- Newsmaker: Polls Show a Real Race for California Governor
Political reporters are talking about a mudslide coming in this year-s campaign for Governor of California. That prediction is based on polls showing incumbent Democrat Gray Davis and Republican challenger Bill Simon running neck and neck with just a few months to go. Phil Matier, columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle, says that changing predictions are due, in part, to Davis' unfavorable job rating, even among Democrats.
Breaking Los Angeles into Boroughs
Secession measures for Hollywood and the Valley will be on November-s ballot. Voters in the potential breakaway communities as well as Los Angeles as a whole will decide whether to create new cities or stick with the status quo. A third alternative, which enjoys serious backing, would keep the city together, but divide it into boroughs, like New York or London. The proposal has serious backing, but there-s a catch because the borough plan would eliminate the LA City Council, and only the Council could put it on this year-s ballot. We hear from former state Assemblyman Bob Hertzberg, who authored the plan, LA City Council President Alex Padilla, and the chair of the secessionist group Valley Vote.