Gonzalez bids goodbye

From: POLITICO California Playbook - Tuesday Jan 04,2022 02:15 pm

Jan 04, 2022

Presented by California Environmental Justice Alliance

THE BUZZ — LABOR OF LOVE: We barely made it an hour into the Legislature’s first session of 2022 before Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez delivered a bombshell from the Assembly floor: She’ll be out of office by the end of the week.

Timing aside, it wasn’t exactly a surprise to hear Gonzalez say she will depart the Legislature to take over the powerhouse California Labor Federation in July. As we reported back in November, organized labor allies mounted a campaign to draft Gonzalez and nudge out current Secretary-Treasurer Art Pulaski, resulting in the Labor Fed’s executive board voting unanimously to endorse Gonzalez as the group’s next leader.

Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez receives congratulations after her bill to give new wage and benefit protections to gig workers was approved by the Assembly in Sacramento, Calif.

Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez receives congratulations after her bill to give new wage and benefit protections to gig workers was approved by the Assembly in Sacramento, Calif., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2019. | AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli

It’s hard to think of a more logical landing spot for Gonzalez, who would term out in 2024 and, even in a markedly union-friendly legislature like California’s, stands out as the most resolute supporter of organized labor. Gonzalez’s ascension to the head of the formidable statewide labor council marks a full-circle moment for someone who led San Diego’s Labor Federation before joining the Legislature in 2013. And it comes after her recent bids for statewide office fell flat: She ended her secretary of state campaign after Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed Shirley Weber to replace Alex Padilla, and her bid to be appointed attorney general was unsuccessful when Rob Bonta won out.

As a state lawmaker, Gonzalez has pushed through landmark legislation like paid sick leave, a sweeping labor classification bill and a new law regulating Amazon warehouse quota systems. Speaker Anthony Rendon rewarded Gonzalez’s support of him by making her the chair of the Assembly Appropriations Committee, a critical chokepoint that has allowed Gonzalez to direct the flow of traffic to the Assembly floor. She boosted her public profile with an unapologetically combative style that included a Twitter feud with Elon Musk.

Whether you admire her or despise her — and members of both camps abound, including within the Assembly Democratic caucus — Gonzalez has inarguably been a central figure in the last decade of Sacramento policymaking. But the Labor Fed is one of the most formidable players in both California campaigns and the Legislature, so you can bet Gonzalez will continue to make her presence felt.

RIPPLE EFFECTS: Assemblymember Chris Holden is taking over the Appropriations Committee, meaning Rendon chose to replace one ally who was terming out in 2024 with another ally who is terming out in 2024. And the scramble for a safe San Diego seat is on. Moments after Gonzalez’s speech came the AD-80 campaign launch of former San Diego City Council member Georgette Gómez, who lost a Democrat-on-Democrat House race to Rep. Sara Jacobs last year; former San Diego Council member David Alvarez declared he’d be running last year.

BUENOS DÍAS, good Tuesday morning. Gonzalez becomes the 12th Assembly incumbent since the start of this legislative session to resign, secure an appointment or announce they’re not running for reelection. Who will be next? Keep reading Playbook and find out!

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

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “We have no bench. We have not attempted to build a roster of new, talented people. … We still have all kinds of people with ideas. But we have nobody on the bench capable of implementing them. ” Former S.F. Mayor Willie Brown tells NYT he is skeptical about his city’s continued primacy in California politics.

TWEET OF THE DAY: GOP consultant and Sacramento veteran @RobStutzman on Gonzalez’s legacy: “Can’t think of a non-Speaker who was as a powerful legislator as @LorenaSGonzalez since maybe John Vasconcellos? (Sac vets should weigh in). Whether for or against her agenda, have to tip your hat to someone who took their job that seriously. She’ll remain a force.”

WHERE’S GAVIN? Nothing official announced.

A message from California Environmental Justice Alliance:

Governor Newsom: Commit to California’s 2022 Clean Energy Resolutions - Let’s ring in the New Year with healthier, more resilient communities and clean, affordable energy for all. Read the full list of Clean Energy Resolutions for 2022 from a dozen environmental justice, equity, clean energy and climate organizations.

TOP TALKERS

HOLMES VERDICT — “The Elizabeth Holmes Verdict: Theranos Founder Is Guilty on Four of 11 Charges in Fraud Trial,” by the Wall Street Journal’s Sara Randazzo, Heather Somerville and Christopher Weaver: “The verdict caps a steep fall for the former Silicon Valley star who once graced magazine covers with headlines such as ‘This CEO is Out for Blood’ and emulated Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Jobs by wearing black turtlenecks.”

— “Video: San Ramon cops released dog to badly maul Uber driver who’d missed rental payment,” by the SF Chronicle’s Matthias Gafni: “Badr, who had rented the car through a company serving gig workers, was treated as a potential car thief one day in December 2020 and then violently attacked by police despite posing no apparent threat.”

CLIMATE CHANGE — “This Isn’t the California I Married,” by Elizabeth Weil in NYT Mag: “Living in California now meant accepting that fire was no longer an episodic hazard, like earthquakes. Wildfire was a constant, with us everywhere, every day, all year long, like tinnitus or regret.”

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

CH-CH-CH-CH-CHANGES — “California transportation secretary resigns,” by POLITICO’s Debra Kahn: David Kim said he would step down Jan. 14 so that he could rejoin his family in Virginia.

— “ Rendon names new chairs of Assembly climate committees,” by POLITICO’s Colby Bermel: Rendon appointed Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia to chair the Assembly Utilities and Energy Committee, replacing the panel's previous leader of four years, Assemblymember Chris Holden. Garcia, who previously led the Water, Parks, and Wildlife Committee, was replaced by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan.

SCHOOL FUNDING FIGHT — “ Portantino proposes enrollment-based school funding shift,” by POLITICO’s Susannah Luthi: Sen. Anthony Portantino (D-La Cañada Flintridge) on Monday unveiled a bill, first reported Sunday by POLITICO, that would fund districts based on yearly enrollment rather than average daily attendance, a move that would deliver an estimated $3 billion extra to schools across the state. In making his pitch, the senator said his bill would bring California in line with the majority of other states.

— “L.A. Unified orders mandatory COVID testing before school resumes Jan. 11,” by the LA Times’ Howard Blume.

NEWSOM’S BIG DECISION — “Sex workers are pitted against each other in fight over California’s loitering law,” by the LA Time’s Anita Chabria : “In recent weeks, sex workers and advocates on both sides have lobbied Newsom over a decision that some contend is a first step in decriminalizing sex work in California — in effect, leaving it illegal but repealing or not enforcing laws meant to stop it.”

— “Amid mob theft scare, Bay Area property crime in 2021 was modestly up and down,” by the Bay Area News Group’s Robert Salonga: “Many cities — San Jose and Berkeley, for two — enjoyed a second consecutive year of decreases in property crime. And even those that endured year-over-year increases still have not risen back to pre-pandemic peaks.”

TOO MANY BILLS? — “Hey, California lawmakers. Less is more,” opines the LATimes Editorial Board: “By this time next year, California could easily have 1,000 new laws on the books. That’s absurd.”

— “Drought’s grim death toll: California says endangered salmon perished in Sacramento River,” by the Sac Bee’s Ryan Sabalow and Dale Kasler: “Only an estimated 2.6% of the winter-run Chinook salmon juvenile population survived the hot, dry summer, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife said.”

— “ L.A. has a new plan for creating more housing. An AIDS nonprofit wants it thrown out,” by the LA Times’ David Zahniser: “The AIDS Healthcare Foundation, a nonprofit group with a history of fighting L.A. planning decisions, is now looking to torpedo the council’s action, saying city officials did not properly assess the environmental impacts of that strategy.”

WETTER WEATHER — “ Precipitation since Oct. 1 tops previous full ‘water year’ in California,” by the SF Chronicle’s Jessica Flores: “The downpours and mountain storms of recent weeks have helped boost the state’s precipitation volume to 33.9 trillion gallons thus far for the water year that began Oct. 1, compared to the previous water year’s 33.6 trillion gallons, the service said Sunday.”

A message from California Environmental Justice Alliance:

CAMPAIGN MODE

AD-7 ACTION: Republican Josh Hoover, a Folsom Cordova Unified School District board member and chief of staff to Rep. Kevin Kiley, launched a run in the newly drawn 7th Assembly district. Kiley has said he intends to run for Congress in the newly drawn CA-3 Rep. Tom McClintock runs in the new CA-5.

CD-47 — "Harley Rouda opts out of battle with fellow Democrat Katie Porter for Orange County seat," by LAT's Melanie Mason: “Former Rep. Harley Rouda said Monday he will not run for a newly drawn Orange County congressional seat, averting a potentially bruising intraparty battle with Rep. Katie Porter, a fellow Democrat. The two were set on a campaign collision course last month after California’s latest congressional boundaries were set. Both signaled plans to run in the 47th district, which includes Huntington Beach and other coastal cities once represented by Rouda as well as Porter’s hometown of Irvine.”

CD-16 GETS NEW CHALLENGER, via POLITICO's Daniel Lippman: Ajwang Rading, an attorney at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, is launching his campaign for California's 16th Congressional District, which includes much of Silicon Valley. Wilson Sonsini, Google's longtime law firm, is the same firm Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna worked at before his election to California’s 17th Congressional District in 2017. The new district, redrawn as a result of the 2020 census, includes Google headquarters in Mountain View and Facebook's in Menlo Park. His campaign manager is Bay Area native Sophie Vaughan, who previously worked as a speechwriter for Ady Barkan and is an alum of Amy McGrath and a former journalist.

— “ Democrat Laurie Girand challenging GOP Assemblywoman Laurie Davies in new 74th District,” by the OC Register’s Brooke Staggs.

— “Nunes Officially Exits Congress, Sticks Fresno County With Potential $1.3M Election Tab,” by GVWire’s David Taub.

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

OUSTED — "MTG hit with Facebook suspension after Twitter ban," by POLITICO's Nick Niedswiadek.

— “ Apple becomes first company to hit $3 trillion market value,” by Reuters’ Nivedita Balu.

— “Tesla Opens Showroom in China’s Xinjiang Region, Which the U.S. Has Cited for Genocide, ” by Bloomberg’s Ella Ceron.

MIXTAPE

— “As Capitol riot anniversary nears, more than 2 dozen Southern Californians still face charges,” by the OC Register’s Sean Emery.

— “ Racial, homophobic slurs spray painted at San Dieguito Academy High School,” by the U-T’s David Hernandez.

— “Yuki tribal members: UC Hastings proceeding on name change ‘without our voices,’” by the Press Democrat’s Alana Minkler.

— “ San Francisco’s most ‘fancy lookin’ shop cat is now an internet celebrity,” by SFGATE’s Joshua Bote.

— “California engaged in groundbreaking COVID antibody study,” by the Mercury News’ Megan Kalomiris..

TRANSITIONS

— Longtime Nancy Pelosi aide Jorge Aguilar has joined GROUP D.C. as a principal, giving the firm another Democrat with ties to the upper echelons of power in Washington.

— Haley Meyers is now a management and program analyst with congressional affairs at the HUD’s Office of Inspector General. She previously was a legislative aide for Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.)

IN MEMORIAM

— “Kelly Ernby, deputy DA and former Assembly candidate, has died of COVID-19 complications,” by the OC Register’s Brooke Staggs: “Orange County Deputy District Attorney Kelly Ernby, who ran for state Assembly in 2020 and had become a leader with the Republican Party of Orange County, has died suddenly, a week after telling friends she was very sick with COVID-19. She was 46 years old.”

BIRTHDAYS

Amazon’s Deborah Matteliano … Yuval Rottenstreich

A message from California Environmental Justice Alliance:

As we enter 2022, California is at a crossroads.

Our communities are reeling from COVID-19, and the climate crisis continues to shape our lives in new and frightening ways. High fossil fuel prices are adding to this pressure for many families, while air quality remains dangerous to breathe in many communities. Urgent action is needed.

Fortunately, creating healthier, more resilient communities and building an economy rooted in prosperity for all are inextricably linked by clean, affordable energy that is available to everyone.

That’s why a dozen environmental justice, equity, and climate organizations are asking Gov. Newsom to adopt these Clean Energy Resolutions:

Eliminate utility debt
Increase access to affordable, truly clean electricity
Invest in transmission
Install solar + storage on 1 million homes & community buildings
Reject fossil fuels
Retire California’s dirtiest fossil fuel power plants
Invest in increased climate resilience infrastructure

Read the full list here.

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