Don’t vote for the wrong candidate

Here you’ll find our current recommendations for the June 2012 Primary Election ballot for Los Angeles County.

We also cover other races such as mayor, city council, community college and school board races, as well as local measures. The recommendations for the June 2012 Election are below.

Our Los Angeles Voter Guide recommendations are designed to help you cut through the rhetoric, election propaganda and biased media coverage of the campaigns.

Unfortunately, many candidates may be incompetent, corrupt or insensitive to good government.

They don’t care about the taxpayer, better communities and a government that serves, not controls. They care about being elected.

Even worse, many have a political or social agenda, not a desire to serve the people, protect liberty and build jobs or better schools.

This ends in poor government, higher taxes and a disintegrating quality of city life or education for our children and family.

We evaluate each candidate based a selection of standards, including the 10 family values criteria on the right. Each candidate receives a questionnaire, and many are personally interviewed. See questionnaires here: for Congress, State Senate, State Assembly, Judicial, City Council, Community College, Special Districts and School Board.

Our research indicates that each supported candidate possesses integrity, honesty and a servant’s heart.

See below for local recommendations.

Best wishes,

Craig A. Huey

Ratings:

Every candidate is considered after thorough research; we also have a questionnaire for candidates to complete.

• : Strongest endorsement for values voters
• : Above average
• : Better than opponent, vote represents “lesser of two evils”
• No Endorsement: We either oppose the candidates or have found no reason to support a candidate. If you don’t vote for a candidate or issue, all your other votes still count.

Note: Historically third party candidates and write—in candidates do not win statewide elections in California. Click here to see article on Voting Your Christian Values.

Lavoterguide.com ranks every aspect of a candidate’s record on a scale of 1 (most activist) to 10 (most constructionist).

President

President of the United States; Democractic Party

• Barack Obama, Democratic

President of the United States; Republican Party

• Charles Roemer, III, Republican
• Ron Paul, Republican
• Newt Gingrich, Republican
• Rick Santorum, Republican
• Mitt Romney, Republican
• Fred Krager, Republican

President of the United States; American Independent Party

• Edward Noonan, American Independent
• Laurie Roth, American Independent
• Mad Max Riekse, American Independent

President of the United States; Green Party

• Jill Stein, Green
• Kent Mesplay, Green
• Roseanne Barr, Green

President of the United States; Libertarian Party

• Gary Johnson, Libertarian
• James Ogle, Libertarian
• Bill Still, Libertarian
• R. J. Harris, Libertarian
• Roger Gray, Libertarian
• Lee Wrights, Libertarian
• Barbara Waymire, Libertarian
• Scott Keller, Libertarian
• Carl Person, Libertarian

President of the United States; Peace and Freedom Party

• Ross Anderson, Peace and Freedom
• Stephen Durham, Peace and Freedom
• Stewart Alexander, Peace and Freedom

US Legislature

United States Senator

• Nachum Shifren, Republican
• David Levitt, Democratic
• Don Grundmann, American Independent
• Don Krampe, Republican
• Michael Strimling, Democratic
• Diane Stewart, Democratic
• Colleen Fernald, Democratic
• Robert Lauten, Republican
• Daniel Hughes, Republican
• Orly Taitz, Republican
• Rogelio Gloria, Republican
• Marsha Feinland, Peace and Freedom
• Al Ramirez, Republican
• Dirk Konopik, Republican
• Elizabeth Emken, Republican
• Rick Williams, Republican
• Oscar Braun, Republican
• Dennis Jackson, Republican
• Kabiruddin Ali, Peace and Freedom
• John Boruff, Republican
• Phillip Conlon, Republican
• Nak Shah, Democratic
• Gail Lightfoot, Libertarian
• Dianne Feinstein, Democratic

United States Representative; District 8

• Angela Valles, Republican
• Gregg Imus, Republican
• Bill Jensen, Republican
• John Pinkerton, Democratic
• Joseph D. Napolitano, Republican
• Jackie Conaway, Democratic
• Anthony Adams
• Dennis L. Albertsen, Republican
• Paul Cook, Republican
• Ryan McEachron, Republican
• George T. Craig, Republican
• Phil Liberatore, Republican
• Brad Mitzelfelt, Republican

United States Representative; District 23

• Terry Phillips
• Eric Parker, Republican
• Kevin McCarthy, Republican

United States Representative; District 25

• Lee Rogers, Democratic
• Howard McKeon, Republican
• Dante Acosta, Republican
• Catherine Wright, Republican

United States Representative; District 26

• Linda Parks
• Jess Herrera, Democratic
• Albert Goldberg, Democratic
• Julia Brownley, Democratic
• David Thayne, Democratic
• Tony Strickland, Republican

United States Representative; District 27

• Robert Duran, Republican
• Judy Chu, Democratic
• Jack Orswell, Republican

United States Representative; District 28

• Jenny Worman, Republican
• Massie Munroe, Democratic
• Garen Mailyan, Republican
• Sal Genovese, Democratic
• Jonathan Kalbfeld, Democratic
• Adam Schiff, Democratic
• Phil Jennerjahn, Republican

United States Representative; District 29

• David Hernandez
• Tony Cardenas, Democratic
• Richard Valdez, Democratic

United States Representative; District 30

• Susan Shelley, Republican
• Navraj Singh, Republican
• Vince Gilmore, Democratic
• Brad Sherman, Democratic
• Howard Berman, Democratic
• Mark Reed, Republican
• Michael Powelson, Green

United States Representative; District 32

• G. Gonzalez, Democratic
• David Miller, Republican
• Grace Napolitano, Democratic

United States Representative; District 33

• David Steinman, Green
• William Bloomfield, Jr.
• Timothy Pape, Democratic
• Christopher David, Republican
• Steve Collett, Libertarian
• Bruce Margolin, Democratic
• Henry Waxman, Democratic
• Zein Obagi, Democratic

United States Representative; District 34

• Stephen Smith, Republican
• Howard Johnson, Peace and Freedom
• Xavier Becerra, Democratic

United States Representative; District 35

• Gloria McLeod, Democratic
• Joe Baca, Democratic
• Anthony Vieyra, Green

United States Representative; District 37

• Karen Bass, Democratic

United States Representative; District 38

• Benjamin Campos, Republican
• Jorge Robles, Republican
• Linda Sánchez, Democratic

United States Representative; District 39

• Ed Royce, Republican
• Jay Chen, Democratic
• D’Marie Mulattieri

United States Representative; District 40

• David Sanchez, Democratic
• Lucille Roybal-Allard, Democratic

United States Representative; District 42

• Ken S. Calvert, Republican
• Eva S. Johnson, Republican
• Clayton Thibodeau, Republican

United States Representative; District 43

• Maxine Waters, Democratic
• Bob Flores, Democratic

United States Representative; District 44

• Janice Hahn, Democratic
• Laura Richardson, Democratic

Unites States Representative; District 45

• John Webb, Republican
• John Campbell, Republican
• Sukhee Kang, Democrat

United States Representative; District 47

• Steve Foley, Republican
• Alan Lowenthal, Democratic
• Jay Shah, Democratic
• Gary DeLong, Republican
• Sanford Kahn, Republican
• Steven Kuykendall, Republican
• Peter Mathews, Democratic
• Usha Shah, Democratic

State Assembly

Assembly; District 35

• Gerald “Gerry” Manata, Democrat
• K.H. “Katcho” Achadjian, Republican

Member of the State Assembly; District 36

• Thomas Lackey, Republican
• Steve Fox, Democratic
• Ron Smith, Republican

Member of the State Assembly; District 38

• Edward Headington, Democratic
• Patricia McKeon, Republican
• Paul Strickland, Republican
• Scott Wilk, Republican

Member of the State Assembly; District 39

• Omar Cuevas, Republican
• Raul Bocanegra, Democratic
• John Paul Lindblad, Green
• Richard Alarcon, Democratic
• Ricardo Benitez, Republican
• Margie Carranza, Republican

Member of the State Assembly; District 41

• Ed Colton, Republican
• Michael Cacciotti, Democratic
• Donna Lowe, Republican
• Victoria Rusnak, Democratic
• Chris Holden, Democratic

Member of the State Assembly; District 43

• Mike Gatto, Democratic
• Greg Krikorian, Republican

Member of the State Assembly; District 44

• Eileen MacEnery, Democratic
• Jeffrey Gorell, Republican
• Thomas Mullens, Democratic

Member of the State Assembly; District 45

• Bob Blumenfield, Democratic
• Chris Kolski, Republican

Member of the State Assembly; District 46

• Jay Stern, Republican
• Adrin Nazarian, Democratic
• Andrew Lachman, Democratic
• Adriano Lecaros, Democratic
• Laurette Healey, Democratic
• Brian Johnson, Democratic

Member of the State Assembly; District 48

• Michael Meza
• Roger Hernandez, Democratic
• Joe Gardner, Republican

Member of the State Assembly; District 49

• Matthew Lin, Republican
• Edwin Chau, Democratic
• Mitchell Ing, Democratic

Member of the State Assembly; District 50

• Richard Bloom, Democratic
• Torie Osborn, Democratic
• Betsy Butler, Democratic
• Bradly Torgan, Republican

Member of the State Assembly; District 51

• Oscar Gutierrez, Democratic
• Arturo Chavez, Democratic
• Luis Lopez, Democratic
• Jimmy Gomez, Democratic
• Richard Friedberg, Democratic

Member of the State Assembly; District 52

• Norma Torres, Democratic
• Ray Moors, Democratic
• Paul Avila, Democratic
• Kenny Coble, Republican

Member of the State Assembly; District 53

• Michael Aldapa, Democratic
• John Pérez, Democratic
• Roger Young, Democratic
• Jose Aguilar, Republican

Member of the State Assembly; District 54

• Keith McCowen, Republican
• Holly Mitchell, Democratic
• Ed Nicoletti, Democratic

Member of the State Assembly; District 55

• Gregg Fritchle, Democratic
• Curt Hagman, Republican

Member of the State Assembly; District 56

• Corky Reynaga-Emett, Republican
• V. Manuel Perez, Democratic

Member of the State Assembly; District 57

• Rudy Bermudez, Democratic
• Ian Calderon, Democratic
• Noel Jaimes, Republican

Member of the State Assembly; District 58

• Sultan Ahmad, Democratic
• Cristina Garcia, Democratic
• Daniel Crespo, Democratic
• Patricia Kotze-Ramos, Republican
• Luis Marquez, Democratic
• Tom Calderon, Democratic

Member of the State Assembly; District 59

• Reginald Jones-Sawyer, Democratic
• Greg Akili, Democratic
• Rodney Robinson, Democratic
• Armenak Nouridjanian, Democratic
• Gertrude Holmes-Magee, Democratic

Member of the State Assembly; District 60

• Jeff Miller, Republican (Incumbent)
• Stan Skipworth, Republican
• JosÉ Luis Pérez, Democratic
• Eric Linder, Republican
• Greg Kraft, Republican

Member of the State Assembly; District 61

• Joe Ludwig, Republican
• Fredy R. De Leon
• Bill Batey, Republican
• Jose Medina, Democratic

Member of the State Assembly; District 62

• Steven Bradford, Democratic
• Mervin Evans, Democratic

Member of the State Assembly; District 63

• Jack Guerrero, Republican
• Diane Martinez, Democratic
• Cathrin Sargent, Democratic
• Anthony Rendon, Democratic

Member of the State Assembly; District 64

• Isadore Hall, III, Democratic

Member of the State Assembly; District 66

• Craig Huey, Republican
• Nathan Mintz, Republican
• Al Muratsuchi, Democratic

Member of the State Assembly; District 70

• Bonnie Lowenthal, Democratic
• Martha Flores Gibson, Republican

State Senate

State Senator; District 21

• Star Moffatt, Democratic
• Steve Knight, Republican

State Senator; District 23

• Melissa O’Donnell, Democratic
• Bill Emmerson, Republican

State Senator; District 25

• Ameenah Fuller, Democratic
• Gilbert Gonzales, Republican
• Carol Liu, Democratic

State Senator; District 27

• Fran Pavley, Democratic
• Todd Zink, Republican

State Senator; District 29

• Greg Diamond, Democratic
• Robert Huff, Republican

State Senator; District 33

• Ricardo Lara, Democratic

State Senator; District 35

• Charlotte Svolos, Republican
• Paul Butterfield, Democratic
• Roderick Wright, Democratic

Judicial

Judge of the Superior Court; County of Los Angeles; Office 3

• Craig Gold – 4
• Laurence N. Kaldor – 4
• Sean D. Coen – 5
• Joe Escalante – 4

Judge of the Superior Court; County of Los Angeles; Office 10

• Kim Smith – 6
• Sanjay T. Kumar – 7

Judge of the Superior Court; County of Los Angeles; Office 38

• Lynn Diane Olson – 3
• Douglas W. Weitzman – 4

Judge of the Superior Court; County of Los Angeles; Office 65

• Matt Schonbrun – 4
• Shannon Knight – 5
• Andrea C. Thompson – 8

Judge of the Superior Court; County of Los Angeles; Office 78

• Kenneth R. Hughey – 9
• James D. Otto – 5

Judge of the Superior Court; County of Los Angeles; Office 114

• Eric Harmon – 5
• Berj Parseghian – 7
• Ben M. Brees – 1

County

District Attorney; County of Los Angeles

• John L. Breault, III
• Jackie Lacey
• Alan Jackson
• Danette E. Meyers
• Carmen Trutanich
• Bobby Grace

Supervisor; County of Los Angeles; Supervisorial District 2

• Mark Ridley-Thomas

Supervisor; County of Los Angeles; Supervisorial District 5

• Michael D. Antonovich
• M. A. C. “Maestro” Enriquez-Marquez
• Raj Pal Kahlon

Special District

Member, Board of Directors; Central Basin Municipal Water District; Division 1

• Ed Vasquez
• James B. Roybal
• Yvette Lizette Silva

Member, Board of Directors; Central Basin Municipal Water District; Division 4

• Rudy C. Montalvo
• Leticia Vasquez

Member, Board of Directors; Central Basin Municipal Water District; Division 5

• Tony Mendoza
• Jay W. Gray
• Phillip D. Hawkins

State Propositions

Proposition 28 — Limits on Legislators’ Terms in Office

Proposition 29 — Imposes Additional Tax on Cigarettes for Cancer Research

Local Measures

__ Measure A Formation of Geographic Sub-Districts Within Pasadena Unified School District — City of Pasadena (Charter Amendment – Majority Approval Required)
Shall the Charter of the City of Pasadena be amended to provide for the nomination and election of members of the Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education by geographic sub-districts, with geographic sub-districts adopted by the School Board and redrawn after each federal census based upon a citizen Redistricting Commission recommendation?

__ Measure B City Council District Formation — City of Compton (Charter Amendment – Majority Approval Required)
Shall the City Charter be amended to provide that each member of the City Council (except for the mayor) be elected by his or her home district and only by the registered voters of that district?

__ Measure H L.A. County Hotel Occupancy Tax Continuation Measure — County of Los Angeles (Ordinance – Majority Approval Required)
Shall the existing unincorporated county hotel room tax be readopted to ratify, continue, and update the existing ordinance at the current rate of 12 percent to fund essential County general fund services, such as parks, libraries, senior services, and law enforcement; to continue exempting hotel stays longer than 30 days, to add exemptions for emergency shelter referrals, and for individuals on official government business pursuant to federal law?

__ Measure L L.A. County Landfill Tax Continuation Measure — City of Los Angeles (Ordinance – Majority Approval Required)
Shall Los Angeles County’s existing tax on landfills be readopted to ratify and continue the existing 10 percent tax on landfill operators’ gross receipts from waste disposal in landfills in the unincorporated county, to fund essential general fund services, such as parks, libraries, senior services, and law enforcement; and to update the administrative appeal process, and clarify definitions to ensure the tax is properly calculated?

__ Measure CK School Improvement Funding — Sulphur Springs Union Elementary School District (School Bonds – 55% Approval Required)
Without increasing current tax rates to provide quality education in Canyon Country elementary schools, safe, modern classrooms for students, including medically-fragile, disabled students, shall Sulphur Springs Union School District upgrade classrooms, libraries, science labs, old roofs, support classroom instruction in core subjects (reading, writing, math, science) by reducing debt, update technology for 21 st century skills, upgrade, acquire, construct classrooms, sites, facilities/equipment by issuing $72,000,000 in bonds at legal rates, with independent oversight and all funds used locally?

__ Measure CO School Improvement Funding — Charter Oak Unified School District (School Bonds – 55% Approval Required)
To protect quality local schools with funding Sacramento cannot take away, upgrade classrooms/libraries/science labs/computers/technology, improve energy efficiency to save money to retain qualified teachers and protect core academic instruction, improve access for students with disabilities, improve fire/security systems for student safety, and upgrade/construct/acquire school facilities/sites/classrooms/equipment, shall Charter Oak Unified School District issue $47,000,000 in bonds at legal rates, with independent oversight/audits and without increasing current tax rate limits?

See Archives

“Craig,

“I just want to thank you for providing your helpful input and suggestions on your LA Voter Guide website. It was quite helpful to me—especially with a panel of candidates whose names I have rarely or never heard—let alone not knowing what kind of politics they are likely to offer in their anticipated positions.

“I’ve received help in making my voting decisions from some folks whose opinions I trust. I’m passing around the link to your website as a helpful resource for my friends and colleagues.

“Thank you!”
—Burton

“Craig,

“Thank you so much for this incredibly useful and informative voting guide. With the confusion and double-talk that come along with bonds, measures, propositions, etc., I appreciate your hard work and effort in providing this guide to help sift through the politics.

“Thank you again for all your hard work. May God bless you and all you do.”
—Mysti

“Craig,

“THANK YOU…after searching the web for local election information for over an hour, I found your site, and I truly appreciate your insight on these important issues.”
—John and Sonia

“Mr. Huey,

“I caught one of your interviews on KWVE and was very impressed. Thank you for your willingness and time for researching and compiling all this information for those of us with limited time and resources. Thank you also for helping to ‘get to the bottom line’ on so many measures that are, quite frankly, confusing and misleading.”
—Jim

“Hi Craig,

“I heard your presentation. Thanks very much for all you’re doing. I really appreciate your recommendation on judges. I vote no unless I know something about judges.”
—Russ

“Craig,

“Congratulations on the ‘awesome’ success of the Forum at St. Andrew’s. I appreciate the significant research on the judges and the propositions—very good job."
—Herb