Politics and Elections

Hermosa Beach oil drilling sunk by voters

Drill, baby, drill? In Hermosa Beach on Tuesday, voters instead replied: No, baby, no. On the wave of a big turnout, 79 percent of city voters rejected Measure O for “oil.” According to Ballotpedia, the measure would have authorized 34 new wells through

Supreme Court could throw redistricting back to Legislature

John Seiler March 3, 2015

California’s redistricting reforms could be revoked by the U.S. Supreme Court for congressional races in a case involving similar reforms in Arizona. State legislative races would not be affected, only races for the U.S. House of Representatives. Proposition 11, the

USC Poll: Voters like Brown as governor, but favor Clinton for president

John Seiler March 2, 2015

A new USC Dornsife poll shows Gov. Jerry Brown is as popular as ever — but voters want to keep him in California, not send him to the White House. With the economy improving, his “California is back” message playing well and

New poll reveals Californians’ low approval of Congress

John Seiler February 26, 2015

A new Field Poll shows Californians have maintained their recent disdain for the U.S. Congress. During 2000-2003, approval was as high as 50 percent. Today it’s just 18 percent. That’s actually up a little, from the 10 percent to 13 percent

Villaraigosa will not pursue 2016 Senate seat

John February 25, 2015

Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced he won’t challenge state Attorney General Kamala Harris for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Senator Barbara Boxer in 2016. That boosts the prospects of fellow Democrat Rep. Loretta Sanchez of Garden

They gave an election in L.A. and almost nobody came

Joel Fox February 23, 2015

It seems Los Angeles County is testing the old philosophical question: What if they gave an election and nobody came? The most populous county in the state had the lowest percentage turnout in last November’s election. While 42 percent

Dems spend wildly in CA jungle primaries

James Poulos February 19, 2015

In California, Democrats have shelled out big bucks to beat fellow Democrats, despite research suggesting their voters see them fairly interchangeably. In a new report issued by Forward Observer, Golden State Democrats were found to drop over $100 million since the

Rice, Harris lead Field Poll to replace Boxer

John Seiler February 18, 2015

It’s incredibly early, but a new Field Poll puts — surprise — Condoleezza Rice at the top of a list of candidates to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, a Democrat. Rice is a Republican and former secretary of state

Obama sets agenda in SF speech

John Seiler February 16, 2015

As part of President Obama’s high-tech trip to California, before donors in San Francisco he set an ambitious agenda for his remaining two years. It’s significant he did so in California because of its centrality to both his agenda and

Andrew Do victory aids GOP comeback

John Seiler February 16, 2015

Andrew Do’s election as an Orange County supervisor finally is over as a recount confirmed his victory. He beat Lou Correa, a former supervisor, California state senator and assemblyman. It’s also a victory for the California Republican Party’s outreach to