Toni Atkins

The field of would-be governors remains unsettled. This week Toni Atkins, former president pro tem of the state Senate, joined those who've ended their campaigns.

The former state Senate leader was leading in campaign cash but far behind in the polls.

If elected governor, Toni Atkins faces potential conflicts of interest with her spouse’s consulting firms. Atkins and her spouse, Jennifer LeSar, earn hundreds of thousands of dollars annually from clients that also lobby state government.

Four Democrats running for governor in 2026 answer questions before the National Union of Healthcare Workers, even before California voters have their November 2024 ballots. Tony Thurmond won a non-binding straw poll.

University of California leaders invest billions of dollars in private equity giants that worsen housing affordability, directly impacting workers and students. If elected officials say they really want to confront the housing crisis, they should spend these public dollars on solutions instead.

Faced with a huge budget deficit, legislators are on warning not to expect bills with a high price tag to pass. But that’s not always the goal of introducing bills.

More than two years until the first votes are cast, Senate leader Toni Atkins becomes the fourth big-name Democrat to jump into the governor's race. She is seeking to become the first female and openly gay chief executive.

From CalMatters politics reporter Alexei Koseff: It wasn’t Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins’ first turn standing in for the governor of California while he was out of the state. (That came in 2014, when she was Assembly speaker and late-night host Jimmy Kimmel tried to get her to invade Oregon during her 10 hours […]

Note: The newsletter will pause until Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023. Happy holidays and happy New Year! If you were reading the text of the California Constitution on Wednesday — as one does — you would have noticed a new line: “The state shall not deny or interfere with an individual’s reproductive freedom in their most […]

After weeks of negotiation, two major construction unions didn’t reach a compromise on bills about turning commercially zoned land into housing. Legislators congratulated each other anyway.