Politics and Elections
Back to homepageCA advances transparency — but needs some work
This is Sunshine Week, a time to promote transparency in government. An AP analysis found that the Obama administration, which came into office promising to be the most transparent ever, has become more secretive. Fortunately, things are better out here
Read MoreDiscovered: a new way unions manipulate CA status quo
Californians who don’t belong to a public employee union have every right to feel as if the state is rigged against them. Because districting is based on population, not number of citizens, Democrats do better in Sacramento from the get-go
Read MoreRuling on Chuck Reed’s pension initiative not end of the world
Editor’s update, 2 p.m.: San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed is reportedly suspending the initiative push until 2016 because the court delays related to the ballot language challenge will make it difficult for signature gatherers to meet deadlines — not because
Read MoreCA mayor’s car vandalized; all assume it was a cop or firefighter
On its surface a Tuesday story in the San Luis Obispo Tribune is a funny, mordant comment on small-town politics in California. But if you dig a little, it turns out to be related to yet another pathetic, union-favoring power
Read MoreCA Dems: Are they following the pattern of another one-party state?
After I got out of college in the 1980s, I spend a fun few months working as a reporter for a weekly newspaper in Kauai. The chairman of the County Council was an affable young Democrat in his late 20s
Read MoreCA Republicans seek return to Reagan Blue
At this weekend’s state party convention at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport, a group of influential California Republicans has an odd request for delegates: help turn California blue. “Around the globe, blue is identified with conservative, free market parties,
Read MoreCA Asians finally grasp that under affirmative action, they’re victims
The fact that Asian-Americans in California tend to be Democratic seems to me to be almost entirely a function of the perception of Democrats are more welcoming to minorities and Republicans more hostile. Surveys and anecdotal evidence show that Asian-Americans
Read MoreState Convention: Democrat Betty Yee calls out hypocrisy within her own party
Betty Yee, who has developed a reputation as an honest and effective numbers-cruncher at the state tax board, delivered a stinging critique of her party Sunday at its annual convention. She said California Democrats have become disconnected from the party’s
Read MoreCA Democrats mismanage campaign war-chests
California Democrats converge on the Los Angeles Convention Center this weekend for the party’s annual state convention. Although Democrats face two scandals involving members of the state Senate, the party is well positioned for the 2014 campaign cycle. The party
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