How I’m Voting and You Can Too - June 2026
I began writing this guide when I realized some people I know weren’t voting because they felt the ballot was too complicated. Now, I study the issues with dorky zeal and offer this guide to the public.
These views are mine, and mine alone. If you assume that my spouse shares all these views, you are wrong and possibly very sexist.
VOTE. Not voting is actually a vote for, “I don’t care, be corrupt, put money in your pockets and screw the people.”
PREPARE but DON’T PROCRASTINATE. You probably already received your ballot in the mail. Go ahead and fill it in now. Who knows what will happen between now and election day.
IGNORE the advertising. The way money affects politics is through advertising. Paid political advertising will always be misleading, by design. Throw those mailers straight into the recycling. Ignore promoted posts on social media. You will receive a stack of mailers right before election day. These will contain the worst lies — there will be no time for journalists to fact-check them.
In the Middle School Art Room (self-portrait)
acrylic on canvas, 18” x 24”, 2024
See this painting in person at the Hot for Teachers exhibit.
You can help by doing a little more to make sure everyone you know is ready to vote on the entire ballot.
Values
I would generally call myself a “progressive.” I believe in a trickle-up economy. When the poorest, most vulnerable people get enough to live on they spend money locally and the whole ecosystem thrives. We need to tax the wealthy more to make this happen. Billionaires want to have a poor lower class that will work for cheap and be too desperate to complain. Voting is an important tool for overcoming the power disparity and achieving a more equitable, democratic, and joyful society.
Logistics
You should have received your ballot in the mail already. You can bring that to a drop box outside your local library branch or put it in the mail. The League of Women Voters of San Francisco has information about all of your voting logistics and even has a one-page zine of essential information you can print at home.
Scroll down to see My Picks, My Reasoning, and My Reference Materials
General strategies
Top two primaries: The statewide races are “top two” primaries which is probably the worst possible system. When there’s lots of candidates, like in the governor’s race, you could end up with candidates who get 10% each being the two who face off in the general election in November. California is a very Democratic state, but it’s conceivable that 2 Republicans could be the top 2. That means we need to choose the best option among the frontrunners based on polling data which is less reliable than ever. Some people are going to watch the polls a couple more weeks before making their decision.
Ranked-choice voting: With ranked-choice voting, you don’t need to run any game theory scenarios. We can just rank them in order of who we want to win. League of Women Voters of San Francisco explains in “Ranked-choice voting: You don't have to pick just one candidate.” This only matters for the District 4 supervisor race this time.
“Leave it blank:” When a candidate has no legitimate opponents and has been at all flawed at their job, I leave that spot on the ballot blank. It’s the only way to have a voice in that election.
Poppies to Coit
8" x 8", acrylic on canvas, 2026 (sold)
My Picks:
Statewide Primary
Governor: Tom Steyer
Lieutenant Governor: Michael Tubbs
Secretary of State: Shirley Weber
State Controller: Meghann Adams
Treasurer: Leave it blank
Attorney General: Leave it blank
Insurance Commissioner: Jane Kim
State Superintendent of Public Instruction: Richard Barrera
Board of Equalization Member, District 2: Sally Lieber
United States Representative, District 11: Connie Chan
United States Representative, District 15: Leave it blank
State Assembly Member, District 17: Leave it blank
State Assembly AD 19: Leave it blank
Judge of the Superior Court, Seat #16: Alexandra Pray
San Francisco Special Elections
Member, Board of Education: Virginia Cheung
Supervisor, District 2: Lori Brooke
Supervisor, District 4: #1 Natalie Gee, #2 David Lee
San Francisco City and County Propositions
Prop A, Earthquake Safety and Emergency Response Bond, 2026: Yes
Prop B, Lifetime term limits for the Mayor and members of the Board of Supervisors: No
Prop C, Cut taxes for businesses: NO
Prop D, Raise taxes on large businesses with overpaid CEOs: YES!
My Reasoning
Susie True at Dollfest
marker on paper, 8” x 10”, 03/28/2026
Statewide Primary
Governor: Tom Steyer
Are you surprised I’m picking the billionaire? Yeah, me too. He seems to actually have the most progressive positions of all of the candidates. He’s actually the only one endorsing the tax on billionaires which could be on the November ballot.
Among his campaign promises (as noted by the League of Pissed Off Voters in their endorsement) include, “close Prop 13 corporate property tax loopholes to raise money for public schools, achieve single-payer healthcare for all Californians, fully fund childcare and free community college.”
But is he for real? I’ve been seeing plenty of testimonials that are convincing me that he has been committed to those beliefs. Rebecca Solnit makes a strong argument for his record here.
I sure do wish this was a ranked choice vote. Instead, it’s a non-partisan “top 2 primary” meaning that whoever the top two vote-getters are in June will face off in November. There are several credible Democrats running, but only two (relatively) big name Republicans which has raised the fear that we could end up with one of those two MAGA-heads as governor.
Some people are saying to hold off on voting for a bit to watch the polls to if will effect our voting strategy.
Katie Porter has been great at grilling CEO’s with her white board, but she has hedged on some progressive positions (like overtime pay for farm workers or the need to raise the minimum wage) and has not gotten enough traction to be a front-runner.
Xavier Becerra is the other lead candidate and has more experience in offices, but he seems to be part of the old establishment as he accepts big contributions from Chevron.
I’m voting for Tom Steyer.
Lieutenant Governor: Michael Tubbs
Oliver Ma has been working as a civil rights lawyer battling ICE in Los Angeles (among other great deeds listed in by the League of Pissed Off Voters. He looks great, but he doesn’t have a shot of winning.
The front-runner of the Democrats is probably Fiona Ma, state Treasurer.
Michael Tubbs had some great success as mayor of Stockton (before becoming victim to a dastardly misinformation campaign). I became suspicious of him when he endorsed Bloomberg for president in 2019. Nevertheless, his TED-talk fame means he has a chance of being in the top 2 of the primary. I’m going to vote for him for what he represents. He demonstrated that Universal Basic Income improves lives and communities by all measures.
Secretary of State: Shirley Weber
All accounts are that Weber has been a strong and reliable defender of fair elections in California and deserves reelection.
State Controller: Meghann Adams
This is a bit of a protest vote as Malia Cohen is expected to cruise to reelection. I’m trusting League of Pissed Of Voters’ judgment here.
Treasurer: Leave it blank
Current Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis is the presumed winner here, and meh.
Attorney General: Leave it blank
Incumbent Rob Bonta occasionally shows a backbone against Trump or Ticketmaster, but is not holding police accountable. Meh.
Insurance Commissioner: Jane Kim
Jane Kim has been the state leader of the Working Families Party, organizing for progressive values. She has a vision for using the Insurance Commissioner post to truly support people over corporations. I’m excited for the possibilities.
State Superintendent of Public Instruction: Richard Barrera
This one is tricky. It’s tough to even figure out how much power this position has (and Newsom is trying to take much of that power away). Different groups have endorsed different candidates.
✔️League of Pissed Off Voters argues well for Richard Barrera based on his record running schools in San Diego.
✔️Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club endorses Nichelle Henderson.
✔️Peace and Freedom Party, UESF, Dean Preston endorse San Francisco teacher and union vice president, Frank Lara.
Of these candidates with good positions, Barrerra has the best chance of winning, so I’ll add my vote to that effort.
Practices in the Field
8" x 10", marker and paper, 03/26/2026, Sketchnotes from a panel at the “Planting Seeds” Arts Education Alliance of the Bay Area conference.
Board of Equalization Member, District 2: Sally Lieber
This incumbent has gotten good reviews from the most progressive to conservative Democrats for her work on this tax collecting body. Okay.
United States Representative, District 11: Connie Chan
While I think she has taken some missteps trying to find a middle road on some issues, Connie Chan has been one of our most progressive city supervisors. For this election, she is getting all the right endorsements.
I had high hopes for Saikat Chakrabarti when he first started running. He was Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign manager! But she fired him and is pointedly not endorsing him. Then I learned that he donated to Daniel Lurie’s campaign and has not criticized the mayor?! He also donated to Bilal Mahmoud to defeat Dean Preston in district 5?! If he’s really for taxing the rich, why has he sided with the local politicians who want to cut the real estate transfer tax for millionaires? I like Chakrabarti’s stated positions, but I don’t trust him at all.
If you’ve read my guide before, you know how I feel about Scott Weiner. He is certainly smart and hard-working, but if you look at his record regarding unhoused people and Palestinians, you can see that he considers some people to be not worthy of human rights.
Connie Chan is definitely the best choice here.
United States Representative, District 15: Leave it blank
If you’re in Kevin Mullin’s district (a small chunk of southern San Francisco and south of the city) best to just leave it blank. He’s the lack-luster incumbent serving the tech industry.
State Assembly Member, District 17: Leave it blank
I was really into what Matt Haney was doing 6 years ago, but he has often disappointed me since then. His push for sober-only public housing at the expense of more proven supportive housing models goes against the evidence. He’s fine in other ways. He’s running unopposed .
State Assembly AD 19: Leave it blank
Catherine Stefani is barely being opposed. She’s an enemy of rent control.
Judge of the Superior Court, Seat #16: Alexandra Pray
A judge surprised people by retiring and opening up this seat. All the progressive organizations in the city are excited to support Alexandra Pray, who has experience as a public defender. The current regime has been overcrowding the courts by arresting people on drug charges. There aren’t enough lawyers to defend them. Pray will help restore some balance to the system.
San Francisco Special Elections
Member, Board of Education: Virginia Cheung
We usually vote for several school board members at once, but this is a special election, so there can only be one winner. I’m very frustrated that we don’t have ranked choice voting here.
Phil Kim was appointed to the Board of Education by London Breed after a resignation. He had failed to get elected previously because he represents charter schools. As president of the board, he has been pushing for closing schools - which would free up properties for charter schools and speculation while not actually saving the district money.
I’m concerned that Cheung was a supporter of the Board of Education recalls a few years ago, but she got Coleman Advocate’s endorsement in 2024 and is the one endorsed by United Educators of San Francisco this year. She understands that supporting teachers on the front line of the education system is the most effective way to support student learning. Cheung is our best bet for blocking Kim from having another term.
I’m looking forward to voting for Brandee Markmann in November. She has been a strong champion for all students for years - reading through district contracts to identify shenanigans and bad deals.
For this election, I’ve got to follow my union’s lead to vote strategically for Virginia Cheung.
Supervisor, District 2: Lori Brooke
Ruby Ibarra at KQED Fest
marker and pencil on paper, 8” x 10”, May 9, 2026
I just attended the KQED Fest block party to see Ruby Ibarra perform. I made this drawing in the moment and immediately sold it to another fan (who is already a collector of my drawings).
For the record - I would happily vote for Ruby Ibarra if she ever runs for office.
The Marina generally gives San Francisco it’s most conservative supervisors. Brooke looks pretty moderate-conversative, but at least she seems to be a genuine community organizer for her district. Brooke is sure to be better than Stephen Sherrill, a millionaire ex-Republican appointee.
Supervisor, District 4: #1 Natalie Gee, #2 David Lee
Remember when Lurie appointed Beya Alcaraz to fill the District 4 seat without even checking the Yelp reviews on her failed pet store? After that embarrasment, he found Alan Wong who was ready to make a deal. Wong had gotten a lot of progressive endorsements to get elected as a trustee for City College, but now looks like a hack-for-hire. As part of the deal, Wong is a reliable vote for Lurie, and Wong gets support from Lurie’s ultra-wealthy friends.
Gee is a “progressive unicorn”. I wish I lived in the Sunset so I could vote for her.
San Francisco City and County Propositions
Prop A, Earthquake Safety and Emergency Response Bond, 2026: Yes
I wish this didn’t have so much unnecessary money for the police, but that’s politics. We do need to keep investing in infrastructure.
Prop B, Lifetime term limits for the Mayor and members of the Board of Supervisors: No
This is really silly nonsense. It’s probably just because GrowSF is still butt-hurt over Aaron Peskin returning to the Board of Supervisors like 10 years ago?
Prop C, Cut taxes for businesses: NO
Prop D, Raise taxes on large businesses with overpaid CEOs: YES!
Props C and D are competing measures, so only one of them can pass.
In 2017, Trump got corporations a tax cut from 35% to 21%. Since then, these cuts have trickled down to funding cuts for local services effecting the most vulnerable among us. These big companies can definitely afford to give about 1% to the city, and still be way ahead.
The League of Women Voters of San Francisco gives a little history: “Voters passed this Overpaid Executive Tax in 2020, but it was reduced in 2024. Proposition D builds it back up, raising about $250 million to $350 million more every year for the programs and services San Francisco’s most vulnerable residents depend on.”
The San Francisco public press outlines how the current budget is slashing services that save lives.
Approving Proposition D is the most important choice we can make on this ballot.
My Reference Materials
Some of the tabs I had open while writing this guide include these ballot guides: Mission Local’s coverage and candidate profiles, The League of Women Voters of San Francisco, The League of Pissed Off Voters guide, the San Francisco Tenants Union endorsements, KQED’s voter guide, Harvey Milk Democratic Club Endorsements and the San Francisco Bay Gaurdian. I get much of my news from those sources and by following local officials and journalists on social media, and sometimes observing meetings myself.