Citizens of Inglewood and Americans throughout this nation will be voting on Nov. 3 in the general election as if their life depends on it because with the coronavirus pandemic raging to heights not yet seen, it really does.
In Inglewood, coronavirus cases have spiked to 3,602 and the mortality has reached 98, forcing the hand of legislators to tamper down on opening schools, businesses and handicapping an already shrinking economy to the brink of a recession.
Nationwide the pandemic had fallen into red alert in all but 13 states with cases toppling 8,752,794, and deaths trolling beyond 215,085 at an average of 72,183 new cases daily at press time.
Local governments with exhausting resources are left to fend for themselves during the worst health crisis in over a century as an inept federal government has failed to provide any stimulus relief for its vulnerable citizens.
The pandemic coupled with racial divisions, escalating injustice among law enforcement and widening schisms between our two dominant political parties has elevated the urgency of casting your ballot.
The traditionally blue state of California will overwhelmingly vote Democrat and former Vice President Joseph Biden is hoping to ride a wave of anti-Trump supporters to an election landslide that could end up in a now conservative tilted Supreme Court.
Locally, two races are drawing anticipated attention. The race for 43rd Congressional District between novice Republican Joe Collins and veteran Maxine Waters and the 2nd District Los Angeles County Supervisors race between Dems Holy Mitchell and Herb Wesson.
Collins barely beat his Republican foe in the primary, but has since been stockpiled with a rash of cash surpassing $8 million, thus forcing Waters to run the race for her political life. She had been outspent 8-1 at press time, but is expected to survive to be reelected.
Meanwhile, Mitchell has been casting her bet with white liberals and conservatives in Culver City and has been receiving unexpected streams of cash that has made the race a toss up.
Wesson, the veteran lawmaker who is the former powerful Los Angeles City Council President, has been active in a grassroots campaign during the pandemic that has kept him as a frontrunner, but it appears to be a dogfight and too close to call at press time.
State legislators Seven Bradford in the Senate and Autumn Burke in the Assembly is essentially shoe-ins, as are Inglewood Councilman Eloy Morales and newcomer Dionne Faulk who are running unopposed.
Two candidates are vying for Inglewood City Clerk to replace the retired Yvonne Horton, but Deputy City Clerk Aisha L. Thompson is expected to defeat Deandre Warren, a Mental Health Specialist.
Bundles of money are pouring in on Propositions 15-25.
Among the most hotly contested are 15 which requires commercial and industrial properties to be taxed based on market value and dedicates revenue; 21 which expands local governments’ power to use rent control; 22 which considers app-based drivers to be independent contractors and enacts several labor policies related to app-based companies.
The pandemic and the ongoing threat of contesting the election results by the enigmatic President Donald J. Trump has infused early voter turnout after voter apathy in 2016 was responsible for him being elected to the oval office in the first place.
