Democrats look to restrain recall
September 16, 2021Presented by the California Association of Health Plans
THE BUZZ — MOVING RIGHT ALONG: Now that Gov. Gavin Newsom has successfully beaten back a recall, California Democrats are moving onto their next project: preventing a repeat.
California’s mechanism for booting a sitting governor has come under enormous scrutiny this past year. Among the chief complaints: the signature threshold to qualify is woefully low for a state with nearly 40 million people; there’s no requirement that a recall target must have acted illegally or unethically; and most potently, the two-question process means a recall candidate can become governor even if a larger raw number of Californians vote to keep the incumbent in office. A prominent constitutional scholar cited that last objection to assert the process is unconstitutional, although the courts have so far disagreed.
On Wednesday, the Legislature’s election committee chairs vowed to hold oversight hearings exploring changes, with nothing off the table — and they’re clearly focused on that third scenario. . Sen Steve Glazer said voters want a recall option, “but they don’t want this partisan manipulation where a small minority can force an election and have a candidate prevail with less than a majority vote.” Sen. Josh Newman — who was himself recalled in 2018 before reclaiming his seat — will introduce constitutional amendments to augment the signature threshold and have the lieutenant governor finish out recalled governors’ terms.
Secretary of State Shirley Weber said she plans to work with the Legislature to get a constitutional amendment on the 2022 ballot. Weber didn’t back any of the specific ideas floating out there, but she called herself “the No. 1 person who says we need to look at this process,” which is “old, it is difficult to implement, it is expensive, and it’s probably not very fair to everyone.” Weber noted recalls have gone from a relative rarity to seemingly ubiquitous, with recall campaigns targeting not just Newsom but county supervisors, district attorneys and school board members. We’re seeing it everywhere,” Weber said.
Even before Newsom’s victory Tuesday, there looked to be enormous interest in a recall revamp among legislative Democrats, who have the two-thirds margins they’d need to put such a proposal before voters. Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins said after the legislative session concluded last week that “the appetite is there,” and as Speaker Anthony Rendon noted, “this is a system that’s set up about a century ago and the extent to which it’s still valid in its current format needs to be looked at.” California Democratic Party Chair Rusty Hicks is ready. And Newsom aide Sean Clegg mused to reporters that the next question will be whether the process still “make[s] sense,” ” given that “you can practically qualify a ham sandwich for a recall in California.”
WHAT THE VOTERS SAY: Voters have consistently told statewide polls they want to retain a recall mechanism, but they’re open to various changes. Most popular would be raising the signature threshold or imposing some prerequisites for a governor to be recalled. Letting recall targets run as their own replacements draws less support. But majorities have bemoaned the Newsom recall as a costly waste — and the governor’s resounding victory could stoke the appetite to keep history from repeating itself.
BUENOS DÍAS, good Thursday morning. Counties have until noon today to report how many unprocessed recall ballots remain, which should give us a sense of how many votes aren’t yet tabulated.
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QUOTE OF THE DAY: “We cannot have an evidence-based party when we are bullshitting people in advance....And if Larry Elder thinks he's been able to tattoo ‘Larry's Girl’ on the back of the GOP, he's in for quite a surprise." Former CAGOP chair and Faulconer adviser Ron Nehring slams Larry Elder’s campaign for posting a link suggesting the election was stolen before polls even closed.
TWEET OF THE DAY: Assemblymember @devonjmathis has a message for Republicans: “Are y'all ready to wake up & realize that 70+ % of the state is different. A "hard right" anyone isn't going to win in CA. It's not #CAGOP fault, it's all y'all who want a candidate who makes you feel good Vs a candidate who can win & give 80-90% of what you like #RealityCheck”
BONUS TOTD: DNC chair @harrisonjaime backs making recall proponents pay for the election: “This… it should also apply to frivolous & fraudulent recounts !!! @GOPChairwoman should have to pay up & stop wasting taxpayer dollars! California send her your Venmo!!!”
WHERE’S GAVIN? Nothing official announced.
SIRHAN SITUATION — Newsom: RFK admiration shows 'where I might be leaning' on Sirhan parole, by POLITICOs’ Jeremy B. White: Newsom hinted on Wednesday that he is inclined not to release Robert F. Kennedy’s assassin from prison, although he stressed that he has not made a decision.
— “Facebook Tried to Make Its Platform a Healthier Place. It Got Angrier Instead.” by Wall Street Journal’s Keach Hagey and Jeff Horwitz: “Internal memos show how a big 2018 change rewarded outrage and that CEO Mark Zuckerberg resisted proposed fixes.”
HORRIFYING NUMBER — “The pandemic marks another grim milestone: 1 in 500 Americans have died of covid-19,” by WaPo’s Dan Keating, Akilah Johnson and Monica Ulmanu.
AND MEANWHILE — “California coronavirus cases dropping, CDC says,” by the LA Times’ Rong-Gong Lin and Luke Money.
THE COVID CAMPAIGN: Pandemic restrictions got Newsom into the recall mess, but they also helped save him. The Delta vaccine led Newsom to mandate vaccines or negative tests for state employees, teachers and health care workers in the weeks before the election. But rather than viewing those dictates as a political liability, Newsom made them a centerpiece. He constantly contrasted California’s relatively low death and infection rates with the more perilous situations in Texas and Florida, and told voters over and over that a Republican governor would rescind coronavirus rules and push California off the “Covid cliff.”
President Joe Biden amplified that argument, telling voters at a Long Beach rally that voting against the recall meant “protecting California from Trump Republicans trying to block us from beating this pandemic.” Biden punctuated the point on Wednesday, after Newsom won: “This vote is a resounding win for the approach that he and I share to beating the pandemic: strong vaccine requirements, strong steps to reopen schools safely, and strong plans to distribute real medicines — not fake treatments — to help those who get sick,” the president said in a statement.
5 TAKEAWAYS: “How California's recall could reverberate in future elections,” by POLITICO’s Jeremy B. White and David Siders.
— Newsom: Recall win shows Dems should 'stiffen our spines' on Covid action, by POLITICO’s Quint Forgey.
MORE — "Newsom’s lesson to Democrats for 2022: Embrace vaccine mandates and talk about Trump,” by the LA Times'’ Melanie Mason and Janet Hook: “Newsom decisively fended off a recall with a two-pronged strategy: nonstop GOP bashing and an unapologetic embrace of vaccine mandates. Now, the architects of his win say Democrats across the country should follow suit in next year’s midterm election.”
— “With $276 million down the drain, it’s time to revamp the California recall,” opines the LA Times'’ Mark Z. Barabak: “Now that the recall election is over and voters have soundly rejected the effort to give Gov. Gavin Newsom the boot, the exercise should be recognized for what it was: an act of partisan petulance that took California taxpayers for a ride.”
— “Recall was a slaughter. Will Newsom start acting boldly or play it safe until 2022?” via the SF Chronicle’s editorial board.
— “Trump branded the GOP a party of racists. Larry Elder as standard-bearer won’t help,” by the LA Times'’ Erika D. Smith: “Eight months after white supremacists invaded the U.S. Capitol at the urging of former President Trump, the Republican Party lost because it still hasn’t figured out how to talk about race or racism in a coherent manner.”
— “States learning how many Afghan evacuees coming their way,” by AP’s Aamer Madhani: “California is projected to take more arrivals than any other — more than 5,200 people, according to State Department data for the Afghan Placement and Assistance program obtained by The Associated Press.”
— “L.A. County plans to require proof of vaccination at indoor bars, nightclubs, breweries, wineries,” by the LA Times' Luke Money, Rong-Gong Lin and Stephanie Breijo: “The mandate, which will be issued by Friday, will require patrons and employees to have at least one vaccine dose by Oct. 7 and be fully vaccinated by Nov. 4, according to Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer.”
— “4 more officers suspected of adding false gang information to LAPD files,” by the LA Times' Kevin Rector: “The claims bring the total number of Metropolitan Division officers suspected of inputting false information on such cards to 10. The six others were criminally charged in the case last year; each has pleaded not guilty.”
— “After beating recall, invigorated Newsom must tackle 'unfinished business',” by the SF Chronicle’s Alexei Koseff: “Newsom said he did not feel vindicated by the election results, but rather enlivened and energized to serve people who are counting on effective government to keep them safe and healthy.”
— “San Diego bans sale, possession of ‘ghost gun’ components,” by the San Diego Union-Tribune’s Teri Figueora: “The ordinance prohibits buying, selling or possessing the frame of an unfinished gun unless it has a serial number — treating the unfinished firearm part just like a completed firearm. A violation of the ordinance will be a misdemeanor. It does not apply to guns that are inoperable, antique or made before 1968.”
— “Mills College trustees cement merger that will end women-only education in Oakland after 170 years,” by the SF Chronicle’s Nanette Asimov: “Against the wishes of students and alumnae groups, historic Mills College, one of just 37 women’s colleges remaining in the country, will merge with a private Boston university and become “gender inclusive,” the Oakland school announced Tuesday.”
— “Court reinstates Nunes suit over reporter's tweet,” by POLITICO’s Josh Gerstein: A federal appeals court has rejected Rep. Devin Nunes' defamation suit over a magazine story about his relatives in Iowa, but the court revived the lawmaker's claim that he was libeled when a reporter linked to the story in a tweet more than a year after it was first published.
— “Klobuchar confident Congress can pass legislation targeting tech giants,” by POLITICO’s Myah Ward: Klobuchar, along with Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), introduced a bill last month that would change how users download and use apps on both Apple and Google devices. The bill, S. 2710 (117), aims to bring more competition to the app store market dominated by the two companies.
— “Biles tells Congress 'enough is enough' after gymnast abuse,” by AP’s Mary Clare Jalonick, Will Graves and Michael Balsamo: Olympic gold medalist Simone “Biles told the Senate Judiciary Committee that ‘enough is enough’ as she and three other U.S. gymnasts spoke in stark emotional terms about the lasting toll (Larry) Nassar’s crimes have taken on their lives.”
— “8 software developers explain how the mad hiring rush at tech giants like Amazon or Google is giving them a ton of leverage to win higher salaries and better work-life balance,” by Business Insider’s Kylie Robison.
— “Waymo subleases SF office from one-time robot-car rival Uber,” by the SF Chronicle’s Carolyn Said.
— “Disneyland updating Roger Rabbit ride, changing scenes featuring Jessica Rabbit,” via Nexstar Media Wire: “The changes will specifically concern the character of Jessica Rabbit, who will take on the role of a private eye in an updated storyline, according to a faux newspaper article that will be displayed in the ride’s queue.”
— “California’s poor air quality from wildfire smoke raises COVID-19 risk. Here’s why,” by the Sac Bee’s Brianna Taylor.
— “California is close to permanently legalizing takeout cocktails and parklet drinking,” by the SF Chronicle’s Esther Mobley.
— “‘Homeless billionaire’ Nicolas Berggruen wins Hearst estate auction with $63.1-million bid,” by the LA Times'’ Jack Flemming.
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