Palm Springs reparations talks could set national precedent

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Mar 27, 2024 View in browser   By Sarah Grace Taylor BABY STEPS: A push for reparations in Palm Springs could set the tone for California’s reckoning with its racist past. In the 1960s, hundreds of Black and Latino residents lost their homes in Palm Springs when the city forcefully pushed them out without compensation and burned down much of the neighborhood to seize valuable downtown real estate. Now city officials are considering a settlement with around 300 survivors and descendants of what's known as Palm Springs Section 14. “Palm Springs has the opportunity to set a historic, yet much needed, precedent not only for California but for the entire nation, by reaching a reasonable, fair resolution with the survivors and their families,” Sen. Laphonza Butler wrote in a recent letter to the mayor and city council obtained by Playbook. Sen. Laphonza Butler | Stephanie Scarbrough/AP In 2021, the city issued an official apology to the survivors and descendants of the raid, but has not paid any reparations, despite families losing between $400 million and $2 billion in the raid, according to the College of Ethnic Studies at California State University, Los Angeles. Negotiations with the city had seemingly stalled last fall, but restarted earlier this year. Areva Martin, lead counsel for the Survivors of Section 14, is cautiously optimistic that they’re making progress. “We’re very grateful for Sen. Butler’s leadership and support for the Survivors of Palm Springs Section 14,” Martin told Playbook. “We’re hopeful that the city will continue to engage in a productive dialogue to reach a targeted and tailored solution that puts both the survivors and the city on a path toward healing.” Martin hopes Palm Springs will serve as a catalyst for the state to pass broader slavery reparations legislation, which she’s surprised hasn't already come to fruition given California’s progressive politics and the findings of a 2022 task force report. “How can that be? This is California. This is a majority Democratic legislature with a Democratic governor and majority Democratic mayors throughout the state,” Martin said. This year, members of the Legislative Black Caucus introduced a first-of-its-kind reparations package with 14 bills touching on education, civil rights and criminal justice. State Sen. Steve Bradford is also pushing for the state to commit to cash payments for descendants of slaves. A proposal last year for the state to pay up to $1.2 million to the descendants of enslaved people was not reintroduced this year amid a tight budget and an unenthusiastic response from Gov. Gavin Newsom.  IT’S WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. This is California Playbook PM, a POLITICO newsletter that serves as an afternoon temperature check on 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.   SUBSCRIBE TO GLOBAL PLAYBOOK: Don’t miss out on POLITICO’s Global Playbook, the newsletter taking you inside pivotal discussions at the most influential gatherings in the world, including WEF in Davos, Milken Global in Beverly Hills, to UNGA in NYC and many more. Suzanne Lynch delivers the world's elite and influential moments directly to you. Stay in the global loop. SUBSCRIBE NOW.     WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY DAY IN COURT: In an L.A. courtroom today, Hunter Biden’s lawyers are facing off with federal prosecutors in a high-stakes hearing on his tax case. Biden’s team is urging the judge to throw out the indictment, arguing he is being targeted because of political pressure from Republicans. His lawyers also argue that the Justice Department can’t charge him because of commitments made in a deal Biden’s team reached with prosecutors last summer. Prosecutors say that deal never went into effect. Judge Mark Scarsi will be able to question lawyers from both sides at the hearing. It will provide the earliest signals on whether he’s more sympathetic with the prosecution or the defense. If convicted, the president’s son could face jail time. Melanie Mason will be in the courtroom for POLITICO. Check out tomorrow morning’s California Playbook for an update. — Betsy Woodruff Swan ON THE BEATS Anthony York, an adviser to Gov. Gavin Newsom, discusses Proposition 1 with health care reporter Rachel Bluth at a POLITICO event in San Francisco. | Julia Marsh, POLITICO COUNTY COUNTDOWN: “Go fuck yourself.” Those were the choice words Anthony York, a top adviser for Newsom’s Prop. 1 campaign, had for counties that may be resistant to implementing the mental health and homelessness measure. York was speaking with POLITICO’s Rachel Bluth and Dustin Gardiner at Manny’s in San Francisco Tuesday night for a live conversation about Prop 1. Dustin asked York what message the governor needs to send to local governments that don’t want to see motels converted into housing for California’s most vulnerable residents. “I don't know about needs to be sending but the message he is sending and this is probably a nicer language of this is, go fuck yourself. It's time to get to work. It's time to help people. You can't just say no, you can't you can't talk about a statewide problem and not do your job,” York said. He called out San Francisco, Huntington Beach and Elk Grove for refusing “to build their fair share of affordable housing.” The measure will fund 11,000 new housing and treatment beds for the state’s approximately 180,000 unhoused population. — Rachel Bluth   In celebration of Earth Month, the USC Wrigley Institute for Environment and Sustainability and the USC Dornsife Center for the Political Future, in collaboration with POLITICO, host “Climate Forward 2024: Climate at the Crossroads” on April 4, 2024 at USC. Top experts from politics, government, media, and academia will discuss climate change issues with a focus on finding practical policy and business solutions as well identifying ways to remove political obstacles to implementing those changes. Register to attend in person or virtually.     MAKING IT OFFICIAL: Former state Controller Betty Yee formally launched a race for governor today, adding to the growing number of Democrats hoping to replace Newsom. Yee has said for months that she was planning to run and began fundraising in January, but made it official with a video depicting herself as a steward of "competent, accountable government.” She joins Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, State Superintendent Tony Thurmond and state Sen. Toni Atkins in the 2026 race for governor. Attorney General Rob Bonta is also expected to jump into the field. Pro subscribers can read more from Jeremy B. White. WHAT WE'RE READING TODAY BAD DAY FOR LA: Former Los Angeles Deputy Mayor Raymond Chan was found guilty today of racketeering, bribery, fraud and giving false statements to investigators for involvement in a pay-to-play scheme for developers doing business with the city. City Councilmember Curren Price is also being probed for voting on a number of matters in which his wife had a financial interest. (Los Angeles Times) DOWNTOWN MARKDOWN: Plummeting property values for businesses in San Francisco threaten economic recovery in Oakland — once seen as a cheaper alternative. (San Francisco Chronicle)   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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