2012 ELECTION READY OR NOT!

Get ready for the 2012 Presidential election campaign because it starts today!

California recap of general election with the predicted outcome of many of our candidate and State Measure contests.

The Legalizing Marijuana State Measure has garnered national interest. Voters are roundly defeating this measure. Perhaps that’s because with a physician’s prescription California legally allows marijuana use for medical purposes.

Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer is projected to win though only 36% of the votes have been counted. Boxer has declared victoy, but her challenger, Carly Fiorina, has decided to wait before conceding. We may be looking at a several days delay before we know the official outcome of this election. There are mail-in ballots to count, absentee ballots and provisional ballots yet to be tallied.

California 26th District Republican House Representative, David Dreier, has likely been re-elected where he is expected to regain his powerful chairman position on the House Rules Committee that exercises considerable control over legislation.

The news agency predictors declare Democrats will retain majority control of the Senate though key races in other states may still be too close to call as I write this. The Republican Party has regained the majority in the House of Representatives. The Tea Party wild card will be sending a few of their newly elected Representatives.

When this new Congress next meets in Washington, D.C., we’ll get to see if the new political composition will create an environment that results in genuine effort from all of these elected officials to work together and make some compromises in the best interests of the electorate. If not, we will need to replace them.

Hopefully, during the next two years citizens will carefully monitor Congressional actions. There are vital issues at stake regarding health care, Medicare, and Social Security to name just a few matters that will demand our policing.

California’s Governor is projected to be Democrat Jerry Brown. His opponent, Meg Whitman, finally capitulated. She spent more money on her campaign than anyone has ever spent on such a U.S. political race.

Jerry Brown, currently Attorney General, had become governor soon after our family relocated to California, later became Oakland’s Mayor. Years earlier his father had been this State’s Governor. The fact Jerry Brown is an “elder” (he’s age 72) is of note. I was not aware of any stereotypical representations derogatorily referring to his age during this sometimes bitter campaign. Just now, for the first time, a news anchor mentioned Brown was the oldest Governor ever elected here.

I would like to believe projected Governor-elect Brown has had time for reflection on how he previously governed -- what he accomplished and, most importantly, what mistakes he may have made. Given our State’s difficulties Brown may bring the exact kind of political experience most needed now. He certainly knows the inner workings of the legislative system and may be in a unique position to rejuvenate this State.

A state measure change allows the legislature to pass budget and budget-related legislation from two-thirds to a simple majority, but retains the two-thirds vote requirement for taxes. This may be an important aid in addressing California’s problems.

California voters defeated efforts to bamboozle us with two measures on Redistricting, also known as Gerrymandering, by selecting the correct one that kept the process out of elected officials political hands.

Citizens voted down a measure backed by two large Texas oil companies to suspend implementation of our air pollution control law. This may prove to be costly for us and our State, but I remember when we moved here there were serious smog inversion days with obvious health consequences much more costly.

Locally, the results of the School Bond Issue won’t be known until much later today at the earliest.

[Up Date: This local school bond issue went down to defeat which really surprised me.]

Hope there were some bright election results where you live.