PREVIEWING NOVEMBER PROPOSITIONS

CALIFORNIA voters can thank goodness for small favors.

Yes, we're once again in the double digits in the propositions and
initiatives that last week were certified for our November ballot.

Still, it's the smallest of the double digits: an even 10.

They can be, on some broad and unsubtle basis, broken down into four
categories: 1) State finance. 2) The environment. 3) Redistricting
reform. 4) Reefer madness.

It's the latter - the proposal to legalize marijuana for those 21 and
over, while allowing local governments to tax it - that may have the
biggest effect on the election overall, and not just because of the
serious societal problems legalization might entail.

Pundits in the state capital say that the measure is likely to draw
young people - presumably the group with the greatest interest in
pot, yea or nay - to the polls. And to the extent that those are
voters in the yea camp, and to the extent that the group would likely
be more liberal than Californians who would give a thumbs-down to
legalization, the top-of-the-ticket races for the Senate and for
governor could see a big boost for the Democratic candidates.

"It's going to bring out lots of young voters," Bob Stern, president
of the Center for Governmental Studies in Los Angeles, told the Sacramento Bee.

"Barbara Boxer and Jerry Brown are saying 'Thank you, thank you, thank you.' "

Perhaps they are. Just who will say yes to legalized pot is not the
surest bet in politics, though. And guessing who will be supporters
and detractors of it could be a counterintuitive process.

For instance, many Tea Party types profess an allegiance to a certain
libertarianism when it comes to government - if they come out in
large numbers, that will be an interesting question to cross-index in
exit polls.

Whereas not a few Baby Boomers who were around to inhale or not when
the weed first became popular seem to have become disgusted with the
sham that surrounds so many of the so-called medical marijuana
dispensaries. Being able to walk into one of them and claim anxiety
or an aching left instep and be prescribed some potent strain of
sinsemilla has made a mockery of the Proposition 215 many thought
they were voting for to ease cancer patients' pain.

And you may have heard of the bumper sticker that's popular in
Humboldt County these days: "Keep pot illegal." There are a lot of
clandestine livelihoods at stake if pot prohibition is repealed. You
think the mob welcomed the end of the speakeasy?

The state finance issues we'll be called to study and vote on include
a liberal push to reduce from two-thirds to a majority of the
Legislature needed for state budgetary approval; repealing recent
corporate tax breaks; increasing the votes for state fee increases
from a majority to two-thirds of the Legislature; and barring the
state from taking or borrowing money intended for local government.

Environmental issues include another $11 billion in water
infrastructure bonds; a fee tacked on to vehicle registration to
restore state park funding; a suspension of AB32, which is aimed at
reducing global warning, until more Californians have jobs.

The two redistricting measures are polar opposites: One would quite
properly continue the reforms we passed in Proposition 11 to take the
drawing of boundaries away from politicians and give it to a panel of
citizens. This time it would apply to congressional districts. The
other measure - crazily supported by a former Prop. 11 backer - would
reverse those reforms and give back to members of the California
Legislature the right to draw their own boundaries.

A preview of our November endorsements: Vote against that one.