By Eric Burger | Staff Writer
The California primary, scheduled for June 3, is a nonpartisan election. The primary is conducted as one election with all candidates and voters participating on one ballot.
California has used a “top two” system for primary elections since 2012. This system allows any voter to choose any candidate regardless of party registration. The top two candidates with the most votes move on to the general election in November.
There are fifteen candidates for governor including incumbent Gov. Jerry Brown (D). The lieutenant governor position has eight candidates followed by the attorney general position, which has seven candidates; Secretary of state has eight candidates.
The county of Los Angeles also has 12 candidates for the assessor position and seven candidates for sheriff.
Citrus College has a state representative for district 48 and federal representative for district 27.
The U.S. representative candidates of district 27 are Judy Chu (D) and Jack Orswell (R). The state representative candidates of district 48 are Joe M. Gardner (R), Mike Meza and Roger Hernandez (D).
The ballot also features two measures: Propositions 41 and 42.
Proposition 41, the Veterans Housing and Homeless Prevention Bond Act of 2014, would reallocate funds previously approved by voters via Proposition 12 in 2008.
The reallocation of the unused money from Prop 12, along with private developers using low cost loans to fund a portion of the new housing units’ costs, would provide housing for homeless and nearly homeless veterans.
“I support Prop 41,” said Monica Christianson, program director of the Citrus College Veterans Center. “But one thing that is needed once it passes is the right people in charge who are able to provide good services and properly meeting the needs of those who need it most.”
This initiative would restructure $600 million of the existing Prop 12. The purpose of the act is to ultimately reduce the number of homeless veterans and place California at the forefront of the nation’s effort to support veterans.
The concern following the success of this program would be the ultimate care of low income veteran(s) and their well being.
Follow up services and employment aid could also benefit veterans physically and mentally in the long run, in addition to this housing solution.
“They would need to hire a case manager, address any mental health issues, or addiction issues, to help coordinate services with the Veterans Administration,” Christianson said.
Prop 41 would not create any new taxes or create additional debt for California, however the program would be paid for by the taxpayers instead of the Cal-Vet program.
“Our soldiers put their life on the line and went against the harsh environments in defense of our liberty,” said Tim Peterra, 25, political science major. “The least we can do is provide them with a roof over their heads for their bravery against tyranny.”
Proposition 42 would require local government agencies to provide public access to meetings of local government bodies as well as records of government officials.
This proposition would also further require that there be no monetary exchange for access to the information.
“I think that local agencies having already had money budgeted from the state should have to […] budget and plan ahead to make these things accessible,” said Tyler Hernandez, president of the Associated Students of Citrus College.
If approved, Prop 42 would amend Section 3 and Section 6 of the California Constitution and hold local agencies responsible for compliance with public-access laws.
Those who oppose Prop 42 say the state should not impose the cost of compliance on local agencies.
“Transparency is one of the most important things when it comes to local governance, and for them to have the state pay them to maintain compliance with the law, it just doesn’t seem right,” Hernandez said. The final day to register to vote is May 19. Students can register to vote at www.sos.ca.gov.
