Looking for a slugfest? It’s in the fight for lieutenant governor, Newsom’s current job. The former ambassador to Australia, Jeff Bleich, is squaring off against the former ambassador to Hungary, Eleni Kounalakis; both served under President Obama. The only contender that is experienced in battling for elective office is State Senator Ed Hernandez of San Gabriel Valley. All three are Dems; two will make it to November’s championship match.
Don’t award 84-year-old (and well-off) Dianne Feinstein another term in the U.S. Senate just yet; she may have a battle come November with young (51) Kevin de León, a scrapper from the mean streets of L.A. who’s already served a term as president of the California State Senate.
That takes care of the June 5 headliners. As for the ballot’s five state propositions, all put there by the legislature, PBS’ The Morning Line has the first two and the last two propositions winning; with the middle one pretty much looking like a draw.
Also on the June 5th ballot is Regional Measure 3, a bold attempt to reduce traffic congestion—to the tune of $4.45 billion—throughout all nine Bay Area counties. For Marin, this means $210 million to build a direct connector from northbound Highway 101 to the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. Local goodies also include $120 million to widen Highway 101 north of Novato; $100 million to make Highway 37 less vulnerable to flooding; and more. The money will come from increasing tolls $3.00 on every Bay Area bridge but the Golden Gate Bridge (they’re are state owned; GGB is not). And fare increases are incremental: A dollar in 2019 and a dollar in 2022 and 2025. If that’s sounds fair you’re in good company, almost every elected office-holder from Dianne Feinstein to Nancy Pelosi to Jared Huffman to Mike McGuire has endorsed RM3 (it’s go-to nickname). But don’t get over confident; RM3, which needs a simple majority to win, faces hefty opposition by forces claiming it treats their areas unfairly (So far, you’re not hearing that in Marin).
This are my thoughts – please do your own research and let us know what you think. Here is the county’s general June 5th schedule. And the pros and cons presented by the county.