local control

Op-ed | One Year after President Trump Deployed National Guard Troops to Washington, D.C., Statehood Is More Important Than Ever

By Monica HopkinsAugust 4, 2026

The continued deployment of National Guard troops in Washington, D.C., initially authorized by the Trump administration and slated to persist until 2029, has amplified calls for the District’s statehood. Advocates assert that statehood is critical to prevent presidential authority over the D.C. National Guard and to ensure full democratic rights for residents, who currently lack congressional voting representation and face federal intervention in local legislative and budgetary matters.

Sunday Commentary | After Measure V, the Question Isn’t Whether Measure J Works — It’s Whether the State Will Continue to Allow It

By David M. GreenwaldJune 21, 2026

The defeat of Measure V in Davis reaffirmed the structural impediments to peripheral housing development, despite the city’s acknowledged need for additional housing units. The Village Farms proposal, which included up to 1,800 housing units, was rejected by a margin of less than one percentage point, underscoring the enduring impact of Measure J, which mandates voter approval for such projects. This outcome intensifies scrutiny regarding the efficacy of local approval processes, particularly from entities such as the California Department of Housing and Community Development, which has previously identified Measure J as a potential constraint on housing production.

Could California Strip Local Governments of Housing Approval Power?

By David M. GreenwaldJune 16, 2026

California YIMBY leader and housing policy analyst M. Nolan Gray proposed the creation of a state-level entitlement pathway, arguing it would allow qualifying housing developments to bypass local resistance, protracted delays, and what he described as ‘plainly illegal denials.’ This mechanism, Gray contended, holds significant implications for communities such as Davis, potentially altering traditional land-use approval processes.

Opinion | Village Farms Debate Exposes Davis’s Deep-Seated Housing Crisis

By David M. GreenwaldJune 1, 2026

The Village Farms development proposal has encountered considerable opposition within the Davis community. However, available evidence suggests that a rejection of the project may intensify the city’s existing housing crisis, contributing to elevated housing costs, continued decline in school enrollment, and increased state pressure to meet housing obligations.

California Housing Costs Driven by Scarcity and Political Obstruction

By David M. GreenwaldAugust 22, 2025

Claremont City Councilmember Jed Leano argues that California’s housing affordability crisis is caused by a lack of homes and a political process that favors obstruction over solutions, and he supports SB 79, a state housing bill that would allow more housing to be built near publicly funded transit stops, bypassing some of the approval hurdles that give veto power to homeowners opposed to new development.