Dan Walters

The most interesting statewide political contest this year is for state superintendent of schools, and it's a proxy war for the years-long conflict between the education establishment and reformers over how to close the "achievement gap" among California's six million K-12 students.

Labor unions enjoy huge clout in the California Legislature, but in the real world, union membership has been slipping in California and could decline even more with a new U.S. Supreme Court decision on union dues.

As dozens of local governments ask their voters for tax increases this year, the laws governing tax elections are in a state of legal flux. A test case on the vote requirements for local taxes involves a tax for children's services approved by San Francisco voters in June.

A collection of commentaries by Dan Walters over the past week.

As Legislature nears adjournment for the year, two bills would counter federal tax reform's limit on deducting state and local taxes by granting converting some of them into charitable contributions. However, the Internal Revenue Service is warning that such work-arounds would not be allowed.

Republican Congressman Duncan Hunter and his wife have been indicted for misusing campaign funds, but his name will still be on the November ballot in the 50th Congressional District and he's still favored to win re-election. If Duncan resigns after winning, it would set up a special election.

The fast-track handling of a controversial bail proposal tests a California law. Passed as a ballot measure in 2016, that law requires a bill to be in print and on the Internet for 72 hours before legislators vote on it.

There's a "low-profile revolution" is underway in California's thousands of local governments as lawsuits force more of them to abandon "at-large" voting for members of their governing boards and elect them, instead, from districts. It's a result of a 2002 law, the California Voting Rights Act, that makes it easier to overturn at-large systems.

A collection of commentaries by Dan Walters over the past week.

Jerry Brown's second stint as governor of California has been marked by multiple legislative bills and ballot measures to soften the state's penalties for those who commit crimes. Their effects, whether positive or negative, will be a big part of his political legacy.