Tackling California's tough political issues is what syndicated columnist Dan Walters does best.

Twenty-two years after starting his daily newspaper column, Walters is undoubtedly one of California's most knowledgeable citizens on the inner happenings in Sacramento, and top news is always fodder for Walter's columns. The California budget crisis is a current favorite for his writing. Recent columns have addressed Gov. Gray Davis' explanation that the state's 2002 energy crisis is responsible for the current budget crisis (which Walters says is a lie) and a now resurfacing 1992 report that says California political practices have created a "job-killing machine."

Walters, employed by The Sacramento Bee, has written more than 5,000 columns and is read in more than 50 California newspapers. His journalistic career spans 40 years -- all but a few spent in California. He also is author of the widely used college textbook The New California: Facing the 21st Century and founding editor of the California Political Almanac. He appears frequently on national television regarding California politics.