California's legislature killed two bipartisan bills that would have made lobbyist influence letters publicly visible in real time — a reform already standard in at least ten other states — while the state's nonpartisan analyst confirms spending has outpaced revenue by 10 points, producing structural deficits of $20–30 billion annually. Meanwhile, Sacramento is weighing legislation that could expose journalists covering taxpayer-funded immigration nonprofits to $4,000-per-violation fines, even as auditors' findings of billions in pandemic-era fraud go largely unaddressed. What connects these stories: a pattern of legislators protecting their own operations from scrutiny while the state's finances deteriorate.
Jelani Nelson drove to Sacramento for months, recruited allies, and won: Academic standards at UCs matter
The billionaire claiming to ‘always stand with labor’ made millions from private prisons and other aggressively anti‑union investments
Public sector unions collect nearly $1 billion a year to control Sacramento. Normal citizens? A trickle against a torrent.
A billionaire spending $27 million attacks a mayor for having tech support. The irony writes itself.
$30 billion stolen in unemployment fraud alone. California's gubernatorial candidate says fix it before raising taxes.
San Jose built ZERO market rate homes in 2024. Then Matt Mahan cut the fees, and everything changed.
San Jose's mayor has cut homelessness 25% while Sacramento lets good policies die in bureaucracy. He's running for governor.
San Jose's mayor reduced homelessness by a quarter while Sacramento fumbled. Now he's bringing receipts to the governor's race.
The San Jose mayor who actually cut homelessness 23% wants to bring his results-first approach statewide.
A startup founder who actually delivers results vs. Sacramento's endless theater. California finally has a real choice.