Everyone has something to say about the election: here's my two cents
In the weeks leading up to yesterday’s election San Francisco was virtually writhing in hope, fear and anticipation. Towards the end it was impossible to go online, watch television or even leave the house without being bombarded by signs, banners and people supporting or protesting various propositions and candidates. However, after months of build up towards yesterday’s election, November 4th dawned quiet and pensive. There were no people with signs waiting outside my BART station, there was no election day theme on Myspace, and for the first time in 2 months I did not receive any automated phone calls telling me who to vote for. It felt like San Francisco was holding her breath. I took off work a little early and arrived at my polling place, a neighbor’s garage, at about 4:30pm to find it quiet and practically empty. There were six people working the station and six people voting- of these 12 people four were Chinese, one Hispanic and the rest were white. There were 7 women and 5 men, one of which brought his son into the booth and was explaining the voting process to him. I went home and watched the election coverage for a while but ended up falling asleep around 8pm and did not wake up until 5am. I immediately looked up the election results online and was relieved to find Obama won the presidency, though I was surprised that I was not woken by fireworks or people celebrating, which they like to do a lot of in my neighborhood, so I do not know if this means it was a quiet victory or if I really just slept through it all.
Next I looked up the local and state proposition results and my excitement quickly dimmed. By far my biggest disappointment was the passing of proposition 8- I just about cried. Throughout this whole election process the issue I saw the most signs, pamphlets and protesters for was prop 8. Every morning a swarm of protestors would greet me outside of the Montgomery BART station and this morning their absence seemed even sadder for the fact that they lost. Since I learned of this devastating blow I find I have been avoiding anyone who might have anything to say to me on this matter- my gay roommate, my work acquaintances that supported prop 8 and my mom who works at a church where they performed gay marriages. I cannot bring myself to see the pain and disappointment in others who opposed it, or the gloating of those who supported it. Deep down I knew this loss was coming, but knowing it's coming and dealing with it once it's here are two very difference things.
I am also selfishly devastated that prop Q passed. While many are rejoicing that small businesses are getting a break while big downtown law firms will have to pick up the slack I am personally going to be out of a job in the next 17 months as a result of this proposition. I work as a receptionist for one of these “awful” downtown law firms, and while some of the secondary attorneys I work for earn their bad reputation this job pays for my rent and my tuition while I work towards my BA in English. What many people do not realize is that this proposition is going to force many smaller, struggling offices to close and many more thriving offices to move out of San Francisco so they do not have to pay the tax. I work for a suite of seven law firms and as a result of this proposition my primary employers, a group of 3 genuinely nice attorneys, will be going out of business and my secondary employers will be terminating their lease early and moving out of San Francisco. However, it is not only for selfish reasons that I think passing prop Q was a bad idea. Another proposition that passed was prop M, which specifically outlines offenses for which a landlord can be fined or even imprisoned. As a result of prop M there is going to be a huge influx in tenant/landlord cases in the upcoming months- my primary employers specialize in tenant/landlord cases but are being forced out of business because of prop Q. Many of the other law firms that are staying in San Francisco are going to combat this hike in taxes by finding ways to increase attorney’s fees. Therefore, those that voted yes on M and yes on Q have painted themselves into a theoretical corner. All big downtown law firms may seem like the bad guys until you try to take your landlord to court for making threats to try to get you to move out, only to find that half the city’s decent lawyers are out of business and new attorneys fees drain your budget faster than any slumlord could ever hope to.
And so, for better or worse, another election has come and gone. After weeks of hoping, praying and petitioning much of San Francisco, California and the nation as a whole seems to be sitting in quiet contemplation over the mixed outcome. No one seems to be entirely happy with the various outcomes of this election, but all we can do now is sit back and watch what happens next.
Next I looked up the local and state proposition results and my excitement quickly dimmed. By far my biggest disappointment was the passing of proposition 8- I just about cried. Throughout this whole election process the issue I saw the most signs, pamphlets and protesters for was prop 8. Every morning a swarm of protestors would greet me outside of the Montgomery BART station and this morning their absence seemed even sadder for the fact that they lost. Since I learned of this devastating blow I find I have been avoiding anyone who might have anything to say to me on this matter- my gay roommate, my work acquaintances that supported prop 8 and my mom who works at a church where they performed gay marriages. I cannot bring myself to see the pain and disappointment in others who opposed it, or the gloating of those who supported it. Deep down I knew this loss was coming, but knowing it's coming and dealing with it once it's here are two very difference things.
I am also selfishly devastated that prop Q passed. While many are rejoicing that small businesses are getting a break while big downtown law firms will have to pick up the slack I am personally going to be out of a job in the next 17 months as a result of this proposition. I work as a receptionist for one of these “awful” downtown law firms, and while some of the secondary attorneys I work for earn their bad reputation this job pays for my rent and my tuition while I work towards my BA in English. What many people do not realize is that this proposition is going to force many smaller, struggling offices to close and many more thriving offices to move out of San Francisco so they do not have to pay the tax. I work for a suite of seven law firms and as a result of this proposition my primary employers, a group of 3 genuinely nice attorneys, will be going out of business and my secondary employers will be terminating their lease early and moving out of San Francisco. However, it is not only for selfish reasons that I think passing prop Q was a bad idea. Another proposition that passed was prop M, which specifically outlines offenses for which a landlord can be fined or even imprisoned. As a result of prop M there is going to be a huge influx in tenant/landlord cases in the upcoming months- my primary employers specialize in tenant/landlord cases but are being forced out of business because of prop Q. Many of the other law firms that are staying in San Francisco are going to combat this hike in taxes by finding ways to increase attorney’s fees. Therefore, those that voted yes on M and yes on Q have painted themselves into a theoretical corner. All big downtown law firms may seem like the bad guys until you try to take your landlord to court for making threats to try to get you to move out, only to find that half the city’s decent lawyers are out of business and new attorneys fees drain your budget faster than any slumlord could ever hope to.
And so, for better or worse, another election has come and gone. After weeks of hoping, praying and petitioning much of San Francisco, California and the nation as a whole seems to be sitting in quiet contemplation over the mixed outcome. No one seems to be entirely happy with the various outcomes of this election, but all we can do now is sit back and watch what happens next.