Ronald Reagan

== California governorship (1967–1975) ==
{{Main|Governorship of Ronald Reagan}}
[[File:Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan at airport, 1972.jpg|thumb|left|alt=The Reagans at an airport, 1972|The Reagans in 1972]]

Brown had spent much of California's funds on new programs, prompting them to use [[accrual accounting]] to avoid raising taxes. Consequently, it generated a larger deficit,{{sfn|Cannon|2003|p=5}} and Reagan would call for reduced government spending and tax hikes to [[balance the budget]].{{sfn|Woodard|2012|p=64}} He worked with [[Jesse M. Unruh]] on securing tax increases and promising future property tax cuts. This caused some conservatives to accuse Reagan of betraying his principles.{{sfn|Brands|2015|pp=157–159}} As a result, taxes on sales, banks, corporate profits, inheritances, liquor, and cigarettes jumped. [[Kevin Starr]] states, Reagan "gave Californians the biggest tax hike in their history—and got away with it".{{sfn|Putnam|2006|p=26}} In [[1970 California gubernatorial election|the 1970 gubernatorial election]], Unruh used Reagan's tax policy against him, saying it disproportionally favored the wealthy. Reagan countered that he was still committed to reducing property taxes.{{sfn|Schuparra|2015|pp=47–48}} By 1973, the budget had a surplus, which Reagan preferred "to give back to the people".{{sfn|Cannon|2003|p=370}}

In 1967, Reagan reacted to the [[Black Panther Party]]'s strategy of [[copwatch]]ing by signing the [[Mulford Act]]{{sfn|Hayes|Fortunato|Hibbing|2020|p=819}} to prohibit the public carrying of firearms. The act was California's most restrictive piece of [[Gun politics in the United States|gun control legislation]], with critics saying that it was "overreacting to the political activism of organizations such as the Black Panthers".{{sfn|Carter|2002|p=493}} The act marked the beginning of both modern legislation and [[Public opinion on gun control in the United States|public attitude studies]] on gun control.{{sfn|Hayes|Fortunato|Hibbing|2020|p=819}} Reagan also signed the 1967 Therapeutic Abortion Act that allowed abortions in the cases of rape and incest when a doctor determined the birth would impair the physical or mental health of the mother. He later expressed regret over signing it, saying that he was unaware of the mental health provision. He believed that doctors were interpreting the provision loosely and more abortions were resulting.{{sfn|Cannon|2003|pp=209–214}}

After Reagan won the 1966 election, he and his advisors planned a run in the [[1968 Republican Party presidential primaries|1968 Republican presidential primaries]].{{sfn|Pemberton|1998|p=76}} He ran as an unofficial candidate to cut into Nixon's southern support and be a compromise candidate if there were to be a [[brokered convention]]. He won California's delegates,{{sfn|Gould|2010|pp=92–93}} but Nixon secured enough delegates for [[1968 Republican National Convention|the nomination]].{{sfn|Gould|2010|pp=96–97}}

Reagan had previously been critical of former governor Brown and university administrators for tolerating student demonstrations in the city of [[Berkeley, California|Berkeley]], making it a major theme in his campaigning.{{sfn|Cannon|2003|p=271}}
On February 5, 1969, Reagan declared a state of emergency in response to ongoing protests and acts of violence at the University of California, Berkeley, and sent in the [[California Highway Patrol]]. In May 1969, these officers, along with local officers from Berkeley and Alameda county, [[1969 People's Park protest|clashed with protestors]] over a site known as [[People's Park (Berkeley)|the People's Park]].{{sfn|Cannon|2003|pp=291–292}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Remembering "Bloody Thursday:" 1969 People's Park Riot |url=https://dailycal.org/2017/04/21/remembering-bloody-thursday-1969-peoples-park-riot |website=The Daily Californian |date=April 21, 2017 |access-date=May 25, 2023}}</ref> One student was shot and killed while many police officers and two reporters were injured. Reagan then commanded the [[California National Guard|state National Guard troops]] to occupy Berkeley for seventeen days to subdue the protesters, allowing other students to attend class safely. In February 1970, violent protests broke out near the [[University of California, Santa Barbara]], where he once again deployed the National Guard. On April 7, Reagan defended his policies regarding campus protests, saying, "If it takes a bloodbath, let's get it over with. No more appeasement".{{sfn|Cannon|2003|p=295}}

During his victorious reelection campaign in 1970, Reagan, remaining critical of government, promised to prioritize [[welfare reform]].{{sfn|Woodard|2012|pp=73, 75}} He was concerned that the programs were disincentivizing work and that the growing welfare rolls would lead to both an unbalanced budget and another big tax hike in 1972.{{sfn|Woodard|2012|p=75}} At the same time, the [[Federal Reserve]] increased interest rates to combat inflation, putting the American economy in [[Recession of 1969–1970|a mild recession]]. Reagan worked with [[Bob Moretti]] to tighten up the eligibility requirements so that the financially needy could continue receiving payments. This was only accomplished after Reagan softened his criticism of Nixon's [[Family Assistance Plan]]. Nixon then lifted regulations to shepherd California's experiment.{{sfn|Brands|2015|pp=179–181}} In 1976, the [[Employment Development Department]] published a report suggesting that the experiment that ran from 1971 to 1974 was unsuccessful.<ref>{{cite news |last=Rich |first=Spencer |date=March 30, 1981 |title=Reagan's Workfare Program Failed in California, Report Reveals |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1981/03/30/reagans-workfare-program-failed-in-california-report-reveals/c18ec063-e9e0-4f85-a1cf-30260b89a9be/ |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221224225533/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1981/03/30/reagans-workfare-program-failed-in-california-report-reveals/c18ec063-e9e0-4f85-a1cf-30260b89a9be/ |archive-date=December 24, 2022 |access-date=December 24, 2022}}</ref>

Reagan declined to run for the governorship [[1974 California gubernatorial election|in 1974]] and it was won by Pat Brown's son, [[Jerry Brown|Jerry]].{{sfn|Cannon|2000|pp=754–755}} Reagan's governorship, as professor Gary K. Clabaugh writes, saw public schools deteriorate due to his opposition to additional basic education funding.{{sfn|Clabaugh|2004|p=257}} As for higher education, journalist William Trombley believed that the budget cuts Reagan enacted damaged Berkeley's student-faculty ratio and research.{{sfn|Cannon|2003|p=296}} Additionally, the homicide rate doubled and armed robbery rates rose by even more during Reagan's eight years, even with the many laws Reagan signed to try toughening criminal sentencing and reforming the criminal justice system.{{sfn|Cannon|2003|p=388}} Reagan strongly supported capital punishment, but his efforts to enforce it were thwarted by ''[[People v. Anderson]]'' in 1972.{{sfn|Cannon|2003|pp=223–224}} According to his son, Michael, Reagan said that he regretted signing the Family Law Act that granted [[no-fault divorce]]s.{{sfn|Reagan|2011|p=67}}