News: Gascón gets a reprieve

Tuesday, August 16, 2022

Gascón gets a reprieve

Aug 16, 2022

By Jeremy B. White, Lara Korte and Sakura Cannestra

Presented by Southern California Edison

THE BUZZ: George Gascón will not need to follow Chesa Boudin down that recall plank.

The progressive Los Angeles district attorney's foes got close to forcing a vote two years ahead of schedule. After an initial attempt fizzled, this push attracted millions of dollars and broader political buy-in. The campaign fell about 50,000 valid signatures short despite spending some $5.6 million to qualify for the ballot. Gascón is positioned for reelection in 2024 without having to marshal his supporters early.

That means California will not get a second big-city prosecutor recall in 2022. Gascón and Boudin have long functioned in political parallel as they advanced a larger movement to shift from stringent criminal penalties to lighter sentences and less incarceration. A year after Boudin stunned the San Francisco establishment by winning Gascón's old job, Gascón channeled a national reckoning and rallied Los Angeles Democrats to his upset election bid.

Then a confluence of crime fears, law enforcement backlash and major opposition funding had both men fighting to complete a full term. Both were vilified as embodiments of liberal lawlessness. Gascón watched his successor implode as a similar recall effort banged on his door, concluding Boudin had relied on data and realized too late that voters' perceptions of their own safety matter, too.

Close profile photo of Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon speaking at a news conference.

Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon speaks at a news conference outside the Staples Center in Los Angeles on October 1, 2020. | Damian Dovarganes/AP Photo

Control of the largest prosecutorial office in America has enormous consequences for criminal justice outcomes. Gascón's sweeping and contested sentencing overhaul fundamentally determines who goes to prison and for how long. A Gascón recall on the heels of Boudin's ouster would also have been a political bellwether, testing the staying power of a reformist prosecutor movement that has collided with public frustration and political retrenchment.

It also could have rippled across California's midterms. Los Angeles mayoral candidate Rick Caruso, Los Angeles Sheriff Alex Villanueva and L.A.-based Republican Attorney General candidate Nathan Hochman endorsed recalling Gascón (Caruso also kicked in $50,000). All four could have been on the November ballot after a recall campaign amplified crime concerns. High turnout from motivated anti-Gascón voters could have spilled into other races. Conversely, Rep. Karen Bass will not have to weigh in on a Gascón recall as her mayoral campaign seeks to reassure a jittery public without alienating progressives.

BUENOS DÍAS, good Tuesday morning. With Rep. Liz Cheney on the ballot in Wyoming today, we'll soon learn if GOP Rep. David Valadao remains one of just two House Republicans to advance to this year's general election after voting to impeach then-President Donald Trump. Valadao finished 1,200 votes ahead of a Republican challenger and is now going head-to-head with Democratic Assembly member Rudy Salas.

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: "I knew who I was. Nothing that I said was because anybody told me to say it. Bill Oberndorf was just one person in that much larger operation." San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins on doing paid work for a Boudin recall-affiliated group, via the Chron.

TWEET OF THE DAY: The response from @GeorgeGascon: "Grateful to move forward from this attempted political power grab-rest assured LA County, the work hasn't stopped. My primary focus has been & will always be keeping us safe & creating a more equitable justice system for all. I remain strongly committed to that work & to you."

WHERE'S GAVIN? Nothing official announced.

A message from Southern California Edison:

Southern California Edison is taking steps every day to protect the safety of our customers and communities. By installing covered power lines, upgrading our electric infrastructure, investing in new technologies and strengthening our partnerships with fire agencies, we can prevent wildfires before they happen, better predict when they may occur and respond quickly if one starts. Protecting 32 million acres in Southern California and the people that live here is a job we take seriously.

TOP TALKERS

— "Stalled U.S. Forest Service project could have protected California town from Caldor Fire destruction, " by Capital Public Radio's Scott Rodd California Newsroom's George LeVines and Capital Public Radio's Emily Zentner: "At a community meeting in the early 2000s, the U.S. Forest Service, with chilling foresight, had warned that a wildfire mirroring the Caldor Fire's burn progression could easily wipe Grizzly Flats off the map," but "the Forest Service's plan to protect Grizzly Flats fell far short."

IN THE 209 — " His website skewers Stockton politicians and agencies. Then one gave him a cushy job," by the Los Angeles Times' James Rainey: "While still in control of his 209 Times — named after the local area code — [founder Motecuzoma Patrick] Sanchez now holds a well-paying administrative job at the Stockton Unified School District, where the leaders who hired him enjoy positive coverage from his news site."

— "Exclusive: Sacramento police arrested man brandishing gun at city councilman's house," by the Sacramento Bee's Theresa Clift: "On a Saturday night a year ago, a man at a party in a house Sacramento City Councilman Sean Loloee owns allegedly brandished a gun in a threatening manner. Someone called the police, and officers arrested a suspect who had five guns with him."

CAMPAIGN MODE

— "Exclusive: Brooke Jenkins defends work with nonprofit tied to campaign to recall Chesa Boudin," by the San Francisco Chronicle's Megan Cassidy: "Jenkins, who revealed that she had taken the nonprofit job in a statement of economic interest filed with the city last week, said she knew the two groups were related. But she said that as a newcomer to politics she did not realize how the conflict would be perceived."

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CALIFORNIA AND THE CAPITOL CORRIDOR

MOOVING ON — "California cows are leaving the state and that won't help global warming," by the Press-Enterprise's Brooke Staggs: "It makes perfect sense from a business perspective. But those former California cows are now residents of states with different air quality laws. And in the global effort to combat climate change by cleaning up dairy farming, that matters."

— "California rents are spiking — and in places you might not expect. 'I was in shock' ," by the Los Angeles Times' Summer Lin: "After Jersey City, N.J., and Boston, Palo Alto is the third-most-expensive city for rentals in the United States, followed by Glendale and Santa Monica. San Diego is ninth on the list, while Newport Beach came in at 10th. Los Angeles and San Francisco are in the next tier, at 12th and 13th, respectively."

— " Deadline looms for drought-stricken states to cut water use," by the AP's Sam Metz and Felicia Fonseca: "Officials party to discussions said the most likely targets for cuts are farmers in Arizona and California. Agricultural districts in those states are asking to be paid generously to shoulder that burden."

FIGHTING FIRE HOW — " Stalled U.S. Forest Service project could have protected California town from Caldor Fire destruction," by CapRadio's Scott Rodd and Emily Zentner and the California Newsroom's George LeVines: "In the years that followed, the Forest Service took steps to prevent such a catastrophe. But a nine-month investigation by CapRadio and The California Newsroom, a public media collaboration, found that the Forest Service's plan to protect Grizzly Flats fell far short."

DRIVING THE FUTURE — "Tesla neighborhoods: These are the Bay Area ZIP codes with the most electric vehicles ," by the San Francisco Chronicle's Dustin Gardiner and Yoohyun Jung: "As it stands, however, the highest concentrations of electric owners can be found in wealthy, suburban pockets of Silicon Valley, the Oakland Hills and Marin County, according to an analysis by The Chronicle using California Energy Commission data based on motor vehicle registrations."

DEATH OF THE LAWN — " In Los Angeles, the Grass Isn't Always Greener This Year," by the New York Times' Jill Cowan: "Where residents once looked askance at any yard that resembled a desert diorama, there are now parades of gravel beds studded with cacti, native plant gardens and artificial turf. The change reflects a different kind of neighborly peer pressure, supercharged by stringent new water restrictions that took effect in June."

— "Column: Newsom's Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta plan makes more sense. But it's still a 'water grab'," opines the Los Angeles times' George Skelton: "But it still can legitimately be labeled a Los Angeles and corporate agriculture "water grab." It justifiably scares little delta towns and local farmers who rely on fresh river flows to turn back salty water from San Francisco Bay."

— "Can a Dem strategy punish the GOP for extremism, falsehoods? " opines Capitol Weekly's Garry South and Hans Johnson: "They are fracturing the Republican Party in ways its own officials would prefer to overlook while angling to regain control of Congress."

A message from Southern California Edison:

BIDEN, HARRIS AND THE HILL

WHERE'S THE TRUTH — "Trump's Truth Social company ordered to turn over Devin Nunes information," by Reuters' Mike Scarcella: "The ruling stems from a $75 million defamation lawsuit brought by Nunes, a former Republican U.S. Congressman from California, against Hearst Magazine Media Inc and journalist Ryan Lizza."

SILICON VALLEYLAND

— "Being Thrown Off Social Media Was Supposed to End Alex Jones's Career. It Made Him Even Richer," opines Bloomberg's Max Chafkin: "he trial called attention to both Jones's callousness and also, thanks to his lawyers accidentally sharing the contents of his iPhone with the plaintiffs' legal team, his involvement in last year's failed insurrection at the US Capitol. It also showed just how much money and influence Jones continues to command in 2022, four long years after he was supposedly barred from the civilized internet."

MEET SAM — " A young crypto billionaire's political agenda goes well beyond pandemic preparedness," by the Los Angeles Times' Freddy Brewster: "In a podcast interview, [CEO of FTX Sam] Bankman-Fried said he would spend as much as $1 billion of his estimated $12.8-billion fortune on American politics by the 2024 election, joining the ranks of megadonors such as George Soros and the Koch brothers."

HOLLYWOODLAND

— "Film Academy Apologizes To Sacheen Littlefeather Nearly 50 Years After She Rejected Marlon Brando's Oscar," by the LAist's Mike Roe: "While not explicitly stated in the letter, the Academy's statement announcing the public event notes that she was 'professionally boycotted, personally attacked and harassed, and discriminated against for the last 50 years.'"

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MIXTAPE

— "Los Angeles Dodgers starter Walker Buehler will have season-ending elbow surgery next week," by ESPN's Alden Gonzalez.

— "London Breed's Brother Appears in Court Amid Continuing Questions About DA's Conflict of Interest," by the San Francisco Standard's Jonah Owen Lamb.

— " They thought it was food poisoning — then came the ventilator. Inside a California couple's battle with Legionnaires' disease," by the San Francisco Chronicle's Carolyn Said.

— " Editorial: California bans the sale of shoes made from dead kangaroos. It's the law, so enforce it," opines the Los Angeles Times' Editorial Board.

— " New clues in search for missing California teen Kiely Rodni as search enters second full week," by the Sacramento Bee's Darrell Smith.

IN MEMORIAM

— "Legendary former Princeton head coach, Sacramento Kings assistant Pete Carril dead at 92," by the Sacramento Bee's Jason Andrewson.

BIRTHDAYS

Dave Jacobson of J&Z Strategies … Matt Silverstein … Tyler Grimm … Justin (JP) Griffin … David Jacobson ... Machmud Makhmudov

A message from Southern California Edison:

Evolving climate conditions throughout California have made wildfires a year-round concern to many communities. With safety as our number one priority, we are working to protect our customers and communities. Our engineers, field crews and fire science experts are developing and implementing industry-leading technologies and operational practices to reduce the risk of electrical equipment igniting wildfires. We've invested $1.3 billion in 2020 and are on track to spend an additional $3.5 billion in 2021-2022 to continue to prevent wildfires and act quickly when they occur. This includes installing covered power lines, strengthening situational awareness capabilities, and expanding operational practices like enhanced overhead inspections and vegetation management. We're also improving fire agencies' ability to detect and respond to emerging fires using satellite imagery and providing aerial fire suppression resources.

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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