California: The Politics of Diversity / Edition 9

by David G. Lawrence, Jeff Cummins

Overview

This text offers a thematic, comprehensive look at California politics written from the perspective of someone who teaches California Politics and has worked in local government.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781305629912
Publisher:	Cengage Learning
Publication date:	01/01/2016
Edition description:	Older Edition
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	7.20(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Jeff Cummins is Professor of Political Science at California State University, Fresno. He previously worked for the Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) in Sacramento where he advised the legislature on budgetary and policy issues. He also worked for the California State Auditor, performing audits of various state agencies. He teaches several courses on California government, including California Politics and Public Budgeting. He is the author of Boom and Bust: The Politics of the California Budget and his publications on state politics and policy have appeared in such journals as State Politics and Policy Quarterly, Social Science Quarterly, and American Politics Research. He frequently provides commentary to news media and has been interviewed by National Public Radio (NPR) affiliates, the New York Times, The Economist, the National Journal, the Sacramento Bee, Los Angeles Times, and the Fresno Bee.

David G. Lawrence is professor emeritus of political science at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California. As a teacher, scholar, and former public official, he has applied theory and practice to California politics. He served on a city council as mayor pro tem, chaired a regional planning agency, and is former president of the California Association of Councils of Governments (CALCOG). He currently serves on the Measure A Citizens Oversight Committee, a group that advises the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments on the expenditure of sales tax revenues earmarked for transportation (an estimated $1 billion over 30 years). He is also former president of the California Center for Education in Public Affairs, a consortium of colleges and universities dedicated to helping students better understand California politics through Sacramento seminars and post-election briefings.

Table of Contents

Preface     XV
Foundations of California Politics     1
Explaining California Politics     3
In Brief     3
Introduction     4
How Diversity Explains California Politics     5
Land     6
Regions     6
Resources     7
People     7
Economy     11
How Political Theory Explains California Politics     12
Democratic Theory     12
Elite Theory     13
Pluralist Theory     14
Hyperpluralism     15
How Hyperpluralism Explains California Politics     15
The Constancy of Individualism     15
A Diversity of Interests and Cultures     16
Fading Majoritarianism     16
Structural Conflict     17
California: The Ironies of Diversity     17
Key Terms     18
Review Questions     19
Web Activities     19
Notes     19
California's Political Development     21
In Brief     21
Introduction     22
The Idea of Political Culture     22
The Idea of Political Development     23
The Politics of Unification     23
Spanish "Rule"     24
Mexican "Control"     24
Statehood     25
The 1849 Constitution     26
The Politics of Modernization     27
The Gold Rush     21
The Big Four     21
Water     29
Other Modernizing Factors     31
The Politics of Welfare     32
The Progressive Movement     32
The Great Depression     32
Earl Warren     32
Edmund G. (Pat) Brown     34
The Politics of Abundance and Beyond     35
Key Terms     31
Review Questions     31
Web Activities     38
Notes     38
Constitutionalism and Federalism: The Perimeters of California Politics     40
In Brief     40
Introduction: Rules and Boundaries     41
California's Constitution     42
What It Contains     43
What Makes It Distinctive     44
California and the Nation: The Bounderies of Federalism     47
Dual Federalism     47
Cooperative Federalism     47
Centralized Federalism      47
On Your Own Federalism     48
Progmatic Federalism     48
Federalism and California's Native Americans     49
California in Washington     50
California and the World: The Politics of Fences     52
Immigration     53
Trade     55
Conclusion     55
Key Terms     56
Review Questions     56
Web Activities     57
Notes     57
Political Participation in California     59
Direct Democracy in a Hyperpluralistic Age     61
In Brief     61
The Impact of Progressivism     62
Progressivism: California Style     63
Selected Initiative Battles in California     64
Proposition 13: Give the Money Back     65
Proposition 5: Casino Fever     67
Proposition 22: Gay Marriage     67
Propostion 71: Stem Cell Research     69
The Initiative Mess     70
Prospect for Initiative Reform     75
Progressive Cousins: Referandum and Recall     76
State Level Recalls     76
Local Level Recalls     77
Conclusion: The Legacy and the Paradox      77
Key Terms     78
Review Questions     78
Web Activities     79
Notes     79
The Political Behavior of Californians     81
In Brief     81
Forms of Participation in a Democracy     82
Conventional Participation     82
The Exit Option     83
The Protest Option     84
Voters and Nonvoters in California     85
Who Votes in California?     85
Those Who Cannot Vote     85
Those Who Will Not Vote     87
Partisanship in California     89
Party Affiliation     89
The Partisan Geography of California     91
California's Electoral Gaps     91
Conclusion: Divided by Diversity     94
Key Terms     95
Review Questions     95
Web Activities     95
Notes     96
Linking People and Policymakers     98
In Brief     98
Introduction     99
Mass Media     100
Newspapers     100
Television     102
Radio     104
The Internet     104
Political Parties      104
Political Parties: California Style     105
How the Parties are Organized     107
Surrogate Parties     108
Endorsement Politics     108
Elections     110
Campaign Professionals and Pollsters     110
The Role of Money     112
California Elections and National Politics     113
Interest Groups     114
California Groups: Who are They?     115
How Interest Groups Organize     117
What Interest Groups Do     118
Conclusion: Competing for Influence     119
Key Terms     120
Review Questions     120
Web Activities     120
Notes     121
Political Institutions in California     123
Legislative Politics     125
In Brief     125
Introduction: The Road to Proposition 140     126
California's Legislative History     127
What the Legislature Does     128
Policymaking     129
Representation     129
Executive Oversight     131
Civic Education     133
Getting There and Staying There     133
Recruitment      133
Why They Stay: Rewards of Office     134
How They Stay: Reapportionment Politics     135
The 2001 Reapportionment     136
Organizing to Legislate     137
The Role of Leadership     131
The Committee System     141
The Staff     142
The Legislative Process     142
The Third House     144
Conclusion     147
Key Terms     147
Review Questions     147
Web Activities     148
Notes     148
Executive Politics     150
In Brief     150
Introduction     151
How Governors Lead     152
The Governor's Duties and Powers     155
Executive Powers     156
Budget Leadership     158
Legislative Powers     159
Judicial Powers     161
Other Powers     162
The Plural Executive: Competing for Power     162
Lieutenant Governor     162
Attorney General     163
Secretary of State     164
Superintendent of Public Instruction     164
Insurance Commissioner     165
Fiscal Officers     165
California's Bureaucracy and the Politics of Diversity     167
Functions of Bureaucracy     167
Power Sharing and Clout     168
Executive Branch Reform     168
Conclusion     169
Key Terms     169
Review Questions     170
Web Activities     170
Notes     170
California's Judiciary     172
In Brief     172
Introduction     173
State Courts in Our Legal "System"     174
How California's Courts Are Organized     174
Trial Courts     175
Appellate Courts     176
Supreme Court     176
So You Want to Be a Judge     176
Entering the Profession     177
The Right Experience     178
Selection Mechanics     178
Judicial Discipline     179
How Courts Make Decisions     180
The Criminal Process     181
The Civil Process     182
Juries and Popular Justice     183
How Courts Make Policy     183
Trial Court Policymaking     184
Appellate Court Policymaking     184
Criminal Justice and Punishment     185
Conclusion     189
Key Terms     190
Review Questions     190
Web Activities     190
Notes     191
Community Politics     193
In Brief     193
Introduction     194
The Role of Community     195
The Limits of Community Government     196
Counties     198
The Shape of County Government     198
County Troubles     201
Cities     202
How Communities Become Municipalities     203
"Cities" Without "Government"     204
How California Cities are Run     204
Cities and Counties: An Uneasy Relationship     208
Special Districts     208
What Makes Them Special?     209
The Stealth Governments of California     209
Special District Politics and Problems     209
School Districts     211
Regional Governments     212
Conclusion: Diverse Communities, Diverse Governments     213
Key Terms     214
Review Questions     214
Web Activities     214
Notes      215
Budget Policy: The Cost of Diversity     216
In Brief     216
Introduction: Budgeting as Public Policy     217
Where Budgeting Begins: The Economy     219
Economic Diversity     219
Today's Challenge: A Two-Tier Economy     219
California's Local Economies     219
The Budget Process     220
How California Budgeting Works     220
Constraints on the Process     222
Local Budget Processes     223
Types of Revenue     224
Major State Revenues     225
Local Revenue     229
Where The Money Goes     231
State Expenditures     231
Local Expenditures     232
The Need for Budget Reform     233
Conclusion: The Cost of Diversity     234
Key Terms     234
Review Questions     234
Web Activities     235
Notes     235
Policies Stemming from Growth     237
In Brief     237
Introduction: Growth in California     238
Why California Grew     239
The Drumbeat of Growth     240
Structuring Local Growth      242
No-Growth Politics in California     242
Water: Making Growth Possible     243
Storing Water     244
Moving Water     245
Recent Water Developments     248
Housing: For Many, the Impossible Dream     248
The California Dream     248
Housing Policy as Filter "Down"     249
Affordability     249
Transportation: Stuck in Traffic     250
The Problem     250
California's Transportation Policies     252
Energy and Environment     253
Energy     253
Environment     253
Conclusion: A New Growth Policy for California?     255
Key Terms     251
Review Questions     257
Web Activities     251
Notes     258
Policies Stemming from Diversity     259
In Brief     259
Introduction: The Challenge of Diversity     260
California Policy as Group Struggle     262
Social Issues: Abortionand Gay Rights     263
Abortion     263
Gay Rights     265
Education: Coping with Growth and Diversity     266
Pressures on Education      266
Education Reform     268
Higher Education: An Uncertain Future     270
The Majoritarian Ideal     270
Rethinking the Plan     271
Diversity on Campus     272
Social Programs     273
Welfare Policy     273
Health Policy     275
Immigration: Conflict over Newcomers     277
Federal Policies, California Impacts     278
California's Immigration "Policy"     279
Conclusion     279
Key Term     280
Review Questions     281
Web Activities     281
Notes     281
Index     283

Editorial Reviews

California: The Politics of Diversity is the gold standard for understanding California's government and politics. No other textbook comes close to its detail and comprehensiveness. A great addition for any class on California.

--Wesley Hussey, California State University, Sacramento

California: The Politics of Diversity provides a framework to understand the perplexities of the state. Like many California politics textbooks, Lawrence and Cummins provide all the expected chapters, such as those on the executive, legislature, and judiciary, with an exceptional chapter on the budget. The effectiveness of the book is in how it contextualizes the politics of the golden state by using dual themes of diversity and theory and the policy chapters that provide concrete examples of how politics plays out in the largest state in the union.

--Fernando J. Guerra, Loyola Marymount University

While it is often said that California is one of the world's most diverse democracies, this book gives concrete meaning to that characterization by exploring the ways in which diversity in our population, our economy, our geography, and our politics shapes our state. Centered around the cohesive theme of how California's diversity impacts its governance, policies, and its hyperpluralistic politics, the newest edition of Lawrence and Cummins's book will help students understand their state's history and its future.

--Thad Kousser, UC San Diego

From the Publisher

California: The Politics of Diversity provides a framework to understand the perplexities of the state. Like many California politics textbooks, Lawrence and Cummins provide all the expected chapters, such as those on the executive, legislature, and judiciary, with an exceptional chapter on the budget. The effectiveness of the book is in how it contextualizes the politics of the golden state by using dual themes of diversity and theory and the policy chapters that provide concrete examples of how politics plays out in the largest state in the union.

Fernando J. Guerra

California: The Politics of Diversity is the gold standard for understanding California's government and politics. No other textbook comes close to its detail and comprehensiveness. A great addition for any class on California.

Wesley Hussey

While it is often said that California is one of the world's most diverse democracies, this book gives concrete meaning to that characterization by exploring the ways in which diversity in our population, our economy, our geography, and our politics shapes our state. Centered around the cohesive theme of how California's diversity impacts its governance, policies, and its hyperpluralistic politics, the newest edition of Lawrence and Cummins's book will help students understand their state's history and its future.

Thad Kousser