| | | | |  | | By Alexander Nieves | Presented by the California Clean Cars Campaign | LA REDUX: So, you didn't get your fill of Los Angeles campaign stories heading into the primary? Don't worry, there will be a lot more coming over the next five months. All eyes were on the nation's second-largest county Tuesday night as a pair of marquee races for mayor and sheriff offered the prospect of outright victories. It's a quirk of local LA politics that a candidate can skip the general election if they grab more than 50 percent of the primary vote. That left the outside possibility that incumbent Sheriff Alex Villanueva and mayoral candidate Rick Caruso — a billionaire developer whose campaign has spent $40 million on ads — could reach that threshold. But neither candidate got close to the 50 percent mark, which means they're in store for grueling campaigns against opponents who'll have some powerful forces working in their favor this fall. MAYOR MATCHUP: Caruso now must go head-to-head with Rep. Karen Bass, who may be the favorite moving forward. The longtime LA community activist is now likely to receive an important endorsement from the Los Angeles Democratic Party, which didn't back a candidate in a crowded primary field. Caruso, who registered as a Democrat for the first time in January, has declined to seek the party's endorsement, but that could be a moot point. It's all but certain delegates would rally around Bass. You can be sure Bass' operation will use the next five months to hammer on Caruso's long history as a registered Republican and his past donations to conservative politicians and anti-abortion organizations. Caruso's massive spending — at least $37.5 million of his personal fortune — has allowed him to telegraph his message mostly unchallenged, but that will be tougher in a matchup with an experienced congresswoman who has the party's backing. The electorate in November is also expected to skew younger and more progressive than in the extremely-low-turnout primary, which also helps Bass. Caruso's deep pockets are still a big advantage, but California voters have shown in the past — see Meg Whitman — that money isn't everything. And it's not clear if his platform based on crime and homelessness will continue to resonate the same way. Issues like abortion and the economy could play an equally large role in November. SHERIFF SHOWDOWN: Some of the same factors aiding Bass will likely also be in play for Villanueva's likely opponent, Robert Luna, the former Long Beach police chief. Luna could very well get the support of the Democratic establishment, which has soured on Villanueva since he ran as a progressive reformer in 2018. Villanueva's department has been marked by scandals during his time in power, and his rhetoric has taken on a more hard-line tone, both issues that could hurt him with a more diverse electorate. HAPPY WEDNESDAY 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 anieves@politico.com or send a shout 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 | | RIGHT TO ABORTION: Legislative leaders today began to make good on their promise to add abortion rights — explicitly — to the state constitution, a change that voters would need to approve. The lawmakers introduced a bill in the Senate, SCA 10, to place such an amendment on the November ballot. They have only through the end of the month to get it through the Legislature with two-thirds votes — a timeline that is tight, but doable, considering the houses' Democratic supermajorities. California isn't the only state to try this approach. Vermont lawmakers have already approved a measure for the November ballot, though the Green Mount State's proposition refers to "personal reproductive liberty" and "autonomy" rather than abortion. California wants to leave no room for interpretation. — Victoria Colliver
| | ON THE BEATS | | DOWN THE BALLOT: California schools chief Tony Thurmond will likely have to face voters in November to nab a second term. The state superintendent's race is a rare statewide contest in which a candidate can win outright if they net over half of the vote in the primary — and as of this afternoon, Thurmond was at 45.7 percent, below the 50 percent threshold needed to avoid a November runoff. Meanwhile, the crowded race for second place is shaping up to be a nail-biter as mail-in votes and other ballots continue streaming in. Of Thurmond's half dozen smaller-name, lower-funded challengers, three sit within half a percentage point of one another in the runner-up slot. Ainye E. Long, the only teacher or woman in the field, is in second place — for now — with a wobbly sub-1,900-vote lead over Republican-aligned software architect George Yang. The winner of that second/third-place tossup is probably fighting for a consolation prize, though, as front-runner Thurmond predictably far outpaces Long's 11.7 percent by an overwhelming margin. — Blake Jones PRIVACY V. TRANSPARENCY: California's privacy agency is leaving businesses confused about the state's sweeping new privacy law, and frustrations are mounting. That much was clear at a meeting today in which the California Privacy Protection Agency board moved to start laying the ground rules for the California Privacy Rights Act. The CPRA is due to take effect in January, and the first slate of draft regulations came out only late last month, but representatives for minority business owners bemoaned the woeful outreach to their communities even as they're poised to have to figure out how to make their websites comply with the law. Edwin Lombard — speaking for the California African American Chamber of Commerce — warned of "enormous compliance costs," as he asked for a more transparent process. "The claim that small businesses will not have to shoulder the burden of these costs is simply not true," he said. "Small businesses rely increasingly on online platforms, and making these platforms more costly and less effective will have a direct impact on them and the consumers and communities they serve," he said. — Susannah Luthi
| | | | A message from California Clean Cars Campaign:   | | | | | AROUND CALIFORNIA | | "Armed California man arrested near Justice Kavanaugh's house," by POLITICO's Betsy Woodruff Swan and Josh Gerstein: "The Justice Department has charged California resident Nicholas Roske with attempted murder, alleging he appeared in Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh's Maryland neighborhood early Wednesday morning with a gun. "Roske allegedly later told police during questioning that he was 'upset' about a draft Supreme Court decision that would overturn precedent granting a federal constitutional right to abortion. POLITICO published the decision last month. "The suspect also expressed concerns about the recent school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, according to a criminal complaint filed Wednesday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, Md. Roske said he thought the Supreme Court justice would move to loosen gun laws, the complaint says." " New Omicron subvariants in California bring new questions about coronavirus outlook," by LA Times' Rong-Gong Lin II: "The upward track of California's coronavirus case rate may be easing, but contradictory data are muddying the state's outlook as a new pair of Omicron subvariants seen in South Africa are increasingly making appearances here. "The case rate dipped 6% over the past week, from 15,800 new cases a day to 14,900, according to a Times analysis of state data released Tuesday. On a per capita basis, California is recording 266 coronavirus cases a week for every 100,000 residents. A weekly transmission rate of 100 cases or more per 100,000 is considered high. "But some health officials are not convinced the decline will stay consistent in the coming weeks. "In Santa Clara County, Northern California's most populous and home to Silicon Valley, the new case rate has fallen 7% in the last week. But wastewater data show that coronavirus levels are actually continuing to rise. "'While it looks like it may be plateauing, it actually isn't,' Dr. Sara Cody, the county's public health director and health officer, said Tuesday."
| | MIXTAPE | | — What Chesa Boudin's recall means for San Francisco's stance on crime — and its status as a progressive bastion (San Francisco Chronicle) — Women, Black and Latino workers underpaid by California State University, study finds (LA Times) — Automakers side with California in lawsuit over climate change, tailpipe emissions (Sacramento Bee)
| | 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 | | | | 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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