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Dan Walters

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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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barbed wire over a prison yard. A federal judge imposed a COVID vaccine mandate on state prison employees in a ruling issued in response to a lawsuit. Image via iStock
Commentary
Tricky measure allows release of violent felons
Proposition 57, passed by California voters in 2016, allows felons that commit supposedly non-violent, crimes to earn early parole, but a loophole benefits those who have committed violent crimes not covered by the law..
By • December 6, 2022
Smith & Wesson SD VE 9mm semi-automatic pistols for sale at a gun store in Oceanside on April 12, 2021. Photo by Bing Guan, Reuters
Commentary
How did confidential gun permit data get leaked?
California's political and legal wrangling over gun control was punctuated by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June and then a leak of confidential information about concealed weapon permit holders four days later.
By • December 5, 2022
Gov. Gavin Newsom at the California Democratic Party headquarters in Sacramento on Sept. 14, 2021. REUTERS/Fred Greaves
Commentary
Is Newsom’s presidential boomlet a bust?
Speculation that California Gov. Gavin Newsom was laying the groundwork for a presidential campaign was undermined by a report that Newsom had personally told President Joe Biden that he was not running.
By • November 29, 2022

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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.
CalMatters
California, explained
Dan Walters
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.