About the Author
As a lobbyist for the League of California Cities Jay Michael helped form the Southern California Association of Governments and the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority. As vice president of the University of California during the student revolts of the 1960s and '70s, he deflected major assaults on UC autonomy and financial support. Michael left UC in 1976 and represented physicians and health care interests for 24 years. He retired in 2000 after more than 40 years as one of SacramentoÂs leading lobbyists.
Dan Walters joined The Sacramento Union's Capitol bureau in 1975 and became the Union's Capitol bureau chief. In 1981, he began writing the only daily newspaper column devoted to California political, economic, and social events, and in 1984, he moved to the Sacramento Bee. He is the author of The New California: Facing the 21st Century, a widely used college text about socio-economic and political trends in the state, the founding editor of the California Political Almanac, and a frequent guest on national television news and public affairs programs. Daniel Weintraub has covered California government and politics for 15 years with the Los Angeles Times and the Orange County Register. In November 2000, he was named California columnist for the editorial pages of the Sacramento Bee.