Newsom goes on air

From: POLITICO California Playbook - Tuesday Sep 13,2022 01:22 pm

Sep 13, 2022

By Jeremy B. White, Lara Korte and Sakura Cannestra

Presented by Clean Air California

THE BUZZ: It can become hard to differentiate the ballot initiative deluge as Californians get bombarded with advertisements. But only one appeal will feature Gov. Gavin Newsom himself.

The governor cut his first ballot initiative television spot of the cycle to help defeat Proposition 30, an electric-vehicle-funding tax hike on top earners that Newsom denounces in the newly unveiled ad as “one company’s cynical scheme to grab a huge taxpayer-funded subsidy.” The $15 million supplied to date by ride-for-hire company Lyft constitutes the vast bulk of Prop 30’s funding; Lyft faces a mandate to electrify its California fleet and has spent years lobbying Sacramento for more EV funding. While Newsom never names the company itself, the ad’s text does — leaving little doubt who Newsom is talking about.

Newsom used similarly fiery language when he came out against Prop 30 in July, surprising some environmentalist allies who see the measure as critical to the transition from gas-powered cars. The opposition coalition pointed yesterday to support from the California Democratic Party, firefighters and the American Lung Association while calling it “disappointing that the Governor would side with the California Republican Party and a handful of San Francisco billionaires.”

But a public statement is one thing. Lending your visage and voice to a statewide, seven-figure campaign elevates Newsom’s opposition to another plane. It also underscores that Prop 30’s defeat is one of Newsom’s campaign priorities.

That could buoy opponents. Early polling had Prop 30 starting off on solid footing, with 63 percent of voters telling the Public Policy Institute of California in July they’d vote in favor. That happened to be significantly better than the lukewarm 49 percent who backed Newsom’s goal of barring most new gas-powered vehicles sales by 2035, which Prop 30 supporters say they’re bolstering with needed funding.

But polling before an opposition campaign can only tell you so much. In the roughly two months since PPIC gauged public sentiment, foes have piled up $8 million — much of it coming in six-to-seven figure chunks from wealthy individuals. That kind of money enables the campaign to beam Newsom’s face into households around the state. Most California voters say they approve of Newsom’s performance — including on environmental issues — and the No on 30 campaign is touting internal polling that shows a sizable gov bump.

WAR CHEST WAITING: Don’t forget Newsom had $5.6 million in his ballot initiative account at the end of June (some of which is left over from the tens of millions he raised to crush the 2021 recall). We’re waiting to see if he spends some of that on 2022 ballot initiatives.

One interesting nugget: The California State Association of Electrical Workers has sent six-figure sums this summer to both Newsom’s ballot committee and to the Yes on 30 campaign. The yes campaign has also gotten $1 million from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

BUENOS DÍAS, good Tuesday morning. California Health and Human Services Secretary Mark Ghaly is keynoting a Capitol Weekly health care conference today that convenes officials and experts to talk about where things stand with the pandemic and what lies ahead for public health. You can check out the agenda here.

Got a tip or story idea for California Playbook? Hit us up: jwhite@politico.com and lkorte@politico.com or follow us on Twitter @JeremyBWhite and @Lara_Korte.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “This [was] my era of limits, so I didn’t want some big banquet.” Former Gov. Jerry Brown on serving then-Prince Charles a humble cold cut sandwich in 1977. Here’s our full Q&A with Brown on meeting the future King of England.

TWEET OF THE DAY

Today's Tweet of the Day | Twitter

WHERE’S GAVIN? Nothing official announced.

A message from Clean Air California:

We have always had wildfires, but as California gets hotter and drier, the fires are getting worse. Prop 30 is the solution we need to prevent catastrophic wildfires and polluted air throughout the state. It provides more state firefighters and firefighting equipment to stop fires before they grow, better forest management to reduce dry fuels, and increased protective space around our homes. Prop 30 : the solution we need to prevent wildfires and clean our air.

TOP TALKERS

— “100 years after compact, Colorado River nearing crisis point,” by the Associated Press’ Chris Outcalt and Brittany Peterson: “The 40 million people who depend on the river to fill up a glass of water at the dinner table or wash their clothes or grow food across millions of acres use significantly more each year than actually flows through the banks of the Colorado.”

— “Extreme California heat knocks key Twitter data center offline ,” by CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan, Brain Fung and Sean Lyngaas: “Twitter (TWTR), like all major social media platforms, relies on data centers, which are essentially huge warehouses full of computers, including servers and storage systems. Controlling the temperature in those centers is critical to ensuring the computers don’t overheat and malfunction.”

DANCING IN THE DARK — “ Meet The Strippers Working To Unionize A Los Angeles Dive Bar,” by NPR’s Isabella Gomez Sarmiento and Emma Bowman: “NPR spoke to eight dancers for this story, all of whom said that they were contract employees and that they were unfairly terminated for raising safety and privacy concerns with management.”

CAMPAIGN MODE

CALVERT HITS: Ad spending is climbing in CA-41 as foes of Rep. Ken Calvert seek to capitalize on the longtime Republican’s congressman’s vulnerability in a newly competitive district. Equality California is launching a digital spot today accusing Calvert of corruption, which you can watch here for the first time, as part of an eventual six-figure buy. Yesterday we saw the Progress Action Fund PAC go up with an ad highlighting Calvert’s association with a pastor who has expressed anti-LGBTQ views.

— “California is the key to control of Congress ,” opines Steve Phillips for the Hill: “California is on the cutting edge, however, of a countervailing national trend — the country’s demographic revolution — and that trend is poised to scramble the midterm electoral calculus.”

A WOMEN RULE CONVERSATION ON LEADING FROM THE GROUND UP: Join POLITICO’s Women Rule on Sept. 15 for conversations focused on creating and leading sustainable, healthy and inclusive communities. The program will feature a Member Exchange panel followed by a keynote discussion exploring the most pressing issues facing women in their communities and women in leadership roles who are best positioned to solve these problems. REGISTER HERE.

CALIFORNIA AND THE CAPITOL CORRIDOR

CROWNED — When Jerry Met Charles, by POLITICO’s Jeremy B. White: Then-Gov. Jerry Brown and then-Prince Charles were still young men when they hosted each other in Sacramento and London in 1977. (They would meet a third time — and ride a ferry across San Francisco Bay — in 2005.)

— “L.A. County reports nation’s first confirmed MPX death ,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Luke Money and Rong-Gong Lin II: “Officials first publicly reported the death Thursday but said the precise cause was still being probed at that point. Further investigation from the county Department of Public Health and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention determined the death was from MPX, also known as monkeypox, according to a statement.”

EMPTYING THE TANK — “ California gas prices are going up. But prices are falling across the US. What’s going on?” by the Sacramento Bee’s David Lightman: “California faces other ongoing challenges that have historically made gasoline more expensive.”

— “ California Offshore Wind Projects Face Hurdles as Pressure Groups, Industry Interests Weigh In,” by the Wall Street Journal’s Katy Stech Ferek: “ Together, the projects are aimed at augmenting California’s power supply, generating enough to run more than 1.5 million homes with more than 4.5 gigawatts of electricity, U.S. officials estimate. That input could help the state reach its goal of 100% zero-emission power sources by 2045.”

SUPPORTING SYSTEMS — “‘These people do heroic work.’ Outreach workers refuse to give up on the homeless,” by the San Diego Union Tribune’s Kelly Davis: “But [Alejandro] Pulido is unflappable. The San Diego Union-Tribune spent two mornings with him, trudging up and down embankments and stepping carefully through the mud.”

— “Rape victim whose DNA was used to charge her with a crime sues San Francisco,” by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Bob Egelko: “When San Francisco police used DNA taken from a rape victim in 2016 to accuse her of burglary five years later, they were met with denunciations, local and state legislation to ban the practice, and, on Monday, a lawsuit seeking damages.”

— “A record eight homeless people froze to death in Sacramento last year, report shows ,” by the Sacramento Bee’s Theresa Clift: “Four of them died within a roughly one-week span, just days before Christmas. Those details are documented in an annual report by the Sacramento Regional Coalition to End Homelessness, based on its review of data compiled by the Sacramento County Coroner’s Office.”

— “ Kern County's mothers and babies are dying and no one seems certain why,” by KVPR’s Kerry Klein: “Kern County has one of the highest infant mortality rates in California and mothers die during pregnancy and childbirth in the San Joaquin Valley at a higher rate than in any other region of the state. Simultaneously, research shows that maternal mortality rates are rising among the country’s Latino population.”

A message from Clean Air California:

BIDEN, HARRIS AND THE HILL

— McCarthy mows down GOP detractors ahead of speaker bid — but the job isn’t done, by POLITICO’sAlly Mutnick and Olivia Beavers: The minority leader and his partners have indeed worked — with great success — to shape the contours of a potential Republican House majority in 2023 with McCarthy at the helm.

SILICON VALLEYLAND

SOCIALIZING MEDIA — “Instagram Stumbles in Push to Mimic TikTok, Internal Documents Show,” by the Wall Street Journal’s Salvador Rodriguez, Meghan Bobrowsky and Jeff Horwitz: “The document, titled ‘Creators x Reels State of the Union 2022,’ was published internally in August. It said that Reels engagement had been falling—down 13.6% over the previous four weeks—and that ‘most Reels users have no engagement whatsoever.’”

HOLLYWOODLAND

— “How ‘Squid Game’ made history multiple times over at the Emmys,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Michael Ordoña and Ashley Lee: ““Squid Game” didn’t just have a big night at the Emmys. It had a historic one.”

Join POLITICO Live on Tuesday, Sept. 20 to dive into how federal regulators, members of Congress, and the White House are seeking to write the rules on digital currencies, including stablecoins. The panel will also cover the tax implications of crypto, which could be an impediment to broader adoption and the geopolitical factors that the U.S. is considering as it begins to draw regulatory frameworks for crypto. REGISTER HERE.

MIXTAPE

— “Deported 11 Years Ago, Cambodian Woman Gets Rare Chance To Return Home To Long Beach,” by LAist’s Josie Huang.

TRANSPORTED — “The Central Subway will cripple Muni for years to come,” by Mission Local’s Joe Eskenazi.

— “ Political Notes: Inside Dutch queen's convo with SF LGBTQ leaders,” by Bay Area Reporter’s Matthew S. Bajko.

— “Anaheim council to consider more anti-corruption rules ,” by the Orange County Register’s Alicia Robinson.

— “Why Wine Country is no longer ‘for regular people,’ according to some Bay Area residents,” by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Jess Lander.

SCORCHED EARTH — “Mosquito Fire prompts closures in regions of Tahoe National Forest for the rest of 2022,” by SFGate’s Ariana Bindman.

A message from Clean Air California:

We have always had wildfires, but as California gets hotter and drier, the fires are getting worse. The smoke from wildfires combined with pollution from tailpipe emissions has resulted in our state having the worst air quality in the country. Prop 30 is the solution we need. It was drafted by climate experts to address the problems at the source, by reducing tailpipe emissions that cause pollution, and preventing the wildfires that create toxic smoke. It will provide better forest management to reduce dry fuels and more state firefighters and equipment, to contain fires before they grow. Prop 30 will help clean the air we all breathe.

That’s why environmental groups, state firefighters, public health groups, consumer advocates and climate experts are supporting Prop 30 — the Clean Air Act. Join us and be a part of the solution. Learn more at www.Yeson30.org.

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.

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