California Senate

Toni Atkins is set to make history as the first person in more than 100 years to lead both houses of the California Legislature. While no one expects her to erase the Capitol’s deep rivalries, she is well positioned to tamp them down.

The California Senate's flailing efforts to deal with an accused colleague illustrate the challenges lawmakers face in response to revelations of sexual harassment that have swept the state Capitol.

Four current lawmakers, two former lawmakers and a dozen legislative employees are named in a trove of records the California Legislature released today showing substantiated cases of sexual harassment over the last decade. The records show that the Capitol’s human resources staff affirmed complaints against state Sens. Bob Hertzberg and Tony Mendoza, both Democrats from […]

The electorate is a politician’s ultimate boss. But in recent weeks, as a wave of sexual harassment and assault allegations hits politicians in California's statehouse and the nation’s capitol, another force is proving to be as powerful as the electorate: peer pressure.

“Make-up money” is what it’s called in Sacramento—the contributions that flow to newly-elected officials from interest groups that backed a losing candidate during the campaign. It’s a completely legal way of saying, in political terms, “Let’s kiss and make up.”

The right-leaning Democrat, Sen. Steve Glazer, and the left-leaning Republican, Assemblywoman Catharine Baker, represent overlapping suburban districts some 40 miles east of San Francisco. Once opponents who ran for the same seat (she won), the pair have forged an unusual bipartisan alliance driven by their centrist approach to politics.

The friendship between two men from vastly different backgrounds may shape the future of California.