The rise of education-change advocates helped give Democrats a supermajority in the Assembly.
JIM MILLER and CHRISTOPHER CADELAGO with Sacramento Bee: "The Torlakson name has been a near-constant on the ballots of voters in the San Francisco East Bay, where state schools chief Tom Torlakson got his political start more than three decades ago. Last week, though, the remarkable string of Torlakson victories ended resoundingly."
"Mae Cendaña Torlakson, his wife, was trounced by fellow Democrat Tim Grayson after a campaign that attracted more than $3.3 million in outside spending since March by EdVoice, a nonprofit that seeks changes to teacher tenure and other rules."
"Grayson’s success was among several legislative victories by candidates who received heavy support from EdVoice and the California Charter Schools Association."
Speaking of the supermajority, here's some more on the change for the next legislative session.
JEREMY B. WHITE with Sacramento Bee: "If you needed a reminder of the Democratic Party’s dominance of California politics, here it is: For the second time in four years, at least two-thirds of Assembly seats will be blue."
"Cementing the party’s Golden State hegemony, Democrat Sabrina Cervantes toppled Assemblyman Eric Linder, R-Corona, from his Riverside County seat. A week after Election Day, the Associated Press called the tight race for Cervantes, who held a roughly 7,000-vote lead."
Experts say Trump's immigration plan wouldn't be illegal, and the prospect of that has many worried.
LOUIS NELSON with Politico: "The day after Donald Trump won the White House last week, the American Civil Liberties Union wrote on Twitter that if the president-elect attempts “to implement his unconstitutional campaign promises, we’ll see him in court."
"But when it comes to the immigrant registration program that would target Muslims entering the United States — outlined Wednesday by an adviser to Trump’s transition team — three constitutional lawyers say the ACLU won’t have much of a shot before a judge."
"Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, known for his hard-line stance on immigration, told Reuters in a story published Wednesday that he has been in regular contact with Trump’s immigration advisers and that the president-elect’s team is considering a system modeled after a controversial one implemented in the months after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. It fulfills Trump’s promise of “extreme vetting” for immigrants from countries affected by terrorism, a threshold he has yet to flesh out more fully."
READ MORE related to Immigration: Trump supporter cites Japanese internment 'precedent' in backing Muslim registry -- CRISTIANO LIMA with Politico
Representatives reflect on decades of service in public office in light of last week's election results.
SARAH D. WIRE with LAT: "The massive quilt depicting Santa Barbara that hung on Rep. Lois Capps’ office wall for nearly two decades has come down. The original prints that acclaimed photographer Ansel Adams gave Rep. Sam Farr of Carmel are carefully wrapped up for the trip back to California."
"Around their Capitol Hill offices, sticky notes mark items already claimed by family or staff, and stacks of frames wait to have their contents removed for easier transport. Boxes wait to hold mementos of the California Democrats’ decades in Washington."
READ MORE related to Election: Issa: 'Liberals trying to steal the election' -- JOSHUA STEWART with Union-Tribune
California's Lassen County was a Republican-stronghold during the election, and here's why.
PAIGE ST. JOHN with LAT: "On a cattle ranch three bridges past a giant lone poplar tree on this isolated northeastern edge of California, Jeffrey Hemphill for once feels part of something larger."
"He and his Lassen County neighbors cast 73% of their ballots, the strongest vote in the state, to elect Donald Trump for president."
"They voted against the rest of California on almost every other ballot issue too, rejecting increased gun regulation, a plastic bag ban, tax hikes, prison parole and the recreational use of marijuana, all seen locally as urban impositions on the rural soul."
If you're interested in California's 2018 gubernatorial potentials, check out the Times' list of who to pay attention to.
PHIL WILLON with LAT: "Welcome to your guide to the 2018 California governor’s race. The election may be a little less than two years away, but listening tours are underway, political consultants are doling out advice and pundits are handicapping favorites and wild cards."
"Here are the players to keep an eye on:"
Ami Bera has doubled his lead over Scott Jones in their race, but the final votes from last week still need to be tallied before the result can be called.
CHRISTOPHER CADELAGO with Sacramento Bee: "Democratic Rep. Ami Bera, looking to hold his suburban Sacramento seat, nearly doubled his lead over Republican Scott Jones on Wednesday."
"Bera awoke the morning after the Nov. 8 election leading Jones by less than 1 percent, or 2,094 votes. It was a comparatively strong position given that the Elk Grove physician trailed, or led by the slimmest of margins, in his previous two victories. The last one came by just 1,455 votes in 2014."
OneWest bank is now embroiled in a loan scandal that alleges the institution shut out people of color--an issue that is also casting a dark shadow over newly minted President-elect Trump.
JAMES RUFUS KOREN with LAT: "Two California advocacy groups have asked federal housing regulators to investigate Pasadena’s OneWest Bank over allegations that it discriminated against or failed to serve minority communities."
"The allegations lodged with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development build on a multitude of earlier complaints against the bank. They come as former OneWest Chairman Steve Mnuchin is rumored to be a leading candidate for the post of U.S. Treasury secretary under President-elect Donald Trump. Mnuchin remains a board member of CIT Group, a New York financial services company that acquired OneWest last year."
California's budget has seen a strong enough upswing that the state could survive a mild recession should such an event occur.
BEN ADLER with CPR: "The California budget is now in strong enough shape to withstand a mild recession, according to a new report out Wednesday from the state’s nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office."
"The LAO estimates California’s budget reserves will hold more than $11 billion by mid-2018."
"So is there room for a little bit of new spending? Perhaps, with fairly minimal consequences in a mild recession,“ says the LAO's Jason Sisney. “But if the state adds a lot more new spending, that could put the budget into a very different situation."
The Surgeon General is vowing to take the nation's opioid addiction more seriously.
JOANNE KENEN with Politico: "The U.S surgeon general has released the first comprehensive report on addiction in America, and he wants it to have as much public health punch as the groundbreaking report on the dangers of tobacco 50 years ago."
"In an interview with POLITICO on the eve of its release, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said that he’s determined to make the report an action item in communities across the country, and not just put it on the shelf."
"We can’t afford not to address it,” he said. “We can’t afford to stay on the path we’re on."
