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Though  the mainstream political press has naturally focused on the stinging  Democratic losses and sweeping Republican gains in last week's  elections, 2010 has proven to be an historic year for third party and  Independent politics in the United States. One  of the primary motifs in media coverage of this year's elections has  been the public’s deep discontent with both the Democratic and  Republican parties.  In poll after poll, record numbers of  Americans opted to identify themselves as In

On Wednesday, third party gubernatorial candidates came together to discuss Proposition 19 and the need for all-inclusive debates as part of a press conference convened by an organization that speaks out against exclusion in California's electoral process. Fittingly, both Meg Whitman and Jerry Brown declined to participate, indicating once again that Democrats and Republicans have more in common than is popularly believed. Members of the two-party system are rarely willing to talk about non-par

The most heated debate in Sacramento during the past two years hasn’t been budget cuts depriving poor children of health care or awarding billion-dollar tax breaks to corporations.  It hasn’t even been California’s massive multi-billion dollar budget shortfalls. Generating far more public outcry is the mandatory spaying and neutering of cats and dogs. In 2008, unsuccessful spay/neuter legislation logged some 32,000 letters and e-mails either in support or opposition -- many thousands more th

The series of firestorms currently underway at California’s public colleges and universities appears not to have burnt itself out yet. Just today, a group of students from the state's elite University of California schools gathered in Sacramento at the state capitol to protest increased budget cuts and what San Francisco Chronicle contributor Daniel Sargent calls “divestment from public education.”  Faced with this phenomenon, the Chronicle asks a sobering question whose potential answers should

The 550,000 students enrolled at the University of California and the California State University system have been served a steady diet of tuition and fee increases over the past few years.  In part to cope with a $350 million net cut in state support to both systems this year, a 32 percent increase for UC students -- $1,929 -- is scheduled to take effect in September – on the heels of a 9.3 percent increase in 2009. CSU increased tuition 30 percent in 2009. In September, tuition climbs another

Imagine if ANYONE could run for office, wouldn’t that be nice? When I say “ANYONE” I mean even people who do not have a million dollars. Yes, I know, it’s hard to imagine.  But what if candidates- under strict rules- received enough money from a state fund to actually win an election? AB 583 is authored by Assemblymember Loni Hancock (D- East Bay) and intends to do just that. If you receive 7,500 contributions of $5 each, and neither accept money nor use your own money, you may qualify for 1 -

While Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger issued a statement asking proponents of gay marriage to remain peaceful in their reaction to the California Supreme Court's decision to uphold Prop. 8 and the state's ban on gay marriage, Golden State Democratic leaders vowed that the fight to legalize same-sex marriage in California isn't over. Following the court's release of the ruling, many of those leaders quickly issued statements. Here are a sampling: California Democratic Party Chairman John B

AMERICAN CANYON -- Although it's just a few miles from SanFrancisco -- arguably the epicenter of the marriage equality movementin California -- a majority of City Council members in the Napa Countytown of American Canyon voted this week to reject a resolution supporting gay marriage. Calling it an "abuse" of the council's authority, City CouncilmanEd West successfully moved to table the resolution in support ofmarriage equality proposed by colleague Joan Bennett. "It does not belong before us,

Arlen Specter is like the guy with two potential prom dates, though by the end of next year he could be sitting home alone. Why does a Pennsylvania Republican even matter in California? For the same reason residents of the Golden State should look to Connecticut Democrat Joe Lieberman -- yes, he's still officially registered as a Democrat -- as an example of what happens to centrists that one party deems too much of something but another finds is not enough of something else. They're both text

The prospect of an open primary  in California should send shivers down the spines of millions: a forward-thinking  state taking a truly forward-looking step. Sadly, in recent years California  has been allowed to fall into a slump, while unrestrained spending and  little-to-no oversight, has forced many businesses and individuals to  pay the price... literally. With some of the highest taxation rates  in the entire country, and a state government going broke, it's hard  to swallow the age-old p