News: Back to 120 — with dozens set to turn over

Tuesday, June 21, 2022

Back to 120 — with dozens set to turn over

Jun 21, 2022

By Jeremy B. White, Lara Korte and Sakura Cannestra

Presented by City of Hope

THE BUZZ: The Legislature is back at full strength for the first time in months. Now get ready for it to change.

A long period of vacant seats concluded yesterday when Tina McKinnor was sworn in as the newest Assembly member, claiming the Los Angeles seat her former boss Autumn Burke abruptly renounced last year. That came days after David Alvarez officially took office representing the San Diego district formerly held by Lorena Gonzalez , who departed for a gig running the California Labor Federation. After a series of resignations and appointments, there are once again 80 Assembly members and 40 senators.

But many of them will soon be gone. That could include both McKinnor and Alvarez. They'll match up in November with the same Democrats they defeated to secure six-month terms, Robert Pullen-Miles and Georgette Gomez — although both McKinnor and Alvarez will now wield powerful incumbents' advantages. If McKinnor and Alvarez do remain, they'll soon be meeting many new colleagues. Dozens of members are departing.

It can be hard to track the titanic turnover. So here's a handy cheat sheet to who is leaving and who is poised to replace them. Last week's primaries helped clarify the latter.

AD-10 (Jim Cooper): It will be either Democratic Elk Grove City Council member Stephanie Nguyen or Democratic Sacramento City Council member Eric Guerra, if Guerra's grip on second place holds, after an expensive primary.

AD-12 (Marc Levine): It will be either Democratic Coastal Commissioner Sara Aminzadeh or Democratic Marin Supervisor Damon Connolly representing the seat Levine left to challenge Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara.

AD-20 (Bill Quirk): It will be either Democrat and Alameda labor official Liz Ortega or Democratic Dublin Council Member Shawn Kumagai in a premier labor-versus-business matchup.

AD-21 (Kevin Mullin): Democratic San Mateo Council Member Diane Papan was poised to claim this safe blue seat and maintain its dynastic nature by being the sole Democrat to advance. But Democratic Redwood City Council member Giselle Hale vaulted into the second spot on Friday.

AD-27 (Adam Gray): It will be either Democratic Fresno City Council Member Esmeralda Soria or Republican Merced Sheriff Mark Pazin representing a seat whose double-digit Democratic voter advantage belies its competitiveness.

AD-28 (Mark Stone): Either Democratic former Santa Cruz County Clerk Gail Pellerin, who secured Stone's endorsement, or Democratic Los Gatos Mayor Rob Rennie will take this coastal seat.

AD-30 (Jordan Cunningham): Morro Bay City Council Member Dawn Addis will almost certainly be the next Assembly member as the only Democrat in the runoff.

AD-35 (Rudy Salas): It will be either Democratic doctor Jasmeet Bains or Democrat Kern County Supervisor Leticia Perez after a primary that saw substantial medical sector spending.

AD-47 (Chad Mayes): Democratic former Palm Springs Mayor Christy Holstege will match up with Republican Greg Wallis, a longtime Mayes staffer, for this competitive (D+6) seat as the Legislature's only independent departs.

AD-51 (Richard Bloom): Democrat Rick Chavez Zbur is the prohibitive favorite to replace Bloom. The former Equality California chief far outpolled second-place Democrat Louis Abramson in the primary.

AD-60 (Jose Medina): Democrat Riverside County Board of Education Member Corey Jackson is set to take this seat as he's on course to face a Republican in November.

AD-63 (Kelly Seyarto): Republican attorney Bill Essayli is looking to defend an R+4 seat against Democratic water board member Fauzia Rizvi.

AD-64 (Cristina Garcia): Downey Mayor Blanca Pacheco will likely replace Garcia as Pacheco is the sole Democrat to secure a spot in the general.

A message from City of Hope:

MAKING THE CANCER MOONSHOT A REALITY IN CALIFORNIA: Despite the amazing advances taking place in cancer care, too many patients – particularly those from historically underserved communities – face unnecessary barriers to access optimal care and suffer as a result. We must democratize cancer care by removing these unfair barriers and expanding equitable access to cancer care without delay. Here's how.

AD-68 (Tom Daly): In another race where there will be a sole Democrat on the ballot in November, Daly's district director, Avelino Valencia, is poised to claim his boss's job.

AD-69 (Patrick O'Donnell): Democrat Josh Lowenthal – the son of retiring Rep. Alan Lowenthal – or Democratic Long Beach City Councilmember Al Austin will represent this Long Beach-anchored seat.

AD-70 (Janet Nguyen): Democratic Garden Grove Mayor Pro Tem Diedre Thu-Ha Nguyen, one of the party's top 2020 prospects, will match up with Republican Westminster Mayor Tri Ta in a tight (D+3) district where Republicans have claimed about 60 percent of primary votes.

SD-4 (Andreas Borgeas): Republicans are reeling from the reality that either Democratic school administrator Marie Alvarado-Gil or Democratic labor official Tim Robertson will take over what looked to be a safe Republican seat.

SD-6 ( Jim Nielsen): One of Sacramento's most experienced Republican legislators will be succeeded by either Democratic former San Juan Unified School District member Paula Villescaz or Republican former Assembly member Roger Niello in a basically even district (R+0.5).

SD-8 ( Richard Pan): This and SD-10 (see below) host two expensive multi-Dem seats. Sacramento's next senator will be either Democratic Sacramento City Council Member Angelique Ashby or Democratic former Assembly member and Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones.

SD-10 ( Bob Wieckowski): It'll be either Fremont Mayor Lily Mei or Hayward City Council Member Aisha Wahab in another key moderate versus liberal matchup.

SD-20 (Bob Hertzberg): Democratic businessman Daniel Hertzberg's quest to succeed his father will run through Democratic nonprofit executive Caroline Menjivar after she leapfrogged a Republican into the second spot.

SD-28 (Sydney Kamlager): With Kamlager bound for the House, she'll be succeeded by one of two Democrats: UCLA Labor Center project director Lola Smallwood-Cuevas or attorney Cheryl C. Turner.

BUENOS DÍAS, good Tuesday morning. We hope those of you who played hookie to catch the Warriors parade in San Francisco had a good time.

Got a tip or story idea for California Playbook? Hit us up: jwhite@politico.com and lkorte@politico.com or follow us on Twitter @JeremyBWhite and @Lara_Korte.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Right now, I'm for Biden, and second I'm for Harris. That's one and two on the ticket, but that's one and two in my heart as well. So I don't care who goes to New Hampshire or Iowa, I'm for Biden and then I'm for Harris — either together or in that order." Kingmaker Rep. Jim Clyburn says VP Kamala Harris is the presumed successor, via WSJ.

TWEET OF THE DAY: Attorney @PopeHat on a violent political ad that Facebook removed: "When Woke Tyrants At Big Tech Get To Decide Whether or Not You Can Call For The Murder Of Political Opponents On Their Sites, Are We Really Free?"

WHERE'S GAVIN? Nothing official announced.

STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president's ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today.

Top Talkers

DRONE SEASON — "Amazon drones are coming to town. Some locals want to shoot them." by the Washington Post's Caroline O'Donovan: "When Amazon announced last week that it would begin delivering packages via drones for the first time in the United States, the news took many residents of Lockeford by surprise."

— "Meet the outlandish AMC boss betting on memes and a literal gold mine to save movies ," by the Los Angeles Times' Ryan Faughnder: "The back-and-forth showcased Aron's unique celebrity status in the movie business and online investor culture, as the head of the world's biggest cinema chain at a time when the theater industry faces existential questions."

— " A young girl was the last slave in California until a Sacramento Black church leader freed her," by the Sacramento Bee's Marcus D. Smith: "That 1863 tale of California's last enslaved person is highlighted in a new investigation by the state's reparations task force, which documented over 160 years of harm to Black communities caused by enslavement and discriminatory policies."

CAMPAIGN MODE

— "Column: Why L.A., not San Francisco, could become the most progressive city in California," by the Los Angeles Times' Erika D. Smith: "In an election year supposedly defined by the public's anxiety over rising crime and diminishing law enforcement, Los Angeles is on the verge of electing its first abolitionist City Council member. Wrap your mind around that one."

— California plastics initiative backers say new legislative deal doesn't pass muster , by POLITICO's Debra Kahn: "But backers of the ballot initiative aren't prepared to withdraw their proposal, which would go further by banning polystyrene outright and giving the state more authority over implementation."

L.A. MAYORAL MATCH-UP — "Karen Bass widens lead over Rick Caruso in L.A. mayor's race ," by the Los Angeles Times' Dakota Smith: "Caruso initially led Bass by 5 percentage points after the June 7 election. But that order flipped as hundreds of thousands of vote-by-mail ballots were processed by county workers in subsequent days."

CALIFORNIA AND THE CAPITOL CORRIDOR

— "After months delay, Newsom sent 'walking while trans' loitering law repeal," by the Bay Area Reporter's Matthew S. Bajko: "If the bill does become law then California would join the state of New York in repealing its loitering laws."

AFFORDABLE LIVING, COSTLY BUILDING — "Affordable housing in California now routinely tops $1 million per apartment to build," by the Los Angeles Times' Liam Dillon and Ben Poston: "The seven subsidized housing developments, all in Northern California, received state funding within the last two years and are under construction or close to breaking ground. When completed, they will provide homes for more than 600 families."

— "California has a child care crisis. How finding it – and paying for it – can be a nightmare ," by the Fresno Bee's Claudia Boyd-Barrett: "Child care providers, many already struggling before COVID, have been hit hard over the past two years. Plummeting demand for child care, increased cleaning and supply costs, virus safety measures and capacity restrictions created a perfect storm of stressors, said providers and experts familiar with the child care field."

ASSESSING ACCESS — " California thinks it can be an abortion sanctuary in a post-Roe nation. These battlegrounds tell a different story," by the San Francisco Chronicle's Lauren Helper: "With the Supreme Court expected to overturn landmark abortion rights ruling Roe v. Wade this summer, California is positioning itself as a sanctuary to residents of 26 U.S. states poised to fully or partially ban the common medical procedure. But hundreds of thousands of women, nonbinary and transgender people in this state are still in need of similar refuge."

— "Gavin Newsom's drought strategy is a major departure from Jerry Brown's mandatory water cuts. It's not working," by the San Francisco Chronicle's Dustin Gardiner: "The governor has instead repeatedly called on Californians to voluntarily conserve, and has allowed the state's 436 local water agencies to create their own plans to prepare for impending water shortages."

'WHERE THE HELL IS MY PARTY?' — "Gavin Newsom's Case for a More Aggressive Democratic Party ," by the Atlantic's Ronald Brownstein: "In an interview at his office in Sacramento on Tuesday, Newsom told me he was surprised at how 'resonant' a response he received from Democrats around the country to viral video clips of that moment."

A message from City of Hope:

BIDEN, HARRIS AND THE HILL

— "Biden says decision on gas tax holiday may come this week," by the Associated Press' Aamer Madhani and Josh Boak: "Biden said members of his team were to meet this week with CEOs of the major oil companies to discuss rising prices. Biden lashed out at oil companies, saying they are making excessive profits when people are feeling the crunch of skyrocketing costs at the pump and inflation."

2024 VISION — "Democrats Expect Joe Biden to Run in 2024. They're Less Sure If He Should. " by the Wall Street Journal's Joshua Jamerson and Tarini Parti: "The White House has repeatedly said that Mr. Biden, 79, the oldest president to be sworn into office, intends to run for re-election. A person familiar with the president's advisers' thinking said they are planning on him running and that the private conversations have matched the public statements."

SILICON VALLEYLAND

— "Peter Thiel helped build big tech. Now he wants to tear it all down." by the Washington Post's Elizabeth Dwoskin: "Thiel's ambition to serve as an architect of the American right had grown increasingly at odds with his position on the board of one of the movement's top enemies — a political shift that dovetailed with his own growing alienation from Silicon Valley."

A RETURN? — "San Francisco Is Back. Sort of. Maybe. " by the Information's Kate Clark: "It felt like a tableau from the Before Times—prior to the pandemic's myriad disruptions to work, social life and San Francisco's undisputed status as the epicenter of tech."

— "Leaked Audio From 80 Internal TikTok Meetings Shows That US User Data Has Been Repeatedly Accessed From China ," by Buzzfeed News' Emily Baker-White: "The recordings, which were reviewed by BuzzFeed News, contain 14 statements from nine different TikTok employees indicating that engineers in China had access to US data between September 2021 and January 2022, at the very least."

— " SpaceX fires workers who criticized Elon Musk in open letter," by the Washington Post's Jacob Bogage and Christian Davenport: "In an email to employees Thursday reviewed by The Washington Post, the rocket company's president, Gwynne Shotwell, said the letter 'made employees feel uncomfortable, intimidated and bullied' and pressured into signing a document that did not reflect their views."

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CANNABIS COUNTRY

— The Unintended Consequence of Trying to Give Black Marijuana Entrepreneurs a Head Start , by POLITICO'S Paul Demko: She was banking on rules Detroit had passed that would place native Detroiters like [Kimberly] Scott at the front of the line for licenses to sell to anyone over 21. But weeks passed — and then months — and the license never came.

— " Will the 'Emerald New Deal' make it onto Oakland's November ballot?," by Oaklandside's Ricky Rodas: "The organizers behind the measure have secured some influential endorsements from local community organizations and several city councilmembers. But the last hurdle before the measure ends up on the ballot for voters to decide is getting approval from the entire City Council."

MIXTAPE

— "'Hit these guys up': Former Jose Huizar aide testifies about demands for cash and donations," by the Los Angeles Times' David Zahniser.

BUILDING A VIBE — "With stadium deal dead, Anaheim refocuses on Honda Center project: OC Vibe," by the Orange County Register's Alicia Robinson.

— " Folsom's historic Negro Bar will undergo a temporary name change from California parks," by the Sacramento Bee's Marcus D. Smith.

— " S.F.'s white city employees make 24% more money than colleagues of color, audit finds," by the San Francisco Chronicle's Shwanika Narayan.

— "Sacramento's happy hour scene is roaring back. Here's your guide to 100+ deals, drinks and bites ," by the Sacramento Bee's Benjy Egel.

TRANSITIONS

— Nichole Rocha, recently the chief consultant for the Assembly's Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee, has joined 5Rights as head of U.S. Affairs.

BIRTHDAYS

SUNDAY: Rep. Pete Aguilar … Protocol's Becca Evans … Tom Hoare …

SATURDAY: Rep . Jerry McNerney … Robert O'Brien … MPA's Rachel Alben … Scooter Braun …

A message from City of Hope:

LAWMAKERS: For too long, too many patients—especially those historically underserved—have been denied the opportunity to benefit from the latest advancements in cancer care.

For patients insured by Medi-Cal, the results are clear: worse outcomes on average for several cancer types.

Californians should take heed – cancer is the state's second-biggest killer, and more than 189,000 Californians are expected to be diagnosed this year alone.

That's why City of Hope and Cancer Care Is Different, a coalition of leading cancer organizations, are supporting the California Cancer Care Equity Act (SB 987) . This bill expands access to equitable cancer care by ensuring Medi-Cal beneficiaries who receive a complex cancer diagnosis can choose to seek treatment at a specialty cancer center, increasing the number of Californians able to benefit from emerging therapies.

This change could mean the difference between life and death for many Californians. Let's make the Biden administration's moonshot a reality.

CALIFORNIA POLICY IS ALWAYS CHANGING: Know your next move. From Sacramento to Silicon Valley, POLITICO California Pro provides policy professionals with the in-depth reporting and tools they need to get ahead of policy trends and political developments shaping the Golden State. To learn more about the exclusive insight and analysis this subscriber-only service offers, click here.

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