Foreword

It’s important to remember the ballot box is only one front of the war against capitalism. Organizing for a better future does not begin or end with voting. However, multiple measures are only on the ballot this year because of sustained efforts from Peninsula DSA and allies over months, even years. We write this voter guide to spread our vision, tying current measures to our broader program, and engage our local community. Additionally, this is only a list of what our membership feels we can speak on. Many races go unmentioned either because we don’t have the familiarity to confidently comment, or because there is no candidate we feel advances the interests or power of the working class. Consider our analysis, and consider doing more, like joining DSA. There is still time to get involved! Check our calendar for opportunities to canvas for Measure E, Prop 40, Melanie Olson, Phoebe Shin Venkat, and/or Ofelia Bello.

Endorse/Recommend background: Endorsements made by our chapter indicate that our membership has democratically decided a position is in line with our political program and has committed to providing material support towards its passage. For candidate races, only DSA members are considered by our chapter for endorsements, ensuring their commitment to the working class. Candidates and positions taken on ballot measures that we have endorsed are indicated by a 🌹.

However, living in a capitalist state where the people do not have control, most choices on the ballot are imperfect, at best. Consequently, we also present recommendations for candidates, propositions, and measures to help make the best of bad choices so that we may still use our votes to build some working class power.

Statewide Propositions & Candidates

Several propositions on the ballot involve progressive taxation and the issue of our state’s extreme wealth inequality, including propositions to improve the situation (which we’ve endorsed) and propositions that will make the situation far worse for the working class of California (which we have anti-endorsed). Following the analysis done by California DSA, our chapter, like many chapters across our state, have made the following endorsements:

YES on Propositions 3 & 40 🌹

NO on Propositions 41, 42, & 43 🌹

For guidance on other higher up races and propositions, see California DSA’s voter guide available here.

PDSA Endorsed Candidates

Foster City City Council District 1 - Phoebe Shin Venkat 🌹

A socialist and member of Peninsula DSA, Phoebe has been alone on the current council in speaking for a community center, for renters, for youth cycling, and the working class. She has been active in the fight to keep public transit running, and we are excited to keep working with her to make the Peninsula a place anyone can build a life, community, family, and more. Peninsula DSA proudly endorses Phoebe Shin Venkat for Foster City Council.

South San Francisco City Council District 3 - Melanie Olson 🌹

Another PDSA member and socialist, Melanie was also a loud and distinct voice supporting our campaign to save public transit last year. She serves on the South San Francisco Parks and Recreation Commission, where she advocates for public greenery and traffic safety measures, and works as a City Planner in Woodside, a city in desperate need of more diverse housing options. Peninsula DSA proudly endorses Melanie Olson for South San Francisco City Council.

East Palo Alto City Council At-large - Ofelia Bello 🌹

Ofelia Bello is also a proud socialist and member of PDSA. She has long been involved in community organizing in East Palo Alto, fighting against the gentrification and criminalization of one of the most vulnerable parts of our county. This includes her long-time housing and tenants’ rights advocacy that has involved showing up to support and advocate for renters during police evictions, as well as her on-going role as the director of the Pahali Community Land Trust, which works to preserve affordable, community-owned housing in East Palo Alto. Now, she is running for a seat on the East Palo Alto City Council to take on the corporate-aligned city council. This includes East Palo Alto’s current mayor, who has sold out the city to the highest bidder through increasing wasteful spending on the carceral state and Flock cameras, taking an all-expense paid trip to tour Israel while it perpetuates a genocide, and passing policies that are rapidly gentrifying one of the most historically oppressed parts of the County. Ofelia instead has committed to strengthening renter protections, fighting to bring social housing to East Palo Alto, ending surveillance by canceling Flock and ALPR contracts, maintaining East Palo Alto as a sanctuary city status and opposing ICE’s raids, enshrining pro-labor agreements in city contracts, ending racist and antisemitic policies, and affirming the city’s support for BDS to end the genocide in Palestine. Because of this, Peninsula DSA proudly endorses Ofelia Bello for East Palo Alto City Council.

PDSA Endorsed Local Measures

YES on Measure E 🌹

Measure E adds rent control to Redwood City. Rent control is our only immediate tool to keep members of our community here with us, which is also an environmental concern as many workers get displaced into the Central Valley and have to supercommute back here, spewing excess carbon into the air because they have to since there’s no affordable housing where they work. Our opponents claim we unfairly include non-profits, when they too are driving rent up and the State has also considered lowering the statewide limit to 5%, just like our bill would do. Over 50% of Californians are rent-burdened, aka spending 30% or more of their income on rent, while residents of peer nations spend less than half of that ratio on housing. We don’t just need rent control, we need rent to collapse. DSA ultimately believes in Social Housing, Housing First, and a Public Bank, as we see in Vienna, Finland, and soon to be in San Francisco (thanks to DSA elected Jackie Fielder), respectively.

Recommended Candidates

San Mateo County Community College District Governing Board Trustee Area 2 - Jason Holt

Peninsula DSA spent the last two years organizing in support of AFT 1493 in order to back them in their contract fight. Thankfully, they won their contract with a majority of their demands. But during that fight, the current trustees exposed just how out of touch with the lives of workers and students they are. AFT 1493 went looking for a candidate who would help correct this problem and found Jason, who understands that helping students means helping teachers. PDSA strongly encourages voting for Jason Holt for SMC CCD.

Pacifica School District, At-large (General Election) - Bridget Hardt, Tracey Simmons, and Katy Bradley

Though there are no socialists running, there are a few progressive liberals who seem willing to defend Pacifica from capitalist attempts at school privatization. Hardt has both successfully organized and fought for Parcel Tax campaigns to help overcome neoliberal failures in public school funding, while Simmons has taken strong stances against generative AI and in favor of the rights of trans students. Bradley is a longtime union organizer with UPTE and is committed to preventing cuts to resources for students and teachers. Peninsula DSA recommends voting for Bridget Hardt, Tracey Simmons, and Katy Bradley for the 4-year term seats.

Pacifica School District, At-large (Special Election) - Elizabeth Bredall

Bredall pushed for the necessary Parcel Tax to keep Pacifica sufficiently funded alongside Bridget Hardt (who is running in the Pacifica School District general election). Altogether, with her time in Music Matters and fighting for workforce housing, we believe Bredall champions working Pacificans and their children more than any other candidate. Vote Elizabeth Bredall for Pacifica School District.

San Mateo County Board of Education Governing Board Area 2 - Frank Lara

Frank Lara, a longtime member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, is running for school board in South SF. He is a leading organizer in the United Educators of San Francisco, who just helped lead a successful strike among SFUSD teachers for healthcare and better classroom conditions for students. Frank knows how to take on our enemies in the billionaire class and ICE and will help create a South SF school district that works for all. We recommend voting Frank Lara for SMC BoE.

San Mateo City Council District 3 - Seema Patel

Like many cities down the Peninsula, San Mateo politics are dominated by a small group of leaders much more conservative and much less informed than our community. So, while we insist there are flaws in existing affordable housing methods, and that new housing should come with expanded rent control, tenants’ rights, even social housing, we agree Seema understands the importance of public transit, safe streets, and sustainability and will help fix the imbalance in San Mateo politics. Vote Seema Patel for San Mateo City Council.

San Mateo City Council District 5 - Adam Loraine

Adam has been a strong advocate on RTM alongside many of our members. Similar to above, we believe in more aggressive methods of building and enforcing affordability. But Adam is an avid cyclist himself and will still be able to build a sustainable San Mateo, build a local-first San Mateo, and help fix San Mateo’s streets from an informed perspective. Vote Adam Loraine for San Mateo City Council.

San Mateo County Board of Education Governing Board Area 2 - Dana Johnson

Dana has had a storied career advocating for students who have been victimized by our prison system. They work with homeless and incarcerated youth and will fight for San Mateo County Schools that work for all families. They also have been a staunch LGBTQ+ rights advocate, and are a reliable ally for our trans youth, who have been increasingly victimized by the right. Dana’s lived experiences and career as a social worker give them an expertise and commitment to equity that the incumbent they are running against is simply unable to match. We recommend Dana for San Mateo County School Board.

San Mateo Union High School District School Board Trustee Area 3 - Dianna Harris

The San Mateo Union High School District faces the same inequities plaguing public education nationwide. Diana Harris, an 18-year public school educator and 10-year PTA leader, is running to address these issues. Her platform focuses on progressive concerns; closing opportunity gaps, ensuring genuine inclusion for students with disabilities, preparing all students for college, careers, and community, and prioritizing community input from all, not just those who are able to attend board meetings. As a current Hillsdale High School parent and lifelong community organizer, Diana has the relationships and track record to build coalitions and make a difference. Diana is endorsed by the SMUHSD Teachers Association, San Mateo Labor Council, California Working Families Party, San Mateo County Latinx Democratic Club, San Mateo AAPI Alliance, Adam Loraine, and many other elected officials and community leaders.

Recommended Local Measures

YES on Measure RTM

RTM, or Regional Transit Measure, is a bill designed to generate a large amount of funding for BART, MUNI, CalTrain, and many other regional transit institutions that are facing a budget crisis. Peninsula DSA has been a guiding hand on what is now Measure RTM for over two years. We helped organize a rally, an email campaign, and multiple mass town hall actions that helped get SamTrans to join the measure. We celebrated San Mateo County joining a regional transit body, and hopefully it’s a step toward undoing the mistake of not joining BART. Unfortunately, our representatives opted against the progressive funding measure suggested by us and SEIU 1021, which is why we prioritized Redwood City’s Measure E. But still, many PDSA members in their personal and professional time have continued supporting RTM, because letting the trains stop running would be catastrophic. To meaningfully address climate change, we need large progressive funding to not just maintain but significantly expand public transit. But for now, vote yes on RTM.

YES on Measures K, M, N, O, R, T, V, Y, Z, EE

This lot of measures all use typical funding methods that keep cities and schools running in California. Ultimately, these are patchwork solutions to the massive hole Prop 13 punched into California’s budget when it cut almost ⅔ of State funds in one year. This is why many are shocked to find out we take the city bus to school, and have to pay for it. And how these are gathered and distributed still reproduce neighborhood segregation. Fixing California’s budget requires larger solutions, like undoing Prop 13, abolishing private schools, de-segregationist re-zoning, expanding public transit service, and more, but for now, it’s a choice between these flawed funding measures and service cuts. That’s a choice with a clear answer.

NO RECOMMENDATION on Measure AA and Measure L

Adding language to the preamble of the county charter affirming its commitment to dignity, civil rights, and equal protection is good, as is prioritizing extreme weather events. But words are not enough. In the context of the current administration’s campaign of terror against undocumented people, language is not enough. Changes to the county charter must be followed with concrete steps to address these issues to be meaningful.

NO on Measure H

Measure H increases San Mateo’s sales and use tax rate from 0.25% to 0.5% to fund various local city services. Despite what’s just been said about the above list of funding measures, what makes H different is that it has no expiration date. While many Californians pride themselves on voting for taxes, California is stuck with some of the highest sales tax, a punishment on the poor. It’s no coincidence that homelessness has been rising while California’s share of billionaires goes up and up. While we regrettably support temporary Sales Tax like RTM, we refuse to make this practice permanent like this suggests. No on H.

YES on Measure I

In 1999, voters in Half Moon Bay approved a downtown plan that was meant to address traffic problems and protect coastal areas. Measure I primarily moves the designated boundaries of this existing downtown plan, in cooperation with its coastal protection agreements. This still encourages developing a dense urban center, and helps prevent sprawl on the eroding coastline, as Half Moon Bay needs. Yes on I.

NO on Measure P

Measure P prohibits selling of Menlo Park’s city owned downtown parking lots without voter approval. Issues like the one featured just above stem from ages of refusing to accommodate any and everyone into our community, especially in our urban cores, and near public transit. Again, this alone does not build true affordability like Social Housing would. But housing sprawl built in fire hazard zones, homelessness, even traffic, and more all still stem from not having housing where it most belongs. Moreover, passing P would likely backfire and force the state to approve construction with even less input from the community. No on P.

YES on Measure Q

California’s housing affordability issue shows up all around us, and in more ways than you might expect. Measure Q approves the construction of a five-story apartment complex of affordable housing for farmworkers. Half Moon Bay’s two new housing developments came out of shock incidents that exposed how poor the conditions are that our community members were dealing with. While there are other methods of developing truly affordable housing, this is the sort of density, near necessities and amenities, farmworkers deserve. Half Moon Bay’s other farmworker housing project, Stone Pine Cove, is a joke of a solution that leaves residents far away from grocery stores and stuck with a parking space when they’ve already been asking for a SamTrans route to work. Yes on Q.

YES on Measure S

Measure S is a repeal of a restriction on height for new housing developments in San Bruno. We demand denser, taller cities, but for ecological reasons, while we reject the Abundance movement’s reasoning. Socialist urbanism means bike lanes with social housing together. Redevelopment, beautification, new greenspace, and more have more often than not acted as new forms of Urban Renewal. But as much of this is happening already, it may as well be as tall as possible. We will have to bring rent control and more to every city in the county later. For now, vote yes on S.