California Voices

Politics in San Diego, California's second largest city, is turning more Democratic and is likely to see a few upcoming high-stakes competitions.

Re: “In going after Trump, California is going too far with environmental legislation,” Sept. 9, 2019: Assemblyman Adam Gray insists on clinging to the past, a past of broken water policy, where Central Valley power brokers dictate policy for the rest of the state.   What Senate Bill 1 aims to do is to provide a […]

Assemblyman Adam Gray, Democrat from Merced: The implications of Senate Bill 1 are profoundly disturbing, forcing the state to ignore evolving science. We’ve got until Sept. 13 to either kill or fix this wrongheaded bill. If we don’t, it very well could set back progress on our rivers for decades.

Dustin Weatherby, California Taxpayers Association. Thanks to a transparency law passed by a bipartisan vote, taxpayers receive important information about local tax and bond measures. But there’s a legislative attempt to effectively exempt local jurisdictions from this requirement to be honest and transparent with taxpayers.

Re: “A law intended to create more transparency misleads voters. This bill will fix it,” Sept. 5, 2019: Sen. Scott Wiener and Assemblyman Mark Stone claim their bill will increase transparency for local bonds and parcel taxes. But the opposite is true. Their bill would relegate important taxpayer information to being buried deep in the […]

Jared Martin, California Association of Realtors: If our state is to continue leading the nation, we must address the housing shortage with policies that will actually lead to more housing. Simply put, a rent cap would be a bandage on a festering wound and would nothing to solve the root cause of higher rents.

Despite a voter-approved ban on public financing of campaigns, the Legislature passed a bill three years ago to authorize it. Now a state appellate court has invalidated the legislation.

Joseph Sanberg, Working Hero Action: Poverty is a threat to our economy, security, and human potential, and it’s an issue politicians on stages large and small have avoided. That needs to end. Poverty must take center stage at the Houston debate Sept. 12 because it is a challenge our next President must not ignore.

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara issued a mea culpa for a broken campaign promise, but still get a warning.

Re: “What happens to Uber and Lyft drivers once AB 5 passes?” Sept. 5, 2019 Unions don’t need collective bargaining to negotiate with employers of independent contractors. They can negotiate agreements that are very much like the ones employers have signed with social justice nonprofits in which employers agree to certain behavior. The agreement establishes […]