Contents

 

 

 

PREFACE

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

 

CHAPTER 1
THE THREE STATES OF CALIFORNIA: AN INTRODUCTION

Three States

Southern California

Northern California

The Central Valley

How Many Californias?

Urban California, Urban Peripheries, and Rural California

California Divide

FEATURED READING: Notes from a Native Daughter by Joan Didion

The Structure of This Book

Notes

 

CHAPTER 2
CALIFORNIA’S POLITICAL HISTORY

A Diverse Heritage

Conquest and Colonization

The Mexican–American War

California’s Boom

Railroad Politics

California’s Constitution

The First Constitution

The Second Constitution

The Progressive Movement’s Legacy

The Progressive Social Agenda

FEATURED READING: La Placita by Ruben Martinez

Summary

Notes

 

CHAPTER 3
POLITICAL CULTURE AND POLITICS IN POSTWAR CALIFORNIA

FEATURED READING: A Supermarket in California by Allen Ginsberg

The Postwar Era

The Pat Brown Legacy

Pat Brown’s “Soft” Liberalism

Jesse Unruh’s “Hard” Liberalism

Conservatism Meets Populism: The Reagan Revolution

The Politics of Divided Government

The Jerry Brown Years

Taxpayer Revolt

Return to Divided Government

California Politics in the Twenty-First Century

Political Culture and Politics in Postwar California

Summary

Notes

 

CHAPTER 4
PEOPLE, DIVERSITY, AND CULTURE

FEATURED READING: A Different Mirror by Ronald Takaki

The Multicultural State

Culture as Politics

Fear and Loathing in California’s Changing Population

Proposition 63

California Civil Rights Initiative

Proposition 187

Monterey Park: A Case Study in Diversity

Summary

Notes

 

CHAPTER 5
CALIFORNIA’S POLITICAL ECONOMY

California and the U.S. Economy

Budget Crisis Politics

The Crisis Hits Suburbia: Municipal Bankruptcy in Orange County

The Return to Business-As-Usual

FEATURED READING: Rancho de Los Arcos by Jocelyn Lippert

Summary

Notes

 

CHAPTER 6
CALIFORNIA’S CONSTITUTION AND CONSTITUTIONAL OFFICERS

California’s Constitution

The Constitutional Officers

The Governor

The Lieutenant Governor

The Attorney General

The Controller

The Secretary of State

The State Treasurer

The Superintendent of Public Instruction

The Insurance Commissioner

The Board of Equalization

The Bureaucracy

FEATURED READING: The Un-California by Daniel Weintraub

Summary

Notes

 

CHAPTER 7
CALIFORNIA’S LEGISLATURE

The State of the Legislature

The Human Side of the Legislature

Legislative Organization and Procedures

The Legislative Process

Lawmaking by Initiative

The Initiative

The Referendum

The Recall

Summary

Notes

 

CHAPTER 8
CALIFORNIA JUSTICE

California’s Courts

Superior Courts

District Courts of Appeal

California Supreme Court

Judicial Selection

The Judicial Bureaucracy

The Judicial Council

The Commission on Judicial Performance

The Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation

The Commission on Judicial Appointments

FEATURED READING: Women on the California Court: Ideological Diversity in Action by Lori Cox Han

Summary

Notes

 

CHAPTER 9
INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS

California in National Politics

California’s Congressional Delegation

California’s Representatives: Bringing Home the Bacon?

Local Governments

Counties

Cities

Special Districts

Regional Governments and Agencies

The Future of State–Local Relations

Federalism Today:Welfare Reform as a Case Study

FEATURED READING: California Split by Gar Alperovitz

Summary

Notes

 

CHAPTER 10
THE POLICY GAME

Rules of the Policy Game

Maximizing Policy Strategies

Policy Actors

Institutional Policy Actors

Non-Institutional Actors

Policy Outputs: California’s Budget as a Case Study

FEATURED READING: Travels with Arnold by Gary Delsohn and Margaret Talev

Summary

Notes

 

CHAPTER 11
NON-INSTITUTIONAL PLAYERS: THE MEDIA, POLITICAL PARTIES, AND INTEREST GROUPS

Media Politics

Media Effects and the Vulnerability of Political Attitudes

The Media and Governmental Politics in California

The Media and Electoral Politics in California

Paid Media

Free Media

Political Parties in California

The Role of Parties in California Politics

Interest Group Politics

Interest Groups and Electoral Politics

FEATURED READING: Term Limits Add Up to Brain Drain by Jordan Rau

Summary

Notes

 

CHAPTER 12
THE ELECTORATE AS PLAYERS: ELECTIONS AND POLITICAL PARTICIPATION

The Election Cycle

The Primary

The General Election

Special Elections

The Recall Election of 2003

The Special Election of 2005

The Business of Direct Democracy

California’s Electorate

Minor Parties

The Rise of Independent Voters

Voter Turnout

The Disappearing California Voter

Voter Registration

Demographics and Voter Turnout

Immigration and Participation

Implications of Unequal Participation

Summary

Notes

 

CHAPTER 13
EDUCATION POLICY

California’s Public K–12 Institutions

California’s Public Colleges and Universities

The Policy Questions

The Funding Infrastructure

Policy Responses

No Child Left Behind

Case Studies

Vista Unified School District

Richmond Unified School District

Los Angeles Unified School District

FEATURED READING: The Zip Code Route into UC by Susan E. Brown

Summary

Notes

 

CHAPTER 14
ENVIRONMENTAL AND ENERGY POLICY

Air Quality

Water Quality

Bay Area Water Quality: A Statewide Barometer

Energy Use and Impacts

Policy Responses

Air Policy

Los Angeles: A Case in Point

Water Policy

Waste Policy

Energy Policy

FEATURED READING: The Closing Circle: Nature, Man, and Technology by Barry Commoner

Summary

Notes

 

CHAPTER 15
IMMIGRATION POLICY

The Immigration Debate

Immigration in California’s History

Back to the Future: Proposition 187 and Beyond

Proposition 187: A Defining Moment in Time

The 1994 Vote and the Issue of Illegal Immigration

The Death of Proposition 187

FEATURED READING: A Nation of Laws and Immigrants by George W. Bush

Summary

Notes

 

CHAPTER 16
CIVIL RIGHTS POLICY

Civil Rights Policy in California

Ending Discrimination Through Affirmative Action

The Bakke Case

Proposition 209: The California Civil Rights Initiative (CCRI)

From Proposition 209 to the Present

Beyond Race: The Quest for Gender and Sexual Orientation Parity in California

Women and Equal Rights in California

The Long March Toward GLBT Equal and Civil Rights

Contemporary GLBT Developments in California

FEATURED READING: Shame by Tom Brokaw

Summary

Appendix: Korematsu v. United States (1944)

Notes

 

CHAPTER 17
RETHINKING CALIFORNIA

FEATURED READING: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick

Notes

 

APPENDIX A
CALIFORNIA’S COUNTIES

APPENDIX B
CALIFORNIA RESOURCES ON THE WEB

INDEX