Two to watch as Assembly churns

From: POLITICO California Playbook - Wednesday Nov 24,2021 02:12 pm

Nov 24, 2021

By Jeremy B. White, Isabella Bloom and Graph Massara

THE BUZZ — SO IT BEGINS: Those dominoes are starting to topple.

We told you at the start of this week that sweeping change was coming to the Legislature, with a combination of term limits and redistricting set to reshape the body’s makeup. A pair of developments on Tuesday reinforced that dynamic — and they landed as rumbles about leadership politics continue to reverberate through Sacramento.

FIRST: The California Labor Federation’s leadership voted this week to endorse Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez to become the powerful union group’s next leader. This doesn’t mean Gonzalez will immediately depart the Legislature or take over the Labor Fed: since current Executive Secretary-Treasurer Art Pulaski is still on the job, the nonbinding vote amounted to a recommendation. Gonzalez is still running for a final Assembly term. But the vote of confidence is a clear signal of likely things to come.

Gonzalez’s departure would mean organized labor losing perhaps its greatest champion in the Legislature — and it would mean she no longer chairs the Assembly Appropriations Committee, which has nearly unparalleled power to block bills from floor votes. But it would also mean one of the state’s most formidable political organizations has someone at the helm with deep knowledge of Sacramento and a track record of getting tough bills across the finish line.

Assemblymember Kevin Mullin presides on the Assembly floor at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif., Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020.

Assemblymember Kevin Mullin presides on the Assembly floor at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif., Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020. | AP Photo/Randall Benton

SECOND: Assemblymember Kevin Mullin made it official, announcing he’s running for the safely blue (under current and proposed lines) CA-14 seat that his old boss Rep. Jackie Speier is vacating. Mullin launched with endorsements from multiple statewide elected officials and numerous state lawmakers, including Speaker Anthony Rendon. The big question now: will he get the nod from Speier? “She is strongly encouraging me to run and I have been having conversations with her, and I’m certainly hopeful she will be endorsing,” Mullin told us.

One thing Mullin and Gonzalez have in common: They are both allies of Rendon whose current positions reflect having supported his leadership bid. Their absence would mean Rendon loses two close lieutenants — which, combined with Assemblymember Rudy Salas’ run for Congress and former Assemblymember Ian Calderon ’s departure from the Legislature in 2020, means fewer Rendon loyalists as the speaker nears the end of his tenure thanks to 2024 term limits.

Murmurs about Rendon’s future already crescendoed last week after he stripped Assemblymember Evan Low of a coveted committee chairmanship, instead installing Assemblymember Marc Berman atop the Business and Professions Committee. Low released a statement diplomatically accepting the decision, but it’s an open secret that he has been in contention to replace Rendon, and many observers saw an allusion to that in Rendon praising Berman’s “commitment to the caucus. Term limits make a speakership change inevitable. Anger about Rendon kicking Low to the curb, combined with turnover at the top, could affect how that plays out.

BUENOS DÍAS, good Wednesday morning. Happy almost-Thanksgiving! California Playbook is off tomorrow and Friday and returns on Monday. We’re thankful for all this gorgeous, multitudinous state has to offer, and for the loyal readers who are the reason for this newsletter’s existence.

Got a tip or story idea for California Playbook? Hit jwhite@politico.com or follow me on Twitter @jeremybwhite.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “The minute you say, ‘We’re going to tolerate some level of crime,’ you send a signal to criminals to test the system. The more success they have, the more emboldened they become.” Los Angeles developer and potential mayoral candidate Rick Caruso on smash-and-grabs whose targets included stores at a mall he developed, via the LA Times’ Richard Winton and Christopher Goffard.

TWEET OF THE DAY: GOP consultant @MattRexroad on the governor’s Mexico jaunt: “The Governor certainly deserves time with his family but he looks like a hypocrite to say how dire the COVID19 situation is in California and then jet away for a vacation in a country with very limited COVID protections for their population.”

WHERE’S GAVIN? On vacation in Mexico with first partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom and the kids until Sunday.

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TOP TALKERS

— “Counting Cash at Dinner: The L.A. Taco Guide to the Restaurants Jose Huizar Dined at While Allegedly Collecting Bribes,” by L.A. TACO’s Lexis-Olivier Ray: “The word ‘restaurant’ appears at least ten times in the 138-page RICO indictment against Huizar. Federal prosecutors allege that Huizar accepted some bribes as he dined out. During one meeting, Huizar allegedly counted a $15,000 payment from a business person while seated at an upscale Italian restaurant before using a napkin to conceal the cash. A couple of months later, the FBI raided the council member’s offices and home.”

— “ Berkeley High knew for 15 years of allegations chemistry teacher sexually harassed students,” by Berkeleyside’s Ally Markovich: “After years of sexual misconduct complaints, the school district signed a gag order allowing Matthew Bissell to quietly resign. Bissell’s disciplinary record and separation agreement were released only after Berkeleyside threatened to sue the district.”

PROVE IT OR PAY UP — “ About 1 million Californians could have to repay pandemic unemployment money to EDD,” by The Sac Bee’s David Lightman: “About 1 million Californians who got unemployment payments from the pandemic-related federal benefit program now have to prove to the state they had a prior work history – or face paying back benefits. … And, EDD says, ‘we will add a 30% penalty if we determine that you intentionally gave false information or withheld information to receive benefits.’”

SHI’S SWINDLE — “How a high-living thief reaped millions from a Coachella resort she never built,” by the LA Times’ Michael Finnegan: “[Serena] Shi admitted that she’d duped scores of investors in China into making $23 million in down payments on condos in California. They thought they were buying units in a trendy resort that Shi was supposedly building on a 47-acre patch of desert in Coachella. The project never broke ground.”

CALIFORNIA AND THE CAPITOL CORRIDOR

— “DCFS leader Bobby Cagle to resign,” by the LA Times’ Matt Hamilton and James Queally: “The director of Los Angeles County’s Department of Children and Family Services, Bobby Cagle, told county leaders Tuesday that he planned to step down next month from running the nation’s largest child welfare agency. … DCFS faces mounting scrutiny over a series of highly publicized fatalities and abuse of children under the agency’s care.”

— “D.A. Chesa Boudin says he will announce felony charges for Union Square theft suspects ,” by the SF Chronicle’s Rachel Swan: “San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin filed felony charges Tuesday against nine people arrested in connection with the retail theft rampage in Union Square and other stores across the city.”

— “Vallejo’s response to homelessness includes wasted millions, empty hotel rooms and police evictions,” by The Vallejo Sun’s Scott Morris: “There is little room in Vallejo’s only homeless shelter. Its Project Roomkey program to put people in hotels during the pandemic has been winding down for months. Promises of new resources, like a navigation center, have gone on for years with little progress.”

— “San Diego Still Can’t Solve Its Public Restroom Problem,” by Voice of San Diego’s Bella Ross: “Having access to public restrooms is an issue San Diego’s homeless population grapples with every day, and it’s an issue that’s knocked on the doors of San Diego’s public officials for decades. Still, access to public restrooms is lacking, and it’s contributing to public health threats that have sickened many.”

— "California law allows transgender inmates in women’s prisons. Now, female inmates are suing," by The Sac Bee's Andrew Sheeler: "A woman’s rights group is suing the state to overturn a new law that requires prisons to place transgender and gender nonbinary inmates in facilities that correspond to their gender identities, alleging the practice puts incarcerated people in danger."

SMASHING, GRABBING, STEALING — “A new breed of brazen takeover robbers hitting California luxury retailers, raising ire,” by the LA Times’ Richard Winton and Christopher Goffard: “Organized retail theft is nothing new. Over the last few years, rings have targeted Rolex watches, fine jewelry and Apple products at multiple locations. But a weekend in which high-end stores in famed shopping districts were hit by large and seemingly sophisticated theft rings has generated national attention as the holiday shopping season begins and retailers are hoping shoppers finally return as the coronavirus crisis eases.”

— " California governor adds more police to ‘highly trafficked’ shopping areas after mass thefts," by The Guardian's Dani Anguiano: "The thefts come amid fraught discussions in major American cities over the future of policing. In California, they reinvigorated an already intense political debate over crime rates, prompting an immediate response from local and state leaders."

NEW TASK FORCE — “ Alarming rise in follow-home robberies in upscale L.A. prompts police crackdown,” by the LA Times’ Richard Winton: “Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore announced Tuesday he is setting up a task force to apprehend follow-home robbers, saying the department has not seen violent hold-ups ‘like this in decades.’ The troubling trend, which has targeted celebrities and upscale restaurants in recent months, turned deadly in the predawn hours Tuesday when a man was gunned down during an attempted robbery outside Bossa Nova restaurant in Hollywood.”

DE FACTO FRACKING BAN? — “Citing climate risks, California is denying fracking permits in droves,” by the SF Chronicle’s Dustin Gardiner and J.D. Morris: “Oil companies that blast water and chemicals into the earth to extract fossil fuels are having trouble getting new permits for their California operations even sooner than expected. Gov. Gavin Newsom pledged the state would stop issuing new permits for fracking by 2024, but California has already begun to ban the controversial oil extraction method in practice by denying permits in droves with little fanfare.”

— “ Can Supes force police to follow breakthrough accountability law?” by Mission Local’s Eleni Balakrishnan: “Watchdog agencies have failed to get police records released despite the passage of a groundbreaking transparency law nearly three years ago.”

— “How a tool that tracks California’s ‘disadvantaged communities’ is costing S.F. millions in state funding ,” by the SF Chronicle’s Ryan Kost and Yoohyun Jung.

CAMPAIGN MODE

— “Buscaino aims for November 2022 for anti-camping ballot measure after council defers action,” by the LA Times’ Julia Wick: “If Councilman Joe Buscaino wants Los Angeles voters to decide whether to bar homeless encampments in public spaces, he may have to gather tens of thousands of voter signatures first. The City Council on Tuesday deferred a decision on whether to place his ‘Safer and Cleaner L.A.’ measure — which would prohibit people from sleeping or camping on sidewalks and other public spaces if they have turned down offers of shelter or emergency housing — on the June 2022 primary ballot.”

SILICON VALLEYLAND

— Apple sues NSO Group in latest U.S.-based slap at spyware, by POLITICO’s Sam Sabin: Apple said Tuesday it’s suing Israeli spyware maker NSO Group over allegations it surveilled and targeted Apple users through a now-patched security flaw, adding to mounting government and tech industry scrutiny against the spyware industry. Apple, which also requested a court-ordered ban on NSO using its software, is now the second major technology firm to enter a legal battle with NSO.

THE TIDE TURNS — “ U.S. tech execs hone approach to counter unions amid growing worker interest,” by Reuters’ Julia Love: “In June, managers at location data startup Mapbox came to employees with alarming news: The company had lost a $150 million investment, and worker organizing was to blame.”

CANNABIS COUNTRY

TAX BURDEN — Cannabis industry cries foul as California prepares to raise taxes, by POLITICO’s Alexander Nieves: News that California will hike its cannabis cultivation taxes on Jan. 1, as planned, has touched off frustrations and renewed a push to cut taxes on the state’s fledgling weed industry. The state's cash-flush budget is only stoking the resentment: The Legislative Analyst's Office estimates California will have a $31 billion surplus going into next fiscal year.

MIXTAPE

— “San Francisco Giants' Buster Posey, Baltimore Orioles' Trey Mancini named Comeback Players of the Year,” via the AP and ESPN.

ROCK ON — “ Sacramento’s Deftones receive three nominations for Grammys, two decades after first win,” by The Sac Bee’s Hanh Truong.

PIG PROBLEM — “Corona residents looking for solutions as feral hogs continue to tear up yards,” by ABC7’s Leticia Juarez.

BOOK REVIEW — “The San Francisco Homeless Crisis: What Has Gone Wrong?” by The NYT’s Wes Enzinna.

— “Caltrans was liable for death at Modesto homeless camp. Why it won’t have to pay damages,” by the Modesto Bee’s Lydia Gerike and Erin Tracy.

— “With 100,000 acres conserved in 15 years, meet the two leaders ushering Mojave Desert Land Trust into the future,” by The Desert Sun’s Erin Rode.

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