| | | | |  | | By Dustin Gardiner and Lara Korte | | Presented by |  | | | |  Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi released a statement over the weekend hammering state Sen. Scott Wiener's bill to regulate AI. | AP | THE BUZZ: OUT OF THE FOG — The shadow campaign to determine who will succeed Nancy Pelosi when she retires has burst into the open — over a Sacramento policy proposal. Pelosi, one of the most powerful Democrats in modern American politics, rarely wades into Sacramento legislative fights. But on Friday night she released a sharply critical statement about a bill to regulate large-scale artificial intelligence models in California. It’s one of the biggest legislative debates of the year in California — and its champion, state Sen. Scott Wiener, is widely expected to run for Pelosi’s coveted San Francisco House seat against her daughter, party organizer Christine Pelosi, once the former speaker leaves office. That’s why Nancy Pelosi’s statement calling Wiener’s bill “well intentioned but ill-informed” was widely interpreted as a salvo in that brewing proxy fight — the latest in a series of recent escalations that foreshadow a bitter race. In Pacific-Heights speak, it was an elbow to the face as Pelosi swiped at Wiener’s legislative approach and re-upped Big Tech’s warnings that his Senate Bill 1047 could stifle innovation. Pelosi also noted that Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a longtime Pelosi confidant, had expressed “serious concerns” to Wiener. On several levels, the jab was damaging to Wiener, who has been careful to praise Pelosi even as he prepares to run against her daughter. But advisers in Wiener’s orbit were quick over the weekend to push back, framing Pelosi’s comments as a purely political maneuver. “She’s trying to line up support for her daughter from Andreessen-Horowitz and Google,” said Todd David, a veteran San Francisco strategist and member of Wiener’s inner circle of advisers. David speculated that Pelosi is courting favor with Andreessen-Horowitz, a powerful venture capital firm opposed to the AI bill, to weaken Wiener’s support among the tech players the state senator has courted throughout his political career. He added, “She is trying to figure out where Scott's vulnerabilities are.” Pelosi’s campaign and Christine Pelosi declined to comment on Sunday. The critique of Wiener's bill isn’t the first hint from Pelosi that she’s angling for her daughter to replace her. The speaker emerita last month endorsed two progressive incumbents for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, including socialist lightning rod Dean Preston — which many local politicos interpreted as a move to court progressives and labor unions, groups that have been alienated by Wiener’s support for more moderate Democrats. She has also touted Christine on her national book tour. During an interview on MSNBC last week, Pelosi said her daughter had mentored Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the party’s vice-presidential candidate, years ago at a bootcamp for Democratic candidates. Pelosi is running for reelection in November, but San Francisco insiders question if she’ll serve a full term or resign early to boost her daughter’s chances by controlling the timing of a special election. It’s shaping up to be the type of bruising fight that has earned San Francisco its reputation for sharp-elbowed politics. GOOD MORNING. Happy Monday. Thanks for waking up with Playbook. Today is the first day of the Democratic National Convention. Read more below on which Californians are heading to Chicago… And follow our @ccadelago and @melmason for reports on the ground. 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? Heading out to Chicago later today for the DNC. | | | | A message from Amazon: The Bianchetti’s started their family-owned People’s Choice Jerky in Los Angeles, California. When Brian Bianchetti decided to take the business national, he turned to Amazon to reach new customers. Now, online sales are the fastest growing channel for the family business. Find out more. | | | |  | CAMPAIGN YEAR | | |  Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign is fundraising heavily in the Bay Area and Silicon Valley. | Julia Nikhinson/AP | FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: GOLDEN TOUCH — Kamala Harris’ campaign is adding another California heavy-hitter to help channel the torrent of cash flowing her way from the Bay Area and Silicon Valley. In an email to major donors, Stefanie Roumeliotes said she’s joined the Harris-Walz presidential campaign as a senior adviser, supporting the work of National Finance Co-Chairs Kristin Bertolina Faust and Rufus Gifford. Roumeliotes’s note was shared with Playbook by a person who received it. Roumeliotes, who herself has hosted fundraising events in recent months with Harris at her Hillsborough home and in San Francisco, will be based in the Bay Area for the remainder of the campaign, focusing on “Tech for Harris” and other high level fundraising. Her note went to many bold-faced names in California politics, the person familiar with the campaign’s outreach told Playbook, including Ron Conway, John Goldman, Tom Steyer, Susie Tompkins Buell, Ali Pincus, Greg Flynn, Manny Yekutiel, Joyce Newstat and Susan Lowenberg and a representative for Laurene Powell Jobs. Harris’s moves to immediately install Bertolina Faust atop her organization, who then brought in Roumeliotes as well as Amy Salomone, come amid a rush of support from donors in the region who have long supported the vice president’s campaigns. Last weekend, Harris headlined a blowout homecoming fundraiser in San Francisco that raised more than $13 million, attended by Pelosi, Gov. Gavin Newsom and several other dignitaries. — Christopher Cadelago
|  Rep. Robert Garcia. | Getty Images | FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: GARCIA’S SPOTLIGHT — Freshman Rep. Robert Garcia will have a main stage speaking slot at the DNC tonight, a coveted role on the first night of Democrats’ national convention. Garcia, the former mayor of Long Beach, has been on Capitol Hill for less than two years, but he’s quickly emerged as a top surrogate for the Harris campaign and the party, a lawmaker who’s known for his quippy remarks and social-media persona.
|  Delegates and top Democrats are headed to Chicago for the party's national convention. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP | CONVENTION TIME — California Democrats are traveling to Chicago this week to support one of their own in a history-making national convention. Harris will formally accept the party’s nomination in front of an estimated 50,000 people — including 21 members of the California Legislature, who will attend Wednesday and Thursday after wrapping up some work in the Capitol at the start of this week. The Legislative Women’s Caucus is also scheduled to host a breakfast reception in Chicago on Thursday, according to an invitation seen by Playbook. State Sen. Nancy Skinner and Assembly Majority Leader Cecilia Aguiar-Curry are heading the event in partnership with lobbying firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck. The full list of speakers hadn’t been announced as of Sunday evening, but Harris is scheduled to give the final speech of the convention on Thursday. We’ll also hear from President Joe Biden today, former President Barack Obama on Tuesday and former president Bill Clinton on Wednesday. Newsom is flying out this afternoon and will be on hand during the entire convention. His team hasn’t given specifics on any speaking engagements, but the governor said last week “you’ll be sick of me by Thursday.” Plus — Our POLITICO colleagues are partnering with CNN for four days of programming that includes conversations with top Democratic officials and strategists, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Biden adviser Anita Dunn. On Thursday, POLITICO senior columnist Jonathan Martin will chat with former Speaker Pelosi, and Eugene Daniels, POLITICO’s White House correspondent and Playbook co-author, will interview California Sen. Laphonza Butler. KAMALA’S BORDER LESSON — Harris’ recent support for tougher border enforcement isn’t exactly new. After her narrow 2010 victory against a moderate Republican for California attorney general, she embraced a crackdown on transnational gangs and expanded a task force designed to share intelligence on cross-border criminals. As our colleague Blake Jones reported over the weekend, Harris’ border policies helped her find common cause with law enforcement groups and others who had seen her as a liberal from the sanctuary city of San Francisco. The Democratic nominee is now drawing upon that chapter of her career as she tries to undermine former President Donald Trump’s efforts to portray her as soft on border security.
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Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks after signing a package of bills to combat retail crime during a press conference at a Home Depot in San Jose. | Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group via AP | SILICON VALLEY SNUB — Newsom signed a package of anti-theft bills on Friday, but what really got political insiders buzzing was the San Jose Home Depot where he chose to hold the ceremony — and the absence of the city’s mayor. The governor's office didn’t invite San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan to the signing event despite his support for the bills, as the mayor’s office confirmed to Playbook. It was a less-than-subtle snub that came after Mahan publicly broke with Newsom and endorsed Proposition 36, a November ballot initiative on crime that Newsom argues is overly punitive and draconian — and which he failed to negotiate off the ballot. Mahan is part of a group of local Democratic leaders who last week traveled to Sacramento to launch a fundraising committee in support of Prop 36, a measure backed by local prosecutors and big-box retailers like Home Depot. They argue the state hasn’t done enough to prosecute drug crimes and force repeat offenders into treatment. At the signing ceremony, Newsom accused Mahan and other supporters of lying to Californians by framing Prop 36 as an effort to treat alleged felons rather than convict and sentence them. The governor dismissed the notion of a rift within the party over the ballot measure, though its Democratic supporters also include mayors Todd Gloria of San Diego and London Breed of San Francisco: “This is not the Democratic Party, it’s just a couple of mayors,” Newsom said. Mahan held a press conference outside San Jose City Hall to respond to Newsom’s comments. He said Prop 36 is “not controversial at the local level” and invited Newsom to come walk around the city’s downtown and speak with business owners frustrated by rampant theft, homelessness and drug addiction. When asked whether Newsom coming to San Jose for the event felt personal, Mahan grinned and replied, “All I can say is, you'd have to ask him. It's always an honor to have the governor here.”
| | LEGISLATURE | | GOOGLE DEALMAKING — One of California’s largest media guilds is on the brink of opposing a bill that would force large tech platforms like Google and Meta to fund California newsrooms, citing a proposal from Google to water down the effort, our Tyler Katzenberger reports. A proposed settlement on Assemblymember Buffy Wicks’ bill — reportedly “under serious consideration,” according to an email sent from News Guild of the West President Matt Pearce to union members Sunday evening — would see California form a public-private partnership with Google to fund in-state newsrooms. Wicks’ bill as currently written would give platforms the option of paying a yet-to-be-determined annual fee into a fund to support California journalism, or to pay a percentage of advertising revenue quarterly to news organizations based on the number of links shared from each outlet.
| | | SAN FRANCISCO | | | FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: OUTSIZE DRAW — The race for San Francisco supervisor in District 5 continues to draw attention from big-name players. Case in point: Candidate Bilal Mahmood will today unveil an endorsement from San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, Playbook has exclusively learned. Mahmood, a moderate Democrat and tech entrepreneur, is challenging progressive incumbent Preston. The race has drawn attention from a host of major figures, including Pelosi, Elon Musk and Bernie Sanders — an unusual feat for a city contest.
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Former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown. | Eric Risberg/AP Photo | HELI-GATE CONTINUES — Former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown said he is considering suing Trump if the former president continues to claim that he bad-mouthed Harris, Brown’s former mentee and girlfriend. Brown has repeatedly voiced his irritation over Trump’s comments and his repeated claim that the two almost crashed in a helicopter together. Another Black politician, Nate Holden, a former city councilmember and state senator from Los Angeles, said he was in the helicopter and that Trump has confused him with Brown. SOLITARY MAN — California Assemblymember Chris Holden is dropping his second attempt in recent years to restrict the state’s use of solitary confinement in prisons, jails and immigrant detention facilities, our Lindsey Holden scooped on Sunday. The bill faces a high risk of a veto, as Newsom also rejected a similar proposal from the assemblymember in 2022 and had not indicated a change of heart. POLITICO Pro subscribers can read more here. SHAKY FOOTING — Los Angeles officials have, for years, incorrectly reported data about which buildings have been safely retrofitted for earthquakes, as the LA Times found in an investigation. The Times found many buildings were incorrectly labeled after the city incorrectly combined two databases. Mayor Karen Bass has, in response, formed a task force to review building records and hire an independent auditor. REDRAWING THE MAP — Harris’ candidacy has opened up an entirely different Electoral College strategy for Democrats, as polling suggests she has strong momentum in Sun Belt states like Arizona, Georgia and North Carolina. POLITICO’s Ryan Lizza spoke with top Democratic strategist Doug Sosnik about Democrats’ new potential map to the White House.
| | AROUND THE STATE | | — Democrats in Orange County have seen an uptick in voter registration in the weeks since President Joe Biden stepped aside and endorsed VP Harris. But Republicans gained ground earlier in the year. (The Orange County Register) — Columnist Emily Hoeven threw new fuel on allegations that San Francisco mayoral candidate Mark Farrell has improperly used a ballot-measure committee to fund campaign expenses. (San Francisco Chronicle) — Business partners Kenneth Mattson and Timothy LeFever snatched up more than 100 properties in the small city of Sonoma. But their real-estate empire has sparked a backlash from some local residents and legal turmoil. (The Wall Street Journal) — Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux is fuming over a Harris campaign ad that features old footage of him. Boudreaux, a Republican, said the image was a photo-op from a drug bust announcement when Harris was AG. (Your Central Valley)
| | | PLAYBOOKERS | | | 
State Sen. Steve Glazer, center, hosted a farewell party in Sacramento last week. | Courtesy of Jeff Walters | SPOTTED: SWAN SONG — Longtime state Sen. Steve Glazer, who leaves office later this year, held a farewell party in Sacramento last week. The event was attended by a host of lawmakers, including Sens. Atkins, Allen, Archuleta, Ashby, Bradford, Cortese, Dahle, Dodd, Durazo, Laird, Min, Niello, Portantino, Rubio, Umberg, Wicks, and Wiener and dozens of friends and staffers. Glazer held the party inside his boyhood home in Land Park in Sacramento, a fairy-tale-like property known as the “Hobbit House.” BIRTHDAYS — Daniel McGreevy, comms coordinator for Asemblymember Mia Bonta … BELATED B-DAY WISHES — (was Sunday): Melissa Romero of California Environmental Voters … (was Saturday): Larry Ellison ... Mickey Drexler ... Jon Lovett of Crooked Media … Jessica Gail … Kensey Johnson … Barry Ted Moskowitz … (was Thursday): Lex Fridman ... Debra Messing ... Rachel Sterne Haot ... Benjamin Silverman … Matt Silverstein … Tyler Grimm … Matt Spence 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. 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 | | | | 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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