Learn About State and Local Ballot Measures at ‘Hot Topics & Cold Facts’ With Pasadena League of Women Voters Thursday

Pasadena voters will be asked to weigh in on seven statewide ballot measures, County Measures A and C, and Pasadena Measures L and H in the upcoming November election. 

Learn about the pros and cons of these state and local ballot measures at Pasadena League of Women Voters’ (LWV) “Hot Topics & Cold Facts” on Thursday, October 6, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at Blinn House at 160 N. Oakland Ave.

At the in-person forum on Thursday, which is open to the public, a team of pro and con presenters who are members of the league will be providing unbiased information about each of the measures including the arguments for and against, and who’s paying for the advertisements for each of the measures. 

“You can expect to get information about the ballot measures that are going to appear on everybody’s ballot in the state. And there would be a summarized presentation of the seven measures before them to make a decision about it,” said Martha Zavala, President of LWV Pasadena.

“We call it pros and cons because it is a balanced representation of the key points of what will happen if you should decide to vote for or against any one of those ballot measures.” 

The “Hot Topics & Cold Facts” is the first in-person event that will be hosted by the LWV Pasadena since pandemic measures roof effect in 2020.

“We have questions coming from the audience to try and help our presenters recognize what kind of information’s really significant for the audience,” Zavala said. 

Although the event is free and open to the public, Zavala strongly encouraged registering for the upcoming event. To register, visit:  https://crm.nonprofiteasy.com/6731/Pages/Events/#/Details/13920//

According to Zavala, despite advocating for certain ballot measures as an organization, the league will provide the information in a “balanced manner.”

“Our state league is the one who wrestles with whether or not we’re going to support a state proposition. They’re the ones that have that responsibility. We wear two hats in the league. One is that of voting rights advocates and supporters of informed voting. So we do a lot of education in this area. The ‘Pros and Cons’ event on Thursday is one of them. However, we do have an advocacy arm, but we do like to maintain somewhat of a separation,” Zavala explained. 

State and Local Ballot Measures 

Included among the seven state ballot measures is Proposition 1 which asks voters to ban the state from denying or interfering with a person’s right to abortion and contraceptives if they so choose. 

Also included is Proposition 29 or the kidney dialysis measure. It is a reboot of a proposition that failed in 2018 and a similar one that failed in 2020. This third attempt again calls for several new restrictions on clinics, including a requirement that a doctor, nurse practitioner or physician assistant be on site during all patient treatment.

In addition, voters will vote on a 2020 law passed by the California State Legislature prohibiting the sale of certain flavored tobacco products. 

At the local level, two measures will be included in the November ballot.

The Pasadena Fair and Equitable Housing Charter Amendment seeks to amend the city’s Charter to cap annual rent increases at 2-3%, establish a new rental housing board and just cause eviction criteria in Pasadena while the Public Library Services Continuation Measure seeks to continue the City’s collection of the Library Special Tax, which will lapse in February 2023.