politics

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Nobody Noticed the Pledge and Maybe That’s a Good Thing

Byuclafaculty

It looks like none of the LA City mayoral candidates decided to take the environmental pledge that a UCLA report seemed to suggest they should.  We previously posted about the pledge at: http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2012/12/mayoral-campaign-pledges.html and http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2012/12/more-on-ucla-studys-request-for-mayoral.html Our posts noted that the seeming posture of UCLA pushing for political candidates to take particular positions and actions (in this case, creation of a new city agency was among the actions) goes beyond just posing the options that candidates might consider.  Although yours truly did not see the event, in an article describing a recent TV debate among the mayoral candidates appearing in the…

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More on UCLA Study’s Request for a Mayoral Pledge

Byuclafaculty

This post is a follow up on yesterday’s blog piece on a UCLA study which asks LA City mayoral candidates to sign a pledge to implement various elements in the study, including creation of a new city agency.  We noted the idea of a UCLA study – posted on the university’s “newsroom” website – which asks political candidates for mayor to sign a pledge raises some issues.  Normally, to the extent that the university has endorsed political positions, there has been a direct university interest in those positions.  For example, the Regents endorsed the governor’s Prop 30 in the last…

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Mayoral campaign pledges?

Byuclafaculty

A new report by various UCLA environmental research centers presents a variety of “green” options for the City of LA including energy, transit, etc.  Nothing unusual about that.  What is unusual is the connection of the report to the upcoming 2013 city mayoral campaign. Specifically, the report (on page 4) suggests that all mayoral candidates be asked whether they will pledge to undertake some specific actions: A CALL TO ACTION VISION2021 LA seeks answers to the following questions from each of Los Angeles’ 2013 mayoral and city council candidates. *Do you share the VISION2021 LA goals for our City?   *Will…

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Did I say that?

Byuclafaculty

A look backwards: Lieutenant Governor (and ex officio Regent) Gavin Newsom was interviewed on KGO radio on Oct. 17 about Prop 30 and its relation to tuition.  In the course of the interview, he criticized Governor Brown for being late to get into the campaign for the proposition and, effectively, for not telling students the truth that their tuition would rise even if Prop 30 passed. At the time, polling (which proved inaccurate) was indicating that Prop 30’s chance of passage was marginal.  And Governor Brown had just made a campaign stop at UCLA to enlist student support.  As it…

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Gov. Brown on UC online education & budget

Byuclafaculty

Last Wednesday, we posted the audio of the UC Regents meeting of that day which Governor Brown attended as an ex officio Regent.  We noted in that posting that he pushed for UC to move into online education.  And he indicated that without such a shift in the “paradigm,” UC could not receive enough funding from the state to prevent continued increases in tuition.  For the convenience of blog readers, below is an excerpt from that meeting in which these views are expressed by Governor Brown: [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKX-F5OCBJc?feature=player_detailpage]

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Why Prop 30 Will Not Be a Windfall for UC

Byuclafaculty

The chart above from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities suggests that the state’s “social welfare” functions will take a growing share of the budget. [Click on the chart to enlarge and make clearer.] Those functions were very limited at the time of the Master Plan’s adoption.  Since that time, they have tended to crowd out UC’s share of the state budget.  Ultimately, that is why the governor cautioned UC about its wishlist budget at the most recent Regents meeting. You can find the report from which the chart above was taken at:http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3860

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Wishlist budget adopted by Regents

Byuclafaculty

As expected, the Regents adopted the budget – which the governor on Wednesday termed a wishlist – yesterday.  The value of adopting a wishlist budget which will not be funded as requested was debated on Wednesday but adopted by the Committee on Finance of the Regents.  We posted the audio of that meeting, including the governor’s comments. Yours truly was in transit yesterday and so could not record the Regents’ live stream audio. We will, as usual, request the recording as a public document and post it when received. (And [sigh] again we ask why the Regents audios are not…

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More Prop 30 Election Post Mortem

Byuclafaculty

There has been much discussion as to whether it was the youth vote that ultimately passed Prop 30, the governor’s tax initiative.  Prop 30 had done marginally in the pre-election polls and appeared to be slipping.  Yet it ultimately passed with 54% of the vote.  So did this result stem from a surge in youth voters? It appears that the answer is yes and no.  The Field Poll now reports that it underestimated the youth vote when it made its calculation of likely voters.  Pollsters routinely adjust their samples to try and get at who will actually show up on…

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Listen to Morning Session of UC Regents: 11-14-12

Byuclafaculty

Yours truly was not able to record yesterday’s Regents’ session (Building and Grounds committee).  However, I did listen and record this morning.  [The live stream seemed to start a few minutes after the meeting began.  The recording begins in the midst of Regents chair Lansing celebrating the passage of Prop 30.]  A recording by yours truly won’t be possible of the session tomorrow due to other commitments.  But as usual, we will request the audios as public documents and post them when received. At today’s meeting, Governor Brown attended and raised questions at various points.  Some of the questions were…

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Fox & Co.

Byuclafaculty

Craig Fox The New York Times today has an article about the “dream team” of social scientists who advised the Obama campaign.  One team member profiled is Professor Craig Fox of the UCLA Anderson School of Management. Excerpt: Late last year Matthew Barzun, an official with the Obama campaign, called Craig Fox, a psychologist in Los Angeles, and invited him to a political planning meeting in Chicago, according to two people who attended the session. “He said, ‘Bring the whole group; let’s hear what you have to say,’ ” recalled Dr. Fox, a behavioral economist at the University of California, Los Angeles. So…