Politics and Elections

Jerry Brown’s $24 million campaign war chest

Being close to a one-party state is distorting California politics in unpredictable ways. The latest: According to the Los Angeles Times, Gov. Jerry Brown still holds almost $24 million in his 2014 war chest for governor. The reason is his Republican

Brown, Newsom ace Napolitano

John Seiler January 29, 2015

This now is Gov. Jerry Brown’s ninth decade in California politics. He was born in 1938 into his father’s ambitions in state politics, culminating in Pat Brown’s governorship from 1959-1966. From his website: Jerry Brown has more experience, and success, than

Correa could benefit from his bill to accept late ballots

John January 28, 2015

Former state Sen. Lou Correa, D-Anaheim, is down but not out of the race for the Orange County Board of Supervisors. If he ultimately prevails, he can thank a change in state law to accept late absentee ballots, a bill authored by

Villaraigosa record has pluses for Senate bid — and landmines

Chris Reed January 24, 2015

The signs are growing that state and national Democrats’ attempts to clear the U.S. Senate field in 2016 for California Attorney General Kamala Harris aren’t working. Several well-known Democrats are seriously considering challenging Harris, and at least a couple seem

Tom Steyer passes on U.S. Senate bid

John January 23, 2015

Billionaire climate change activist Tom Steyer has decided not to run for U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer’s seat in 2016 when she retires. After two weeks of almost daily speculation of “will he or won’t he,” Steyer announced his decision in a blog

Clintons could influence Boxer successor

James Poulos January 22, 2015

Through their political ups and downs, Bill and Hillary Clinton managed to steadily expand their network of professional and personal relationships. In addition to supplying them with a formidable base of loyalty and resources heading into 2016 and Hillary’s expected presidential

Sen. Villaraigosa?

John Seiler January 21, 2015

Former L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is looking for voters to promote him to U.S. senator in 2016. The Times ran an analysis of his pluses and minuses. Basically, his strength is that he’s a Latino candidate who could count on Southern

Recreational pot’s hazy CA future

James Poulos January 21, 2015

A majority of Californians now favors the legalization of marijuana — not just for medical purposes, but recreational use. The state’s voters legalized medical marijuana with Proposition 215 in 1996. But so far, the state has not followed Colorado, Alaska,

Boxer exit begins CA youth shift in Congress

John January 19, 2015

Girls may run the world, as in the Beyonce song, but women run California’s congressional delegation. More specifically, older Democratic women — but that could change soon. U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer’s retirement announcement earlier this month kicks off a major demographic shift