Inside Golden State Politics
Bill Boyarsky and Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, two experienced California political experts, argue about politics from Los Angeles to Sacramento to Washington.
Bill Boyarsky is former city editor of the Los Angeles Times and was also a columnist, bureau chief and political reporter for the newspaper. Previously, he reported on politics for the Associated Press in Sacramento.
He is the winner of three Pulitzer Prizes for team reporting.
Bill is the author of two biographies of Ronald Reagan, a biography of Jesse M. Unruh; Inventing L.A.: The Chandlers and Their Times, and, with co-author Nancy Boyarsky, Backroom Politics.
Sherry Bebitch Jeffe is a retired professor of the practice of public policy communication at the Sol Price School of Public Policy at the University of Southern California.
Sherry has been political analyst for KCAL-TV, NBC4 Los Angeles NBC's "Today" show and the BBC, where she was an analyst on American politics for programs in London, Scotland and Wales. In 2006, she was a nominee for the Los Angeles Area Emmy Award for NBC4’s news feature, “Decision 2005: A Voter’s Guide.
She has also appeared on MSNBC, CNN, Spectrum News 1 and Al Jazeera English and on radio shows in the United States and internationally.
Sherry has a Ph.D in government from Claremont Graduate University and a master's in political science from Rutgers, where she was a fellow at the Eagleton Institute of Politics.
Inside Golden State Politics
Down To The Finish Line
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We wonder how Trump's revenge-tour primary victories will impact the November elections. And Los Angeles and the rest of California await the results of heated and confusing elections for California governor and mayor of Los Angeles.
Welcome to another episode of Inside Golden State Politics. I'm Bill Boyarsky, the former city editor and columnist for the Los Angeles Times, and with me is our producer director, Nancy Boyarsky
squadcaster-0b2h_2_05-27-2026_150305And I'm Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, analyst and self-styled media maven, coming to you from streaming an interesting documentary docudrama the political career and presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. It looked back at FDR's policy agenda and his policy successes, his leadership performance in another earlier toxic economic and political era. At times, I found that it was hard for me to watch, given where we are as a nation today, and because of where we are as a nation today. I didn't think I could be any more depressed than I have been by the quality of government, governance, and politics on the local, state, and national level all over the globe. But I am even more depressed, and I'm angry, or really angrier, and that's all I want to vent today. Over to you, Bill.
host-4ha0_2_05-27-2026_150304Sheri, I think of the great problem of Los Angeles. One that it's a background to the election for mayor, but it's there, it's on everyone's minds There are two things, the cracked and broken sidewalks that, one must navigate and hopefully survive. We've only had a couple of falls in our house from those sidewalks.
squadcaster-0b2h_2_05-27-2026_150305Oh dear
host-4ha0_2_05-27-2026_150304And the second one is very difficult to solve, and it's indicative of what's wrong with Los Angeles, and that's Skid Row. That several blocks of old hotels, of abandoned stores, and of homeless people living on the streets that has been there forever, and now s- has become a center of the campaign for mayor. One reason for that is that Mayor Bass's s- strong opponent Pratt, Spencer Pratt, has made it an issue and is talking about it a lot. But I think it's something that we should worry about and talk about
squadcaster-0b2h_2_05-27-2026_150305Then, let's do it. What's the... it's interesting. First of all, no Skid Row anymore. The boundaries of Skid Row have changed dramatically, and the homeless problem is a problem that's not concentrated one small part of the city. And I expect that's part of the problem of dealing with it effectively. And if I were Spencer Pratt, I'd be making noises about it too. It's a... It... There are enough Angelinas who are upset, angry, frustrated what appears to be an increase of homeless people, and a very lack of understanding as to why and what needs to be done, and how much it costs deal with the homeless problem. Interestingly, apparently unhoused population is shrinking just a bit. It's the second year that numbers of the unhoused d- declined. You know what? Part of it is, it's real. It's a horrible problem. It's a problem that is frustrating for every level of government. But in terms of the mayor's race, if you support Karen Bass, you point to the fact that she is getting something done. You point to the glass as being half full. If you do not support Karen Bass, if you support one of her, opponents, any one of her opponents, but certainly Spencer Pratt and Nithya Raman, gonna look at it as a glass half empty. It's, it... Not enough. The visibility of the problem too great for a significant, percentage of LA's citizens.
host-4ha0_2_05-27-2026_150304Affordability
squadcaster-0b2h_2_05-27-2026_150305Thank you. That's exactly right. Whatever it means.
host-4ha0_2_05-27-2026_150304Whatever
squadcaster-0b2h_2_05-27-2026_150305does mean the cost of living. It does mean
host-4ha0_2_05-27-2026_150304Wha-wha-whatever it means.
squadcaster-0b2h_2_05-27-2026_150305it does
host-4ha0_2_05-27-2026_150304I, I I used to work right around Skid Row. Our paper's headquarters was right at the corner of First and Second and Spring, right on the boundary of Skid Row.
squadcaster-0b2h_2_05-27-2026_150305LA
host-4ha0_2_05-27-2026_150304one of my jobs when I was working there was to write about the Metropolitan Transit District, which was the super agency that controlled the buses and was starting to control the trains, but none of them had been built at... laid out at that time. Anyway, I used to have to walk from my office, which was, let's say, I don't know, First and Spring, about four or five blocks, to the M-Metropolitan Transit Authority's headquarters,, And I used to weave my way... This was several years ago. This was before homelessness became
squadcaster-0b2h_2_05-27-2026_150305Homelessness.
host-4ha0_2_05-27-2026_150304homelessness. And I used to weave my way through there and the sidewalks were crowded with people living on them. And then I would do my business at the Metropolitan Transit Authority, and then head back to the paper. By then, it was getting dark. And,
squadcaster-0b2h_2_05-27-2026_150305Oh
host-4ha0_2_05-27-2026_150304I'm looking around and thinking, this is not a good thing." But nobody would do anything about it, skid Row was a part of Los Angeles that was put in a corner and to be ignored by everybody. And as the years went by, it got worse and worse. Later on, I was no longer working for the LA Times, I was working for a website called Truthdig, and I was doing a lot of stories on homelessness. And the only way to do a story on homelessness was to visit Skid Row. So again, I'd, take the train down to near Skid Row, and then I'd walk my way through it, weaving by... By then, the crowds of people living on the street were much greater.
squadcaster-0b2h_2_05-27-2026_150305Really crowds
host-4ha0_2_05-27-2026_150304Yes, crowds. When you're walking along, there, you weave your way through people living on the street. You, that was Skid Row, and it kept getting filled up.
squadcaster-0b2h_2_05-27-2026_150305Filled
host-4ha0_2_05-27-2026_150304Police would arrest these sidewalk dwellers and put them in jail and then let them out, and they would return to Skid Row. So
squadcaster-0b2h_2_05-27-2026_150305The point is
host-4ha0_2_05-27-2026_150304The point of my long story is that it's not been soluble. It's not been easy to do anything about. And I think that This is going to be something that the mayor as she gets into what may be a close race with Pratt, her maybe her number two opponent is going to have to deal with and deal with it better than she has been with a vague, "Yes, we've gotta do something about it."
squadcaster-0b2h_2_05-27-2026_150305Let me interject this. I think we don't really know unless we really track very closely what is going on how well or not she's doing, because some of the statistics indicate she's a, an impact. It might not be a hard, big impact, but things are moving along maybe slowly. But here's what I think has always been a part of her problem, and I think it's a good part of the problem she's facing running for re-election. For a very long time, she didn't keep LA updated what she was doing and what she is changing. I got a statement from the mayor's office today. I guess it's the equivalent of the press release now that it comes in email. But it indicates that she's got-- she's starting, to move on housing. Now, she has moved a little before, but who knows? Not unless you wanna just sit down and research all of her old press releases, or get a, an interview with her. Although, I think in essence not even that is enough. But the campaign that she has just begun to wage, and I do think that's accurate, is just the way she ought to have been communicating Angelenos, to the media. She started very late. So I don't know that she's blown up everything, that nothing is working. I do know that little parts are working, but I don't think the average voter really understands that, recognizes that, if it is indeed the case. When it all comes out in truthiness in the last two weeks of the campaign, voters are skeptical with the argument that, "No, it's not so bad. I've really done a lot of good, and here's what I've done." And that's a problem
host-4ha0_2_05-27-2026_150304she's a prisoner of the bureaucracy in that
squadcaster-0b2h_2_05-27-2026_150305I'll drink to that
host-4ha0_2_05-27-2026_150304As a person who spent her lifetime in various aspects of government or community affairs, she has too much respect for the problems of bureaucracy. She's not willing to call out people. There's a city county organization that is in charge of homeless measures, and, what you wanted her to do was to say, "Get moving." Call out people. I want names. The
squadcaster-0b2h_2_05-27-2026_150305What names?
host-4ha0_2_05-27-2026_150304The thing about Riordan, Mayor Riordan, who may go down as one of Los Angeles' better mayors,
squadcaster-0b2h_2_05-27-2026_150305I agree
host-4ha0_2_05-27-2026_150304he was not afraid to single out the villains of of government, to name them, to get rid of them to push his agenda on how to deal with things to act. He was a action guy, and and people responded to that. And there's nothing with the mayor right now that they can respond to. Now, this is not to say that she's
squadcaster-0b2h_2_05-27-2026_150305a little
host-4ha0_2_05-27-2026_150304gonna lose the election.
squadcaster-0b2h_2_05-27-2026_150305I said, "You're right, it's a little late," because res- her giving us, a view what she s- thinks and knows that she's accomplished so close to the election and with an electorate that is so skeptical and non-trusting of all things political and governmental right now, it... Even if true, it will not resonate with voters. It just won't. It's much into the election season. Informed throughout, and she should've kept the media informed throughout
host-4ha0_2_05-27-2026_150304I think that's right. God, how many times have we tried to get her an interview with her, have her as a guest on the podcast?
squadcaster-0b2h_2_05-27-2026_150305except from her, but the staff did not respond to the formal request.
host-4ha0_2_05-27-2026_150304No
squadcaster-0b2h_2_05-27-2026_150305got a commitment from her, boom. We did-- She was a guest once, give her some credit, during the primary in 2022
host-4ha0_2_05-27-2026_150304we're an important podcast, she, should be stopping at this destination and other destinations. She should be out there using the new media. And a- and you're right, she hasn't done a very a very good job of selling herself. She's lucky though in her career is marked by luck and she's lucky, with her opponents
squadcaster-0b2h_2_05-27-2026_150305That's always the case when you got an opponent that you like and are lucky enough to have a weak opponent, or in the case of Spencer Pratt, an opponent from a party whose membership is half, if that the party of the incumbent. Yeah. Go ahead. It's the streetcar theory.
host-4ha0_2_05-27-2026_150304That's right
squadcaster-0b2h_2_05-27-2026_150305streetcar theory in politics yet again
host-4ha0_2_05-27-2026_150304And there she is, days before the election, she's leading in whatever surveys are out there that we can have any faith in. And she just may pull it off just because she's lucky. She's got a weak opponent
squadcaster-0b2h_2_05-27-2026_150305We don't know if it's a weak opponent, but it was very helpful, I think, to Mayor Bass that Donald Trump Spencer Pratt. I don't see that goes over very well in deep blue LA city. But I don't know anyone who would've run for this nonpartisan seat from the Democratic side, that might have beat her. I just don't know. If it is a runoff between Spencer Pratt, a Republican, in a nonpartisan office, and Karen Bass, a Democrat, in a nonpartisan office she comes out of the starting gates first
host-4ha0_2_05-27-2026_150304Yeah, I think so. So we have to think also about the race for governor of California
squadcaster-0b2h_2_05-27-2026_150305Oh my God. We were discussing earlier, at a risk rack because I have never waited so close to election day fill out and walk over ballot. I'm usually pretty sure of what I'm gonna do, oh, right after the ballots arrive in the mail. I'm just frozen. I-- There is, It looks to me now like it's heading toward a runoff between Javier Becerra and Steve Hilton. But I think there's still many voters who are waiting to see something. Maybe it's or not Becerra can coalesce strongly the Democratic response. In fact, there's something like a very light percentage of the ballots that have been sent back already, and it's less than a week before election day. It's a crazy election. I have to tell you, it's wild. It's really wild
host-4ha0_2_05-27-2026_150304Becerra has this great advantage. He's been around politics for years. He's held a number of offices, and he's a,
squadcaster-0b2h_2_05-27-2026_150305may not be an advantage
host-4ha0_2_05-27-2026_150304and he's a Latino in a city where the electorate is heavily Latino. Not a not a majority Latino. We're not talking about the voting. But if you look at the electorate, it's heavily Latino. And here's a chance for a Latino guy to be elected governor of California. And I think that is going to make a big difference when people start to go to the polls. They're gonna say, "Wait a minute. He's our guy. He's one, you know-"
squadcaster-0b2h_2_05-27-2026_150305on turnout. It does depend on turnout. And I don't see a whole lot of enthusiasm among many of the voters in California for anybody or anything. What I am seeing, you mentioned the question about or the idea of the experience that Xavier Becerra has. I guess none except perhaps for Villaraigosa has, running f- now running for governor. But what I'm seeing, and I saw a lot of it in terms of the elections that have been held, the primary election, the elections that were held last night, experience isn't cutting it. That's not a given. That's not an automatic, "Oh, yeah, what I'm seeing is elections that are being shaped by debates over age, experience, i.e., too much experience. They've been there too long. go get somebody young. Let's go somebody... Let's go get somebody new, somebody fresh, not somebody who has been in office forever. And that might be a hindrance
host-4ha0_2_05-27-2026_150304What about character? Do people care about character?
squadcaster-0b2h_2_05-27-2026_150305Without question
host-4ha0_2_05-27-2026_150304David Frum, who's a very fine analyst, brought this up this week when he said that he doesn't think that character counts anymore. And
squadcaster-0b2h_2_05-27-2026_150305And you got a
host-4ha0_2_05-27-2026_150304he was thinking he was thinking very much of the Republican nominee in Texas for Senate. Yes.
squadcaster-0b2h_2_05-27-2026_150305Sure, character matters, but you're-- give me your definition of character. matters one way or another. Goody two-shoes
host-4ha0_2_05-27-2026_150304It used to be that there were some things that would disqualify you. Marital infidelity never really was popular as a campaign Stand.
squadcaster-0b2h_2_05-27-2026_150305on it.
host-4ha0_2_05-27-2026_150304No. No.
squadcaster-0b2h_2_05-27-2026_150305We're talking about Attorney General Paxton now, The Texas the winner of the primary against incumbent John Cornyn the s- the senator from And by the way, apparently that Cornyn is the first sitting incumbent, a Texas senator lose in a primary to a non-incumbent. That tells you something
host-4ha0_2_05-27-2026_150304Tells you something about Donald Trump
squadcaster-0b2h_2_05-27-2026_150305It tells you a lie about Donald Trump and Paxton Now tell me what it tells you about Donald Trump
host-4ha0_2_05-27-2026_150304Tells me he has tremendous power to influence this devoted Republican minority, which is good enough to tilt an election. And certainly this the Paxton overwhelming victory in this recent primary is evidence of that. He just he just blew his opponent away. And,
squadcaster-0b2h_2_05-27-2026_150305Hardly
host-4ha0_2_05-27-2026_150304and Trump deserves all the credit. What does this say about Trump?
squadcaster-0b2h_2_05-27-2026_150305As one of Paxton's former staffers put it in an interview, Paxton was Trump before Trump was Trump. If you look, faced... his wife is divorcing him because of adultery. been impeached. He was not convicted. He's been indicted. He has traveled a road that is very close the road that Donald Trump has traveled. what people say about him is what people at least used to stay-- say about Trump, in that he had a personality, he related to people. ideologically, he's a MAGA guy. It tells me that character, the way we might descri- describe it, doesn't count anymore. That Donald Trump has given us all permission to be bullies or to support bullies. Remember question each voter once answered before he or she goes to the polls. The basic question in politics is: What have you done for me lately? And people just say he's given me X, he's given me Y. Yeah what you do?" "I'm a friend of his wife's, and I... Oh, but I'm voting for him?" That's where we are today. In fact, what I saw last night in terms of a pattern of voting was that it appears to me that the Republican races were between MAGA and the old school, old establishment Republicans, and Cornyn was the establishment, and Paxton was the new school, the hearty MAGA type. And for the Democrats, it was young progressive versus the old guard, the establishment Democrats. And establishment to be taking it in the ear
host-4ha0_2_05-27-2026_150304the Democrats went into this thing with Paxton, the attorney general confident, perhaps overconfident that his failures or his adultery, the number of houses he owns, God knows his whole life would hurt him. But no, that didn't happen at all. What happened was that Trump came in there and changed the race immediately and within a fairly short time. I think this makes us have to take a good look at how we look at Trump. You'd think that he would be in bad shape now. The re- Democrats...
squadcaster-0b2h_2_05-27-2026_150305in bad shape. Trump is in bad shape.
host-4ha0_2_05-27-2026_150304He
squadcaster-0b2h_2_05-27-2026_150305not within
host-4ha0_2_05-27-2026_150304it
squadcaster-0b2h_2_05-27-2026_150305the primary electorate, but take a look at the polls. Historic low approval ratings. historic low approval ratings on the issues on which he campaigned. You can't tell me... still has an iron grasp on the Republican primary electorate, but he's losing independence, and he never really had Democrats. the Latino vote which was so helpful to him in the presidential election, has away. The irony of all of this mumbo jumbo about Texas reapportionment is the maps that were drawn, was supposed to give Republicans five or so Texas seats, were drawn using the numbers, the turnout numbers from the 2024 election, in which Trump got 55% of the Latino and that shaped the lines of the new districts. There is no guarantee that the Latinos are gonna line up behind Republicans in Texas in either 2026 or 2028
host-4ha0_2_05-27-2026_150304On the contrary there's reasons to believe that they won't. The immigration raids which were conducted by ICE in a brutal fashion were harmful to Trump Those Latinos that were spread out to shore up the Republicans in the newly constructed district, they're not there anymore They are not going to vote in lockstep. They never do anyway, but they are not going to vote in lockstep for the Republican I think on the contrary, I think they'll vote perhaps in the lockstep against the Republican. Those raids were really rough and really devastating
squadcaster-0b2h_2_05-27-2026_150305is that the Republican vote supposed to help deliver five seats in Texas in Congress the Republicans, and there's no guarantee that will happen, it's probably even less likely because of the head of the ticket, Attorney General Paxton Now, I think that's it for today. I think we've begun to take a look at what's gonna happen or the dynamics of what's gonna happen next week. It should be interesting. And remember, it's just the primary. The real telling come with the November election
host-4ha0_2_05-27-2026_150304That will be the real test of Trump's power and influence will be in, in the November election. And there are a lot of ways that he's going to hurt himself as we move ahead to November. I was thinking of that as I was watching him at at the cabinet meeting and in previous meetings when he dozed off
squadcaster-0b2h_2_05-27-2026_150305He dozed off again
host-4ha0_2_05-27-2026_150304Yeah. And when I watch him walk this is not a guy who is ready for combat, Not at all. Sherry, we'll talk about it next week
squadcaster-0b2h_2_05-27-2026_150305I guess we will. games. Cheers, everyone. forget to vote, Californians.