Villaraigosa eyes governor’s race — again

Presented by The Climate Center Action Fund: Inside the Golden State political arena

May 30, 2024 View in browser   By Dustin Gardiner and Lara Korte Presented by The Climate Center Action Fund Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is considering joining the crowded race for California governor in 2026. | Michael Tran/AFP via Getty Images THE BUZZ: SAY MY NAME — Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa really seems to want his name in the mix for the 2026 California governor’s race. Villaraigosa has been touting a new poll, in conversations with supporters and acquaintances across the state in recent days, that he says shows him in a strong position to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2.5 years, according to three people familiar with his comments, granted anonymity to speak candidly about private conversations. What’s perhaps most striking about Villaraigosa’s decision to promote the poll is whom it shows in first place: Rep. Katie Porter is said to be hovering in the high 20 percentage points — roughly 10 points ahead of Villaraigosa, who’s in the high teens and in second place, while the rest of the field is around single digits. Villaraigosa and his closest advisers didn’t respond to requests for comment, and Playbook wasn’t able to independently review the poll’s methodology, wording or the descriptions used for would-be candidates, which can carry weight with voters (for example, referring to someone’s former political office). It’s also unclear who paid for the survey. The reported results on the top two contenders weren’t entirely surprising: Porter just spent millions and was on the ballot in the March primary race for U.S. Senate, while Villaraigosa was mayor of California’s largest city and was previously on the statewide ballot in 2018. Still, the poll numbers for both were much higher than either has received in an actual statewide election. Nevertheless, the growing chatter around Villaraigosa, who lost the 2018 governor’s race to Newsom in the primary, suggests he’s more seriously weighing the option, or at least encouraging the chatter — especially the notion that he could start out as the frontrunner if Porter stays on the sidelines. Moreover, the poll is another data point that suggests the field for the 2026 governor’s race remains tumultuous, despite a large field of prospects more than two years ahead of time. For months, Villaraigosa has been rumored as a potential candidate. A person close to him previously told POLITICO he was reviewing polling and expected to make a decision in the coming weeks. On primary night in March, he patiently navigated a long line of TV news cameras at Rep. Adam Schiff’s party, reiterating that he was looking seriously at the governor’s race. But Villaraigosa’s enthusiasm seems to be couched in an assumption that Porter wouldn’t run. That’s a major unanswered question. Porter, whom Schiff defeated in a bruising primary battle for Senate, will leave the House at the end of this year. She hasn’t said if she’s thinking about the governor’s race. Still, she has sought to keep her robust national profile: She’s still lending her powerful fundraising list to Democratic allies, and she recently teamed up with GOP Rep. James Comer, of Kentucky, on a presidential ethics bill. “Katie’s focused on using the last months of her term fighting for the people of her district,” Porter’s camp said in a statement, which sidestepped questions about her future. “She's not easing up — not for a second.” Other well-known, powerful political players are already in the race, but none have the strong statewide name ID that every governor has had over the last two decades, including Newsom as well as former Govs. Jerry Brown and Arnold Schwarzenegger. The other contenders include State Sen. Toni Atkins, the former Democratic leader of the state Senate; Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis; State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond; and former State Controller Betty Yee. Also in the potential mix, though they haven’t declared: state Attorney General Rob Bonta and U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra. Villaraigosa has succeeded in making himself part of the conversation, but we’re still waiting to see if his interest extends beyond parlor chatter. — with help from Melanie Mason in Los Angeles GOOD MORNING. Happy Thursday. Thanks for waking up with Playbook. You can text us at ‪916-562-0685‬‪ — save it as “CA Playbook” in your contacts. Or drop us a line at lkorte@politico.com and dgardiner@politico.com, or on X — @DustinGardiner and @Lara_Korte. WHERE’S GAVIN? Nothing official announced. UNION TOWN California Labor Federation head Lorena Gonzalez has urged state officials to move quickly to resolve a backlog of wage claims. | Rich Pedroncelli/AP WOES FOR WORKERS — A new audit finds the state Labor Commissioner's Office has 47,000 backlogged wage claims, and that the office would itself need to hire hundreds of staffers more to fix it. State Auditor Grant Parks released the report Wednesday detailing how the LCO has struggled to process the thousands of wage claims submitted by workers from 2017 through 2023. Parks concluded the main culprit behind the huge backlog was insufficient staffing at the LCO. The audit also found that the office is rarely successful in collecting payments from employers: It was only able to secure the entire amount owed in 12 percent of the cases that workers brought to its attention. The news was met with a sharp rebuke from top workers’ rights leader Lorena Gonzalez, head the California Labor Federation, who urged state officials to move quickly to fill vacancies at the LCO and expedite the hiring process. “If there is no guarantee that workers have timely access to justice, there is no business incentive for corporations to follow the law,” she said in a statement.   A message from The Climate Center Action Fund: Governor Newsom and legislators can do more to protect clean air by ending billion-dollar tax breaks to the oil industry. The governor is fighting to end price gouging and took a small step toward taking Big Oil off the state’s payroll, now we must go all the way. With a huge deficit putting critical climate and clean air programs at risk, ending fossil fuel subsidies ensures California invests in people, not oil and gas industry profits. Learn more.   CASH DASH Vice President Kamala Harris will attend a campaign fundraiser in San Francisco next week. | Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images IT’S A MANNY’S WORLD — Manny Yekutiel, the San Francisco venue owner and political conversation-starter, will co-host a fundraiser for Vice President Kamala Harris next week in the city. The event is one of many trips that the Biden-Harris campaign has made to the Bay Area to hit up one of the country’s most prolific fundraising ATMs. But Harris' visit won’t just cater to mega donors from Silicon Valley, Marin County and Pacific Heights, as so many prior Biden campaign events have tended to do. This one will be a larger show of force, held at a location near Manny’s eponymous coffee shop in the Mission district, a historic immigrant neighborhood. Plus, Yekutiel said he’s reserving a swath of tickets for small donors who email him, though the listed ticket price starts at $500. Why hold a more rally-style event now in one of the country’s most progressive major city? In an email to potential attendees, Yekutiel said it’s time for Democrats to get fired up — or face the prospect of a second Donald Trump presidency. “Our community sitting on the sidelines is effectively rolling out the red carpet for Trump's return,” Yekutiel wrote. The fundraiser will be co-hosted by mega Democratic donors Shannon Hunt-Scott, Stacy Mason and Sheila Thompson. STATE CAPITOL Former Speaker Anthony Rendon’s Select Committee on Happiness and Public Policy Outcomes has released data on the happiest California counties. | Rich Pedroncelli/AP Photo | AP Photo MOVE OVER, DISNEYLAND — It turns out Alpine County is the happiest place on earth. Well, at least the happiest place in California. That’s according to data presented in former Speaker Anthony Rendon’s Select Committee on Happiness and Public Policy Outcomes on Wednesday. The data, explained by Oxford Professor Jan-Emmanuel De Neve and derived from the World Happiness Report, found the sparsely-populated county along the state’s Nevada border boasted the highest levels of happiness of any county in the state — albeit with a sample size of 12 survey respondents. Marin County was the second-highest in happiness, followed by Placer, Yolo and San Luis Obispo counties — all of which reported levels of life satisfaction similar to those found in Finland or Denmark, which frequently top the global happiness charts. Income and social support were among the factors that correlated with a higher happiness ranking, De Neve said. Orange County, home to Disneyland, came in eighth. See the full rankings here. Rendon first floated the committee on happiness last year amid his transition out of the speaker’s office as a way to examine quality of life issues in California. On Wednesday he acknowledged some of his colleagues were taking it more seriously than others. “Some are probably mocking me behind my back,” he said. “And that’s OK.” As for his own happiness these days? Rendon put himself at a 7, thanks in part to a really great lunch from Binchoyaki. Actor Bruce Willis and Emma Heming Willis, his wife and an advocate raising awareness about frontotemporal degeneration. | Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Film at Lincoln Center FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: TAKING ON DEMENTIA — Emma Heming Willis will meet with Newsom and legislative leaders today to raise awareness of frontotemporal degeneration — or FTD — the dementia that forced her husband, actor Bruce Willis, to retire. California will declare world FTD awareness week, part of a push by Heming Willis and the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration to get states to start tracking the prevalence of the disease, which is frequently mistaken for Alzheimers. She began that effort with state legislators in New York earlier this month. FTD patients are often much younger than Alzheimer's patients and have different needs. Instead of memory problems, they face issues with language and reasoning in the prime of their careers. “We can afford caregiving and other families cannot,” Heming Willis said. “This is a disease that takes a village, especially when it’s impacting someone younger.” — Rachel Bluth   A message from The Climate Center Action Fund:   CAMPAIGN YEAR Democratic Rep. Josh Harder. | Justin Sullivan/Getty Images OUT IN FRONT — Members of the GOP are seizing on news that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee just added Central Valley Rep. Josh Harder to its so-called Frontline program that traditionally boosts at-risk incumbents — a notable designation for a race that has so far not been considered among California’s most competitive House seats. Republicans took this as a sign their years-long dream to oust Harder — ever since his upset win in 2018 over Republican Rep. Jeff Denham — may actually come true with their candidate, Stockton Mayor Kevin Lincoln. “Josh Harder’s D.C. party bosses swooping in to prop up his campaign shows Central Valley families see Harder for what he is: a self-serving, out-of-touch politician who cares more about enriching himself than delivering results for the Valley,” said National Republican Congressional Committee spokesperson Ben Petersen in a statement. But Democrats say the move is just an insurance policy to juice Harder’s already-impressive fundraising machine and provide additional resources, not a sign of sudden panic. They note that Harder easily won re-election in 2022 by nearly 10 points and his district backed Joe Biden over Donald Trump in 2020 by double-digits. “House Democrats are well-positioned to win back the majority, needing to flip only four seats this November,” DCCC spokesperson Justin Chermol said in a statement. “Our Frontline program ensures our battle-tested incumbents have the resources necessary to communicate their records of delivering real results.” — Melanie Mason CLIMATE AND ENERGY WINDS FROM THE NORTH — Washington Gov. Jay Inslee is facing multiple attacks on his signature carbon-pricing program that have sent auction proceeds plummeting. He can look south for solace: California navigated a remarkably similar string of hurdles as it set up its own cap-and-trade market more than a decade ago. More on California's lessons learned in last night's California Climate. TOP TALKERS — ICYMI: Legislative leaders announced the details of a budget deal yesterday — one that leans less on reserves and rejects several of Gov. Newsom’s proposed cuts. More here for POLITICO Pro subscribers.  — Newsom on Wednesday warned against the perils of over-regulating AI. (POLITICO)  AROUND THE STATE — A person sick with measles exposed thousands of California travelers to the disease when they transferred through LAX on their way to Fresno Yosemite International Airport. (Los Angeles Times) — A tiny home shelter in South San Jose is outperforming the city’s other shelters. Some say its connection to a countywide program that connects homeless families with federal housing vouchers, rental assistance and help finding low-income apartments is why. (East Bay Times) — Walmart is axing 388 workers in San Bruno and 180 corporate workers in Sunnyvale before August 9. (MSN) — A law enforcement training exercise that unintentionally exposed elementary school children to chemical riot-control agents in San Bruno last week may have included weapons that expired decades ago. (San Francisco Chronicle) — The Los Feliz home of late actor Paul Reubens, known for portraying Pee-wee Herman, hit the market for nearly $5 million. (The Wall Street Journal) — compiled by Ariel Gans   A message from The Climate Center Action Fund: While the state struggles to balance its budget and risks cutting billions from clean air programs that save lives, why are taxpayers still responsible for billions in oil and gas industry handouts? Over 70 groups have urged Governor Newsom and the legislature to end this practice. Fossil fuel corporations like Chevron don’t need it. That money should instead go to cutting pollution from cars, trucks and buildings, and getting more clean energy on the grid. Programs that currently support these goals are on the chopping block. Before we even think about cutting funding for lifesaving programs, we need the Governor and the legislature to end subsidies and tax breaks for polluters! Learn more.   PLAYBOOKERS PEOPLE MOVES — Jirair Ratevosian this week joined the board of the Asian Democrats of Los Angeles County and was, separately, elected as an at-large member of the county Stonewall Democratic Club. He was previously a candidate in the primary for the House seat in Los Angeles County’s CA-30. — Mason Harrison is the new volunteer coordinator for Golden Together, the think tank founded by conservative commentator Steve Hilton. Harrison is the founder of BrandPolicy, a San Francisco-based PR agency and previously was a spokesperson for Mitt Romney, Carly Fiorina and John McCain. STORK ALERT — Alex Buicko, a senior manager at Amazon, and Ryan Buicko, VP at Galesi Group, on Friday welcomed baby Rome MacKenzie Buicko. Pic ... Another pic BIRTHDAYS — POLITICO’s Maggie Miller … BELATED B-DAY WISHES — (was Wednesday): Mitchell Hurwitz WANT A SHOUT-OUT FEATURED? — Send us a birthday, career move or another special occasion to include in POLITICO’s California Playbook. You can now submit a shout-out using this Google form. Disclaimer: All information will be verified. 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. Want to make an impact? POLITICO California has a variety of solutions available for partners looking to reach and activate the most influential people in the Golden State. Have a petition you want signed? A cause you’re promoting? Seeking to increase brand awareness amongst this key audience? Share your message with our influential readers to foster engagement and drive action. Contact Rebecca Haase to find out how: rhaase@politico.com.   Follow us on Twitter Dustin Gardiner @dustingardiner Lara Korte @lara_korte   Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook  |  Playbook PM  |  California Playbook  |  Florida Playbook  |  Illinois Playbook  |  Massachusetts Playbook  |  New Jersey Playbook  |  New York Playbook  |  Ottawa Playbook  |  Brussels Playbook  |  London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters Follow us

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