From “The Golden State” To “America’s Homeless Mecca” – Updated

I am a native California resident, meaning, back in the day, I was born here.

Since I entered this world in a Los Angeles hospital in late 1943 many changes have occurred here, unfortunately, most of them turned out to be for the worse. For example, the woke community would tell me using the term “native” to describe myself is ethnic appropriation.

As a native California resident approaching 80 I have seen California, historically referred to as “The Golden State,” drive people out of the state due to outlandish Liberal policies. So now, it would be more appropriate to call California “America’s Homeless Mecca.”

As a Baby Boomer, I was fortunate to enjoy growing up in California, with all it offered during the fabulous 1950s and early 1960s when we enjoyed unbridled freedoms without the thought of possible tyranny or nearby threats to our safety or security.

To better understand how the political arena has changed over the years let’s take a look at the people elected Governor over the years along with the composition of the state legislature.

California Governors, 1943 thru 2023

Click Here For More Details

Earl Warren, 1943–1953 (Republican)

Earl Warren was born in Los Angeles, California, on March 19, 1891, and grew up in Bakersfield, California. He graduated from the University of California in 1912 with a degree in legal studies and earned a law degree in 1914. After his military service, he served as a clerk to the judiciary committee of the California Assembly in 1919 and was Oakland’s deputy attorney from 1919 to 1920. Warren served Alameda County as deputy district attorney from 1920 to 1923, the chief deputy district attorney from 1923 to 1925, and district attorney from 1925 to 1929. He also served as California’s attorney general from 1939 to 1943 and was a delegate to the 1944 Republican National Convention. On November 3, 1942, he was elected Governor of California, and he was the only governor ever elected to three consecutive terms. In 1953, President Eisenhower appointed Governor Warren to the U.S. Supreme Court as the fourteenth Chief Justice of the United States. (My “Political Party Strength In California” graphic, shows that Governor Warren was blessed by having primarily Republicans in State Executive Offices and the State Legislature.)

Goodwin Knight, 1953–1959 (Republican)

Goodwin Jess Knight was born on December 9, 1896, in Provo, Utah. He became interested in politics when he was a teenager and his first experience in politics was handing out handbills promoting Hiram Johnson’s first gubernatorial campaign. After graduating from high school, Knight spent a year working in lead and zinc mines in Nevada and later worked as a newspaper reporter for the Los Angeles News. He later went to Stanford and earned a B.A. degree. He studied law at Cornell University and was admitted to the California Bar in 1921. In 1935, Governor Merriam appointed Knight as a judge on the LA County Superior Court. He later served as Lt. Governor under Earl Warren, succeeding to the office of Governor in 1953 after Earl Warren resigned his governorship to join the Supreme Court. During his term, Knight made major achievements in the area of water conservation and development, including the beginning of the Feather River Project. He also improved the prisons and created the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. (My “Political Party Strength In California” graphic, shows that Governor Knight was blessed by having primarily Republicans in State Executive Offices and the State Legislature.)

Edmund G. “Pat” Brown, – 1959–1967 (Democrat)

Brown was born on April 21, 1905. As a boy growing up in San Francisco, he earned his own money by delivering two newspapers — the Call and the Chronicle. After graduating from high school, he studied law at the San Francisco College of Law, where he graduated first in his class. On January 8, 1944, Brown was sworn into office as San Francisco’s District Attorney, a post he held until 1950 when he became the state’s Attorney General and served two terms. In 1958, Brown was elected Governor, winning by more than 1 million votes. Four years later, Brown defeated Richard Nixon to serve a second term as Governor. Governor Brown died as a result of a heart attack when he was 90 years old. While in office, Brown achieved a statewide water plan and improvements in higher education. Brown also ended the practice of cross-filing for political candidates and backed the use of computers in state government. His most controversial move was when he granted a 60-day reprieve to Caryl Chessman, who was convicted of rape and kidnapping with bodily harm (and was eventually executed). (My “Political Party Strength In California” graphic, shows that Governor “Pat” Brown was blessed with strong Democrat support in State Executive Offices and the State Legislature.)

Ronald Reagan, 1967–1975 (Republican)

Ronald Wilson Reagan was born on February 6, 1911, in Tampico, Illinois. Most of his childhood was spent in Dixon, Illinois, a small town about 100 miles west of Chicago. Reagan won a scholarship to study at Eureka College near Peoria, Illinois, and majored in economics. He was also drawn toward acting, but upon graduation, in 1932 the only job available related to show business was as a local radio sportscaster. In 1933 he became a sportscaster for station WHO in Des Moines, Iowa. In 1937 Reagan went to Hollywood and began an acting career that spanned more than 25 years. His first political activities were associated with his responsibilities as a union leader. He was then active in the Screen Actors Guild and subsequently elected six times as its president. From 1942 to 1945, Reagan served in the United States Army Air Force. Reagan emerged on the national political scene in 1964 when he made an impassioned television speech supporting the Republican presidential candidate, U.S. Senator Barry Goldwater from Arizona. He ran for governor of California in 1966, defeating Edmund G. (Pat) Brown, Sr., the incumbent Democrat, by almost a million votes and became the 33rd Governor of California. He was elected to a second term in 1970. Reagan ran for President in 1980, successfully beating the incumbent, President Jimmy Carter to become the nation’s 40th president. Reelected in 1984, Reagan presided over broad changes in the U.S. government’s economic and social policy. (My “Political Party Strength In California” graphic, shows that Governor Reagan had to deal with strong Democrat representation in the State Legislature.)

Edmund G. “Jerry” Brown, 1975–1983 (Democrat)

Edmund G. “Jerry” Brown, Jr., the son of former Governor Pat Brown (1959-1967), was born in San Francisco on April 7, 1938. He graduated with degrees in Latin and Greek from the University of California, Berkeley in 1961 and received a Juris Doctorate from Yale in 1964. His education also included studies at the Jesuit Seminary in Los Gatos, California. Following law school, he worked as a law clerk to California Supreme Court Justice Mathew Tobriner, traveled and studied in Mexico and Latin America, and then took up residence in Los Angeles, working for a law firm. In 1968 he was elected to the Los Angeles Community College Board of Trustees. In 1970, Brown was elected California’s Secretary of State, a position he held until his inauguration as Governor in 1975. As governor, he had strong ideas about state spending and refused to live in the new governor’s mansion, renting a modest apartment instead, and nixing the governor’s limousine in favor of a state-issued Plymouth. After his two terms as governor, Brown unsuccessfully ran for United States Senator in 1982. He then traveled extensively, returned to his law practice in Los Angeles, and in 1989 became chairman of the state Democratic Party. He resigned from that position in 1991 and unsuccessfully sought the 1992 Democratic Presidential nomination. In 1998, Brown was elected Mayor of Oakland, California, and held the post until 2007. (My “Political Party Strength In California” graphic, shows that Governor “Jerry” Brown was blessed with strong Democrat support in State Executive Offices, except for Lt. Governor, and the State Legislature.)

George Deukmejian, 1983–1991 (Republican)

George Deukmejian was born on June 06, 1928. He worked through high school wrapping meat and making coat hangers then later attended Siena College where he majored in sociology, managed the college’s baseball team, and picked up the nickname “Duke.” He went on to earn his law degree at St. John’s University. Soon after completing law school, he was drafted to serve in the US Army, where he was assigned legal duty in Paris. At the end of his tour of duty, Deukmejian returned to the US and established a law practice in Southern California. In 1962, he was elected to the Assembly where he served until 1967, then later served as a State Senator for Los Angeles from 1967 to 1979 and as State Attorney General from 1979 to 1983. Deukmejian was elected Governor in 1983 and served two terms. His accomplishments included promoting sound economic policies that led to the creation of more than 2.8 million new jobs; making education a priority for the state; and creating a workfare program. After serving as Governor, Deukmejian remained active in the community by serving on special commissions. (My “Political Party Strength In California” graphic, shows that Governor Deukmejian had to deal with strong Democrat representation in Executive Row and the State Legislature.)

Pete Wilson, 1991–1999 (Republican)

Peter “Pete” Wilson was born on August 23, 1935, in Lake Forest, Illinois, a suburb north of Chicago. He attended Yale University on an ROTC scholarship, earned a bachelor’s degree in English literature in 1955, and subsequently served three years as a Marine Corps infantry officer. He earned a law degree from the University of California at Berkeley, Boalt Hall in 1962. His public service career began in 1966 when he was elected to the California Assembly. In 1971 he was elected mayor of San Diego and remained mayor until he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1982 and reelected in 1988. He was elected Governor of California in 1990, becoming California’s thirty-sixth chief executive, and was reelected in 1994. As governor, Wilson focused on reforms in the areas of health coverage for employees of small businesses, workers’ compensation, and education. In addition, he signed into law two major pieces of crime-related legislation–the “Three Strikes” law (25 years to life for repeat felons) and the “One Strike” law (25 years to life upon the first conviction of aggravated rape or child molestation). After leaving office, he spent two years as a managing director of Pacific Capital Group and is currently a principal of the Bingham Consulting Group. (My “Political Party Strength In California” graphic, shows that Governor Wilson had Executive Office support, but strong Democrat representation in the State Legislature.)

Gray Davis, 1999–2003 (Democrat)

Joseph Graham ” Gray ” Davis Jr. was born December 26, 1942, in Bronx, New York. His family left the Bronx in 1954 and settled in the Santa Monica Mountains. He was a popular kid who did extremely well both as a student and an athlete. Gray earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Stanford University and a Juris Doctorate from Columbia University Law School. After graduating from law school, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and rose to the rank of captain while serving in Vietnam from 1968 to 1969. From 1975 to 1981, he was Chief of Staff to Governor “Jerry” Brown, Jr. and later represented Los Angeles County in the Assembly from 1983 through 1987. He was elected as the State Controller–a post he held until 1995. and then served as Lieutenant Governor from 1995 to 1999, during which he focused his efforts on keeping jobs in California and encouraging businesses to locate and expand within California. Gray served as governor from 1999 to 2003. He lost the governorship through recall by popular vote in 2003. He is currently affiliated with the Los Angeles office of the law firm Loeb & Loeb LLP. (My “Political Party Strength In California” graphic, shows that Governor Davis had some Executive Office support, but strong Democrat representation in the State Legislature.)

Arnold Schwarzenegger, 2003–2011 (Republican)

Arnold Schwarzenegger was born July 30 1947 in Thal, Austria, a small village bordering the Styrian capital of Graz. He immigrated to the United States in 1968 and became a U.S. citizen in 1983. Schwarzenegger earned a BA in Business and International Economics at the University of Wisconsin. An increasingly politically active Republican during the 1990s, Schwarzenegger ran for the California governorship and won when Gray Davis was recalled in 2003. He was sworn in as the 38th Governor of California on November 17, 2003, following careers in bodybuilding, business, and entertainment, and was the first foreign-born governor of California since Irish-born Governor John G. Downey in 1862. Governor, Schwarzenegger focused on reducing California’s greenhouse gas emissions, increasing the minimum wage, and updating the workers’ compensation system. He was also a proponent of physical education and after-school programs. He was named Special Olympics International Weight Training Coach in 1979 and then a Global Ambassador. President George Bush appointed Schwarzenegger as Chair of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports in 1990. (My “Political Party Strength In California” graphic, shows that Governor Schwarzenegger had some Executive Office support, but strong Democrat representation in the State Legislature.)

Edmund G. “Jerry” Brown, 2011–2019 (Democrat)

Edmund G. “Jerry” Brown, Jr., the son of former Governor Pat Brown (1959-1967), was born in San Francisco on April 7, 1938. He graduated with degrees in Latin and Greek from the University of California, Berkeley in 1961 and received a Juris Doctorate from Yale in 1964. His education also included studies at the Jesuit Seminary in Los Gatos, California. He initially served as California Governor from 1975 to 1983. Since Brown’s previous terms in office were not covered by term limit laws enacted in 1990, he was not barred from running for Governor again. Jerry Brown is the only governor to return to office after serving years before. (My “Political Party Strength In California” graphic, shows that Governor “Jerry” Brown was blessed with total Democrat support in State Executive Offices and the State Legislature.)

Gavin Newsom, 2019–Present (Democrat)

Gavin Christopher Newsom was born in San Francisco on October 10, 1967. He received a partial baseball scholarship from Santa Clara University, where he graduated in 1989 with a degree in political science. After graduating from Santa Clara, Newsom worked briefly in sales and real estate before starting a retail wine shop in 1992 in San Francisco. The business eventually grew into the PlumpJack Group, which includes restaurants, luxury resorts, and wineries throughout California. Newsom got involved in politics in 1995 as a volunteer for Willie Brown’s campaign for mayor of San Francisco. Mayor Brown appointed Newsom to a vacancy on the Parking & Traffic Commission and then to a vacant seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. He was then elected and re-elected to the board before successfully running for Mayor of San Francisco. Newsom made national headlines when he challenged California’s ban on same-sex marriage by directing the San Francisco city-county clerk to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. While still mayor of San Francisco, Newsom was elected the 49th lieutenant governor of California in 2010 and re-elected in 2014. On November 6, 2018, Newsom was elected the 40th governor of California. (My “Political Party Strength In California” graphic, shows that Governor Newsom has been blessed with total Democrat support in State Executive Offices and the State Legislature.) Click here to see how four powerful families got Newsom elected.

So What Does The Above Mean To The Citizens of California?

Well, it is pretty clear that when you have no political opposition and control all legislative votes you can pretty much do anything you want. And as this continues, more outlandish policies and laws are put into place, which is what has happened to our formerly “Golden State.”

Ever since Edmond G. Pat Brown took office in 1959, the California legislature has been increasingly dominated by Democrats.

Click Here To See How The Political Balance Of Power Has Changed Over The Years.

Ronald Reagan was able to slow things down to a certain extent, even though he was outnumbered in the legislature by appealing to the people of California from time to time and having them call their state government representatives. But after he left office things started going downhill and the craziness began to grow.

Once “Jerry” Brown took the Governorship again in 2011 things in California began to get out of hand and the icing on the Democrats’ cake occurred when Gavin Newsom took office in 2019.

Gavin Newsom and his Democrat cronies in the legislature make it impossible for large sectors of the population to survive in California. This is evidenced by the number of people that are fleeing the state and moving elsewhere. Businesses are moving out as well.

As evidence of the many reasons people are moving away in droves or are seriously considering fleeing, I compiled a list of articles dating back to January 2018.

Click Here To See The List.

You can use your browser’s search function to find articles that interest you. Hold down the CTRL/CMND key at the lower left of your keyboard and simultaneously press the F key. Then enter a word in the pop-up box that appears toward the top of your screen. This will show you each article with that word in the title. Then click on the up or down arrow to see other articles with that title