What’s the absolute minimum?

From: POLITICO California Playbook - Wednesday Dec 08,2021 02:18 pm

Dec 08, 2021

By Jeremy B. White, Isabella Bloom and Graph Massara

THE BUZZ — PAYING UP: Is California’s minimum wage too damn low? Joe Sanberg thinks so — and he’s betting a hefty sum that voters agree with him.

Our state’s base pay could rise to $18 under an initiative the affluent progressive activist Sanberg wants to put on the 2022 ballot. And it wouldn’t need to halt at $18, which is already 20 percent higher than the $15 minimum that will be imposed statewide in 2023 — the wage could continue to rise in parallel with cost of living increases, pushing California to $20 and higher in the years to come. A baseline that’s among the loftiest in America could climb even higher.

Sanberg told us that while $15 may seem generous relative to other states, in California it “doesn’t give people financial freedom” or cover “life's basic needs.” That focus on putting more money in peoples’ pockets tracks with Sanberg’s dogged support for a state-level earned income tax credit. Echoing his sentiment that current wages are not enough was Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez, who backed Sanberg’s initiative in a statement, decrying that “millions of California workers are earning starvation wages at their full time jobs.”

That Gonzalez is already on board naturally made us wonder who else will back Sanberg’s measure — particularly whether the blessing of a staunch union ally like Gonzalez means Sanberg could draw on the firepower of organized labor, which was instrumental in securing the $15-an-hour standard. Sanberg was coy but optimistic on that front, telling us he saw a natural alignment with labor and believed “we will earn their support.” That could mean a busy ballot for unions, who may also be playing defense over education and collective bargaining for public employees.

Pockets as deep as Sanberg’s make it likely he’ll secure the signatures to qualify — that, and the natural allure of a wage increase to passersby buttonholed by signature-gatherers. Pressed on how much he was willing to spend, Sanberg repeated that “this will be on the ballot.” And while the $15 deal Gov. Jerry Brown signed in 2016 reflected his desire to avoid a ballot brawl, Sanberg said he won’t bend to a Sacramento compromise that boosts the minimum wage without also allowing it to rise with cost of living.

So we could be hurtling toward a monumental ballot fight. Sanberg said he’ll roll out some private-sector endorsements, and he argued the measure has a built-in support base in the 5 million or so Californians earning minimum wage. But you can bet some well-resourced business groups will battle this one, invoking warnings about inflation and overburdened restaurants forced closing.

In other words: Expect a fight about the direction of California’s economy on a ballot that is shaping up to be enormously expensive.

BUENOS DÍAS, good Wednesday morning. Solar energy advocates will mass at the Capitol today to rally against proposals before the California Public Utilities Commission that would reduce consumer incentives to install solar panels on homes.

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

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Her failing is not an option. One thing we talked about is ensuring that she has ambassadors that can actually speak to this. Kind of connecting to her personally, who is Kamala? The entire person, the politician, the leader, the wife, the mother. Connecting [all of] that does make our mission as black women fighting for this work even more important than ever.” Shavon Arline-Bradley, president and chair of D4 In Action, on Black women backing Vice President Kamala Harris via POLITICO’s Eugene Daniels.

TWEET OF THE DAY: GOP state Sen. @senatormelendez responds to perennial Republican candidate Omar Navarro saying he’ll run yet again: “Just stop. Learn to code.”

WHERE’S GAVIN? Expected to return from his East Coast trip at some point today.

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TOP TALKERS

LIKE IN THE MOVIES — “Lizard people, deadly orgies and JFK: How QAnon hijacked Hollywood to spread conspiracies,” by the LA Times’ Anita Chabria: “In the convoluted and often nonsensical world of QAnon, Hollywood plays a big role — and not just for providing its ‘Where we go…’ mantra, often shortened to WWG1WGA for merchandise and social media. Many of its story lines, including evil lizard aliens disguised as humans and a cabal of elite pedophiles secretly controlling society, are pulled, like ‘White Squall’’s words, from films and television shows — embellished, distorted, but clearly appropriated.”

ON GASCÓN — “ Misdemeanors 'Can Haunt A Person For Life': Why LA's DA Stopped Charging Many Of Them,” by LAist’s Aaron Mendelson: “When Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón took office a year ago, he directed the county’s nearly 1,000 prosecutors to decline charges involving 13 categories of low-level misdemeanors, including driving on a suspended license, drug and paraphernalia possession, and public intoxication.”

LOOKING INTO LOFGREN — “ Major antitrust adversary in Congress has daughter on Google’s legal team,” by the New York Post’s Lydia Moynihan: Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) is a “senior member of the House Judiciary Committee, which is charged with oversight of Big Tech and antitrust issues. Meanwhile, her daughter Sheila Zoe Lofgren Collins, serves as in-house corporate counsel at Google.”

CALIFORNIA AND THE CAPITOL CORRIDOR

MUSICAL CHAIRS: Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon has elevated three new committee chairs as turnover continues to transform the Legislature. Assemblymember Buffy Wicks is taking over the Housing Committee, formerly led by now-San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu; Assemblymember Miguel Santiago is assuming control of the Governmental Organization Committee, which oversees lucrative sectors like alcohol and gaming and was opening because Assemblymember Jim Frazier is resigning; and Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva is taking over Communications and Conveyance, which Santiago formerly helmed.

BRUCE’S BEACH A BELLWETHER? — “Advocates push nationwide movement for land return to Blacks after victory in California,” by The Washington Post’s Erica Werner and Troy McMullen: “A Black family’s successful fight to reclaim a picturesque stretch of Southern California shoreline has ignited a national movement, with activists eyeing White-owned properties around the country they say rightfully belong to African Americans.”

GET READY — “California prepares for winter COVID-19 surge; if not from Omicron, then from Delta,” by the LA Times’ Rong-Gong Lin II and Luke Money: “If hospitals get extremely busy, they may be forced to implement crisis standards of care, [Dr. Rais] Vohra said, potentially being required to ration healthcare to patients based on who is more likely to survive.”

PANDEMIC FORECAST — "COVID economy: Omicron uncertainty weakens California jobs outlook," by The Mercury News' George Avalos: "The bottom line: The outlook for the California economy appears more feeble than was the case just three months ago, according to the new assessment prepared by Jerry Nickelsburg, director of the UCLA Anderson Forecast, and Leila Bengali, an economist with the forecast."

— "California disciplining doctors over questionable medical exemptions for vaccines," by The Sac Bee's Hannah Wiley: "Less than a year after new vaccine oversight rules for doctors took effect, the California Department of Public Health has reported seven physicians to licensing boards for allegedly issuing dubious medical exemptions to let kids skip school-mandated shots."

PREVENTABLE? — “Family questions S.F. police shooting of Afghan with PTSD who charged with knife: ‘My heart is bleeding,’” by the SF Chronicle’s Mallory Moench: “Amani’s story raises the question of whether the U.S. is doing enough to help thousands of Afghans who worked with the American military during war and then immigrated, often struggling with trauma. His story also reflects the mental health challenges of many who end up in San Francisco’s supportive housing.”

— “Sacramento clears 160 vehicles used by homeless from business park. Are more sweeps coming?” by The Sac Bee’s Theresa Clift: “Vehicles and trailers have been used by homeless individuals for months in the area - and the enforcement may be a sign of a potential crackdown in how the city responds to vehicles used as shelter.”

NEWSOM Q&A — “Gov. Newsom talks about his children’s book to help those, like himself, with dyslexia,” by the LA Times’ Taryn Luna: “He’s telling his story through Ben, the baseball-loving protagonist of his new children’s book who has a tough time reading, too.

‘Ben & Emma’s Big Hit,’ which goes on sale Tuesday, parallels Newsom’s experience with dyslexia, which he learned he had in fifth grade.”

DEC 7 — "Before Pearl Harbor, L.A. was home to thriving Japanese communities. Here’s what they were like," by the LA Times' Pat Morrison: "You know the date — Dec. 7 — and what happened then, and what happened thereafter, to the United States and to the world. But what was life like on Dec. 6, 1941, and in the years before then, closer to home, for one group of people for whom that date would alter their lives — the Japanese and Japanese Americans in Los Angeles?"

— "Surgeon general warns of emerging youth mental health crisis in rare public advisory ," by the LA Times' Howard Blume and Melissa Gomez: "In early 2021, emergency department visits in the United States for suspected suicide attempts were 51% higher for adolescent girls and 4% higher for adolescent boys compared to the same time period in early 2019, according to research cited in the advisory."

BIDEN, HARRIS AND THE HILL

MCCARTHY ON CERTIFICATION — “He voted to impeach. Can he survive in the GOP?” by the Atlantic’s Tim Alberta: “Dismayed, a group of freshman Republicans asked for a meeting with Kevin McCarthy shortly after their swearing-in. According to multiple people who attended that meeting, the House minority leader refused to give them advice, explicit or implicit, about how to vote on the election certification. Whereas Mitch McConnell was whipping furiously for certification in his Senate caucus, McCarthy left his new House members without a clue as to the party’s position on whether Congress should obey the Constitution.”

— “ So you think Kamala Harris has it rough. Remember Dan Quayle?” opines the LA Times’ Mark Z. Barabak: “Harris is, of course, a historic figure. That means heightened interest in her performance and expectations that vastly exceed her circumscribed position. But the idea the vice president is the victim of an extraordinarily hostile press corps, or is being singled out solely because she is a woman of color, holds about as much water as a demitasse.”

— " Harris pushes for expansion of maternal healthcare, Medicaid postpartum coverage," by the LA Times' Erin B. Logan and Marissa Evans: "Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday urged Congress to allocate an additional $3 billion for maternal healthcare and expand postpartum Medicaid coverage to one year as part of the proposed social safety net and climate package now before the Senate."

CAMPAIGN MODE

LICCARDO’S PAC — “San Jose mayor teams up with big-name developers to influence future elections,” by The Mercury News’ Maggie Angst: “Liccardo recently formed a political fundraising committee called Common Good Silicon Valley, which has raked in nearly $400,000 following its first fundraising kickoff breakfast early last month. … Labor leaders, however, see it as a way for the mayor to maintain ‘business as usual’ even after he leaves his post with the city.”

MORE MAPS TO SCOPE OUT — “L.A. approves its redistricting map, setting political boundaries for the next decade ,” by the LA Times’ David Zahniser: “The council creates new boundaries for its 15 districts every 10 years, following the release of U.S. census data.”

ANTE UP — Card rooms have dropped another $5 million into battling Native American tribes over sports wagering. Hawaiian Gardens supplied the bulk, with a $4 million outlay.

PENINSULA RUMBLE — South San Francisco Councilmember James Coleman is leaping into the race to fill the 22nd Assembly district seat that incumbent Assemblymember Kevin Mullin is giving up to run for Congress.

OP-ED — “Harder rakes in money warning against Nunes threat that didn’t materialize,” opines The Modesto Bee’s Garth Stapley: “During the three weeks in which it appeared that the Republican Nunes might challenge him, [Rep. Josh] Harder’s political machine has been in overdrive, churning out no less than 14 email blasts breathlessly pleading for money to prepare for the Nunes threat.”

SILICON VALLEYLAND

— “New Tesla Safety Concern: Drivers Can Play Video Games in Moving Cars,” by The NYT’s Neal E. Boudette: “The automaker added the games in an over-the-air software update that was sent to most of its cars this summer. They can be played by a driver or by a passenger in full view of the driver, raising fresh questions about whether Tesla is compromising safety as it rushes to add new technologies and features in its cars.”

SUCCESSION PLAN — “Twitter’s New CEO Agrawal Got Early Nod From Dorsey a Year Ago,” by Bloomberg’s Kurt Wagner: “While Dorsey’s decision to step down as chief executive officer last week caught investors and employees by surprise, the framework for his departure—including identifying his designated replacement—had been in place for more than a year… Agrawal was Dorsey’s top choice for the job, and he was the only candidate—internal or external—seriously considered when the time came to fill Dorsey’s role, people familiar said.”

CITIZENSHIP STATUS — “ Microsoft will change hiring practices after DOJ said company discriminated against immigrants,” by CNBC’s Jordan Novet: “The company will pay a small fine to the U.S. Treasury and has agreed to stop certain practices, like telling employees with permanent resident status to upload copies of their green cards. Microsoft must also have U.S. immigration staffers undergo training presentations from the Justice Department.”

HOLLYWOODLAND

‘SECRETS OF PLAYBOY’ — “Holly Madison felt trapped in a ‘cycle of gross things’ at Hefner’s Playboy Mansion,” by the LA Times’ Christie D’Zurilla: “Wondering how sex could happen in such a stressful environment? Well, former Hef girlfriend Sondra Theodore, who dated him from 1976-81, has the answer: drugs. And no, not Viagra.”

MIXTAPE

NEW PLAN — “After Japantown neighbors fight homeless housing project, S.F. settles on new site less than a mile away,” by the SF Chronicle’s Mallory Moench.

— “ Melrose Avenue neighborhood group to install license plate readers over crime worries,” by the LA Times’ Christian Martinez.

— “Amputee claims police officer shot him when he was defenseless,” by Courthouse News Service’s Nicholas Iovino.

GOLDEN STATE SURCHARGE — “Should you pay an extra fee just for being a Californian? Pizza Hut thinks so,” opines David Lazarus in the LA Times.

— “These Oakland community leaders are backing Mayor Schaaf’s plan to grow the city’s police force. Some want to go further,” by the SF Chronicle’s Rachel Swan.

TRANSITIONS

— Reporter Hannah Wiley is leaving The Sac Bee but staying on the California politics beat, taking on a gig with the LA Times.

IN MEMORIAM

— “Donald Gerth, longest-serving Sac State president, dies. He transformed the university,” by The Sac Bee’s Marcos Bretón: “Among his many contributions, he expanded that campus by 1.7 million square feet, established a School of the Arts, raised millions for university programs, spoke out about racism on campus, and defended affirmative action programs.”

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