Are you anxious about your ballot getting in on time? Do you want to ensure it is in the hands of election officials?
You will find an official Ballot Drop Box where your Vote-by-Mail ballot may be deposited just outside the City Clerk’s office on the 2nd floor of the San Carlos City Hall.

Important Dates:

• October 28, 2008- Last day the Elections Office can receive your mailed, faxed, or electronic Vote By Mail application.

• November 4, 2008 @ 8:00pm – Last day and time the Elections Office can receive your voted Vote by Mail ballot – postmarks are not accepted.

Former Secretary of State and Commander of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Colin Powell is an American success story and an example of American spirit we all aspire to embrace. Today he made the following statement in conjunction with his endorsement of Senator Barack Obama for the office of President.

Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer is no. That’s not America. Is there something wrong with a seven-year-old Muslim-American kid believing he or she could be president? Yet I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion that he is a Muslim and might have an association with terrorists. This is not the way we should be doing it in America.

I feel particularly strong about this because of a picture I saw in a magazine. It was a photo essay about troops who were serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. And one picture at the tail end of this photo essay, was of a mother at Arlington Cemetery and she had her head on the headstone of her son’s grave. And as the picture focused in, you could see the writing on the headstone, and it gave his awards – Purple Heart, Bronze Star – showed that he died in Iraq, gave his date of birth, date of death, he was 20 years old. And then at the very top of the head stone, it didn’t have a Christian cross. It didn’t have a Star of David. It has a crescent and star of the Islamic faith.

And his name was Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan. And he was an American. He was born in New Jersey. He was fourteen years old at the time of 9/11, and he waited until he could serve his country and he gave his life.”

Elsheba Khan at the grave of her son, Specialist Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan.
Photo by Platon

Haywood “Woody” McCallum is a dear friend living in Richmond, Virginia. Woody is in the ICU at the VCU Medical Center following a shooting as he was getting into his car on Saturday night. He is past the “critical 48 hours” and is listed in stable condition. All prayers are needed.

Woody recently retired from his post as a beloved high school music teacher. He has also been part of the National Youth Science Camp family since 1969 and serves on the foundation board and as President Emeritus of the Alumni Association. Woody is one who leads from a place of love and with a big heart.

Local Measures for San Carlos Voters

YES: Measure Q Commercial Parking Facilities | County of San Mateo (55%)
YES: Measure R Vehicle Rental Business | County of San Mateo (Majority Approval Required)
Would impose a business license tax … of gross receipts on operators … located in the unincorporated area of San Mateo County?

I lumped these two measures together because they deal spcifically with car rental and parking lots in the unincorporated portions of the county (primarily near the airport).

YES: Measure S Parcel Tax | San Carlos School District (2/3 Approval Required)
…beginning July 1, 2009, with cost-of-living adjustments not more than 3% annually, an Independent Oversight Committee and offering a senior exemption?

This means $6.25/month for better schools and ensuring a source of income the state can’t abscond with.  Seniors can opt out.  Here are even more reasons to vote YES

NO: Proposition 7 Renewable Energy Generation
Shall government-owned utilities be required to generate 20% of their electricity from renewable energy by 2010…

This is a “damn the costs” method of getting any kind of alternative energy source plugged in. I acknowledge and support the notion of urgency in moving to alternative sources of energy. This proposition will simply mandate any option a municipality can turn up in the next 15 months will be the one chosen. This is not smart policy and demands decisions be made in a state of panic as opposed to a thoughtful approach of what is in the best interest of all concerned.

NO: Proposition 8 Eliminate Right of Same-Sex Couples to Marry
When a group fights hard to secure civil rights – we cannot simply strip them away. And let’s be clear, this is a step that takes rights away from people.

NO: Proposition 9 Criminal Justice System. Victims’ Rights. Parole
This proposition is a re-hash of laws already on the books with the goal of changing the California Constitution. I see no reason to monkey with the constitution when the laws on the books are working.

(In 1982) Proposition 8 established a legal right for crime victims to be notified of, to attend, and to state their views at, sentencing and parole hearings. This measure expands these legal rights to include all public criminal proceedings, including the release from custody of offenders after their arrest, but before trial. In addition, victims would be given the constitutional right to participate in other aspects of the criminal justice process, such as conferring with prosecutors on the charges filed. Also, law enforcement and criminal prosecution agencies would be required to provide victims with specified information, including details on victim’s rights.” Source: Voter Guide

If the concern is protection of families from further victimization, as proponents claim, that goal can be met without granting families a new and inappropriate role in prosecutions.” Source: LA Times

NO: Proposition 10 Alternative Fuel Vehicles and Renewable Energy. Bonds
This is simply put a $5 billion boondoggle and one of the most egregious attempts to steal money from your pocket that has been perpetrated.

One would expect the SF Chronicle in the green-friendly city to favor this – but no:

If the foul scent of self-interest doesn’t sink Prop. 10, its specifics should. <snip> But Prop. 10 couldn’t even win a free pass for good intentions. It’s opposed by an A-to-Z list of ballot-savvy organizations including the anti-tax Howard Jarvis group, California Chamber of Commerce, Sierra Club and the California Labor Federation. On the other side: Pickens and his checkbook. California needs low-polluting alternative fuels in its future. But voters shouldn’t be misled to think this measure is a balanced answer. Vote no on Proposition 10.” Source: SF Chronicle

YES: Proposition 11 Redistricting
To say California’s districts are drawn “artfully” would be an exceedingly kind way to describe the gerrymandering system of political power. It is imperative to get the district maps out of the hands of those with clear conflicts of interest.

But the question for voters is not whether this measure would do everything its supporters want, or whether it is the best possible redistricting reform. The question is whether Proposition 11 would give California a system better than the status quo. It would.” Source: LA Times

YES: Proposition 12 Veteran’s Bond Act of 2008
This $900 Million bond will be issued to provide farm and home aid for California veterans.

California began the veterans’ home loan programs in the 1922. California voters have subsequently been asked 26 times to fund the program and have voted “yes” all 26 times, for a total of $8.4 billion in the past. The 2008 effort is the 27th time voters will have been asked to support the program. Prop. 12′s request for $900 million is the largest request for a Cal-Vet bond.

Loans are repaid, along with all program costs, by the loan holders at no expense to the taxpayers

Source: Ballotpedia