Why Does San Diego Love Recalling Governors? 

Ambitions and Frustrations Churn in the 'Most Unabashedly American of California Cities'

Why are you so desperate to seize the governorship, San Diego?

The attempted recall of Gov. Gavin Newsom has many geographic roots. Its original proponent was a sheriff’s deputy from Yolo County. The recall petition drew signatures from significant percentages of the population in our smaller, North State counties. And East Coast conservative media and right-wing Republicans from other parts of the country have given it attention and money.

But a recall is about replacing one governor with another. And, for the second gubernatorial recall in a row, it is the …

California vs. the Supreme Court | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

California vs. the Supreme Court

The Time Has Come to Challenge This Dishonorable Court's Bias Against Our State

Maybe the U.S. Supreme Court should recuse itself from cases involving the Golden State.

Because the current court, with a 6-3 conservative majority reinforced by new associate justice Amy Coney Barrett, …

I Know Who Can Rescue California Democrats (and Maybe Gavin Newsom, Too) | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

I Know Who Can Rescue California Democrats (and Maybe Gavin Newsom, Too)

The Answer to the Democrats' Recall Predicament Is a Man Who Couldn't Save His Own Seat

The most head-scratching political puzzle in California has only one solution:

It is, of all people, Gray Davis.

Yes, perhaps paradoxically, Gray Davis, the former governor who voters recalled in 2003, may …

How California (Might Have) Learned to Stop Worrying and Love a Big, Unbalanced Budget | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

How California (Might Have) Learned to Stop Worrying and Love a Big, Unbalanced Budget

COVID Is Helping the State Get Over Its Misguided Obsession With Staying in the Black at the Expense of Solving Its Costly Problems

In the midst of California’s pandemic catastrophe, we may be seeing, at long last, the demise of the dominant mode of thinking of our state’s leaders: “budgetism.”

Budgetism is the false …

Why Californians—of Both Parties—Should Embrace the Recall | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

Why Californians—of Both Parties—Should Embrace the Recall

Even When You Don’t Want to Remove a Politician, the Vote Provides a Healthy Democratic Dose of Self-Examination

Californians should love me, even when I’m used against a politician you like.

At the very least, I hope you’ll appreciate me if Gov. Gavin Newsom, who won office overwhelmingly in …

SLO Down, You Move Too Fast, California | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

SLO Down, You Move Too Fast, California

In Praise of the Peaceful Pleasures of San Luis Obispo County

SLO down, California. Even in pandemic, you move too fast.

This new year, perhaps we should all resolve to model the spirit of SLO, the acronym that embodies San Luis Obispo, …