2022 Midterm Election Guide | California & Los Angeles County

8 min readNov 1, 2022

Rants, recommendations, and requisite irreverence to prepare you for the 2022 midterms

Hmm… a billionaire real estate bro or a sitting Democratic Congresswoman? That’s a tough call!

You last heard from me in May, just before the June 2022 primary, and my outlook was not bright. Since then, we’ve seen reassuring glimmers of hope countervailed by ever-darker black holes of political despair as our Overton window shifts downward into the abyss. A staggering roster of election deniers, January 6th apologists, MAGA clowns, partisan puppets, and clinically insane demagogues stand to gain real power nationwide. But some of this is to be expected. As we know, midterm elections are always a referendum on the current administration — the party that holds the executive branch will always lose congressional and state power in the midterms. It is destined.

One pleasant surprise, however, is that this year’s early voting turnout is already historically high for a midterm. Good! More voters are paying attention. Clearly two decades of my breathless and hysterical pleading is finally paying off!

Not for nothing: voting really does work. Our political reality is indeed the result of a series of elections and their attendant consequences. As our federal government attempts failingly to accommodate an ever-growing chasm between the divergent tribalist political goals of each party by returning power to the states, it will be state and local elections that reshape and improve our lives more directly than Washington can.

Truth be told, much of how we experience our lives as citizens is already determined by state and local laws rather than federal policy. So yes, the Supreme Court is a joke, Democrats continue to be absolutely pitiful at cohesive messaging, billionaires are both winning and multiplying, inflation is run amok, democracy will not look the same in a few years, and the decay of the American project appears inexorable. But let’s not panic. We enjoy the benefit of living in California; politically flawed and complex, yes—but it remains the most populous, wealthy, and powerful state in the union. Let’s use the laboratories of democracy—the states—to our advantage on issues that the judicial and legislative branches will increasingly corrode or abandon altogether.

The obvious case study here is Roe v. Wade, which, in 2018, I took no pleasure in prognosticating would be roundly overturned (see below). The Dobbs ruling therefore was not a shock, and many more dominos will fall. The promise of “one nation, indivisible” will be rendered mythological by extremism of all kinds. But states, counties, and cities can and will step in whenever possible, as voters are regionally more likely to align than nationally. And in a sense, that gives us, the voters, more power to reshape our local communities in spite of federal perversions.

Preparedness for doom makes its eventual knock on your door less horrifying. As I have implored since 2016, expect national politics to continue its disheartening downward trend. Do not let headlines about the federal government or other states pull you away from where the work happens: your local communities in California. The national stage will cause you nothing but anguish. This is a distraction. You don’t live in an entire country—you live in a neighborhood, a city, a county. That is now your political home. Stay there.

Chins up, children. It’s election time. Make sure everyone you know is voting. Fill out those ballots. Chop chop! Much to do.

References & Resources 📚

I use a range of sources to formulate my recommendations for candidates and propositions up and down the ballot. If I didn’t make a recommendation for an office or measure on your ballot, use the links below for more helpful information, slates, and endorsements.

I don’t live in San Francisco anymore, but many of you do! If you need recommendations for San Francisco Bay Area ballots, refer to the voter guides below:

Opinions Ahead 🗣

We won’t agree on every candidate or proposition. My goal is not to change your mind, but to present a blend of perspicacious opinion and ruthless sarcasm so you can land squarely in your own views — whether we agree or not. I won’t shame you, but I will henceforth refer to you as the braindead corporate shill, narcissistic trust fund baby, or tin foil hat conspiracy clown that you are. Candidates and voters are human and therefore imperfect, as are ballot propositions. No human or law will ever meet your own personal criteria in all contexts, so spare me the moral archaeology of what so-and-so did a while back.

Local Ballots Will Vary 🏛

The lists below does not encompass every district. If your local candidates / offices are not listed, you can start by entering your address into the CADEM endorsements form here. If you need further guidance, use the links in the References & Resources section I compiled above.

• Statewide Offices

United States Senator: Alex Padilla (vote for Alex in two places: short term + full term)
Governor: Gavin Newsom
Lieutenant Governor: Eleni Kounalakis
Secretary of State: Dr. Shirley N. Weber
Treasurer: Fiona Ma
Attorney General: Rob Bonta

Controller: Malia M. Cohen
Superintendent of Public Instruction: Tony K. Thurmond
Commissioner of Insurance: Ricardo Lara

Board of Equalization District 3: Antonio “Tony” Vazquez

State Senator, 20th District: Caroline Menjivar
State Senator, 22nd District: Susan Rubio
State Senator, 24th District: Ben Allen
State Senator, 26th District: Maria Elena Durazo
State Senator, 28th District: Lola Smallwood-Cuevas
State Senator, 30th District: Bob Archuleta

State Assembly, 51st District: Rick Chavez Zbur
State Assembly, 62nd District: Tina McKinnor
State Assembly, 65th District: Fatima Iqbal-Zubair

State Supreme Court Yes/No: Vote YES for all justices.

• Statewide Propositions

✅ Proposition 1—YES: A response to the overturning of Roe v. Wade, Proposition 1 will amend the state constitution to enshrine the right to an abortion. It says a lot about this stupid country that we even need to have this conversation in 2022.

✅ Proposition 26— YES: As the topic of Indian casinos is far beyond the scope of both my interest and understanding, I asked several tribe members about 26 and 27. I will do what they say.

❌ Proposition 27—NO: This one is related to 26, but seeks to permit online and mobile sports gambling outside tribal lands. Guess who’s funding it!

✅ Proposition 28 — YES: Growing up in Ridgewood, New Jersey, my public school arts and music education was so good that I suffered from the grandiose delusion that I was going to be a professional actor. Perish the thought! All arts and music education must be stripped from public schools, lest these poor kids think they’re gonna make it big. Just kidding, I’d love to see California provide additional funding for arts and music programs. (And for the record, my hometown public schools turned out quite a few successful artists, actors, and musicians!)

✅ Proposition 29— YES: For the third goddamn time since 2018, we’re voting on the regulation of kidney dialysis clinics. Faced with potential worker unionization, greedy dialysis corporations are in a panic, dumping nearly $90 million into the opposition. This is because they don’t want to lose a dime in meeting regulations for better patient care, reporting patient infections, and providing greater fiscal transparency.

✅ Proposition 30 — YES: You could tell me this small tax on personal incomes over $2 million is for dry erase markers and toothpicks and I would still support it, because income inequality is at historic highs. Luckily, this one is for something actually important: funding programs to reduce air pollution and prevent wildfires in a state prone to both.

✅ Proposition 31 — YES: We already voted yes on this—and won—in 2020. This just approves that 2020 law, which prohibits the retail sale of flavored tobacco products (like Juul), which are used heavily by teens. I appreciate the vape trend because it doesn’t have the lingering filthy smell of cigarettes (which I loathe), but the flavored pods have created nicotine-addicted zombies out of our teens.

• Los Angeles City & County Offices

📝 Is someone on your ballot missing from my list? Click here for a full guide to every candidate in Los Angeles County

Mayor: Karen Ruth Bass (Oh, you’re a fan of billionaire mall mogul Rick Caruso? If I had family money and no brain cells, I’d be a fan too. Kardashians love him, and we know how smart they are!)
City Attorney: Hydee Feldstein Soto
City Controller: Paul Koretz (I agonized over this one)

Board of Supervisors District 3: Bob Hertzberg

Sheriff: Robert Luna

United States Representative
27th District: Christy Smith
30th District: Adam Schiff
36th District: Ted Lieu

Los Angeles City Council
City Council District 5: Katy Young Yaroslavsky
City Council District 11: Erin Darling
City Council District 13: Hugo Soto-Martinez
City Council District 15: Tim McOsker

Community College District Board of Trustees
Seat 2: Steven Veres
Seat 4: Sara Hernandez
Seat 6: Gabriel Buelna
Seat 7: Kelsey Iino

Los Angeles Superior Court Justice
Office № 60: Abby Baron
Office № 67: Fernanda Maria Barreto
Office № 70: Holly L. Hancock
Office № 90: Melissa Lyons
Office № 118: Melissa Hammond
Office № 151: Patrick Hare

LAUSD / Board of Education
District 6: Kelly Gonez

• Los Angeles City & County Propositions

✅ Los Angeles County Measure A—YES: Allows the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, by a four-fifths vote, to remove the sheriff from office for cause.

✅ Los Angeles County Measure C— YES: A tax on commercial cannabis activities in unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. Revenue would go into the County General Fund to “further support economic and workforce development” in the unincorporated areas, as well as provide permits to 25 storefront retail marijuana businesses, 25 delivery-only retailers, 10 cultivators, 10 manufacturers, 10 testing limits, and 10 distributors.

✅ Los Angeles City Measure LH—YES: Authorizes 5,000 more units of low-income housing. If you have eyes and even half a brain, you know this is necessary in our city.

✅ Los Angeles City Measure SP—YES: A flat parcel tax to provide funding for parks and recreational facilities… you know, for those of us who don’t have our own private yards. Low-income households will be exempt from this tax.

✅ Los Angeles City Measure ULA— YES: I am once again declaring that I would support this 4% tax on sales of real estate over $5 million (and 5.5% on sales over $10 million!) even if the tax revenue were used to purchase plungers and mayonnaise… but no need to fight me, this tax will be used for affordable housing and tenant assistance programs. Congratulations on being rich, but please share like we used to.

✅ Los Angeles Community College Measure LA— YES: Authorizes funding to repair, improve, and expand Los Angeles’ community colleges.