Politics and Elections
Back to homepageDoes supermajority portend Maldonado-style gamesmanship?
Nov. 9, 2012 By Chris Reed In 2009, state Sen. Abel Maldonado made Democrats in the Legislature jump through an awful lot of hoops before the Santa Maria Republican would be the final vote needed for temporary tax hikes. The
Read MoreSelfish vote won over philosophical vote, again
Nov. 9, 2012 Katy Grimes: After every election one party has to retreat and lick its wounds while the other party revels in the mandate. But elections are changing. Voters are changing. America is changing, and California is leading that
Read MoreGOP doomed no matter what
Nov. 8, 2012 By John Seiler More than by the election, I’m amused by the aftermath comments. Consider this one, an analysis by Patrick May and Matt O’Brien for the Santa Cruz Sentinel: “As California goes, so goes the nation.
Read MoreIn San Diego, is libertarian dream alive, stalled — or dead?
Nov. 8, 2012 By Chris Reed San Diegans had an extremely unusual choice for mayor Tuesday, picking between a gay libertarian who’d already turned the city into a hotbed of government experimentation and a 20-year congressman who is a ’60s-ethos
Read MoreDemocrats’ congressional wins delay supermajority
Nov. 8, 2012 By John Hrabe On Tuesday night, Democrats shocked the Capitol by seizing two-thirds control of the state Assembly. With it comes the power to override the governor and raise taxes. “Everyone was looking at the likelihood that
Read MoreSupermajority supercharges power of unions, Dems
Nov. 8, 2012 By Katy Grimes Now that the Democratic Party in California has won a supermajority in both houses of the Legislature, what does it mean for the state of the state’s politics? Democrat view Steve Maviglio, a seasoned
Read MoreBrown could learn from Augustus about tax flight
Nov. 8, 2012 By Wayne Lusvardi California Gov. Jerry Brown often portrays himself as the modern version of an ancient Greek or Roman philosopher king. A majority of the voters on Nov. 6 approved Brown’s “millionaire’s tax” on people making
Read MoreProp. 31 loses badly
Nov. 7, 2012 By Wayne Lusvardi Proposition 31 was wiped out by voters yesterday. The Government Performance and Accountability Act got just 39 percent of the votes, with 61 percent against. Part of the likely reason it lost big was
Read MoreCA Legislature now a Dem supermajority
Nov. 7, 2012 Katy Grimes: Many in California expected the Democrats to gain a supermajority in the state Senate. But few thought that a Democrat supermajority would happen in the Assembly. Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez announced that Democrats have secured a
Read MoreCalifornians love tax increases!
Nov. 7, 2012 Katy Grimes: The ballot initiative results makes it appear that it appears that California residents love paying taxes, According to the California Secretary of State’s website, Proposition 30, Gov. Jerry Brown’s tax increase measure, passed 53.9 percent to 46.1 percent. This makes
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