The Daily Forty-Niner endorses the following candidates and select propositions for Tuesday's general elections.

GRAY DAVIS

With an impressive 22-year public-service record, Gray Davis unabashedly is pro-education, pro-choice and pro-environment.

He is ready and willing to put the needs of school children first, placing the responsibility of raising standards directly on students, teachers, parents and government.

Davis is sympathetic to the roots of education: the faculty. Supported by the California Faculty Association, Davis is prepared to work for competitive salaries for CSU employees.

Davis has promised to work so that the CSU budget accommodates enrollment growth. He has been a leader in the fight for the reduction of CSU fees.

Davis has continually supported a woman's right to a safe and legal abortion, family-planning programs and the requirement that health-insurance programs cover birth control like other prescribed drugs.

Davis is against offshore drilling, has worked to protect children from toxic substances and has protected the coastline, parks and wilderness from overdevelopment.

BARBARA BOXER

Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., has gone beyond the call of duty as a U.S. senator, taking a hard stand on women's and environmental issues if re-elected.

Boxer has a record for putting women's rights first. She worked to provide family-planning services for low-income families and to make contraception more accessible.

In addition, Boxer co-sponsored legislation that expanded insurance coverage for contraception, making birth control available to more women throughout the state.

During the August debate with opponent Matt Fong, Boxer said the environment is one of the most important issues in the race. She was a powerful voice for the environment in the U.S. Senate and has promised to support environmental causes in the future.

Boxer wrote legislation that made water-purity standards stricter, protecting pregnant women and children. She also wrote legislation that endorsed the expansion of an electric-vehicle industry. Boxer is willing to take the necessary steps in the Senate to protect our children and our future.

YES ON PROP. 1A

The future of California's schools depends on the passage of Proposition 1A. Funding through a bond issue would be made available to overcrowded schools or schools without education technology.

Also, the CSU system would directly benefit from the proposition because funds would be allotted to the system to build and upgrade classrooms.

A greater emphasis needs to be placed on education. This measure supports not only supports teachers, but students as well.

YES ON PROP. 2

The passage of Proposition 2 will restrict how state funds for transportation can be loaned to the state general fund and how it will be used. Currently, money from the fuel tax Californians passed earlier this decade can be used for programs such as education, corrections, and health and social services.

The proposition eliminates the red tape and confusion, allowing the governor and legislature to borrow from the transportation funds only under specified economic emergencies. We will know our tax dollars are going where we intended them to go: better highway safety, highway maintenance and traffic-congestion relief.

YES ON PROP. 5

American-Indian self-reliance, economic development and cultural preservation will all become a reality with the passage of Proposition 5. Since the opening of casinos on American-Indian reservations, the number of tribal members receiving welfare has dropped 68 percent, and unemployment has dropped 50 percent, according to Economic and Fiscal Benefits of Indian Gaming in California.

If it passes, almost 50,000 new jobs for American-Indians and other ethnic groups will be created, taxpayers' welfare payments will be reduced by $50 million a year and $120 million in state and local taxes will be generated. Casino revenues will be used to improve many facets of American-Indian life, such as health care, housing, education and the local environment.

YES ON PROP. 7

Of all the states, California has the most serious air-pollution problem. Every major statewide conservation and air-quality organization is backing Proposition 7 so that 50,000 tons of air pollution can be removed from California's air.

By the State Air Resources Board offering tax credits to individuals and organizations taking specified actions to reduce air pollution, we can prevent the problem from becoming worse. The proposition encourages the cleanup of old vehicles and promotes the use of natural gas and other clean fuels. Air pollution is a problem that cannot be ignored anymore.

Conservation groups such as the American Lung Association, Planning and Conservation League and Natural Resources Defense Council created this initiative without tacking on a new bureaucracy, raising taxes or taking money away from any existing program. It is feasible, well-planned proposition that shows responsibility in planning for the future.

NO ON PROP. 8

A new school governing system with 8,000 new committees throughout the state will be authorized if Proposition 8 passes, creating innumerable conflicts throughout the education system.

The proposition masks itself behind class-size reduction and pupil suspension for drug possession promises, when in actuality, programs like these are already in place.

The most frightening part of the proposition is the Chief Inspector's Office job the proposition creates. The job is a 10-year appointment with no salary cap and requiring no educational experience. We need more consistent academic standards throughout the state, not 8,000 committees each having different agendas.

NO ON PROP. 10

The hundred of millions of dollars in cigarette taxes to be raised by Proposition 10 will come directly from the poor and minorities. The proposition unfairly targets a select group of California's population.

The money will be regulated by a new state commission and 58 separate county commissions, thousands of new bureaucrats and 500 new political appointees. The political appointees will be able to audit themselves without any independent oversight.

Since the money raised will be put to programs having virtually nothing to do with smoking or tobacco-related issues, smokers should not have to pay the added tax.