{"id":19791,"date":"2021-08-27T10:45:55","date_gmt":"2021-08-27T17:45:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=19791"},"modified":"2021-08-27T10:58:05","modified_gmt":"2021-08-27T17:58:05","slug":"meet-the-nine-democrats-listed-on-the-gavin-newsom-recall-ballot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2021\/08\/27\/meet-the-nine-democrats-listed-on-the-gavin-newsom-recall-ballot\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the Nine Democrats Listed on the Gavin Newsom Recall Ballot"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>25 AUGUST 2021\/<a href=\"https:\/\/sfist.com\/politics\/\">SF POLITICS<\/a>\/<a href=\"https:\/\/sfist.com\/author\/joe-kukura\/\">JOE KUKURA<\/a> (SFist.com)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From Youtube stars to cannabis lobbyists to anti-mask Marin County yoga instructors, here are your nine options to vote for a Democrat in the upcoming California recall election \u2014 even though Newsom and many others are saying you should just leave that side of the ballot blank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is political malpractice that Governor Gavin Newsom is telling his Democratic supporters to&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/politics\/joegarofoli\/article\/What-s-behind-Gavin-Newsom-s-advice-to-not-16393947.php\">leave their recall replacement candidate ballot blank<\/a>, considering that Newsom is clinging to a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/projects.fivethirtyeight.com\/california-recall-polls\/\">less than one-point lead<\/a>&nbsp;on the ballot\u2019s first question, according to the FiveThirtyEight average. It is very possible Newsom could lose! I know I\u2019m going to vote for a Democrat on the second question, so SFist reached out to all nine Democrats on the ballot to size them up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some got back to us, some didn\u2019t. Some seem capable \u2014 articulate doctors, lawyers, and professionals \u2014 others come off as completely out to lunch. We\u2019re listing all nine of them and their statements below, in the order of how they\u2019re polling in those polls included in the FiveThirtyEight average.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/8rmeCsbMGRc\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Kevin Paffrath (Financial Educator\/Analyst)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.meetkevin.com\/\">Kevin Paffrath<\/a>&nbsp;bristles at being characterized as a \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/opinions\/2021\/08\/25\/kevin-paffrath-youtube-gavin-newsom-recall\/\">Youtube influencer<\/a>,\u201d considering he\u2019s the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.surveyusa.com\/client\/PollReport.aspx?g=36cdcb0b-7cfa-4b55-8704-d1f02a9fe6e5\">leading recall candidate<\/a>&nbsp;in a credible SurveyUSA poll commissioned by KABC and the San Diego Union-Tribune, which has Newsom losing and Paffrath as your next California governor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe rate we\u2019re on in California, in 20 years we\u2019ll be bankrupt,\u201d Paffrath tells SFist, explaining his candidacy. \u201cThis is really bad, and it\u2019s happening because of excessive regulation, taxation, overbearing government, and frankly mismanaged government. We don\u2019t have enough water. Our governor isn\u2019t fighting wildfires like he says he\u2019s going to do.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2021\/06\/25\/1010382535\/gavin-newsom-misled-public-about-wildfire-prevention-work-report-says\">NPR exposed him<\/a>&nbsp;for overstating wildfire prevention by 690%. We are a state that legalized cannabis five years ago, yet after five years, 85% of cannabis sales are still illegal. We are a misfunctioning state because we have poor leadership. We can\u2019t solve our housing crisis, our homeless crisis, and our roads are broken.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI have a three- and five-year-old,\u201d he continues. \u201cI want this state to not be broken in 20 years. I want this state to not be broken in five years. But I don\u2019t want my children who are three and five to ask me when they\u2019re 20 or 25, \u2018Dad, why did you raise us in this state? This state is broken. We should have moved.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/img.sfist.com\/2021\/08\/jackie-long.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Jacqueline McGowan (Cannabis Policy Advisor)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A former stockbroker,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.jackie4gov.org\/\">Jackie McGowan<\/a>&nbsp;has been a cannabis lobbyist since 2014. As such, it\u2019s at the top of her plank to declare \u201ccannabis as an agricultural product. This should alleviate over regulation at the local level.\u201d But she did not even mention weed when we spoke, and has more on her mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI will be the only Democrat to roll back regulations in the midst of a pandemic which we are still in,\u201d she tells us. \u201cYou cannot expect businesses, small or large, to survive when you eat away at their margins by increasing the red tape in one way, and not decreasing it in another way. Small businesses are surviving on one to three percent margins, typically. If you\u2019re going to eat away at that, it doesn\u2019t matter how many loans you give to them, they can&#8217;t pay it back if they can\u2019t make money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m running for governor because I had a front row seat to the corruption that goes on at the capital,\u201d she adds. \u201cBoth parties want all of us, every Californian, to believe that the other is responsible for all of our woes. When the reality is that it\u2019s corruption at the core.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/img.sfist.com\/2021\/08\/brandon-ross-long.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dr. Brandon Ross (Attorney and Physician)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If Newsom gets recalled, and you want to see him replaced by someone who would just do exactly what Gavin Newsom is doing,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/ross4gov.com\/\">Dr. Brendan Ross<\/a>&nbsp;is your guy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI saw a Republican takeover trying to get the highest office in California, and I didn\u2019t see any Democrats of note that were running,\u201d Ross tells SFist. \u201cI\u2019m a physician and attorney. I know medical science, so I\u2019m able to grasp what\u2019s going on with COVID to make good decisions. And I\u2019m a Democrat, so I wouldn\u2019t make any policy changes from the current administration. \u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ross also has an MBA and a master\u2019s degree in public health. \u201cI\u2019m aware of business and law and medicine, so I think I could handle the job,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/img.sfist.com\/2021\/08\/daniel-watts.png\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Daniel Watts (Free Speech Lawyer)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Attorney&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wattsforgovernor.com\/\">Daniel Watts<\/a>&nbsp;is best known for&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nydailynews.com\/snyde\/ny-man-behind-viral-cormac-mccarthy-parody-twitter-california-governor-candidate-20210809-njj2ifffs5ckfnlfiuhhvzjjte-story.html\">impersonating author Cormac McCarthy<\/a>&nbsp;on Twitter. He even got the blue check! He did not respond to our request for comment, but he did sit down for&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sandiegouniontribune.com\/opinion\/commentary\/story\/2021-08-17\/q-a-daniel-watts-recall-candidate-for-california-governor\">an interview with the San Diego Union Tribune<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m not running against Newsom, I\u2019m running to force the other candidates \u2014 and hopefully the governor \u2014 to support free speech and free college,\u201d he tells the Union Tribune. \u201cWe have a $76 billion surplus; for one-tenth of that, we could make every four-year public college in California 100 percent tuition-free. And those colleges need to obey the First Amendment \u2014 unlike UC San Diego, which spent $800,000 on lawyers to pummel a student newspaper into submission in Koala v. Khosla. The governor should immediately order a legal review of all student speech codes at California\u2019s public colleges and universities; those that pass constitutional muster should be made tuition-free.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/img.sfist.com\/2021\/08\/patrick-long.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Patrick Kilpatrick (Actor\/ Screenwriter\/ Producer)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As President and CEO of&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.udfilms.com\/\">Uncommon Dialogue Films<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kilpatrickforgovernor.com\/\">Patrick Kilpatrick<\/a>&nbsp;has opinions on the business of show business. \u201cI&#8217;ve acted and assistant directed\/directed on Broadway\/off-Broadway and regional theater, 200+ films and hit TV shows as a lead actor, screenwriter, director, producer \u2014 including work with Steven Spielberg, Antoine Fuqua, James Cameron, Tom Cruise, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Naomi Watts, and a host of other significant directors and A-list actors,\u201d he tells us via email, noting that California is losing film shoots to other states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He says his campaign is \u201cabout lowering taxes so more money is placed in the hands of Californians.\u201d He adds that \u201cWe want to see the renovation of the decaying schools. We are about parental choice for schools and support of Charter schools. We are about a 70% tax incentive for restoration, renovation, and maintenance of any vintage or historical building, allowing more people to assume home property ownership in an affordable manner. We are about zero tolerance for crime and equal justice for all. We are about solar and wind power subsidies including subsidies for landlords. We believe a state-wide program of desalination plants must be implemented to combat the ongoing effects of climate change. We believe California should be the center point of the world&#8217;s manufacture and export of environmental technology.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/img.sfist.com\/2021\/08\/holly.jpeg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Holly Baade (Mother\/ Business Owner)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.joyfulwarrior.com\/about\">Marin County yoga instructor<\/a>&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.holly2021.com\/\">Holly Baade<\/a>&nbsp;did not respond to us, but describes herself as a \u201cFormer Miss California Contestant, Single-Mother, Small Business Owner, State Leadership Consultant and California Hometown Girl.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And you guessed it, she\u2019s the anti-mask candidate of the lot. \u201cWe are abusing children by asking them to wear masks when they should be having formative interactions with their parents, teachers and each other,\u201d she&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com\/2021\/08\/19\/bay-area-recall-candidate-runs-on-anti-mask-platform\/\">recently told KPIX<\/a>. \u201cThese tyrannical mandates need to be ended and those who imposed them should be held accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/img.sfist.com\/2021\/08\/Screenshot-2021-08-25-4.39.39-PM.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Armando \u201cMando\u201d Perez-Serrato<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you liked&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/sfist.com\/2016\/12\/06\/john_avalos_likens_current_board_of\/\"><em>Game of Thrones-<\/em>referencing&nbsp;<\/a>former supervisor John Avalos, you\u2019ll love&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/mandocaliforniagovernor.godaddysites.com\/\">\u201cMando\u201d Perez-Serrato<\/a>, whose website home page is a&nbsp;<em>Mandolarian<\/em>&nbsp;screenshot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAt the most basic \u2018Individual\u2019 level I&#8217;m running for governor for the simple fact that I don&#8217;t like to be controlled and I believe the majority of Californians don&#8217;t either,\u201d he tells SFist. \u201cDuring this pandemic I&#8217;ve learned how much politicians can severely \u2018control\u2019 and \u2018impact\u2019 our daily lives.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMy goal is to continue \u2018Democratic Stability\u2019 in our great State of California with the added bonus of honoring and respecting individual, business, school, religious, city, county rights and freedoms,\u201d he continues. \u201cWe are the third largest state with equally different communities. Instead of a one-size fits all approach that the current governor has taken, I will support what each community feels is best for them. For example, if the City of San Francisco wants to implement Covid-19 mandates but the city of Eureka doesn&#8217;t, that will be 100% their decision.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/img.sfist.com\/2021\/08\/John-Drake_fitted.jpeg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>John Drake (College Student)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This young man is\u2026 a young man!&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sanluisobispo.com\/news\/local\/education\/article253619128.html\">The San Luis Obispo Tribune<\/a>&nbsp;describes&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/johnrdrake.com\/\">John Drake<\/a>&nbsp;as a \u201c20-year-old Ventura resident, Latvia adoptee, bisexual man, progressive Democrat and incoming Cal Poly junior.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since he\u2019s a student, we\u2019ll highlight this from his&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sandiegouniontribune.com\/opinion\/commentary\/story\/2021-08-19\/q-a-john-drake-recall-candidate-for-california-governor\">San Diego Tribune interview<\/a>. \u201cI have actually been in the modern school system, so who better to address this than me?,\u201d he says. \u201c I think creating a tier system of learning would bring out the best in students. You have fast-paced for students who are quick thinkers to remain engaged, medium-paced for average students as a default and slower-paced for students needing a little extra help. Unlike the current system where this doesn\u2019t exist, these will all be opt-ins designed to enhance the performance of specific subjects one may be struggling in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/img.sfist.com\/2021\/08\/joel-v.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Joel Ventresca (Retired Airport Analyst)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You might remember&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.joelventresca.com\/\">Joel Ventresca<\/a>&nbsp;as a down ballot candidate against Mayor London Breed in the 2019 election. He\u2019s also a former City and County of San Francisco Environmental Commissioner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI am the most qualified Democrat on the ballot to replace the current governor if the recall is successful,\u201d he tells SFist. \u201cFor over 25 years as a veteran peaceful warrior champion, I battled the Most Corrupt Machine in California &amp; America. The decades-old San Francisco Willie Brown &amp; prot\u00e9g\u00e9s corruption machine amassed unprecedented power &amp; wealth for a few and caused ever-expanding criminal prosecutions. This nefarious machine is linked to widespread scandal, bribery, money laundering, contract fixing, patronage, violence, threats, election irregularities &amp; backroom deals. As an incorruptible, independent, Berniecrat, Democrat, I offer new transformational leadership and fundamental change.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Related:<\/strong>&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/sfist.com\/2021\/07\/01\/californias-pointless-recall-election-will-happen-on-september-14\/\">California&#8217;s Pointless Recall Election Will Happen on September 14 [SFist]<\/a><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure><iframe width=\"728\" height=\"90\"><\/iframe><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Images: Candidates\u2019 websites<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>25 AUGUST 2021\/SF POLITICS\/JOE KUKURA (SFist.com) From Youtube stars to cannabis lobbyists to anti-mask Marin County yoga instructors, here are your nine options to vote for a Democrat in the upcoming California recall election \u2014 even though Newsom and many others are saying you should just leave that side of&#8230; <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2021\/08\/27\/meet-the-nine-democrats-listed-on-the-gavin-newsom-recall-ballot\/\"> Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr; <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19791"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19791"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19791\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19795,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19791\/revisions\/19795"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}