The Seinfeld of Think Tanks
Welcome to the think tank game, Sam Blakeslee. The state senator from the Central Coast, a moderate Republican who is not running for re-election, recently announced the formation of the California Reform Institute. His think tank will have a focus: supporting California lawmakers who want to work across the aisle on reform legislation that the […]
Should Sacramento Govern Like Beijing or Singapore?
Should Sacramento govern like Beijing or Singapore? The question might be easily dismissed as ridiculous – because California is a democracy, right? But California isn’t that democratic – our legislative elections are fixed and our direct democracy is open only to people and interests with millions of dollars. And California’s elected officials are far less […]
Reform Is Like the U.S. Open
I spent part of Wednesday in San Francisco and found myself driving in the vicinity of the Olympic Club, site of next month’s U.S. Open in golf. And it made me think of California political reform. Olympic is one of America’s most difficult courses, and the U.S. Open is the closest thing professional golf has […]
Should Sacramento Govern Like Beijing or Singapore?
Should Sacramento govern like Beijing or Singapore? The question might be easily dismissed as ridiculous – because California is a democracy, right? But California isn’t that democratic – our legislative elections are fixed and our direct democracy is open only to people and interests with millions of dollars. And California’s elected officials are far less […]
Why Republicans Should Seize the Adult Education Issue
You can always tell a Republican, but you can’t tell him much. So it’s probably a waste of breath to give the GOP free advice. But here it goes, anyway. The big cuts to adult education programs in Los Angeles and around the state represent an opportunity. Democrats and Gov. Jerry Brown have opened the […]
Fewer State Reports, But More Open Data
Gov. Jerry Brown missed an opportunity when he announced that he was eliminating hundreds of state reports – and seeking to eliminate hundreds more. Brown was trying to convey that the state was buckling down and eliminating waste. But frugality was the only message. He should have paired that move with a call for more […]
Voters: The Schools Aren’t Our Problem
If all the views and opinions of California voters were rolled up into a single human being, that person would be a huge jerk. Or at least the worst neighbor ever. Witness the latest poll from PPIC on taxes and education. Big majorities of voters see the public schools as suffering in the budget, and […]
Do We Need Rain Now?
All the speculation about moving ballot measures has focused on the possible delay of the water bond. But what of the rain? There are good reasons to push the oft-delayed rainy day fund measure back up to November. Politically, a real rainy day fund – the state already has such funds but they don’t work […]
Steinberg Initiative Plan: Are Four Small Steps Forward Enough?
The leader of the state senate, Darrell Steinberg, recently offered a characteristically thoughtful proposal on improving the state’s initiative process. In a speech at the Sacramento Press Club, Steinberg argued for four changes – each of them modest but each with merit. The real question about the proposals – other than the political difficulties of […]
I Always Knew That Fletcher Gambit Would Work
Am I finished? Somebody hacked my computer and my email and sent a post to Fox & Hounds Daily a couple weeks back after Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher announced he was leaving the Republican Party. Headlined, “Is Fletcher Finished?” the post made the case that he probably was, calling the video departure from the GOP a […]