The story of how Upton Sinclair did not become governor of California

By Tom Gallagher

THIS COULD BE a big year for reading California political literature. There are, after all, a whole lot of electoral activists out there coming off an election that frustrated them three times over. Anti-administration Californians shared the national frustration of George Bush's victory, following the disheartening experience of supporting John Kerry, a candidate who did not share their opposition to the ongoing Iraq war. And on top of that, they found the impact of their activities diminished by the Electoral College facts of life, in which winning California by one vote is just as good as winning it by a million. So some people who've never been involved before may just start checking out state politics, where at least everyone's vote counts the same. And for anyone looking for something completely different from the current Sacramento Schwarzenegger script, the Upton Sinclair story might be just the thing.