Capitol Weekly Podcast

Democratic Assemblymember Pilar Schiavo joined us to talk about her legislative priorities, the Los Angeles Fires, the Chiquita Canyon Landfill environmental crisis, and why cuts to the VA are personal for her. And as always, we tell you Who Had the Worst Week in California Politics. 1:25 Best and worst jobs in California politics? 3:08 Welcome, Asm. Schiavo 3:35 The 3 Hs: housing, homelessness an...

California political data expert Paul Mitchell joins us to talk about his recent polls that explored public reaction to Governor Gavin Newsom's This is Gavin Newsom podcast, and the results of the first Capitol Weekly Insider Survey, which asked how and where the Capitol Community gets its news. 1:11 Capitol Weekly Internship application deadline: April 18 3:40 What about the Gov's podcast? 14:20...

Today we welcome Asm. David Tangipa, the freshman Republican legislator from the 8th Assembly District, and at 29, the youngest member of the California Legislature. Tangipa grew up off Watt Avenue in Sacramento, not for from McClellan Air Force Base. The impact that McClellan's closure had on Tangipa's friends and neighborhood left a lasting impression - and an awareness that policy decisions aff...

Longtime political columnist Dan Walters joins us to talk about his fifty years covering state capitol politics. Walters began covering politics in 1975 - just months after Jerry Brown was sworn in for his first term as Governor - and hasn't stopped since. He began writing his column for the Sacramento Union in 1981 and continued when he moved to the Union's crosstown rival The Sacramento Bee in 1...

Claire Conlon has a long history in the capitol community. She got her start as a legislative aide in 2011, and has held a wide variety of roles since, including Press Secretary for Senate leader Kevin de León and Chief of Staff to Asm. Cottie Petrie-Norris. While building that impressive resume, she did something unusual: she left. In 2017 Conlon left the capitol, the state, and eventually the co...

This Special Episode of the Capitol Weekly Podcast was recorded live at Capitol Weekly’s conference The Resistance: California vs. Donald Trump , which was held in Sacramento on Wednesday, February 26, 2025 This is PANEL 2 – CLIMATE AND THE ENVIRONMENT Panelists: Kip Lipper, Chief Policy Advisor on Energy and Environment to the Senate pro Tem; Catherine Reheis-Boyd, Western States Petroleum Associ...

On Wednesday, February 26, 2025, Capitol Weekly presented an online conference, The Resistance: California vs. Donald Trump. This is PANEL 3 – IMMIGRATION Panelists:  Senator María Elena Durazo; Luis Alvarado, Luis Alvarado Public Affairs; Kevin R. Johnson, UC Davis School of Law; David Trujillo, ACLU California Action Moderated by Andrea Castillo, Los Angeles Times Thanks to our California Confer...

On Wednesday, February 26, 2025, Capitol Weekly presented an online conference, The Resistance: California vs. Donald Trump. This is PANEL 1 – HEALTH CARE Panelists: Beth Malinowksi, SEIU California; Devon Mathis, California Assembly (Ret.); Amanda McAllister-Wallner, Health Access California; Dr. Richard Pan, California Senate (Ret.); Moderated by Samantha Young, KFF Health News Please note: Duri...

On Wednesday, February 26, 2025, Capitol Weekly presented an online conference, The Resistance: California vs. Donald Trump. President Donald J. Trump launched his second term with a flurry of executive orders on immigration, energy and climate, health care, civil rights and more. California led the resistance to administration policies during the first Trump Administration, suing the federal gove...

Brian Joseph has worked as a newspaper reporter and investigative journalist for two decades, writing for Capitol Weekly, the Orange County Register, the Sacramento Bee and the Las Vegas Review-Journal, among other publications. He recently released his first book: Vegas Concierge: Sex Trafficking, Hip Hop and Corruption in America . Using public and private records as well as exclusive, first-per...

Our guest today is the Parliamentarian to the Assembly Speaker, Brian Ebbert. Ebbert has spent over three decades in the Assembly starting as an Assistant Clerk in 1991. He served as Assembly Floor Director from 2017 to 2014; he announced his retirement last year (and even got the cake) but agreed at the end of 2024 to stay on one more year as Assembly Parliamentarian What does the Assembly Parlia...

It may not feel like it, but Donald J. Trump began his second presidential term less than three weeks ago. The reality TV star turned GOP president wasted no time implementing his agenda, issuing dozens of Executive Orders, clearcutting opposition officials and entrusting billionaire donor Elon Musk with a broad mandate to revise the functions of the US government, often in seeming conflict with f...

Cecilia Aguiar-Curry represents California's 4th Assembly District, which includes Napa, Lake, Yolo, Colusa Counties and part of Sonoma County. She is the chair of the bipartisan California Legislative Women’s Caucus and is also the Assembly Majority Leader. As Majority Leader, Aguiar-Curry guides her party’s legislative strategy, coordinates with committee chairs and helps ensure the efficient pr...

We're joined today by Dr. Shirley Weber, California's Secretary of State. Governor Newsom appointed the four-term assembly member as Secretary of State in 2020 to fill the remainder of Alex Padilla's term when Padilla went to the US Senate. Voters elected her to a full term on November 8, 2022.   Serving as the state's chief elections officer is a natural fit for Weber, whose family left Arkansas...

We hear a lot of discussion about what it takes to campaign for Governor of California, but, as in the 1972 film The Candidate , not so much about what it takes to govern the state. Former Senate Majority Leader and Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg has served as an advisor to governors and want-to-be-governors for decades. With the race to replace Governor Gavin Newsom in 2026 heating up, Hertzberg...

Today we welcome a first-time guest to the podcast: Stephanie Roberson, of Stephanie Roberson Strategies. Roberson formed SRS, a boutique, black-owned single member firm, in late 2022 after 15 years representing the California Nurses Association. During Roberson’s tenure, the Nurses waged fierce battles in the capitol over guaranteed universal healthcare, and confronted the COVID epidemic. She sat...

Hosts Rich Ehisen and Tim Foster are joined by Politico's Chris Cadelago for a deep dive (our longest-ever episode?) into California politics in 2024 - and a look at what the Horseshoe might look like next year as Nathan Barankin takes over for departing chief of staff Dana Williamson. Plus: Who Had the Worst YEAR in California Politics?  We give you our Top 10. 2:44 From Dana Williamson to Nathan...

It's a short week, so we've got a short episode for you. Rich and Tim look south for Who Had the Worst Week in CA Politics.  We'll be back next week with a special end-of-year wrap up - don't miss! Want to support the Capitol Weekly Podcast? Make your tax deductible donation here: capitolweekly.net/donations/  Capitol Weekly Podcast theme is "Pickin' My Way" by Eddie Lang  "#WorstWeekCA" Beat prov...

Ranked Choice Voting had a bit of a "moment" in 2022, helping send Democrat Mary Peltola to congress in Alaska, and clearing a first-ballot hurdle for statewide acceptance in Nevada. This year, proponents of the RCV process got proposals on the ballot in four states (Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, and the confirmation vote in NV), but ultimately found themselves on defense, losing all four, and also los...

CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: This Special Episode of the Capitol Weekly Podcast was recorded live at Capitol Weekly’s conference HEALTH CARE IN CALIFORNIA, which was held in Sacramento on Thursday, October 3, 2024 This is PANEL 3 – IMPACT OF BUDGET CUTS Panelists: Jess Bartholow, SEIU California; Michelle Cabrera, County Behavioral Health Directors Association of California; Beth Capell, Health Access...

One of the many stories out of the 2024 election was President Trump's improved performance with voters of color. While voter data is still being analyzed, it is clear that the former and future president made significant inroads in 2024 with constituencies with whom he has historically lagged, notably Latinos. For a politician who based his first presidential campaign on a promise to build a wall...

As her final term in the senate comes to an end, Senator Susan Talamantes Eggman joined us to reflect on her twelve years in the state legislature. A self-described "pragmatic progressive," Eggman represents the 5th Senate District - San Joaquin County, parts of Stanislaus County and the Sacramento County community of Galt - areas which saw a significant Republican shift this year; San Joaquin Cou...

While most political junkies have their eyes on DC in the wake of Donald Trump's successful bid to return to the White House, we're looking south, where Los Angeles voters delivered a seismic shift to the region's politics, passing Measure G, which expands the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors from five members to nine, and Charter Amendment DD, which creates an independent redistricting com...

On Thursday, November 7, 2024, Capitol Weekly and the UC Student and Policy Center presented A Post-Mortem of the 2024 Election. We gathered a score of experts for a timely and informative review of the November 5 election, providing analysis, opinions and insight. What happened inside the campaigns? Why? What happens next? Nearly two dozen California insiders will discuss the results of the elect...

On Thursday, November 7, 2024, Capitol Weekly and the UC Student and Policy Center presented A Post-Mortem of the 2024 Election. We gathered a score of experts for a timely and informative review of the November 5 election, providing analysis, opinions and insight. What happened inside the campaigns? Why? What happens next? Nearly two dozen California insiders will discuss the results of the elect...