Last month, Oregon Governor Kate Brown received considerable media attention when she put her signature on a new law that automatically registers every licensed driver in the Beaver State to vote. Here in California, newly-minted Secretary of State Alex Padilla is pushing for the state legislature to follow Oregon’s lead.
On Wednesday in the California State Assembly Rules Committee, Democrats defeated a bill that would have dropped state legislators from their taxpayer-funded premium healthcare plans and prodded them into Covered California, the state Obamacare exchange. The bill, authored by Assemblyman Scott Wilk (R-Santa Clarita), was defeated on a party-line vote–even though it would have reimbursed them for the cost of their new California Health Benefit Exchange plans.
In August 2013, Governor Jerry Brown signed AB 1266, titled the School Success and Opportunity Act by the bill’s author, then Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D) of San Francisco. This rosy title was never really used, as the legislation, amongst the
There is a saying in Latin: Primum Non Nocere, which translates to “First Do No Harm.” That phrase basically means that given an existing problem, it may be better not to do something, or even do nothing, than risk causing
A couple of weeks ago a freshman Republican member of the State Assembly said to me: “You were right, this place is controlled lock, stock and barrel by the unions.”
It turns out that who isn’t voting may have just as much, or more, to do with who wins an election that who does vote. Certainly that was the case in the recent special election in Orange County to fill the vacated First District Supervisor seat, created when Supervisor Janet Nguyen was elected last November to the California State Senate, vacating her county position.
For nearly a year, the case Arizona State Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission has been gyrating its way through the intricate legal processes of the United States Supreme Court.
On Tuesday, March 10, I had a chance to sit down for an interview with Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker while he was on a swing through Southern California. Having just been re-elected last November, Walker is on the campaign trail gauging support for a run for the Republican nomination for President of the United States.
If you are coming in for a landing at John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California, it’s time to pull out your smartphone and use an app to get matched with a driver to pick you up curbside.
While the largest gathering of conservative Republicans was taking place at the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) near our nation’s Capitol, roughly 1300 delegates and guests gathered at the Sacramento convention center, across the street from the California State Capitol. for the biennial organizing convention of the California Republican Party.
The all-Republican Board of Supervisors of Orange County in California is poised next Tuesday to adopt one of the nation’s most aggressive and enlightened policies to open the doors for all passengers flying in and out of John Wayne International Airport to be able to arrive and leave the airport easily via ride-sharing companies such as Uber, Lyft and Sidekick.
While Republicans performed well in the 2014 elections, bolstering their numbers in the House of Representatives to a modern-era high of 247 seats, they had a dismal performance in California. The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) came up short in the few California seats where it committed significant resources, while in a host of other seats where it didn’t spend a dime, the GOP candidate narrowly lost.
As Breitbart California reported this morning, a new survey of 600 likely California 2016 Republican primary voters shows that when presented with a lengthy list of potential GOP presidential contenders, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker comes out on top with a healthy
A lawsuit initiated by the Republican-controlled Arizona legislature, which is on its way to the United States Supreme Court, could have major implications for Congressional Districts here in California.
On Tuesday night, on an overwhelming 6-1 vote, the city council of Huntington Beach, California–which is officially known as “Surf City, USA”–directed the city staff to begin the process of repealing a policy that bans the use of plastic grocery bags, and requires grocery stores to charge a ten-cent fee on paper bags.
It’s hard to imagine someone worse for California than Barbara Boxer, but Steyer does a good job fitting the bill. Does this sound like the profile of someone that would appeal to liberal voters?
When we start to see Republicans putting their hands up to run who we think couldn’t win if the state were competitive, you needed a reminder: the bar is a lot lower. Perhaps we are looking for someone who will stand tall for GOP principles? Someone that can make the runoff so the California GOP doesn’t suffer the humiliation of having no nominee at all? Or making sure that our nominee isn’t some “Birther” type?
It has been said the wait for Boxer or her colleague, Senator Dianne Feinstein, to retire has been like driving around a full parking lot waiting for a spot to open up. Well, with the news that one of those spots (at least) is going to be open, a lot of aspiring United States Senators will be jockeying to get into the position. Boxer’s early announcement means there will be plenty of time for anyone thinking about running to assess his or her chances and jump into the fray.
Last September, we reported that the American Progressive Bag Alliance, which represents the plastic bag manufacturing industry, was launching a signature-gathering effort to attempt to stop the implementation of SB 270, legislation signed by Governor Brown, that would ban single-use plastic bags at grocery stores, and also require grocers to charge a ten-cent fee on every paper bag used, with proceeds going to the grocers.
While California has become a bastion of liberalism, the Golden State is not without conservative voices. It was actually a project to narrow this list to 25 people – my apologies to many who would have made the top 50.
The General Election ballot in 2016 is likely to have more statewide ballot measures on it than California voters have seen in a long time. The main reason for this is that the number of signatures needed in order to
Back in early, November Breitbart News featured a story about the speculation that California’s junior United States Senator, Barbara Boxer, might retire. The piece opened: In 2016, U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) will be up for re-election for the fifth time. California’s
With the dust from the November election now settling, Republicans managed to pick up a handful of legislative seats, but head into the coming session almost hopelessly outnumbered by their Democrat colleagues. This year finds a large number of newly
Much attention has been paid to President Obama’s recent unilateral decision to create a de facto new legal status for millions of illegal immigrants in the United States by making it clear that the United States will not in any manner attempt
Capitol Weekly, one of Sacramento’s most credible news sources that reports on political and policy goings-on in the Golden State, has bestowed their “Singin’ Those Golden State Blues” award for the worst week in California politics to House Majority Leader Kevin
With vote counting largely completed now in both Sacramento and Fresno Counties, two Congressional races in California that had remained too close to call have now been decided, with two Democrat incumbents narrowly edging out their Republican challengers to win
Nationally, Republicans had an outstanding election earlier this month. Besides the huge gains in the U.S. Senate, House Republicans made modest gains (12 seats), bringing their majority to an impressive 244 of 435 members. That said, one cannot help but
SACRAMENTO, California — In 2016, U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) will be up for re-election for the fifth time. California’s junior Senator was first elected in 1992, in a close race that she won by just under 5% of the
There is no doubt that Tuesday’s election was a resounding national win for the Republican Party–picking up at least seven seats (and possibly more) to take the majority in the U.S. Senate, picking up at least twelve new House seats,
Voter turnout for this Tuesday’s election is projected to be lower than any general election in a generation. And it’s no wonder; we are in a blue state, so the statewide partisan races are largely inconsequential. And while six measures
The latest Field Poll, released Thursday, shows that in every single statewide contest that pits a Republican against a Democrat, the latter has a substantial lead. The only race that appears to be competitive as Election Day approaches is the
California’s general election turnout is predicted to be dismal this year, with less than half of eligible voters likely to turn out. Two factors include a lack of competitive statewide races, and ballot measures that don’t inspire activism. Speaking of
On Tuesday, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge George G. Lomeli became the latest participant in California’s criminal justice system to send a strong message to elected officials in California that it is against the law to reside outside of
Congressman Ed Royce was first elected in 1992 in one of California’s most conservative House seats. Twenty-two years later, the affable and influential Royce, now Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, still represents a reliably GOP House seat, but the district
SAN DIEGO — Mayor Kevin Faulconer has cut one of the city’s key perks: luxury stadium boxes. The boxes have been used by those in city government, most notably members of the city council, to reward members of the community.
The dictionary defines nepotism as, “the practice among those with power or influence of favoring relatives or friends, especially by giving them jobs.” It perhaps should come to no surprise to anyone even remotely aware of the ethical scandals permeating
Today Governor Jerry Brown signed SB 270 into law, prohibiting grocery stores from putting shoppers’ goods into plastic grocery bags. Immediately thereafter, the American Progressive Bag Alliance (APBA), which represents the plastic bag manufacturing industry, announced that it would start taking
Last weekend at their state convention, the California GOP rolled out the red carpet for Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin, the GOP nominee for State Controller. The opening night’s main event was a dinner banquet profiling the “Women of the GOP”
Beginning today, upwards of a thousand Republican leaders and activists from California’s 58 counties will converge on the Marriott Hotel near Los Angeles International Airport for the biannual convention of the California Republican Party. Party regulars gather at a particularly
Friday, after more than a half year of delays, State Senator Rod Wright was sentenced to 90 days in jail after having been found guilty in January of eight felony counts of election fraud and perjury. Wright had been prosecuted
