Issue link: https://nnumagazine.uberflip.com/i/198021
NewsBriefs.REV_April 5/8/10 2:33 PM Page 13 for the election for Secretary of State in 2014 and 2018. The program would give candidates who can show public support, by collecting a certain amount of $5 contributions from registered voters, up to about $2 million to spend on their campaign. Candidates would be banned from spending more than that amount. The program would be paid for by a tax on lobbyists, and could serve as a model for future elections. Similar programs already exist in Arizona and Maine. The spending limits clearly represent a shift from business-as-usual: candidates and elected officials in California have directly raised over $1 billion since 2001, according to the state's Fair Political Practices Commission. CNA strongly opposes Proposition 17, funded by Mercury Insurance Group, which would roll back state regulations on auto insurance, allowing insurers to discriminate against drivers who weren't previously insured. CNA also opposes Proposition 16, a deceptive measure sponsored by Pacific Gas and Electric Company that would make it harder for voters to grant cities and counties the authority to directly provide electricity to residents. The Ratios What do these elections have to do with California's first-in-the-nation safe staffing law? Everything. For one thing, gubernatorial candidate Brown supports the ratio law; his likely opponent, Whitman, would probably try to repeal it if elected. These elections also mark a turning point for United States Senator Barbara Boxer (DCA), who is sponsoring legislation to extend California's staffing ratios to the rest of the country. While Boxer looks to be safe in the primary, Republicans have targeted her for defeat in November. "Barbara Boxer has been there for us and we need to be there for her," said Deborah Burger, RN, Co-president of CNA and National Nurses United. "Our very nursing practice is going to be at stake." With patient care standards hanging in the balance, every nurse in the country has a stake in these elections—not just those in the Golden State. (For more on staffing ratios and nurses' stake in this year's elections, see p. 16.) —Staff Report California Nurses Association 2010 Election Endorsements US Senate June 8 Statewide Direct Primary Election Qualified Measures Barbara Boxer, California* California Statewide Offices Jerry Brown – Governor Gavin Newsom – Lt. Governor John Chiang – State Controller* Bill Lockyer – State Treasurer* Tom Torlakson – State Superintendent of Public Instruction Kamala Harris – Attorney General Debra Bowen – Secretary of State* DUAL: Hector De La Torre – Insurance Commissioner / Dave Jones – Insurance Commissioner Betty Yee – Board of Equalization, District 1* *Indicates incumbent candidate APRIL 2010 Proposition 13 – Property Tax: new construction exclusion: seismic retrofitting—OPPOSE Proposition 14 – Elections: Open Primaries – OPPOSE Proposition 15 – Political Reform Act of 1974: California Fair Elections Act of 2008 – SUPPORT Proposition 16 – New Two Thirds Requirement for Local Public Electricity Providers – OPPOSE Proposition 17 – Allows Auto Insurance Companies to Base their Prices on a Driver's History of Insurance Coverage.– OPPOSE For a complete list of endorsements, please see www.calnurses.org/legislative_advocacy/ W W W. N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G N AT I O N A L N U R S E 13