Rendon’s time is endin’

From: POLITICO California Playbook - Thursday Dec 09,2021 02:18 pm
Jeremy B. White’s must-read briefing on politics and government in the Golden State
Dec 09, 2021 View in browser
 
POLITICO California Playbook

By Jeremy B. White, Isabella Bloom and Graph Massara

THE BUZZ — SPEAKER SUCCESSION: Assembly speakers come and go, but rumors of leadership changes are eternal — and they’ve ramped up lately.

Current Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon is termed out at the end of 2024, as is the enormous 2012 Assembly class that gave us Rendon and his core team of supporters. Here we must distinguish between the invariable and the variable: Term limits guarantee that the Assembly will have a new leader for the 2025 legislative year. What’s less definite is when that transition will happen.

There are two paths. One is an orderly handoff that sees Rendon work to elevate a successor who wins support from a majority of the caucus. The other would be more akin to a hostile takeover, with a Democratic challenger rounding up the votes to oust Rendon. The latter could happen sooner than the former.

That reality is adding another variable to an already fluid political situation. A legislative exodus is underway as redistricting threatens to draw incumbents into tougher districts or into clashes with fellow Democrats over common areas: several Assembly members will soon be gone via resignation, appointment or campaigns for other seats, including some staunch Rendon allies who helped elevate him to the top of the caucus.

Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon.

Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon. | AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli

So what of Rendon himself? As his lieutenants head for the exits, we’ve heard crescendoing chatter not just about who might challenge Rendon, but about Rendon removing himself from the equation by finding a new gig and bowing out before 2024.

Rendon told us not to heed the hype. “No, not looking at anything,” he said in an interview, noting that he too has “been hearing those rumors a lot,” before making a couple of pledges: "If anything were to open up, I’m not going to run for an office. I’m staying in this job until 2024.”

And the speaker also had some thoughts on a potential succession timeline. He suggested it ideally would unfold similarly to his ascension, with the caucus setting a shift in motion late in the year before. “A March or spring of 2024 turnover — that’s how it happened last time,” he said, “and I thought it worked well.”

BUENOS DÍAS, good Thursday morning. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg is addressing the Sacramento Press Club at noon today. You can follow along here to see if Mayor Pete talks about those pesky rumors of a quiet rivalry with Vice President Kamala Harris.

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

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “My dad used to say that when you wrestle with a pig, you both get muddy and the pig likes it.” LA District Attorney George Gascón responds to criticism from LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva, via the LA Times’ James Queally. (Gascón said his comment wasn’t meant as a dig at the police.)

TWEET OF THE DAY: LA Times cops reporter @kevrector with some facts: “People pretending crime is skyrocketing across the board are wrong. People pretending crime isn't up at all are wrong. People making such arguments to further a cause when they know better are being intellectually dishonest.”

WHERE’S GAVIN? Back from the East Coast, where he promoted his children’s book and talked crime on “ The Daily Show” and “The View.” Newsom will also share his experience with dyslexia with students at a San Fernando Valley elementary school on Thursday morning.

 

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TOP TALKERS

RACIST AND HATEFUL — “Torrance police traded racist, homophobic texts. It could jeopardize hundreds of cases,” by the LA Times’ James Queally: “Frequently, hateful comments were targeted at Black people. Officers called Black men ‘savages,’ and several variations of the N-word, according to documents reviewed by The Times. The officers also shared instructions on how to tie a noose and a picture of a stuffed animal being lynched inside Torrance’s police headquarters, according to the documents.”

AND THEN — "California AG launches probe into police department over allegations of racist texts ," by NBC News' Chantal Da Silva: "The announcement came after the Los Angeles Times reported that several Torrance Police Department officers had exchanged racist, homophobic and anti-Semitic messages."

DEADLY FORCE — “Vallejo detective facing termination said there was no option ‘whatsoever’ but to kill Sean Monterrosa,” by The Vallejo Sun’s Brian Krans: “It was Tonn’s fourth on-duty shooting and his first fatal one since becoming a police officer in Vallejo in 2014. It was also his first shooting found to be in violation of department policy.”

‘OPEN RESCUES’ — “Former Berkeley mayoral candidate Wayne Hsiung convicted of stealing newborn baby goat,” by Berkeleyside’s Frances Dinkelspiel: “Wayne Hsiung, the co-founder of the animal rights group Direct Action Everywhere, got a six-to-17-month suspended sentence in North Carolina for stealing a newborn goat.”

‘RECKLESS ARSON’ — “Father, Son Being Held On $1M Bail For Allegedly Starting Caldor Fire,” via CBS Sacramento: “On Wednesday, the El Dorado County District Attorney’s Office announced that father and son David Scott Smith, 66, and Travis Shane Smith, 32, are under arrest on charges of reckless arson in connection with the fire, which burned more than 200,000 acres in El Dorado and Amador Counties.”

CALIFORNIA AND THE CAPITOL CORRIDOR

ABORTION AID — California abortion council prepares for post-Roe world, by POLITICO’s Victoria Colliver: The Future of Abortion Council wants state lawmakers to increase funding to help people from out of state seek services and beef up legal protections for patients and providers, among other policies.

BUDGET GOALS — California Senate leaders mull how to spend huge surplus, by POLITICO’s Alexander Nieves: Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) and Senate Budget Chair Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) outlined a set of “values" that Atkins’ office said will offer a starting point for budget negotiations with the Assembly and Gov. Gavin Newsom. That list focused largely on maintaining economic stability by paying down debts and retirement liabilities, along with increasing California’s budget reserves.

PUSH FOR JUSTICE — " California created the nation’s first state reparations task force. Now comes the hard part," by the LA Times' Taryn Luna: "Cash, land transfers, down payments to purchase homes and an overdue apology. Those are just some of more than a dozen potential remedies for those affected by slavery and its legacy of discrimination that Black community activists have implored California’s Reparations Task Force to consider at public meetings."

‘PRO-HOUSING CITY’ — “It’s one of California’s most YIMBY city councils — and one of the few surpassing housing goals,” by the SF Chronicle’s J.K. Dineen: “To Bay Area developers the idea that Emeryville is gunning to build far more than its fair share of housing doesn’t come as a surprise. The city tucked between Oakland and Berkeley along the shoreline has long had a reputation of welcoming development of all kinds.”

REMOVING RECORDS? — “‘Clean slate’ laws would erase criminal records. Do they make America more equitable?” by Alicia Patterson Foundation grantee Miranda S. Spivack for The Sac Bee: “While advocates for record removal say the process is crucial to enabling people to have a fresh start, government advocates, defense lawyers, journalists and civil society groups debate about what the loss of records and data means as they try to make the American justice system more equitable and accountable.”

RECKLESS DRIVERS — “Car crash deaths have surged during COVID-19 pandemic. Here’s why,” by the LA Times’ Emily Baumgaertner and Russ Mitchell: “Experts say that behavior on the road is likely a reflection of widespread feelings of isolation, loneliness and depression. ‘We might decide: What does a seatbelt or another beer matter, anyway, when we’re in the middle of a pandemic?’ said Shannon Frattaroli, a researcher at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.”

BLUE AND RED SF — “This map shows which areas of San Francisco are most progressive,” by the SF Chronicle’s Nami Sumida: “The most progressive precincts cluster near the city center and include neighborhoods like the Haight, the Mission and Bernal Heights. As you move away from the inner core, the scores indicate more moderate-voting precincts, with the least progressive areas in Portola, Visitacion Valley and near Lake Merced.”

BIDEN, HARRIS AND THE HILL

Biden nominates Meg Whitman as ambassador to Kenya, by POLITICO’s Nick Niedzwiadek: In 2010 Whitman ran for governor of California, losing to Democrat Jerry Brown by double digits despite spending $177 million — including $144 million from her vast personal wealth — on her campaign. More recently, Whitman helmed the star-crossed video streaming platform Quibi, which was financially flush and launched with considerable fanfare in 2020, only to flame out within months.

CAMPAIGN MODE

VALLEY WATCH — The race to fill the CA-22 seat that Rep. Devin Nunes is giving up is taking shape, with two Republicans jumping in on Wednesday: state Sen. Andreas Borgeas, as the Fresno Bee’s Thaddeus Miller reported, and Fresno Supervisor Nathan Magsig. Voters will pick someone to complete Nunes’ term in a special election, and then will fill a to-be-released new House seat in November.

CASH-CADE — Having handily defeated the recall thanks in part to unlimited fundraising ability, Newsom has sent $3.5 million from his anti-recall committee back to his ballot committee.

— “Why is California’s redistricting commission under increasing scrutiny?” by CalMatters’ Sameea Kamal: “The independent citizens panel isn’t just being criticized for the legislative and congressional districts it’s drawing. It’s already in court over alleged secret meetings and studies. Now, it’s facing questions over its spending and budget.”

— “Redistricting Makes California a Top House Battlefield for 2022,” by The NYT’s Jonathan Weisman: “In California, the map will stand in stark contrast to most of the country, scrambling the fortunes of lawmakers in both parties and creating the broadest — perhaps the only — true battlefield for 2022. Lawmakers should see the full plan by Friday, and the commission will send it to the secretary of state by Dec. 27.”

SILICON VALLEYLAND

PENALIZING POLICY — “‘So vague, it invites abuse’: Twitter reviews controversial new privacy policy,” by The Guardian’s Johana Bhuiyan: “The policy meant to tackle doxxing on the platform was weaponized by the far-right, leaving many anti-fascist activists locked out of their accounts.”

CLOUD BLACKOUT — “Amazon Outage Disrupts Lives, Surprising People About Their Cloud Dependency,” by The Wall Street Journal’s Sarah E. Needleman: “Amazon Web Services is the largest cloud-computing service provider in the U.S. The outage of much of its network lasted most of the day and disrupted several of the tech giant’s services, as well as many of its corporate customers’ websites and apps.”

MIXTAPE

CURRY’S CAREER — “Ten most memorable 3-pointers in Steph Curry’s transcendent Warriors career,” by the SF Chronicle’s Ron Kroichick.

— “ ‘Right now we’re storming the Capitol.’ Feds say California man attacked cops Jan. 6,” by The Sac Bee’s Sam Stanton.

LA DINING — “These are the 101 best restaurants in L.A.,” by the LA Times’ Bill Addison.

ICYMI — “The biggest storm in weeks is headed to the S.F. Bay Area. Here’s when the rain will arrive,” by the SF Chronicle’s Andres Picon.

— “Are skateboarders really solving the world’s problems, one trick at a time?” by the LA Times’ David Wharton.

— “Transit Agency to Bring Back Two Bus Lines After Chinese Community Mobilizes,” by the SF Standard’s Han Li.

 

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