"California GOP alive but struggling for a vision, candidates"

Great to speak with Juliet Williams of the AP for this one.

"This is not a great moment for the California Republican Party," said Jessica Levinson, a Loyola Law School professor with expertise in state politics.

...

Those headlines only hurt the party's image in California, making it appear out of step with Californians' values, Levinson said.

"The California Republican Party will really have to be careful about styling itself in a way that is palatable and appetizing to Californians," she said. "This is the state that elected Ronald Reagan. Being a California Republican has oftentimes denoted something different than just being a Republican.

"Proposals Aim To Reverse Low Voter Turnout In LA"

Here is a link to my short appearance on the CBS local news.

"How to increase voter turnout in the upcoming election"

Here is a link to my appearance today on AirTalk.

"Hillary Clinton will have a hard time finding a more friendly, lucrative spot than Silicon Valley"

Phillip Bump of WaPo picks up my quote in Carla Marinucci's SF Chron article re Hillary Clinton's visit to Silicon Valley.

What's at stake in the upcoming LA elections

Great to be on "Take Two" today on KPCC talking about the LA elections. Here is the segment.

"Experts question relationship between donors, Arcadia officials"

Quoted in this piece.

Los Angeles Ethics Commissioner Jessica Levinson, an attorney and professor at Loyola Law School, said the city should disclose the identities of those funding portions of the trip and what their interests are.

“Does it raise concerns or questions? Sure. Clearly these are people trying to influence our elected officials, but in the interest of transparency, it’s good for the public to know who they are.”

"Upwardly mobile women eager to hear Hillary Clinton’s message"

Always great to talk to Carla Marinucci. The full article is here.

In her appearance before a Silicon Valley women’s conference Tuesday, former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is staking an early claim to voters who could be key to her 2016 presidential ambition: upwardly mobile professional women who might be called “Lean In” voters.

“She is their high priestess,” said Jessica Levinson, a political analyst and professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, who says the former first lady’s experience shattering the glass ceiling in politics, diplomacy and law will resonate with the hundreds expected to hear her Tuesday at the sold-out Lead On Watermark Silicon Valley Conference for Women. “She is a trailblazer,” Levinson said. “She speaks their language — and they speak hers.”

...

“Women are embracing that ... they’re talking about how her candidacy could be historic — and frankly, it’s something more feminists want to hear now than in 2008,” Levinson said. Unlike during her first run as president in 2008, Clinton today “is much more robust” in acknowledging her potential impact as the first female president, she said. “And a lot of these women are the first in female leadership in their companies. There’s a common understanding.”

John Oliver and I dislike judicial elections

Thanks to him for citing my LA Times op-ed on the topic.

Who wore it best and what are we voting on in LA on March 3, 2015?

I'll discuss that and #Oscar fashions and LA Elections on Take Two on KPCC Monday 2.23 at 10:10 a.m. #HalfTruth.

"Let’s roll out the red carpet for elections"

My latest Sacramento Bee op-ed is here.

Here is an excerpt: Let us compare those contests to other contests that actually affect our lives – elections. First, how many of us can honestly answer when the next election is? Or when the last election was? I guarantee you it is fewer than those who methodically planned what to serve at their Super Bowl parties or which performers they hoped would win an Oscar.

Why do so few people vote in the County of Los Angeles?

Here is a link to my testimony before a joint committee hearing of the CA sen and assembly. My main testimony begins at the 2 hour mark and ends after 12 minutes.

Why do so few of us vote in LA?

I'll be testifying tomorrow before a joint CA Senate and Assembly committee meeting tomorrow with Secretary of State Alex Padilla, Los Angeles County Registrar Dean Logan, VP of Political Date Inc. Paul Mitchell, Executive Director of California Common Cause Kathay Feng, and others.

You can live stream it at 10am PST here.

"Mitchum Sues Capps for Defamation of Character"

Good to talk to Nick Welsh of the Santa Barbara Independent for this one.

Jessica Levinson, an attorney specializing in election law issues at Loyola Marymount, commented, “A lot of ads are sleazy. A lot of ads are misleading. But that’s not enough to qualify as the intentional infliction of emotional distress.”

Questions Emerge Over Statement Brian Williams Made In Southland

Here is a link to my appearance on the local CBS news.

Yes, the March election is coming. Here’s a preview

Here is a link to my appearance on KPCC.s AirTalk this morning.

Wondering what we're voting on in Los Angeles?

I'll be on AirTalk on KPCC tomorrow at 12:05 to discuss.

"Party committees move millions in California elections"

Great to speak with Jim Miller of the Sacramento Bee for this one.

“I guarantee you there’s someone with a huge Excel spreadsheet on one screen and the rules and regulations on the other, and they’re tracking it. It takes time and understanding, but it’s possible,” said Loyola Law School professor Jessica Levinson, who teaches election law. “People are forever becoming smarter about different ways to get money into elections. It can provide a very broad vehicle for people to exert their influence.”

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/article9471695.html#storylink=cpy

"When a recent graduate of Marlborough, the elite L.A. girls’ school, posted an essay about a predatory teacher there, the story went viral."

More on my alma mater, via Vanity Fair, here.

"Angelenos say they generally feel detached from city government"

Wonderful to speak with Soumya Karlamangla of the Los Angeles Times for this piece.

Jessica Levinson, who teaches election law at Loyola Law School, said L.A. council districts "are so huge that it's really easy to feel like you have no connection to your elected official."

Each district contains about a quarter of a million residents and, in many instances, sharply diverse communities of voters. And L.A. is simply a less political place than San Francisco or large Eastern cities such as New York and Boston, where politics figures more prominently in daily life and culture, Levinson said.

"Lobbying lawmakers with a personal touch"

Great to speak with Laurel Rosenhall of the Sacramento Bee for this one. 

There’s nothing inappropriate about professional persuaders offering their skills to advance a personal agenda, said Jessica Levinson, a professor at Loyola Law School with expertise in political ethics.

But the phenomenon is “part of a bigger story about lobbyists having a seat at that the table that the rest of us just don’t have,” she said. In many cases, campaign donations from lobbyists’ clients help get them that seat at the table, creating the potential for what Levinson called a “symbiotic relationship.”

“I wish for a world in which it’s not just the lobbyists who can bring their pet projects to the legislators,” Levinson said.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/investigations/lobbying-influence/article8210313.html#storylink=cpy