“I’ve never been angrier at what I’m seeing in terms of the way this country is heading, or seems to be. Women’s rights are at stake, along with every other marginalized group, and I’ve also never felt so powerless, so I need to take some power back even it means just voting. I have to believe that my vote matters because otherwise I’m going to sink into this pit of despair and cry,” English teacher Brigid Miller said.

“I actually voted early on Sunday, so I saved my sticker so I could wear it with my vote tie. This indicates that Election Day is sort of like a holiday for me, it’s a high holy day. So I was walking back from Starbucks and standing at the stoplight, and one of the homeless people from that area comes riding by on a bicycle, and she slams on the brake and she looks at us and she points to me and my tie and she says, ‘I don’t know how to vote. I’m counting on you people to vote for me.’ And she handed me this flower and then rode away,” history teacher Byron Steven said. 

“I vote because it’s our right and I feel it’s our opportunity to speak up, and not only for myself but for other people,” music teacher Susan Nace said. 

“I voted because I can now. It’s only the second time that I can, because I became American just a few years ago—two years ago—and because I think you should always vote, but especially this time it’s so important,” art teacher Jaap Bongers said. 

“One, I think the midterm election is important because it raises awareness and gets people interested early on so they can research, talk to people and find out about the candidates and what’s on the ballot, so they’re more informed. I feel that voting is very important. This has been a major discussion in my house because some family members at some point in time after this last big election were very disappointed and felt like their vote didn’t matter. It was a tough one. I think we just have to continue to vote and believe that our vote does count and that we have a right to be able to state our opinion and vote for who we want to try and make a change,” math teacher Jeanette Fernandez said. 

California Governor Candidate: Gavin Newsom

After serving as mayor of San Francisco for seven years and Lieutenant Governor of California for eight years, Gavin Newsom, the 51-year-old Democratic candidate for governor of California, wields the political experience expected of the position he strives for. When current governor Jerry Brown’s fourth term comes to an end, Newsom will face off against Republican John Cox, a previously little-known businessman, in the November midterm elections.

Newsom began his career in politics working for the city of San Francisco in 1996. Starting from the bottom, he served on the city’s Parking and Traffic Commission.

Only a year later, he advanced to San Francisco’s esteemed Board of Supervisors, which consists of 11 individuals each representing a different city district.

Then in 2003, at only 36, Newson was elected the 42nd mayor of San Francisco, the city’s youngest in 100 years. In the following years, Newson achieved repeated success in the political arena. In 2007, he was re-elected as mayor with an overwhelming 72 percent of the vote. Then, in 2010, Newson was elected Lieutenant Governor of California under Governor Jerry Brown and was most recently re-elected in 2014.

Throughout his time in state politics, Newsom has consistently advocated for progressive policies and beliefs. During his tenure as both mayor and Lieutenant Governor, he was an early advocate for same-sex marriage, marijuana legalization, gun control and universal healthcare.

In terms of same-sex marriage, he directed the city council clerk to issue licenses for same-sex marriages in 2004, only a month into his first term.

At the time, this drew criticism from conservatives and Democrats alike and came four years before gay marriages were banned in 2008. For universal healthcare, launched the “healthy San Francisco” program in 2006 which aimed at providing universal health care citywide.

“The big draw to Gavin Newsom for me is the fact that he led the charge for LGBT Americans in San Francisco,” Haris Hosseini (12) said. “This was years before then-Senator Obama endorsed it, years before the Supreme Court decision and years before it entered the national consciousness.”

Now, he maintains his stance on all these key issues. Early last year, he sent a letter to president Trump urging him to not oppose California’s budding recreational marijuana firms. In late August of this year, Newsom announced plans for establishing universal healthcare statewide.

Sriya Prathuri (10) volunteered with the Santa Clara Democratic Party last summer, and she believes her own political perspectives align with those of Newsom.

“Personally, I think Gavin Newsom is a great gubernatorial candidate because he has been advocating for many of the policies we now take for granted for many years,” Sriya said.

In a blue state such as California with the vast majority of elected officials being Democratic and left leaning, one would think the governorship would be squarely in Newsom’s hands. Public polling would confirm this belief. All but one of the statewide polls conducted since early June placed Newsom ahead by double digits. In fact, SurveyUSA placed Newsom ahead by a considerable 29 points in late June. However, Cox has in fact been gaining ground. Polls revealed Newsom’s lead narrowing considerably between June and September. A KFI-NBC poll placed Newsom only five points ahead of Cox in late September.

AP government teacher Carol Green emphasizes the importance of California’s gubernatorial election. She pointed out that state governors often advance to higher-level federal positions such as president of the United States.

“The governor is essentially the head of the executive branch of the state, and since California has such a large economy and population, it is a pretty huge responsibility.”

The next governor of California, countless other public office positions and the pass or failure of numerous state propositions will be determined by ballot on November 6.

California Governor Candidate: John Cox

In this year’s gubernatorial election, Republican John Cox, a multi-millionaire businessman from Rancho Santa Fe in San Diego County faces Democrat and Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom.

Relatively unknown compared to his opponent, Cox, 62, a lawyer and an accountant, has unsuccessfully placed three bids before — once for the House of Representatives and twice for the Senate in Illinois. Moving to California and becoming a full-time resident in 2011, Cox advocates the need for a change and a leader with business skills to fix the problems in Sacramento.

“Businesspeople have been elected to office as a governor across this nation to clean up the messes that the politicians have made,” Cox said in an interview with the LA Times.

Raymond Banke (12), a conservative, is ready for change and is looking forward to a new governor in the office.

“I didn’t like how Jerry Brown has allowed himself to stay in office for way longer than is allowed by making loopholes around laws about how long a governor is able to stay,” he said.

Cox’s central message to the voters revolves around California’s economic situation: rising home prices, rents, gas prices, poverty (approximately 20% of California lives below poverty line) and homelessness.

Even though the Democrats and current governor Jerry Brown in the last seven years have transformed California’s alarming $27 billion budget deficit into a soaring $9 billion surplus, aided by a growing economy and new jobs, California faces a very high cost of living. According to PPIC, likely voters stated economy (18%), immigration (12%), and housing (11%) as the most important issues facing the state.

“I have a vision of this state being affordable and livable,” Cox said in a gubernatorial debate at KQED’s studio in San Francisco on Oct. 8. The main tenets of his campaign are to repeal the gas and vehicle license fees, challenge the the sanctuary law, and “clean out the barn” in The Sacramento Bee.

While both candidates are in agreement to build more homes, their approach is different. In the same governor’s debate, Cox stated that he envisions building 3 million homes in the next decade. A real estate investor, Cox promises major reforms to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) which is partially responsible for the housing crisis.

Cox strongly favors enforcement of tighter controls on operational costs of California Department of Transportation and increasing accountability instead of increasing fuel taxes. Chairman of Proposition 6, Cox argues to repeal fuel and vehicle tax increases passed in 2017 to fund repairs of the state’s roads and bridges.

Cox advocates that Proposition 6 is a major source of discontentment amongst voters since it causes undue hardships to lower and middle income families. Yet, according to PPIC report, among likely voters, 52 percent say they would vote no, 39 percent would vote yes and 8 percent are undecided about the measure.

Raymond is disappointed as he hasn’t seen any improvement in the local bay area roads as of yet after the introduction of gas and vehicle tax increase.

“These types of taxes are inherently already quite controversial as they are not taxes that are crucial for example like property taxes or sales tax,” he said. “When they are not being used properly especially to improve roads because that’s the purpose of them, I feel like they are really unnecessary like they shouldn’t be there, they should be lowered or repealed.”

Cox’s stance on immigration is clear with his opposition to the sanctuary law. He believes that California Values Act (SB 54) makes it difficult for law enforcement officers due to non-cooperation policies between the local enforcement officers and federal immigration agents.

“I would get rid of the sanctuary law,” Cox said in the debate. “I think we need to get the Legislature to do that and if they don’t do it, I think we need to get it to a vote of the people.”

According to the LA Times, Cox’s support of the National Rifle Association and second amendment leads him to the viewpoint that “more laws are not going to do the job” on gun control. Moreover, as stated in The Sacramento Bee, his opposition to abortion and skepticism about climate change is not popular in California.

PPIC results show that Newsom continues to maintain a double-digit lead over Cox, although Cox has managed to narrow the gap to a 12-point lead from the 24-point lead Newsom had in July.

“John Cox has been gaining traction and coming from behind in the polls, AP government teacher Carol Green said. “I’m not sure if Cox can obtain enough traction to win in the next couple weeks, as I know [Newsom] is initiating a fresh new push, but I do think that it is going to be closer than was initially expected.”

Proposition 1: Allows for $4 billion in general obligation bonds to fund for veterans and low-income residents

Proposition 2: Invests in housing for those with mental illnesses

Proposition 3: Allocates $8.9 billion for infrastructure projects including water supply, sustainability and wildlife

Proposition 4: Finances $1.5 billion for children’s hospitals

Proposition 5: Allows for homeowners over 55 years old to save on property taxes when moving to a new home

Proposition 6: Repeals fuel and vehicle tax recently passed, decreasing funds for road and highway infrastructure

Proposition 7: Allows legislature to change daylight savings time with two-thirds vote

Proposition 8: Requires kidney dialysis clinics to pay rebates and have revenues limited by a formula

Proposition 9: Removed from ballot

Proposition 10: Allows counties and cities to decide rent controls and other jurisdictions on residential property

Proposition 11: Requires ambulance service providers to remain “on-call” while taking breaks

Proposition 12: Requires conditions for confining farm animals, prohibits sale of animal products not in line with these requirements

Check out the official voter guide for more information. 

For more information, check out these resources:

VoteSure: California Secretary of State’s official list of nonpartisan election resources

Ballotpedia: Nonprofit and nonpartisan encyclopedia containing information on candidates on the ballot

Voter’s Edge California: Nonprofit and nonpartisan project between Maplight and the League of Women Voters of California with in-depth information on what’s on your ballot