Hollywood Boulevard at dusk in Los Angeles. (Sean Pavone, via Shutterstock)Americans disagree about California. And at least part of the argument hinges on politics. Republicans don’t think much of California; Democrats like the place. According to a recent YouGov study, Republicans list California as the worst state. Only Washington D. C., which is not a state, ranks below California in Republicans’ estimation.
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.
A Huntington Beach demonstrator protesting a May 2020 stay-at-home order issued by the governor during the pandemic. (Photo: mikeledray via Shutterstock)California taxpayers could be on the hook for millions of dollars if the recall of Gov. Gavin Newsom fails. That’s because of a little-recognized provision of the state constitution that declares: “A state officer who is not recalled must be reimbursed by the State for the officer’s recall election expenses legally and personally incurred. Another recall may not be initiated against the officer until six months after the election.” (Article II, Sec. 18.)
An eastbound driver on Interstate 15 near Baker at the Death Valley turnoff. (Photo: TS Photography, via ShutterstockGrowth – rapid, buoyant, unstoppable – has been part of California’s DNA since tough and greedy men from around the world came here in search of gold 170 years ago. Now it may be a thing of the past. There are even websites giving prospective emigrants tips on how to make stress-free moves to various states, such as Oregon, Texas and Idaho.
An aerial view of a neighborhood in Fremont, California. (Photo: Sundry Photography, via Shutterstock)Once again, Californians are being asked to decide on the merits of a ballot measure that roiled the political scene when many of them were in grammar school — or not even born yet. The ballot measure under challenge is Proposition 13, a constitutional amendment written by anti-tax crusader Howard Jarvis and approved nearly 2-to-1 by voters in 1978.
Preparing a wish list and goals for the coming year. (Photo: AniKona Ann, via Shutterstock)Due to the journalistic enterprise constantly demonstrated by our army of reporters, we’ve obtained a copy of the list and is deploying it below. Along with a few predictions, here is what Sacramento and Washington notables want more than anything in 2020.
Jennifer Siebel Newsom, wife of Gov. Gavin Newsom, watches a basketball game Sacramento in Sacramento. (Photo: AP/Rich Pedroncelli)California’s “First Partner” Jennifer Siebel Newsom is smart, articulate, idealistic — and cautious. Well, most of the time she’s cautious. In a recent appearance before a capacity crowd at the Sacramento Press Club, Newsom, a film-maker with an MBA from Stanford, acidly dismissed President Trump as the “the embodiment of toxic masculinity.”
David Bernardt testifies at a Senate hearing on March 28. (Photo: Roll Call, via Associated Press) The inspector general of the U.S. Interior Department has opened an investigation into Interior Secretary David Bernhardt’s past work on behalf of California’s huge Westlands Water District and other organizations. Nancy DiPaolo, spokeswoman for the Office of the Inspector General in the Department of the Interior, told Capitol Weekly her office had received 12 letters asking for an investigation of Bernhardt’s role in some California fish and game issues, including protection of the delta smelt.
Left to right: Controller Betty Yee, Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis and Treasurer Fiona Ma at the Sacramento Press Club. (Photo: Press Club)All three women holding statewide offices in California say they’ll run for governor. Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, Treasurer Fiona Ma and Controller Betty Yee — all Democrats — appeared together at a we’re-all-friends lunchtime panel discussion sponsored by the Sacramento Press Club.
Gabriel Petek, the new head of the Office of the Legislative Analyst, or LAO. (Photo: Courtesy of Gabriel Petek)A Wall Street public finance expert who says analyzing California’s fiscal condition was the “defining passion” of his career is the state’s new legislative analyst. He is Gabriel Petek, 47, who until recently was Standard and Poor’s chief credit analyst covering California from an office in San Francisco.