California Voices

This month's election was good news for those who believe that Californians should pay more taxes. One indication is that about three-quarters of local tax and bond issues were approved by voters.

The fundamental challenge that clouds the future of the Golden State is the widening chasm between the haves and the have-nots. The issue of income inequality is holding California back, and we need to act.

There's no escaping political fingerpointing as two killer wildfires strike in California.

The California Republican Party isn’t salvageable at this time. The Grand Old Party is dead – partly because it has failed to separate itself from today’s toxic, national brand of Republican politics.

California Public Utility Commission members have many factors to consider whenever they evaluate a merger. But in my view, it comes down to a single question: Will California consumers benefit from this? For the T-Mobile-Sprint merger, the answer is yes.

While Gavin Newsom won't face a budget crisis when he is inaugurated in January, he will find a stack of leftover issues on his desk from outgoing Gov. Jerry Brown.

Pundits and political consultants once thought climate change was a distant concern and not an issue that would energize voters. But as fires rage from Chico to Malibu, people can plainly see, feel, and smell the impact of climate change. And they made their feelings clear at the ballot box.

Gavin Newsom will be only the second governor in the last half-century to begin his first term without a major budget crisis to be solved. But keeping the state in the black may be difficult, particularly as he pursues an expansionist agenda.

A collection of commentaries by Dan Walters over the past week.

Advocates for political equality should be pleased with the election results and the surge in female candidacies. But institutional roadblocks could impede their progress in California over the near term. Further, how can this state think of itself as a progressive trendsetter when it's one of only 20 states that has never elected a female governor? And it could be several years before a woman even gets a realistic chance.