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Walters view on California
Columnist believes state is nearing tipping point
CalMatters columnist Dan Walters, the dean of writers in Sacramento, probably has seen it all in his six decades of covering politics and the state capitol.
After a stint with his high school paper as a junior, he dropped out of high school to write—first in his hometown of Eureka and soon thereafter for decades in Sacramento. He’s been my favorite opinion writer and I identify with him because I also started writing for publication in high school and dropped out of college because writing sports was much more fun. Unlike Dan, I finished my college degree simply so the lack of the same never got in the way.
I’ve read him for decades and didn’t hear the drop-out story until this month when Dan spoke to a Zoom gathering of the East Bay Leadership Council.
He outlined the huge changes he’s seen in the Capitol. When he started, the Legislature and constitutional officers were a bunch of middle-aged white men who functioned like a college fraternity. They were corrupt, but competent in addressing the big issues facing the state. Think of Washington D.C. when President Reagan and Speaker Tip O’Neill battled it out until 5 p.m. and then had a drink together—can you imagine Chuck Schumer meeting John Thune for a cocktail?
This crew laid the foundation for the higher education masterplan, the interstate highway system and the State Water Project to name a few that allowed California to flourish for decades.
By contrast, despite Gov. Newsom’s sunny proclamations, Walters sees storm clouds ahead. To say the education system is under performing—particularly K-12 for kids of color—is a giant understatement—it borders on criminal despite the huge amount of money spent (teachers salaries are the only metric where the state ranks among the top in the nation).
The state has spent billions to deal with the homeless issue and the numbers have grown steadily. When Newsom took office in January 2019, he sent the bold goal of 3.5 million new housing units—the state has barely topped 100,000 in most years and he’s quietly shifted it to an “aspiration.”
The unemployment rate trails only Nevada at 5.4% and the percentage of the population living in poverty tops 30% in the Central Valley.
Add in that the state is still wrestling with sustainable water for agriculture, its No. 1 product. The movie industry in Southern California is being pressured by plenty of out-of-state competition and it’s an ugly picture with plenty of existential issues Walters said.
When asked about water, he said he expected the Sites Reservoir near Colusa, a project decades in the making, would actually be built, but did not think the governor’s proposal for a single tunnel to transport Sacramento River water beneath the Delta would happen because the agencies that would have to pay for it are getting cold feet. There’s also the reality that the islands in the Delta are surrounded by levees that are poor at best and the land they protect is of marginal value.
He said that today’s Legislature, with term limits, functions more like tribes and is challenged to deal with the big issues facing the state. Demographically, it is much more representative of the state’s population. It’s dominated by Democrats with solid two-thirds-plus majorities in both houses plus all of the constitutional officers.
One result is that legislative activities are conducted behind closed doors and hearings are meaningless.
One reality that leads to that secrecy is the demise of the media. The capitol press corps has shrunk along with the media profits. The Sacramento Bee and the Los Angeles Times used to have 10-12 full-time reporters working the Capitol—now it’s less than half of that. Most television stations do not have the resources to cover the Capitol.
Walters cited the absurdly over-budget “bullet train” as an example of a poorly designed project that needs to be killed. You can say the same for the joint efforts by the governor and the state air board to shift the economy to electricity instead of carbon-based fuels. Natural gas peak power plants are critical during high demand and the Diablo Canyon nuclear reactor, which was headed for decommissioning—is still functioning at Newsom’s request.
Walters believes the state is nearing a tipping point with low homeownership and a very high cost of living driven by housing and power rates that discourages business investment here.
He encouraged people to remember how Detroit was in its golden years before business moved to the suburbs and manufacturing went off shore.
His closing message: Remember Detroit and do it differently.
