Voter Guide · Nov 3, 2026
Every race and measure on the November 3, 2026 ballot for a City of Petaluma voter (Voting District 6), scored against a progressive yardstick: people over big business, racial and LGBTQ+ equality, reproductive and women's rights, public education, a livable climate, gun safety, public healthcare, a defended safety net, and public financing of elections.
The whole ballot in one table. Reasoning for every line is below.
| Race / Measure | Pick |
|---|---|
| Governor | Xavier Becerra (D) |
| Lieutenant Governor | Fiona Ma (D) |
| Secretary of State | Shirley Weber (D) |
| Controller | Malia Cohen (D) |
| State Treasurer | Eleni Kounalakis (D) |
| Attorney General | Rob Bonta (D) |
| Insurance Commissioner | Jane Kim (D) |
| Board of Equalization, 2nd Dist. | Sally Lieber (D) |
| U.S. House, CA-2 | Jared Huffman (D) |
| State Senate, 2nd Dist. | Damon Connolly (D) |
| State Assembly, 12th Dist. | Eric Lucan (D) |
| Sonoma County Supervisor, 2nd Dist. | Joanna Paun |
| Petaluma Mayor | Kevin McDonnell |
| Sonoma County Board of Education, Area 2 | Caitlin Quinn |
| Superintendent of Public Instruction | Richard Barrera |
| All 13 judicial retention votes | YES on each |
| Prop 1 — Housing bonds | YES |
| Prop 2 — Rainy Day Fund | YES |
| Prop 3 — High-income tax for schools | YES |
| Prop 4 — Public campaign funding | YES |
| Prop 5 — Recall reform | YES |
| Prop 37 — Middle-income homebuyer loans | YES |
| Prop 38 — Medical research bonds | YES |
| Prop 39 — Voter ID requirement | NO |
| Prop 40 — Billionaire one-time tax | YES |
| Prop 41 — Nullify new special taxes | NO |
| Prop 42 — Ban personal-property taxes | NO |
| Prop 43 — 2/3 for local taxes | NO |
| Prop 44 — 90% rule for clinics | NO |
| Prop 45 — CEQA "streamlining" | NO (close call) |
| Measure H — Parks sales tax extension | YES |
| Measure AB — SRJC college bond | YES |
All of these are D-vs-R matchups except Insurance Commissioner and Board of Equalization, where two Democrats advance under the top-two primary. June 2 primary margins are noted where they set the frame.
Vote: Xavier Becerra (D)
Becerra — former U.S. Representative, HHS Secretary under Biden, and Obama's Housing Secretary. Ran on defending against the Trump administration from day one; pro-choice, pro-labor, pro-DACA, backs the abortion-rights constitutional protections on the ballot's record.
Steve Hilton (R) — Fox Business host, former senior advisor to Pete Wilson. Trump-allied; ran on cutting "waste," tougher on crime, and rolling back state climate rules. His policy archive attacks the very regulatory state this yardstick values.
Primary: Becerra led at ~28%; Hilton advanced second. Every values line — abortion, healthcare, guns, climate, immigration — splits cleanly here.
Vote: Fiona Ma (D)
Ma — incumbent State Treasurer; long record on consumer protection, tenant protections, and school bond oversight. Gloria Romero (R) — state senator from Fullerton, more moderate in tone but Republican on the votes that matter. Primary: Ma 20.2%, Romero 19.5%, Fryday 14.1% — Ma and Romero advance.
Vote: Shirley Weber (D)
Weber — incumbent; former assemblyspeaker pro tem; champion of the Voter's Choice Act, automatic registration, and language access. Don Wagner (R) — state assemblymember pushing "election integrity" audits — the same playbook that feeds Prop 39's voter-ID push. This office is the firewall against exactly that.
Vote: Malia Cohen (D)
Cohen — incumbent; state senator and former San Mateo supervisor; strong on government transparency and fiscal accountability. Herb Morgan (R) — small-business consultant, little record, Republican slate.
Vote: Eleni Kounalakis (D)
Kounalakis — incumbent; used the treasurer's seat to push affordable-housing bonds and green/state-bank infrastructure. Jennifer Hawks (R) — businesswoman, Trump-aligned, thin public record.
Vote: Rob Bonta (D)
Bonta — the AG who sued the Trump administration more than any state, defended abortion-access shield laws, protected immigrant communities, and filed gun-safety suits. Michael Gates (R) — Orange County DA; anti-sanctuary-city record, opposes the regulatory agenda this yardstick rewards.
Vote: Jane Kim (D) — the progressive pick; both finalists are Democrats.
Kim — former SF supervisor and state senator; unapologetically pro-single-payer, aggressive on insurer rate hikes and health-plan accountability. Ben Allen (D) — former state senator; the more moderate choice, and the Mercury News editorial board's pick, which argued Kim's approach is "a gamble." On this yardstick — public healthcare for all, regulating industry for people — Kim is the closer match.
Vote: Sally Lieber (D) — incumbent.
The BOE is the nation's only elected tax board; it hears property-tax appeals. Lieber — former assemblymember, appointed to the seat, moderate-Democrat record. John Pimentel (D) — challenger, less established. With two Democrats, the incumbent is the safe pick.
Vote: Jared Huffman (D)
Huffman — incumbent since 2013; the most reliably progressive member of the NorCal delegation: pro-choice, pro-gun-control, climate hawk, labor's pick, a lead voice on federal accountability. Under the Prop 50 map, Petaluma stays in his redrawn district (Cook PVI D+13). Primary: Huffman 56.5%, Robin Littau (R) 11.4% — Littau, a Trump-endorsed challenger, opposes abortion rights and the climate agenda.
Vote: Damon Connolly (D)
Connolly — Marin-based incumbent; environmental and water-quality record, housing and transit votes. Tief Gibbs (R) — Republican challenger, thin record.
Vote: Eric Lucan (D)
A two-Democrat runoff for the seat Damon Connolly is vacating. Eric Lucan — Marin County Supervisor and former San Rafael mayor; backed by the Press Democrat and the Marin IJ, which called his executive and legislative experience the deciding factor in a close race. Jackie Elward — Rohnert Park councilwoman and educator, strong on housing and community-college pipelines, and she has Petaluma's own councilmember Brian Barnacle's backing. Both are fine progressives; Lucan's broader budget and county-executive record is the edge, and he led the June primary 28.3% to 22.6%.
Vote: Joanna Paun (nonpartisan)
Joanna Paun — Petaluma City Schools trustee and its former president, the county's foster/homeless-youth education coordinator; ran on equity in schools, climate initiatives, and closing the achievement gap. Sylvia Lemus — mayor of Cotati and a 33-year county employee (human services, HR); deep county-government knowledge, endorsed by the Press Democrat in the primary as "best prepared."
Both are Democrats in a nonpartisan race and aligned on most issues. The Press Democrat leans Lemus; the education-and-equity record — the yardstick's public-education line — leans Paun. This is the closest call on your ballot; either is defensible.
Vote: Kevin McDonnell (nonpartisan)
Kevin McDonnell — incumbent mayor, endorsed by the Sonoma County Democrats and the Press Democrat. Shelina Moreda — dairy farmer and professional motorcycle racer who ran for supervisor in June; her campaign has been dogged by a reported 2025 restraining-order allegation she says was false and never filed as a charge (the PD reported it Sept 9; she also faced a residency challenge the city resolved in her favor). John Hanania — small business owner, minimal public record.
Nothing to vote — your councilmember is Brian Barnacle; District 6 is up in 2028.
The District 1, 2, and 3 council races on the ballot (Cader Thompson/LaPierre/Martin; Newell/Shribbs; Nau/Vazquez) are your neighbors' votes, not yours.
Vote: Caitlin Quinn (nonpartisan)
Caitlin Quinn — Petaluma City Schools trustee since 2018, nearly eight years on the board; nonprofit union president by designation. A vocal advocate for students of color, multilingual learners, students with disabilities, and LGBTQIA+ students — she spearheaded Petaluma's year-round Progress Pride Flag policy. Jonathan Lenz — 20+ year educator (school psychologist, special-ed director), former Old Adobe trustee 2016–2020, now deputy superintendent at Marin County Office of Education; strong professional-administrator credentials. Both are credible public-education picks; Quinn gets the edge on the equity yardstick. (Your other school-related seats — SRJC Trustee Area 2, Margaret Fishman, and Healthy Petaluma Zone 1, Nurit Licht — are unopposed.)
Vote: Richard Barrera (nonpartisan)
Barrera — former Long Beach Board of Education president; endorsed by the California Teachers Association, school nurses, counselors, and principals. Sonja Shaw — charter-school advocate endorsed by the California Republican Party; backed by charter and school-choice money. Primary: Shaw ~25%, Barrera ~20% — both advance. On public-education values, Barrera.
Fourteen measures — five legislative (1–5) and nine initiative statutes/amendments (37–45). Titles and arguments below are from the Official Voter Information Guide.
Bonds for multifamily rental housing, veteran mortgages, supportive housing, preserving affordable stock, and down-payment assistance. Repayment cost: $500–600M/yr for ~25 years. Backed by US Vets, CFT, Habitat for Humanity; no opposition filed.
YES — government building housing for people, not waiting on the market.
Strengthens the 2014 reserve so education, healthcare, and public safety hold up in downturns. Firefighters, the LA Chamber, and both major gubernatorial candidates back it; no opposition filed.
YES — protects the safety net exactly when it gets attacked.
Keeps the 2012 voter-approved surtax on incomes over ~$371k (the top ~2%) from expiring in 2031; dedicates it to public schools and healthcare. $5–15B/yr at stake. CTA, school nurses, the State PTA, and Planned Parenthood back it; the Taxpayers Association and business groups run the NO side.
YES — the single biggest public-education line on this ballot.
Repeals the state ban on public funding of candidate campaigns (with guardrails: no money from education/transport/public-safety funds). League of Women Voters, the Nurses Association, and Consumer Watchdog back it; taxpayer groups oppose.
YES — this is literally one of your stated values, on the ballot.
Ends the 2003-era rule of running the replacement race simultaneously with a recall; vacancies would be filled by a later special election or appointment. No arguments filed either way.
YES — sensible reform; removes the incentive to weaponize recalls.
$25B in revenue bonds (repaid by borrowers, not the state) for second-lien mortgages up to 17% of the price of new homes under ~$1.5M, with income limits and 3% down. Nurses, the Carpenters, and Treasurer Ma back it; no opposition filed.
YES — housing help at no direct state cost; a modest, workable program.
Bonds for immunology/immunotherapy research — half to a single UC-affiliated nonprofit institute, half to broader grants. Backed by the Michael J. Fox Foundation and the American Nurses Association-CA; one academic objects to the single-institute carve-out.
YES — public investment in cure research, with a caveat worth knowing about the concentration.
Would void mail ballots unless the last four digits of a government ID number are written on the envelope, and require presenting ID to vote in person. Funded by the Transparency Foundation (Reichmann brothers) and Howard Jarvis. Opposed by the ACLU, Common Cause, and the League of Women Voters. Costs tens of millions a year to administer.
NO — a solution to a problem that doesn't exist, aimed at suppressing turnout. California already verifies ID at registration.
One-time 5% levy on net worth over $1B (roughly 200 taxpayers), revenue primarily to healthcare. Bernie Sanders and SEIU-UHW lead the YES side; the Primary Care Association, school boards, and Taxpayers Association run NO. Watch for the "billionaires might flee" argument — the measure is designed to catch assets at death or transfer.
YES — people over concentrated wealth, and the money goes to healthcare.
Would void state taxes enacted after Jan 1, 2026 that exempt their revenue from the spending limit, and add pre-ballot and recurring audits of special-tax programs. Audits sound neutral, but the nullification is the point — Sanders and SEIU-UHW organize the NO.
NO — a poison-pill for future healthcare and revenue measures.
Bans any new state tax on ownership of personal property (everything but real estate, including financial assets) or retroactive taxes. Firefighters and the Building Trades back YES; Sanders and SEIU-UHW run NO.
NO — forecloses exactly the wealth-tax tools Prop 40 just used, forever.
Raises the approval bar for voter-proposed local special taxes from a majority to two-thirds. Taxpayer groups back it; Firefighters, the Federation of Teachers, and SEIU Nurse Alliance oppose.
NO — makes it harder for communities (including ours, which votes on 2/3 measures constantly) to fund local services.
Penalizes nonprofit community health centers (FQHCs) that spend under 90% of revenue on "program services." No YES arguments filed; opposed by the American Academy of Pediatrics-CA, school nurses, family physicians, and the Medical Association — who say it starves the clinics that serve the underserved.
NO — punishes the safety net for having overhead.
Deadlines for CEQA review and faster resolution of lawsuits for most housing, transportation, water, and health projects. Housing and water groups back YES; the Coalition for Clean Air, environmental voters, Physicians for Social Responsibility, and the National Wildlife Federation run NO.
NO — the one genuine fight on this ballot. Streamlining review is a real goal, but this initiative's deadlines and litigation caps weaken the public's tool against bad projects — and river-corridor cities like Petaluma live with the consequences of rushed review. Environmental opposition is the right tiebreaker.
Twelve local measures were filed countywide, but most belong to other cities and districts. Two reach every Petaluma household:
Extends the existing 1/8-cent sales tax (Measure M, 2018) — no rate increase — for regional and neighborhood parks, water-supply and stream protection, wildfire-risk reduction, habitat, and trails. ~$15.5M/yr with audits and public oversight. Backed by Fire Safe Sonoma, Farm Trails, and the Regional Parks Foundation; the Sonoma Democrats endorse YES; no opposition filed.
YES — Petaluma River access, local parks, and fire protection at no new tax rate.
Sonoma County Junior College District (Santa Rosa Jr. College — which serves Petaluma students) bond for facility and career-training upgrades, structured to keep the district's combined tax rate flat (~$25–30 per $100k of assessed value, unchanged). The Press Democrat endorsed YES "with caution" on oversight; the Sonoma Democrats endorse YES.
YES — public higher-ed facilities without a rate increase.
Judges can't campaign and there are no challengers — these are reconfirmation votes. The only organized "no" campaigns in recent cycles have targeted specific justices; none has traction here. Retention votes are YES/NO.
| Court | Justice | Vote |
|---|---|---|
| Supreme Court of California | Kelli M. Evans | YES |
| Supreme Court of California | Joshua Groban | YES |
| Ct. of Appeal, 1st Dist., Div. One | Charles A. Smiley | YES |
| Ct. of Appeal, 1st Dist., Div. One | Monique Langhorne Wilson | YES |
| Ct. of Appeal, 1st Dist., Div. One | Kathleen M. Banke | YES |
| Ct. of Appeal, 1st Dist., Div. Two | Therese M. Stewart | YES |
| Ct. of Appeal, 1st Dist., Div. Two | Tara M. Desautels | YES |
| Ct. of Appeal, 1st Dist., Div. Three | Victor A. Rodriguez | YES |
| Ct. of Appeal, 1st Dist., Div. Three | Ioana Petrou | YES |
| Ct. of Appeal, 1st Dist., Div. Four | Tracie L. Brown | YES |
| Ct. of Appeal, 1st Dist., Div. Five | Danny Y. Chou | YES |
| Ct. of Appeal, 1st Dist., Div. Five | Mark Simons | YES |
| Ct. of Appeal, 1st Dist., Div. Five | Gordon Burns | YES |