Contested California Democratic Primary Races in June Needed to Increase Turnout and Defeat Prop 98

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

Sleeper measure could wreak havoc in low turnout election

By Paul Hogarth

With no presidential primary on the statewide ballot, voter turnout in June is expected to be abysmal. Which means that Proposition 98 – the extreme right-wing measure to abolish rent control, basic tenant protections, environmental regulations and water laws – could actually pass. But with term limits forcing many state legislators out of office, there will also be a number of competitive June primaries – creating the potential to drive up voter turnout in the state’s more progressive pockets. If Democratic candidates for Assembly and State Senate make the defeat of Prop 98 a central part of their campaign, they could help it go down in flames. Candidates who mobilize to defeat it would also benefit – as it will help them connect more strongly with the Democratic voters in their district.

“Prop 98 is a terrible initiative, and I will campaign against it loudly,” said Barbara Sprenger, who is running in the 27th State Assembly District (Santa Cruz and Monterey.) By re-defining “private use” to include when a public agency takes over natural resources, Prop 98 threatens to undermine any public water project in the state. “I’ve helped organize my community in opposing higher water rates from private water companies,” said Sprenger. “Prop 98’s effect would be devastating.”

“I expect to have ‘No on 98’ on all my campaign literature,” said Kriss Worthington, who is running in the 14th State Assembly District. “It seriously questions our environmental policies, and is a very blatant attack on affordable housing and rent control.” As a current member of the Berkeley City Council, Worthington sponsored a resolution to have the City oppose it – and organized a press rally in November to draw some media attention. He also will encourage voters to support Prop 99 – a competing measure that deals with eminent domain – as a “far more reasonable alternative.”

Sprenger and Worthington are both running in competitive races – in heavily Democratic districts where constituents are likely to oppose Prop 98. But unless voters in these areas turn out, Prop 98 could pass statewide – so the burden is on local candidates to make its defeat a rallying cry. “Prop 98 is horrible,” said Nancy Skinner – who’s running against Worthington in the 14th A.D. – “and it’s a worse poison pill than the last initiative [i.e., Prop 90] that we defeated. I will have it in my campaign materials, and I will speak out against it at every opportunity.” If competing candidates make a point of it when they boost their own campaign, they can ensure a healthy progressive turnout.