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Inside the Golden State political arena | | | | |  | | By Jeremy B. White, Lara Korte and Dustin Gardiner | Programming note: We’ll be off Monday for Presidents Day but will be back in your inboxes on Tuesday. PLAYBOOK PLEA: We’re asking our California Playbook readers about the issues that matter to them. Please take a few minutes and fill out this survey. It’s a chance to shape the first thing you read every day. Do you live in Southern California? We especially want to hear from you.
|  Rusty Hicks speaks during the 2019 California Democratic Party State Organizing Convention in San Francisco, on June 2, 2019. | Jeff Chiu/AP | THE BUZZ: California Democratic Party Chair Rusty Hicks says he was drawn to the natural beauty of the North Coast-hugging 2nd Assembly District — but his bid to represent the seat is turning ugly. A political action committee backing Hicks’ opponent, Healdsburg City Council member Ariel Kelley, is running ads accusing Hicks of having “covered up” a party sexual abuse scandal. (Hicks initially declined to release the findings of an investigation into his predecessor’s misconduct and then, facing a backlash from party activists, agreed to release some of it). The attack drew a furious response from the Hicks campaign, which sent local television stations cease-and-desist letters demanding they pull the “false and misleading” spot. In a statement, Hicks accused Kelley and her backers of lying and possibly harming abuse victims because Kelley “can't run on her own record.” Despite being chair of the powerful state Democratic Party and a former top Los Angeles labor official, Hicks hasn’t had an easy path. The fracas highlights how fervently locals guard their districts against perceived outsiders and is testing whether the state’s biggest names can move the needle in rural California. The race is testing local roots against statewide connections. Hicks was seen as a likely candidate the moment he relocated from LA. He got his shot when Assemblymember Jim Wood announced his retirement — and immediately faced grumblings from party members who saw a conflict in running the party while running an Assembly race. Unlike the majestic redwoods that have grown in the district for centuries, Hicks arrived a few years ago; a previous mail hit from the Kelley PAC depicted him in a Dodgers cap — a cutting insult in Giants country. The PAC running ads against Hicks is largely funded by Kelley’s sister Shoshana Ungerleider, who has contributed $200,000, along with prominent Sonoma developer William Gallaher and hedge fund manager Chris Hansen. Hicks’ campaign has criticized the funders’ oil investments. (Ungerleider and a PAC consultant didn’t respond to requests for comment). Kelley said in an interview that she and her sister “don’t speak whatsoever” about the outside effort, with which she’s legally barred from coordinating. But she also distanced herself from the spot. “I don’t think negative campaigning is ever helpful,” she said, pointing to her campaign’s focus on issues like abortion rights. The negative barrage could cut both ways, said Sonoma State political science professor David McCuan. “It does cut through a lot of the chatter. It’s not mail you toss,” McCuan said. But, he added, “Voters in that particular district do turn off negative ads.” What Hicks lacks in time of residency, he’s sought to make up for with powerful allies: He’s secured endorsements from Wood, Gov. Gavin Newsom, and organized labor (although local unions have been divided, with some backing Santa Rosa Councilmember Chris Rogers). A Pro-Hicks PAC has collected $565,000 from labor, developers, and dentists. GOOD MORNING. Happy Friday. Thanks for waking up with Playbook. Now you can text us at 916-562-0685 — save it as “CA Playbook” in your contacts now. Or drop us a line at lkorte@politico.com and dgardiner@politico.com, or on X — @DustinGardiner and @Lara_Korte. WHERE’S GAVIN? In Oakland this morning to announce the latest round of Homekey grants. |  | CAMPAIGN YEAR | | | | 
Democratic California state Sen. Melissa Hurtado listens to the debate on a bill before the Senate at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif., Monday, March 7, 2022. | Rich Pedroncelli/AP | SPOILER ALERT — Democratic state Sen. Melissa Hurtado said she might have considered sitting out the crowded primary for incumbent Rep. David Valadao's Central Valley seat — if anyone had asked her. Hurtado is also adamant that she’s not a spoiler — and that nobody has proven it otherwise. Hurtado spoke with Playbook following our story about Democrats shoveling money into the district (more than $2 million, to be exact) to consolidate the vote behind her opponent, returning Democratic challenger Rudy Salas and avoid a scenario where no Democrat makes it into the top-two runoff. Hurtado, whose Senate district heavily overlaps with CA-22, said the eye-popping spending from groups including the DCCC and House Majority PAC demonstrates that Salas is the weaker candidate, and she rebuffed the idea that she was ruining the party’s prospects in one of the nation’s top pickup opportunities. "Show me that I'm the one that's been the spoiler in this race,” she said in an interview. “Nobody has done that. It's just the rumor mill that's going around. And it's a lie until proven otherwise.” Hurtado has raised less than $60,000 and entered the new year with less than $5,000 cash on hand, but her presence on the ballot has still been a source of consternation for Democrats eager to knock Republican Rep. David Valadao out of the district in the general election. The fear is that she could siphon enough votes from Salas in the Republican-leaning primary to land him in third place after Valadao and his far-right challenger, Chris Mathys. Some Democrats, including Dolores Huerta, were calling for Hurtado to drop out as early as November, but Hurtado told us she hasn’t been directly asked to step down and hasn’t seen any reason to. When asked if she would leave the race today, weeks after ballots have been sent out, if party leadership asked her to, she said, “if they came to me and they showed me the information — absolutely. Of course.” “I don’t want to be a spoiler,” she said.
| | THE SCOOP | | FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: RAVE FOR DAVE — The AAPI Victory Fund today is launching an independent expenditure for state Sen. Dave Min, backing his campaign for CA-47 with a $75,000 digital ad buy in the final weeks of a heated primary race. Min is being badly outspent on the airwaves in the closing weeks by fellow Democrat Joanna Weiss and her allies, who are pouring in millions. The IE, with funding from the National Union of Healthcare Workers, will target ads at Asian American voters in the Orange County toss-up district and highlight his record on the environment and gun safety. Check out an example here. The assist comes amid seven-figure spending against Min from the United Democracy Project, the independent expenditure arm of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Women Vote!, the super PAC for EMILYs List, has spent more than $500,000 on ads so far. MEANWHILE — The Weiss campaign on Thursday reported raising $575,000 in the first six weeks of 2024. | | | | 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: our 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. | | | | | | | UNDER THE DOME | | CRIME WATCH — Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas wants to get serious on retail theft, but wouldn’t say whether he thinks that should include changing Proposition 47, the controversial law voters approved in 2014 that cut penalties for theft and drug possession. Rivas, while introducing a new retail theft prevention bill alongside Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur on Thursday, declined to answer a question from KCRA’s Ashley Zavala about whether Prop. 47 needs changes. Some Democrats, including Assembly Public Safety Chair Kevin McCarty, have legislative proposals to amend it, and voters could weigh in on a ballot measure this year to roll it back by increasing penalties for drug and property crimes. "We can have that conversation at a later time, Ashley," Rivas said. "My focus here has been on the legislative process."
| | CITY BY THE BAY | | A FOG-LOAD OF CASH — Mark Farrell’s raised more than $200,000 during the first 48 hours of his campaign for San Francisco mayor, according to his team. Farrell, a former interim mayor and member of the Board of Supervisors, jumped into the crowded race Tuesday. His camp said he had 489 donors, with an average contribution of $398 (SF caps contributions at $500). Farrell is one of three major moderate-leaning challengers seeking to unseat Mayor London Breed in November. His opening-week haul is the largest of any of Breed’s challengers thus far. Breed raised $407,000 last year through her campaign committee (not counting ballot measures or other non-candidate committees), while Daniel Lurie, a nonprofit executive and heir to the Levi Strauss fortune, raised $519,000 between his campaign’s September launch and year’s end. Ahsha Safaí, a supervisor who announced his campaign in May, raised $330,000.
| | | | CONGRESS OVERDRIVE: Since day one, POLITICO has been laser-focused on Capitol Hill, serving up the juiciest Congress coverage. Now, we’re upping our game to ensure you’re up to speed and in the know on every tasty morsel and newsy nugget from inside the Capitol Dome, around the clock. Wake up, read Playbook AM, get up to speed at midday with our Playbook PM halftime report, and fuel your nightly conversations with Inside Congress in the evening. Plus, never miss a beat with buzzy, real-time updates throughout the day via our Inside Congress Live feature. Learn more and subscribe here. | | | | | | | Top Talkers | | — Real estate magnate Ian Jacobs, a protege of Warren Buffett, is reportedly snatching up office space in San Francisco, potentially the equivalent of two Salesforce Towers’ worth. Is downtown primed for a buying frenzy? (San Francisco Chronicle) — Record rainfall in Southern California has raised fears about mudslides and flooding in the region, which faces another storm over the Presidents’ Day weekend. Speaking of, a stretch of the Pacific Coast Highway is closed indefinitely for repairs after the last atmospheric river caused portions to collapse. (Los Angeles Times) — The late jazz legend Tony Bennett had a special bond with San Francisco, the subject of his signature tune. So it’s only fitting that Mayor London Breed has named a cable car in Bennett’s honor. The dedication ceremony was attended by the singer’s widow, Susan Benedetto, SFMTA Director Jeffrey Tumlin, and Giants President Larry Baer. (The New York Times) — A Fresno County farmer has a bee in his bonnet after a thief stole almost 100 beehives. The crime is apparently surprisingly common, and the farmer is offering a $100,000 reward for info on the beenapper. (Los Angeles Times) | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | | TRANSITIONS — Chris Petrikin, a former communications and branding executive for various major Hollywood studios, has joined the consulting firm Actum. He will focus on building the firm’s entertainment and media offerings. BIRTHDAYS — Meredith Fineman … David Keating … Adam Sharp … Nigel Cory of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation 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.
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