News: POLITICO California Playbook: BIDEN opposes RECALL — NEWSOM’s real talk on SCHOOLS — DOL moves ORACLE litigator

Wednesday, February 10, 2021

POLITICO California Playbook: BIDEN opposes RECALL — NEWSOM’s real talk on SCHOOLS — DOL moves ORACLE litigator — SALESFORCE goes remote

Feb 10, 2021

By Jeremy B. White, Carla Marinucci, Graph Massara and Mackenzie Hawkins

Presented By Dialysis is Life Support

THE BUZZ — Not even the White House can avoid the recall these days.

The Biden administration publicly took Gov. Gavin Newsom's side and repudiated the push to remove him on Tuesday, underscoring the stakes. Earlier in the day, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters that she had "not spoken with the president about the recall" and vaguely noted Biden and Newsom are "closely engaged" on a range of issues. Evidently someone subsequently spoke to someone, yielding a more forceful followup tweet in which Psaki emphasized that President Joe Biden "clearly opposes any effort" to recall Newsom. Yet another reason for Newsom, who on Tuesday j oined other governors for a vaccine update call with the White House, to be happy with the switch to a more sympathetic administration.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki speaks during a press briefing at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2021, in Washington.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki speaks during a press briefing at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2021, in Washington. | AP Photo/Patrick Semansky

It's fair to question Biden's capacity to influence a California-specific election should the recall qualify — particularly if the White House's role is limited to occasional tweets or statements, as opposed to money or campaign trail appearances. The outcome would likely hinge more on Californians' experience of the pandemic, their perceptions of how Newsom has managed it and the basic party loyalty that compels most Democrats to back Newsom regardless of what Biden thinks. The repulsive effect of recall supporters' links to former President Donald Trump could well eclipse Biden's allure, although at the moment the president is more popular than Newsom among Californians.

But in this instance, the statement's debatable efficacy is less important than the statement being made in the first place — telegraphing as it does that the recall is becoming a national event. We won't know for weeks if the effort will fizzle on the California launchpad. But if it qualifies for a fall election in a year without other high-profile races on the national calendar, a recall could draw in prominent figures and fundraisers from beyond the state's borders.

There's already clear interest among conservatives, who are licking their chops at an irresistible opportunity to unseat the Democratic leader of a liberal stronghold. The recall push is already a fixture on Fox News, where Newsom is regularly hammered for his pandemic restrictions. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee tossed in some money this weekend after encouraging his conservative audience to get on board. Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel misstated Newsom's approval numbers last week, but she amplified the California Republican Party in pushing the recall. Former California GOP official Ron Nehring encouraged Psaki to "tweet this every day to draw more attention to it," as former Trump attorney Jenna Ellis did just that.

As for Newsom: He's continued to bob and weave away from any utterance of the R-word. Asked on Tuesday if he's getting concerned, Newsom again deflected by insisting he is unswervingly focused on getting Californians vaccinated. But we're seeing ever more California Democrats going where Newsom will not. The latest exhibit: State Sen. Steve Glazer's video emphasizing that , despite his occasional disagreements with Newsom, the governor "has acted in good faith and with the best interests of Californians at heart. He has done nothing close to justify the recall campaign." Will more national Democrats follow their California counterparts? Stay tuned.

BUENOS DÍAS, good Wednesday morning. Members of the Legislature are coalescing behind Akilah Weber to replace her mother, Secretary of State Shirley Weber, in the Assembly. Assemblymembers Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, Jim Wood and Autumn Burke all reported channeling funds toward the younger Weber on Tuesday, as did former state senator and now Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly Mitchell.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "When you're receiving less than 600,000 first doses a week, when you start to do the math, if that's the prerequisite then we need to be honest with people ... it's very unlikely we'll be able to accomplish that very idealistic goal before the end of the school year, because of the scarcity of supply of vaccinations, unless we took them away from the vast majority of others, our seniors and our most medically vulnerable." Newsom explains why he believes schools should open "before every single person in that school is vaccinated."

TWEET OF THE DAY: Conservative operator Jon Fleischman @FlashReport: "Nothing quite says 'We're having a recall' than the POTUS weighing in to say he opposes it."

WHERE'S GAVIN? Nothing official announced.

PROGRAMMING NOTE: California Playbook will not publish on Monday, Feb. 15. We'll be back on our normal schedule on Tuesday, Feb 16. Please continue to follow POLITICO California.

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TOP TALKERS

— "Pilot in Kobe Bryant helicopter crash pushed the limits of bad weather flying rules, NTSB says," by CNN's Pete Muntean, Madeline Holcombe and Gregory Wallace.

— " Chevron oil spill in SF Bay prompts health advisory for Richmond, nearby cities," via ABC7: "California's Office of Emergency Services (OES) says a pipeline was leaking approximately five gallons a minute, until the leak was stopped around 4:40 p.m."

— " Federal Litigator Behind Oracle Lawsuit Being Reassigned by DOL," by Bloomberg Law's Ben Penn and Paige Smith: "U.S. Labor Department leadership is moving to reassign its top West Coast litigator, Janet Herold, who spearheaded a series of employment discrimination lawsuits against Silicon Valley tech giants, including a pending case against Oracle Corp., Bloomberg Law has learned."

CORONAVIRUS UPDATES

— 36 California counties reach Newsom's threshold for school reopening, by POLITICO's Kevin Yamamura.

CHURCH CASES — " 'Pray for us!': 3 priests at Sts. Peter and Paul Church in SF test positive for coronavirus," by the SF Chronicle's Michael Cabanatuan.

PLAY ON PAUSE — "Prep sports on pause: Gov. Newsom provides another update on youth athletics," by the Mercury News' Darren Sabedra: "For now, only sports in the purple tier — cross country, track, swimming, golf and tennis — are allowed to be contested in California."

THE LIST GROWS — "S.F. teachers, emergency responders and food workers eligible for vaccine starting Feb. 24," by the SF Chronicle's Aidin Vaziri, Meghan Bobrowsky and Trisha Thadani.

DEPENDS WHERE YOU LIVE — "Teacher vaccines in California determined by location, luck," by CalMatters' Ricardo Cano: "Though some counties expect to begin vaccinating teachers within the next week or so, several others told CalMatters that their supply's scarcity makes it difficult to project when their educators could expect a dose. Some counties don't expect to offer vaccinations to teachers until a month from now or late March."

— "'It's very opportunistic': Study shows why work, large families put Latinos at risk of virus," by the Sac Bee's Kim Bojórquez.

LOOPHOLE — " Craft Fair With Thousands in Downtown Santa Ana Prompts New Questions Over City Officials' Outdoor Business Policies," by Voice of OC's Brandon Pho: "Officials say the event was technically permitted under a special local emergency order they issued last year, which allows outdoor businesses to operate on sidewalks and parking spots while being mindful of Covid-19 safety measures."

THE 46TH

— "Joe Biden wants 100% clean energy. Will California show that it's possible?" by the LA Times' Sammy Roth: "But even if California skates by without rolling blackouts in 2021, there's a clear longer-term need for clean energy sources that can be relied on when electricity demand is high and there's not enough sunlight to go around. That's where climate activists and renewable power companies worry that Newsom's administration is setting up the Golden State for failure."

— "GOP latches on to Eric Swalwell-spy story as Trump's impeachment trial approaches ," by the SF Chronicle's Tal Kopan: "As the trial nears, Republicans have sought to weaponize a report that an alleged Chinese spy tried to ingratiate herself with Swalwell, culminating in a 2015 briefing by the FBI that prompted Swalwell to immediately cut off contact. There has been no evidence of wrongdoing by Swalwell."

MADAM VP

— "Why isn't Kamala Harris presiding over Trump's impeachment trial?," by the SF Chronicle's Tal Kopan: "Vice presidents have presided over impeachment trials, according to NPR. … But there have [been] no modern examples, and some scholars have debated whether it is permitted under the spirit of the Constitution. It's not clear whether Harris was even asked by senators to preside over Trump's trial."

— "A Look at Kamala Harris' Past Jobs and How She's Made Her Millions," by Yahoo's Gabrielle Olya: "Her wealth — outside of her investment accounts, real estate and shared wealth with her husband, Doug Emhoff — comes from her years as a public servant, as well as money from her book deals."

CAMPAIGN MODE

— "Another Democrat wants to unseat Devin Nunes, and is using Twitter to do it," by McClatchy's Kate Irby: "A second Democrat is announcing a challenge to Rep. Devin Nunes in 2022 and he's using a tactic favored by Nunes' recent opponents: Build up a lot of Twitter supporters and raise big money opposing the Republican congressman."

GAVINLAND

— "Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Had Hour-Long Video Call with California Governor Gavin Newsom," by People's Simon Perry: "Despite claims to the contrary, it was not a political call, those close to the couple say. It was a get-to-know-you social call in the months after Harry and Meghan had settled into their new home in Montecito."

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CALIFORNIA AND THE CAPITOL CORRIDOR

SCHOOL STRUGGLES — LA council member takes first step toward suing LAUSD over school closures, by POLITICO's Alexander Nieves.

— " S.F. city attorney expands lawsuit against schools, alleging violation of state constitution," by the SF Chronicle's Jill Tucker: "City Attorney Dennis Herrera added the new counts to an existing lawsuit against the San Francisco Unified School District that has previously alleged school officials failed to create a specific plan for reopening as required by state law."

SENTENCING REFORM — "California Commission Recommends Ending Mandatory Minimum Sentences," by KQED's Marisa Lagos: "A newly formed state commission is recommending that California end mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent crimes and allow judges to reconsider all criminal sentences after someone has spent 15 years in prison."

— How George Shultz Escaped Two Scandal-Plagued Administrations Unscathed, by POLITICO's David Greenberg: Shultz was not a saint. … But when it came to politics and world affairs, he remained a fount of good judgment, if not wisdom. In this, he stood almost alone among surviving Reagan foreign policy officials in recent years.

SILICON VALLEYLAND

— "Most Salesforce Employees to Work Remotely at Least Part Time After Pandemic," by the WSJ's Katherine Bindley: "Chief People Officer Brent Hyder said Salesforce's changes would include revamping office layouts to increase collaboration space instead of having a 'sea of desks.'"

HOLLYWOODLAND

— "Disney California Adventure Park set to reopen for limited experience next month," by CNN's Clare Duffy and Natasha Chen.

CANNABIS COUNTRY

— Former Obama HHS secretary joins marijuana industry group, by POLITICO's Paul Demko: Effective Tuesday, Sebelius joins former House Speaker John Boehner, a Republican, atop the group's board of directors, putting a bipartisan pair of political heavyweights in place at a time of heightened industry optimism that federal marijuana restrictions could be loosened.

— The Half-Legal Cannabis Trap, Amanda Chicago Lewis writes for POLITICO Magazine: For years, Californians could legally possess medical marijuana, but stores weren't allowed to sell it—in fact, the whole supply chain bringing it to them was considered illegal. Now, even though the city and the state are licensing cannabis shops, Los Angeles continues to struggle with its legacy of legal confusion and selective enforcement.

MEDIA MATTERS

— "How Fox News Will Fight a $2.7 Billion Suit About the 2020 Election," by the Hollywood Reporter's Eriq Gardner: "Smartmatic alleges being defamed through false statements that its technology was designed to steal the election. … Fox News is now demanding dismissal with the argument that the First Amendment allows the news media to host a forum for interviewing Trump's lawyers, even if these guests engineer outrageous allegations."

MIXTAPE

— "Arrest made in street attack of 91-year-old California man," by ABC's Bill Hutchinson.

— " Twitter accidentally locked GOP Rep. Devin Nunes out of his account because he failed its anti-spam filter," by Insider's Tyler Sonnemaker.

— "L.A. Super Bowl committee releases logo and plans for 2022 game at SoFi Stadium," by the LA Times' Sam Farmer.

— "SF man allegedly in Capitol riot livestream arrested in Texas," by SFGATE's Katie Dowd.

— "After abuse probe, another Sequel-run program that housed California youth will close," by the SF Chronicle's Joaquin Palomino, Sara Tiano and Cynthia Dizikes.

— "L.A. County Fair is canceled for the second year in a row," by the LA Times' Hugo Martín.

— "Thieves Nationwide Are Slithering Under Cars, Swiping Catalytic Converters," by the NYT's Hiroko Tabuchi.

— "Behind these names, you'll find stories of L.A.'s Black history," by the LA Times' Patt Morrison.

— "SFMOMA director Neal Benezra to step down, says move not related to recent inequity claims," by the SF Chronicle's Tony Bravo.

— "Comedian Sarah Silverman calls on celebrities to buy Tower Theatre in Fresno," by the Fresno Bee's Larry Valenzuela.

— "'Rhino pills,' sold as male sex booster, land O.C. man in hot water," by FairWarning's Amy Martin.

TRANSITIONS

— Avika Dua is now digital director for Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.). She previously was at Priorities USA and the Pete Buttigieg campaign.

— Collin Sabine is now a legislative aide for Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.). He previously was a staff assistant for Rep. Greg Murphy (R-N.C.).

EVENTS

POLITICO's Carla Marinucci joins the San Francisco Public Relations Roundtable to talk politics, Gavin Newsom, impeachment, the Biden administration and more in an event to benefit student scholarships. RSVP and tune in Thursday, Feb. 11 at 11:30 a.m.

BIRTHDAYS

Kevin Duewel … Crooked Media's Tanya Somanader … Natalie Knight ... POLITICO's Margy Slattery

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