News
Republican John Cox, running for governor, wants you to realize a few things. California has the highest poverty rate in the nation. Our schools are failing. Millions of forgotten Californians cannot afford decent housing. Millions more must choose between buying a half-tank of gas or groceries for their families. And all of this happened on Gavin Newsom’s watch.
Analysis
Literally minutes after Donald Trump’s election in 2016, political pundits, consultants and prospective candidates started a march toward the mid-term elections. The expectations were set extremely high, with Democratic hopes of taking back the House of Representatives led, in part, by a huge gain in the limited number of remaining Republican-held congressional seats in California.
News
California voters are being asked to approve $16.4 billion in bond financing, cut taxes and weigh in on such diverse topics as kidney dialysis prices and farm animal living conditions in the Nov. 6 election. The 11 initiatives on the ballots include requests for bond financing for housing, water and children’s hospitals. Other initiatives would approve huge property tax savings for seniors, repeal the controversial gas tax hike and open the way to expand rent control. In the long tradition of California ballot propositions, fights over the initiatives have prompted record spending.
News
Hey, Big Daddy: I just started working in the state Capitol and am ready to dazzle the world with my policy analyses, but I’ve been dispatched to a campaign for the final weeks. Any tips for handling a farmer’s tan? —Bronzed in Bakersfield
News
Wine from California vintners will now get equal treatment to sit atop Canadian store shelves under the terms of the recently renegotiated United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
Analysis
ANALYSIS: This, too, shall pass: There will come a day in the not-too-distant future when we’ll be able to sit down in front of our television sets or computer screens without being subject to political campaign commercials. Hallelujah!
News
PPIC Survey: In the closing weeks of the fall campaign, Gavin Newsom holds an 11-point lead among likely voters in the governor’s race and Dianne Feinstein is ahead by 16 points in the U.S. Senate election. Two closely watched ballot measures—one to repeal the recent gas tax increase and another to expand local authority to enact rent control—are trailing.
News
What neither side predicted is that some California tenants faced a nightmare scenario before a single vote was cast. Rent was being increased at one building, the manager said, because “we’re facing rent control and more importantly, the likelihood of controls on increasing rent after vacancies.”
News
Moves to make voting easier in California have caused yet another divide between Republicans and Democrats. The Republicans say they are worried because the door to voter fraud might swing wide open. Democrats say California needs greater civic participation by groups who have historically shown lackluster voting turnouts, and automatic vote-by-mail and electronic registration will help.
Analysis
California is at the epicenter of what could be a Democratic wave, and that’s amazing. In this election cycle, we are seeing something really astounding, yet many are treating it as if it was normal. Californians are poised to give Democrats anywhere from two to five — or even more — of the 24 Republican congressional seats across the country that Democrats need to win control of the House of Representatives.
Republican candidate for governor John Cox talks to reporters before launching a statewide bus tour in Sacramento. (Photo: AP/Rich Pedroncelli)
