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Presented by the Electric Trucks Now Campaign: Jeremy B. White and Lara Korte’s must-read briefing on politics and government in the Golden State | | | | |  | | By Lara Korte , Jeremy B. White , Sakura Cannestra and Owen Tucker-Smith | Presented by the Electric Trucks Now Campaign | THE BUZZ: California is set to make a massive shift to zero-emission vehicles in the coming years, but voters don’t seem keen on funding it. New polling released by the Public Policy Institute of California last night found only 41 percent of likely voters would vote yes on Proposition 30, the ballot measure that would tax people making more than $2 million to help fund zero-emission vehicle purchases and infrastructure. That’s a staggering drop from the 55 percent of voters who backed it in September. The measure seems straightforward enough, especially for liberal, climate-conscious California voters. It’s backed by hundreds of environmental groups as well as the California Democratic Party. But one key proponent, rideshare company Lyft, was the sticking point for Gov. Gavin Newsom, who came out forcefully against the measure over the summer, calling it a “cynical scheme” by a major corporation to avoid shelling out cash to meet state policies. He even cut an ad for it. By doing so, he aligned himself with the state’s business interests and the Republican party. And here is where context is key: Newsom in 2020 declared that the state will phase out the sale of new gas passenger vehicles by 2035. But as Jeremy reported back in July , a little-noticed and related law requires companies like Lyft and Uber to mostly abolish internal combustion engines from their ranks by 2030. Considering that electric vehicles are still pricey and charging stations sparse, that could be a heavy lift for those Silicon Valley giants. Getting the taxpayers to help fund it could lighten the load.
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A sign is posted in front of a Lyft driver center on August 12, 2020 in San Francisco, California. | Justin Sullivan/Getty Images | But all is not lost for Prop 30, supporters say. A joint statement from the Yes on 30 campaign and California Democratic Party said other independent polls, as well as private polling, have shown “dramatically different results” than the PPIC survey. “Only seven percent of Californians have cast ballots , and we are confident that voters will see through the misinformation of the opposition campaign being funded by billionaires,” the Clean Air Coalition said in a statement. Other notable findings from PPIC’s new survey:
- Abortion matters to everyone, but especially to Democrats: 61 percent of likely voters said abortion is very important in determining their pick for Congress. Unsurprisingly, there’s a 35-point partisan split on the matter, with 78 percent Democrats saying abortion is very important compared to 43 percent of Republicans.
- Sports betting measures still can’t get a majority: Support for Proposition 27, which would legalize online sports betting, fell to 26 percent in this survey, down from 34 percent in September. Proposition 26, which would legalize in-person sports betting on tribal lands and certain race tracks, has the support of 34 percent of likely voters.
- Newsom maintains lead over Sen. Brian Dahle: 55 percent of likely voters said they would vote for the governor today, compared to 36 percent who would vote for Dahle. Newsom’s approval ratings also remained buoyant, with 54 percent of Californians and 52 percent likely voters approving of the way he is handling his job.
BUENOS DÍAS, good Thursday morning. Progressive powerhouse Bernie Sanders is in Los Angeles today headlining a GOTV rally for Rep. Karen Bass as the race for the next LA mayor heads into its final week. More details. 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 . Send us your political mailers! We’re looking to bring more transparency to the elections process. How you can help: Send us photos of the campaign ads you’ve gotten in the mail. You can upload photos here or email them to mailers@politico.com . QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Entering Twitter HQ – let that sink in!” Tesla CEO and new “Chief Twit” Elon Musk walking into Twitter’s San Francisco offices on Wednesday while carrying an actual sink. TWEET OF THE DAY:
|  Today's Tweet of the Day | Twitter | WHERE’S GAVIN? In Orange County for a ribbon cutting on a new homeless outreach center.
| | A message from the Electric Trucks Now Campaign: DIESEL POLLUTION KILLS. ELECTRIC TRUCKS SAVE LIVES. California’s freight communities, neighborhoods near warehouses and families living next highways are breathing the most polluted air in the country. The disproportionate exposure of these mostly Black and Brown communities to diesel exhaust pollution is one of the clearest examples of environmental racism. The California Air Resources Board's (CARB) own analysis shows we can save lives and deliver environmental justice with a stronger Advanced Clean Fleet standard. | | | |  | Top Talkers | | IN THE COUNCIL — “ City Council censures De León, Cedillo, Martinez after police clear out demonstrators ,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Dakota Smith and David Zahniser: “The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to censure three current and former council members for their part in an incendiary conversation that contained racist remarks.” — “ California correctional officer union paid $2.3 million for property where its president lives ,” by the Sacramento Bee’s Wes Venteicher and Darrell Smith: “The union representing California state correctional officers spent $2.3 million early this year to buy a 5-acre Elk Grove property with a four-bedroom house, a swimming pool and two large warehouses, according to Sacramento County records, an online listing and union representatives.”
| | CAMPAIGN MODE | | MAIL-IN MAYHEM — “ California rejected over 100,000 ballots in June. But one county bucked the trend ,” by the Mercury News’ Eliyahu Kamisher: “The large majority of the rejected ballots — nearly 70,000 — arrived late, while most others either lacked an envelope signature or had a signature that did not match the one on file with the state.” — “ Bass, Caruso differ on crime issues and policing -- but not as much as many think ,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Libor Jany: “On a campaign stop last spring in the San Fernando Valley, billionaire developer and Los Angeles mayoral candidate Rick Caruso was flanked by a who’s who of old-school heavyweights from the Los Angeles Police Department.”
| | | | NEW AND IMPROVED POLITICO APP: Stay up to speed with the newly updated POLITICO mobile app, featuring timely political news, insights and analysis from the best journalists in the business. With a fresh look and improved features, the sleek and navigable design offers a convenient way to access POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Don’t miss out on the app you can rely on for the news you need, reimagined. Already a POLITICO app user? Upgrade today! DOWNLOAD FOR iOS – DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID . | | | | | | | CALIFORNIA AND THE CAPITOL CORRIDOR | | OFF THEIR HANDS — “ Oil giants sell thousands of California wells, raising worries about future liability ,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Mark Olalde: “It might seem like a lucrative time to drill for oil in the Golden State. Yet, some of the world’s largest oil companies, several of which have done business in the state for more than a century, are selling assets and beginning to pull out of California.” — “ Violent clash at UC Davis between protest groups cancels conservative speaker event ,” by the Sacramento Bee’s Michael McGough: “A melee broke out Tuesday evening at UC Davis between about 100 protesters and counterprotesters assembled ahead of a planned event by a conservative student organization, according to university officials.” THE POLITICAL — “ The rise and fall of careerist Kevin de León ,” Opines Dan Walters for CalMatters: “De León’s political career now may be over. Leaked recordings of a political strategy meeting of four Latino political figures revealed racist discussions about how to reduce Black political power in the mostly Latino city. It touched off a firestorm of denunciations from major political figures, including President Joe Biden, and demands that the participants resign.” — “ They made good money but left L.A. because it didn’t go far enough. Are they gone for good? ” by the Los Angeles Times’ Summer Lin: “The Jansens represent one part of the exodus from Los Angeles and other major cities that took place during the pandemic, which opened many opportunities for remote work, as well as sparked deep conversations about what they wanted out of life.” — “ Citing ‘public safety,’ S.F. D.A. is still removing veteran jurist from juvenile cases ,” by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Bob Egelko: “San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins has confirmed that she is removing J. Anthony Kline, one of California’s most experienced judges, from all new cases in Juvenile Court, explaining only that she has a duty to ‘promote more public safety.’” WINDFALL BUZZ — “ California might levy a new tax on oil companies. Here’s what to know ,” by CalMatters’ Grace Gedye: “Gas prices in California are consistently higher than the rest of the country, thanks to state taxes, a cleaner fuel blend, an isolated gas refining market and more. But in September, California prices jumped even higher and that gap grew wider.” THE CATCH — “ California carbon emissions fell 9% in pandemic’s 1st year ,” by AP’s Kathleen Ronayne: “California’s planet-warming emissions dropped nearly 9% in 2020 compared to the year before as pandemic restrictions kept people at home, out of their cars and away from the workplace for much of the year.” — “ Ye kicked out of Skechers' headquarters in California ,” by the AP: “The rapper formerly known as Kanye West was escorted out of the California-based headquarters of athletic shoemaker Skechers after he showed up unannounced Wednesday, a day after Adidas ended its partnership with the artist following his antisemitic remarks.”
| | | | A message from the Electric Trucks Now Campaign:   | | | | | BIDEN, HARRIS AND THE HILL | | RESTRAINED PRESENCE — Election anxiety creeps inside the White House , by POLITICO’s Jonathan Lemire: Despite public displays of confidence, anxiety is growing within the White House and allied Democrats that Republicans will capture at least one chamber of Congress and possibly both.
| | SILICON VALLEYLAND | | — “ The billion-dollar tech unicorn is becoming rare again ,” by the Washington Post’s Nitasha Tiku and Gerrit De Vynck: “The hot social media network BeReal — which is gaining steam with young people as a casual alternative to Instagram — recently raised money, a key milestone on the path of any successful start-up.” MUSK CORNER — “ Elon Musk Visits Twitter as $44 Billion Deal Nears Completion ,” by the New York Times’ Ryan Mac and Kate Conger: “Elon Musk appears to be on track to close his blockbuster $44 billion deal for Twitter. Mr. Musk, who runs Tesla and SpaceX, visited Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters on Wednesday and tweeted a nine-second video of himself smiling and carrying a porcelain sink into the building.” — “ Meta’s Profit Slides by More Than 50 Percent as Challenges Mount ,” by the New York Times’ Ryan Mac: “A year ago, Mark Zuckerberg changed Facebook’s name to Meta and said he was going all in on the immersive digital world of the so-called metaverse.”
| | | | DON’T MISS POLITICO’S 2nd ANNUAL DEFENSE SUMMIT ON 11/16: The United States is facing a defining moment in the future of its defense, national security and democratic ideals. The current conflicts and developments around the world are pushing Washington to reshape its defense strategy and how it cooperates with allies. Join POLITICO for our second annual defense summit, “At a Crossroads: America’s Defense Strategy” on November 16 in person at the Schuyler DC or join online to hear keynote interviews and panels discussing the road ahead for America’s national security. REGISTER HERE . | | | | | | | MIXTAPE | | ELECTRIC YELLOW — “ A profound change is coming to American school buses ,” by the Washington Post’s Michael Birnbaum. — “ My identity theft nightmare could be your nightmare too ,” Opines Jessica Roy for the Los Angeles Times. — “ Pickax-wielding woman smashes home’s windows as baby sleeps ,” by the AP. — “ There Are 30,000 Waitlist Spots For Section 8 Housing In LA. So Far 180,000 Have Applied ,” by LAist’s Julia Barajas. — “ This mall was a suburban Sacramento icon for a generation. Now it’s being redeveloped ,” by the Sacramento Bee’s Ryan Lillis.
| | IN MEMORIAM | | — “ ‘Marxist environmentalist’ and author Mike Davis dies at 76 ,” by the AP: “Mike Davis, an author, activist and self-defined “Marxist environmentalist” whose greatest fears drove him to anticipate riots, fires and disease in such bestsellers as “City of Quartz” and “The Ecology of Fear,” has died at age 76.”
| | BIRTHDAYS | | POLITICO’s Steven Overly … Nick Roosevelt… Andrea Batista Schlesinger
| | A message from the Electric Trucks Now Campaign: ELECTRIC TRUCKS NOW TO STOP DIESEL DEATH. CARB's own research shows that we will achieve greater pollution reductions, save more lives and achieve $10 billion more in additional societal benefits by moving up the 100% electric truck sales goal by just four years. That is mostly public health savings from cutting almost 40% more deadly diesel soot pollution and 50% more smog-forming pollution than the proposed standard.
There is massive support from equity, health, business, labor, clean air and climate groups from across California for the Advanced Clean Fleet Accelerated ZEV Transition Alternative that hits 100% electric truck sales by 2036. Electric truck technology is here and strategies and funding are already in place to grow charging options to meet these reasonable and gradual goals.
Tell CARB to deliver cleaner air faster to our most polluted communities with a stronger electric truck standard. | | | 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 . Want to make an impact? POLITICO California has a variety of solutions available for partners looking to reach and activate the most influential people in the Golden State. Have a petition you want signed? A cause you’re promoting? Seeking to increase brand awareness amongst this key audience? Share your message with our influential readers to foster engagement and drive action. Contact Jesse Shapiro to find out how: jshapiro@politico.com. | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |  |
