California's Democratic but Inefficient Government

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Republicans don-t hold a single statewide office, and they-re a minority in both the Assembly and Senate. Yet, because it takes a two-thirds majority to pass a budget, they can prevent the Democrats from enacting a spending plan. They can also threaten a recall election against a Governor who was re-elected just last November. The current budget stalemate and the recall campaign against Governor Davis have all but crippled California government. Is it too much democracy or not enough? We hear from Xandra Kayden, senior fellow at UCLA-s School of Public Policy and a national board member of the League of Women Voters, and John Kurzweil, the founder and editor of the California Political Review, an outspokenly conservative bi-monthly magazine about state politics.
  • Making News: Davis Recall Campaign Reaches Petition Goal
    Organizers of the recall against Governor Gray Davis have stopped gathering the signatures required to put it on the statewide ballot, claiming they have done their job. Phil Paule, political director of the Republican-backed recall committee called Rescue California, says that with a deficit soaring by $29 million a day, he expects to have election on the ballot in mid-October
  • Reporter's Notebook: Mexico-California Relations on the Back Burner?
    California-s Governor Gray Davis and Mexico-s President Vicente Fox have both promised to improve cooperation across a very important border, but for both men, domestic politics have intervened. Michael Flores is California-s Secretary of Foreign Affairs, a job Davis created in 1999. Flores emphasizes that both leaders remain strongly committed to cross-border business and politics.

FAQ about Recalls

California state budget

Governor Gray Davis

Davis recall campaign

California Journal profile on Secretary Flores

Presidency of Mexico

Credits

Host:

Warren Olney

Producer:

Frances Anderton