A Racial Battle for the US Senate
The fight over who succeeds Sen. Barbara Boxer will not be partisan; it will be racial. For a quarter century, California’s two US Senate seats have been held by white Jewish women. Now the race to succeed her is shaping up to feature the Democratic establishment’s candidate, an African American South Asian woman; a candidate […]
The Kamala Harris Advantage
Kamala Harris enters the US Senate race with two considerable advantages. First, she’s a woman. That might not fit into the conventional narrative but for a Democrat, being a woman brings with it a 10 point structural advantage. According to Political Data, 55% of registered Democrats are women. That’s an enormous advantage in a party […]
Golden State Poll: Where Brown Should Lead and Where He Should Follow
In the public policy arena, elected officials don’t want to be too far ahead nor too far behind public opinion. The trick is finding that balance of leading versus following. On January 5th, Governor Brown briefly laid out three major policy prescriptions for 2015 and more broadly, his final term as Governor. On January 13th, […]
Open Season for California Open Data
2015 should be the year for open data in California. A new crop of state lawmakers and constitutional officers, combined with activity underway in state and local governments, are pushing California closer to a “tipping point” where the demand and use of data can truly transform the public sector. Other states – including New York, […]