| | | | |  | | By Lara Korte , Jeremy B. White , Sakura Cannestra and Owen Tucker-Smith | Presented by the Electric Trucks Now Campaign | THE BUZZ: You know what they say about more money… Valero Corp. yesterday reported great news for its shareholders: The oil refining giant saw an unexpected bump in third-quarter earnings, surpassing industry projections and bringing in a tidy $2.8 billion profit for its stockholders. But as with most things oil companies are doing these days, Gov. Gavin Newsom was unimpressed. Those profits, 500 percent higher than the same period last year, came at a time when Californians experienced record-high prices at the pumps. Valero's impressive earnings, Newsom said, are just further evidence of oil companies artificially jacking up prices and "ripping off" California consumers. And there could be more to come: Valero was the first to publish their third-quarter reports, but analysts expect to see similar trends in the coming weeks from companies like Marathon Petroleum and Phillips 66. So expect more righteous indignation from the Newsom administration — which has been quadrupling down on oil companies this year as gas prices soar ahead of an election that's predicted to be bad for Democrats. We're still waiting for more information on that windfall tax the governor proposed a few weeks ago that would take money from oil companies and give it to consumers, supposedly in the form of a rebate. That kind of plan would be similar to the inflation relief checks the state sent out this year to help offset high gas prices — except instead of the state funding it, technically, it would be the oil companies. (Valero didn't respond to a request for comment Tuesday, but said in a letter to the state's Energy Commission earlier this month that adding further costs, in the form of new taxes or regulatory constraints, will only further strain the fuel market and "those costs will pass to California consumers.") Rather than wait until January, Newsom has called a special session of the Legislature on Dec. 5, asking lawmakers to pass the tax on their first day back in Sacramento after the election. The governor hasn't formalized a proposal or legislation yet ("We're trying to get it right," he told reporters Sunday) but it's not hard to see the possible pitfalls. | 
California Gov. Gavin Newsom talking to reporters in Sacramento, Calif on Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. | Rich Pedroncelli/AP Photo |
First and foremost: Passing a new tax is not easy or popular, even for Democrats. Just this past session, a bill taxing guns died after failing to get the necessary votes in the Assembly.
And let's not forget — lawmakers unsuccessfully tried this exact kind of tax on oil companies earlier this year, when Assemblymember Alex Lee (D-San Jose) gutted-and-amended a gas tax suspension bill by member Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin) to include a windfall tax on gasoline providers. (The bill was quickly pulled). Add to that the drama in the Assembly over the speakership. Upon returning, members will either keep Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood) or elevate Assemblymember Robert Rivas (D-Salinas), who made an unsuccessful play for power in the spring and is prepared to try again. Whoever ends up with the speaker's gavel would then bear the difficult task of trying to unite lawmakers to pass a tax, which requires a two-thirds majority. The internal dynamics of the Legislature could throw some hurdles in Newsom's path but the governor seems to be okay with wrangling lawmakers. Last month in New York City, the governor noted that some California Democrats are "wholly owned subsidiaries of the fossil fuel industry," and that he's willing to play hardball to get his agenda passed. "I had to jam my own Democratic Legislature in the last few weeks of our session to get these four critical, of the 40, climate bills done," Newsom said in September, referencing the $54 billion climate package. "Had I not done that, all those special interests would have prevailed again." BUENOS DÍAS, good Wednesday morning. Tonight at 5 p.m., LA mayoral candidates Rick Caruso and Rep. Karen Bass will participate in a virtual forum with the city's Jewish community. The event is moderated by Spectrum news anchor Alex Cohen and co-sponsored by JPAC, the Jewish Public Affairs Committee of California. Got a tip or story idea for California Playbook? Hit us up: jwhite@politico.com and lkorte@politico.com or follow us on Twitter @JeremyBWhite and @Lara_Korte . Send us your political mailers! We're looking to bring more transparency to the elections process. How you can help: Send us photos of the campaign ads you've gotten in the mail. You can upload photos here or email them to mailers@politico.com . QUOTE OF THE DAY: "I know saying 'I'm sorry' is not enough. I understand that 100 percent." LA City Councilmember Kevin de León, who is still refusing to resign , speaking in an extensive interview on KBLA 1580 Tuesday. TWEET OF THE DAY
|  Today's Tweet of the Day | Twitter |
WHERE'S GAVIN? Nothing official announced
| | A message from the Electric Trucks Now Campaign: DIESEL POLLUTION KILLS. ELECTRIC TRUCKS SAVE LIVES. California's freight communities, neighborhoods near warehouses and families living next highways are breathing the most polluted air in the country. The disproportionate exposure of these mostly Black and Brown communities to diesel exhaust pollution is one of the clearest examples of environmental racism. The California Air Resources Board's (CARB) own analysis shows we can save lives and deliver environmental justice with a stronger Advanced Clean Fleet standard. | | | |  | TOP TALKERS | | — " Kanye West's celebrity gives his brazen antisemitism a more toxic power, reach ," by the Los Angeles Times' Grace Toohey and Salvador Hernandez: "West is facing increasing fallout from his recent hateful comments and controversial statements, including losing his talent agency on Monday." — " LA police investigating if racist recording taped illegally, " by the Associated Press' Stefanie Dazo: "The recording's disclosure earlier this month unleashed a growing scandal in the nation's second-largest city just weeks before Election Day." | | CAMPAIGN MODE | | FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — NEWSOM OPPOSES PROP. 27: Gov. Gavin Newsom today is announcing his formal opposition to the online sports betting measure, putting the final nail in a coffin that is already being lowered into the ground. The measure was fiercely opposed by California's powerful gaming tribes, which spent more than $180 million fighting it. After a PPIC poll last month found that only one in three voters supported the measure, CEOs of the major backers, DraftKings and FanDuel, admitted it probably wouldn't pass and said they'd instead aim for 2024. Newsom's take: "Proposition 27 is bad for California. It would hurt California's Indian Tribes, increase the risks of underage gambling, and push billions of dollars out of California and into the pockets of out-of-state corporations. Vote No on 27." Of note: Newsom's chief campaign strategists at Bearstar Strategies were also running the Yes on Prop. 27 campaign. RUNNING WHERE? — " Gavin Newsom's reelection campaign looks more like a run for president ," by CalMatters' Alexei Koseff: "With his re-election on Nov. 8 all but assured by an overwhelmingly Democratic electorate and a massive fundraising advantage, Newsom has practically ignored his Republican opponent for months, turning his attention instead to passing abortion protections, defeating a tax on the wealthiest Californians and picking fights with the GOP governors of Texas and Florida." — " For some California Latinos, the abortion debate was not a 'real conversation' — until now ," by the Sacramento Bee's Mathew Miranda: "Political experts predict the debate will mobilize Latinos and may halt the GOP's gains with the voting bloc." — " A big-money mayor's race is shaping up to be a fight for the soul of Silicon Valley ," by the San Francisco Chronicle's Shwanika Narayan: "Whoever wins the mayor's race in the Nov. 8 general election will be tasked with steering a city with a $5 billion budget and a growing affordability crisis." | | | | NEW AND IMPROVED POLITICO APP: Stay up to speed with the newly updated POLITICO mobile app, featuring timely political news, insights and analysis from the best journalists in the business. With a fresh look and improved features, the sleek and navigable design offers a convenient way to access POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Don't miss out on the app you can rely on for the news you need, reimagined. Already a POLITICO app user? Upgrade today! DOWNLOAD FOR iOS – DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID . | | | | | | | CALIFORNIA AND THE CAPITOL CORRIDOR | | SOUTH BAY SHAKES — " 5.1 magnitude earthquake strikes near San Jose, California ," by Axios' Jacob Knutson: "The USGS said the quake was 4.2 miles (6.9 kilometers) deep and that it struck around 11:42am local time roughly 8.7 miles (14 km) east of Seven Trees, a neighborhood of San Jose." — " Here's what it's like for migratory birds trying to fly south through California amid record drought ," by the San Francisco Chronicle's Kurtis Alexander: "As California's fall migration revs up, many birds will have to abandon familiar stops and make adjustments, often big ones, if they haven't already, to adapt to a landscape stricken by drought. For some, the changes may be asking too much, and the coming months will be difficult." MEETING MINDFULNESS — " California Needs More Latinx Therapists — but the Mental Health Field Is Still Full of Barriers to Entry ," by KQED's Blanca Torres: "California has less than a quarter of the therapists it needs to care for the state's population, and the majority specialize in treating adults, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation." — " California Invested In Getting More Students Access To Free Food. But CalFresh Is Still Struggling On Outreach ," by LAist's Adolfo Guzman-Lopez: "As applications for CalFresh surge at California colleges, college staff warn that the application process remains cumbersome and bureaucratic. These difficulties can lead students to quit the application midway and create negative word of mouth." WATER-GUZZLING — " Hundreds of East Bay homes have been named as using too much water. Many are repeat offenders ," by the San Francisco Chronicle's Kurtis Alexander and Michael Cabanatuan: "The East Bay Municipal Utility District, which covers much of Alameda and Contra Costa counties, enacted penalties for excessive water use in late spring. The goal is to conserve water supplies amid California's extraordinary three-year drought." — " California sheriff's office stops Black drivers five times more often than white people, data shows ," by the Guardian's Sam Levin: "The state data, which was obtained by advocacy groups Catalyst California and the ACLU of Southern California through a state law to track racial profiling and released on Tuesday, also suggest that sheriff patrols spend significantly more time conducting these proactive stops than they do responding to calls for help." FAR FROM ANGELS — " Ex-Anaheim mayor refuses to publicly disclose emails amid FBI corruption investigation ," by the Los Angeles Times' Nathan Fenno, Gabriel San Román and Adam Elmahrek: "In emails obtained by The Times, [former Anaheim mayor Harry] Sidhu's criminal defense attorney claimed the former mayor's past communications about city business on private devices were no longer public because he has resigned and invoked his client's 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination." | | | | A message from the Electric Trucks Now Campaign:   | | | | | BIDEN, HARRIS AND THE HILL | | — " Pelosi's Last Dance? Speaker Sprints Across U.S. as Republicans Close In. " by the New York Times' Carl Hulse: "Even as she follows every twist and turn on the House map, the reality is that this could well be Ms. Pelosi's final trip around the track as party leader." | | SILICON VALLEYLAND | | TWITTER TEARS — " Meta and Google are snapping up Twitter employees as Elon Musk plays a game of will-he-won't-he with the company ," by Business Insider's Grace Kay: "Over the past 90 days about 530 workers have left Twitter — about 60% more than had left Twitter during the previous quarter. And nearly 50 more have left the company just this month as the odds of Musk buying the company look increasingly higher." PRIVACY PLEASE — " Lawsuit claims Google knew its 'Incognito mode' doesn't protect users' privacy ," by the Washington Post's Gerrit De Vynck: "A group of consumers is alleging the company misled people about what data it collected when they were using private browsing modes on both Google's Chrome web browser and browsers built by other companies such as Apple and Mozilla." | | HOLLYWOODLAND | | — " How Leslie Jordan turned Instagram into his greatest showcase of all ," by the Los Angeles Times' Robert Lloyd: "In recent years, he dropped the parts and just played himself, finding unexpected greater fame with a pandemic-inspired series of Instagram posts in which he sang, danced, told stories, acted silly and let you into pieces of his actual life. (He had 5.8 million followers at the time of his death.)" | | | | JOIN WOMEN RULE THURSDAY FOR A TALK WITH DEPARTING MEMBERS OF CONGRESS: A historic wave of retirements is hitting Congress, including several prominent Democratic women such as Illinois Rep. Cheri Bustos, House Democrats' former campaign chief. What is driving their departures? Join POLITICO on Oct. 27 for "The Exit Interview," a virtual event that will feature a conversation with departing members where they'll explain why they decided to leave office and what challenges face their parties ahead. REGISTER HERE . | | | | | | | MIXTAPE | | — " Former owner of Atherton estate with buried Mercedes collected $87,000 in insurance for it, DA says ," by the Mercury News' Julia Prodis Sulek. BOUNCING BACK — " S.F. one-bedroom rent drops below Boston, falling to third-most expensive U.S. city ," by the San Francisco Chronicle's Roland Li. — " Photographer nabs 'Sharknado' moment as great white leaps into air at San Onofre ," by the Orange County Register's Laylan Connelly. — " These California cities rank the best for Halloween. See where Sacramento stands ," by the Sacramento Bee's Hanh Truong. — " A historic San Francisco landmark, Golden Gate Park's Stow Lake, may be renamed ," by SFGate's Andrew Chamings. | | IN MEMORIAM | | — " Mike Davis: 1946–2022 ," by the Nation's Jon Wiener. — " Saying goodbye to beloved newsman Fred Swegles ," by the Orange County Register's Teri Sforza. | | BIRTHDAYS | | POLITICO's Rebecca Kern … Aakash Kumar | | A message from the Electric Trucks Now Campaign: ELECTRIC TRUCKS NOW TO STOP DIESEL DEATH. CARB's own research shows that we will achieve greater pollution reductions, save more lives and achieve $10 billion more in additional societal benefits by moving up the 100% electric truck sales goal by just four years. That is mostly public health savings from cutting almost 40% more deadly diesel soot pollution and 50% more smog-forming pollution than the proposed standard.
There is massive support from equity, health, business, labor, clean air and climate groups from across California for the Advanced Clean Fleet Accelerated ZEV Transition Alternative that hits 100% electric truck sales by 2036. Electric truck technology is here and strategies and funding are already in place to grow charging options to meet these reasonable and gradual goals.
Tell CARB to deliver cleaner air faster to our most polluted communities with a stronger electric truck standard. | | | 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 subscriber-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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