Commentary

Commentary

Commentary: Democrats’ fault lines, including Latino splits

If one looked beyond the heated rhetoric from the podium, most of it directed at President Trump, last weekend’s Democratic state convention revealed a party with many internal fault lines. The most obvious was the power struggle between the party’s establishment and its left wing, dubbed Berniecrats. The Berniecrats had come close to electing its […]

By Dan Walters • March 1, 2018

Commentary

Commentary: Democratic convention shows disconnect with voters

SAN DIEGO One should never – repeat never – judge the true tenor of a political party by what happens at its convention, and last weekend’s Democratic gabfest was a case in point. The Democrats’ state convention promised more than the usual banality of such events because there are spirited contests this year for the […]

By Dan Walters • February 28, 2018

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Commentary: Three legislators down, how many to go?

Three down, but how many to go? Last Thursday, Tony Mendoza became the third state legislator and the first senator to resign after being accused of sexual harassment in the scandal that has enveloped the Capitol. As his fellow senators were meeting in closed “caucuses,” mulling whether to expel or suspend him, an aide to […]

By Dan Walters • February 26, 2018

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Commentary: The next big front in California’s water war

After one year of torrential respite, drought may have returned to California, and with it, a renewal of the state’s perpetual conflict over water management. State and federal water systems have told farmers not to expect more than a fifth of their paper allocations, the state Water Resources Control Board is weighing a new regime […]

By Dan Walters • February 25, 2018

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Commentary: Is Brown’s school finance reform paying off?

As he introduced his final state budget in January, Gov. Jerry Brown faced sharp questions from reporters about the effectiveness of his landmark overhaul of public school finance. His Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), which went into effect five years ago, provides more money to school districts with large numbers of poor and/or “English learner” […]

By Dan Walters • February 22, 2018

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Commentary: California’s public pension crisis in a nutshell

The essence of California’s pension crisis was on display last week when the California Public Employees Retirement System made a relatively small change in its amortization policy. The CalPERS board voted to change the period for recouping future investment losses from 30 years to 20 years. The bottom line is that it will require the […]

By Dan Walters • February 21, 2018

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Commentary: It looks like a two-man race for California governor

Well folks, it looks like we may have an old-fashioned, down-to-the-wire political race this year for governor, something Californians haven’t seen for quite a few years. Antonio Villaraigosa, the former mayor of Los Angeles, has pulled into a virtual tie with Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, the long-time frontrunner, in the latest statewide poll by the […]

By Dan Walters • February 19, 2018

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Commentary: Proposition 13 turns 40, may face mid-life crisis

This year is the 40th anniversary of Proposition 13, the iconic property tax limit measure that California voters overwhelmingly endorsed in 1978. It’s only a slight exaggeration to say that it’s also the 40th anniversary of efforts to repeal or alter Proposition 13’s provisions, and those on the left side of the political ledger – […]

By Dan Walters • February 18, 2018

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Commentary: Brown’s parole measure hits big legal snag

When Gov. Jerry Brown was promoting Proposition 57 to voters in 2016, he characterized it as a common sense criminal law reform that would give nonviolent felons a better chance at rehabilitation by allowing them to earn earlier releases on parole. However, it did not specify which felonies would be deemed nonviolent. Rather, Brown’s campaign […]

By Dan Walters • February 15, 2018

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Commentary: Capitol harassment cases handled inconsistently

Four years ago, the state Senate was thrown into turmoil by the simultaneous prosecution of three senators on unrelated felony charges. The Senate compelled all three to step aside from their Senate duties, but could not legally strip them of their salaries and fringe benefits while they awaited disposition of their cases, which eventually resulted […]

By Dan Walters • February 14, 2018