San Diego Decides By Voice Of San Diego

The March 3 primary is coming up quickly. If you're still not sure about the measures on your ballot, we've got good news for you: There are far fewer of them to learn about than many of the most recent elections. (The November ballot, however, will be a different story.) In our first episode of our San Diego Decides 2020, Sara Libby and Jesse Marx run down what you need to know about that state proposition, plus the four measures that you'll decide on if you live in the city of San Diego — two countywide measures, and two city measures. If you live elsewhere within the county, you might be voting on school bonds, tax measures or other issues as well. Keep up with all our election coverage at vosd.org/newsletters Find us on your favorite social media @voiceofsandiego

In our final episode before Election Day, we talk about the death penalty, which California voters will have a chance to end this year or reform. Proposition 62 would end the death penalty in California. Proposition 66 would try to speed up appeals of death penalty verdicts, which could result in quicker executions or exonerations. (If both pass, the one with the most votes takes effect.) First Sara Libby and I talk with Mike and Penny Moreau, whose son Tim was murdered in Oregon in 1990. They discuss that horrible case and the moral dilemma they faced before they cast their votes this year on the two death penalty measures. On the one hand, philosophically, they think it’s wrong to kill somebody else. On the other, they have seen the criminal justice system up close and found there is some value in the death penalty. They talk about a practical benefit of the death penalty: It can provide leverage for prosecutors. Their son’s killers took plea deals to avoid a death penalty trial. As part of those deals, the

Unlike presidential debates that are watched by millions, local political debates are rarely televised, yet they offer some of the only chances for voters to hear city and county candidates who will have direct say over so much of their lives. This week we talk about those debates. Local debates happen more than you’d think. Podcast co-host Sara Libby, for instance, moderated a city attorney debate last Monday between Mara Elliott and Robert Hickey. Then Hickey and Elliott met again two days later for another candidate forum in City Heights. As a result, there’s a debate circuit that forms, as our colleague and frequent debate host Andrew Keatts explains. Opposing candidates who see each other night after night become familiar with each other’s talking points and maintain collegial bonds. Unless they don’t: Keatts talks about one of the wilder local debates he’s hosted, our Politifest debate over a ballot measure that will change city election law. We also talk about the U.S. Senate “dabate” between state

Those of you who were able to attend our Politifest presentation on the 17 state ballot measures not only got to learn about the ins and outs of the many complex measures facing California voters, you also got to witness our strong hat game. We've recreated that presentation here on the latest San Diego Decides episode — unfortunately, you'll just have to imagine us wearing weird hats as you listen. Some of the measures are relatively straightforward: One legalizes pot, for example. Another abolishes the death penalty. Others are quite tricky. Prop. 65, in fact, exists almost solely to confuse voters. That's the one that is sort of, kind of, about banning plastic bags, but will only become law if Prop. 67 — the actual plastic bag ban — passes, and Prop. 65 passes as well but with more votes. Told you it was confusing. We run down all 17 ballot propositions in this episode, so get comfy, take notes and godspeed. And if you need some insight on the other huge slate of measures you'll weigh in on — the local San

Just before we went to tape the latest episode of the San Diego Decides podcast, former Obama adviser David Axelrod had a fortuitous tweet: Polls are so numerous at this point that results vary greatly and everyone can find one they like. Yet all are covered as if they're right! — David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) September 14, 2016 During election season, various polls get blasted in people’s faces like they’re being hurled from a T-shirt gun. Making sense of them all – especially when they sometimes seem to contradict one another – is tough. In this episode, Ry Rivard and I run down some of the many things to consider when reading a poll: Who was paying for it, who was surveyed and how (did the interviewers use cell phones? Did they have Spanish-speakers available?) and what questions were actually asked. We also talk about the rise of online polling – a method that was considered kind of a joke as recently as a few years ago but is growing more sophisticated at a rapid clip. And we talked with John Nienstedt

This week, Sara Libby and I start preparing for the weighty decisions we’ll all be asked to make in this fall’s election. These are weighty not only because they’re important decisions, but because there are a lot of them. When you get the state’s Official Voter Information Guide in the mail this fall, you’ll see it’s a voluminous document, the size of some cities’ telephone books. The guide takes voters through the pros and cons of at least 17 different statewide ballot measures. We go through the guide, how you can use it and offer some first impressions about the layout, writing and fun facts scattered throughout. We suggest starting a book club soon if you want to get through the whole thing by Election Day. The guide doesn’t even include the numerous city and county ballot measures that you’ll also be asked to decide in November. We also list our favorite things of the week. My favorite thing is a rhetorical tic that Tim Kaine, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, has: He repeats himself for emphas

Sara and Ry recap what happened on Election Day in San Diego and what races are still going into the fall.

The primary is right around the corner, so co-hosts Sara Libby and Ry Rivard tackle some of the biggest local races and issues that'll be on the ballot. VOSD staffers join the podcast this week to help break things down and give listeners useful information in advance of the June 7 vote. Andrew Keatts talks about a few of the San Diego City Council races and the five-way city attorney race. He also shares some important background and details about Rebuild San Diego, the measure put forward by San Diego City Councilman Mark Kersey that promises to finally deal with the city’s large infrastructure funding dilemma. "Somewhere along the line someone dropped the ball or somebody lost their nerve," Keatts said of the measure, which the city's independent budget analyst has said lacks a new source of revenue to actually make a dent in the city's crumbling infrastructure problem. "One thing or another happened, but the plan that was sketched out never happened and instead what we have is Proposition H." Also on the

This week we explore races full of lawyers: the race for city attorney and two San Diego Superior Court judge races. The first race is full of intrigue, campaign ads, sniping among candidates and has a lot of people’s attention. Sara Libby and I talk with Andy Keatts, who has been covering the race. Recently, he's explored the client lists of Robert Hickey and Rafael Castellanos and looked at how frequent city foe Cory Briggs’ endorsement is affecting Gil Cabrera’s campaign. The judges’ races, though – you’d be hard pressed to find much out about either of them. Forty-three of the San Diego Superior Court’s 128 sitting judges are up for election this year. Only two are actually in races, though: The rest are running unopposed, so will be elected automatically. We talk with Johanna Schiavoni, a local appellate lawyer who worked on judicial endorsements when she was head of the Lawyers Club of San Diego. She tells us how judges races work and how voters can get more information on these important but unheralded

There's a lot to unpack when it comes to politicalactioncommittees, or PACs.Joe Yerardi, a reporter at inewsource, joins San DiegoDecidesthis week for a quick PAC history lesson, including arundownof the Citizens United Supreme Court ruling andothercases that have upended the world of campaign finance inthelast few years. He also reviews the basics when it comesto"dark money" and other termsswirling around themysterious world of campaignfinance."This stuff is a little hard to wrap your head around,"Yerardisaid. "But really it's extremely important to how this cityandthis country is governed."Hosts Sara Libby and Ry Rivard go from learning about PACstotalking to someone who runs one. Aimee Faucett, COO of theSanDiego Regional Chamber of Commerce, joins the show to discussthePACs she heads. The Chamber used to keep politics at arm'slengthbut has significantly ramped up its involvement in localraces.Faucett said the Chamber's goal when it comes togettinginvolved in politics and elections is to give the localbusi

In the political arena, underdogs are candidates who don't get many endorsements, they raise little money compared to competitors and they don't have much name recognition. People think underdogs are long-shots who won't likely win, but sometimes they pull out a surprise. Lori Saldaña is a self-admitted political underdog who joins podcast co-hosts Ry Rivard and Sara Libby this week to talk about her underdog status in the mayoral race, and her surprise win in a past race for state Assembly. Saldaña was a major underdog when she ran for Assembly. She said she won, in part, because the Democrats she was up against were too busy slinging mud at each other. "People said it was a circular firing squad of Democrats in that primary and I ducked," she said. Also on the podcast this week, Kevin Melton, a Republican candidate for the 78th District Assembly seat. Melton is running against City Councilman Todd Gloria — someone who's well known, has racked up endorsements and raised far more money — but Melton said he do

You might've heard that California's presidential primary, for once, could actually matter this time around. But that doesn't necessarily mean you can just stroll into a poll this June and weigh in. The latest San Diego Decides is all about voting — what needs to happen before you can vote in the primary, how voting is changing and some of the controversies surrounding how votes are counted. Hosts Sara Libby and Ry Rivard speak with Rep. Susan Davis, who has for years been pushing a bill that would allow any eligible voter to vote by mail. Californians can vote by mail easily, but folks in many other states have to jump through onerous hurdles like producing a doctor's note or proving they'll be on vacation on Election Day. “If you actually get sick on Election Day, you probably didn’t know you were going to get sick, which means you probably didn’t go to the doctor in order to get a permission slip so that you can vote by mail,” Davis said. Also on the show: Vince Hall, executive director of the Future of Ca

San Diego Decides is Voice of San Diego’s elections podcast. Hosts Sara Libby and Ry Rivard break down individual races and ballot measures San Diegans will weigh in on this year, as well bigger issues like the mechanics of voting, state-level drama and more. ♦♦♦ In this week's episode, hosts Sara Libby and Ry Rivard talked about three big races this week: the race for mayor, the race for city attorney and the race for the District 9 City Council seat. Sara and Andrew Keatts interviewed mayoral candidate Ed Harris, and share some excerpts of that conversation. Harris addresses why he decided to get in the race, and what separates him from Mayor Kevin Faulconer even though they seemingly have a lot in common. Next up: the race for city attorney saw some verbal sparring between Rafael Castellanos and Gil Cabrera, as Voice of San Diego’s Andrew Keats wrote about recently. Both candidates have been preparing to run for several years, so they both have a lot invested in winning. A third candidate, Mara Elliott, ha

What role do endorsements play in politics? Is it just a lot of back-slapping among friends and political influencers? Do they really sway voters in any meaningful way? And what is the process that goes on in the background that leads to an organization or individual endorsing a political candidate? These are just some of the questions that we’re exploring on this, the first episode of Voice of San Diego’s new podcast, San Diego Decides. Throughout this podcast, we’ll be digging into all kinds of different aspects of the 2016 San Diego election. This episode is bringing you everything you’ve ever wanted to know about endorsements in a political election. There are certain times when an endorsement is, in fact, an overwhelming factor, particularly when the general voting population is not especially up to date on the issues or the candidates, or when candidates have very similar voting records. Other times, endorsements are little more than announcements that go straight into trash folder of your email inbox.