As of 2002, California had 57 counties and 1,047 public school districts. The Department of Education worked steadily throughout the 1900s to reorganize, reducing the number of districts from a high of 3,579 in 1932 to just over 1,000 in 1967. In 2002 there were 2,830 special districts and 475 municipal governments.
County government is administered by an elected board of supervisors, which also exercises jurisdiction over unincorporated towns within the county. Government operations are administered by several elected officials, the number varying according to the population of the county. Most counties have a district attorney, assessor, treasurer-tax collector, superintendent of schools, sheriff, and coroner. Larger counties may also have an
California Presidential Vote by Political Parties, 1948–2000
YEAR | ELECTORAL VOTE | CALIFORNIA WINNER | DEMOCRAT | REPUBLICAN | STATES' RIGHTS | PROGRESSIVE | SOCIALIST | PROHIBITION |
*Won US presidential election. | ||||||||
1948 | 25 | *Truman (D) | 1,913,134 | 1,895,269 | 1,228 | 190,381 | 3,459 | 16,926 |
CONSTITUTION | SOC. LABOR | |||||||
1952 | 32 | *Eisenhower (R) | 2,197,548 | 2,897,310 | 3,504 | 24,692 | 273 | 16,117 |
1956 | 32 | *Eisenhower (R) | 2,420,135 | 3,027,668 | 6,087 | 300 | 11,119 | |
1960 | 32 | Nixon (R) | 3,224,099 | 3,259,722 | 1,051 | 21,706 | ||
1964 | 40 | *Johnson (D) | 4,171,877 | 2,879,108 | 489 | |||
AMERICAN IND. | PEACE & FREEDOM | |||||||
1968 | 40 | *Nixon (R) | 3,244,318 | 3,467,664 | 487,270 | 27,707 | ||
AMERICAN | PEOPLE'S | LIBERTARIAN | ||||||
1972 | 45 | *Nixon (R) | 3,475,847 | 4,602,096 | 232,554 | 55,167 | 980 | |
COMMUNIST | ||||||||
1976 | 45 | Ford (R) | 3,742,284 | 3,882,244 | 51,096 | 12,766 | 41,731 | 56,388 |
CITIZENS | PEACE & FREEDOM | |||||||
1980 | 45 | *Reagan (R) | 3,039,532 | 4,444,044 | 9,687 | 60,059 | 17,797 | |
1984 | 47 | *Reagan (R) | 3,922,519 | 5,467,009 | 39,265 | NEW ALLIANCE | 26,297 | 49,951 |
1988 | 47 | *Bush (R) | 4,702,233 | 5,054,917 | 27,818 | 31,181 | 70,105 | |
IND. (PEROT) | ||||||||
1992 | 54 | *Clinton (D) | 5,121,325 | 3,630,574 | 12,711 | 2,296,006 | 18,597 | 48,139 |
GREEN (Nader) | ||||||||
1996 | 54 | *Clinton (D) | 5,119,835 | 3,828,380 | 697,847 | 237,016 | 73,600 | |
REFORM | ||||||||
2000 | 54 | Gore (D) | 5,861,293 | 4,567,429 | 44,987 | 418,707 | 45,520 |
elected planning director, public defender, public works director, purchasing agent, and social welfare services director.
Municipalities are governed under the mayor-council, council-manager, or commission system. Most large cities are run by councils of from 5 to 15 members, elected to four-year terms, the councils being responsible for taxes, public improvements, and the budget. An elected mayor supervises city departments and appoints most city officials. Other elected officials usually include the city attorney, treasurer, and assessor. Los Angeles and San Francisco have the mayor-council form of government, but in San Francisco, the city and county governments are consolidated under an elected board of supervisors, and the mayor appoints a manager who has substantial authority. San Diego and San Jose each have an elected mayor and city manager chosen by an elected city council.
The state's direct primary law had a salutary effect on local politics by helping end the power of political machines in the large cities. In 1910, Los Angeles voters adopted the nonpartisan primary and overthrew the corrupt rule of Mayor A. C. Harper in favor of reformer George Alexander. At the same time, voters were revolting against bossism and corruption in San Francisco, Sacramento, Oakland, and other cities.