Guest Commentary

Housing, food, healthcare, and other costs are soaring. Real wages are stagnant. And for UC lowest paid employees, most of whom are people of color, a raise means nothing if your job gets outsourced the next day to a private contractor that pays much less.

What is the hardest, dirtiest job you’ve ever had? This is a question that we need to be asking all of our elected and prospective elected leaders, as it is an important lens for how they experience blue-collar Californians.

California's recycling rate has dropped from 50 percent to 44 percent. The carpet recycling rate is one bright spot. The 2017 carpet recycling output rate increased by 27 percent over 2016 and is up 100 percent since the third quarter of 2015. Those increases show the program is working. CalRecycle should let the program continue to expand.

When we discuss long-term care for seniors, we are not discussing placing people in nursing homes when they need help taking care of themselves. Long-term care is so much more than that. A larger portion of the long-term care discussion involves in-home care services that enable seniors to age in place with dignity and independence.

Communities across California have given ratepayers not-for-profit alternatives to corporate utility companies, allowing them to choose cleaner power that directly benefits their cities and towns. However, the California Public Utilities Commission could derail the expansion of local clean energy programs with a proposal that would limit choices and lead to higher prices for ratepayers.

Proposition 12: Pro-Proposition 12 would strengthen California law and ensure that meat and eggs produced and sold here come from cage-free conditions. Con-Proposition 12 is a poorly written initiative that will result in supply disruptions, price spikes and a shortage of eggs, and turn food inspectors into meat police.

As a California Public Utilities Commissioner, I am obligated to ensure that the choices made by one group of electric customers don’t have adverse financial impacts on other customers who lack similar available opportunities. In the competitive, complex and technical world of electricity generation that’s not a simple task. But that's what the CPUC will vote on this Thursday.

Voter turnout will be the political wildcard in Orange County. Since 2000, Orange County’s voter turnout in midterms has been on average 21 points lower than in presidential elections. A low turnout this year would be a throwback to the “old” Orange County electorate—more Republicans and whites. A high turnout would reflect the “new” Orange County—more Democrats, independents, and nonwhites. Voter turnout will be the political wildcard in Orange County. Since 2000, Orange County’s voter turnout in midterms has been on average 21 points lower than in presidential elections. A low turnout this year would be a throwback to the “old” Orange County electorate—more Republicans and whites. A high turnout would reflect the “new” Orange County—more Democrats, independents, and nonwhites.

California new consumer privacy act should be the baseline for any federal law. The rights of California consumers not only must be protected but expanded to other consumers in our country and around the globe. That’s what I will tell the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation when I testify on Wednesday.

James W. Rushford: Dianne Feinstein's handling of the letter from Dr. Christine Blasey Ford alleging that Kavanaugh assaulted her when they were in high school was such that Republicans cannot allow her to retain her seat. I will vote for Kevin de León for U.S. Senate, and I hope other California Republicans will agree. Laura Friedman: If we really want to encourage victims to come forward, we must create processes that reduce their trauma and place them in a position of control. Shouldn’t it be up to victims to decide if and when to tell their story?