January, 1959-January, 1960: Almost immediately upon coming into office as Governor of California, James Stewart immediately gets to work. While his opponent Pat Brown had emphasized the development of the California State Water Project, Stewart decried the notion as unnecessary government intervention and for the environmental issues raised by such a project. While giving a speech near the San Francisco Bay, Governor Stewart stated: "We have been given a gift by living here. California has been home to some of the most beautiful waters in the world and as long as I am Governor we will not give them up to the government."
Governor Stewart would also work with California State Assembly Speaker Jesse Unruh to make government simpler for the people. The two would begin the process of overseeing the drafting of a new California constitution with the aim to make it simpler and enhance individual rights.
Taking advice from his former opponent Pat Brown, Stewart allowed for the California Master Plan for Education to be created with the hope of providing a better education for the people of California.
Stewart's approval numbers amongst Republicans would remain in the 80% range during his first year in office while his approval with Democrats hovered around the 40% range. Despite this, his personal approval ratings among both parties stayed relatively high, never going lower than 65%.
January 25th, 1960: Walt Disney announces an ambitious project to create the "Disney Channel". The Disney Channel would be a channel on TV stations nationwide that would broadcast old Disney cartoons, original programming, and a reboot of the Mickey Mouse Club.
July 11th-15th, 1960: The 1960 Democratic Presidential Convention in Los Angeles, California, does not go as planned. Despite starting out with an early lead for the nomination through a number of primary wins, John F. Kennedy falls short of the 1960 Democratic Presidential nomination after California Democrats call their delegates for former Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson. This pushes the nomination to the second ballot, where some begin to question if Kennedy, a Catholic, can really win against Richard Nixon. Several ballots pass before Senate Majority Leader and Texas Senator Lyndon Johnson edges out Kennedy for the nomination. Lyndon Johnson chooses New Jersey Governor Robert B. Meyner (in an attempt to appeal to the East Coast) as his Vice-Presidential nominee.
July 25th, 1960: The Republican National Convention meets in Chicago, IL to pick their Presidential nominee. Governor James Stewart has thrown his support behind Vice-President Richard Nixon and has been chosen to put the Vice-President's name into nomination at the convention. Despite his support of Vice-President Nixon, however, a Draft Stewart group has said that they will only support California's "true" candidate, their governor.