Better late than never, right? Finally, after much procrastination, it’s the long-awaited Brain Trust Live LA / CA ballot guide! 

Election Details:

The CA primary is on March 3rd, which is right around the corner, so don’t forget to return your ballots via mail, ballot box, or vote center drop-off by that date. You can also vote in person at ANY of these polling locations if you live in LA County.

See you at the polls (or mailbox)!

Ballot Measures:

Prop 1 - NO

This prop is shenanigans. It wasn’t shenanigans until recently, but the bill to place it on the ballot was altered at the last minute in a way that changed the entire intent. A lot of proponents turned on it at this point, so the conversation around it has gotten a little muddy.

Among other things, this prop was supposed to create a bond to pay for 10,000 new voluntary mental health and substance abuse treatment beds. In a last minute switcheroo, the legislature changed the language so that the bond money could also go to involuntary treatment beds, something prohibited in the original bill. This means the money can now be used to institutionalize people against their will, which is mean.

Making it even muddier is that the full bill that Californians are being asked to fund and understand in this prop is 68 pages long, so there are also good things in it that are worthwhile uses of our money. That’s why you’ll see some Democrats endorsing a yes vote. In our case, the last-minute change is concerning and we’d prefer these other priorities not come at the price of inhumane treatment for some. We can’t in good conscience advocate a yes. Vote NO on Prop 1.

As a side note, understanding 68 pages of legislation shouldn’t be our job. Beyond the shenanigans, we blanket don’t approve of props being used in this manner anyway. As nice as the idea of radical government transparency is in theory, regular people should not have to become experts in obscure state financing conversations to cast an informed and meaningful ballot.

HLA - YES

We here at Brain Trust Live are two people who love to galavant about town on foot. We still, in the year 2024, love a good hot girl walk. And if there’s one thing that would make those hot girl walks even hotter, it would be the ability to have them without the constant fear of instant death. Pedestrian deaths in LA go up every year and have DOUBLED in the last decade. 

IN 2015, Garcetti and the city council came up with a plan to combat those deaths, but the city has chosen to ignore that plan as it fixes and re-paves roads. Measure HLA would force the city to execute those plans when they re-pave roads. This would force them to add more crosswalks, bike lanes, etc. Anyway, this is an easy yes.

Elected Offices:

US President - Somebody Else

If you’re reading this guide, you are probably a Democrat or general leftist. Based on polling, that means that you probably do not want Joe Biden to be the 2024 Democratic presidential candidate. The DNC hasn’t given us much of an alternative to this fate, however, so here’s what we advocate you do: A protest vote. Vote for anyone and anything that is not Joe Biden.

We’ll be voting for Dean Phillips. Do we think he’s a super awesome candidate or likely to be elected? No. Is he a human being not named Joe Biden? Yes.

If you’re just a casual everyday voter, maybe this advice seems convoluted. But to that we say: This is the primary. It is NOT the general election and we are NOT in a swing state. We have the power to register discontent with this process and with this candidate at this stage, and it would be unwise not to use it. For more on whether replacing Biden is feasible, here’s a good rundown from Ezra Klein: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/16/opinion/ezra-klein-biden-audio-essay.html

Related: Can we start a petition to add an “uncommitted” option to the CA ballot a la Michigan? Because that’s the real dream here.

CA Senate - Katie Porter

In some ways, this has been a difficult choice for us. If we were voting solely based on our values, we’d vote for Barbara Lee. But, sadly, we’re age-ist when it comes to elected officials. Lee will be 78 in November, and 84 at the end of her first term. We’ve seen her recently at in-person campaign events, and she…seems her age. Call us rude if you want, but that seems like a relevant concern in the race to fill Dianne Feinstein’s seat since she died in office at age 90 and was widely reported to have dementia for years while she served as our Senator. That said, we’d never judge a principled vote for Lee since she is the only top candidate actively calling for a ceasefire.  

In other ways, however, this was an easy choice. This race is a jungle primary, which means voting with an eye to which two people will advance to the general election in November is important. The most recent polling in this race looks like this: Schiff 24 (D), Porter 19 (D), Garvey 18 (R), Lee 10 (D). Porter and Garvey have been dangerously close in the polls for weeks. A vote for Katie Porter not only will help a great progressive candidate advance to the general, but will also prevent us from being left with only the Democrat who least shares our values, our current Congressman Adam Schiff. 

Unlike Schiff, Katie Porter is a member of the progressive caucus. She’s been an effective legislator and she’s a uniquely talented communicator who has done great work on the House Oversight Committee. Her campaign has focused a lot on how to use this CA seat to make meaningful oversight reforms in DC and build Democratic power all over the state. If you’re a progressive: Vote for Katie Porter. 

Schiff, meanwhile, had a leadership position in the conservative Blue Dog caucus for his first 20 years in Congress and is still an active member of the New Democrat coalition. He’s had some splashy moments on national TV around various unsuccessful attempts to remove Donald Trump from office, but we’ve hated having him as our Congressman and we’re certain you’ll hate having him as your Senator. 

CA 30 (Open Seat) - G. “Maebe A Girl” Pudlo

Yes, we’re asking you to vote for someone who is running using a drag persona. Get into it. 

Maebe has run in CA-30 several times. We’ve endorsed her against Schiff in the past and we’re doing it again. Why? Because fun persona aside, Maebe is actually a serious candidate who made it to the general in 2022 and got 30% of the vote against the well-funded behemoth campaign of Adam Schiff. She is by FAR the most progressive candidate in this enormous and confusing race. She’s the only candidate who has called for a ceasefire, is an outspoken proponent of universal healthcare, free public college, abolishing ICE, and other major progressive priorities. She’s also an elected member of the Silverlake Neighborhood Council and long-time trans activist. Plus, on a real core level, what would make Republicans more mad than us electing a drag queen?

This is a huge primary, so we also acknowledge that you may be looking to make a strategic vote of some sort here, although it’s less clear what that looks like considering the number of candidates and lack of polling. It seems certain that two Democrats will make it to the general election, and with the exception of Laura Friedman, the rest of the field is mostly a hellscape of Democrats you certainly do not want as your congressperson. They’re either scandal plagued, BFFs with the police, charter school proponents, or in some cases, all of the above. 

So: Vote Maebe. It’s okay! Lean in! We would be lucky to have Maebe as our congressperson. But whatever you do, definitely don’t vote for: Mike Feuer, Anthony Portantino, Nick Melvoin, or Ben Savage.

Other Congressional Races:

Angélica Dueñas for CA-29

DAVID Kim for CA-34

We both live in CA 30, so that’s the race we certainly care most about. But it’s important we mention that if you live in CA 29, you should get out there and vote for Angélica Dueñas, and if you’re in CA 34, go vote for David Kim. 

LA City Council - 

CD4 - Nithya Ramen

We knew that as a progressive insurgent, Nithya Ramen would face a bunch of challenges in her next elections from institutional and monied forces. To date, they’ve messed with her district boundaries, attacked her record, and mounted conservative challengers. Enter: Ethan Weaver, a well-funded opponent taking cash from developers, the police, and, even worse, that idiot Rick Caruso. That’s probably because they share conservative values, which is not what we’re looking for on the council. As a side note, you’ll see a lot of Weaver endorsements from notable gay rights organizations. As queer people, we know from personal experience that it (sadly) takes more than being gay to have good ideas, so don’t get confused by those endorsements.

Everything Else:

We didn’t have time to do the full ballot guide this time, so if your race isn’t mentioned here we recommend you consult these guides:

Move Left LA Voter Guide (Kris Rehl’s Guide)

Knock LA

We’ll be back in the general election with a more extensive guide! Happy voting!