Image by gguy, via ShutterstockCalifornia stands to gain additional clout in Washington when Joe Biden is inaugurated as the nation’s 46th president on Jan. 21st. We already have Californians in powerful Washington positions, of course — including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco, who was just reelected easily to her post, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield.
Stem cells for treating cancer in microtubes. (Image: Science Photo, via Shutterstock)Backers of the financially stressed California stem cell agency yesterday filed their proposed ballot measure to refinance the agency with $5.5 billion if voters approve it in November 2020. The complex, 30-page initiative would also restructure a number of aspects of the agency and provide for financial assistance for patients and their families who might be involved in clinical trials.
An unloaded gun, with ammunition. (Photo: Sundry Photography, via Shutterstock) Under a new law barely a month old, California is the nation’s first state to require point-of-sale background checks for ammunition sales. But pieces of the voter-approved statute already are under fire in the courts.
California Gov. Jerry Brown takes questions from reporters and others at a meeting of the Sacramento Press Club. (Photo: Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press)California’s longest-serving governor will turn things over to incoming Gavin Newsom on Jan. 7, but during a recent public appearance Jerry Brown bathed in the upside of politics. “I like sparring with the press, I like raising money, I like attacking my opponents, I like being attacked by my opponents.”
A house goes up for rent. (Photo: Andy Dean Photography)So far, most of the sound and fury in California politics has revolved around candidates. But there are increasing signs that ballot initiatives may trigger additional uproar in 2018. The latest November filing is an effort to remove a 20-year barrier to local rent control, the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act.
U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris, D-California, questions a witness at a June 7 hearing of the Senate Intelligence Committee. (Photo: AP/Susan Walsh)Getting interrupted on two occasions during nationally televised Senate hearings has proved to be a political boon for Sen. Kamala Harris. California’s junior U.S. senator has drawn positive headlines and support on social media for what some perceive as sexist treatment by her Republican male colleagues. Media outlets across the country have identified Harris, a Democrat, as a possible presidential candidate in 2020, though she has said it is too early to think about that.
A demonstrator pauses to take a selfie at an anti-Trump demonstration in L.A. last month. (Photo: mikeledray, via Shutterstock)At a recent appearance before the Sacramento Press Club, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra defined his job in simple terms: “Anywhere I have jurisdiction to advance or protect the interests of the people of the state of California, you’ll see me there.” Judging by his activities this year, protecting the rights of Californians entails staunch resistance to the federal government.
A Ventura County voter casts a ballot in the June 2016 primary. (Photo: Joseph Sohm, via Shutterstock)Any sound voter analysis tries to identify prior events that hopefully serve to predict future voter behavior. For this we examine several past elections, including the gubernatorial elections we mentioned in Part I, and other recent presidential primaries. But each appears somewhat flawed as a predictor of what the 2018 primary will look like.