Sacramento Bee election endorsements: These candidates and measures deserve your vote | Opinion
This year’s general election ballot is filled with a presidential race, a U.S. Senate race, congressional races, legislative races, local government races, school board races, local measures and statewide propositions. All await your important selections ahead of Election Day on Nov. 5.
The most important job of The Sacramento Bee Editorial Board is to research and interview the candidates seeking elective office, as well as the advocates for and against the local measures and statewide propositions on your ballot.
Once the research and interviews are done, we deliberate and do what you do on Election Day: We make a choice. Then we explain the choice to our readers in our endorsement editorials.
All of our editorials are unsigned because they represent the editorial positions of The Bee and the members of our board. Those board members are: Executive Editor Colleen McCain Nelson, California Opinion Editor Marcos Breton, Op-Ed Editor Hannah Holzer, and columnists Robin Epley, Tom Philp and LeBron Antonio Hill.
On statewide propositions, we worked with colleagues at our sister papers: The Fresno Bee’s Opinion Editor Juan Esparza Loera and columnist Tad Weber, and San Luis Tribune Opinion Editor, Stephanie Finucane.
Unlike bettors in NFL games, our job is not to handicap winners; the goal is to be informative. We do the work, learn the issues and explain our endorsements in the races we cover as a resource for our readers as they consider their own ballots.
For the Nov. 5 election, McClatchy opinion journalists have published endorsements in 100 races. These races are in Placer County, Sacramento, Modesto, Madera, Merced and Fresno, and the coastal communities in and south of San Luis Obispo. In total, we interviewed roughly 160 candidates and advocates.
In the Sacramento area alone, we have made endorsements in nearly 40 races.
Here are the endorsements of The Sacramento Bee Editorial Board in Sacramento-area races, as well as endorsements for local measures, statewide initiatives and California’s open U.S Senate seat.
FEDERAL OFFICES
U.S. Senate
The Bee’s Choice: “Who should Californians send to the U.S. Senate, Steve Garvey or Adam Schiff?”
U.S. Representative, California’s 3rd Congressional District
The Bee’s Choice: “This is who The Bee endorses in the critical 3rd Congressional District of California”
U.S. Representative, California’s 6th Congressional District
The Bee’s Choice: “The Bee endorses this candidate in race for California’s 6th Congressional District”
U.S. Representative, California’s 7th Congressional District
The Bee’s Choice: “Doris Matsui has served in Congress for two decades. Time for a change?”
U.S. Representative, California’s 9th Congressional District
The Bee’s Choice: “To win California’s 9th congressional seat, it’ll take more than partisan politics”
California Propositions
Proposition 2
The Bee’s Choice: “Prop. 2 would fund needed California school construction. Should voters say no again?”
Proposition 3
The Bee’s Choice: “California voters could protect gay marriage rights with Prop. 3”
Proposition 4
The Bee’s Choice: “California’s Prop. 4 tries to meet many resource needs. Is it worth $10 billion?”
Proposition 5
The Bee’s Choice: “California’s Prop. 5 would lower local property tax approvals to 55%. Is that fair?”
Proposition 6
The Bee’s Choice: “California voters could abolish the vestiges of slavery with Prop. 6”
Proposition 32
The Bee’s Choice: “Inflation has a massive lead over wages. Could California’s Prop 32 close the gap?”
Proposition 33
The Bee’s Choice: “Should local politicians control your rent? It’s Prop. 33’s question for California”
Proposition 34
The Bee’s Choice: “Prop. 34 says it is about drug purchasing reform, but is it really about rent control?”
Proposition 35
The Bee’s Choice: “Proposition 35 is confusing to California voters. Here is what you need to know”
Proposition 36
The Bee’s Choice: “Prop. 36 taps into California voter anger over crime. But is it a terrible idea?”
California Legislature
California Assembly, 5th District
The Bee’s Choice: “Yes, The Bee Editorial Board is endorsing this Republican for the California Assembly”
California Assembly, 6th District
The Bee’s Choice: “The Bee Editorial Board endorses a veteran prosecutor for the California Assembly”
California Assembly, 7th District
The Bee’s Choice: “Here’s The Bee’s endorsement in one of California’s most-watched legislative elections”
California Assembly, 9th District
The Bee’s Choice: “We believe this Republican is the choice for California’s Ninth Assembly District”
California Assembly, 11th District
The Bee’s Choice: “The Bee Editorial Board endorses this impressive leader for the California Assembly”
California Senate, 3rd District
The Bee’s Choice: “Will California’s new 3rd Senate District be the prize in a big political comeback?”
Sacramento City Council
Mayor
The Bee’s Choice: “For Sacramento mayor, The Bee endorses a candidate who can disrupt City Hall”
Sacramento City Council, 2nd District
The Bee’s Choice: “If one area of Sacramento needs leadership this election, it’s Council District 2”
ELK GROVE CITY COUNCIL
Mayor, District 1, District 3
The Bee’s Choice: “Elk Grove’s leaders should take responsibility for their decisions before election”
City of Folsom
Folsom City Council, District 2, District 4
The Bee’s Choice: “Two candidates will strengthen a Folsom City Council facing challenges”
Measure G
The Bee’s Choice: “Folsom’s city finances are ailing. Is a sales tax hike called Measure G the cure?”
Rancho Cordova City Council
District 1, District 3, District 4
The Bee’s Choice: “This Sacramento suburb is lucky to have smart incumbents in the 2024 election”
Sacramento Municipal Utility District
Ward 1, Ward 5
The Bee’s Choice: “The Bee endorsements in SMUD board elections: Is the utility heading in right direction?”
Sacramento City Unified School District
Area 3, Area 4
The Bee’s Choice: “The Bee endorses these two candidates for the Sacramento City Unified school board”
Sacramento County Measures
Measure D
The Bee’s Choice: “Measure D funds $543 million in renovations for Sacramento schools. Should it pass?”
Measure E
The Bee’s Choice: “Parcel taxes for Sacramento libraries will expire. Measure E would extend funding”
Measure O
The Bee’s Choice: “Sacramento Metro Fire’s Measure O would upgrade equipment in a first-ever voter appeal”
Placer County
Measure B
The Bee’s Choice: “Placer County’s Measure B could bring needed funds to transportation projects”
City of Roseville
Roseville City Council, District 5
The Bee’s Choice: “This city council candidate is the best choice for Roseville”
Roseville Joint Union School District
The Bee’s Choice: “Three newcomers deserve seats on Roseville Joint Union school board”
City of Rocklin
Rocklin City Council
The Bee’s Choice: “Three hard-working incumbents deserve to be re-elected to the Rocklin City Council”
Rocklin Union School Board
The Bee’s Choice: “These two candidates would restore order to the Rocklin Unified School Board”
Yolo County
City of Davis
Davis City Council, District 2, District 3
The Bee’s Choice: “The Bee Editorial Board endorses proven leaders in Davis City Council elections”
City of West Sacramento
West Sacramento City Council, Mayor, District 1, District 2
The Bee’s Choice: “Here are The Bee’s endorsements for West Sacramento elections at an important moment”
City of Woodland
Woodland City Council, District 2, District 4, District 5
The Bee’s Choice: “This election season, Woodland’s city council benefits from knowledge of the region”
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREWhat are editorials, and who writes them?
Editorials represent the collective opinion of The Sacramento Bee Editorial Board.
They do not reflect the individual opinions of board members or the views of Bee reporters in the news section. Bee reporters do not participate in editorial board deliberations or weigh in on board decisions. The same rules apply to our sister publications, The Modesto Bee, Fresno Bee, Merced Sun-Star and San Luis Obispo Tribune.
In Sacramento, our board includes Bee Executive Editor Colleen McCain Nelson, McClatchy California Opinion Editor Marcos Breton, opinion writers Robin Epley, Tom Philp, LeBron Antonio Hill and op-ed editor Hannah Holzer.
In Fresno and Merced, the board includes Central Valley Executive Editor Don Blount, Senior Editor Christopher Kirkpatrick, Opinion Editor Juan Esparza Loera, and opinion writer Tad Weber.
In Modesto, the board includes Senior Editor Carlos Virgen and in San Luis Obispo, it includes Opinion Editor Stephanie Finucane.
We base our opinions on reporting by our colleagues in the news section, and our own reporting and interviews. Our members attend public meetings, call people and follow-up on story ideas from readers just as news reporters do. Unlike objective reporters, we share our judgments and state clearly what we think should happen based on our knowledge.
Read more by clicking the arrow in the upper right.
Tell us what you think
You may or may not agree with our perspective. We believe disagreement is healthy and necessary for a functioning democracy. If you would like to share your own views on events important to the Sacramento region, you may write a letter to the editor (150 words or less) using this form, or email an op-ed (650-750 words) to opinion@sacbee.com. Due to a high volume of submissions, we are not able to publish everything we receive.
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This story was originally published October 17, 2024 at 12:40 PM.