☆ Mattammal: will voters let CA politicians keep “weaponizing” national politics?
As part of an ongoing Opportunity Now exclusive series leading up to this fall’s election, we’re asking local leaders what bigger issues are shaping the region and the state. SHIFT-Bay Area President Gus Mattammal weighs in:
As a California voter, I think the central question for the 2026 election is: will California voters separate national politics from state politics? I understand that a significant portion of the California electorate will want to hold national politicians accountable for what they've seen over the last two years. But the major challenges that California faces: a housing shortage, soaring gas prices, soaring energy prices, terrible roads, poorly performing schools - all these are primarily the result of decisions made by state politicians in Sacramento.
Will California voters be ready to punish state politicians for their performance the way they're ready to punish national politicians? Will California voters understand that Sacramento politicians weaponize their feelings about national politics in order to avoid accountability and continue pushing the same bad policies that created so many of the challenges we face as a state? These are the questions I look forward to seeing answered.
As President of SHIFT-Bay Area, I and my team are working hard to give voters the insight into state and regional politics that they need to hold our state and regional representatives to the same level of scrutiny that national level politicians receive. I encourage anyone who is ready for real accountability in our state to reach out to us at shift-ba.org.
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