Whatever you do, please do vote! Unless of course you’re happy with the state of the world exactly as it is.

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Neither Hillary nor Bernie would be my dream president, but I am voting for Bernie to voice support for his message and his agenda, which I think are so important for the party and the country to move towards.

Of the 34 people running for Senate, there are two serious Democrats running, and Kamala Harris is the clear choice. She is super smart, hard-working, and seems to have real integrity. As attorney general she’s gone after big oil and big banks, and she has progressive ideas about criminal justice reform, especially for a prosecutor. Progressives and activists in the Democratic Party overwhelmingly support her, and I’m pretty stoked to vote for her now and again in November.

Nancy Skinner served in the assembly for several years before terming out, and she is one of the most effective legislators Oakland and Berkeley has ever had. Unabashedly progressive and unafraid of a fight, Nancy did a lot of good for California and the East Bay in the Assembly. She is an energy and climate expert and an environmentalist at her core, but she is far from a single-issue legislator. We’ll be missing out if we don’t send her to the State Senate.

A note about the judge races — Since judges can’t take political stands on issues it can be hard to figure out who to vote for. Luckily there’s another Alameda County judge I know and trust, Vicky Kolakowski, who has shared some helpful insight into this race, and I’m voting largely on her recommendations.

A note about the Alameda County Democratic Central Committee — What is this race?? It’s for the most local branch of the Democratic Party, and these are the people who vote on the Democratic Party’s endorsements for local races in county, municipal, and local elections. I was elected to this committee in 2008 and 2010, and served as an alternate on it before that. I’m supporting candidates for these races who I know to be energetic and hard-working for the committee, progressive, young, and willing to question and challenge the status quo (or at least most of these qualities.. actually maybe only two young people in the 18th). You can vote for up to 9 people, but you don’t have to vote for that many.

Brett Badelle

Sharon A. Ball

Michael Barnett

Vince Casalaina

Jamila A. English

Andy Kelley — I know Andy very well, and if I could only vote for one person in this race I would vote for him!

Kathy Neal

Cecilia “Ces” Rosales

Karen Weinstein

Pamela Drake

Mario Juarez

Marlon McWilson

Peggy Moore

Linda Perry

Robin Torello

Malcolm Amado Uno

This was inspired by the Leland Yee scandal (in which he kept drawing a salary as a state senator after being indicted), and it allows the legislature to vote to suspend members without pay by a two-thirds vote.

Sea level is already rising and we need to get ready. This $12/year parcel tax for all Bay Area parcels is a good (if belated) start to restore wetlands and marshes, make the bay more healthy, and increase climate resilience for bayside communities and infrastructure.