Dems’ smash-and-grab breaking point

From: POLITICO California Playbook - Thursday Dec 16,2021 02:17 pm

Dec 16, 2021

By Jeremy B. White, Isabella Bloom and Graph Massara

Presented by Our Health California

THE BUZZ — NO MORE B.S.: California’s elected officials clearly have crime on their minds — and their political radars.

That was the unequivocal takeaway on Tuesday from a fired-up San Francisco Mayor London Breed, who vowed to be “less tolerant of all the bulls---” and be “more aggressive with law enforcement” to topple “the reign of criminals who are destroying our city.” If that type of rhetoric sounds more reminiscent of a past era, when politicians in California and elsewhere scrambled to out-tough-on-crime one another, it also underscored how even in progressive San Francisco, politicians perceive crime to be a dire challenge. Speaker Nancy Pelosi backed up her fellow San Franciscan on Wednesday.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed listens during a briefing outside City Hall in San Francisco on Dec. 1, 2021.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed listens during a briefing outside City Hall in San Francisco on Dec. 1, 2021. | AP Photo/Eric Risberg

While Breed’s fiery comments have reverberated around the country, she’s hardly been alone in the last few days. Across the bay, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf asked the California Highway Patrol for more help containing a violent crime surge that has already claimed more than 100 lives this year. Democratic Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin announced legislation to crack down on organized retail theft, signaling the Legislature will seek to take on the smash-and-grab thefts that have dominated recent news coverage. Attorney General Rob Bonta convened retailers and law enforcement groups to talk about retail theft.

Nor has Gov. Gavin Newsom been able to escape the issue. He was asked about it repeatedly during his East Coast press tour last week, demonstrating that viral smash-and-grab images have permeated the national media’s consciousness and shaped its perception of California. (They certainly have been all over Fox News lately.)

The governor has fine-tuned his response, in which he defends reforms like Proposition 47, which lowered property crime penalties, while vowing to bring the perpetrators to justice — often employing the sort of zero-tolerance language Breed invoked. On Wednesday, he noted that crime is also up around the country, and that conservative Kern County has endured a higher violent crime rate than more liberal areas. But as usual, he was careful to validate Californians’ uneasy feelings: “We are mindful of how people feel,” Newsom said. “Rightfully so.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE: There are two important lenses through which to view where we stand: a historical comparison and a time-trend analysis. California crime rates are generally well below historic highs, and the LA Times explored how retailers may be inflating the scale of losses to theft . But some categories of crime are trending upwards — a dynamic evident in large California cities — and statistics can fail to convey offenses that aren’t reported. So while things are better than they once were, there are ways in which they are demonstrably getting worse. Elected officials are clearly attuned to the darkening public mood.

That doesn’t mean Democratic elected officials — or the electorate — are about to abandon or reverse California’s recent embrace of less incarceration and more lenient sentencing. But politicians’ public statements convey where they see the wind blowing, and plenty of them clearly perceive this to be a fraught moment. A major test we’re watching: whether progressive San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin survives a June recall attempt. And then it’s on to the attorney general race.

BUENOS DÍAS, good Thursday morning. California’s independent redistricting commission is continuing to tweak those maps with less than two weeks to go, and it got some legal breathing room on Wednesday when the California Supreme Court rejected a request for the line-drawers to fire their lawyers and release more information.

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

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “It’s outrageous. I agree with the mayor: it has to be stopped, and it’s not just San Francisco, it’s in our entire country … There is an attitude of lawlessness in our country that springs from I don’t know where.” Speaker Nancy Pelosi backs up San Francisco Mayor London Breed’s vow to get tough on crime.

TWEET OF THE DAY: Frontline Republican Rep. @MikeGarcia on the same: “More police funding and actually enforcing the law? A novel idea. Even progressive mayors are starting to realize their soft-on-crime policies and defunding of police are destroying California communities. It's past time to reverse course…”

WHERE’S GAVIN? Nothing official announced.

PROGRAMMING NOTE: California Playbook won’t publish from Monday, Dec. 20 to Friday, Dec. 31. We’ll be back on our normal schedule on Monday, Jan. 3.

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TOP TALKERS

— “Sacramento substation that caught fire was near ‘end of useful life’ in 2015, documents show,” by The Sac Bee’s Jason Pohl, Michael McGough and Rosalio Ahumada: “On Tuesday, the substation burst into flames, seriously damaging equipment and plunging downtown Sacramento into a multi-day darkness that closed businesses and restaurants a week before Christmas and knocked out power to street lights and offices.”

MEDIA MONITORING — “Revealed: LAPD used ‘strategic communications’ firm to track ‘defund the police’ online,” by The Guardian’s Sam Levin and Johana Bhuiyan: “Internal documents show a Polish firm with no law enforcement experience helped LAPD collect tens of thousands of tweets related to Black Lives Matter and racial justice protests.”

FINDING FINES — “The case of the vanishing fine: How a massive nursing home penalty eluded consumer detection,” by CalMatters’ Jocelyn Wiener: “A Fresno nursing home was fined more than $900,000 in 2018 for poor patient care, but consumers have been hard-pressed to find any public record of the massive penalty or many other big fines.”

FAILURE TO PROTECT PATIENTS — “These doctors sexually abused patients. The Medical Board gave them their licenses back,” by the LA Times’ Jack Dolan, Brittny Mejia and Kim Christensen: “The state Medical Board reinstated more than half of all sex abusers who sought to get their licenses back, a rate significantly higher than for doctors who lost their licenses for all other reasons, a Times review of board data found.”

JOIN TODAY FOR A WOMEN RULE 2021 REWIND AND A LOOK AHEAD AT 2022: Congress is sprinting to get through a lengthy and challenging legislative to-do list before the end of the year that has major implications for women’s rights. Join Women Rule editor Elizabeth Ralph and POLITICO journalists Laura Barrón-López, Eleanor Mueller, Elena Schneider and Elana Schor for a virtual roundtable that will explore the biggest legislative and policy shifts in 2021 affecting women and what lies ahead in 2022. REGISTER HERE.

CALIFORNIA AND THE CAPITOL CORRIDOR

SNAG IN THE PLAN — “Newsom’s push to use Texas abortion law tactics on firearms faces hurdle with ghost guns,” by the SF Chronicle’s Dustin Gardiner: “Gov. Gavin Newsom’s sly legal strategy when he called for letting private citizens sue the makers and sellers of assault weapons and parts for “ghost guns” faces a clear logistical challenge: Ghost guns are largely untraceable.”

PIPELINE INDICTMENT — “Amplify Energy and subsidiaries charged with negligence in Orange County oil spill,” by the LA Times’ Richard Winton and Laura J. Nelson: “The spill, whose exact cause remains unclear, has renewed calls for the government to take more aggressive action against the aging oil platforms and the infrastructure that dot the Southern California coast.”

— “What have police been doing in the Tenderloin until now? Residents say not a whole lot,” by the SF Chronicle’s Heather Knight: “The police department is understaffed by nearly 500 officers, according to a recent study of adequate staffing for the department commissioned by former Supervisor Norman Yee, also raising the question of whether the department can handle that many extra hours while also working overtime to guard high-end stores in Union Square in the wake of mass retail thefts there.”

‘TIPPING POINT’ — “California, Arizona and Nevada agree to take less water from ailing Colorado River ,” by the LA Times’ Jaweed Kaleem and Ian James: “The Colorado River has been chronically overused, and its flows have shrunk dramatically over the last 22 years during a ‘megadrought’ that research shows has been worsened by global warming.”

CARBON REMOVAL OR CAPTURE? — “Why California can’t fill a major gap in its climate strategy,” by Grist’s Emily Pontecorvo: “The story behind A.B. 1395 highlights one of the biggest areas of tension in the politics of climate change around the world right now: disagreement over the need for carbon capture and carbon removal.”

KITCHEN UPGRADE — "Clash of the kitchens: California leads the way in a new climate battleground," by the LA Times' Evan Halper: "Impatient with the pace of climate action, more than 50 California cities have passed rules that restrict — and in many cases ban — natural gas hookups in new homes and businesses. The movement has quickly spilled far beyond the state’s borders. Its success relies on convincing home cooks that they don’t need a gas range."

FEMALE REPRESENTATION — "More women than men were appointed to California corporate boards in 2021. Here’s why ," by The Sac Bee's Jeong Park: "Women now hold nearly 30% of California’s public company board seats, nearly double the number in 2018, according to the report from a nonprofit founded by First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom. The report comes three years after California passed a law requiring public companies to hire more female directors to their boards."

WRONG ROUTE — “Newsom’s Texas-style gun ploy is an emotionally satisfying, and very bad, idea ,” via the LA Times editorial board: “Witnessing Texas’ destruction of women’s rights is no justification for following its path, even in the laudable quest to decrease the proliferation of guns and the consequential and shocking increase in murder and other violent crimes.”

PRICEY PIGS — "California restaurants sue over law they say will drive up cost of bacon, pork," by The Sac Bee's Andrew Sheeler: "The lawsuit in Sacramento Superior Court centers on Proposition 12, a 2018 ballot measure that prohibits the production or importation of pork raised from pigs kept in confined spaces. It requires in part that breeding sows be kept in a space no smaller than 24 square feet."

LATEST CASE COUNT — “Omicron spreads in Southern California as state mask order takes effect,” by the LA Times’ Rong-Gong Lin: “Los Angeles County has confirmed 15 Omicron cases, including eight new cases on Tuesday. Of the new cases, officials said none of the patients required hospitalization, and seven showed symptoms; it was not known whether the eighth new patient had symptoms. Five of the eight were fully vaccinated, and none had received a booster shot.”

DEVASTATING DOWNPOUR — "‘Like a nightmare’: images show storm’s toll on California homeless community ," by The Guardian's Gabrielle Canon: "The scene is a stunning example of the dangers unhoused communities are grappling with as the climate crisis sets the stage for conditions that will hit the most vulnerable hardest."

— "New California rules end distinction between vaccinated and unvaccinated workers," by the AP's Don Thompson: "Both would be barred from the workplace if they come in close contact with someone with the virus."

A message from Our Health California:

BIDEN, HARRIS AND THE HILL

— “Biden nominates 9 more judges as Senate confirms Sung to 9th Circuit,” by Reuters’ Nate Raymond: “The nine district court nominees include Jessica Clarke, the head of New York Attorney General Letitia James' civil rights bureau, and Jennifer Rochon, the Girl Scouts of the United States of America's general counsel, to serve as judges in the Southern District of New York.”

FOR KWAN POLICY — President Joe Biden has nominated Michelle Kwan — Olympic figure skating legend, Biden campaign surrogate and pride of Torrance, Calif. — to be ambassador to Belize.

CAMPAIGN MODE

INSURANCE MONEY — Incumbent Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara is getting some reinforcements as he fends off an intra-Democrat challenge : LGBTQ rights group Equality California, Planned Parenthood and the California Federation of Teachers are launching a $3 million independent expenditure campaign to re-elect Lara. Meanwhile, 2018 runner-up Steve Poizner was in the news on Wednesday as he waded into a perennial medical insurance fight.

BASS CHANGES IT UP — Rep. Karen Bass’ campaign for LA Mayor has cut ties with her general consultant, Parke Skelton, our David Siders reports. The reason is a “shift from a launch phase to what is expected to be a nationally-watched race,” David reports.

— “Explore: See who is funding the Boudin recall,” by Mission Local’s Will Jarrett: “Early this summer, the campaign to recall San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin was lagging behind the anti-recall camp in its funding, according to Ethics Commission data. On June 18, that changed dramatically.”

— “Are Californians chumps to play fair on congressional redistricting?” opines the LA Times’ Mark Z. Barabak: “The Democratic argument goes something like this: Californians may feel all warm and fuzzy for doing the virtuous thing — attempting to divorce politics from redistricting to the greatest extent possible — but other states with far less saintly Republicans are doing everything possible to maximize GOP gains.”

— “Sources: Heng to abandon U.S. Senate bid for Nunes replacement run,” by The San Joaquin Valley Sun’s Reid Stone: “Elizabeth Heng, a one-time Republican contender for a Fresno-based seat in the House of Representatives and current candidate for the U.S. Senate, is set to dump her long-shot bid against Sen. Alex Padilla (D–Calif.) soon.”

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.

SILICON VALLEYLAND

CLUBHOUSE GRIPES — “Tech’s Looming Radical Chic Throwdown,” by Puck’s Theodore Schleifer: “The [recall] election, scheduled for next June, places San Francisco at the center of a raging national debate over policing and how Democrats should talk about crime ahead of the midterms. It also offers a critical view of a city at an inflection point, as it tries to gel its august vision of itself with the more ruthless consequences of its steroidal capitalism.”

ICYMI: Silicon Valley’s voice in Washington dissolves, by POLITICO’s Emily Birnbaum: The once-dominant Internet Association "has made the difficult decision to close the organization at the end of this year," its board announced Wednesday.

MIXTAPE

OP-ED — “Retail Theft Coverage Hypes Familiar Pro-Criminalization Narrative,” by Teen Vogue’s Kandist Mallett.

— “ How Warriors’ Steph Curry celebrated his teammates after 3-pointers record,” by the SF Chronicle’s Connor Letourneau.

FUTURE FULL-FLEDGED FOREST — “Seedling by seedling, Joshua trees will rise again in fire-scorched desert,” by the LA Times’ Nathan Solis.

TRANSITIONS

— “AltaSea Taps Former CalEPA Secretary Terry Tamminen as Next CEO,” via Business Wire: “Tamminen, Governor Schwarzenegger’s climate change expert, starts January 1. AltaSea’s Board of Directors was attracted to his global environmental leadership. The Guardian ranked Tamminen #1 in its 2008 ‘Top 50 People Who Can Save the Planet.’”

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Access to quality health care is a right and not a privilege for some – a service for all.

Our Health California, a grassroots advocacy community of more than 1 million people, is dedicated to building a healthier society. We champion equitable access to affordable, high-quality health care because every Californian deserves to get the care they need, when they need it.

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