News: POLITICO California Playbook: NEWSOM budget ambition — CDAA vs. BONTA — Team GAVIN drops new anti-recall ads

Monday, May 17, 2021

POLITICO California Playbook: NEWSOM budget ambition — CDAA vs. BONTA — Team GAVIN drops new anti-recall ads — BLACKOUT summer?

May 17, 2021

By Jeremy B. White, Carla Marinucci and Richard Tzul

Presented by CVS Health

THE BUZZ — Gov. Gavin Newsom wants his third budget to be one to remember.

Cash-flush California would channel a massive surplus into addressing an array of stubborn societal problems under a $267.8 billion blueprint Newsom unveiled on Friday. That includes billions of dollars to ensure universal broadband access, transition from fossil fuels, bolster student wellness and early childhood education, overhaul behavioral health and more. That's in addition to more immediate relief like the massive tax rebate handout that Newsom used to launch his budget tour and to sizable outlays for reserves and paying down pension debt.

The Democratic governor framed the "transformational" effort as an opportunity to reverse the mistakes of the past and build a foundation for his vision. He argued that California's behavioral health system must be rebuilt after it was "dismantled decades ago" by then-Gov. Ronald Reagan , and he optimistically described his fiscal blueprint as setting California up for an "extraordinary decade, arguably century ahead" that recreates the halcyon mid-20th century decades when healthy public spending made the state an economic powerhouse. There's a tension between long-term priorities and fiscal prudence, Newsom conceded, but he argued it will take "many, many years" to allay enduring issues like wealth disparities.

Republicans were unimpressed, arguing that the need to spend billions on glaring problems speaks to Democratic management. The GOP has coalesced around a rebuttal portraying Newsom's budget as a direct response to a looming recall vote, deriding his "Recall Rebates" as a stunt. In Newsom's telling, this budget charts a new course for California; to conservative critics, it doubles down on the misplaced policies that got us here and irresponsibly locks in too much ongoing spending. Some pieces you may have missed:

UNDOCUMENTED HEALTHCARE: The push to get more undocumented immigrants under the Medi-Cal coverage umbrella is a recurring fight. Newsom says he shares the goal but is wary of ongoing spending commitments — "one-time surpluses can quickly give way to one-time deficits," he said on Friday. He's meeting advocates part way, proposing an extension of coverage to people 60 and older. Newsom acknowledged that's short of what legislative Democrats want, but he argued it still exceeds what other states are doing.

FOSSIL FUEL PHASEOUT: On top of the billions Newsom is pitching to bolster environmental efforts and retire fossil fuels, he wants a $750 million outlay for regional economic transition that would flow disproportionately to the oil industry hub of Kern County. For all of California's climate ambitions, the collapse this year of a major effort to ban extraction techniques like fracking and distance wells from homes was a reminder that energy industry players — including labor unions — remain skeptical about job losses.

EDD: The well-documented woes of California's backlogged, scandal-plagued unemployment system led Newsom to declare the system was "just not designed for the challenge this nation-state has faced" with a deluge of new claims. He wants to spend some $300 million to ameliorate those issues.

HOUSING AND HOMELESSNESS: After running on a yet-to-be-realized pledge to construct millions of additional housing units, Newsom reiterated that "we need to build more damn housing" and called for $500 million to bolster local efforts. And while we knew he wanted to convert more hotels and motels via Project Roomkey, he also committed millions to addressing the homelessness encampments proliferating in cities around California — acknowledging "we see what you see" after lamenting excessive trash by saying "the state's too damn dirty." Will there be sticks to go with those carrots? Newsom pledged accountability but offered little detail.

OTHER NUGGETS: Newsom wants to forgive years of traffic ticket debt for low-income residents, restore the state and local tax deduction for S-Corps and launch a new Cal Poly campus in Humboldt. He also thinks massive infrastructure spending could obviate the need for new statewide bond measures. And local health officers are not happy after they didn't get a requested fundraising boost.

BUENOS DÍAS, good Monday morning. The Suspense deadline hits this week in the Legislature, bringing the annual and opaque culling of bills in the appropriations committees. Meanwhile, several days after the CDC dropped its mask mandate advisory, we are still waiting on California's official response.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "I thought you know what, I'm tired of this shit, these marauding goons who are going around trying to bully my other colleagues." Rep. Eric Swalwell tells CNN about confronting an aide to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.

TWEET OF THE DAY: LA Supervisor @kathrynbarger wants the mask mandate to end: "L.A. County has made tremendous progress vaccinating residents, including those in hard-hit communities. Our positivity rate is less than 1% and our case rate remains low. I'm encouraged by new CDC guidance and believe we should align with Federal recommendations."

MORE CA PLAYBOOK: Look for the new California Playbook PM in your inbox starting Monday. Just like you read our morning Playbook, Playbook PM by Kevin Yamamura, Victoria Colliver and our top-notch California team will bring you the news you need to know from the Capitol and the campaign trail. It will publish during the height of budget talks and as the recall campaign gains steam, delivering the latest political news from the Golden State.

WHERE'S GAVIN? Nothing official announced.

A message from CVS Health:

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TOP TALKERS

BONTA BACKLASH: Tensions between new Attorney General Rob Bonta and local prosecutors are already intensifying. The California District Attorneys Association sent Bonta a blistering letter that assails his decision to take over the Sean Monterrosa shooting investigation and publicly criticizes Solano DA Krishna Abrams in doing so. The prosecutors also demanded Bonta recuse himself from a CADOJ investigation of CDAA finances, saying Bonta had compromised the probe after a Bonta campaign rep linked Sacramento DA, Bonta 2022 challenger and CDAA officer Anne Marie Schubert to the alleged mismanagement. And the CDAA brushes aside Bonta's initial proposals as ineffective while charging he supported legislation in the Assembly that "jeopardizes the safety of every Californian."

THE BIG PICTURE: California has already seen a widening rift between more traditional prosecutors in the CDAA and a new class of reformist DAs, a few of whom have formed a new organization. Bonta is ideologically aligned with the latter group. This blunt letter lamenting Bonta's "deeply troubling" early moves demonstrates those fault lines aren't fading any time soon.

RELATED — "Inside George Gascon's justice revolution, a debate over what it is to be a crime victim ," by the LATimes' James Queally and Joe Mozingo: "Gascón is trying to dismantle the approach his predecessors took to crime, in which they sought to punish defendants heavily on behalf of victims. In its place, he wants something more complicated — a criminal justice system that balances prison time with rehabilitation, consequences with mercy."

TAKE A LITTLE TRIP — "The lowrider is back: The glorious return of cruising to the streets of L.A. " by the LATimes' Daniel Hernandez, Allen J. Schaben and Myung Chun: "Call it a function of collective boredom during months of stay-at-home orders. Social-distancing guidelines in the last year have also made vehicle caravans the new normal for birthdays, protests, graduations and funerals."

I LEFT MY HUM IN SF — "The Golden Gate Bridge 'humming' is driving people crazy. A team of engineers is working to shut it up," by the SFChronicle's Steve Rubenstein: "Commuters on the bridge can hear it. Neighbors can hear it. Folks as far away as Daly City can hear it."

— "The Rise of the Thielists," by the New Yorker's Benjamin Wallace-Wells: "The seeming paradox of (Sen. Josh) Hawley and other members of an ideologically pro-business party routinely calling for the breakup of Google, Amazon, and Facebook on antitrust grounds may not be a paradox at all—it may simply be Thielist."

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ROAD TO RECALL

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — 'Roaring Back': Gov. Gavin Newsom's campaign has dropped its first new digital spots urging California voters to "Stop the Repubican Recall." Both spots boast that California is "roaring back" under Newsom's leadership, arguing that Newsom "is delivering money to you'' with moves to address issues like affordable housing, homelessness, jobs and education. The ads argue the governor "just pledged money straight to your pocket — $4 billion directly to small businesses, [putting] 65,000 homeless into housing... and free pre-K for every child, regardless of income." Watch the spots here and here.

DEM GOV BUCKS — Democratic Governors Association spends $500K to protect Newsom, by POLITICO's Jeremy B. White: The Democratic Governors Association has registered the largest single donation yet to Gov. Gavin Newsom's effort to beat back a recall election, magnifying the election's national stakes.

— Separately, some Hollywood and Silicon Valley grandees funded his 2022 re-election account: Jeffrey Abrams, Jeffrey Katzenberg and Sean Parker are among those who have maxed out.

SUMMER SLIDE? — Newsom's looming threat: Summer blackouts, by POLITICO's Debra Kahn and Colby Bermel: A deepening drought and potential for heat waves threaten to unleash a new political nightmare for Newsom: widespread power outages. The state's grid operator is already warning of the possibility of rolling blackouts in August and September, not long before voters will decide his fate in a Republican-driven recall election.

State officials — with last summer's outages still fresh in their minds — know well that a second straight year of blackouts could be damaging to Newsom , especially so close to the election. A hot summer with low hydropower supplies could send them scrambling for more electricity to stave off the worst-case scenario.

CORONAVIRUS UPDATES

— "A fraction of S.F. seniors returned to classrooms. Will it be enough to get $12 million from the state?" by the SF Chronicle's Jill Tucker and Emma Talley: " At Wallenberg High School on Friday morning, the San Francisco campus remained nearly empty, no happy reunions of classmates or even any evidence that it was supposed to be the first day back for hundreds of seniors across the district."

— "Sacramento City Unified combines classes; some schools to return four days a week," by the Sac Bee's Sawsan Morrar.

MASK MELEE — "Is it really safe to take off your mask? Answering your questions about CDC's new guidance," by the LATimes' Rong-Gong Lin II, Hayley Smith and Karen Kaplan.

— "Are masks still required in Sacramento? Here's what officials say after new CDC guidance," by the Sac Bee's Michael McGough.

— "To mask or not to mask? California's conundrum," by CalMatters' Emily Hoeven: "Aligning the state's mask guidance with the CDC's would likely bring the divisive issue of vaccine passports to the fore, as people would presumably have to prove they're fully vaccinated in order to walk maskless into a store."

— " Trader Joe's is first grocer to drop mask requirement, but you need to be vaccinated," by the SFGate's Fiona Lee.

— "California announces new guidance for overnight summer camps," by the LATimes' Hayley Smith.

THE 46TH

— "Pelosi keeps mask mandate on House floor despite CDC change, sparking GOP backlash: 'It's about control'," by WaPo's Tim Elfrink.

— Stefanik voted in as House GOP's new No. 3 leader by POLITICO's Olivia Beavers and Melanie Zanona: In Stefanik, it is clear that [House Minority Leader Kevin] McCarthy is getting a deputy who shares his vision on Trump and his role in the party, a critical litmus test in today's GOP.

CAMPAIGN MODE

CHENEY CASHOUT: We never thought we'd see it: California Democrats fundraising off a Cheney. But in a sign of this extraordinary political moment we've been getting "Liz Cheney" campaign pitches praising the exiled-from-leadership GOP Congresswoman, including swing seat candidate Harley Rouda and party stalwart Adam Schiff.

— "Issa remains vague about Cheney's removal" by the SD Union Tribune's Michael Smolens: "At least several other Republican House members across the country have refused to say how they voted on Cheney. Unlike [Rep. Darrell] Issa, some of them voted to impeach Trump in January."

GAVINLAND

— "Three things to know about Gavin Newsom's spending spree," by CalMatters' Laurel Rosenhall.

TALK OF THE TOWN — " What California leaders are saying about Gov. Gavin Newsom's $268 billion spending plan," by Andrew Sheeler.

— "Pay cuts ending for 130,000 California state workers. Others must negotiate," by the Sac Bee's Wes Venteicher.

CALIFORNIA AND THE CAPITOL CORRIDOR

FIRE SEASON IS ARRIVING — "This is where the Palisades fire is burning," by LA Daily News' Jody Collins: "About 1,000 people were evacuated and hundreds more were told to prepare to leave Sunday afternoon as firefighters battled the Palisades fire, which spread to 1,325 acres with no containment yet reached, the Los Angeles County Fire Department said."

— "Red flag law takes guns from dangerous people. Why aren't more California counties using it?" by the SFChronicle's Alexei Koseff: "Nearly two-thirds of the 2020 cases came from just five counties — San Diego, Santa Clara, Orange, Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz."

HARDBALL — " Oakland City Council strikes back at MLB, A's after relocation talks floated," by the SFChronicle's Matt Kawahara: "The council's letter Friday states 'that it is entirely false that the City Council is delaying or refusing to consider the A's project proposal.'"

GARCETTI LEGACY — "If Garcetti leaves early for India ambassador post, how will he be remembered? " by the LATimes' Steve Lopez.

BACKLASH TOWARD HOMELESS CAMPS — "Homeless camping at beaches and parks? L.A. proposal stirs outcry from some neighbors," by the LATimes' David Zahniser: "L.A.'s struggle to get a handle on its growing homelessness crisis is running up against Angelenos' love of their outdoor recreation spaces, which served as a lifeline for many during the stay-at-home orders of the COVID-19 pandemic."

SPEAKING OF WHICH — "Homeless camp backlash has reached a turning point in California," by the SFChronicle's Lauren Hepler: "Some local governments are also weighing new approaches to coexistence with encampments — regular trash pickups, sanctioned camps, tiny homes — as short-term workarounds for a vexing combination of unaffordable housing and stubborn neighborhood resistance to new shelters."

CAR CLASH — "Everyone Agrees California's Parking Laws Are Bad for Cities. So Why Do Planners Like Them?" by Slate's Henry Grabar: "Such requirements effectively block most small-scale, affordable, and infill housing; they distort the size and shape of commercial architecture; they render thousands of older buildings functionally obsolete (no parking lot, no adaptive reuse);they subsidize driving and make it difficult to build walkable places."

IT GETS WORSE — "California's unemployment claims backlog growing again, new numbers show," by the Sac Bee's David Lightman.

DRUG BUST — "Despite drug crisis, San Francisco can't ban alleged dealers from Tenderloin, court rules ," by the SF Chronicle's Mallory Moench.

CHEE-TER — "The man who didn't invent Flamin' Hot Cheetos," by the LATimes' Sam Dean: "The idea that grew into Flamin' Hots didn't come from Rancho Cucamonga, or California, or even Frito-Lay's home base in Texas. Six of the former employees remember inspiration coming from the corner stores of Chicago and Detroit."

SILICON VALLEYLAND

WHAT'S UP WITH WHATSAPP? — Facebook tightens grip on WhatsApp user data as U.S. lags on privacy, by POLITICO's Alexandra S. Levine: WhatsApp is forging ahead with a new privacy policy that will expand Facebook's grip on consumer data, despite pressure from users and lawmakers to reverse course — intensifying alarm about Silicon Valley writing its own rules of the road on data in the absence of regulation in the U.S.

— "Amazon Access to Mailbox Could Be Grounds to Overturn Union Vote," by Bloomberg's Spencer Soper, Josh Eidelson and Matt Day: "The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, which lost the election last month, has accused Amazon of having the mailbox installed so it could spy on workers."

— "Parler to relaunch in Apple store," by the Hill's Chris Mills Rodrigo.

MR. TECH GOES TO SACRAMENTO — " How an ex-Googler is bringing Silicon Valley thinking to California's capital," by Protocol's Biz Carson.

HOLLYWOODLAND

OOF — "Ellen DeGeneres announced the end of her show. Then somehow, she made things worse," by the LATimes' Mary McNamara.

— " AT&T, Discovery join media houses as cord-cutting encroaches" from the Associated Press: "AT&T will combine its massive media operations that include CNN, HBO, TNT and TBS in a $43 billion deal with Discovery, the owner of lifestyle networks including the Food Network and HGTV."

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MEDIA MATTERS

— Alexis Madrigal of the Atlantic will co-host KQED's Forum, sliding in to fill the spot vacated by Michael Krasny's departure.

— " Longtime KCBS Radio anchor Steve Bitker, a Bay Area sports fixture, is retiring," by SFGate's Alex Shultz.

MIXTAPE

— "'Out of control': Organized crime drives S.F. shoplifting, closing 17 Walgreens in five years," by the SF Chronicle's Mallory Moench.

— " Border Patrol agents fatally shoot driver in Campo following pursuit," by the San Diego U-T's Alex Riggins and Kristina Davis.

— "Can gentrification be slowed in Oak Park? Inside the dramatic effort to save a neighborhood," by the Sac Bee's Tony Bizjak And Alexandra Yoon-Hendricks.

— "State prosecutors seek to dismiss rape charges against Newport Beach doctor and his girlfriend," by the OC Register's Sean Emery.

— "Yolo jury convicts man in Woodland fatal shooting who evaded capture for nine years," by the Sac Bee's Rosalio Ahumada.

— "Navy favors massive project with 10K housing units on NAVWAR site," by the SD Union TrIbune's Jennifer Van Grove.

— "Parents threaten lawsuit if Berkeley Unified doesn't fully reopen schools," by Berkeleyside's Ally Markovich.

— "In Boyle Heights, Battle Over A Senior Home For Japanese Americans Is LA's Latest Displacement Story," by LAist's Josie Huang.

BIRTHDAYS

SUNDAY: Amazon's Jodi Seth

SATURDAY: Nick Papas of Airbnb … Alejandro Gonzalez-Stewart

IN MEMORIAM

— JASON WAYNE LLOREN, 52, SF Chronicle's online producer: Lloren, who died of a heart attack last week, was a beloved member of the Chronicle staff and the California press corps — and an invaluable longtime contributor to the POLITICO California Playbook. His family announced a Memorial Service on Friday, May 21 at the Pittsburg Funeral Chapel on Railroad Avenue, Pittsburg, CA – 3 pm, with viewing to begin at 1 pm.

A message from CVS Health:

Throughout the pandemic, in California and across the country, CVS Health has been delivering essential care. We're now offering same-day and walk-in appointments for vaccines at more than 9,600 CVS Pharmacy locations across 50 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C. We're also vaccinating adolescents 12+ at more than 5,600 Pharmacy locations nationwide. With many still staying home, we're supporting safer pregnancies by expanding access to prenatal and postpartum care via telemedicine. Nothing should stand in the way of mental health and well-being, so we're increasing remote access to mental health services. Recognizing the strong connection between housing and health, we're investing in affordable housing to support underserved populations and build healthier communities. Every day, we work to bring quality, affordable health care closer to home — so it's never out of reach for anyone. That's health care, from the heart. Learn more.

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