Posts Tagged: elected

Opinion

Can a Republican get elected state controller this year?

An image of a check issued by the state controller, an office currently held by Betty Yee. (Photo: Alex Millauer, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: California’s long-suffering Republicans, now down to less than 24 percent of registered voters, haven’t prevailed in a statewide election since 2006. But like those kids in the well-known Christmas tale, every election cycle they have visions of sugarplums dancing in their heads.

News

Say hello to Eleni Kounalakis

Eleni Kounalakis speaks to the Sacramento Press Club in August. (Photo: Associated Press/Steve Yeater)

Eleni Kounalakis bristles at the suggestion that she won the election for California lieutenant governor because of her wealthy father’s support. It’s true that her father Angelo Tsakopoulos is a very rich land developer. But his mother couldn’t read or write and he spent his early years working in the fields after arriving in this country from Greece.

News

Steve Poizner seeks old job, drops GOP label

Photo of candidate Steve Poizner from his official website

The first person to hold statewide office in California without aligning with a political party could be Steve Poizner. He is vying for the seat left open by Dave Jones, who is running for state attorney general. Poizner’s main opponents are Democrats Sen. Ricardo Lara and physician Asif Mahmood. The Department of Insurance has more than 1,300 employees and a $250 million budget. It oversees the state’s $300 billion insurance market, the largest in the country.

News

Lynwood: A Latino battleground for Democrats

Participants in a Los Angeles rally for immigrants rights. (Photo: Joseph Sohm, via Shutterstock)

Plaza Mexico in Lynwood was ground zero in a final election battle between Democrats Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. Nine miles south of downtown Los Angeles, Lynwood is 82 percent Latino and thus crucial in today’s presidential primary. Both Sanders and Clinton claim support for Latino voters, but how much support depends on age.

News

GOP to take control of powerful SoCal air board

A smog-tinged view in black and white of Century City, Beverly Hills and West Los Angeles. (Photo: Trekandshoot, via Shutterstock)

Last year, the high point of the GOP’s Election Day was the Democrats’ loss of their supermajorities in the Legislature, even though Democrats retained control of every statewide elected office. But in early November, Republicans scored a major victory: a seat on the South Coast Air Quality Management District. For the first time in years, GOP members will control the powerful board that has jurisdiction over four counties and 17 million people.

News

Democrat Brown draws GOP support; voters split on state’s direction

Gov. Jerry Brown in the state Capitol last year. (Photo by Max Whittaker/Getty Images)

The latest Field Poll finds nearly six in ten California voters (58%) approving of the job Jerry Brown is doing as Governor, while just 26% disapprove. This nearly equals his record approval rating of 59% that he achieved a little more than a year ago in April 2014. At present, 37% of rank-and-file Republicans currently approve of the job Brown is doing, up from 27% who said this three months ago.

Opinion

Brain injuries in sports getting attention — finally

Young California football players practice for the big game. (Photo: bikeriderlondon, via Shutterstock)

Over the years, traumatic brain injuries in sports were never really discussed and stories of career-ending accidents were often glossed over. However, the winds are changing. Individuals suffering from serious head injuries are gaining a voice and have begun raising awareness through both the media and legislative efforts. As more and more stories of career-ending injuries pepper the news, the topic is finally getting the attention it deserves.

News

Judges’ pension contributions eyed

Payments seven judges make toward their pensions would be cut nearly in half by a bill approved last week in a Senate committee, despite a warning from the chairwoman of a “slippery slope” undermining the governor’s pension reform.

News

Pot initiatives fading for 2014

Marijuana plant. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The field of marijuana initiatives for California’s November ballot has been cut in half in less than two weeks, leaving proponents of the two remaining measures in a narrower race for money and momentum while other drug advocates say the next presidential election in 2016 offers a greater chance for success. (Photo: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service)

Opinion

FBI raid spurs scant political reform

In the months since the FBI raided the offices of Senator Ron Calderon, the most interesting thing that’s happened in the State Capitol is what hasn’t happened in the State Capitol. Unlike broader efforts for political reform that accompanied previous corruption scandals, there has been barely a peep from California politicians of either party about the need to clean up a system that has become consumed by non-stop fundraising.

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