11/8 Labor Victory Statewide; SF's Mixed County Results

Nazi Schwarzenegger got the defeat his $70 million special election deserved, and his defeat was led by labor, as it must be. The anger was so great at this unnecessary, viciously anti-labor special election that the voters defeated all of the state propositions with a Bingo NO!

As we watched the results, we cheered through tears at 11 p.m. when finally Prop 75 was defeated, and Prop 73 remained defeated, but still on edge. We started singing Solidarity Forever/Solidaridad para siempre at 11:30 p.m. when the heavily populated counties of Los Angeles, Santa Clara, Alameda and Contra Costa Counties showed serious results as the workingclass vote rolled in. At midnight, we breathed a sigh of relief as finally the No vote on Props 73 and 75 vote increased to safety and labor's strength held firm.

Let this narrow victory be a lesson to labor: The labor organizing must be expanded with all deliberate speed, and labor must unite with its natural allies, the pro-abortion women's liberation movement which led the defeat of anti-abortion Prop 73, as well as all other causes that benefit the workingclass, which it did not do officially in this election, although its supporters did urge a No vote on Props 73 through 78 anyway, every chance we could, even on the labor phone banks. Labor must also stop supporting death penalty, pro-prison, pro-capitalist, pro-private utilities governors like that good Democrat Gray Davis, who was ousted by the equally pro-death penalty, pro-prison, pro-capitalist, pro-private utilities governor Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger. Peace & Freedom Party and the Green Party are always opposed to the death penalty and prisons, support public power, and P&F is socialist, and labor must support candidates from both of these parties and NEVER support the Democrats or Republicans. The reason Prop 75 almost passed was because people are outraged that labor's money supports the capitalist, reactionary Democrats. Most of labor's money should be spent on labor organizing, not on elections, and certainly not on Democrats or Republicans. Until that change is made, we will continue to have nightmare elections like this reactionary special election.

While San Francisco led the state, as usual, in opposing Props 73 through 78 and passing props 79 and 80 (defeated statewide), its county proposition results were a mixed bag.

While Proposition I, the College not Combat measure passed with almost 60% of the vote, other results were not good. Proposition C, a good Ethics Commission expansion measure lost with almost 60% voting no; Proposition D, a needed change to the appointment system to the Metopolitan Transportation Agency, allowing the Board of Supervisors to make some of the appointments instead of the mayor (always a mouthpiece of the Chamber of Commerce) making all the appointments, lost with 64% voting No; Proposition F, the budget set aside racket for unnecessary firehouses, passed with 57% of the vote; and the anti-Second Amendment, gun control Proposition H passed, with almost 58% of the vote.

Proposition H will soon be stayed by a lawsuit as it is a clear violation of the Second Amendment and is an open invitation to criminals to do what they please as the criminals are certainly not turning in any guns. Prop H mandates that everyone except the police and the military not have guns in San Francisco. Hitler would have been proud of this gun control measure, and in fact, the Nazis were staunch promoters of gun control. It is common sense that everyone has the right to self defense. It is also a basic principle that any attack on one section of the Bill of Rights is an attack on the entire Bill of Rights, and thus the Second Amendment must prevail.

In a state of 27 million adults, where 12.5 million people voted in the high voter turnout presidential general election of November 2004, some 6.7 million people voted in this special election.

In San Francisco, a city of 600,000 adults, where over 300,000 people voted in the high voter turnout presidential general election of November 2004, 167,000 people voted in this special election.

The numbers who voted in this election will increase somewhat after the provisional ballots are counted, to 7 million in California and 200,000 in San Francisco. The fact remains that most of the workingclass never votes and did not vote in this election. That can only change with serious labor organizing.

The county honor roll for voting No on Prop 73, the anti-abortion measure, is:
80% San Francisco
75% Marin
72% Santa Cruz
69% Alameda
69% Mendocino
67% Sonoma
66% San Mateo
66% Humboldt
63% Santa Clara
63% Alpine
62% Contra Costa
61% Yolo
61% Napa
58% Mono
57% Monterey
57% Los Angeles
55% Solano
55% Lake
54% Santa Barbara
54% Trinity
52% Sacramento
51% Nevada
51% Del Norte

The county honor roll for voting No on Prop 75, the attack on labor's financial support of electoral politics, is:
77% San Francisco
70% Alameda
66% Marin
66% Santa Cruz
65% Humboldt
64% San Mateo
64% Mendocino
61% Sonoma
60% Los Angeles
60% Napa
59% Contra Costa
59% Imperial
59% Santa Clara
59% Solano
59% Monterey
58% Del Norte
57% Yolo
56% San Benito
55% Lake
52% Sacramento
52% Alpine
52% Lassen
51% Trinity
50% Merced