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Study the issues and candidates, then vote Tuesday

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June 5 is California’s Presidential Primary Election. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., giving voters an opportunity to help select the next county supervisor, state assemblyman, U.S. senator, and more. Nominations for president are all but officially decided, with the Democrats presenting Barack Obama for another four-year term and Republicans hoping Mitt Romney can beat him.

As we scan our voter pamphlet, we see three Ramona candidates: John Rajcic, who’d like to represent District 4 on the County Board of Education; Gary Kreep, who’d like to be a Superior Court judge; and John Boruff, one of 24 choices to the U.S. Senate seat Dianne Feinstein holds.

In addition, voters will be casting ballots for county supervisor, state assemblyman, a Congressman, judges, and two propositions: one to tweak term limits for the state Legislature and another to collect more cigarette taxes.

From our perspective, the supervisor’s race is no contest. Dianne Jacob is our choice. While we haven’t agreed with her on everything, she’s stood by Ramona a number of times. We thank her for opening a trail loop for the public to enjoy a small portion of the Ramona Grasslands, purchased with millions of public dollars. Some thought nary a public foot would ever step on the revered grasslands. We’re pleased Jacob wasn’t one of them. She also stood behind the Ramona planning group’s rejection of a major expansion of Highland Valley Ranch’s care center for brain-injured clients. The County Planning Commission and the majority of the County Board of Supervisors approved the project, but Jacob backed the community.

Congressman Duncan D. Hunter has earned another term in Washington, D.C. More than just a U.S. representative who sits in Congress and votes on bills, Hunter is visible in the community, most recently walking down Main Street in the parade less than two weeks ago.

Please, give us a new face to represent California in the U.S. Senate. We favor the hometown boy, businessman John Boruff.

For County Board of Education, we prefer Rajcic to the teachers union candidate. Rajcic offers energy and fresh ideas with an independent backbone.

Assemblyman Brian Jones backs issues we can support. Among them, he took a strong stand against the new fire tax the state initiated, and he’s joined the effort to repeal it.

Proposition 28 gets our support. The term limit proposition voters approved in 1990 hasn’t turned out the way many anticipated. Prop. 28 doesn’t eliminate term limits approved in 1990. It tightens them, creating a firm 12-year limit aimed at reducing the amount of politicking state politicians do. It reduces the number of years politicians can spend in the Legislature and allows them to spend all 12 years, if voters approve, in either the assembly or the senate. This may cut office hopping.

We recommend a No vote on Proposition 29. We do not need another bureaucracy, even if it comes guised as cancer research.

There’s something new this election. Voters will choose the “top two” candidates rather than the top candidate from each political party. In addition, reapportionment has changed district numbers.

No matter your preference in Tuesday’s election, vote. People in other countries are dying to do what some of us take for granted.

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