Another shoe drops at L.A. City Hall

Presented by Advanced Energy United: Jeremy B. White and Lara Korte’s must-read briefing on politics and government in the Golden State

Jun 14, 2023 View in browser   By Lara Korte and Jeremy B. White Presented by Advanced Energy United THE BUZZ: IS THIS SOME KIND OF RECORD? Los Angeles City Councilmember Curren Price was charged with 10 counts of embezzlement, perjury and conflict of interest on Tuesday, making him the fourth member in four years to face corruption charges. The news marks another chapter in the ongoing controversies that have plagued the council that oversees the nation’s second-largest city. Public trust has yet to recover from the events of last fall when three city council members were caught on tape making racist remarks in a conversation with a powerful labor leader. Two of them no longer sit on the council, with President Nury Martinez having resigned and Gil Cedillo leaving office. Kevin de León remains the sole survivor — an ongoing point of tension in and of itself. Price was among the members who looked to align with furious activists following the tapes scandal, telling POLITICO last fall that the entire thing had “disillusioned a lot of folks.” Unlike the fallen members before him, who faced federal charges, the indictment for Price comes from the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office. In a 10-count complaint, the office alleges that Price cast favorable votes for corporations that had paid tens of thousands of dollars to a company owned by his wife, Del Richardson, while also failing to disclose those funds in his political financial disclosure forms, as is required by state law. Those two actions constitute conflict of interest and perjury, the DA’s office says. Price also embezzled from the city government funds when he received medical premiums for Richardson at a time when she was not legally his wife, the complaint alleges. Price’s communications director, Angelina Valencia-Dumarot, complained in a statement Tuesday about not having a chance to see the charges in advance. “It’s highly unusual for charges like this to be brought up against a sitting city councilmember without any prior notice or discussion,” she said. “Curren Price is a longstanding public servant who has given his life to the City of Los Angeles. He looks forward to defending himself once he’s had an opportunity to address these charges.” Shortly after, Price announced he was stepping down from his leadership and committee positions, saying he doesn’t want to be a distraction while fighting “unwarranted” charges. Angelenos have gotten used to seeing city council members in trouble. Since 2021, Mitch Englander has pleaded guilty to seeking to obstruct a probe into his accepting gifts from a businessman (He got 14 months.); Jose Huizar pleaded guilty to tax evasion and RICO conspiracy charges stemming from a sprawling pay-to-play investigation; and Mark Ridley-Thomas was convicted of extracting favors from USC for his son — a familial bribery plot that was echoed by the allegations against Price (Huizar and Ridley-Thomas haven’t been sentenced but face years in prison.). Mayor Karen Bass on Tuesday said she hadn’t reviewed the charges on Price yet but was “saddened by the news.” District Attorney George Gascón took a more forceful tone. "(Price's) alleged conduct undermines the integrity of our government and erodes the public's trust in our elected officials,” he said in a statement. “We will continue to work tirelessly to root out corruption at all levels and hold accountable those who betray the public's trust." BUENOS DÍAS, good Wednesday morning. Now, back to our regularly scheduled Sacramento programming: Both budget committees will hear the primary budget bill this morning, giving us the first discussions on the legislative deal. Lawmakers are expected to cast floor votes Thursday morning. Got a tip or story idea for California Playbook? Hit us up at jwhite@politico.com and lkorte@politico.com or follow us on Twitter @JeremyBWhite and @Lara_Korte.    A message from Advanced Energy United: The climate crisis demands action, but we aren’t moving fast enough. It’s time for California to get to work and build our clean energy future, faster. California needs to expand clean energy at a record-breaking pace over the next couple decades, including upgrading and building the transmission lines necessary to electrify buildings and vehicles while delivering reliable and affordable energy. Learn more here.   WHERE’S GAVIN? Nothing official announced. QUOTE OF THE DAY: "This is tragically a massive, well-orchestrated campaign to erase trans children to pretend they don't exist to suppress them, which honestly is no different than the suppression that we've seen, or centuries, the suppression of gay and lesbian kids." Sen. Scott Wiener decrying opposition to AB 957 by Lori Wilson in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.  CROWDSOURCING: Californians: Have you asked Sens. Dianne Feinstein or Alex Padilla for help recently? Send us your receipts.   PLAYBOOK TRIVIA NIGHT! Think you know a lot about politics? PROVE IT! Compete in California Playbook’s inaugural Trivia Night. Grab a drink, kick back, and put your knowledge on display! Join top political power players on Wednesday, June 21st at Fox & Goose Public House for a night of fun and competition that you won’t want to miss. REGISTER HERE.     Top Talkers NEVADA'S HOME STRETCH — "Senate passes A’s stadium bill, sends measure to Assembly," by The Nevada Independent’s Jacob Solis, Sean Golonka and Tabitha Mueller: “The state Senate voted 13-8 on Tuesday to pass the A’s stadium bill, sending the measure to the Assembly and giving the clearest signal yet that lawmakers could approve up to $380 million in public dollars to help construct a new Major League Baseball stadium on the Las Vegas Strip.” — "Column: Think ‘gay Republican’ is a contradiction? Think again," opines Mark Z. Barabak for the Los Angeles Times: “But Moran sees nothing contradictory in his political allegiance. Being gay doesn’t necessarily make someone a Democrat, he suggested, and supporting the Republican agenda — up to a point — doesn’t automatically mean a person is a homophobe. — "Oakland council amends Mayor Thao’s budget with millions of additional spending," by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Sarah Ravani: “As Oakland stares down a historic budget deficit, the president of the City Council has proposed adding millions in additional funding for violence prevention, the arts and community ambassadors.”   A message from Advanced Energy United:   CALIFORNIA AND THE CAPITOL CORRIDOR — "Schools in poorer neighborhoods struggle to keep teachers. How offering them more money and power might help," by CalMatters’ Joe Hong: “Teacher turnover is high at schools with large numbers of students living in poverty. Now California is pouring billions of dollars into two programs: One subsidizes college students in credentialing programs and the other offers money to districts that want to create community schools.” — "This Bay Area county has seen one of California’s biggest booms in gun sales," by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susie Neilson: “Heather Harris, a senior researcher at the Public Policy Institute of California, pointed out that Californians’ perceptions of public safety changed during the pandemic. “Although those in the S.F. Bay area are somewhat less likely than Californians in other areas of the state to say crime is a problem, perceptions of safety and how well police protect communities are down — and these reduced perceptions of safety may motivate gun buyers,” she said.” — "Bill to force A’s to pay massive relocation fees could have an impact even if it doesn’t pass," by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Joe Garofoli and John Shea: “Two East Bay House members, frustrated by the Oakland A’s attempt to move to Las Vegas, introduced legislation Tuesday designed to slow the team’s roll — but their target audience ultimately may be outside of Washington, where the bill has little chance of passing.” BIDEN, HARRIS AND THE HILL — Trump pleads not guilty in classified documents case, by POLITICO’s Kyle Cheney, Josh Gerstein and Andrew Atterbury: Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty Tuesday to federal criminal charges that he hoarded classified military secrets at his estate in Mar-a-Lago and hindered the government’s attempts to get the documents back. — House GOP is mending and spending, by POLITICO’s Katherine Tully-McManus and Daniella Diaz: It looks like Kevin McCarthy has the band of conservative naysayers back in line to unfreeze the House — but there’s still a lot on the line for the speaker.   GET READY FOR GLOBAL TECH DAY: Join POLITICO Live as we launch our first Global Tech Day alongside London Tech Week on Thursday, June 15. Register now for continuing updates and to be a part of this momentous and program-packed day! From the blockchain, to AI, and autonomous vehicles, technology is changing how power is exercised around the world, so who will write the rules? REGISTER HERE.     MIXTAPE — "California’s water supply is controlled by this covert room. Can it adjust to climate extremes?" by The Sacramento Bee’s Ari Plachta. — "Silicon Valley software company lays off dozens," by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Chase DiFeliciantonio. — "Report: Eight Silicon Valley households have six times more wealth than bottom 500,000," by The Mercury News’ John Woolfolk. BIRTHDAYS Meta’s Campbell Brown … YouTube’s Alexandra Veitch … Annie Olson   A message from Advanced Energy United: California can keep our grid affordable and achieve our climate ambitions. To do so, we must get to work removing roadblocks to new in-state clean energy infrastructure and speed up our interconnection process. Building our clean energy future faster will pave the way for substantial new jobs and private investment while also maximizing California’s ability to put federal funding to work. California’s leadership in the West is critical as we pave the way to a 100% clean energy system, strengthen our electric grid and prepare for the future. Learn more here.   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   Follow us on Twitter Jeremy B. White @JeremyBWhite Lara Korte @lara_korte 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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