What a difference a Democrat makes - having a Democrat in the governor’s office and a supermajority in both houses of the legislature, that is. In 2010, as California’s Republican Governor was on his way out the door, the state was figuring out how to address a $19 billion budget deficit. Huge deficits were nothing new to the Golden State: they had faced a $16 billion deficit in 2008 and a jaw-dropping $41 billion deficit in 2009. Now, California is facing budget surpluses.