Supervisor Zev Yaroslavksy, whose district includes Malibu, is up for reelection.
By The Malibu Times Staff
When Malibu voters head to the polls on Tuesday, they will decide on who will be representing their chosen parties in November’s general election for several statewide offices. Also, voters, will be asked to weigh in on two propositions and decide whether to reelect their county supervisor, sheriff and assessor.
County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, whose district includes Malibu, is up for reelection. He faces two challengers, David R. Hernandez and Randy Springer. But like most county supervisor elections, this one is not expected to be competitive.
Sheriff Leroy Baca has a larger list of opponents in his bid for another term. Ken Masse, Ray Leyva, Paul L. Jernigan Jr. and Don Meredith are opposing the two-term sheriff. Most political experts are picking Baca to win the race.
County Assessor Rick Auerbach is also not expected to face a serious challenge from John Lower Taxes Loew in his bid for reelection.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is up for reelection in November and he is expected to easily gain the Republican endorsement, as he has no serious challenger in the primary. As for the Democrats, the leading contenders to oust Schwarzenegger are state Treasurer Phil Angelides and state Controller Steve Westly. A recent Los Angeles Times poll showed the two candidates are in a statistical dead heat.
U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein is also up for reelection. She does not face any serious challenge to receive the Democratic nomination. Former state Assemblymember and Sen. Richard Mountjoy is the sole Republican on the ballot seeking to unseat Feinstein.
Henry Waxman, the U.S. congressman whose district includes Malibu, faces no challengers in his bid for the Democratic nomination. Republican David Nelson Jones is also the only member of his party running for the seat. It is highly unlikely Jones will defeat Waxman in the November general election.
There are a few notable names among the list of candidates in some of the other statewide races. Former Gov. Jerry Brown is seeking the Democratic nomination for attorney general. He is facing Los Angeles City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo in that contest. In the race for the Democratic nomination for insurance commissioner, Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante faces John Kraft, a South Pasadena resident who has promised to take no political contributions during the campaign. And state Sen. Tom McClintock, who garnered 13.5 percent of the vote in the 2003 governor recall election, is on the ballot against Fresno resident Tony Farmer to receive the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor.
Proposition 81 calls for the state to sell $600 million in bonds to create grant money for the construction or renovation of libraries. Proposition 82, if approved, would raise money to create a voluntary preschool program for 4-year-olds through a 1.7 percent tax on individual incomes higher than $400,000 and couple incomes above $800,000.