Reps. Barbara Lee, Adam Schiff, Katie Porter. Photo courtesy of the U.S. House of RepresentativesOPINION: The next U.S. Senator from California will be only the third member of the House of Representatives to ascend to the position in more than a half-century. The big question is: Who will it be?
Image by Dmitry Demidovich via ShutterstockThis is the second in a series looking at efforts to reach gender parity in the California Legislature. Today we offer a closer look at one of the biggest challenges female candidates and officeholders face – parenting. Read Part I here.
Running for office was one of the scariest experiences of
Signs at a site in San Francisco show the way to the polls. (Photo: Kevin McGovern, via Shutterstock)Going into this gubernatorial primary election, one could have rightly expected to see a pretty good turnout. There are more than 30 open legislative seats for the first time in nearly a decade and competitive congressional races after the shakeup of redistricting. But with just a few days to go, we are at just 13% total turnout statewide. In some key battlegrounds, like the hot L.A. Mayor’s race, turnout is even lower at just 10%,
A portion of the state code dealing with employees and independent contractors> (Photo: 7713 Photography, via Shutterstock)OPINION: Of all the bills wriggling through the Capitol’s sausage machine, my favorite is AB 1577 – the one to unionize legislative employees. It should be one of yours, too. It’s the only way to stop the Legislature from using your tax dollars to campaign for people you don’t like.
San Francisco, USA. Sept. 14, 2021. California Governor Gavin Newsom, speaks to the press at a labor union event in San Francisco on Election Day, for the 2021 California gubernatorial recall electionOPINION: “Never strike a king unless you are sure you shall kill him,” Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote in 1843. He couldn’t have foreseen the attempted recall of Gov. Gavin Newsom. But it is apropos: The recall not only failed miserably to yank Newsom from office, but actually immeasurably strengthened his political position.
The California state Capitol at dusk. (Photo: Karin Hildebrand Lau, via Shutterstock)You are an incumbent officeholder. You’d like to keep on being an incumbent officeholder. That means a re-election campaign – you know, where you kowtow to special interests, rail against fraud and waste and, above all, avoid being called “one of those Sacramento politicians” — even if you are one of those Sacramento politicians.
Ballots that will be mailed to voters across California for the Sept. 14 recall election. (Photo: Sheila Fitzgerald, via Shutterstock)A million-dollar donation to fight the recall effort against Gov. Gavin Newsom came from Washington state, not California, and from a name familiar in the world of finance and high tech. Connie Ballmer, who is married to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, contributed $1 million to Newsom’s campaign, the second-largest donation thus far to the anti-recall effort.
Workers repairing Polk Street near Pacific Avenue in San Francisco. (Photo: Susan Leg Anthony, via Shutterstock)OPINION: President Biden wants America to Build Back Better — and we at the Associated Builders and Contractors Northern California (ABC NorCal) completely agree. The foundation for the country’s economic rebound will depend on the big infrastructure plans the president has for the country.
A scientist at work in a biological lab. (Photo: anyaivanova)California voters have apparently approved spending $5.5 billion more on stem cell research over the next 10 to 15 years and significantly broadening the scope of its state stem cell agency, according to unofficial figures this morning.
Robert Klein, who spent six years as the state stem cell agency's chairman, addresses issues related to the November ballot initiative. (Photo: David Jensen, California Stem Cell Report)The folks who are trying to save the $3 billion California stem cell agency from financial extinction are using a well-worn technique that goes back to ancient Egypt, at least by some accounts. It is expensive, depending on what you are peddling, and generates a return as low as 1 percent. It is direct mail, but with a significant twist.