June 2026 Election Endorsements for Alameda County California
As usual, I’m sharing my stances on every vote I’m eligible for in the June 2026 election in California and Alameda county.
I’ll update this post as I find new information until I mail in my ballot.
Election Date: June 2, 2026
How I Vote
✅ = I confidently endorse this choice.
♥️ = I’m especially passionate about this issue.
Who I look to for endorsements:
- Working Families Party Candidates
- League of Women Voters: Berkeley Albany Emeryville
- A4TE Endorsements
- You! Comment your thoughts.
I generally don’t look at polling, because:
- they’re easily manipulated
- they usually turn out wrong
- “electability” is propaganda aimed at consolidating us into more conservative choices
- the only poll that actually matters is our vote
For a full breakdown: How I Vote – Process Workflow Documentation.
California Governor Primary: Tom Steyer ✅
I’m holding my nose and voting strategically for Tom Steyer. He’s just better than Becerra.
I’m hoping all the other Dem candidates drop out soon. Maybe if we consolidate the Dem vote into two camps we may find a way to knock the Republicans down to third. It might not be possible, but we’ll see.
My Hesitation About Steyer
Steyer knows what to say, but I have zero faith in his actual follow-through. I suspect he’s fundraising so successfully because billionaires know he won’t fulfill his campaign promises. I smell yet another Fetterman.
*heavy sigh* That said:
- Our Revolution endorsed Tom Steyer as a strategic play to consolidate the ridiculously diluted Democratic nominee field.
- Betty Yee also endorsed him when she dropped out.
- He’s the only candidate on the debate stage supporting the billionaire tax.
- He’s still better than Newsom or his “mini-me” Becerra.
Ugh.
Who I Wanted: Tony K. Thurmond ♥️
Tony Thurmond has been a frontrunner for my vote for a while.
- Universal healthcare
- Affordable housing
- Raise minimum wage
- Supports the 2026 billionaire tax
- De-militarizing police
- Clean energy
- Public education is his biggest priority, and making it accessible to everyone
- Consistently supports LGBTQIA+ community, including a focus on trans youth
- High Speed Rail
It’s a shame the democratic party and other orgs decided to exclude him from debates where I suspect he’d impress. I understand why we want to narrow the field ASAP, but Porter is an empty suit and Becerra just really sucks. They feel no better than Newsom.
Though I try not to vote based on polling, these were pretty stark numbers. I dropped my Thurmond endorsement when his poll numbers never rose above 2%.
Ranked Choices:
- Tony K. Thurmond 🤞
Butch Ware🤦♀️ (typical Green party BS)Betty Yee- Tom Steyer
- Katie Porter
Xavier Becerra👎- — Gavin Newson (just a reference point) —
Trans Rights
A big part of my personal stake in this election:
Homelessness
I abhor Newsom’s handling of homelessness and view “crackdowns” like his as entirely focused on PR for his ambitions outside California’s interests. I want an end to camp sweeps and respect for the individual liberty and choices of homeless people. It’s horrifying how most of our gubernatorial candidates don’t see unhoused people as human beings.
All of these videos by CBS News California are extremely helpful for comparing candidates. Check out the whole site feature CBS News California created to compare candidates.
Additional Stats & Links:
Now, on to more important races.
Lieutenant Governor: Oliver Ma ✅♥️
I like both Michael Tubbs and Oliver Ma for this position, but Oliver Ma is closer to me in priorities and fearless rhetoric. While I supported Fiona Ma in 2022, she’s definitely not what I think we need in 2026.
Additional Links:
California Secretary of State: Shirley Weber ✅
The challengers in this race aren’t serious people. Weber is an experienced operator who still shares human answers to complex questions with a refreshing bluntness and a little teeny bit of spice.
California State Controller: Malia M. Cohen ✅♥️
Malia Cohen is great. Housing is her priority and we’ve seen her work toward improving things in that realm, even if the efforts haven’t shown much real world fruition yet.
That said, Meghann Adams is excellent too. I actually prefer her policy stances over Cohen’s but don’t think Cohen is doing a bad enough job to justify taking the risk on a new unproven candidate. I could definitely be swayed, of course.
Ranked Choices:
- Malia M. Cohen ✅♥️
- Meghann Adams ✅
Is there risk of Herb Morgan stealing a victory if we split the vote? If so, it’s another reason I’d pick Cohen.
California State Treasurer: Eleni Kounalakis ✅♥️
Eleni Kounalakis has been solid for a while, and I trust her more than her opponents.
A quote from the above forum (emphasis mine):
Let me just jump right in and say that in my current position, because housing is so critically important, I do spend a lot of time going to groundbreakings and ribbon cuttings of new affordable housing projects. And I’ve been surprised uh with some of them and the per cost per square foot. And I always ask that as the first question, but we’re seeing that per unit 500,000, 800,000, sometimes over a million dollars per unit.
Now sometimes there are issues that cannot be avoided. But very often it’s really associated with time delays and other kinds of unnecessary complications. That is what I think we really need to focus on.
Because we have values in the state of California. We’re not going to walk away from those values. We believe in fair labor standards. We believe in sustainability requirements. We also believe that those things produce higher quality buildings, good paying jobs, and lower long-term operational costs.
So, the question is not whether we choose between these priorities, it’s whether we can deliver them more efficiently. And I truly believe the answer is yes.
Eleni Kounalakis, at the SCANPH 2026 California State Treasurer Candidate Forum
I also have it on good authority Eleni is a kind and decent human being to service workers, which carries weight with me.
California State Attorney General: Rob Bonta ✅♥️
Rob Bonta has consistently stood up for everyday Californians throughout his career.
- Acted fast to fight ICE and other fascist attacks on Californians
- Defended reproductive freedoms
- Fought employer wage theft
Bonta on Gender-Affirming Care
Rob Bonta has defended gender-affirming care during his term, though he’s done so using less potent legal tactics many advocates disagree with. He also needed to be pressured into doing a better job at it, which is disappointing. That said, no other candidate will do any better here.
California State Insurance Commissioner: Jane Kim ✅♥️
My years as a board member in my HOA have taught me even more about insurance companies and how they scam us constantly than I already knew before.
This role in state government is more pivotal than many realize. Jane Kim has the right background, the right ideas, and the right endorsements to make the changes we desperately need.
California State Board of Equalization 2nd District: Sally Lieber ✅
Lieber wins my vote here mostly via her many solid endorsements, but also because her opponent opposes the billionaire tax on spurious grounds.
U.S. Congress 12th District: Lateefah Simon ✅♥️
Lateefah Simon has filled the big shoes of Barbara Lee brilliantly so far, and she’s become one of my favorite representatives.
California State Assembly 18th District: Mia Bonta ✅♥️
Mia Bonta has been a solid advocate for those in need. She’s done great work in the state assembly the entire time I’ve lived here. I see no reason to change course.
Andre Sandford has good intentions, but has tired “solutions” to local problems that’ve been shown not to work over decades of attempts. He wants to increase police budgets, thinks cutting property taxes is how we improve affordable housing, and wants to continue tearing up homeless encampments for development. Sounds a lot like a republican to me.
He’s also been spamming my email inbox for several years now, totally ignoring unsubscribe cues. So fuck him.
California Superior Court Judge, Office #13: Cabral Bonner ✅
He’s endorsed by Lateefah Simon and has a good read on what the local communities here need. His opponent Michael P. Johnson seems decent enough and has some good endorsements as well, but he’s also endorsed by multiple problematic police organizations.
California Superior Court Judge, Office #19: Selia Warren ✅
Warren is experienced and well-regarded. She’s also the only candidate who filled in a candidate’s statement in the election booklet. Filling out forms properly is an annoyingly huge part of any public service, and that’s especially true for judges.
Miles believes she can judge from “above the political fray” without bias, which is either hiding an unpopular political bend or dangerously naive.
California Superintendent of Public Instruction: Nichelle Henderson ✅
This race has three good choices from what I can tell. Here’s my ranking:
- Nichelle Henderson has firsthand teaching experience and seems very knowledgeable and poised as a strong communicator.
- Richard Berrera is endorsed by Tony Thurmond and seems to have a solid administrative skillset.
- Al Muratsuchi worked with the ACLU to prevent book bans, is focused on pulling funding from the richest among us, and seems to have a good administrative level skillset.
Alameda County Superintendent of Schools: Alysse Castro ✅
I voted against Alysse Castro in 2022 (I wasn’t passionately against her at the time), but I’m glad she won. She’s been doing a good job and it’s no surprise she’s running unopposed.
Alameda District Attorney: Pamela Price ✅♥️
Here we go again. I continue to support Pamela Price‘s efforts to focus our attention away from over-policing our communities and instead provide non-carceral solutions.
I don’t have any issue with Ursula Dickinson within the context of status quo DA candidates, but she is status quo. She enacts her responsibilities in traditional ways that inflate police budgets, fill prisons with non-violent offenders, and tear apart our most marginalized communities.
Gopal Krishan adds nothing new to the conversation. He’s focused on financing, efficiency, and pandering to constituents who only care about not raising taxes. Our neighbors aren’t just numbers to be shuffled through our unjust systems as quickly and efficiently as possible. We still need to solidify the “what” and “why” of our local criminal justice policies are before we focus on speeding the process up.
Alameda County Measure A: Yes ✅
Peralta Colleges Affordable Education Reauthorization
Continue funding education to provide access to people who need it. No arguments against it were added to the voters guide.