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Teachers win Torlakson battle, but does Brown want them to win war?
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson’s defeat of reformer and fellow Democrat Marshall Tuck on Tuesday prompted analysis pieces that outlined how California’s union-dominated education establishment had rang up another win. While Tuesday night was grim for liberals, embattled teachers
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Prop. 2 victory upgrades CA credit
It has yet to be seen whether voter passage of Proposition 2 actually will improve California’s “rainy day fund.” Or whether it will go the way of Proposition 58 in 2004. The latter was then-new Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s attempt to control
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Silicon Valley firms, Asian voters edging away from Democrats
The 2014 midterms have already been dismissed by President Obama as irrelevant because of low turnout. This isn’t entirely self-serving sour grapes. Not just partisans but analysts who have little nice to say about the Obama administration wonder how a
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GOP blocks super-majority in State Senate
With impressive showings in Orange County and the Central Valley, Republicans have succeeded in blocking a Democratic super-majority in the State Senate. Republican Senators Andy Vidak and Anthony Cannella easily won reelection in their Central Valley districts, while Orange County Supervisor Janet
Read MoreState Senate: OC Supervisor Janet Nguyen wins in 34th Senate District
Janet Nguyen, who won her seat on the Orange County Board of Supervisors by seven votes, doesn’t have to worry about a lengthy recount this election. The first generation Vietnamese-American immigrant, who withstood a barrage of negative attacks, has defeated
Read MoreState Senate 26: Sandra Fluke losing to Ben Allen
Sandra Fluke, the women’s rights activist who became a darling of the left after her national spat with conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh, is expected to lose her campaign for State Senate. Shortly after midnight with 35.8 percent of precincts
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Early Returns: Democrats could lose super-majority in State Assembly
It’s going to be a very long night for California political observers. Just eight months after corruption scandals cost California Democrats their super-majority in the State Senate, a combination of low voter turnout and an anemic gubernatorial campaign effort could
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Statewide seats surprisingly close
Aside from Gov. Jerry Brown’s victory, 58 to 42, which I wrote about earlier, the other statewide races are surprisingly close in early returns, with 31.1 percent counted. Democrats probably will win them in the end. The national GOP tide has had
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Statewide propositions end predictably
The statewide propositions ended predictably, with the side spending the most money on TV ads winning. The preliminary numbers: Prop. 1, water bonds. Winning 68-32. The $7.5 billion in water bonds will cost $15 billion to pay off. For that, only
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Races to decide California Democrat Supermajority
Nationally, Republicans have already taken the majority in the United States Senate and now the question is whether the Republican wave will hit California. In California, the GOP is attempting to block a Democratic supermajority in the state Legislature. To
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