Dear God, Why Does Gavin Newsom Keep Picking Up California’s Trash?

A Governor, in His Devotion to Clean Up, Has Located the Essence of His Job

Is he our governor or our garbage man?

Gavin Newsom combines those roles so routinely that the picking up of trash has become a defining image of California’s chief executive. He’s lifted away litter in the Bay Area. He’s helped Caltrans crews grab garbage along the highway in Fresno. He’s gone to the same Southern California stretch of the 110 freeway twice, first to paint over graffiti and pick up abandoned mattresses, and later to dedicate a new mini-park. And most recently, he was back in L.A. to gather up the …

Why Does San Diego Love Recalling Governors?  | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

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 …

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 COVID-19 Exposed the Deep Divide Between White Rural Georgia and Atlanta | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

How COVID-19 Exposed the Deep Divide Between White Rural Georgia and Atlanta

In Defying the CDC’s Expert Advice, Governor Kemp Is Employing a Political Strategy More Than 150 Years Old

The number of Georgia’s confirmed coronavirus cases jumped by 30 percent in the seven days before Governor Brian Kemp appeared at the state capitol in Atlanta on April 20. There …

The 1958 Governor’s Race That Launched a Dynasty

An Internecine Fight Between Two Republicans Opened the Door to Ambitious San Francisco Democrat Pat Brown

As Jerry Brown nears the end of his record fourth term as California governor, his final months are swathed in nostalgia, superlatives, and retrospectives on a remarkable five decades in …

Fear and Loathing of L.A. and S.F. on the Campaign Trail

Our Gubernatorial Race Could Turn on Which City Californians Resent Most

Which city—San Francisco or Los Angeles—do you love to hate more?

This is shaping up to be California’s question for 2018. Each of the two top contenders for governor is a …