Wednesday, October 23, 2024

Fast food greases the tracks

Inside the Golden State political arena
Oct 23, 2024 View in browser
 
POLITICO California Playbook Newsletter Header

By Lara Korte and Dustin Gardiner

McDonald’s employee Nidia Torres speaks at a rally.

Fast-food franchise owners in California are dumping millions of dollars into campaigns for city and county office this year. | Getty Images

THE BUZZ: SUPERSIZE ME — After enduring years of repeated repudiation in statewide fights, California’s fast food business owners are beefing up their political operations, pouring several million dollars into city and county races in the final weeks before the election.

The group, the California Alliance of Family Owned Businesses, last month funneled $4.15 million into four newly-created PACs that are spending in contests in San Diego, the Bay Area, Orange County, and Los Angeles, according to campaign finance records. The group, which is funded mostly by McDonald’s franchise owners in California, started a PAC in January after what some felt was a disappointing compromise with state Democrats over wages and working conditions last year.

The spending isn’t quite as sexy as former President Donald Trump’s recent McDonald’s photo op, or as headline-fetching as Vice President Kamala Harris’ supposed stint at the iconic chain, but it does underscore the lingering tensions between labor and the restaurant industry as California's food fight continues.

“Local policy can be just as important as statewide policy for these owner-operators,” said Rob Stutzman, a spokesperson for the business alliance. “Part of their plan for political engagement will certainly include local offices up and down the state now and in the future.”

Fast food groups for years have been clashing with labor-friendly Democrats in the state Capitol over regulations for California’s more than 700,000 fast food workers. An effort by Los Angeles Assemblymember Chris Holden last year to hold franchisees and fast food corporations jointly liable for workplace violations was fiercely opposed by local owners and the parent companies, including McDonalds. A truce between fast food corporations and labor unions struck in the fall of 2023 appeared to defuse a yearslong power struggle, but left many McDonald’s franchisees feeling sidelined and sore. 

Now, the restaurant owners, independent of the McDonald's corporation, are looking to create inroads on a local level.

The CAFOB committee spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in a few primary races, including $629,000 to thwart Holden's bid for Los Angeles County supervisor, which he lost. But the group appeared to stay out of general election races until late last month, when the four new committees formed and the franchisees began funneling money to local contests.

One of the new PACs, “A Better California,” pitched in $350,000 last month in support of Nathan Hochman’s campaign to oust progressive Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón, citing the safety of their restaurants’ customers and employees. Another committee, “A Better Orange County,” has spent nearly $170,000 supporting a candidate for Anaheim City Council and a candidate for Orange County supervisor. Further south, “A Better San Diego” has given $170,000 to boost former Republican Mayor Kevin Faulconer’s bid for county supervisor, and opposing his incumbent opponent, Democrat Terra Lawson-Remer. 

A campaign consultant for Lawson-Remer characterized the contributions as “big money Trump donors” who are spending heavily to put Faulconer on the board.

“Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer’s donors are the regular, everyday San Diegans who don’t have LLCs and trust funds, but dig deep to contribute,” Parke Skelton said in a statement.

The fourth franchisee-funded PAC, A Better Bay Area, has pitched into a wide gamut of issues. The group dropped $20,000 in support of former Oakland police chief LeRonne Armstrong ’s bid for city council, and is backing three San Mateo County supervisor candidates, including former Democratic Rep. Jackie Speier. The PAC has also donated to local ballot measures that would fund improvements to San Francisco infrastructure and give tax cuts to small SF businesses.

“They’re going to play for the long term,” Stutzman said of the restaurant owners.

The PACs could wield significant influence as the fast food fights continue to play out at the local level — and they already have some labor groups prickling. The Bay Area PAC is also targeting Betty Duong, the former head of Santa Clara County’s Office of Labor Standards Enforcement who isrunning for the board of supervisors.

Jean Cohen, executive officer of the South Bay Labor Council, which has endorsed Duong, said she views the spending as powerful corporations trying to suppress the rights of workers. The South Bay area has one of the highest concentrations of fast food workers outside of Los Angeles, she said, and Santa Clara County has been on the “cutting edge” of workers’ rights for decades.

“There's an effort to infuse corporate money into these conversations because the fast food industry doesn't want to see workers gain protections, gain information and gain rights to make their lives better at the expense of their corporate bottom line,” she said.

GOOD MORNING. Happy Wednesday. 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.

CAMPAIGN YEAR

Hungarian Prime Minister and President of EU Council Viktor Orban delivers his speech in the hemicycle of the European parliament in Strasbourg, France, during a debate on the hungarian programme council presidency, Wednesday Oct. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias)

Allies of Hungarian Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán have bristled at Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis' criticism of the autocratic leader. | AP

FOREIGN INTERFERENCE — It’s been a decade since Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis was the U.S. ambassador to Hungary. But the 2026 candidate for governor is still very much on the nation’s radar — and she’s helping reveal just how invested its leaders are in the coming U.S. presidential election.

Kounalakis over the weekend seized on a comment from JD Vance in which the Republican VP nominee suggested Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had “made some smart decisions” for his country that the U.S. can learn from.

Kounalakis responded on X, saying the U.S. did learn from what Orbán did to Hungary, adding, “We learned that if wannabe dictators like Orbán and [Donald] Trump lose power and then regain it, they disrupt, dismantle and eventually destroy democracy to ensure they won’t ever have to face another fair election.”

Kounalakis’s remarks follow condemnation from one of her successors in Budapest, the American ambassador David Pressman, who criticized Viktor Orbán for siding with Trump and argued that no other U.S. ally has so “overtly and tirelessly” campaigned for the Republican.

But Balázs Orbán, a member of the Hungarian Parliament and Orbán’s political director (no relation), didn’t take too kindly to Kounalakis’ broadside and accused her of being a terrible guest. “This ‘wannabe dictator’ welcomed you to Budapest despite your blatant disregard for diplomacy,” Balázs Orbán responded . He accused Kounalakis of “leaking” private conversations with Viktor Orbán in her book, “Madam Ambassador,” and said the episode taught Hungarians how “wannabe diplomats” love to interfere with their domestic policies.

“Make no mistake about it, Viktor Orbán is a democracy killer, and he desperately wants Donald Trump in the White House,” Kounalakis shot back. “He and his attack dogs are brazenly attacking me and interfering in a US election by doing what no other NATO ally has ever done — ‘endorse’ a candidate. Sad.” — Christopher Cadelago

ON THE AIRWAVES

FILE - Virgin Galactic CEO George Whitesides watches as the company's carrier aircraft flies over Spaceport America near Upham, N.M., Aug. 15, 2019. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan, File)

Democratic House candidate George Whitesides. | AP

FAMILY MAN — Democratic House candidate George Whitesides has an upbeat rebuttal to his Republican opponent’s false accusations that he’s supported organizations that want to legalize pedophilia.

In a new TV ad, Whitesides takes a more positive spin on the visceral tone of the race and subtly pokes at Republican rival Mike Garcia for repeatedly saying that he “doesn’t know” his rival. The spot, titled, ‘We Know George,’ features supporters and their children talking about Whitesides and shrugging off negativity in the race.

Whitesides’ own daughter even makes a cameo, coolly saying, “I guess I’d vote for you, Dad.”

The move comes after Republicans have unleashed scorched-earth ads against Whitesides — an indicator of how close and contentious the race has become for CA-27, in the Santa Clarita area north of Los Angeles.

Two Republican PACs have run misleading ads suggesting that Whitesides supports pedophilia because he has donated to Equality California, the state’s largest LGBTQ+ advocacy group. Garcia made the false claim again during an interview with FOX LA’s Elex Michaelson this week.

CLIMATE AND ENERGY

LCFS SOUNDSYSTEM — California’s emissions market for transportation fuels is in the spotlight now that Gov. Gavin Newsom’s special session on oil and gas has faded out. Find out what the noise is about in last night’s California Climate.

TOP TALKERS

BERA TALKS AI — California Rep. Ami Bera, a member of the House’s bipartisan artificial intelligence task force, told POLITICO Tech podcast host Steven Overly in an episode published yesterday he supports AI regulations that balance safety needs with innovation. He compared the issue to social media policy.

“We made a mistake with social media by not really putting up guardrails,” Bera said. “AI is going to be a part of our lives across the board. We should figure out what those guardrails are.”

Demonstrators walk in an encampment on the UCLA campus after clashes between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian groups.

Protesters opposed to the war in Gaza constructed an encampment on UCLA's campus earlier this year. | Jae C. Hong/AP

HATE ON CAMPUS — A 93-page report from UCLA’s antisemitism task force found Jewish students were harassed, threatened and assaulted as pro-Palestinian protests took place on campus last spring, the Wall Street Journal reports . The task force said UCLA prioritized free speech over stopping protesters at the same time as “blatant antisemitic” incidents took place on campus, including a swastika drawn on a classroom chalkboard and a sign that read “Israelis are native 2 hell.”

AROUND THE STATE

— Recent research shows less than a quarter of workplaces with return-to-office policies are enforcing their rules. (Los Angeles Times)

— A San Francisco aquarium boss ousted over allegations of exorbitant spending is suing for wrongful termination and claims he was set up for failure. (San Francisco Standard)

A new poll shows incumbent Todd Gloria with a sizable lead over independent challenger Larry Turner in the San Diego mayoral race. (San Diego Union-Tribune)

PLAYBOOKERS

BIRTHDAYS — Vikrum AiyerCaroline Kitchens of TikTok … Sheena TahilramaniVikrum Aiyer , head of climate policy at Heirloom …

BELATED B-DAY WISHES — (was Tuesday): Jeff Goldblum

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 .

 

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