California Office Pool 2015
This marks the sixth annual version of the California Office Pool. It was inspired by the late, great New York Times columnist William Safire, who
Joe Mathews
January 5, 2015
Author: Joe Mathews
Connecting California Columnist and Editor, Zócalo Public Square, Fellow at the Center for Social Cohesion at Arizona State University and co-author of California Crackup: How Reform Broke the Golden State and How We Can Fix It (UC Press, 2010)
Take the High Speed Rail to a New Disneyland
On Christmas Eve, it felt like the park was all ours. When I was growing up in the 1980s and early ’90s, Disneyland was so
Joe Mathews
December 18, 2014
How I Fear the 2016 Taxapalooza Will Go
Here’s my hope for the coming 2016 Taxapalooza of various tax-hiking initiatives: The debate will create a healthy discussion and convince various initiative sponsors, the
Joe Mathews
December 17, 2014
Black Bart Award Nominee — Jerry Brown is Riding High
Yes, there were many other candidates for the 2014 Black Bart award. John Chiang won a new office and improved his chances in future Democratic
Joe Mathews
December 16, 2014
Can We Raise Taxes Without More Ballot Box Budgeting?
There’s already a ton of talk about which tax-raising initiatives might end up on the 2016 ballot. I’m sympathetic to tax increases — by themselves.
Joe Mathews
December 15, 2014
A Compromise in Battle Over LA Election Calendar Changes
As detailed recently in the LA Times there’s an emerging argument in Los Angeles over election reform. Because of Tinseltown’s it-would-be-embarrassingly-low-voter-turnout-if-we-were-capable-of-embarassment turnout, reformers want to
Joe Mathews
December 12, 2014
If You Want to Make Sense of Obamacare, Go to San Diego
Will San Diego have America’s finest Obamacare? Yes, it’s way too early for any verdicts about the Affordable Care Act and its implementation, even in
Joe Mathews
December 11, 2014
Let’s Not Recount If Nobody Cares
Assemblyman Kevin Mullin has received a good bit of publicity for his proposals for automatic, state-funded recounts in the event of very close elections in
Joe Mathews
December 5, 2014
Give the Oscar to Kern County
Sure, California has everything. But where would you find a murderous, Farsi-speaking, chador-wearing vampire riding her skateboard around an oil city with the slow swagger
Joe Mathews
December 4, 2014