Endorsements

The CN&R’s endorsements are only recommendations. As always, we urge voters to do their own homework, beginning with their official Voter Information Guide. Additionally helpful: stories in this newspaper’s Feb. 13 Election Issue (go to newsreview.com/chico for back issues), as well as coverage of the recent forums put on by the League of Women Voters of Butte County (see “A closer look,” Newslines, Jan. 23, and “The run-up,” Newslines, Feb. 6). Another resource: the league’s website, lwvbuttecounty.org. For the state races and the school bond measure not covered here, check out the statewide league’s website, votersedge.org.

U.S. President: Our choice is Elizabeth Warren, a second-term senator from Massachusetts whose bona fides rise to the top in the crowded field of Democrats. Among the nation’s foremost experts in bankruptcy law, Warren is known for having predicted the 2008 financial crisis. She was later tapped by President Obama with the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a financial watchdog agency. She’s neither a career politician nor does she come from money. As such, she identifies with what it’s like to struggle in a nation with a cavernous wealth gap, and she is capable of working across party lines to undo the harms inflicted by the current administration.

U.S. Congress: Choosing Audrey Denney was an easy consensus. She is smart, compassionate and listens to North State residents’ concerns. Also, she’s not beholden to special interests.

Butte County Supervisorial District 1: No endorsement.

Butte County Supervisorial District 4: Our pick is Sue Hilderbrand, a longtime political science instructor at Chico State and Butte College. Her background in disaster recovery and expertise in public policy make her best equipped for the job.

Butte County Supervisorial District 5: We’ve chosen Doug Teeter, a pragmatic and knowledgeable representative of the Ridge communities. He’s the person we believe is best prepared to lead the region through the difficult post-Camp Fire landscape.

Measure A: Chico’s parks are long overdue for upgrades and repairs, but we do not support the Chico Area Recreation and Park District’s local parcel tax. Our main gripes: The tax is regressive, permanent and will increase each year. Furthermore, rather than banking the $3 million in annual additional revenue and spending it on deferred maintenance, upgrades and new projects, the plan is to go out for a $36 million bond to fund, among other things, a mega aquatics facility. That proposal means two-thirds of the yearly revenue would be spent on debt service. No, thanks.