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Presented by UPS: Jeremy B. White and Lara Korte’s must-read briefing on politics and government in the Golden State | | | | |  | | By Jeremy B. White, Lara Korte, Sakura Cannestra and Owen Tucker-Smith | Presented by UPS | THE BUZZ: “Money is power” doesn’t quite capture legislative politics. Numbers bring power — but money can help you count. It takes numbers to pass bills and to win leadership fights. For the speakers and presidents pro tem who prevail, a central job duty is maintaining or growing numbers by winning elections. That involves collecting and directing caucus cash to defend endangered incumbents and pick up new seats — a process in which safe incumbents help finance frontline races by donating directly to priority candidates or to the California Democratic Party. But an ongoing speakership struggle has made this year anything but typical — as a rival campaign machine is demonstrating. A political action committee funded by Assembly members who are allies of speaker contender Assembly member Robert Rivas — with a Rivas loyalist serving as treasurer — is spending money to elect aspiring members of an enormous incoming class. Those new lawmakers will have a say in who serves as speaker. The committee’s name telegraphs it pretty clearly: Democratic Leadership Coalition. A spokesperson put an even finer point on it: Donors want “to support Democratic candidates throughout the state in key races and ensure Robert Rivas is the next Assembly speaker.” Rivas backers believe they are clearing a path to replace a speaker who has lost his way. Former Rendon campaign general Bill Wong argued the play puts arriving members in an “untenable position” while setting a “horrible precedent” for the speakership. “The speaker’s role is to protect the majority,” Wong said, but “this approach is: ‘who can I buy off?’” | 
Democratic Assemblyman Robert Rivas addresses lawmakers at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif., Monday, May 23, 2022. | Rich Pedroncelli/AP Photo |
Most of the beneficiaries are Democrats running against Republicans in safely blue seats. In other words, they don’t need the extra help getting elected in November and thus won’t be priorities for Speaker Anthony Rendon and the party. That includes a candidate who has publicly pledged allegiance to Rivas and another whom the PAC’s treasurer referred to as “the Rivas candidate.” (One donor, key Rivas backer Assembly member Evan Low, already played Assembly kingmaker by funding a committee in the primary).
Other recipients are frontline contenders like Christy Holstege and Esmeralda Soria — caucus priority candidates who are emphases for the speaker-driven system, although the PAC money has so far not flowed to defend vulnerable incumbents. Democratic Leadership Coalition members have donated directly to battleground candidates, and they’d collectively sent about $800,000 to the California Democratic Party this cycle as of Friday afternoon — most of it before the speakership fight detonated. In other words, the two systems are functioning in parallel — a process that you can see as complementing, circumventing, or competing with Rendon’s operation. This is partially an effort by Rivas and his cohort to cultivate a base. It is partially a declaration of dissipated confidence in Rendon. It is unmistakably an attempt to reorient the balance of power. We’ll see the results soon enough, when the November election yields to a speaker vote. BUENOS DÍAS, good Monday morning. Gov. Gavin Newsom acted on the final batch of 146 bills on Friday, including by signing major paid leave legislation, and then immediately set up a fight for next year by tweeting a call for a windfall tax on oil companies. Rendon and Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins said they’d “take a hard look” and run it by their members — although both caucuses are set to change. 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 is what you want from someone who’s going to run for statewide or national office. He saw there was an opportunity from that recall to boomerang that out beyond California.” Democratic operative and Newsom friend Chris Lehane on the governor going on offense, via POLITICO. TWEET OF THE DAY
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Today's Tweet of the Day | Twitter | WHERE’S GAVIN? Nothing official announced.
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Learn more | | | |  | TOP TALKERS | | NEWSOM’S US TOUR — Gavin Newsom Brings the Fight to Red States, by POLITICO’s David Siders: If his undertakings this summer — his ads, his travel here — were designed to persuade Democrats that their style of politics is too soft, they have also served to create a unique place in the party for him as the most exasperated voice of the left. — “How feds choreographed an elaborate fake murder to stop L.A. developer’s alleged plot ,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Noah Goldberg: “Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives had been tracking him for months and had nabbed [Sesar] Rivera weeks earlier as he was trying to find a hit man for his boss, authorities said.” OPENING MUSK’S MESSAGES — “ Elon Musk’s Texts Shatter the Myth of the Tech Genius,” by the Atlantic’s Charlie Warzel: “The 151-page redacted document is a remarkable, voyeuristic record of a few months in the life of the world’s richest (and most overexposed) man and a rare unvarnished glimpse into the overlapping worlds of Silicon Valley, media, and politics.” | | CAMPAIGN MODE | | FAST FOOD FIGHT: Opponents of California’s new fast food labor law have quickly built a war chest as they race to qualify a referendum overturning AB 257. The “Save Local Restaurants” committee has piled up $12.6 million, including enormous sums from franchise industry heavyweights like Starbucks ($2 million), In-n-Out ($1.7 million), Chipotle ($1.7 million), Yum! Brands ($750,000) and Chik-Fil-A ($500,000). They have until early December to gather about 620,000 valid signatures. — “ Meet the Republican who could upset California’s Democratic monopoly,” by the Washington Post’s Jason Willick: “[California Controller candidate Lanhee J.] Chen, 44, thinks it can be competitive again — at least when the focus is state governance rather than national culture wars.” — “ Caruso cuts into Bass’ lead, poll finds, as L.A. mayoral race heads into final weeks,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Benjamin Oreskes: “Rick Caruso has made significant progress in the race for mayor, closing a large part of the gap with Rep. Karen Bass since August, but the billionaire businessman still trails by double digits among the people who are likeliest to vote.” HOPE FOR HOUSING — “L.A. to vote on ‘mansion tax’ to raise money for housing. Bass, Caruso don’t support it,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Benjamin Oreskes: “Both appear to think that backing the tax is bad politics when Angelenos are frustrated with how past money has been spent to address homelessness, even as many feel the crisis has worsened.” — “In tight California House race, ‘red-baiting’ mailers accuse candidate of communist ties,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Seema Mehta and Anh Do: “The flier, crafted and funded by GOP Rep. Michelle Steel, would be effective in much of the country. But it has the potential to be particularly powerful in Steel’s Orange County-centered district.” | | | | SUBSCRIBE TO POWER SWITCH: The energy landscape is profoundly transforming. Power Switch is a daily newsletter that unlocks the most important stories driving the energy sector and the political forces shaping critical decisions about your energy future, from production to storage, distribution to consumption. Don’t miss out on Power Switch, your guide to the politics of energy transformation in America and around the world. SUBSCRIBE TODAY. | | | | | | | CALIFORNIA AND THE CAPITOL CORRIDOR | | — These 7 union-backed workplace laws are coming to California, by POLITICO’s Alexander Nieves and Owen Tucker-Smith: Hard-fought battles between the state’s labor unions and business interests over workplace rules annually produce some of the biggest fireworks in Sacramento, and almost always result in at least a few vetoes that leave worker advocates sour. — “Gov. Newsom demands California regulator take action to lower gas prices ,” by KCRA3’s Greta Serrin: “Newsom sent a letter to the California Air Resources Board on Friday directing it to take whatever steps are necessary to allow refineries to begin making and distributing winter-blend gasoline. The blend, normally only allowed to be made after Oct. 31, is easier to make and cheaper for consumers.” MATTERS OF VOTING — “ Central Valley agriculture could see big changes from California farmworker union bill,” by the Fresno Bee’s Melissa Montalvo and Laura S. Diaz: “On Wednesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law a United Farm Workers-backed bill that intends to make it easier for farmworkers across California to vote in union elections and, ultimately, join collective bargaining contracts.” — “ Shasta County officials warn of people impersonating election officials, voter intimidation,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Nathan Solis: “Members of the group wear reflective vests and claim to be part of a ‘voter task force,’ said County Clerk and Registrar of Voters Cathy Darling Allen. She said her office has not authorized any house calls and that she considers these kinds of aggressive tactics to be a form of voter intimidation.” — “Newsom has mixed verdict on California criminal justice laws,” by the Associated Press’ Don Thompson: “Starting in July, one new law will give California what proponents call the nation’s most sweeping law to seal criminal records, though it excludes sex offenders.” — “Once Known for Vaccine Skeptics, Marin Now Tells Them ‘You’re Not Welcome’,” by the New York Times’ Soumya Karlamangla: “In the pandemic age, getting a Covid-19 shot has become the defining “vax” or “anti-vax” litmus test, and on that account, Marin County has embraced vaccines at rates that surpass the vast majority of communities in the nation. It comes after public health efforts to change parents’ opinions, as well as a strict state mandate that students get vaccinated for childhood diseases.” — “ Calls from California prisons will be free under new law signed by Newsom,” by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Bob Egelko: “Prisoners in California have had a hard time staying in touch with their families because of the high price of prison phone calls, managed by a $1.4 billion-per-year nationwide industry.” | | | | A message from UPS:   | | | | | BIDEN, HARRIS AND THE HILL | | A HOUSE DIVIDED… — A shaken Supreme Court returns to chambers, by POLITICO’s Josh Gerstein: The atmosphere of secrecy around [Justice Samuel] Alito’s appearance in Italy and his short-lived beard — gone by the time the justices reconvened last week — were just two indicators of the unusually tense times for the court, which returns to chambers to take up cases Monday.
| | SILICON VALLEYLAND | | — “Will Elon Musk’s Tesla Bot replace human workers? Don’t bet on it,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Samantha Masunaga: “On Friday, the world may see just how friendly. At the company’s AI Day event, held to showcase its progress in artificial intelligence, Musk reportedly plans to unveil a working prototype of the robot.” — “Silicon Valley billionaires square off over support for Trump and the MAGA movement ,” by CNBC’s Ylan Mui: “In one corner is LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, who has been rallying corporate executives to oust politicians who support false claims by former President Donald Trump that the 2020 presidential election was rigged against him. On Thursday, Hoffman hosted a fundraiser in San Francisco with Twilio Chief Executive Jeff Lawson and venture capitalist Ron Conway, an early investor in Google and Paypal.” | | | | 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. | | | | | | | MIXTAPE | | — “‘Woman, life, freedom’: L.A. protest over Iran draws thousands,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Laura J. Nelson. — “Young adults in California experience alarming rates of anxiety and depression, poll finds,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Paloma Esquivel. TALKING TACOS — “ What's next for superstar chef Dominique Crenn? Tacos,” by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Elena Kadvany. — “ Homeless man held in ‘random, senseless’ death of 74-year-old Carmichael resident,” by the Sacramento Bee’s Darrell Smith. — “2 Berkeley High School students killed, 2 wounded in Oakland mass shooting ,” by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Nora Mishanec and Demian Bulwa. | | BIRTHDAYS | | MONDAY: Rep. Karen Bass … Jonathan Lamy of Live Nation … Marty Zimmerman … Lyor Cohen SUNDAY: Emerson Eichler SATURDAY: California Donor Table’s Ludovic Blain … Rep. Jimmy Panetta … WaPo’s Jose Del Real … Catherine Dennig | | | | A message from UPS: You don’t need a college degree or an executive title to have a successful career at UPS.
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