CalWatchdog Morning Read – September 8

08 Sep, 2016 by CalWatchdog Staff

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Assemblywoman Garcia is a rising powerbroker and queenmaker
New education assessment system coming soon
State split on views of policing
Coastal Commission opposes large SoCal development
U.S. Senate candidates (finally) agree to a debate

Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia is mere months away from assuming the chairmanship of the Legislative Women’s Caucus.

The position already wields great power from its bully pulpit, but the bipartisan caucus appears set for a makeover after November will likely sweep in a large voting bloc of Democratic women to consolidate power in the Assembly.

Exactly how many women is unknown until the votes are counted. But a conservative estimate, based on a CalWatchdog analysis, suggests Garcia and Democratic women could control at least 25 percent of the votes in the Assembly.

In the four years since being elected — and after surviving a sharp learning curve having come from no background in elected office — the Bell Gardens Democrat rose in stature by focusing largely on ethics and women’s issues, with a knack for forcing to the forefront what she says are taboo topics.

CalWatchdog has more.

In other news:

“In a significant shift in how it grades public schools, California is crafting new report cards with the goal of capturing a more detailed snapshot of what each campus accomplishes. Critics call the new accountability measures an avalanche of confusing numbers and jargon that downplay test scores, obscure schools’ failings and make it impossible for parents to tell how well schools are serving their kids,” writes The San Jose Mercury News.
“A new survey … has found Californians, like much of the nation, are divided by race when it comes to their views of police profiling and excessive use of force,” writes Capital Public Radio.
“After a marathon day of testimony, California coastal commissioners voted to deny a controversial proposal to develop one of the largest open private parcels of land on the Southern California coast,” reports the Los Angeles Times.
After a surprisingly long and excruciating fight over number and location of debates, California’s U.S. Senate candidates have decided on one. The Sacramento Bee has more.