POLITICO California Playbook PM: The clock ticks down on primary day in California

Presented by the California Clean Cars Campaign: Your afternoon must-read briefing on politics and government in the Golden State

Jun 07, 2022 View in browser   By Alexander Nieves and Blake Jones Presented by the California Clean Cars Campaign PRIMARY DAY: Welcome to the primaries. We will be watching races up and down the state throughout the evening and, most likely, into the wee hours of the morning. While there are a bunch of fascinating statewide and congressional campaigns that will give us a clearer picture of how the November general will play out, we'll be paying particular attention to a handful of local contests that could — or will — be decided right now. The big event that we know will produce a final result is the recall attempt against San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin. The liberal prosecutor is facing a well-funded campaign supported by tech and real estate interests opposed to his approach on criminal justice reform. There's only so much that you can extrapolate from a local recall, but if Boudin loses — as recent polling suggests he very well could — expect a lot of pontificating over the next few days and weeks about what this means for the national reform movement that gained a foothold in 2020. A Boudin defeat would also give Mayor London Breed another opportunity to reshape San Francisco's leadership, as she's done with recent school board and board of supervisors appointments. Moving south, there are two big categories on the ballot in Los Angeles that could produce outright winners. The first is a nationally watched race for the LA mayor seat that has pitted progressive Rep. Karen Bass against billionaire and Republican-turned-independent-turned-Democrat Rick Caruso. Recent polling from theUC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies has 38 percent of likely voters favoring Bass — six points ahead of Caruso. If either candidate can clear the 50 percent threshold, they'll claim the office and avoid a runoff in November. Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva is up for reelection asa series of scandals and his increasingly conservative rhetoric have eroded support from the local Democratic Party. In spite of that, he could win the seat outright tonight. Villanueva has significant name recognition and a clear funding advantage over the other eight candidates in the race, and he is hoping his tough-on-crime platform and pledges to remove homeless encampments will connect with voters who are concerned about these issues. ELECTION NIGHT: Join Lara Korte, Jeremy B. White and Alexander Nieves for a live chat from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. PT as we watch the results of these and other races roll in, and follow our live statewide andcongressional results pages throughout the evening. HAPPY TUESDAY AFTERNOON! Welcome to California Playbook PM, a POLITICO newsletter that serves as an afternoon temperature check of California politics and a look at what our policy reporters are watching. We'll go Monday to Thursday through June 9 before returning in August for the legislative homestretch. Got tips or suggestions? Shoot an email to katymurphy@politico.com and bjones@politico.com or send ashout on Twitter. DMs are open! A message from California Clean Cars Campaign: END OUR PAIN AT THE PUMP! Gas prices are as high as $7 a gallon, forcing many to choose between fuel and essentials like food and medicine. The California Air Resources Board is squandering its opportunity to support gas-free, pollution-free transportation. We need an Advanced Clean Cars program that achieves at least 75% electric car sales by 2030 to bring more and more affordable electric cars to market faster. Visit CleanCarStates.org to learn more.   WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY CRYPTO CRACKDOWN: Brace for some late-breaking summer drama in the cryptocurrency arena. Today, the chair of the Assembly's banking and finance committee lobbed a giant warning at the crypto industry in the form of Assembly Bill 2269 — a sweeping set of proposals to require a license for exchanges to do business in the state, to install an oversight regime, to set 24-hour customer service lines and ti build protections for retail investors that track with those in the securities world. The measure from Assemblymember Timothy Grayson (D-Concord) follows a push by the Newsom administration to boost the industry in California, and comes close on the heels of the recent crypto market meltdown. The legislation will have to move quickly this month through policy vetting to get to the fiscal committees in August and floor votes before the end of session. — Susannah Luthi ON THE BEATS MO' CARPET MO' PROBLEMS: The national nonprofit that runs California's used-carpet recycling program is trying to prevent similar programs from forming in other states . It's an industry-run group called Carpet America Recovery Effort, and it already kicked two members off its board earlier this spring for supporting proposed carpet recycling programs in New York and Illinois. Like the California law that formed the Golden State's program, New York and Illinois bills would tax new carpets and distribute the proceeds to collection and recycling companies to turn discarded material into other marketable products. With the program in place, California's carpet recycling rates have far exceeded the national average. But the program's performance has been uneven in California. And how large a role industry should play relative to regulators has been asticking point as states try to enact extended producer responsibility laws for carpets, packaging and other products. — Catherine Boudreau and Debra Kahn  SMOG SUIT: The EPA is facing a fresh lawsuit filed in a California court today over alleged foot-dragging in implementing ozone pollution standards. The suit alleges that the EPA is more than three years late in imposing full federal cleanup plans for the West Mojave Desert and other parts of California that are failing in reaching ozone standards set by Congress in 2008. The Center for Biological Diversity and Center for Environmental Health filed the suit in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, adding onto another similar legal challenge alleging that the EPA is months behind schedule in tracking ozone levels in Houston, Atlanta and more than 30 other areas. — Sean Reilly   A message from California Clean Cars Campaign:   AROUND CALIFORNIA "Biden nominates new U.S. attorney for Los Angeles region," by LA Times' Kevin Rector: "President Biden nominated E. Martin Estrada on Monday to serve as the next U.S. attorney for the Central District of California. "If confirmed by the Senate, Estrada, a former federal prosecutor who now is a partner in a corporate law firm, would helm the most populous U.S. attorney's district in the country, covering some 20 million people across seven counties. "Estrada, a partner at Munger, Tolles & Olson, previously served in the U.S. attorney's office in L.A. as deputy chief of its violent and organized crime division. "As a prosecutor, Estrada's cases included one against leaders of the Armenian Power criminal syndicate and another against a federal court clerk caught leaking documents. In private practice, he has represented companies and business leaders in 'business disputes, product liability, technology matters, and government investigations,' according to his firm. " Schools would likely weather a recession; should the state budget for one?," by EdSource's John Fensterwald: "Uncertainty of an economic downturn will complicate negotiations as Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders head toward a June 15 deadline to pass a state budget. The good news, at least for schools and community colleges, is that even if state revenues were to plummet, they'd be far better positioned to weather a sizable downtown than in the past — for reasons of foresight and luck. The independent, nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office and other budget mavens agree on that point. "In a mid-May analysis, the LAO wrote that a combination of indicators points to an economic recession in the next two years: falling consumer confidence, rising inflation, a tight labor market and slowing home sales. "Although 'past experience does not guarantee that we are heading for a recession,' the LAO wrote, 'the chance of a recession is high enough to pose a significant risk for the budget."' MIXTAPE — San Rafael schools pay $725,000 tosettle principal's lawsuit (San Francisco Chronicle) — She called the 2020 election legitimate. Now she's under attack in red California (LA Times) — PG&E ushers in landmark Tesla battery energy storage systemat Moss Landing (The Mercury News) A message from California Clean Cars Campaign: Electric vehicles are the key to freedom from expensive and volatile gas prices. Low-income communities and communities of color are hit from both sides, spending more of their income on fuel and breathing in more toxic tailpipe exhaust that shortens their lives. Strong, equitable electric car sales targets will cut health costs associated with chronic air pollution exposure, support the creation of good jobs in a key economic sector and help unburden family budgets that support local businesses. Governor Newsom and the Air Resources Board California Air Resources Board cannot fail us in setting stronger electric car standards that save people money at the pump, protect public health, fight the climate crisis and create jobs. We need electric car sales targets and mandatory equity provisions that achieve at least 75% pollution-free car sales by 2030.  Click here to learn more about how we can improve the Advanced Clean Cars program.     Follow us on Twitter Katy Murphy @katymurphy POLITICO California @politicoca   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

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