California Voices

Raphael J. Sonenshein, Pat Brown Institute at Cal State L.A.: Health care in the Democratic presidential debates has largely focused on Medicare for All versus the more incremental public option. Medicare for All has great appeal to many Democrats, but struggles with other voters. Why don’t candidates talk about a program with wide appeal—Medicaid.

Ling Ling Chang, Republican Diamond Bar: With sex-trafficked children constantly kept on the move, law enforcement agencies in multiple jurisdictions and non-profit service providers must work together. That’s why I introduced Senate Bill 35. Although Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed this legislation, I remain steadfast in my commitment to combating sexual predators who take advantage of trafficking victims.

Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to ramp up spending on "entitlements" but the state's economy is showing signs of slowing.

Jody Hudson, Alex Hudson Lyme Foundation: With one unnoticed bite, Alex Hudson had gone from a healthy athletic 12-year-old bundle of energy to bearing a decade-long burden of an incapacitating and unknown disease. I still have many questions about how Alex’s condition could have gone undiagnosed for so long. But I choose to look forward in making a positive change, and not look back at what should have happened in her case.

State and federal demographers differ on California's population and the 2020 census will settle the conflict. California could lose a congressional seat due to slow population growth.

Bill Lucia, EdVoice: Nearly half of California students can’t read at grade level. The key to developing strong readers is providing teachers with the preparation and knowledge. Lawmakers should make teaching practices based on the science of reading a budgetary and policy priority.

Jessica Millan Patterson, California Republican Party: California has serious issues and needs serious leaders to fix them. Unfortunately, Gov. Gavin Newsom has spent much of his first year grabbing headlines with unnecessary fights with the federal government and ignoring the Californians he was elected to protect.

Brendan Rawson, San Jose Jazz: California has overreached in its effort to address the challenges in today’s tech platform gig-work economy. The live music sector, the progenitor of the term “gig” work, is being swept up by this law. The irony would be comical if it were not such a serious problem.

Separating the Capitol's grain (serious legislation) from the chaff (symbolic fluff) is now always easy.

Karthick Ramakrishnan and Robert P. Jones, UC Riverside and PRRI: We must stop painting all Asian Americans with a broad brush. Such a brush erases the distinct cultures and experiences of individuals and harms people who don’t meet a tidy image of quiet, hardworking, striving Asian Americans who will pull themselves up by their bootstraps to achieve the American Dream.