Making it rain in Silicon Valley

Your afternoon must-read briefing on politics and government in the Golden State

Jan 02, 2024 View in browser   By Madison Fernandez and Sarah Grace Taylor Hey there! I’m Sarah Grace Taylor and I’ll be in your inbox in the late afternoon Monday-Thursday as the lead author of California Playbook PM, which will now run year-round. I’m new to POLITICO and Sacramento, but have been on the West Coast for a couple of years covering politics for The Seattle Times. Feel free to reach out. VENTURE CAPITAL: Campaign cash is surging in a race to fill a Silicon Valley House seat that Democratic Rep. Anna Eshoo has held for nearly three decades. Sam Liccardo, a Democrat and former mayor of San Jose, reports raising $1.65 million in the fourth quarter — just weeks after announcing his entry into a crowded field to replace Eshoo in a rare open Bay Area seat. Liccardo has the benefit of name recognition and at least one lucrative fundraising event hosted by a prominent valley figure — LinkedIn co-founder and prolific Democratic donor Reid Hoffman. “Whatever we fundraise is really less about me and much more about where I think voters, donors and the entire community are here in Silicon Valley and throughout the country,” the former mayor tells POLITICO. “They want to see real federal engagement in tackling homelessness and crime and rising costs of living, and they're tired of folks saying it's somebody else's job.” Eshoo is retiring after serving in Congress since 1993. Those seeking to replace her include Assemblymember Evan Low, Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian, former Saratoga City Council member Rishi Kumar, Palo Alto Councilmember Julie Lythcott-Haims and tech executive Peter Dixon. Two Republicans have also filed to run for the seat in the solidly blue district. A full scope of fundraising won't be available until the end of the month, when campaign finance reports are due. But Liccardo, the first to announce his total for the quarter, has set a high bar. Low has said he raised $300,000 in the first 48 hours of his campaign. Dixon announced that he brought in $350,000 in the first 24 hours of his bid, and Lythcott-Haims said she raised $250,000 in the first weekend of her candidacy. Simitian, meanwhile, entered the race with more than $680,000 at his disposal. Candidates don't have much time to introduce themselves to voters ahead of the March 5 primary. Liccardo said his campaign chest will give him more flexibility to knock on doors and connect with voters rather than working the phones to fundraise. For more, read Madison’s story. San Jose, Calif., Mayor Sam Liccardo speaks during a news conference in Sunnyvale, Calif., March 28, 2020. | Beth LaBerge/KQED via AP IT’S TUESDAY AFTERNOON. This is 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. Got tips or suggestions? Shoot an email to sgtaylor@politico.com or send a shout on Twitter. DMs are open. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY COVERING CALIFORNIA: California starts the new year with the potential to have the fewest people without health insurance than at any time in history. There are about 2.7 million people without access to coverage now that the state has opened Medi-Cal coverage to anyone who meets the income requirement, regardless of age or immigration status. California is the first state to open the low-income health insurance program to people without legal immigration status. The Department of Health Services projects that about 700,000 undocumented immigrants will enroll in the program. So who is left? Mostly, it’s people who earn too much to qualify for Medi-Cal but can’t afford coverage even under the Affordable Care Act. An estimated 520,000 are people without legal immigration status who still can’t legally buy private insurance. Keep an eye on Assembly Bill 4, by Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula (D-Fresno). The bill, which he introduced last year, would allow undocumented people to sign up for Covered California, the state insurance marketplace for people who don’t qualify for other insurance. — Rachel Bluth ON THE BEATS Sean De Guzman, center, and other California Department of Water Resources officials measure snow depth at Phillips Station off of Highway 50 in Northern California as part of the first snow survey of the year on Jan. 2. | Department of Water Resources SKIING ON THE ROCKS: The California snow season isn’t off to a promising start. The state’s first survey of the year finds the snowpack is at 25 percent of the historical average for this date — a dramatic change from last year’s epic season. It's a worryingly dry start that could lead to reduced water supplies for cities and farms later this year. California gets roughly 30 percent of its water from the snow in the Sierra Nevada. The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which supplies 19 million people, issued a statement calling for conservation. "The reality that weather whiplash can quickly swing us from a wet year to a dry one requires us to be prepared should 2024 remain dry," said general manager Adel Hagekhalil. Last year’s exceptional rain and snow amounts still have reservoir levels at 116 percent of average statewide. And the seasonal outlook for January, February and March still shows an increased likelihood of high snow and rain because of El Niño. A cold front coming in this week is expected to deliver snow at low elevations and could bring over a foot of snow this weekend. — Camille von Kaenel FOR GOOD MEASURE Nothing distinguishes policymaking in California like its lively realm of ballot-measure campaigns. As part of POLITICO’s ongoing California expansion, we are embarking on an initiative of our own — to cover this sphere with the depth and sustained attention it deserves. We are building a team of journalists dedicated solely to covering ballot measures at all levels, and are brimming with ideas for how to tell fresh stories about the strategies, policy ideas, personalities, and money behind them. Expect scoops, analysis, features and investigations across our POLITICO California platforms, including right here under the “For Good Measure” banner in our California Playbook editions. CULTURE WARS — A group of conservative activists plans to sue Democratic Attorney General Rob Bonta over the title and summary his office gave to a proposed ballot measure that would restrict how schools and doctors treat transgender youth. Protect California Kids, the organization leading the charge, will announce the lawsuit on the west steps of the Capitol at noon Wednesday along with leaders of the Freedom Angels, an anti-vaccination group. The three-part initiative would require K-12 schools to notify parents about a change in their student’s gender identity, such as asking to use a new name or pronouns; prohibit transgender students in grades 7 and higher from participating in girls’ sports; and ban gender-affirming health care for minors, even with parental consent. The ballot initiative push is part of a movement to limit transgender youth's rights to play on sports teams and use bathrooms of their choice in California. Advocates spent much of last year urging school boards to pass parent-notification policies and other local restrictions, and after Democrats in the Legislature rejected efforts to enact a statewide law on parental notification, proponents launched a campaign to take their cause to the voters. But passing a statewide ballot measure in California is costly, and Protect California Kids is likely to need millions of dollars just to qualify its initiative for the ballot, and have yet to report any major funders. — Lara Korte WHAT WE'RE READING TODAY GUN BILL TAKES EFFECT: A law limiting where guns can be carried, California’s Senate Bill 2, went into effect this week after a federal appeals court put a temporary hold on an injunction that leaves the fate of the law uncertain as pro-gun groups challenge its constitutionality. (Los Angeles Times) WINDOW PAINS: After a judge ordered San Francisco to allow inmates of San Bruno jail 15 minutes of access to sunlight per day, officials removed coverings from some windows rather than allowing many inmates time outdoors. (San Francisco Chronicle) CALIFORNIA DREAMIN’: A plan backed by Silicon Valley venture capitalists to build a new city in Solano County has run into a buzzsaw of opposition, but the backers of the “California Forever” project may still be able to pull it off. (POLITICO)   Follow us on Twitter 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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