A newspaper's election gives readers information about the Sept. 14, 2021, recall election. (Photo: Matt Gush, via Shutterstock)California’s attention was focused recently on the failed attempt to recall Gov. Newsom as a rare event of historical magnitude. In fact, recall elections happen all the time, and all but a relative handful of these obscure contests disappear into the limbo of history.
Participants at a May 2016 rally for Donald Trump in Anaheim. (Photo: mikeledray, via Shutterstock)For more than 165 years, political battles in California have played out almost entirely within the framework of a two-party system. There are signs that may be changing. Differing ideologies within each party are competing for money, supporters and attention. Out of it all, four major, distinct political tribes seem to be emerging.
Tom Torlakson, left, and Marshall Tuck, candidates for state schools superintendent, debate the issues. (Photo: Frame capture, calchannel.granicus)For an obscure elective office that is often ignored, unknown or regarded as superfluous in California’s convoluted education bureaucracy, the November election for state Superintendent of Public Instruction is shaping up as one of the most contentious — and costly — races among statewide candidates. It has become a lightning rod for widespread dissatisfaction with schools in California, which have consistently been ranked among the lowest-performing and poorly funded in the nation.