Several readers have asked how Stanford voters compare with California voters overall on two key ballot measures. To this I’ve added Santa Clara County, home of Silicon Valley.
One is Proposition 16, an effort to overturn Proposition 209 that banned affirmative action and giving preference on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, and other defining characteristics. Here are the results.
Stanford. 71.3% Yes
Santa Clara County. 51.8% No
California. 56.5%. No
Both Silicon Valley and California voted for merit. Stanford voted for positive discrimination.
Another ballot measure is Proposition 22, which treats app-based drivers as independent contractors, not employees. If voted down, many drivers would lose the ability to work part time to earn extra money. Here are the results.
Stanford. 70.5%. No
Santa Clara County. 52.1%. Yes
California. 58.6%. Yes
From their secure tenured jobs, Stanford voters want to impose onerous conditions on the freedom of Californians to work part time to earn extra money. This is shameful. It’s reason alone to abolish academic tenure.
Stanford is not just out of touch with America and California, it is even out of touch with Silicon Valley.
Will real, true political diversity ever appear at Stanford? The honest answer is no. The best that can be hoped for is that Stanford’s Presidents will continue to support academic freedom.