A portion of California and its key regions in the 2021 redistricting. (Photo: Victor Maschek)The 2021 redistricting has begun in earnest with the seating of the first eight members of the California Citizens Commission, the so-called “Lucky Eight” because they were seated after a random draw of ping-pong balls. In the quarantine era, this drawing, carried live, likely qualified as riveting entertainment.
Photo by Tim Foster, Capitol WeeklyProminent political consultants Roger Salazar and Hilary McLean worked together in tiny digs in Gov. Gray Davis’ press office before the current crop of Capitol Weekly interns were even born. Those were trying times for the Davis communications team — you may ‘recall’ that Davis’ gig didn’t end well.
Brian K. Landsberg, a professor emeritus at the McGeorge School of Law where he has been teaching since 1986, served during the 1960s as an attorney in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, where he went to court to protect the voting rights of African Americans in Alabama. His work included the historic case that recognized the right to march from Selma to Montgomery to protest racial discrimination in voter registration.
Former state Assemblyman Kevin McCarthy, from the August 2004 California Journal. (Illustration: Tim Foster)The most difficult job in the Legislature is that of an Assembly rookie. Mastering Sacramento is learning curve is akin to scaling Mount Everest, where the summit is shrouded in a fog of policy and politics and the climb must begin even before one is sworn into office. It must be made with a minimum of missteps, and there are few veterans to help show the way.