Thursday, November 7, 2024
Gavin Newsom Convenes Legislative Session to Resist Trump Governor Gavin Newsom announced Thursday that he is calling a special session of the Legislature to strengthen the state’s legal defenses against President-elect Donald Trump. Newsom said Trump’s campaign statements and first-term policies on abortion, electric vehicles, immigration, and disaster aid warranted immediate legislative powers ahead of lawmakers' planned return to Sacramento. Lawmakers are already scheduled to return to Sacramento at the start of December to prepare for next year's session. Newsom's proclamation calls explicitly for the special session to authorize more funding for Attorney General Rob Bonta and state agencies to combat Trump's actions. Newsom billed it “the first of several actions” he and lawmakers would take against Trump. Legislative leaders issued statements in lockstep with the governor. “California has come too far and accomplished too much to simply surrender and accept his dystopian vision for America,” state Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire said in a statement. “Voters sent a clear message this election, and we need to lean in and listen,” Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas said. “But we also must be prepared to defend California values, no matter the challenges ahead.”
California Business Roundtable President Rob Lapsley issued the following statement in response to the special session:
“On Election Day, California voters rejected attacks on Prop. 13 (Prop. 5), rejected increasing the minimum wage (Prop. 32) and rejected attempts to drive up the cost of housing even higher (Prop. 33). Cost of living was clearly on voters’ minds not just in California, but across the nation, and voters are demanding that leaders focus on affordability first. [A] special session should focus on addressing issues like the imminent gas price increase through the state’s renewal of the Low Carbon Fuel Standard, the 108% increase in residential electricity prices since 2010, the ongoing homeowner’s insurance crisis, the ongoing housing crisis, and other costs directly affecting family budgets and Californians’ ability to live and thrive in this great state.”
—
Four Employment Actions to Expect Under a Second Trump Presidency Littler predicts the new Trump administration will have at least four fundamental policy shifts starting inauguration day.
1. Immigration enforcement raids will be back on the table.
2. Agency chairs will be replaced.
3. Regulatory activity will slow considerably.
4. Limitations on DEI could be put in place.
Story
—
Election News
California State-Wide Race
Adam Schiff Easily Wins U.S. Senate Schiff, a Burbank Democrat, cruised to victory in California’s U.S. Senate race against Steve Garvey, a former Los Angeles Dodger/ San Diego Padre seeking to become the first Republican elected statewide in 18 years. Schiff won a six-year term to replace Sen. Laphonza Butler, who opted not to run herself after she was appointed following the death of Dianne Feinstein, who held the seat for more than 30 years. Schiff also defeated Garvey in a separate but simultaneous race to fill the remainder of Feinstein’s term, which expires in early January. That gives him a head start in seniority over other newly elected U.S. senators.
—
California District Races
California’s 41st Congressional District The highly competitive U.S. House race in Riverside County between Republican Rep. Ken Calvert, the longest-serving GOP member of California’s congressional delegation, and Democrat Will Rollins, a former federal prosecutor, is still too close to call. The race between Calvert and Rollins to represent California’s 41st Congressional District, which stretches from the sprawling city of Corona to the resorts and golf courses of the Coachella Valley, had been considered a toss-up. It was one of several California races seen as influential in determining which party will control the U.S. House of Representatives next year. At press time, Calvert leads by 2-1/2% (7,000 votes).
—
47th Congressional District The race between Republican Scott Baugh and Democratic State Sen. Dave Min for the open House seat in coastal Orange County remains too close to call as votes continue to be counted. California’s 47th Congressional District is currently held by Democratic Rep. Katie Porter, who will be leaving Congress in January. Her decision not to seek reelection and to run for the U.S. Senate, a bid that fell short in the March primary, kicked off a passionate competition to replace her. Porter narrowly beat back a challenge by Baugh in 2022. At press time, Baugh leads by .4% (1,200 votes).
—
49th Congressional District The race between Democratic Rep. Mike Levin and his Republican challenger Matt Gunderson for California’s 49th Congressional District in San Diego and Orange counties remains too close to call. The 49th District was one of six tight congressional races in California that could help determine which party controls the U.S. House of Representatives. Last month, the Cook Political Report moved the district race from “likely Democratic” to “leaning Democratic,” a sign of the concerted effort by Republicans to flip blue seats. At press time, Levin leads by 2% (5,200 votes).
—
45th Congressional District The competitive race between Republican Rep. Michelle Steel and Democratic challenger Derek Tran for an Orange County swing district remains too close to call. Steel, 69, and Tran, 44, went head-to-head in one of the nation’s tightest contests for the U.S. House of Representatives. At press time, Steel leads by 4% (10,200 votes).
—
13th Congressional District Once again, Rep. John Duarte (R–Modesto) and former Asm. Adam Gray (D–Merced) are locked in a close battle for the 13th District. Duarte won the race two years ago by less than 600 votes and has a cushion of over 3,000 (2.8%) at press time.
—
22nd Congressional District Rep. David Valadao (R–Hanford) won his seat against former Asm. Rudy Salas (D–Bakersfield) two years ago by three points. Valadao has jumped out to a significant 10% (10,000) lead in the 22nd District, but incoming votes from Kern County could tighten the race in the coming weeks.
—
9th Congressional District Initial returns prove that Stockton Mayor Kevin Lincoln could defeat Rep. Josh Harder (D–Tracy) despite Democrats holding an 11-point advantage in voter registration in the 9th District. At press time, Harder leads by 1.4% (2,000 votes).
—
21st Congressional District Rep. Jim Costa (D–Fresno) has the advantage of being in a district that favors Democrats by nearly 14 points. However, challenger Michael Maher is only around 1,000 (.8%) votes behind Costa, seeking his 11th term in Congress. The last time Costa came close to losing was in 2014 when he bested Johnny Tacherra by 1.4 points.
—
8th Assembly District Former Congressman George Radanovich (R) and David Tangipa (R) are running in this open seat. Tangipa leads by 8,000 votes at press time (5%).
—
32nd Assembly District In this interesting race, Congressman Vince Fong was re-elected to his former Assembly seat and won re-election to his house seat. Since he can’t hold both seats, a special election will be held in 2025.
—
75th Assembly District Former San Diego City Councilman Carl DeMaio, who toured the San Diego WECA facilities earlier this year, won big in his race for the California State Assembly. DeMaio’s 60%-40% win will send a bold, articulate, passionate defender of free enterprise to a building that could benefit from that knowledge.
—
19th Senate District State Senator Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh will defeat Councilmember Lisa Middleton, who voted to pass a PLA at the City of Palm Springs, as a springboard for higher office. It doesn’t appear to have worked, as Ochoa Bogh leads 53.3% to 46.7%, with a lead of over 16,000 votes. Senator Ochoa Bogh visited our WECA Training Facilities in Riverside last year.
—
Orange County Supervisor Senator Janet Nguyen, a great supporter of the merit shop in the State Assembly, State Senate, and as a former County Supervisor, will return to the Board with WECA’s support; Nguyen cruised to a 63% to 36% victory to replace Orange County Supervisor Andrew Do, who resigned last month and pled guilty to accepting more than $550,000 in bribes to direct millions of dollars meant for COVID relief during the pandemic to a family-connected nonprofit.
—
In Irvine, WECA-supported candidate John Park is leading in his race by only 91 votes! You might remember John Park’s visit to the OC Ironworkers HQ with Assemblyman Phillip Chen earlier this year. (Park refused to sign their PLA pledge.) But if that holds, we might pick up two seats and re-elect our one Irvine Councilman who voted against the PLA, Mike Carroll. So, Mike Carroll was re-elected to Irvine City Council, District 4. In District 3, WECA-supported candidate James Mai is going to win. That is a pickup for the merit shop. Because Democrat Farrah Khan did not run for re-election after losing her bid to move up to OC Supervisor and because Tammy Kim ran against Larry Agran for Mayor, we ended up retiring two Councilmembers who voted for the PLA. They replaced Farrah Khan and Tammy Kim, who voted for the PLA. Larry Agran also voted for the PLA, but still won to replace Farrah Khan as Mayor.
—
In Costa Mesa, WECA supported candidate Jeff Pettis (who you might remember from his YouTube videos about the union donations behind the Council pushing for a PLA), leading in his race with only 287 votes! But if that holds, we might pick up a seat and defeat Democrat Councilman Jeff Harlan, who voted for the PLA in the city. So did Mayor John Stephens, but he looks like he will win against James Peters, who we supported. He has a 1200+ lead right now. And it looks like we will replace our one anti-PLA vote with another anti-PLA, pro-merit shop candidate, with Mike Buley replacing Don Harper, who chose not to run for re-election.
—
Fresno County Board of Supervisors There will also be two new Fresno County Supervisors, with challengers defeating incumbents. On election night, Garry Bredefeld, current Fresno City Councilmember, defeated Supervisor Steve Brandau. Supervisor Sal Quintero lost his race to challenger and Fresno City Councilmember Luiz Chavez.
District 2
Steve Brandau (Inc.) 21,778 43.55%
Garry Bredefeld 27,964 55.92%
District 3
Sal Quintero (Inc.) 9,947 45.20%
Luis Chavez 11,961 54.35%
—
Kern County Board of Supervisors, District 2
Candidate Votes Percent
Kelly Carden Jr. 2,670 10.13%
Dale Cisneros 5,553 21.07%
Ben Dewell 3,021 11.46%
Pete Graff 2,025 7.68%
Bernita Jenkins 4,375 16.60%
Chris Parlier 8,715 33.06%
—
Fresno City Council, District 6
Candidate Votes Percent
Roger Bonakdar 10,343 49.13%
Nick Richardson 10,662 50.65%
—
Other States
Votes are still being tabulated in Arizona and Utah, but for now, here is how some races look.
· Utah Senator John Curtis leads in election results with 62% of the vote. Caroline Gleich is in second with 32%. Congressmembers Blake Moore (01) and Celeste Maloy (02) are in the lead, with about 60% of the votes coming in.
· Utah Governor Spencer Cox is also in a great position to win re-election with about 55% of the vote, and the closest opponent is currently at 30%.
· Arizona has a big Senate race between Kari Lake and Ruben Gallego. Gallego is currently in the lead with 50.1%, a 52,000-vote lead.
· Proposition 140 in Arizona would have called for open primary elections, but that measure failed.
—
City Attorney: Perhaps experience matters – or at least experience that gets you a good ballot title does. Heather Ferbert, a chief deputy city attorney, sailed past Assemblymember Brian Maienschein in the San Diego City Attorney race. Ferbert led Maienschein by around 12 points early Wednesday morning. Though the race divided councilmembers, Maienschein had the support of most labor unions, the mayor, and the county’s Democratic party.
—
Some Cities Convinced Voters to Pay More Taxes Several cities appear to have passed tax increases, but San Diego’s sales tax increase, Measure E, remains too close to call. As of 1 a.m., the county had “yes” at 49 percent of the vote – just more than 7,900 votes back out of more than 346,000 counted so far. With each count update, the yes side gained ground. All of San Diego’s City Councilmembers supported the proposed tax increase. So far, San Diegans are rejecting a countywide measure to raise the sales tax by half a cent to pay for transportation projects. But as of 1 a.m., the vote was too close to call with 52 percent of voters casting ballots against Measure G, and 48 percent in favor – a difference of 37,388 out of nearly 900,000 votes counted.
—
Please watch for our next bulletin back in this space on Thursday, December 5th. We wish you all a joyful holiday.
|