I'm not sure California is "new" as a center of political corruption. Willie Brown added many layers of intentional complexity to San Francisco's city governmen

I'm not sure California is "new" as a center of political corruption. Willie Brown added many layers of intentional complexity to San Francisco's city government while he was mayor (1996-2004). The only way for a citizen or business to navigate that complexity is by paying people, both legally and illegally. SF's Mohammed Nuru (mentioned in the article) learned at Willie's feet. So did current mayor London Breed, who worked as a nanny for Willie, and dated Mohammed. If you throw in his other acolytes, Gavin Newsom and Kamala Harris (and the late Ed Lee), it is clear that we are living in Willie Brown's world. And that world is one of transactional politics.