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Dan Walters is one of most decorated and widely syndicated columnists in California history, authoring a column four times a week that offers his view and analysis of the state’s political, economic, social and demographic trends. He began covering California politics in 1975, just as Jerry Brown began his first stint as governor, and began writing his column in 1981, first for the Sacramento Union for three years, then for The Sacramento Bee for 33 years and now for CalMatters since 2017. 

Dan is also the author or co-author of two books about California, “The New California: Facing the 21st Century” and “The Third House: Lobbyists, Money and Power in Sacramento.” He is a frequent radio show guest and occasionally appears on national television, commenting on California issues. 

Walters began his career in 1960 at the Humboldt Times in Eureka, California, a month before his 17th birthday, first as a newsroom aide and later as a police beat reporter. Having found his calling, he not only turned down a National Merit college scholarship but dropped out of high school, lacking one required class – ironically civics – to qualify for a diploma. Before moving to Sacramento to cover politics, he was the managing editor of three small daily newspapers. He has two adult daughters and three grandsons. 

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Commentary: Redistricting did help Democrats, but it was fair
After the newly created Citizen Redistricting Commission redrew congressional and legislative districts in 2011, Republicans complained that the new maps were tilted in favor of Democrats. The subsequent three election cycles seemingly confirmed the Democratic advantage, as the party expanded its control of the congressional delegation, gained two-thirds supermajorities in both legislative houses in 2012, […]
에 의해 • 3월 7, 2018
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Commentary: Handicapping California’s governorship game
So far, electing a new governor of California has resembled a game of musical chairs more than a horse race. Every fortnight, it seems, brings the announcement of a new candidate and/or a new opt-out, and every change in the lineup alters the odds of who will survive June’s top-two primary and win the right […]
에 의해 • 3월 5, 2018
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Commentary: One bill captures two unseemly Capitol traits
When the Legislature passed – and Gov. Jerry Brown signed – Assembly Bill 1687 two years ago, they exhibited two of the Capitol’s more unseemly traits. The legislation, aimed directly at IMDb, a company that maintains databases of actors and other entertainment information, forbade it and similar firms from publishing the ages of performers if […]
에 의해 • 3월 4, 2018
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Commentary: Democrats’ fault lines, including Latino splits
If one looked beyond the heated rhetoric from the podium, most of it directed at President Trump, last weekend’s Democratic state convention revealed a party with many internal fault lines. The most obvious was the power struggle between the party’s establishment and its left wing, dubbed Berniecrats. The Berniecrats had come close to electing its […]
에 의해 • 3월 1, 2018
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Commentary: Democratic convention shows disconnect with voters
SAN DIEGO One should never – repeat never – judge the true tenor of a political party by what happens at its convention, and last weekend’s Democratic gabfest was a case in point. The Democrats’ state convention promised more than the usual banality of such events because there are spirited contests this year for the […]
에 의해 • 2월 28, 2018
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Commentary: Three legislators down, how many to go?
Three down, but how many to go? Last Thursday, Tony Mendoza became the third state legislator and the first senator to resign after being accused of sexual harassment in the scandal that has enveloped the Capitol. As his fellow senators were meeting in closed “caucuses,” mulling whether to expel or suspend him, an aide to […]
에 의해 • 2월 26, 2018
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Commentary: The next big front in California’s water war
After one year of torrential respite, drought may have returned to California, and with it, a renewal of the state’s perpetual conflict over water management. State and federal water systems have told farmers not to expect more than a fifth of their paper allocations, the state Water Resources Control Board is weighing a new regime […]
에 의해 • 2월 25, 2018
jerry brown
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Commentary: Is Brown’s school finance reform paying off?
As he introduced his final state budget in January, Gov. Jerry Brown faced sharp questions from reporters about the effectiveness of his landmark overhaul of public school finance. His Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), which went into effect five years ago, provides more money to school districts with large numbers of poor and/or “English learner” […]
에 의해 • 2월 22, 2018
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Commentary: California’s public pension crisis in a nutshell
The essence of California’s pension crisis was on display last week when the California Public Employees Retirement System made a relatively small change in its amortization policy. The CalPERS board voted to change the period for recouping future investment losses from 30 years to 20 years. The bottom line is that it will require the […]
에 의해 • 2월 21, 2018
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Commentary: It looks like a two-man race for California governor
Well folks, it looks like we may have an old-fashioned, down-to-the-wire political race this year for governor, something Californians haven’t seen for quite a few years. Antonio Villaraigosa, the former mayor of Los Angeles, has pulled into a virtual tie with Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, the long-time frontrunner, in the latest statewide poll by the […]
에 의해 • 2월 19, 2018

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Dan Walters - CalMatters
Dan Walters is one of most decorated and widely syndicated columnists in California history, authoring a column four times a week that offers his view and analysis of the state’s political, economic, social and demographic trends.
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Dan Walters is one of most decorated and widely syndicated columnists in California history, authoring a column four times a week that offers his view and analysis of the state’s political, economic, social and demographic trends. He began covering California politics in 1975, just as Jerry Brown began his first stint as governor, and began writing his column in 1981, first for the Sacramento Union for three years, then for The Sacramento Bee for 33 years and now for CalMatters since 2017. Dan is also the author or co-author of two books about California, “The New California: Facing the 21st Century” and “The Third House: Lobbyists, Money and Power in Sacramento.” He is a frequent radio show guest and occasionally appears on national television, commenting on California issues. Walters began his career in 1960 at the Humboldt Times in Eureka, California, a month before his 17th birthday, first as a newsroom aide and later as a police beat reporter. Having found his calling, he not only turned down a National Merit college scholarship but dropped out of high school, lacking one required class – ironically civics – to qualify for a diploma. Before moving to Sacramento to cover politics, he was the managing editor of three small daily newspapers. He has two adult daughters and three grandsons.