By Carla Marinucci and Richard Tzul
THE BUZZ: It was California gorgeous.
Which is why the Memorial Day holiday weekend spelled out, in all its glory, the challenge ahead for the California Republican Party and its gubernatorial hopefuls.
California saw packed crowds in parks and beaches, from the San Francisco to Santa Monica, as vaccinated Californians were getting back to their normal, pre-Covid lives. Restaurants were full and businesses were booming.
And that was good news for Gov. Gavin Newsom, who last week rolled out his “Vax for the Win“ program to boost state Covid vaccination rates with big prizes in the next two weeks.
Therein lies the problem for the GOP field: how are they competing? Let’s recap:
— GOP gubernatorial candidate John Cox — who last month vowed to focus his fire solely on Newsom with his much-heralded “Beastly” campaign — has apparently re-calculated, again. He’s sending out new mailers attacking fellow Republican Kevin Faulconer as a “pro-choice, Mexico-embracing mayor.” His campaign says he’s still on his “Beast” bus tour around the state, and he did have a response to Newsom’s vaccination incentives campaign: “Time to Cut the Pretty Boy Off: Time for a Beastly Budget — Elect a CPA who knows how a budget actually works.”
— Former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer — the only GOP gubernatorial candidate to unveil a substantive policy idea last week — is fighting for attention for his plan to boost military families. His “Helping Our Heroes Plan” plan calls for ending California’s status as one of only three states to fully tax military retirement pay. He says “all retirement income received from the US Armed Services” should be exempt from state income tax. But getting media attention for policy in the current environment? Not easy.
— Former Rep. Doug Ose, without big funding or ads, is still fighting for attention.
— And reality star Caitlyn Jenner, nearly 40 days into her gubernatorial campaign, still hasn’t had a public appearance, press conference, major policy announcement or in-depth interview with any state political reporter. BUT HEY, she’s rolled out some pricey new hats and t- shirts about “woke culture” on her campaign website.
NEWSOM AS ‘POLITICAL HOUDINI‘ — As Carla reports: Just a month after California Republicans were energized by their grassroots success in qualifying a recall of Gov. Gavin Newsom, frustration has set in — with candidates struggling to gain traction and figure out a message that will stick.
California political strategists say Republicans need an injection of energy as trends cut in Newsom’s favor. Residents have begun to resume their normal lives as businesses reopen and restrictions ease, thanks to widespread vaccine access and continued infection declines in the state.
“Gavin Newsom is a political Houdini — he almost always manages to narrowly escape his deserved political fate,” said former California Republican Party spokesperson Jennifer Kerns, now a conservative talk radio host. Read Carla’s full story here.
BUENOS DÍAS, good Tuesday morning! The California Labor Federation, which represents 2.1 million state workers, aims to send a strong signal today that it will throw its muscle behind a drive to fight what it calls the “anti-worker effort to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom.” Workers and union leaders today will hold a 10 a.m. press conference on the South Steps of the State Capitol Building — with union leader Art Pulaski to be joined by leaders from the California Nurses Association, United Food and Commercial Workers, United Domestic Workers, the Orange County Labor Federation and more.
Noteworthy that today’s Cal Labor Federation action comes just days after the new SEIU1000 president Richard Louis Brown announced that his union would not back Newsom in the recall.
AND THIS: Jeremy is back from vacation! Got a tip or idea for California Playbook? Hit cmarinucci@politico.com or jwhite@politico.com, and follow us on Twitter at @cmarinucci and @Jeremybwhite.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “The Rock. Caitlyn Jenner. Matthew McConaughey, Randy Quaid. They all have suggested lately that when it comes to running the country, they have what it takes. And they do — malignant narcissism .... I'm sure Caitlyn Jenner is a nice person. But as California governor, she would be in charge of the world's fifth largest economy — based on her qualifications of being a background character in a reality show not about her.” — Comedian Bill Maher scorches celebrity candidates post-Trump in his most recent monologue. Watch the video via Deadline.
TWEET OF THE DAY: Ted Lieu @tedlieu: “Dear @GOPLeader: You need to remove Rep Matt Gaetz from the House Judiciary Committee. It’s a conflict of interest for Gaetz to have oversight over the DOJ that is investigating him for sex crimes. Also, Gaetz is urging people to shoot Silicon Valley employees.”
WHERE’S GAVIN? Nothing official announced.
TOP TALKERS
NAVARRO AGAIN — “Top Trump adviser Peer Navarro warned then-president on virus supply shortage, then pursued controversial deals,’’ by WaPo’s Dan Diamon: “Democrats probe more than $1 billion in ‘haphazard’ supply contracts arranged by Navarro, citing new documents.”
CROW GOT TO GO? — “A fight over Jim Crow Road divides rural Northern California town,’’ by LATimes’ Brittny Mejia: “As the story goes, a Native Hawaiian man came as a Gold Rush pioneer to a mountainous swath of Sierra County to strike it rich. His name was given to a ravine, a stream and a street off scenic Highway 49, three miles east of Downieville, Calif. That’s how Jim Crow Canyon, Jim Crow Creek and Jim Crow Road came to be.”
WATER RESTRICTIONS — Urban water districts consider mandatory conservation as drought deepens by POLITICO’s Debra Kahn: The Bureau of Reclamation cut water deliveries from the Central Valley Project by about half. That has prompted the Santa Clara Valley Water District, which serves 2 million residents in the Silicon Valley region, to consider a potential conservation order at its board meeting next month. And the Contra Costa Water District, which serves 500,000 residents in the East Bay, is now planning to vote on one in July.”
MASK FEES — “Mendocino cafe owner says he'll add an extra $5 fee for mask-wearing patrons,” by the SFGate’s Susana Guerrero: “Just below the large print were two additional notes on the poster that warned guests if they were "caught bragging" about their vaccines “an additional $5 fee” would be added to their bill. The sign claims the fees will be donated to local charities assisting domestic abuse victims.”
SUBURBS AND EXBURBS— “The Market Tectonics of California Real Estate,” by the NYTimes’ Debra Kamin: “California’s biggest cities are shedding residents, while its suburbs and exurbs are seeing rapid population gains. The shift is fueling a red-hot housing market in areas once ignored by city dwellers, and turning some of the state’s secondary cities into small-scale boom towns.”
THINK YOUR KID IS SMART? — “2-year-old California girl is youngest American to become Mensa member,’’ via CNN: “Toddler from LA can identify elements on periodic table and all 50 states by shape and location, parents say.”
CAMPAIGN MODE
EARLY RECALL — “Why Newsom may prefer early California recall election vote,” by the LATimes’ Mark Z. Barabak: “As things increasingly look up for Gavin Newsom — businesses reopening, COVID-19 waning, schools returning to in-person instruction — it’s now likely a decision on his political fate will come closer to Labor Day than Thanksgiving. That’s earlier than originally anticipated and reflects growing Democratic confidence that Newsom will survive a recall attempt.”
GIRL POWER — “Garcetti’s exit could give L.A. the female mayor it needs,” via Jasmyne Cannick: “Our current council president is a woman and at least three members of the council and the current city attorney–all male–have plans to run for mayor and the last thing they want to see is a woman of color making history as the interim or acting mayor of Los Angeles.”
ELENI FOR EARLY RECALL? — “Lt. Governor hints at support for early recall during Fresno County visit,” by GVWire’s David Taub: Eleni “Kounalakis said she somewhat agreed with the suggestion of Democratic state Sen. Steven Glazer to fast-track the recall date to take advantage of Newsom’s positive polling.”
RECALL LAG — “Recall Chesa Effort Has Split Into Two Battling Factions, Both Lagging In Contributions,” by SFist’s Joe Kukura: “It’s important to note that neither Recall Chesa Boudin has actually made the ballot yet, they’re just glorified signature-gathering campaigns that hope to make the ballot. They’re very good at making headlines, but it’s yet to be seen whether they are any good at recalling district attorneys.”
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CALIFORNIA AND THE CAPITOL CORRIDOR
SAN JOSE SHOOTING UPDATES
TROUBLING TREND — “Workplace shootings are all too common in California. The latest one fits a pattern,” by the LATimes’ Maria L. La Ganga: “Two of this year’s mass workplace shootings were carried out in California, in keeping with yet another lethal shift. From 1986 to 2011, a fourth of all mass workplace shootings nationwide occurred here, according to researchers at New York’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice.”
“HATRED AND FIREPOWER” — “Disgruntled gunman kept 22,000 rounds of ammunition, guns and gasoline in home,” by the SFChronicle’s Jill Tucker, Sarah Ravani, Lauren Hepler and Megan Cassidy: “In the coming days and weeks, the ongoing investigation into the mass shooting at the Valley Transportation Authority in San Jose on Wednesday morning will likely answer some of the questions, offering insight into yet another mass shooting: what went wrong, what went right.”
INDEFINITE CLOSURE — “VTA grounds light-rail service indefinitely in aftermath of mass shooting,’’ via SFChronicle.
— “They survived mass shootings. Years later, their journeys continue,” by the SFChronicle’s Shwanika Narayan and Kevin Fagan: “Coping, mourning, trying to understand — there will be a lot of that going on in the weeks to come for those touched in any way by the May 26 mass shooting that left nine people dead at a San Jose rail yard. It’s a tragically familiar pattern.”
OTHER CALIFORNIA UPDATES
HEADS UP — ‘’California Supreme Court to hear arguments challenging application of state's death penalty,’’ via SFChronicle’s Bob Egelko: “The California Supreme Court, which rarely overturns death penalty verdicts these days, takes up an issue Wednesday that could lead to reversals of hundreds of the state’s pending death sentences and perhaps all 704 of them.”
THE COMEBACK — “With holiday, LAX has heaviest passenger traffic of 2021 so far,’’ by LATimes’ Alex Wigglesworth: “Los Angeles International Airport broke a 2021 record for passenger traffic Friday, with more than 78,000 travelers going through Transportation Security Administration checkpoints, the airport announced.”
— “Cleaner air and racial justice versus jobs: The battle over fossil fuels hits the Bay Area,” by the SFChronicle’s Joe Garofoli: “The proximate issue is a proposal coming before the [Bay Area Air Quality Management District] on Wednesday. The proposed change would require refineries to install technology that greatly reduces the particulate matter they emit. It is a technology that, environmentalists point out, is already widely in use, including even in oil-friendly states like Texas.”
— “California sports betting initiative hinges on gambling fight with tribes,” by the SFChronicle’s Alexei Koseff: “Tribal leaders who organized the initiative argue that Californians are already participating in illegal sports betting and three decades of successful tribal gaming prove that they would be best equipped to bring this potentially lucrative industry out of the shadows. Taxes and other payments to the state could amount to tens of millions of dollars per year.”
— “The San Francisco mass shooting that changed everything … and nothing,” by the Mercury News’ Marisa Kendall: “To those who lived through the 1993 massacre, this week has felt like a horrific déjà vu, making some wonder what all that effort accomplished. Statistics on workplace gun violence suggest we may be better off, but the sense of despair — if anything — has grown.”
— “$10.3 million to the police or social services? One Bay Area city will soon decide,” by the SFChronicle’s Rachel Swan: “A review of Richmond police budgets and crime statistics from the Police Department and California Department of Justice over the past 13 years revealed no clear correlation between spending and crime.”
— “California DA not seeking a new death sentence for Scott Peterson,” by NY Daily News’ Brandon Sapienza: “In 2004, Scott was convicted of first-degree murder for killing his wife, and second-degree murder for killing his unborn son, Conner. In 2002, Laci disappeared from her home on Christmas Eve and her body was not recovered until 2003 when it appeared in San Francisco Bay.”
— “Newsom pardons injured inmate firefighter who faces ICE deportation,” by the SFChronicle’s Dustin Gardiner: “Newsom granted clemency Friday for Bounchan Keola, who was injured while battling the Zogg Fire near Redding last fall, when a helicopter dropped water on a smoldering tree, causing it to fall on him and two others, records show. Keola fled Laos as a child.”
ANOTHER LOOK — “Newsom orders independent probe into Kevin Cooper’s murder conviction,’’ by LATimes Phil Willon: “The governor said he is taking the action, in part, because the San Bernardino County district attorney’s office and Cooper’s defense attorneys ‘have starkly different views’ on the interpretation of the new DNA evidence and the reliability and integrity of that evidence. In the order, Newsom said he is not taking any position regarding Cooper’s guilt or innocence.”
BIG MONEY — Reward climbs to $400,000 for information on apparent road-rage killing of 6-year-old in Orange,’’ by the OC Register’s Eric Licas: “That figure is up from $310,000 on Wednesday.”
— “30,000 milkweeds planted around California in effort to save Western monarch butterfly,” by the SFChronicle’s Tara Duggan: “Organizers say it’s the largest coordinated effort to save the Western monarch, which spends winters in coastal California, migrates to Central California to breed and then can travel as far as Idaho and Washington and back.”
— “Layoffs. Losses. Lawsuits. ‘Rules are being rewritten’ for California healthcare giant,” by the Sac Bee’s Dale Kasler: “Later this year, [hospital chain] Sutter is expected to finalize a landmark court agreement settling an antitrust lawsuit brought by the state and a healthcare plan run by the United Food and Commercial Workers. In a deal first announced 18 months ago, Sutter agreed to pay $575 million in damages to a collection of self-insured employers, including corporations and government agencies.”
THE 46TH
KHANNA SEEKS LANDMARK — “Giant plan to fund U.S. tech R&D awaits Senate passage,’’ by SFChronicle’s Tal Kopan: “Congress is on the cusp of something that doesn’t happen often these days: passing a bill with wide, cross-party support. Its co-author, South Bay Rep. Ro Khanna, said he believes the landmark technology investment legislation would not only have a big impact in his Silicon Valley district, but all over the U.S.”
— “Child care costs $17,000 a year for California parents. Would Biden plan help?” by the Sac Bee’s David Lightman: “A California family’s infant care costs average about $17,400 a year, the third highest cost in the nation. The price of child care for a 4-year-old averages about $11,475 annually, according to data from the White House and the Economic Policy Institute, which compiles statistics from several sources.”
CORONAVIRUS UPDATES
GOOD NEWS — “As COVID wanes, L.A. marks Memorial Day with gatherings, reconnections but still some caution,” by the LATimes’ Sarah Parvini, Harriet Ryan and Michael Finnegan: “After more than 14 months of life torn asunder by the pandemic, the holiday weekend brought no small measure of relief as Californians cautiously resumed doing the things they normally do, starting with barbecues and trips to the beach.”
— “Two-thirds of eligible Californians have at least one vaccine dose,” by the Mercury News’ Leonardo Castañeda.
— “Only 4 states are now in COVID 'high risk' level. Here's how they compare to California,” by the SFChronicle’s Kellie Hwang: “California has a case rate of 2.9 per 100,000, an infection rate of 0.87 and a positive test rate of 0.9%. Additionally, 56.7% of Californians have received at least one vaccine dose, according to COVID Act Now.”
BAD NEWS — “Northern California counties once spared by COVID-19 now seeing cases surge,” by the SFChronicle’s Aidin Vaziri: “There are cultural indicators at play as well, health officials say. Many residents in the rural counties never embraced pandemic restrictions and ignored them altogether after Northern California fared well through the initial statewide surge.”
— “How large was the undercount of COVID-19 deaths across California?” by the SFChronicle’s Susie Neilson and Nami Sumida: “The Chronicle examined how each California county’s official COVID-19 deaths compared with the number of ‘excess deaths’ for the state’s 47 counties with over 30,000 residents.”
RENT ASSISTANCE — “Sacramento Agency Has Tens Of Millions Of Dollars Available For Renters Affected By COVID-19,” by CapRadio’s Chris Nichols: “Sacramento County renters should apply if they are unemployed, have had a reduction in household income or incurred significant costs, or have experienced financial hardship because of the pandemic. Applicants must demonstrate a risk of being unhoused or housing instability, according to the agency, which determines the total assistance amount based on a household’s documented need.”
PRISON PROBLEM— “Judge probes San Quentin’s COVID-19 debacle tied to transfer of inmates from Chino,’’ by MercNews’ Richard Halstead.
SILICON VALLEYLAND
— “Biting into Silicon Valley’s fervor for building a better burger,” by the Fortune’s Editors: “Production of faux meat doesn't require as much land or water, making it easier to amp up production while reducing the environmental impact of the average barbecue night.”
— “Matt Gaetz Tells Crowd They Have ‘An Obligation’ to Use the Second Amendment on Big Tech Companies,” by Mediaite’s Michael Luciano: “Even by the bombastic Gaetz’s standards, the comments are shocking in their naked call to take up arms against people and entities whose policies they disagree with. Note also, he told the crowd they don’t merely have an option to use their Second Amendment rights in this context, but an obligation.”
—“Stock splits are back. So is the debate over whether they matter,” by Bloomberg’s Jeran Wittenstein: “Last week, Nvidia Corp. became the eighth company in the S&P 500 Index to announce a split in the last year, joining big names like Apple Inc. and Tesla Inc. That’s the most over a comparable period in six years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.”
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HOLLYWOODLAND
NEW DRIVE — “Will Hollywood film producers' push for a union succeed?,’’ by LATimes’Anousha Sakoui: “Producers say a variety of factors have made it tougher for them to earn a living. The consolidation of studios and the rise of streaming have changed the economics of the industry, eliminating or eroding their share of so-called backend profits, the money divided up after expenses are recouped (a form of Hollywood accounting that is often the subject of litigation.”
— “The sexual misconduct allegations rocking L.A.'s largest LGBTQ theater company,” by the LATimes’ Jessica Gelt.
— “Memorial Day weekend box office could be first to top $100 million since the pandemic began,” by CNBC’s Sarah Whitten.
CANNABIS COUNTRY
— “Driving weedshare: Uber and the hazy economics of delivering cannabis,” by CNBC’s Cameron Costa: “Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi has indicated interest, though only that: the on-demand transportation leader has no formal plans even as it gets into alcohol sales.”
MEDIA MATTERS
IT’S SF CHRONICLE VS. PRESS DEMOCRAT — “How a wine country reporter took down Dominic Foppoli,’’ by the LATimes’ James Rainey.
MIXTAPE
— “San Francisco's mental health care system fails two men: one killed, the other his alleged killer,” by the SFChronicle’s Heather Knight.
— “Michael Lewis Says His Heart Is Broken After 19-Year-Old Daughter Killed in Car Crash,” by the Daily Beast’s Jamie Ross.
— “The mysterious disappearance of Pacific Crest Trail hiker David O’Sullivan,” by LA Daily News’ Nikie Johnson.
— “California man gets 2 years in prison for laundering Bitcoin,” via the AP.
— “Jailed Southern California BB gun shootings suspect: ‘I didn’t do any of them,’” by LA Daily News’ Brian Rokos.
— “Capitol insurrection: Auburn man is fourth Sacramento-area resident charged in D.C. riot,” by the Sac Bee’s Michael McGough.
— “S.F. once hosted a bike tour on freeways and the Bay Bridge. Let's bring it back,” by the SFChronicle’s Peter Hartlaub.
TRANSITIONS
— 50+1 Strategies, the Democratic political and community engagement consulting firm co-founded by Nicole Derse and Addisu Demissie, announced the hiring of two new vice presidents in Campaigns and Communications.
Deborah Camiel, award-winning journalist and news producer, will join the firm as vice president of Communications. Aaron Keshishian, longtime California campaign strategist and recent consultant at California’s Barkan Strategies, will join the firm as vice president of Campaigns. And Nick Day, current Associate who joined the firm in 2019, will now serve as a communications strategist under Camiel.
The original article can be found here.