Leading up to Election Day, advocacy groups were predicting — or at least hoping — that California voters would elect record numbers of women and LGBTQ people to the Legislature. Based on the results so far, it appears that history will be made — and that the state Assembly and Senate will look more like […]
Sameea Kamal/CalMatters
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Will Women Rule in the 2022 California Election?
A gift or a curse? For Angelique Ashby, running as a “women’s advocate” in a heated state Senate race in Sacramento might be a little of both. Her competitor, Dave Jones, a fellow Democrat, went to court to block Ashby from using that as her ballot designation under her name, arguing that it wasn’t her […]
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Back to School: California Republicans Bet Big on Local Board Races
When California Republicans gathered in Anaheim this spring, attention focused on candidate speeches and endorsement battles as the party tries to win its first statewide race since 2006. But a little-noticed, hour-long session in a small conference room at the Marriott could very well be more consequential for the state GOP this election. The meeting […]
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Is it Too Easy for Write-in Candidates in California Elections?
Rich Kinney readily concedes: Making it onto California’s November election ballot is a miracle. The 66-year-old associate pastor and former mayor of San Pablo in the Bay Area is running to unseat Democratic Assemblymember Buffy Wicks out of staunch opposition to her support for abortion rights. What did it take for him to make the […]
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Deal is Close on Recycling California’s Plastic Trash
Deal or no deal? Most likely, deal. The California environmentalists who back a November ballot measure to reduce single-use plastics appear headed to withdrawing it just ahead of the Thursday deadline, following fierce negotiations with lawmakers and others on a bill that aims to achieve many of the same goals and that is supported by […]
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Will COVID Sick Leave Return to California?
Labor unions and their Democratic allies in the Legislature want to bring back extra paid sick leave for COVID-19. Gov. Gavin Newsom is also proposing to revive supplemental leave in his budget. But as with so much else in the pandemic, it’s not a simple proposition. There’s opposition from powerful business groups. And key details […]
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The California Legislature is back: What to expect in 2022
Another coronavirus variant spreading like wildfire, and another huge state budget surplus: In some ways, 2022 is off to a similar start as 2021. That could carry over to the state Legislature’s new session that started Monday. In addition to the pandemic and surplus, California is dealing with some of the same big issues it […]
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Why is California’s Redistricting Commission Under Increasing Scrutiny?
California’s independent redistricting commission is taking a lot of heat for the congressional and legislative maps it’s drawing to beat a Dec. 27 deadline. But it’s not just the at-times confusing product that’s under the microscope. It’s also the commission’s messy process — with accusations of secrecy, complaints about public input and now questions about […]
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California Redistricting: Four Key Questions
It took weeks of long, late-night meetings full of wonky debate and digital line drawing — as well as a haiku and at least two songs as public comment. But Wednesday night, California’s independent redistricting commission reached a key milestone: Its first official maps are out. (Find an interactive map viewer here.) The citizen panel […]
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California Recall Candidates Stretch the Truth on COVID, Climate Change and More
Everyone’s entitled to their own opinions, but not to their own facts. That holds true for politicians, including the candidates in California’s Sept. 14 recall election and Gov. Gavin Newsom. Campaigning during a resurgent COVID-19 pandemic and deadly, unprecedented wildfires, their approaches to the state’s problems can vary. But the facts behind some of those […]