Democrats Take Early Lead In Calif. U.S. House Race
A special congressional election Tuesday in California gave Republicans a surprising opening to seize a House seat in a Democratic stronghold and send a powerful message nationally going into 2012.
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A special congressional election Tuesday in California gave Republicans a surprising opening to seize a House seat in a Democratic stronghold and send a powerful message nationally going into 2012.
During his State of the State address in January, Gov. Jerry Brown acknowledged California's deep financial hole but also expressed faith in the state's ability to rebound and surprise its doubters.
As Gov. Jerry Brown and other Democrats celebrate their rare on-time budget, unions and anti-tax groups already are gearing up for a fight at the ballot box over tax increases and government reforms.
Democrats and Republicans each have something to dislike about California's newest spending plan.
The Legislature was poised to take up a budget proposal Wednesday offered by majority Democrats, but the plan was widely seen as merely a stopgap to meet the constitutional budget deadline.
Months of debate about how to close California's budget deficit shifted Friday to the first substantive talks on the possibility of renewing temporary tax increases through a vote of the Legislature or a special election.
Frustrated by the difficulty of raising taxes in the Legislature, California Democrats want to allow cities, counties and school districts to do it themselves. But Republican lawmakers say they're going about it in a sneaky way.
California Democrats are in a joyful mood after sweeping all nine statewide offices last year and picking up a seat in the state Assembly, despite two bruising, expensive contests.
With budget talks over a special election on taxes all but dead, Democratic lawmakers are preparing to illustrate the effects of an all-cuts budget to address the rest of California's $26.6 billion deficit.
Gov. Jerry Brown already has cut back on cell phones and vehicles for government employees. Now he's looking for even larger ways to reduce state government spending.
