Poll results in California

California government is facing unprecedented challenges, made worse by mounting evidence that the state may be ungovernable. The list of ailments is all too familiar: The fiscal condition of the state is precarious. Democrats and Republicans in the Legislature are paralyzed by partisan gridlock. Local governments, already strained by the economy, are being put under even more pressure by dysfunction at the state level. For some time now, individual Californians and their families have been personally paying the price for these problems, with elementary schools losing teachers, higher education tuition skyrocketing, child care for low-income workers being eliminated, and local police and fire services being cut.

The crisis we face has led people across the state to consider major changes—and to search for innovative solutions that are bold enough to match our enormous challenges. Californians want state and local government to work. Californians want to help solve the state's problems. If change is going to occur—and if it is going to withstand the test of time—their participation is essential. For California to work again, Californians of all political stripes, from every corner of the state, must be on board.

"What's Next California?" represents an effort to produce an open and honest discussion about the pros and cons of a wide range of reforms among a truly representative microcosm of California's registered voters. It has given Californians a way to join this conversation in a meaningful way and shows what this conversation sounds like when all views are at the table.