Republicans’ pinch hitter

From: POLITICO California Playbook - Friday Aug 11,2023 01:05 pm
Presented by American Beverage Association: Inside the Golden State political arena
Aug 11, 2023 View in browser
 
POLITICO California Playbook

By Lara Korte, Sejal Govindarao and Dustin Gardiner

Presented by

American Beverage Association

Former major leaguer Steve Garvey hits during a celebrity game.

Former major leaguer Steve Garvey hits during a old timers/celebrity game on July 3, 2011, in Anaheim, Calif. | Mark J. Terrill/AP Photo

DRIVING THE DAY: Labor interests are making a last-minute push to open unemployment benefits to striking California workers.

As POLITICO’s Lara Korte scooped last night, the California Labor Federation is working with lawmakers to introduce a new bill upon the Legislature’s return next week that could cause some end-of-session-scuffles in the Democratic caucus.

Read more here on why a similar bill failed in 2019 and how this year’s “hot labor summer” could help the authors.

THE BUZZCould a baseball legend break California Republicans’ losing streak in statewide races?

Probably not. But he may be the best chance they’ve got to stay relevant into next fall.

While Democrats weigh the merits of three impressive frontrunners in the race to succeed Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the state GOP finds itself, once again, hunting for a way to still be around in November. The party hasn’t elected anyone to statewide office since 2006, and, with less than a year until the Senate’s “jungle primary,” the most promising prospect is Steve Garvey, a 74-year-old baseball star who’s never entered a race.

Garvey is still weighing his options, but there’s a lot riding on his candidacy. Few Republicans have gone so far as to suggest he could actually win, but his name recognition, star power, and a deep bench of wealthy friends could give some serious play to a party that is often forced to watch from the nosebleeds.

"This is, without a doubt, one of the most crucial Senate seats that has come into play, and there is a lot of excitement around Mr. Garvey's potential candidacy given he is a legend in the world of baseball,” said CAGOP spokesperson Ashley Yanez, noting that the party looks forward to hearing from “all Republican candidates.”

Currently, the leading GOP Senate hopeful is Eric Early, a twice-failed candidate for attorney general who has struggled to fundraise and gained little support within his party for what some feel are fringe views.

Garvey might appeal to a wider, more moderate audience — a critical factor when it comes to statewide races.

“First and foremost he’s an adult,” said Jon Fleischman, former executive director of the California Republican Party. “He’s not a caricature. He’s a mature adult who has, from time to time, talked about policy issues in California.”

Sending a California Republican to the Senate is a longshot, but many in the party are holding out hope that a candidate like Garvey could get onto the top two general election ballot. If he managed to make it to November, Republicans could use Garvey as a rallying point to drive up turnout in competitive congressional districts.

The problem right now is that the GOP doesn't have anyone to consolidate the vote, said Rob Pyers, research director at California Target Book. Whether Garvey can do that is an open question, Pyers said, but “he stands probably a considerably better chance than anyone else in the field right now.”

 

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HAPPY FRIDAY. Thanks for waking up with Playbook. Enjoy your last weekend of summer recess!

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HITTING YOUR INBOX AUGUST 14—CALIFORNIA CLIMATE: Climate change isn’t just about the weather. It's also about how we do business and create new policies, especially in California. So we have something cool for you: A brand-new California Climate newsletter. It's not just climate or science chat, it's your daily cheat sheet to understanding how the legislative landscape around climate change is shaking up industries across the Golden State. Cut through the jargon and get the latest developments in California as lawmakers and industry leaders adapt to the changing climate. Subscribe now to California Climate to keep up with the changes.

 
 
FRESH INK

Associated Press reporter Michael Liedtke gets into a Waymo driverless taxi.

Associated Press reporter Michael Liedtke gets into a Waymo driverless taxi for a test ride in San Francisco on Feb. 15, 2023. | Terry Chea/AP Photo

ROBOTAXIS TAKE THE WHEEL — After more than seven hours of debate, the California Public Utilities Commission on Thursday voted to allow self-driving cars to carry paying passengers around San Francisco, siding with companies Cruise and Waymo over strong objections from local and labor leaders.

POLITICO’s Jeremy B. White caught all the back-and-forth.

“Ultimately advocates on both sides of this issue care about the future," said Commissioner John Reynolds, who resisted calls to recuse himself because he had worked for one of the companies seeking authorization, "and so do we.”

As Jeremy writes, the San Francisco dispute reflects a wider reckoning that has played out in Sacramento, pitting the tech sector against organized labor as both sides wrestle over self-driving vehicles’ roles in a changing economy. Unions fear drivers being put out of work and are backing state legislation to restrict self-driving trucks. Tech companies believe the requirement would hobble their ability to improve and deploy the technology.

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — TRADING SPACES: State Sen. Steve Glazer and Assemblymember Tim Grayson are both hoping to run for the Legislature again — just in opposite houses.

Glazer, who was first elected to the Senate through a special election in 2015 and represents the majority of Contra Costa County, had initially considered challenging the state’s 12-year term limits law, which would prevent him from running for another four-year term in the upper chamber.

But in a new episode of his “Table Talk” podcast, released today, Glazer said he decided against going to court and is instead eyeing a two-year term in Grayson’s Assembly district, which includes Concord and parts of Contra Costa County.

"I'm going to take a look and see whether term limits law would allow me to serve, without legal question, at least another two and a half years in state office," he said on the pod. "So, I'm going to take a look at Tim Grayson's seat if he decides to run for Senate."

As luck would have it, Grayson is indeed running for Senate.

In an exclusive to POLITICO, Grayson today is launching his bid for Senate District 9, currently held by state Sen. Nancy Skinner, who served in the Assembly before being elected to the Senate in 2016.

“Californians are struggling to keep pace with rising inflation and skyrocketing housing costs,” Grayson said in a statement. “I’ll stand up for them in the state Senate and expand on the work I did to stand up for middle-class Californians — expanding statewide protections for renters, standing up to Big Banks and pharmaceutical companies, providing affordable housing, and improving our roads, bridges, and infrastructure.”

THURMOND WEIGHS IN — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond  sent a letter to members of the Murrieta Valley Unified School District on Thursday, urging them to pull a measure requiring the forced outing of transgender students ahead of a board vote on the issue.

Thurmond, who was kicked out of a school board meeting for opposing a similar measure in Chino Valley last month, noted in his letter that some LGBTQ+ youth could encounter "harm or abuse even in their own homes if their sexuality or gender identity is disclosed before they are ready."

"Sadly, nearly half of LGBTQ+ students in our state have considered suicide,” he wrote.

Murrieta’s proposal is the latest in what LGBTQ+ advocates say is a growing number of anti-gay and anti-trans policies appearing in school districts across California — and Democrats in the state government are pushing back. Attorney General Rob Bonta recently opened a civil rights investigation into the Chino Valley policy, citing privacy concerns.

The Murrieta board adopted the measure on a 3-2 vote Thursday night.

 

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WHAT WE'RE READING TODAY

"Ship Alaska’s homeless population off to California? They say no way, ‘Alaska’s my home,’" by the Los Angeles Times’  Hailey Branson-Potts: “Bronson’s unfunded plan to fly homeless people out has become a major flashpoint in Anchorage, which, like cities across the West, is grappling with a burgeoning homelessness crisis and a lack of both emergency shelters and affordable housing.”

— "Past donors to Reps. Adam Schiff, Katie Porter and Barbara Lee face a dilemma in Senate race," by the Los Angeles Times’ Seema Mehta, Laura J. Nelson and Iris Lee: “But now — as the trio battle to replace Feinstein and try their best to differentiate themselves — an analysis of these shared donors offers insight into how voters are parsing the subtle differences among the 2024 Senate candidates.”

"California is providing storm relief funding to the undocumented. Here’s how much is available," by The Sacramento Bee’s Mathew Miranda: “Undocumented Californians can still receive up to $4,500 if they were impacted by the series of storms that bombarded the state from December to April.”

 

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.

 
 
Playbookers

— California-based Bryson Gillette has hired Adrian Eng-Gastelum and Michael Kurtz as directors and Lennon Torres and Ashley French as managers. Eng-Gastelum was a senior media adviser to Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and in the Biden campaign and transition. He is also a DCCC and Elizabeth Warren campaign alum. Kurtz is a Mike Bloomberg 2020, DNC and Obama campaign alum. Torres was at the National Democratic Redistricting Committee. And French had been a digital strategist for Mothership Strategies.

BIRTHDAYS: Yelena Shuster

WAS THURSDAY: Robert N. Feldman ... Steven Glazer

 

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