We still don’t know who won this March primary

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

Apr 29, 2024 View in browser   By Sarah Grace Taylor The recount enters a third week for a potential tiebreaker between second place candidates Evan Low and Joe Simitian. | AP, Getty and Simitian Campaign COUNTING CONTINUES: The seemingly never-ending primary race to replace Congresswoman Anna Eshoo is — you guessed it — still not over. The recount of ballots in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties is still underway today, entering a third week of the potential tiebreaker between second place candidates Evan Low and Joe Simitian. Santa Clara, the larger of the two counties included in the district, originally estimated that the voter-requested recount would take about 10 days to complete. Now just past that mark, the county can’t provide an updated ETA. “We are still reconciling ballots, making sure every ballot for each precinct is accounted for. We do not know when we will be finishing,” Michael Borja, a spokesperson for Santa Clara County, told Playbook today. In San Mateo, a spokesperson said Friday that a recount of all counted ballots had come back identical to the March 5 results, but officials were awaiting confirmation from the United States Postal Service on the date when a number of challenged mail-in ballots were cast. The recount is costing the voter who requested it — or more accurately the newly formed PAC cutting the checks — $32,000 per day in Santa Clara County and another $12,000 per day in San Mateo. In the meantime, frontrunner and former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo is the only one of the three Democrats sure to advance to the November general election. After publicly opposing the recount and accusing Liccardo of coordinating it through his former staffer who filed the request — which Liccardo’s campaign denies — Low has stayed relatively quiet during the recount and did not respond to a request for comment today. Simitian has also been laying low, but took to social media this weekend to praise election officials who have more or less been working on this race since March 5. He also noted his time as an election supervisor and observer in El Salvador and Bosnia, where voters had more physical barriers to voting. “Here in California, we can vote with relative ease from the comfort of our own homes. We must not take this for granted — and we must protect all Americans' access to free and fair elections,” Simitian wrote Saturday. “If this drawn-out primary election has a silver lining, it is reminding each of us how much depends on the integrity of our democratic institutions. I'm committed to protecting that legacy, whatever the outcome,” he added.   THE GOLD STANDARD OF POLICY REPORTING & INTELLIGENCE: POLITICO has more than 500 journalists delivering unrivaled reporting and illuminating the policy and regulatory landscape for those who need to know what’s next. 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Get the premier news and policy intelligence service, SUBSCRIBE TO POLITICO PRO TODAY.     WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY GAVIN GOES TO VATICAN — Gov. Gavin Newsom will be spreading the gospel of climate resilience mid-May at the Vatican Climate Summit, along with Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo and other local leaders from around the world. The summit will be the first Vatican climate meeting to bring together experts, policymakers and scientists along with subnational political leaders and communities experiencing the worst effects of climate change, according to Veerabhadran Ramanathan, a professor at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego and a council member of Pope Francis’ Pontifical Academy of Science, who is co-organizing the summit. “California is an obvious choice [to present] in that California is a leader in both research, in climate actions cutting down emissions and adapting, because we have lost a lot of our forest to fires, floods, droughts, etc.,” said Ramanathan. Newsom’s office confirmed that the governor, a Catholic, is scheduled to meet with the pope. The governor has sought to expand California’s climate work with international partners in recent months; his office said this will be an opportunity to reach a whole population he otherwise wouldn’t have. — Blanca Begert ON THE BEATS Protests have swept UCLA, USC and beyond. | Jae C. Hong/AP Photo SAFETY VS FREE SPEECH — Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is concerned for university students missing out on graduation … but not as concerned as she is about safety. “I feel very bad about that for the USC students. And I am hoping that at least they will be able to have the graduation for their individual schools,” Bass told Playbook today, referencing the University of Southern California’s decision to call off its main commencement. The school initially canceled the address of a pro-Palestinian valedictorian — citing safety concerns — before scrapping the university-wide commencement altogether earlier this month, due to rising Gaza protests. But while USC and other schools like the University of California Los Angeles grapple with ongoing campus tensions, Bass said academic and city leaders have to focus on safety. “I think this has been very challenging for the campuses. And I think that they have been doing the best that they can, you know, how do you navigate an issue that is so volatile that can be very divisive in a way that presents an opportunity for future dialogue,” Bass said. “The number one job of both the college president and the chancellor is to keep the students safe, as it is my number one job in the city.” Bass’ remarks come as she visits Washington with other mayors to advocate for local issues, all while national attention has turned to unrest sweeping college campuses across the country. Gov. Newsom last week said: “We’re very mindful of what’s going on in the campuses and want to maintain people’s rights and protests, at the same time do so peacefully without any hate.” — Melanie Mason OPIOID OPTIONS — The Newsom administration announced today that the state’s pharmaceutical initiative, CalRx, has signed a deal with the manufacturer Amneal to offer the state cheaper versions of medications used to reverse an opioid overdose. The move is part of California’s ongoing efforts to address the opioid crisis and increase access to care. Under the deal, two doses of naloxone would be available to schools, government entities, harm reduction programs and businesses for $24. That’s more than 40 percent cheaper than the current buying price for the state. Next month, that cheaper naloxone will be ready under Amneal’s label, and by the summer it will start being produced under a California-branded generic label. “We've enabled, through CalRx, the manufacturing of a low cost, [over the counter] naloxone option that without us may not have come to market this quickly or at this volume,” Secretary of Health and Human Services Mark Ghaly said in a press briefing today. — Rachel Bluth ‘HOUSING KILLER’ — State Sen. Nancy Skinner’s bill barring any intentional use of toxic so-called forever chemicals faced an unusual opponent today at the Senate Appropriations Committee. The California Building Industry Association testified that the bill is a “housing killer.” The objection was notable given Skinner’s history as a champion of denser housing development. CBIA’s president, Dan Dunmoyer, separately told POLITICO that Skinner is “one of the most helpful to housing in California.” “We only label things a housing killer if it's one of our top priorities to get fixed or defeated,” Dunmoyer said after the hearing. He added that nearly all of the products used in building homes contain forever chemicals, aka PFAS. Dunmoyer said it would be impractical to ban every instance of PFAS but would be on board with minimizing their use. He added that the CBIA aims to work as closely as possible with Skinner to find a solution in “a manner that is practical.” — Ariel Gans   GROWING IN THE GOLDEN STATE: POLITICO California is growing, reinforcing our role as the indispensable insider source for reporting on politics, policy and power. From the corridors of power in Sacramento and Los Angeles to the players and innovation hubs in Silicon Valley, we're your go-to for navigating the political landscape across the state. Exclusive scoops, essential daily newsletters, unmatched policy reporting and insights — POLITICO California is your key to unlocking Golden State politics. LEARN MORE.     WHAT WE'RE READING TODAY — California Senate hopeful Adam Schiff is cruising above Republican Steve Garvey in a new statewide poll. (Sacramento Bee) — Google joined the ranks of Apple, Amazon and Microsoft as the fourth tech giant to hit $1 trillion value in the past two years. (The New York Times) — Elon Musk clinched tentative approval from Chinese officials for Tesla’s full self-driving software to operate in the country. (The Wall Street Journal) — Millions of Kaiser Permanente members and patients could be impacted by a massive company-wide data breach. (San Francisco Chronicle) AROUND THE STATE — A law ending single -family -home -only zoning in California is unconstitutional, a Superior Court judge in LA County ruled. (The Los Angeles Times) — UCSF breaks ground on enormous new hospital in the heart of S.F. (San Francisco Chronicle)   Follow us on Twitter Sarah Grace Taylor @_SarahGTaylor   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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