This is a long ballot, and I won’t cover everything, but there are a few races I’d like to mention, as well as the statewide initiatives we’re faced with this time around.

Governor: There are only two realistic choices of candidates with a chance to win. Neither are pleasant for a conservative. But I’m backing Steve Poizner over Meg Whitman because he seems less of an extremist than she is. His wife donated to Al Gore in his name, but she backed Babs Boxer last time out, which could undercut our nominee this time. This is real hold-your-nose territory either way.

Lieutenant Governor: Abel Maldonaldo is a real piece of work, the culmination of the Arnold “Girly Man” Schwarzenegger alliance with Democrats. We’ve got to strike him down, and Sam Aanestad seems to be leading opponent who’s a mainstream Republican.

Secretary of State: Even if Damon Dunn didn’t seem like an exciting candidate due to his personal story and extensive outreach efforts, Orly Taitz is a total whack job. And by whack job I mean she’s openly a birther, calling her own website the “World’s Leading Obama Eligibility Challenge Web Site.”

Senator: I won’t rehash what’s been said about this race on the front page of Red State over the last year and a half. I voted Chuck DeVore to nobody’s big surprise, though.

United States Representative, District 45: Mary Bono Mack has been shifting left ever since she settled into her DC offices, but opposition to her from the right only began to crystallize when she voted for Cap and Tax. It’s time for her to move on, and go live in Florida and DC with Connie Mack IV of Florida, her husband. I’m voting Clay Thibodeau.

Riverside County District Attorney: Incumbent Rod Pacheco has virtually every conservative endorsement under the sun, while Paul Zellerbach is a judge who once skipped out on a jury in deliberations in order to see an Angels game, and got reprimanded for it. What a flake.

And now onto the ballot measures!

Proposition 13: No, it’s not that Prop. 13, but amusingly enough this 13 also deals with property tax limitations. It prohibits seismic retrofitting from triggering higher property tax assessments. I’m voting Yes.

Proposition 14: Jungle primary. No, no, a thousand times no. An open primary is bad enough.

Proposition 15: Voluntary public financing of political campaigns with spending and contribution limits. It appears similar to the Presidential system in place now. I’d really rather not fund Democrat, Green, Peace and Freedom, and other obnoxious/evil politicians with my tax dollars, thanks. No.

Proposition 16: Current state law lets cities take over electric power in the city for all new power hookups, over time creating a total monopoly held by the city. Proposition 16 would require a vote before the city could do that, with two thirds approval required for passage. I wish we had that in Moreno Valley before they did their takeover. Yes.

Proposition 17: This is a tricky one. As you may not know if you don’t live here, auto insurance is not sold in a free market in California. State law requires you to purchase it to drive in the state if you can’t afford to put up a five figure bond with the state DMV. So the market is tightly controlled by the state Insurance Commissioner and state law. Proposition 17 would allow insurers to give a “discount” according to continuous time insured by other insurers. In effect, this would allow insurers to raise their base prices and then give discounts to select people who are already insured. I don’t like the government allowing these insurers to take advantage of a captive market with more market segmentation than they already get away with. No, though I expect pushback on this one.