Politics Overtake Career Plans

Royce Hall, UCLA, Westwood, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County

Trying to move on from the political tumult of the 1960’s, I finally got serious about college and restarted my studies at LA City College. I shifted from my interest in political activism to requirements for pre-med. Chemistry and biology were courses in my second and final year.

But politics intervened. On May 4, 1970, national demonstrations against the latest expansion of the Vietnam War into Cambodia and the National Guard shooting and killing of student protesters at Kent State shut down LA City College and hundreds of colleges around the country. I had lost interest in biology and was back talking about the war. We were given our grades up to that point and told to start summer vacation early. On a road trip to upstate New York for resort work, we listened to Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young’s “Four Dead in Ohio” as it played endlessly on the AM radio. It was one of the fastest released and distributed songs in history and reminded us how powerful the war’s effect was on our Baby Boomer generation.

When I returned to LA for a fall quarter at Cal State, I switched to a political science degree. A friend suggested I transfer to UCLA and I started there the winter quarter. It was a rainy 1971 winter. My first day of foreign policy class, Professor Simon Serfaty lectured in an intimidating giant hall. At the end, he suggested we all see a screening of Dr. Strangelove on campus that evening. I knew I had found a home in this fun, wildly stimulating environment.

The war was mostly fading into the background but campus Democrats were organizing, and in March of 1972 I attended a rare campus anti-war protest. There, Bill Walton, already a star of UCLA’s champion team and later to become a Hall of Fame basketball player, was loaded on a bus under arrest. Coach Wooden bailed him out quickly. McGovern was going to lose massively. (I went to the Democratic Convention in Miami – another story) and Watergate was just becoming a news story.

Graduating in 1973 cum laude and being chosen by Chancellor Young to lead the social science class at graduation, I decided to get serious about some kind of career in politics. Graduate political science departments were crowded so I took the LSAT, did well and settled to go where law and politics blended – Georgetown. I was sad leaving friends. LA had been my home since 1965 and I doubted that whatever was next would be as idyllic. Nevertheless, I was headed east to begin a new, lifelong political adventure that started at Georgetown University Law Center then shifted to Denver.

Politics and lots of serendipity drove my life.

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The Day Kennedy Died

Cronkite announcing the assassination of J.F.K., on November 22, 1963, as seen from a TV monitor. His TV career began in 1950, when he hosted a late-evening news recap.Photograph from CBS Photo Archive / Getty

It had just snowed hard and Trinidad was freezing cold as we walked up the steps of the Junior College and first heard from a student that the president had been shot. We were in town for a statewide speech contest and had just arrived in the Pueblo Catholic High School bus.

We went into the cafeteria, which had large black and white TVs up high enough to see from a distance. Walter Cronkite was on. I noticed his white button down shirt and skinny tie, but no coat. It seemed unusual in those days when we had no continuous news and anchors always wore coats.

It was near noon and just as we started to listen, he said: “Dan Rather has confirmed President Kennedy is dead.” He removed his glasses and appeared to tear up, but then put them back on and kept reading the wire stories handed to him.

We were stunned. Much later, we realized how much the entire country felt and learned that day. I wasn’t the most focused high school student, but speech was my favorite activity, and from that moment on the authority of Cronkite and the power of television were riveted into my consciousness.

Pueblo Catholic High School has been closed for many years, but it was a fortress of Catholicism and ethnic pride in our community. We were the “Shamrocks,” and the election of John Kennedy was like the elevation of a pope. We rooted for him, prayed for him and followed his travels.

Given that students had come from around the state in bad weather, they held the meet. Pueblo Catholic did well, winning various individual awards, and my partner and I won the senior debate contest, arguing before a large audience the negative side of “Resolved: Medical care should be provided to the aged.” The topic seemed remote. Few of the authorities we cited in our case believed its enactment was imminent, but Kennedy’s death made it one of President Johnson’s post-assassination achievements.

November 22, 1963, was a devastating day I will never forget.

Read New Yorker's The Legend of Walter Cronkite

Reposted from December 6, 2013

Swalwell Out: Becerra vs Steyer

(L-R) Democrat Matt Mahan, Democrat Xavier Becerra, Republican Chad Bianco, Republican Steve Hilton, Democrat Tom Steyer and Democrat Katie Porter during a gubernatorial debate at KRON Studios in San Francisco on Wednesday, April 22, 2026.
Pool/Jason Henry/Bloomberg/Getty Images via SFGATE

With the withdrawal of Eric Swalwell on April 3, a new California primary political order has been set. Most Democratic voters are dividing between billionaire Tom Steyer, who has spent as of May 1st more than $140 million on his campaign, and the new frontrunner in the some polls, Xavier Becerra, the former Attorney General and Biden cabinet officer.

Becerra appears to be gathering the most recent endorsements and has moved up from a weak 6th place on March 15 to 3rd in the April 30 FiftyPlusOne average.

Early voting starts May 4 for the June 2 primary. Steve Hilton, the leading Republican in the field, has President Trump’s endorsement. He has a good chance to make the ballot. But a Democrat is still the favorite to win in November.

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SCFD and Presidential Elections

Arvada Mayor Marc Williams, Aurora Mayor Steve Hogan, Greenwood Village Mayor Ron Rakowsky and Denver Mayor Michael Hancock with Popsicle at Mayors Launch SCFD GOTV, Oct. 4, 2016

The Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD) has been on the ballot in two presidential elections in this century. It won by 66 percent in 2004 and 63 percent in 2016. The SCFD had bipartisan support of regional mayors, legislators and other political and business leaders.

The following table compares the 2016 SCFD vote and the most recent results of Democratic candidate of Kamala Harris’ in 2024. The two percentage results tend to track by county except the SCFD and its non-partisan reputation and purpose did better in more Republican counties of Douglas and Jefferson and less well in the most Democratic counties of Boulder and Denver.

Examining the turnout, an additional 155,000 voted in 2024. It reflects both the difference in vote for a presidential candidate and ballot issue and the voter registration growth from 2016 to 2024.

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Art Funding in the Era of Austerity

Planning has started for the 2028 renewal of the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD). The election will take place in an era of austerity. The Colorado economy has slowed and population growth mostly stopped. State and local governments are dealing with significant deficits. Residents are concerned about affordability and polls indicate that more than half believe the economy will get worse this year.

In the process of preparing the SCFD for legislative review and a regional vote, arts advocates and staffs weigh in on the types of changes they would like to see in the statute. Although previous elections and recent polling show the SCFD concept of regional arts funding is popular, constituent groups are being cautioned about assuming the voters are supportive of increased government-funded budgets or paying higher taxes.

Arts advocates believe they need continuation of the tax dollars but in an era of austerity that will be weighted against voters’ budgets and their priorities. In a recent regional poll, voters were asked if there are higher priorities for taxpayer dollars than even well-liked arts, museums and theaters. The population split closely on that statement. Generating high profile battles over funding could risk the public support for SCFD. (See figure below.)

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Trump’s Low Average is Anti-Trump, Not Pro-Democrat

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., joined by Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks to members of the media following the Republican Senate Policy Luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on Oct. 7, 2025. Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images

President Donald Trump is now consistently more than 15 points negative among voters rating his performance, with an approval frequently below 42 percent and disapproval at or above 55 percent in RealClearPolitics conservative survey site. Viewing his position on other sites such as FiftyPlusOne show Trump 21 points negative with a 38 percent approval. The Decision Desk HQ shows a 41 percent approval, 55 percent disapproval.

However, as Trump’s approval declines, voters do not appear to be endorsing the Democrats’ brand. Seven months out, Democrats only register a 4 to 5 point advantage on the generic ballot. While that is enough to win the House, it’s not a 30 or 40 seat Democratic landslide as the 2006, 2010, and 2018 elections were.

But it may not matter. They may just vote against Trump without really embracing the Democrats, their candidates or issue positions. Historically, approval ratings this low should produce a high turnout of more angry voters at the November mid-term election. It may also demotivate non-MAGA Trump voters from participating. Republican leadership is warning of a disaster and Trump is acting nervous.

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Progressives Upset Old Guard Democrats

Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman, left, and Mayor Karen Bass.
Photos: Jason Armond and Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times

Since the mayoral victory of Zohran Mamdani in New York, the biggest reported trend in the Democratic Party has been older incumbents facing younger, usually more “progressive” challengers. And in urban settings the challengers are often members of socialist organizations, (e.g., Democratic Socialists of America).

Two members of the new wave of urban challengers in LA and Denver are significantly younger than their incumbents/opponents, they are South Asian/African, very progressive, and good at social and digital media, especially with younger voters. They tend to be more supportive of Palestinians and represent the cutting edge of the no-more-arms-funding-for-Israel cadre, which is a growing wing of the Democratic Party.

Both candidates are long shots. However Mamdani won, Kiros won a surprise party victory in Denver and is on the ballot, as is Raman in LA, who runs second in many polls.

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