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Jeremy B. White’s must-read briefing on politics and government in the Golden State | | | | | |  | | By Jeremy B. White, Isabella Bloom and Graph Massara | THE BUZZ — NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN? The contest to control America’s largest sheriff’s department keeps getting more crowded. Few elected officials in California have seen their relationship with voters transform as much as Los Angeles Sheriff Alex Villanueva. Elected in a 2018 upset, Villanueva has since antagonized onetime supporters and L.A. Leaders. He has openly clashed with the board of supervisors and backed efforts to recall District Attorney George Gascón; adopted a defiant stance toward coronavirus mandates; lashed out at the media; and refused to honor watchdog subpoenas after being credibly accused of targeting political foes. Democrats who endorsed him are afflicted with a raging case of buyer’s remorse. The Los Angeles County Democratic Party has reversed its prior support and called for Villanueva’s resignation for “perpetuating a culture of police brutality.” Underscoring that sense of alienation, LAist reports that Villanueva headlined a Los Angeles GOP convention this weekend. As Villanueva has become a Fox News regular, his campaign manager has boasted of running “against the woke left.” | 
Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva speaks at a news conference in Los Angeles. | AP Photo/Jae C. Hong | That broad backlash has attracted numerous contenders to unseat Villanueva next year. Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna last week jumped into an ever-expanding field that already featured Sheriff's Commander Eli Vera, LAX Police Chief Cecil Rhambo, Sheriff's Lt. Eric Strong, Capt. Britta Steinbrenner, Capt. Matt Rodriguez, Long Beach School police officer April Saucedo Hood and Enrique Del Real. And another major contender could soon enter the arena. Longtime law enforcement leader Art Acevedo is set to launch this week, Fox LA’s Elex Michaelson reports . Acevedo has won praise from the left for his approach to running police departments in Houston and Austin, and he is a veteran of the California Highway Patrol. But he’s unemployed because of an acrimonious divorce from the city of Miami, where he was ousted just months into the job after tangling with cops over proposed reforms and vaccines and after denouncing the city’s “Cuban mafia.” So Los Angeles voters should have plenty of options, as the county stands at something of a law enforcement crossroads. Voters’ desire for more progressive policing — embodied by Gascón’s ascension — is being tested by a stunning series of crimes that include smash-and-grab burglaries and the fatal shooting of a city doyenne, as the LA Times’ Kevin Rector, Richard Winton and Andrew J. Campa report. BUENOS DÍAS, good Monday morning. Recalls are on the agenda again as the Senate and Assembly Elections Committees hold another joint hearing on overhauling California’s process, with an eye toward placing proposed changes on the 2022 ballot. Lawmakers will drill down on local rules and on how to stipulate threshold causes that merit recalls. Got a tip or story idea for California Playbook? Hit jwhite@politico.com or follow me on Twitter @jeremybwhite. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “That would be so weird — but we are about weird right now, unfortunately.” California Redistricting Commission line-drawer Alicia Fernandez on possible Delta-area lines. TWEET OF THE DAY: Sen. Dianne Feinstein @SenFeinstein on the death of former San Francisco Head of Protocol Charlotte Schultz: “Losing a friend is hard but losing one like Charlotte is even harder because she was such a remarkable and caring person. I will miss her greatly.” WHERE’S GAVIN? Back from a weekend sojourn in Nevada, where Newsom met with Gov. Steve Sisolak and toured a union carpenters’ center to learn about housing. Sisolak and Newsom also announced Sunday the temporary expansion of a five-mile stretch of Interstate 15, the major corridor between Las Vegas and Southern California. |  | TOP TALKERS | | SHOCKING CRIME — “Chronicle photographer robbed at gunpoint while on assignment in West Oakland,” by the SF Chronicle’s Rachel Swan. — “ Thefts, Always an Issue for Retailers, Become More Brazen,” by The NYT’s Michael Corkery and Sapna Maheshwari: “It has become more visible, brazen and violent in recent months, forcing an industry already buffeted by pandemic lockdowns and fights over mask requirements to deal with a new problem. ‘This level of violence has taken it to a whole new level,” said Rachel Michelin, president of the California Retailers Association.’” HIKING MISSTEPS — “ A young California family died while on a hike. Investigation reports now lay out the timeline of their catastrophic missteps,” by the SF Chronicle’s Matthias Gafni: “[I]n the end, as detailed in 77 pages of investigative reports obtained by The Chronicle, detectives kept coming back to sizzling hot temperatures, lack of shade, rigorous terrain and a slew of disastrous choices that led to the shocking deaths.” DICKENS DISPUTE — “ ‘Not a safe space’: Black cast members boycott Dickens Christmas Fair over failure to prevent racist, sexist behavior,” by the SF Chronicle’s Erin Feher: “What started as a goodwill effort to help rectify what is seen as the event’s failure to protect its volunteers and guests from racist and sexist behavior has turned ugly.” | | | | BECOME A GLOBAL INSIDER: The world is more connected than ever. It has never been more essential to identify, unpack and analyze important news, trends and decisions shaping our future — and we’ve got you covered! Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Global Insider author Ryan Heath navigates the global news maze and connects you to power players and events changing our world. Don’t miss out on this influential global community. Subscribe now. | | | | | | | CALIFORNIA AND THE CAPITOL CORRIDOR | | VAX UP — “Judge denies request by L.A. firefighters union for injunction to block vaccine mandate enforcement,” by the LA Times’ Benjamin Oreskes. — “ Federal appeals court lifts block on San Diego Unified School District’s COVID vaccine mandate,” by the San Diego Union-Tribune’s Jonathan Wosen. HOMICIDE INCREASE — “Gun violence in Oakland has become a ‘pandemic within the pandemic.’ Here’s what’s going on,” by the SF Chronicle’s Susie Neilson: “One, the pandemic greatly increased economic inequality, which is a strong predictor of gun violence. Two, it greatly exacerbated mental illness and substance abuse issues, also risk factors for gun violence involvement (though the vast majority of people with mental illnesses never commit violence). Three, group settings that normally provide community support to young people at risk of involvement in gun violence, like schools, closed their physical spaces.” — “ Oakland's Impending Student Vaccine Mandate Could Strain District's Distance Learning Program,” by KQED’s Vanessa Rancaño: “Oakland's Sojourner Truth Independent Study distance learning program is expecting a large, new wave of enrollments after Jan. 31… But questions remain about whether the program, which serves K-12 students, is prepared to handle the influx.” NET METERING MELEE — How California energy players are lobbying regulators on rooftop solar, by POLITICO’s Colby Bermel: Utilities, solar companies and even Walmart are jostling behind the scenes to sway the Public Utilities Commission in their favor. Rooftop solar advocates want to preserve incentives and keep costs low for customers, while others say the benefits are too high and that solar owners need to pay their share to maintain the electric system. COVID CASES — “ Five omicron cases in East Bay tied to outbreak that began with Wisconsin wedding,” by the SF Chronicle’s Lauren Hernández and Aidin Vaziri: “Public health officials in Berkeley and Alameda County have detected at least five cases of the highly transmissible omicron coronavirus variant as part of an outbreak involving 12 total coronavirus cases linked to a wedding held in Wisconsin last weekend.” PARDON PETITION — “ Newsom urged to stop ICE from detaining a DV survivor. Prison officials turned her over,” by The Fresno Bee’s Yesenia Amaro: “Marisela Andrade, a survivor of domestic violence, was expected to be released Sunday from the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla after more than 11 years in prison — but advocates say California officials turned her over early to immigration agents.” ‘SUPPLY CHAIN SNAFUS’ — “ Inflation, supply chain, wages: Rising threats loom over small businesses,” by the LA Times’ Margot Roosevelt and Samantha Masunaga: “In October, 69% of small-business owners polled by the independent business federation said they have raised prices because of supply chain disruptions and rising employee wages in the face of labor shortages.” — “ Bay Area King Tide Floods Foreshadow Future Climate Risk,” by KQED’s Ezra David Romero. | | BIDEN, HARRIS AND THE HILL | | VEEP RESET? — Harris allies want her to take the reins as a staff shakeup looms, by POLITICO’s Christopher Cadelago and Eugene Daniels: The shakeup among Harris’ staff has led to speculation about how she and her top aides have managed the office, as well as her own capacity as a boss. Aware of the grumbling, top Harris allies are defending her leadership skills, while characterizing the withdrawals as part of the usual burnout that comes from working in a pressure-cooker environment. — Eastman takes the Fifth with Jan. 6 committee, by POLITICO’s Kyle Cheney: John Eastman, the attorney who helped former President Donald Trump pressure then-Vice President Mike Pence to overturn the 2020 election, has asserted his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, according to a letter he delivered to the Jan. 6 committee explaining his decision not to testify. — “Biden administration moves to scrap Cadiz water pipeline right-of-way permit, cleared by Trump,” by the LA Times’ Alex Wigglesworth and Ian James: “The request filed in federal court Friday, which must still be granted, could deal a blow to [Cadiz Inc.’s] decades-long effort to pump groundwater from beneath its desert property 200 miles east of Los Angeles and sell it to urban Southern California.” | | CAMPAIGN MODE | | ENDORSEMENT WATCH — Outgoing Rep. Jackie Speier and Assemblymember Kevin Mullin, a former Speier aide who is running for her seat, are holding a press conference today. Speier has not endorsed a successor since announcing she wouldn’t seek another term. — “Redistricting commission scraps plan to create a majority-white Assembly district in San Francisco,” by the SF Chronicle’s Dustin Gardiner: “Under the new draft map, two minority-majority districts would continue to divide the city down the middle, from north to south, with one district representing the west side and another the east side. [Commissioner Russell] Yee said the latest map ‘reunites several communities that had been split’ under the earlier proposed boundaries, which critics said would have splintered neighborhoods with sizable Asian, Black, Latino and LGBTQ populations.” — “ Fresno Council Picks Its Own Map for Next Decade of Elections,” by GV Wire’s David Taub: “It’s a status-quo map that largely left many council districts intact — after eight public hearings and workshops, hundreds of comments and untold hours of work. The council’s decision upset many, including members of the city’s Sikh community.” | | SILICON VALLEYLAND | | RULE CHANGE — “Twitter says it suspended accounts in error following flood of ‘coordinated and malicious’ reports,” by The Washington Post’s Drew Harwell: “Shortly after the rule was announced Tuesday, a group of far-right activists and white supremacists began urging their followers to file reports against accounts that are used to identify neo-Nazis, monitor extremists and document the attendees of hate rallies.” — “The Inside Story of a Scorched-Earth Breakup Between Two Founder Friends,” by The Information’s Janice Min: “Two health-tech co-founders went from biking buddies to the bitterest of enemies. Now competing lawsuits, accusations of racism, and claims of theft, plagiarism, kickbacks and fraud reveal the blurry lines crossed on the way to unicorn status.” | | | | STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president’s ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today. | | | | | | | HOLLYWOODLAND | | NUNS RELOCATED — “Neighbors fear Hollywood’s hidden convent is about to go up for sale,” by the LA Times’ Deborah Netburn: “For nearly a century, the cloistered nuns of the Monastery of the Angels have lived quietly on a rambling four-acre property just beneath the “H” of Los Angeles’ famous Hollywood sign. … Now, however, it appears that the nuns of the Monastery of the Angels are about to be booted.” | | CANNABIS COUNTRY | |
— “Marijuana ban in Riverside could end next year; 14 pot shops could be OK’d,” by The Press-Enterprise’s David Downey: “A Riverside City Council committee is looking to open the door to 14 marijuana storefronts in the city of about 315,000 residents and place a measure on the November 2022 ballot to tax their sales. Council Member Ronaldo Fierro, the committee chair, said the tax could be in the 3% to 5% range.”
| | MEDIA MATTERS | | ICYMI — “Pundits, Social Media React To Chris Cuomo’s CNN Termination,” by Deadline’s Brandon Choe. | | MIXTAPE | | SMOKEY SOLUTION — “Smoke-tainted California grapes find new life as vodka,” by Reuters’ Nathan Frandino. — “ Smell that sickened Carson residents was likely caused by warehouse fire, officials say,” by the LA Times’ Hailey Branson-Potts and Andrew J. Campa. — “Mixtecos witness history in Madera with Elsa Mejía on city council,” by The Fresno Bee’s Juan Esparza Loera. ‘WALL STREET OF THE WEST’ — “An architectural treasure hunt through San Francisco’s Financial District,” by the SF Chronicle’s John King. — “Four storefronts smashed in Burbank burglaries, police say,” by the LA Times’ Hayley Smith. OP-ED — “A right-wing ‘local-control’ movement is spreading in California fire country,” opines firefighter Howard Hendrix in the SF Chronicle. TUNING IT OUT — “All San Francisco wants for Christmas is not Christmas music,” by the SF Chronicle’s Susie Neilson. | | BIRTHDAYS | | SUNDAY: Evan Burfield … Eli Miller … SATURDAY: Rep. Grace Napolitano … Jennie Westbrook Courts of the Information Technology Industry Council … LinkedIn’s Ashley (Nerz) Levey … Ryan Kavanaugh 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 -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 Jesse Shapiro to find out how: jshapiro@politico.com.
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