Running away from Trump in California

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

Jan 18, 2024 View in browser   By Sarah Grace Taylor ARTFUL DODGER:  Republican Senate candidate Steve Garvey would rather voters think he was considering voting for Joe Biden than commit to Donald Trump. “Nobody’s out of bounds because I’m looking at each individual soul separately,” Garvey said Wednesday when asked who he was considering supporting for president. The former Dodger and Padre has repeatedly skirted the issue when pressed about whether he was supporting the former president. Garvey says he voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020. This week he took efforts to hold Trump at arm’s length even further — noting that he would consider a Democrat and not even ruling out Biden. “I’ve voted for Democrats in my 50 years,” Garvey said in Sacramento during his first statewide tour as a candidate for the seat previously held by the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein. Former Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Steve Garvey waves to fans prior to a baseball game between the Dodgers and the Colorado Rockies on July 25, 2021, in Los Angeles. | AP Garvey has yet to commit to any other candidates, party or even many policy stances, in an apparent effort to collect as many swing voters as possible in an unlikely bid to be the first Republican elected statewide since Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. “Republican math is basically impossible in California, so if you’re going to break through you have to create a new formula,” GOP strategist Rob Stutzman said. IT’S THURSDAY 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 X. DMs are open. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY APPEALING FOR HELP: Kevin de León is tussling with the Los Angeles city attorney in the middle of his campaign to keep his job on the council. De León and his aides have repeatedly appealed to City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto for protection from activists who follow the councilman and his staff around City Hall and to events, largely in response to last year’s leaked audio scandal. Feldstein Soto’s staff has relayed the opinion that their hands are tied, pointing to free speech protections they say apply to the activists. De León and his team argue that decision puts them in harm’s way. De León has also questioned Feldstein Soto’s increasingly public political activities, including a Dec. 10 max donation of $900 to de León’s City Council opponent, Assemblymember Miguel Santiago, also a Democrat. The former state Senate Pro Tem is running for reelection in the March primary against a large field that includes Santiago and Assemblymember Wendy Carrillo. All three are Democrats. — Christopher Cadelago ON THE BEATS A banana slug crawls along the thick forest duff in Big Basin Redwoods State Park. The creature is found only on the damp Pacific coast from Alaska to California. | California State Parks SLUG FEST: The much-beloved banana slug is on track to become an official symbol of the state of California. Legislation introduced by Assemblymember Gail Pellerin would elevate the yellow gastropod to the same status as the golden poppy, the redwood and the dogface butterfly. Pellerin’s interest is expected. Her district includes UC Santa Cruz, where the banana slug has been the official mascot since 1986. Her legislation notes that the attributes of the banana slug include a symbiotic relationship with redwood trees and have “oozed into popular culture.” Earlier this month, Speaker Pro Tem Jim Wood introduced a bill to declare the Dungeness crab the state crustacean. — Rachel Bluth SERIOUSLY CONCERNED: The vast majority of California voters believe the state’s budget deficit to be at least "somewhat serious," according to a poll conducted after the Legislative Analyst’s Office estimated the shortfall to be $68 billion. The UC Berkeley Institute for Governmental Studies survey told registered voters that the state faced a “large” deficit and asked them to rate the seriousness of the issue. Half of respondents said it was “extremely serious” and 37 percent said it was “somewhat serious.” The poll was conducted from Jan. 4 through Jan. 8, days before Gov. Gavin Newsom said the shortfall was much smaller, $38 billion, and presented a plan to address it. — Blake Jones WHAT WE'RE READING TODAY TOUGH TIMES: More layoffs have hit the Los Angeles Times following the recent departure of Kevin Merida as executive editor. (Deadline) TAKING IT ALL: At the height of the drought in 2022, California farmers took essentially all the water in the Merced River and left it bone-dry — a previously unreported incident that raises questions about the State Water Resources Control Board’s ability to regulate use during scarcity. (The New York Times) BRAIN TRUST: California’s rumored “brain drain” may not be so bad as census data shows a well-educated, affluent transplant population. 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