David Azevedo

Bio

David is a proud California native with roots in the Central Valley and Los Angeles. When not talking your ear off about politics, David can be found swimming, running with (most of the time, after) his girlfriend, working on his second novel (out later this year), and eating at LA food trucks.
Presidential Polls 2012: An Obama Reelection With a GOP Congress Would Be a Political Debacle
By David Azevedo
A nightmare scenario: Barack Obama wins the presidency in November, but the Republicans take control of both houses of Congress. Why is this so scary? Because the majority of voters will be voting in one vision for the country, and the…
Obama vs Romney: David Brooks Blasts GOP Candidate for 47 Percent Gaffe
By David Azevedo
Perhaps the most devastating blow to Mitt Romney regarding his remarks saying that 47% of Americans think they are victims and are dependent on government was dealt by centrist-conservative New York Times columnist David Brooks. Here's the meat of…
Jerry Brown Announces California Pension Reform: Why Public Unions Are Not Up in Arms About This Plan
By David Azevedo
On Tuesday in Los Angeles, California Governor Jerry Brown announced what he called "sweeping" changes to the state pension system. The majority of the deal affects new hires, raising retirement ages from 62 to 67 for civilian employees and 50 to 57…
Romney Runs the Risk of Becoming Less Popular Than His VP Paul Ryan
By David Azevedo
"Leadership cred" isn't getting that much attention these days as we talk about Mitt Romney's VP choice (admittedly, Paul Ryan Gosling memes are far more interesting). But presidential elections, at their core, are contests between two contrasting…
San Bernardino Bankruptcy: Austerity is Pushing us to the Brink
By David Azevedo
This week, San Bernardino became the third California city in seven months to seek Chapter 9 bankruptcy. When trying to close a $45.8 million  budget shortfall in June, the mayor and council discovered that it only had $150,000 on hand, barely…
Scott Walker Recall Triumph and California Pension Reforms Can Restart the American Labor Movement
By David Azevedo
Last Tuesday didn't look so good for organized labor. In Wisconsin, Scott Walker and his reforms -- including eliminating compulsory membership and watering down collective bargaining rights --survived with a comfortable 7-point victory. In…
California Primary Results: More of Scott Walker, Less of the Tea Party
By David Azevedo
To average American voters, Californians are that "big blue state," filled with Hollywood liberals and San Francisco hippies. To political junkies, Californians are more nuanced, but still confusing, with ballot initiatives that muck up the state…
California Primary Results Will Make Washington Moderate
By David Azevedo
The Golden State will be the first to experiment with two major electoral reforms — the "Top Two" primary and the citizen-drawn congressional and state legislative districts. This matters because California's congressional delegation, at…
Baby Boomers: From Pensions to Wall Street, The Unsustainable Generation
By David Azevedo
Like most uncomfortable facts these days, startling research conducted in a 2009 study was swept quietly under the media rug. The study I'm referring to reveals the unsustainable nature of government expenditures that are being spent on baby boomers…
Gay Marriage Will Likely Go to the Supreme Court in 2013 in an Epic Showdown
By David Azevedo
On Thursday the Court of Appeals for the First Circuit unanimously declared the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unconstitutional, a huge step forward for the LGBT community. Passed in 1996 by Congress and signed into law by then-president Bill…
Republican Commentator Calls Millennials 'Frickin' Stupid' (And Here's Why He's Wrong)
By David Azevedo
In an interview with the Daily Caller, conservative commentator Jonah Goldberg made the case that young voters are "so frickin' stupid" and, accordingly, aren't worth the media and political attention. "It is a simple fact of science that nothing…
Stockton, California Nears Bankruptcy: Is This the Future of Local Governments?
By David Azevedo
California's sprawling, mostly agricultural Central Valley doesn't get as much limelight as its San Francisco and Southern California regional brothers. But in the past four years California's biggest city, Stockton, has made headlines for being the…
The First Tea Party President: Mitt Romney, the Puppet?
By David Azevedo
There are a lot of things that Mitt Romney has going for him. Romney is steadily climbing in the polls, he's narrowing the gap between himself and President Obama in swing states, and GOP Super PACs are running circles around their…
Government Freeloaders Will Determine the 2012 Presidential Election
By David Azevedo
Earlier this year a study revealed that republican-leaning states receive more federal government benefits than democratic-leaning states. In the South -- a GOP stronghold -- total benefits (including social security, Medicare, and income support)…
Jerry Brown: Feel Free to Raise My California Taxes (But Spend My Money Better!)
By David Azevedo
On Monday California Governor Jerry Brown revealed his plan to cover a $16 billion deficit: more cuts to welfare and the state health care system (on top of last year's already draconian cuts); a four-day work week for over a million state…