Posts Tagged: political

Experts Expound

Experts Expound: The power of Legislative caucuses

Capitol caucuses, image by Andrii Yalanskyi

Both the Senate and Assembly have several caucuses beyond the main party caucuses: Rural Caucus, Latino Caucus, Jewish Caucus, Black Caucus, LGBTQ Caucus, etc. But which wields the most power behind the scenes? We asked our experts to weigh in.

Opinion

California should mandate climate change education now

Climate education, image by Lightspring

OPINION – People need to be convinced that a future in which their cars, houses, stoves, and garden equipment run on electricity – and that they will need to live sustainably – will not mean a decline in their quality of life. That’s why California should mandate climate change education in grades K-12 right now.

News

Rising Stars: Lucia Saldivar, Chief of Staff for Assemblymember Lisa Calderon

Lucia Saldivar, photo by Scott Duncan Photography

Growing up in San Ysidro, just this side of the California-Mexico border, Lucia Saldivar thought she was going to be a musician, like her father. “Music always helped me make sense of the world and my community,” she says. “Then in high school, I learned a new language to help make sense of the world around me, and that was politics and policy.”

News

The Top 100 Turns 15

Capitol Weekly's Top 100 2023

When I took over as editor of Capitol Weekly back in January, the first thing most people wanted to know was what kind of changes I was going to make. My very honest response was that I wasn’t planning any major changes at all. To quote the old colloquialism, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t freshen it up from time to time. And with that thought in mind, welcome to the 15th edition of the Capitol Weekly Top 100 list.

Analysis

A different approach for California’s enrolled bill rule

California law, image by Vitalii Vodolazskyi

ANALYSIS – The Enrolled Bill Rule is based upon the separation of powers doctrine. However, the EBR should not be used anymore to prevent a challenge that constitutional provisions or state statutes were allegedly violated when the Legislature enacted a bill.

News

Washington state resident gives $1 million to fight recall

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.

News

Daybreak PAC hopes to push Legislature leftward

The state Capitol in Sacramento. (Photo: Cassionhabib, via Shutterstock)

On March 23, about 80 people gathered on a Zoom call to launch Daybreak PAC, a political action committee aimed at moving the California Legislature to the left by supporting progressive candidates and policies. The PAC is headed by activist Jackie Fielder, an unsuccessful state Senate candidate who challenged incumbent Democrat Scott Wiener last year in San Francisco.

Opinion

A New Year’s wish list for political folk

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.

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