Will McCarthy

San Francisco Bay

California Ballot Measures Reporter at POLITICO

California ballot measures reporter @politico. as seen in @texasmonthly, @latimes, @nytimes, @natgeo, @smithsonianmag, @snapjudgment, @longreads

Featured in: Favicon

mercurynews.com Favicon

nytimes.com Favicon

latimes.com Favicon

nationalgeographic.com Favicon

smithsonianmag.com Favicon

phys.org

ocregister.com Favicon

travelandleisure.com Favicon

bostonherald.com Favicon

orlandosentinel.com + 131 more

Articles

Who’s scared of Newsom’s money grabs?

1 week ago | politico.com | Will McCarthy |Emily Schultheis

State Sen. Dave Cortese, a Democrat from the Bay Area, is working via a bill and eventually an associated ballot initiative, to change how school funding is allocated. | AP BOXED OUT FROM BALLOT-BOX BUDGETING — In his effort to resolve differences in school funding formulas, state Sen.
California Forever’s latest land grab: dilapidated Main Street buildings

2 weeks ago | politico.com | Will McCarthy |Emily Schultheis

The Lawler House, an old two-story residential building in downtown Suisun City, is one of the properties California Forever has offered to purchase. | Suisun City SUISUN CITY, FOREVER? — California Forever CEO Jan Sramek has returned to a familiar tactic in his efforts to avoid the Solano County ballot and build his billionaire-backed pop-up city. Once again, he is throwing large sums of money at the problem.
The coming labor-business fight over Bay Area transit

3 weeks ago | politico.com | Will McCarthy |Emily Schultheis

Bay Area leaders have warned that the region's transit system will soon run out of money at its current service level. | Getty Images FINAL DESTINATION — A group of transit unions, operators, and advocates calling itself Bay Area Forward is launching a last-ditch pressure campaign to rework a 2026 ballot measure designed to help rescue the Bay Area’s struggling transit operators, Playbook has learned exclusively.
Barbara Lee takes the reins of her troubled hometown

1 month ago | politico.com | Will McCarthy |Lindsey Holden

The former Democratic representative faces steep budget deficits and political turmoil in Oakland. Former Rep. Barbara Lee makes her first public appearance as Oakland's Mayor-elect alongside interim Mayor Kevin Jenkins at the Arroyo Viejo Recreation Center in Oakland, California, April 19, 2025. | Yalonda M.
Barbara Lee Speaks for Oakland

1 month ago | politico.com | Will McCarthy |Lindsey Holden

Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee was sworn into office as the city's 52nd leader, saying she wants to "reinstill hope." | Will McCarthy/POLITICO TAKING THE REINS: With her hand on the Bible in a packed City Hall, Barbara Lee, Oakland’s favorite daughter, vowed today to put her beleaguered city “back on the right track” as she was sworn in as its 52nd mayor.
How to governor-proof an initiative

1 month ago | politico.com | Emily Schultheis |Will McCarthy |Tyler Katzenberger

Gov. Gavin Newsom drew the ire of those who backed two 2024 ballot measures, Propositions 35 and 36, in his May revised budget proposal. | AP WHAT BALLOT MANDATE? — Supporters of last year’s two most popular statewide ballot initiatives found that spending tens of millions of dollars to qualify and pass their proposals wasn’t enough to keep the measures’ most high-profile critic, Gov. Gavin Newsom, from disregarding them in his latest budget proposal.
LA Times owner maneuvers into Trump’s orbit with Middle East meeting

1 month ago | politico.com | Will McCarthy

The billionaire newspaper owner is getting closer to the president. LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 22: CEO of Abraxis Health Institute Patrick Soon-Shiong during a Urban Economic Forum co-hosted by White House Business Council and U.S. Small Business Administration at Loyola Marymount University on March 22, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. Topics discussed at the forum included the Obama administration's support for policies that create private sector-jobs and future entrepreneurs.
Bay Area transit faces life-or-death ballot in 2026

1 month ago | politico.com | Will McCarthy |Emily Schultheis

Voters around the Bay Area are likely to face ballot measures in 2026 to further fund the region's public transit networks. | AP DOORS ARE CLOSING — On Friday, the Bay Area’s largest commuter-rail network suffered an hourslong outage that left its trains stalled on the tracks as commuters across the region waited for a ride that would never come. It was, as state Sens.
Bay Area transit systems put up life-or-death ballot measures

1 month ago | politico.com | Will McCarthy

Voters across the San Francisco region are likely to vote next year on taxes that officials say are necessary to keep trains on the track. A Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) train travels towards downtown San Francisco July 5, 2005, in San Francisco. | Justin Sullivan/Getty Images On Friday, the Bay Area’s largest commuter-rail network suffered an hours-long outage that left its trains stalled on the tracks as commuters across the region waited for a ride that would never come.
Trump alone on an island with plan to reopen infamous Alcatraz

1 month ago | politico.com | Will McCarthy

On a Monday morning visit to Alcatraz, foreign tourists were only slightly less critical of the president’s plan to make it a federal penitentiary again than the Democratic pols who run San Francisco. A tour guide at Alcatraz talks to visitors, May 5, 2025.