Times Endorsements

The Times endorses selectively, on a case-by-case basis. Here are recommendations for today’s election.

Measures and Propositions

Los Angeles County Measure A: Yes. Half-cent sales tax hike to fund law enforcement would get more cops on the street.

Los Angeles City Measure O: Yes. The $500-million bond would fund cleanups of storm-sewer runoff, an urgent need.

Proposition 1A: Yes. Restricts the state’s ability to raid local government treasuries, helping to keep them solvent.

Proposition 59: Yes. Amends the state Constitution to guarantee more public access to government meetings and decisions.

Proposition 60: No. Locks the current primary system into the state Constitution, assuring more paralysis in Sacramento.

Proposition 60A: No. Requires applying proceeds from state property sales to bond debt. Shouldn’t be in the Constitution.

Proposition 61: No. Seeks $750 million in bonds to build and remodel 13 children’s hospitals, with no guarantees of more medical coverage for the needy.

Proposition 62: Yes. Establishes a blanket primary in which all voters select candidates from a single list, helping reduce partisanship in the Legislature.

Proposition 63: No. Would impose a 1% tax on incomes over $1 million a year, to fund mental health services. Would hobble the state’s ability to adjust income tax rates.

Proposition 64: Yes. Would require plaintiffs in lawsuits to show they had actually been harmed by defendants, helping to end shakedown suits against businesses.

Proposition 65: No. A draconian local finance measure, disavowed by its creators and superseded by Proposition 1A.

Proposition 66: Yes. Limits third strikes to serious or violent felonies, correcting a costly, unevenly applied law.

Proposition 67: No. Tortured funding mechanism would raise phone surcharge to pay for emergency room services.

Proposition 68: No. A ploy by nontribal card rooms and racetracks to grab a big share of casino gambling.

Proposition 69: No. Would require the state to collect a DNA sample in felony arrests, not convictions, clouding presumption that one is innocent until proved guilty.

Proposition 70: No. Removes limits on slot machines and games at Indian casinos, in exchange for payment of 8.25% of net income to the state. Would compound gambling problems.

Proposition 71: Yes. By generating $3 billion for research into embryonic stem cells, this measure could lead not just to cures but innovations that would bolster the state’s economy.

Proposition 72: No. Forces more California employers to provide healthcare to their workers, at the cost of new jobs.

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U.S. Senate

Barbara Boxer.

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Judicial Races

Office No. 18: Mildred Escobedo.

Office No. 29: Lori Jones.

Office No. 52: Laura Priver.

Office No. 53: Daniel Zeidler.

Office No. 69: Donna Groman.

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For more detailed recommendations, see www.latimes.com/endorsements.