Las Vegas Voter Guide (For Progressives)

 

 

LAS VEGAS VOTER GUIDE (FOR PROGRESSIVES)

It occurred to me that many voters (like me) want to vote for progressive candidates in most, if not all elections. However, with so many races, including multiple non-partisan contests, it’s difficult to know which candidates best align with our views.

In the past, I admit to knowing absolutely nothing about many of the races (such as judges, ballot measures, etc.). My guess is — I’m not alone. I’ve made the mistake of voting anyway, most of the time. When undecided, I used to pull the lever for women, ethnic names, and many Hispanic, Jewish, and Italian surnames. My reasoning was that women, Latinos, Jews, and Italians (there’s a lot of these particular demographics in Las Vegas) were more likely to be liberals along the political spectrum. Just imagine how many times I was wrong!

Well, we can’t assume anything — not anymore. It’s also an abdication of good citizenship to vote in such an irresponsible manner, or to vote in those races at all. Just imagine how many voters do this in so many elections across the country, often resulting in bad results.

Gee, if only there was some “VOTER GUIDE” we could print out and use to make wise decisions……

Voila! Nick Christenson to our rescue!

I’ve known NC for 30 years. He lives nearby. His progressive credentials are impeccable. NC even ran for the Nevada State Assembly a few years ago. He knows the local scene and invests lots of time in liberal causes. Since he’s done the research on these races, I trust his investment of time and assessment for more than my own. I suspect many of you might find this useful.

Accordingly, I am attaching a copy of his voting endorsements below. His comments may prove helpful.

ONE CAVEAT: I will not vote for any Republican in any race. Not this year. I also refuse to vote for any County Commissioner who supported the F1 contract (annual car race that clogs up the Strip for months at a time). If an incumbent Commissioner is running, and opposed by a Republican, I will skip that race. I urge others how are outraged by the F1 fiasco to do the same.

That said, here’s Nick Christenson’s endorsements, which I have edited slightly for space:
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Hey, Clark County Nevada, it’s election season again! Folks often ask me for my endorsements, so whether you want them or not, here is who I will be voting for this year.

Don’t just rely on my recommendations. There are lots of good organizations making endorsements, and I don’t blanket agree with any of their slates. I recommend Nevada NOW and PLAN Action Fund as thoughtful endorsers. Also, if you’re so inclined, some of the unions that I think do an especially good job of examining candidates include the SEIU and AFLCIO locals.

First, for all the partisan offices, I’m voting straight-ticket Democrat for what I hope are obvious reasons. I think I’ve met everyone with a “DEM” next to their name who is on my ballot this year except for one person, and given the state of the country, this is the no-doubt slam dunk way to go. Just vote for everyone “DEM”, period.

You might have some disagreements with some of the DEM candidates. That’s fine, so do I. Let them know where they’re letting you down in no uncertain terms. There’s not a single one of them where their opponent isn’t literally orders of magnitude worse. Sometimes in a democracy grown-ups have to vote for the least of evils.

Now I’ll discuss contested non-partisan races. I’m not going to deal with uncontested races, do what you want there. In some cases I’ll include brief thoughts. No remarks generally indicates a strong preference on my part.

District Court Dept. 5:
Hibbetts, Tracy
It’s a fair argument that Barisich hasn’t done anything to warrant replacement. Nonetheless, I’m voting for Hibbetts. However, I did a lot of research on this one, and I think it’s very close.

District Court Dept. 8:
Beaumont, Austin
Some of my friends are voting for Peterson. If I were going to court, I’d rather appear before Beaumont.

District Court Dept. 12:
Leavitt, Michelle
I think Gilliam could be a very fine judge. I just don’t see a reason to replace Leavitt. I wish Gilliam had run in some other race, he’d definitely get my endorsement in several other districts.

District Court Dept. 17:
Schwartz, Jennifer

District Court Dept. 21:
Hubert, Alex
I’d be happy to endorse either candidate, but I have to vote for one. This one might have been the hardest one for me to decide. Again, there are other seats I would have rather Hubert run in.

District Court Dept. 23:
Lilly-Spells, Jasmin

District Court Dept. 28:
Tarmu, Danielle A.

District Court Dept. 29:
Quagge, Alex

District Court Dept. 30:
Wiese, II, Jerry A.

District Court Dept. 31:
McLeod, Alexandra Beth

This is another one where I’m on the other side from a bunch of folks I respect. This is also a close one, but, again, if I had a choice of who I’d rather have to appear before, my answer is McLeod.

Family Court Dept. D:
Smith, Gwynneth

Family Court Dept. E:
Hoskin, Charles “Chuck”

Family Court Dept. N:
Maxey, Kerri Jean

Family Court Dept. P:
Isso, Jennifer
To be clear, I endorse neither candidates in this race, and a lot of folks I trust are steering clear of making a recommendation here, and I completely understand why. However, I can’t write someone in here. Knowing what I know, which judge would I rather have to appear before? It’s Isso.

Family Court Dept. R:
Caston, Marilyn A.

Family Court Dept. S:
Forman, Randall

Ballot questions:

Question 6: Hell yes.
Question 7: Hell no.

If you endorse other candidates, great, post about that on your own page. I really don’t want to debate individual candidates here. If folks have questions about other candidates that don’t appear on my ballot, I might or might not have an opinion, feel free to ask about them.

Hope this helps someone a little.