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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY PUBLIC AFFAIRS REPORT Institute of Governmental Studies Winter 2009/Vol. 50, No. 1 Photo: Nathan Yan/The Daily Californian Yan/The Nathan Photo: Election Night at IGS IGS was the perfect place for political junkies this elec- tion season. The Institute opened itself to the entire campus community as a place to watch the unfolding of a dramatic and historic campaign. Student interest soared so high that for the first of our traditional debate-watching parties we overflowed the IGS Library. For the rest of the election season the answer was “Politics under the Stars.” We set up 150 seats in the court- yard of Moses Hall and watched the debates and the election returns projected onto a movie screen. The biggest crowd turned out for the vice presidential debate featuring Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and Sen. Joe Biden. The Cal Berkeley Democrats and the Berkeley College On Election Night, Cal Democrats react to network projections that Barack Obama is the new Republicans cosponsored, and hundreds of students, profes- President-Elect. sors, staff members, and community residents came to watch. People lined the stairs at the top of the courtyard, while others came out onto the balconies of nearby Stephens Hall to watch and listen. By election night it was getting a little cold for late-night viewing, so IGS pitched a tent in the courtyard, and again the crowds turned out to watch the returns. The Democrats were out in force that night, and when Barack Obama was declared the president-elect, the roar from the tent was deafening. For more on the IGS election events, see pages 8–9. IGS Launches Matsui Center INSIDE IGS is honoring a legendary public servant and IGS on the financial crisis – 3 a distinguished Cal alum with the new Robert T. Secretary of State, Senate President at IGS – 3 Matsui Center for Politics and Public Service. For Sen. Dick Ackerman to teach at IGS – 6 more, see pages 4–5. Platinum Fellows chosen – 6 Student research grants awarded – 7 Robert T. Matsui IGS examines “Presidency at War” – 10 Poll reflects Asian American political attitudes – 11 Copyright © 2009 by the Regents of the University of California ISSN 0033-3417 UNIV. OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY INST. OF GOVERNMENTAL STUDIES 109 Moses Hall #2370 Berkeley, California 94720-2370 510 642-1474 SCHOLAR’S CORNER FAX 510-642-3020 http://www.igs.berkeley.edu more draconian immigration restrictions. As a consequence, California will continue to move ADMINISTRATION further down the path towards multiracial/ethnic Jack Citrin, Director Marc Levin, Assistant Director politics in the coming decades. The question is Anne Benker, Management Services Officer not whether, but at what rate, California and the Nick Robinson, Library Director Ethan Rarick, Director of Publications rest of the country will become more multiracial Karin Mac Donald, Director, and multiethnic. The demographic die has been Statewide Database cast. NATIONAL ADVISORY COUNCIL The shift to a more multiracial and multi- Darius Anderson,Chair Peter D. Hart ethnic landscape presents several institutional Douglas Boxer Kevin Johnson William Brandt Priya Mathur Racial and Ethnic and political challenges. The civil rights revolu- Bryan Cameron Laurence Pelosi Politics in California tion—the more aggressive application of the 14th David A. Carrillo Dan Schnur Amendment and the Voting Rights Act to create Darek DeFreece Lisa Suennen Stephen Dodson Duf Sundheim Sandra Bass and more opportunities for minority participation and James Fang Kris Van Giesen Bruce E. Cain representation—was forged in a biracial context. Karen Getman Vivek Varma That legal framework, which was so effective in FACULTY ADVISORY COMMITTEE the earlier era, has not always fit the new multira- Laura Stoker, Chair Irene Bloemraad cial/ethnic circumstances as well. Asian-Ameri- Ann Keller In the first two decades after the 1965 U.S. cans, for instance, have not yet won any signifi- Taeku Lee immigration reform that ended discriminatory cant voting rights cases under either Sections 2 Steve Raphael Gerard Roland quotas, immigration visibly transformed Amer- or 5 of the Voting Rights Act. Also, the old civil Eric Schickler ica’s southwestern states. The results were par- rights framework does not directly address some David J. Vogel ticularly dramatic in California. The state’s non- of the new election administration issues that have John C. Yoo Hispanic white population dropped from 77% to emerged since the 2000 election, such as whether The Institute of Governmental Studies’ Public 48% between 1970 and 2000, due mostly to the poor nonwhite voters have a higher likelihood of Affairs Report is published four times a year. The University of California’s primary center growth of the Asian and Latino populations. As casting a spoiled ballot or whether election ad- for interdisciplinary research in politics and these immigrant populations have spread to oth- ministration problems are more frequent in less public policy, the Institute was established in er regions of the United States in recent years— socio-economically advantaged areas. 1919. Its staff includes faculty with joint IGS and departmental appointments, research the Northeast, mid-Atlantic, and South espe- Politically, there are challenges as well. The specialists, visiting scholars, and graduate cially—some states are now experiencing the voting shares of California’s Latino and Asian students. Drawing on the Institute’s major political and social repercussions that California reference library, they conduct research in populations are growing, but those of the black public policy, public administration, Ameri- and other southwestern states went through two and white populations are not. Areas that used to can politics, urban problems, federalism, decades ago. Many of the same questions Cali- be represented by elected officials of one racial or technology and government, and regional development. fornians were asking themselves in the eighties ethnic group are now being challenged by candi- are now on the political forefront in states like dates from another. The presence of new groups Ethan Rarick, Editor Maria Wolf, Assistant Editor Virginia, Nebraska, and Illinois: Are new immi- requires new coalitional strategies and partner- grants taking jobs away from U.S. citizens? Are ships. But can these groups forge these political Read the PAR online at: igs.berkeley.edu/publications/par/ undocumented residents a boon or a drain to the alliances, or is the gulf between their interests too index.html economy? Are Asians and Latinos assimilating wide? Email us at: [email protected] as well or as quickly as the Irish and Italians in Then there is the question of whether the new If you’d like to support the programs of the the early twentieth century? multiracial and multiethnic politics will be more Institute, you can become a Friend of IGS by sending a contribution to: Immigration, despite nearly three decades of or less “pluralist” than the old biracial division. public debate, is still politically salient in Cali- In the pluralist, neo-Madisonian ideal, groups Friends of IGS c/o Inst. of Governmental Studies fornia, as the 2006 special election for Congress- should form many fluid, temporary coalitions that 111 Moses Hall #2370 man Duke Cunningham’s replacement amply vary with the issues at stake and political circum- University of California demonstrated. Moreover, due to significant dif- Berkeley, CA 94720-2370 Cont. on p. 14 ferences in white and nonwhite fertility rates, the The Scholar’s Corner features commentaries in which faculty mem- Checks payable to UC Regents, or give online: demographic impact of immigration will be felt igs.berkeley.edu/about_igs/friends.html bers affiliated with IGS apply academic research or concepts to issues for some time to come even if the U.S. adopts relevant to the practical world of politics and policy. 2 Public Affairs Report Winter 2009 IGS Panel Examines Financial Crisis IGS shed some light on the global financial crisis this fall when the Institute’s Center on Institutions and Governance orga- nized a panel discussion of the turmoil. “Fixing this program is now very urgent,” economics and political science professor Barry Eichengreen said at the panel, which was cosponsored in early October with the Berkeley Cen- ter for Law, Business, and the Economy. “It’s time for the Congress and the public to come to their senses and realize there are more important things to say than Elected Officials Headline Political Talks ‘not one red cent of my tax money to those fat cats,’” Eichen- California Secretary of State Debra Bowen and state green said. “What’s at stake here is everyone’s employment and Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg spoke at IGS prosperity, not simply the bonuses and golden parachutes of events this fall. bankers.” Just six days before her office oversaw the 2008 elec- Eichengreen was just one of several Berkeley experts on tion, Bowen spoke to the Undergraduate Colloquium on the panel. Nobel Laureate in Economics George A. Akerlof Political Science and then appeared at an IGS reception was the moderator, and the other speakers included J. Bradford afterward to talk with students and community members. DeLong, a professor of economics; Aaron Edlin, a professor At the class, Bowen talked about her role as the state’s of law and economics; John Quigley, the interim dean of the chief elections officer and answered the students’ questions Richard & Rhoda Goldman School of Public Policy; about the election process. A former and Nancy Wallace, the cochair of the Fisher Center for legislator, she also talked about her Real Estate and Urban Economics at the Haas School of longtime support of transparency Business. and access in government. The event drew a standing-room-only crowd, and Bowen’s appearance on campus also featured a live webcast that allowed Internet view- was cosponsored with the Osher ers to email questions to the panel.