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General Election Voter GuideThursday, October 25, 2018

WECA Government Affairs has compiled a Primary Election Voter Guide for the upcoming election on November 6, 2018, for the use of our members and the industry. Access here:

WECA's 2018 Primary Election Voter Guide

Opinion: Richard MarkusonThursday, October 25, 2018

Richard Markuson

The California general election is next Tuesday, November 6, 2018.

The Governor's race is driving the "top of the ticket." The statewide Constitutional offices (Controller, Treasurer, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Insurance Commissioner, Lt. Governor, and Secretary of State) are each up for election, and all 80 state Assembly seats and half of the state Senate seats are up for election this November.

Your state Assembly district has an election and your state Senate district may very well have one too. Here are a few resources to help you:

You can find your polling place here.
You can find your representatives here.
You can find General Election information from the California Secretary of State's office here.

Beyond these important state officeholder elections, there are numerous initiatives concerning statewide policy matters on the ballot as well:

housing and water bonds
children's hospitals
property tax
gas tax
daylight savings
kidney dialysis clinics
rent control
work breaks for private ambulance employees
confinement of certain farm animals and limitations on their sale

The Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) has provided fiscal and policy advice to the Legislature for 75 years. It is known for its fiscal and programmatic expertise and nonpartisan analyses of the state budget. The office serves as the "eyes and ears" for the Legislature to ensure that the executive branch is implementing legislative policy in a cost efficient and effective manner.

An additional area of responsibility for the LAO is to provide some scrutiny of the ballot initiatives facing voters this November. The office estimates the fiscal effect on state and local government of all proposed initiatives and prepares analyses of all measures that qualify for the statewide ballot.

A link to their review of each ballot initiative is here with the goal of providing you with a resource (not an opinion or recommendation for your vote) that describes what each initiative does and what the fiscal impact will be to your state and local government.

WECA has also prepared several resources for you to use.

You can obtain our list of recommended state candidates here.

You can obtain the WECA legislative scorecard on how members of the State Legislature voted on bills important to WECA here. Since this document does not make a specific recommendation to support or oppose a specific candidate, WECA believes it is safe to distribute to your employees or post. WECA suggests you confirm this with your HR department.

Obviously the election next week is an important one as it will determine the direction of both the US Congress and the State Legislature. Please be sure to vote!

We'll have a recap on the election results in two weeks--although some election analysts have observed that final California results in close races may not be know until December.

Merit Shop Advocacy for California

Richard Markuson

"Merit shop electrical contractors throughout California are under pressure from a political system that limits their ability to compete for and win public works contracts. Through our coordinated efforts to further the interests of the merit shop community, we will make doing business in California fair and profitable again."

WECA Government Affairs

Political Advocacy and Government Affairs

WECA is the only organization in California that focuses exclusively on the needs of electrical contractors and their employees. We are proud to represent thousands of electricians and hundreds of contractors. Our members believe that fair and open competition is the key to a robust and growing economy. Our members embrace the idea that political action is not simply prudent, but essential to preserving and enhancing their ability to pursue business opportunities in both the public and private marketplace.

The WECA governmental affairs staff works hard to protect the rights of merit shop business owners and their employees throughout California, but our efforts cannot succeed unless those in the merit shop community get involved.

Routine activities of the GA staff includes:

Monitoring all State Legislative and Regulatory proposals for beneficial and detrimental changes
Regular interaction with other business and construction groups in California and nationwide
Maintenance of a regular presence in Washington DC through membership in the US Chamber of Commerce and trips to Capitol Hill to lobby on Federal initiatives
Maintaining close working relationships with other merit shop groups such as CFEC, ABC chapters, AGC, ASCA, and Calpasc
Routinely monitors more than 305 local agencies including Cities, Counties, School Districts and other Special Districts
Evaluates state-wide ballot measures and candidates and recommends support for those causes and candidates that support WECA’s core values
Encourages appointment of state and local officials who will approach their assignments without prejudice
This website is designed to both educate our members and to empower them to have the greatest possible impact when it comes to effecting political change on the local, state and federal levels. Check out the latest political news and action alerts, learn more about the WECA Political Action Committee (WECA-PAC), and take a moment to visit the partner organizations we work with.

WECA

Western Electrical Contractors Association, Inc.