to comply with the measure.
Also somewhat controversial is Proposition B, a City Charter amendment that gives the Recreation and Parks Department a baseline of $64 million in funding every year, plus $3 million for 10 years. It also extends current funding for the department and requires the department to analyze and fix any service imbalances to low-income areas.
Opponents say the set-aside gives the department funding without an identified way to pay for it, and are also skeptical of the department given recent follies, like the grass and picnic table reservation system at Dolores Park.
Proposition AA is a Bay Area-wide parcel tax for restoration of the wetlands, and would fund a regional body to the tune of some $25 million a year if it gets a two-thirds majority.
Proposition A would raise $350 million bond for seismic safety and also requires a two-thirds majority, while Proposition D mandates that the city agency responsible for police oversight — the Office of Citizen Complaints — investigate all police shootings with or without a complaint filed.
Proposition E is an update to the city’s paid sick leave law that matches it to state law.