Political columnist George Skelton has covered government and politics for 60 years and for The Times since 1974. He has been a Times political writer and editor in Los Angeles, Sacramento bureau chief and White House correspondent. He has written a column on California politics, “Capitol Journal,” since 1993. Skelton is a Santa Barbara native, grew up in Ojai and received a journalism degree at San Jose State.
Latest From This Author
Democrats are celebrating Vice President Kamala Harris’ expected ascension to replace President Biden as the party’s nominee to battle Donald Trump. Democrats could do better than Harris and should.
July 22, 2024
My choice to replace President Biden as the Democratic nominee is George Clooney. He’d whip the dangerous Donald Trump easily, probably by a landslide.
July 13, 2024
As pressure mounts on President Biden to quit his reelection race after a shockingly dismal debate performance, the spotlight will turn more intensely on two Californians: Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Gavin Newsom.
June 29, 2024
Gov. Gavin Newsom delivered his annual State of the State address Tuesday in a very odd way. Except it wasn’t odd for him — just abnormal compared with the previous 10 California governors going back 82 years.
June 26, 2024
Baseball great Willie Mays never wanted to be an activist, but the racism he encountered after moving to San Francisco helped motivate the city and state governments to outlaw housing discrimination.
June 22, 2024
California Democrats plan to pass a package of needed legislation to stem the splurge of retail thefts, from petty shoplifting to professional smash-and-grab robberies. But some in the party cynically intend to insert a “poison pill.”
June 17, 2024
It’s budget season in Sacramento and there are bound to be screwups. Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic legislators are paying now for a huge flub two years ago.
June 10, 2024
It’s sad and scary that so many people can believe anything from Donald Trump’s mouth when he contends his felony conviction marked the ‘darkest day in American history.’
June 6, 2024
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed urgency legislation to expedite the hiking of homeowner insurance rates. It’s about time. Because the alternative for many is no insurance at all.
June 3, 2024
Hundreds of thousands of Californians have been abandoned by their property insurers because they live in risky fire-prone areas.
May 27, 2024