Editor's note: Because we strive to cover three counties—Sonoma, Marin and Napa—we cannot adequately address all of the many important races in individual towns. We therefore restrict ourselves solely to recommendations on the propositions and regret that we can't fully serve our readers with more 'global' North Bay consideration.

Proposition 19

Regulate and Tax Cannabis

Thirty-eight years ago, in November 1972, there was a marijuana-legalization measure on the November ballot in California, also called Prop. 19. Strikingly similar to this year's model, the proposition failed in a rather lopsided vote.

It's notable, however, that while Richard Nixon won reelection to the presidency in '72 with almost 67 percent of the popular vote, only 60 percent of Californians voted to keep pot illegal.

Almost four decades later, marijuana is easier to find than it ever was, proving that dope criminalization does nothing to prevent its use. Meanwhile, drug crime has exploded—our prisons are packed and our streets are less safe. These are the direct results of this archaic law.

The Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010 will provide the state with significant tax revenue. It is estimated that a $50-per-ounce levy has the potential to raise $1.4 billion a year—money which now winds up in the hands of drug traffickers and illegal gun dealers.

It's time for this foolish prohibition to be abolished.

The Bohemian recommends:

YES on Prop. 19

Proposition 20

Congressional Redistricting

This is inside politics that matters. For years, the boundaries of California's Assembly and state Senate districts were drawn up every 10 years by the assembly members and senators themselves. That scheme had predictable results: Elected officials created districts that were favorable to themselves and their parties.

Essentially, they were able to choose their own voters. And so we get districts that are "solidly Democratic" or "solidly Republican," making political compromise unnecessary and gridlock inevitable.

Two years ago, California voters did away with that system. With 2008's Prop. 11, voters approved the creation of an independent citizens commission to take over the drawing of legislative districts. (For more on this, see the Prop. 27 endorsement below.)

Prop. 20 expands that commission's mandate, empowering it to also draw U.S. congressional districts. It's a good idea for the same reason Prop. 11 was a good idea: many elected officials in Sacramento today hope to move on to jobs in D.C. someday, and they have their eyes on that prize when they draw congressional districts.

The Bohemian recommends:

YES on Prop. 20

Proposition 21

Vehicle Fee for Parks

Prop. 21, the Vehicle License Fee for Parks Act, is exactly what it sounds like: a fee ($18 per year) tacked on to the fees California drivers pay annually to the DMV.

The roughly $500 million that the initiative would raise would go toward maintaining the state's 278 parks, which are plagued by slashed budgets. Most California drivers would get free access to the parks, and $130 million would be directed to the cash-starved general fund.

While any added fees imposed on residents should be treated with skepticism, there is no doubt that keeping state parks open is a worthy move—not only to attract the millions of tourists who routinely visit the state's parks, but also to allow all Californians to share in the state's rich natural heritage.

The Bohemian recommends:

YES on Prop. 21

Proposition 22

Ban on State Borrowing from Local Governments

Among the many band-aids that the state legislature has employed to keep California from bleeding to death, one has gotten a lot of local attention. In the past year, the state, facing a horrendous deficit, has exercised its authority to take money from local redevelopment and transportation agencies in what is universally described as a "raid" on local funds.

On its surface, this proposition seems to make sense. And were it proposed in a different year, in a different economy and in more moderate form, it might well be worth recommending.

But at a time when nearly every state in the nation, including California, is strained to the breaking point by the largest economic downturn in a century, it just doesn't make sense to pass a law that would prohibit even 1 cent of variation in shares of state and local revenue, even in the event of natural disasters.

Among the many structural problems facing our state, one is the inflexibility forced on the Legislature because of "budgeting by ballot." This proposition would make matters worse.

The Bohemian recommends:

NO on Prop. 22

Proposition 23

Suspend AB 32, the Global Warming Act

California's landmark anti-global warming legislation, AB 32, was passed in 2006 with the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. Now that statewide unemployment is hovering around 12 percent, antiregulation groups are targeting the climate change law and its objective, saying environmental regulations are the cause of the Golden State's financial woes.

If passed, the law would suspend most of the provisions of AB 32 until the state posts unemployment figures of 5.5 percent or lower for four straight quarters—something that has happened only three times since 1980. Curbing greenhouse gasses is a responsibility that runs deeper than the ebb and flow of unemployment figures, and the revenue generation estimated to be produced by axing the law is modest by nearly all accounts. To keep California leading the way toward a greener and more sustainable future, vote no on Prop. 23.

The Bohemian recommends:

NO on Prop. 23

Proposition 24

Repeal of Corporate Tax Breaks

This proposition reverses three tax breaks negotiated during the last two years' state budget showdowns which primarily benefit multinational businesses. They represent about $1.3 billion a year in lost revenue to the state. A yes vote will ensure that money stays in state coffers rather than going to a few well-lined pockets.

One of the breaks lets interstate businesses pick their in-state share of business taxes from a menu: choosing whether to pay on the property they occupy, their payroll value or sales. The second allows distribution of tax credits to affiliates, a game that some companies have gotten too good at playing. And the third allows corporations to collect refunds of past taxes during years in which they've shown net losses.

The California Chamber of Commerce has labeled this prop a "jobs tax," claiming that it will reduce new hiring. It's the tired old trickle-down argument. Don't buy it.

The Bohemian recommends:

YES on Prop. 24

Proposition 25

Majority Rules on Budget

In some ways, this is the only proposition that matters. California's compound fracture of a system currently requires the approval of two-thirds of both legislative houses to pass a budget, a threshold shared only by the great states of Arkansas and Rhode Island (the other 47 require simple majorities).

The result, here in the eighth largest economy in the world, are budgets that are almost always late, a fixed system of minority rule with a legacy of intense gerrymandering to maintain it, suspended services, wasted millions on needlessly high interest payments, and a credit rating nestled snugly between those of the Czech Republic and Greece.

Opponents—mainly alcohol and tobacco interests and Chambers of Commerce—say that if passed, Prop. 25 will allow lawmakers to raise taxes with only a majority vote. That's false. State law will continue to require a two-thirds vote in the legislature to raise taxes. What Prop. 25 will do is set the conditions for a realistic public conversation about spending and revenue in California to take place, and that is a necessary first step to recovery.

The Bohemian recommends:

YES on Prop. 25

Proposition 26

Supermajority Rules

The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, which years ago crippled our state by slipping an exemption for commercial property transfers into Prop. 13 (thus making sure that businesses pay ever lower taxes on their properties by simply shifting them from entity to entity as inflation grows) is sponsoring this initiative. If it passes, its primary funders, Chevron and Occidental, as well as MillerCoors and Anhueser-Busch, will get their way, as all levels of government, from city councils to the state legislature will have to achieve two-thirds vote thresholds to raise any fee for any activity or any levy for violating any law. That includes environmental law, which is where this prop got its nickname, the Polluter Protection Act. This proposition is corporate cynicism at its worst.

The Bohemian recommends:

NO on Prop. 26

Proposition 27

'Incumbent Protection Act'

The sponsors of this measure, a group of Democratic incumbents (many of whom we generally support) have named it the Financial Accountability in Redistricting Act. Straight-faced, they claim its intent is to save money, because the state cannot afford to pay a small citizens commission to handle the chore of drawing legislative districts. Its true intent is to make it easier for them to keep their jobs. Prop. 27 would repeal the voter-approved Prop. 11, which authorized the creation of the independent redistricting commission, and return that responsibility to the legislature itself, where it would no doubt result in more gerrymandering and more gridlock.

A citizens commission will almost certainly redraw this district more fairly. If Prop. 27 passes, they will not get the chance to do that.

The Bohemian recommends:

NO on Prop. 27

Send a letter to the editor about this story.