CA GOP Face Political Obscurity

California Republican’s Latino Problem

Every election from 2006 to 2010 has shown Latino voters increasingly moving towards the Democratic Party.  In the recent general election in November, 60% of Latinos voted Democrat.  This is especially true in California and in no small amount helping the Democratic Party sweep all major state offices in last year’s general election.  As the Republican Party faces proof of life questions in the Golden State, is it even possible that the GOP can come back and win support from one of the largest and most loyal Democratic voting blocs?

Probably the last time the GOP probably had any chance of gaining support from the Latino voting bloc was with Ronald Reagan.  The former California Governor proved decently popular with Latino voters, granting more than 3 million undocumented immigrants in the United States amnesty in 1986.  But with an increasingly hardline rhetoric from the national GOP, Latinos have been leaving the Republican Party en mass; turned off by their anti-immigrant stance on subjects like Immigration Reform and their defeat of the DREAM Act in the Senate back in December.

Oakland Running Festival

Cities with single marathons for only a few hours on a single day of the year are soo last century!  Move aside LA, SF and NY Marathons!  Why have just one marathon when you can have a FESTIVAL!

That’s right, Oakland is celebrating my least favorite form of exercise with the Oakland Running Festival this Saturday and Sunday, March 26-27!  A weekend of 4+ races and activities including:

• Full marathon
• Half marathon
• 5k
• Relay
• Kids fun run!

The Identity of West Hollywood

As a an eager young politico, I followed West Hollywood’s recent city council election last month with great interest.  However, as my previous post may have suggested, I was a little turned off by some of the rhetoric coming from the opposing candidates.  I thought the rhetoric implied that the LGBT community in West Hollywood was a monolithic group all moving the same direction with the same tastes and preferences.

As it so happened, my final report in a physical planning class I am taking at UCLA offered me an opportunity to explore a question I have had since moving to West Hollywood in August of 2010.  I could sit and argue that there is another group, another community in West Hollywood that was being ignored in this grandiose messaging but I could not prove it.  My final report for my class was on precisely that.  I sought out to prove that there are, in fact, two distinct communities within West Hollywood as evidenced by the physical environment.

I have pasted a clip from my introduction below.  Please feel free to download my report (15mb).  Critiques and counter-arguments are welcomed.

Quotes by Taylor, 4

Professor Brian Taylor on the necessary skills of driving a bus:

“Driving a bus in San Francisco is truly amazing.  This takes some great skill.  I once saw a Muni bus driver at a bus rodeo broad slide his bus at 70 mph so it would line up perfectly with the curb. Meanwhile the suburban drivers were just mowing people cut-outs over.  It was jaw dropping!”

Quotes by Taylor, 3

Professor Brian Taylor on dedicated lanes:

“Nothing beats having your own dedicated lanes because having bus, rail and cars share rights of way on the road is like having a roommate in college you don’t like but need. You want the freedom and benefits of your own place but its just so damn expensive! Having the roommate makes it cheaper.”