Commentary

Gavin Newsom will be only the second governor in the last half-century to begin his first term without a major budget crisis to be solved. But keeping the state in the black may be difficult, particularly as he pursues an expansionist agenda.

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

Advocates for political equality should be pleased with the election results and the surge in female candidacies. But institutional roadblocks could impede their progress in California over the near term. Further, how can this state think of itself as a progressive trendsetter when it's one of only 20 states that has never elected a female governor? And it could be several years before a woman even gets a realistic chance.

More than $1 billion was spent on California political campaigns this year, but the outcome of this month's election was pretty much preserving the status quo.

Outgoing Gov. Jerry Brown has been honored by the Tax Foundation for opposing new tax loopholes. However, his record on tax reform otherwise has been scant.

The average pre-teen today is 96 percent less likely to be arrested than his or her counterpart in past decades. Arrests of girls and boys of all ethnicity and race for violence, property, drug, vandalism, felony and misdemeanor offenses are down by huge proportions. We need informed, innovative leadership to perpetuate these gains.

General Motors' zero-emission vehicle proposal is greenwashing. GM should support Obama administration fuel economy standards and condemn Trump's attack on state authority to expand ZEV programs.

Contests for down-ballot state offices don't get much media attention, but their winners will affect Californians' lives.

Senate Bill 1437 doesn’t abolish the felony murder rule. Rather, it clarifies that a person may only be convicted of murder if the individual personally killed, acted with an intent to kill, or acted as a “major participant” in the felony with “reckless indifference to human life.” Prosecutors no longer will be able to substitute the intent to commit a crime for the intent to commit murder.

California's state government and its 58 counties have had a rocky relationship for decades and a new flareup may be coming.