ELDER again at top of GOP field — NEWSOM vs. DEBATE — RECALL backers in court — BAY AREA mask mandate
THE BUZZ â POLL POSITION: Gavin Newsom needs to light a fire â and soon â to get his supporters engaged in the recall election. What was once dismissed as a longshot â a fantasy, an impossibility â may now be within reach of Republican backers. And this week, the GOP base will be the major target of an event aimed at juicing up their energy and passion even more.
As Jeremy reports, another poll has cemented two Newsom recall truisms: Republican enthusiasm has created a competitive race, and radio host Larry Elder leads a teeming GOP field. Core Decision Analytics’ late July survey of about 800 California voters found a 48-39 plurality is prepared to keep Newsom, but that narrows to 50-43 among âdefiniteâ voters â a cohort thatâs also more likely to think Newsom has done a poor job as governor. Elder outpolled 45 other candidates with 9 percent support (that rises among likelier-to-turn-out voters), although the majority of voters were undecided or backed none of the contenders. You can check out the results here.
â ANOTHER INTERESTING DEVELOPMENT: Californiaâs GOP recall backers appear to want to put former President Donald Trump at armâs length. Theyâre in court challenging Team Newsomâs framing of the recall in the voter guide as âan attempt by national Republicans and Trump supporters to force an election and grab power in California.â As Jeremy reports, recall supporters say that Newsom’s language âmisleadingly casts the recall as illegitimate and falsely implies only Republicans are in support. They want to strip out various references to Republicans.â The full story here.
â RAMPING IT UP: Republican this week will have first televised debate at the Nixon Presidential Library in Yorba Linda. The event features four candidates who want to take Newsomâs seat: former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, businessman John Cox, Assemblyman Kevin Kiley and former Rep. Doug Ose. (Elder is skipping the big show for a party fundraiser in Bakersfield.)
The August 4 debate could reach millions, airing live on Fox 11 Los Angeles and KTVU Fox 2 in the Bay Area from 6-7:30 p.m.commercial free, and also carried live on radio by the Salem Radio Networks. Conservative broadcaster Hugh Hewitt, president of the Richard Nixon Foundation, will moderate along with former U.S. national security adviser Ambassador Robert C. OâBrien. FOX 11âs Christine Devine and Elex Michaelson will also be asking questions. Expect widespread media coverage: some 30-plus news organizations have RSVPâd to be on site, including POLITICO.
NEWSOMâS COUNTER CHALLENGE: âPeople are suffering with COVID. And they want somebody to say, âI can fix all this,ââ one Sacramento insider told us. âAnd when youâre coming from the outside, itâs a lot easier to say that. The problem is, they want a miracle worker.â
So Newsom canât promise âI alone can fix it.â But as SFChronicleâs Joe Garofoli reports, a new David Binder poll shows the governor has got real trouble with voters, even on some non-Covid issues like crime. Some insiders say he needs to seriously ramp it up, with less of the above-the-fray strategy (cue elected officials singing his praises) and more âget out and talk to real peopleâ to make his case. Schwarzenegger, in the 2003 recall, used a bus tour to great effect â hitting coffee shops on the Grapevine, posing for photos with bikers and, yes, taking tough questions from the media in tow. (Something Newsom often clearly bridles at.)
BIG PICTURE: Even in solidly blue California â a state where Newsom won by a landslide in 2018 â what happens on Sept. 14 will be âall about turnout,ââ says one battle-scarred veteran of state politics. At this point, âheâs not going to change any minds. Itâs all about getting out the people you need.ââ And firing them up to mark that ballot, which that TV debate may well do on the other side.
BUENOS DÃAS, good Tuesday morning. Got a tip or story idea for California Playbook? Hit [email protected] or [email protected] or follow us on Twitter @cmarinucci and @jeremybwhite.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: âIâm scared shitless. … Itâs not just about voter suppression. What Iâm really worried about is election subversion. Election officials are being put in place who will mess with the count.â UC Irvine election law guru Rick Hasen, on the array of new laws passed by Republican state legislatures since the 2020 election, via âThe Big Money Behind the Big Lie,ââ by New Yorkerâs Jane Mayer.
TWEET OF THE DAY: Doug Sovern @SovernNation: âToday’s CA #COVID19 data: Hospitalizations have surged to 4,357 (980 of them in the ICU), with another 415 suspected cases. Those are mostly unvaccinated people. The state’s 7-day + rate is up to 6.7%.â
WHEREâS GAVIN? Nothing official announced.
REALITY BITES â CASH-STRAPPED CAITLYN JENNER IN DEBT: The former reality star and Olympian has become nearly a footnote in the recall since she headed down under for weeks in the middle of a campaign. But now comes the financial reports showing her campaign is awash in debt as she struggles to make headway in Californiaâs recall race.
From the launch of Jennerâs candidacy through the end of July, the campaign raised about $747,000 and spent some $910,000, leaving her campaign with about $156,000 in unpaid bills and roughly $21,000 on hand for the raceâs critical final stretch. The campaign has sent about $67,000 to Parscale Strategy LLC, the firm run by former Trump campaign strategist Brad Parscale.
Parscale Strategy’s reported spending included an $1,800 “staff meeting” at Nobu, a fancy Malibu restaurant, and $1,300 for a limousine service that ferried Jenner to Los Angeles meetings.â The full story from Jeremy here.
Statement from Jenner campaign spokesman Steven Cheung: âThe campaign built a small dollar house file from scratch and has invested heavily in prospecting potential donors and supporters. Now with a robust house file, the campaign will be fully funded to enter the final stretch of the election with the necessary resources to end Gavin Newsom’s time as governor.
âCaitlyn has widespread name recognition, to the tune of 99%, while other candidates need to spend large amounts of money to increase their name identification. She does not have that issue and will go into the election with broad support from Californians of all backgrounds.â
BIG EXPERIMENT â âHow L.A. cleared most Venice Beach homeless camps and sheltered many unhoused people,â by LATimesâ Benjamin Oreskes and Genaro Molina: âThe beach and the boardwalk, with its clothing stores, henna tattoo stalls and restaurants, among other attractions, had few tents left Friday after an intense six-week infusion of resources to help the unhoused sleeping there find new places to stay.â
TAX-EXEMPT AND CAMPAIGNING? â âCalifornia pastor delivers sermon urging Newsomâs recall â a test of IRS rules for churches,ââ by SacBeeâs Hannah Wiley: âUnder federal law, churches are free to participate in many political activities, such as get-out-the-vote efforts. Religious organizations can jeopardize their tax-exempt status, however, if they or their leaders demonstrate bias for or against a candidate in a political campaign.â
ALSO BACK… CLANG CLANG! â âS.F.’s iconic cable cars are back on the streets this week,ââ via SFChronicleâs Jessica Flores and Omar Shaikh Rashad. âOur cable cars are part of what makes San Francisco a world-class destination, and their return is just the latest sign that our city is bouncing back,â added Breed.
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK â UBERâS NEW PICK: Uber has tapped a high profile Latina and Democrat to serve as its head of public policy and communication for the West and California â a state where it has previously faced political opposition from labor unions and progressive Democrats. The San Francisco-based company on Tuesday announced its promotion of Ramona Prieto, the former policy director for Sen. Alex Padilla’s transition team, and former point person for PG&Eâs government affairs and policy work. Sheâll now be charged with âmanaging a multi-state team and playing an integral role in helping lead and shape Uberâs policy portfolio,â with a primary focus on state and local policy work, regulatory engagement and media relations, the firm said.
CAMPAIGN CASH REPORTS: Republican state Attorney General candidate Nathan Hochman, a former assistant U.S. attorney general, raised over $800,000 in his campaign to unseat Newsom appointee Rob Bonta in 2022. Hochman will report $811,945 in total contributions, with $680,004 cash on hand, his campaign said.
â And via California Target Bookâs @RPyers: âFormer San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer’s 2022 gubernatorial cmte raised $2.19M in the first half of ’21, spent $1.16M on operating expenditures (chiefly digital ads, fundraising, strategy, and polling expenses), transferred $761.8K to his ’21 cmte, and ended June w/$236,479 left.â
ELDER NOD: California College Republicans board has announced its unanimous endorsement of Larry Elder in the CA recall.
THE T-WORD â âWill Trump be spoiler as California GOP seeks Newsom recall?â by APâs Michael R. Blood: âIn California, the leading GOP candidates have supported or have ties to Trump, who is widely unpopular in the state outside his conservative base. Trump lost California to Biden by over 5 million votes.â
HOW THE WSJ ED BOARD SEES IT â âOpinion – Californiaâs Progressive Fall Guy,â by Wall Street Journalâs Editorial Board: âThe recall is in part a referendum on the Governorâs excessive and destructive Covid lockdowns…Mr. Newsom has become the fall guy for Sacramento Democrats who have put progressive ideology over common sense. Even if the recall doesnât succeed, it should cause Democrats to ask why so many voters want the end of one-party rule.â
NEW YORKERâS TAKE ON BOUDIN â âThe Trial of Chesa Boudin,â by The New Yorkerâs Benjamin Wallace-Wells: âCan a young progressive prosecutor survive a political backlash in San Francisco?”
MASK UP, BAY AREA â âMask mandate reinstated in San Francisco Bay Area amid surge,â by the APâs Jocelyn Gecker: âThe new mandate â which applies to everyone, regardless of their vaccination status â will take effect on Tuesday in San Francisco, Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Sonoma counties and in the city of Berkeley.â
THE RUNDOWN â âYes, it’s legal for restaurants and bars to require proof of vaccination for customers. Here’s why, via SFChronicleâs Janelle Bitker: âThere are a few caveats. And no, they arenât related to the false notion that businesses requiring customers to show proof of vaccination constitutes a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act violation.â
â âKaiser Permanente requiring all employees, physicians to get vaccinated by end of September,â by Fox40âs Katelyn Stark: âAs of Saturday, a representative with Kaiser Permanente said 78% of its employees and 95% of its physicians had already been fully vaccinated. More than 216,000 employees and more than 23,000 physicians work for the hospital system.â
COVID COSTS â âCalifornia learns costly pandemic lesson about hospitals,â by APâs Don Thompson: âCalifornia spent nearly $200 million to set up, operate and staff alternate care sites that ultimately provided little help when the stateâs worst coronavirus surge spiraled out of control last winter, forcing exhausted hospital workers to treat patients in tents and cafeterias.â
â âAt some California hospitals, nearly half of workers remain unvaccinated,â by OC Registerâs Teri Sforza: âThey work in hospitals. They have easy access to jabs. They know the risks. Yet after a frenetic rollout and urgent pleas from officials on nearly-bent knees, almost a quarter of Californiaâs hospital workers remained unvaccinated for COVID-19, according to federal data.â
GLANTZ RECONSIDERED â âHere Comes Trouble: An Anti-Tobacco Heroâs Complicated Legacy,â by Undarkâs Marc Gunther: âA lauded tobacco scientistâs crusade against vaping has some critics â and former allies â questioning his research.â
â âCalifornia’s complicated history with regulating assault weapons,â by SFChronicleâs Abhinanda Bhattacharyya: âThe history of Californiaâs assault weapons ban is also the story of a cat-and-mouse game between Sacramento and gun makers and owners. Legislators struggled to implement the ban in a meaningful way for years, modifying it repeatedly, long before a federal judge overturned it this summer.â
CA ON FIRE â âNorthern California’s Dixie Fire grows by 3,600 acres, now 11th largest in state history,â by SFChronicleâs Emma Talley and Shwanika Narayan: âMore than 5,400 personnel were fighting the blaze, which has been active for 18 days. The wildfire ignited July 13 and is still under investigation.â
ââQUIET CRISISâ â âTenants fall through the safety net into an eviction cluster in Long Beach,â by CalMattersâ Nigel Duara: âUndocumented families, aging homes, high unemployment: The root causes for a cluster of evictions in this Southern California blue-collar port city.â
PLASTIC PROBLEM â âThat recycling symbol doesnât always mean what you think it does,â by CalMattersâ Marissa Garcia: âAt least 85% of single-use plastic items donât get recycled, even if they carry the familiar triangular symbol. A California bill would restrict which plastics can bear the mark.â
CALL TO KEVIN â âDemocrats call on McCarthy to apologize after he said âit will be hard not to hitâ Pelosi with gavel,â by WaPoâs Amy B. Wang: âSeveral Democrats demanded that McCarthy apologize, while others â including Reps. Eric Swalwell and Ted Lieu of California â said McCarthy should resign, linking such rhetoric to the political violence that was on display Jan. 6.â
â Pelosi turns tables on White House, urges eviction ban extension, by POLITICOâs Katy OâDonnell: Pelosi, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) and Assistant Speaker Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) issued a joint statement Sunday night putting the ball back in the Biden administrationâs court, after the White House on Thursday said it could not extend the eviction ban and urged Congress to do it.
â âWhat does America think of Kamala Harris?â by LATimesâ Matt Stiles and Ryan Murphy: âAs of July 27, 45% of registered voters had a favorable opinion of Harris and 48% had an unfavorable opinion â a net rating of -3 percentage points, according to a Times average.â
â âUber, Lyft seen boosted by return of riders, but driver shortage, stubborn virus cloud outlook, by Reutersâ Tina Bellon and Akanksha Rana: âNow, concerns over an ongoing driver shortage and the spreading Delta variant are clouding the outlook for making good on achieving profitable operations this year.â
â âTech Startup Financing Hits Records as Giant Funds Dwarf Venture Capitalists,â by WSJâs Heather Somerville: âBig money-management firms expanded their dominance in Silicon Valley last quarter, crowding out venture capitalists in a once-niche business and putting 2021 on pace to nearly double last yearâs record in startup financing.â
â âFacebook requires employees to wear masks in office, regardless of vaccination status,â by SFChronicleâs Chase DiFeliciantonio.
MODESTO MARYJANE â âThis California City Rejected Marijuana. Now Cannabis Is An Official Tourism Draw,â by Forbesâ Chris Roberts: âThough California voted to legalize recreational cannabis in 2016, the first legal commercial cannabis dispensaries in Modesto did not open until 2019…But now marijuana makes more money for Modesto than hotels and tourism, city officials have reconsideredâand are now doing more to promote their cityâs weed business to visitors than Amsterdam.â
â âThe Hollywood & Highland elephants are coming down, a rejection of D.W. Griffithâs racist legacy,â by LATimesâ Roger Vincent: âGriffith, the son of a Confederate army colonel, directed the blockbuster 1915 film âThe Birth of a Nation,â which lionized the Ku Klux Klan and was condemned at the time as âthree miles of filthâ by the NAACP. His follow-up film, âIntoleranceâ is often considered to be Griffithâs response to criticism of âThe Birth of a Nation.ââ
â âCan reviving beach dunes help California with sea level rise?â by LATimesâ Rosanna Xia.
â âAn estimated 126,869 eligible people in SF aren’t vaccinated. What do we know about them?â by SFGateâs Amy Graff.
â âBacon may disappear in California as pig rules take effect,â by APâs Scott McFetridge.
â âStanfordâs Valarie Allman becomes third U.S. woman to win Olympic discus gold,â by Mercury Newsâ Elliott Almond.
â âDisability lawsuits hit SF Chinatown and state. Are they helpful or a moneymaking scheme?â by SFChronicleâs Bob Egelko and Carolyn Said.
â âHuntington Beach man who texted selfie from the Capitol riot arrested after tip to FBI,â by OCRegisterâs Eric Licas.
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