Elections
How President Trump helped Democrats flip California House seats
Dislike of President Trump motivated many Californians to vote for Democrats and helped the party flip six seats in the U.S. House.
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Environment
Jerry Brown signed $1 billion in wildfire prevention—and none of it applies to the fires this year
The $1 billion wildfire prevention bill passed in the last legislative session was supposed to "prevent catastrophic wildfires and protect Californians." Months later, the state faces another epic disaster. Why?
Capitol
Dem domination: California Legislature is turning many shades of blue
The California Legislature, controlled by Democrats for decades, is likely to become even bluer when the new class is sworn in next month. That means the prevailing tension in the statehouse probably won’t be between Republicans and Democrats—but between different shades of liberalism. And it could make for some counterintuitive outcomes, once the results are tallied, including a Legislature that skews more toward business on some fights.
Elections
Gavin Newsom names top two staffers, bringing California and national experience to the top of his team
Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom announced his first two hires today, picking one leader who will give his inner circle deep experience in the state Capitol and another who will give it a strong national scope. Ann O’Leary, a senior policy advisor to Hillary Clinton during her 2016 presidential run, will serve as Newsom’s chief of staff, […]
Capitol
Gavin Newsom’s dilemma: Making a change, while following Jerry Brown’s lead
In following Jerry Brown, Gavin Newsom will face a tension other recent governors have not: to both follow the path carved by his predecessor while also living up to his campaign slogan, “courage for a change.”
Capitol
Oil industry spends millions to boost California Democrats
The California Democratic Party no longer accepts donations from the oil industry—but that hasn’t stopped oil companies from spending millions to help California Democrats win on Tuesday.
Elections
Record spending as huge money flows into industry fights on the California ballot
This year, with hundreds of millions of dollars rolling into initiative campaigns over housing and health care, California has hit a new record: The $111 million campaign against Proposition 8 on kidney dialysis clinics amounts to the most money poured into a single side of a ballot measure in the United States—at least since electronic record-keeping began in 2002, and possibly ever.
Politics
California politics are hella NorCal. Will voters shake that up this year?
Several statewide races this year pit NorCal against SoCal, testing the political power and competing priorities of the Golden State’s two most populous regions.
Politics
What’s behind all those DMV voter-registration snafus? ‘Motor voter’ may have launched with makeshift computer system
The DMV launched California’s new “motor voter” system in April without the proper computer program in place, advocates say, likely contributing to recent snafus and errors on more than 100,000 voter registrations.
Elections
As complaints mount about fire clean-up, disaster contractor gives big money to California Dems
A Florida-based company accused of botching the clean-up after last year’s devastating fires in Santa Rosa has jumped into California politics, writing big checks to Gavin Newsom’s gubernatorial campaign and the California Democratic Party.