Priming for the primary
As a gray-bearded quinquagenarian, I remember when election day was the day voters voted. I'd head over to my precinct — a neighbor's garage, a neighborhood church — where people I'd see twice in even-numbered years would mark my name off a list, hand me a ballot and point me to a vacant booth (usually, a standing desk with partitions). In Butte County, I transitioned to voting machines that also created a paper trail by way of a receipt roll the registrar could check.
Now, of course, we vote by mail. I miss the ritual and communal nature of a precinct, which Voter Assistance Centers can't quite replicate. But everything has a season; progress doesn't halt for nostalgia.
The “primary” part of this primary election is underwhelming. No matter how early California pushes its presidential nomination, the races seem decided already. It'll be BidenTrump II in November, even if the latter campaigns from a courtroom. For U.S. Senate, it's only a matter of whether a Democratic congressperson faces another Democratic congressperson or a baseball player I watched at Dodger Stadium as a kid in the '70s. (See: quinquagenarian.) Congress and Legislature are just rehearsals for the real races in November.
Proposition 1 looks like a crisis compounding a crisis — robbing Peter to pay Paul. Is housing important to bring mentally ill people off the streets? Absolutely! But at the expense of mental health services, notably prevention? I'll need some convincing before signing off on that. But, I have a few more days …
Locally is where things get really interesting.
Chicoans within city limits, as opposed to the outskirts of the Greater Chico Area, get their say on Valley's Edge — ironically, outside city limits. The blue “Yes on P” and honey orange “No on O & P” dot many streets. Mailers come virtually every day; ads pop up online more frequently.
If you haven't heard of Valley's Edge by now … well, you must be 2024's Rip Van Winkle or Sleeping Beauty!
My boss keeps a running tally of election letters. Since January 1, we're at 42 writers in favor of Valley's Edge and 53 against. In the absence of polling, my gut tells me that margin approximates the votes cast, with only a sliver still undecided.
I've already written about the plan and its challenge, so I don't want to bore regular readers — yet I still field questions about my take. I'll distill the “Decision matrix on Valley's Edge” column to this essence: two focusing questions.
• Why do you care?
• Who do you believe? Answer those, and you'll likely have a firm opinion about Measure O (which plan proponents see as superfluous) and Measure P (the lynchpin for both sides).
Finally, there's the Butte County Board of Supervisors. Three seats of the five seats are up for election, but only two are contested, since no one filed to run against Bill Connelly in Oroville. That leaves the Paradise ridge district that's expanded into eastern Chico, where incumbent Doug Teeter faces Julie Threet; and the agland district that extends into south and west Chico, where incumbent Tod Kimmelshue faces Joanna Warrens.
An article in today's news section breaks down donations to their campaigns. Spoiler alert, though not much of a spoiler: Sitting supervisors have bigger bankrolls by a factor of two.
Donors don't need to be local, so that's not necessarily a harbinger of the vote. Still, two challengers who haven't served in local government have a hill to climb to topple well-rooted representatives.
My ballot still sits on the dining table. Per our post-precinct ritual, my wife and I will sit down, ink the bubbles, then drop our envelopes into a collection box before the March 5 influx. It's not as satisfying as a trip to a polling place, but it's less of a hassle — and as important as ever.