CalWatchdog Morning Read – Oct. 17

• CA’s majority-minority electorate heads to polls
• Sacramento Police Department latest under fire
• Looking at Kamala Harris’ record as AG
• Seven in 10 UC workers struggling
• CA SOS bolstering election process, fighting Trump claims

Good morning. Happy Monday. By this point, you’ve no doubt heard that this election is historic for many reasons. However, one reason that doesn’t get mentioned as much is the historic nature of the electorate itself.

As early ballots arrive in mailboxes this week, Golden State voters will arrive at a symbolic and substantial demographic landmark: a so-called majority-minority electorate.

Despite a clear trend since the 1990s toward political dominance by Democrats, the longer term implications of the demographic shift have remained shrouded in mystery.

On the one hand, in-state Republicans have weathered a period of fracture likely to end eventually in a new but familiar rough equilibrium between the two major parties. On the other hand, nonwhite voting patterns, especially in recent immigrant families, have in some respects had a limited impact on California politics. 

CalWatchdog has more. 

In other news:

• “Big cities throughout California continue to be roiled by police issues. Oakland and San Francisco have gotten the most attention because of high-profile police chiefs being forced out over a sex scandal involving an underage prostitute and because of unarmed African Americans being killed by officers, respectively. … But the two iconic Bay Area cities are hardly alone in having police problems.” CalWatchdog has more. 

• “Nationwide foreclosure settlement was a victory for California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris, but an imperfect one,” reports the Los Angeles Times.

• “Seven in 10 University of California workers in clerical, administrative and support services struggle to put adequate food on the table, according to a new Occidental College study.” The Los Angeles Times has more. 

• “With Donald Trump’s deepening warnings about a ‘rigged’ presidential campaign, and renewing doubts about the legitimacy of the democratic process, California’s election chief said Sunday that he has great faith in the state’s county election officials and its thousands of volunteer poll workers,” reports The Sacramento Bee. 

Legislature:

• Gone ’til December.

Gov. Brown: 

• No public events announced.

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