South Carolina "Exit Poll" Asks If Blacks Are Too Demanding In Their Push For Equal Rights

SPARTANBURG COUNTY, S.C. -
Some South Carolina voters are upset over an exit poll they received which referenced race and slavery.

The poll, which was handed out to voters in Charleston, Columbia, Greenville and Spartanburg asked them to agree or disagree on statements on whether blacks don't work hard enough to advance economically, are too demanding in their pursuit of equal rights and are hindered by the effects of slavery and discrimination.

“I took this poll in Seneca,” wrote Matt Alexander, on the WSPA Facebook page. “I didn't answer some of the questions. They were overtly racist.”

“I actually thought it was a joke,” wrote Bonnie Lemley. “Apparently, it wasn't.”

The poll was conducted by David Woodard, a political science professor at Clemson University. Woodard said he was trying to prove that race has no bearing on whether whites vote for political candidates.

http://www.wspa.com/story/27294393/exit-poll-angers-some-sc-voters?clienttype=generic&smartdevicecgbypass

Laid-Back Company Allows Employees To Work From Home After 6 P.M.

GRESHAM, OR—Underscoring the benefits of working for a laid-back company like SocialFire Marketing, founder and CEO Matt Avalon told reporters Tuesday he had instituted an office-wide policy permitting employees to work from home anytime after 6 p.m. “If it helps them be efficient and get more done, I have no problem with people working remotely once they’ve left the office for the day,” said Avalon, who noted that as long as they’re doing their jobs, the location where his staff members choose to work between 6 p.m. and 9 a.m. is “completely up to them.” “That’s the kind of relaxed culture we strive to create here—one where you can even be working from your living room couch at two in the morning if you’d like.” Avalon added that since they don’t have to be in the office for any meetings, employees are free to work from home on weekends and holidays as well.


http://www.theonion.com/articles/laidback-company-allows-employees-to-work-from-hom,37358/

All day I read tweets from "journalists" saying Obama's ignoring the election results.

In other words, he has to roll over. something they never asked from Bush after 2006.

Liccardo declares victory in San Jose mayor’s race

Councilman Sam Liccardo declared victory Wednesday in the San Jose mayor’s race against county Supervisor Dave Cortese.

Liccardo led 51 percent to 49 percent after all precincts had reported results. The candidates were separated by 2,176 votes Wednesday morning, with remaining mail-in and provisional ballots still left to be counted.

“It will be my great honor to serve San Jose as our city’s 65th mayor,” Liccardo told a room of reporters Wednesday.
Cortese, though, did not concede in the race.

“Although I congratulated Sam Liccardo this morning on running a great campaign, this race is still too close to call. I'm confident in the democratic process and want everyone to understand that every vote does indeed count,” Cortese said in a statement Wednesday afternoon.

http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Liccardo-declares-victory-in-San-Jose-mayor-s-5873358.php

Ro Khanna trails Rep. Mike Honda, but won’t concede

The election isn’t over yet in the Democrats-only tussle for a South Bay congressional seat.

Fremont’s Ro Khanna, who finished election night 3,549 votes behind seven-term Democratic Rep. Mike Honda of San Jose, refused to concede Wednesday, saying a huge number of vote-by-mail ballots dropped off at the polls Tuesday remain untallied.

With an estimated 40,000 votes still outstanding in the Silicon Valley district, the race is far from over, Khanna said.

“When we started this campaign nearly two years ago, I was polling at just 3 percent. Now, they're still counting the ballots. It’s that close.” Khanna said in an e-mail message to supporters Wednesday.


http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Ro-Khanna-trails-Rep-Mike-Honda-but-won-t-5874065.php

Libby Schaaf defeats Jean Quan, wins Oakland mayoral race in landslide

OAKLAND -- Not even ranked-choice voting could save Jean Quan this time around.

Councilwoman Libby Schaaf romped to victory in Oakland's mayoral race, besting Quan in first-place votes and trouncing Councilwoman Rebecca Kaplan in the initial ranked choice tabulation conducted early Wednesday morning.

Although there are thousands more absentee votes still to be counted, Schaaf declared victory as the initial results showed her with an insurmountable lead, analysts said.

Schaaf nearly doubled Quan's tally of first-place 16,243 to 8,819 with all precincts reporting. Rounding out the top five were Kaplan, San Francisco State professor Joe Tuman and civil rights attorney Dan Siegel.

When the first ranked-choice tabulation was completed shortly after 2 a.m. -- eliminating the lower-ranked candidates and redistributing their supporters' votes -- Schaaf defeated Kaplan 63 percent to 37 percent.



http://www.contracostatimes.com/breaking-news/ci_26866528/oakland-mayors-race-tight-early-returns-show

The PEOPLE of Richmond, CA defeated Chevron last night!!

RICHMOND -- In a race that received national attention thanks to big money from Chevron, a slate of candidates on shoestring budgets swept their oil titan-backed opponents on Tuesday night in a resounding political defeat for the company and its campaign tactics.

Longtime local politician Tom Butt defeated his City Council colleague Nat Bates, garnering 51 percent of the vote to Bates' 35 percent.

In the race for three full-term City Council seats, outgoing Mayor Gayle McLaughlin (16.9 percent of the vote), incumbent Jovanka Beckles (16.2 percent) and challenger Eduardo Martinez (14.6) -- the "Team Richmond" slate backed by the Richmond Progressive Alliance -- swept despite a flurry of negative advertising against them. Incumbent Jael Myrick trounced Corky Boozé for a two-year seat.

Incumbent Jim Rogers was knocked out of his seat, finishing fourth by fewer than 300 votes with all precincts reporting.

Chevron spent big to elect Bates mayor and defeat the "Team Richmond" candidates who are hostile to the oil giant's mammoth refinery here, but voters rejected Chevron's efforts.



http://www.mercurynews.com/my-town/ci_26866567/butt-rogers-lead-early-numbers-richmond-mayor-council

Oakland has a new mayor.

I'm in transit but I just got the alert that Councilwoman Libby Schaaf has been declared the new Mayor of Oakland. More details tonight.

Goodnight, everyone. Let me leave you with this...

SF: Sugary drink tax measure fails

Proposition E, a 2 cent per ounce tax on the purchase of sugary beverages that was heavily opposed by the American Beverage Association, was defeated at the polls Tuesday when fewer than two-thirds of voters supported the proposal.

The tax was proposed to combat health-related illnesses like obesity and diabetes. It drew the support of the majority of the Board of Supervisors, which voted to place it on the ballot, and a number of health organizations, such as the American Heart Association and the California Dental Association.

The American Beverage Association, which represents the large soda companies, had raised $7.7 million as of Sept. 30 to oppose the measure. The group's campaign had seized upon San Francisco's rising cost of living and growing income inequality, and had suggested in ads that the tax would increase the cost of groceries and meals at restaurants.

It is estimated that San Francisco consumes about 3 billion ounces of soda and other sugary beverages annually and that a 2 cent per ounce tax would decrease consumption by as much as 31 percent, according to a City Controller's Office report. Estimates said the tax could generate as much as $54 million a year.


http://www.sfexaminer.com/sanfrancisco/sugary-drink-tax-measure-fails/Content?oid=2911239