Stephen Frank, California Political News and Views, 2/26/21
BIG STORY
I always thought the goal of the Republican Party in California, especially its office holders was to increase the number of Republicans in the Legislature.
In 2020, State Senator Shannon Grove, then the Minority Leader, was responsible for electing Republicans to the State Senate. In SD 15, in the San Jose area, an incumbent was termed out. Her efforts were to get an NPP to run for the seat, not a Republican. At the end of the primary, it was two Democrats and NO Republican on the ballot.
Next Tuesday there is a special election in the 30SD—where the incumbent won a seat on the L.A. County Board of Supervisors. This is a 7% Republican District and 44% NPP. The LAGOP has endorsed a GOP candidate for the seat, along with the CRP, But Grove is helping the NPP candidate..
A few weeks ago I had a conversation with Renata Duncan, a registered Republican. She informed me that Senator Grove talked her out of running as a Republican, instead to run as an NPP. So, on the March 2 ballot her Party Preference is listed as NPP.
.How do we grow the Republican Party if our leaders tell folks NOT to run as Republican? Or our leaders give sanctuary to Mike Madrid and the Lincoln Project, never denouncing them for working to defeat President Trump and seven GOP U.S. Senators?
TALKING POINTS
- The people of California, in a Proposition passed years ago, demanded that no bill be given a hearing until it has been in print for 30 days. The purposes is to allow the public to organize, debate, discuss and tell their legislators their thoughts on a bill. Now the Democrats in the Senate, along with the Republican Minority Leader have ended this transparency, instead allowing a bill to be noticed on Friday and heard on a Monday—without any public involvement. The Democrats had ended schools and churches, along with free speech in this nation—now the Sacramento Democrats are limiting the public right to know about legislation and a Republican Leader supports this.
“The California Legislature appears to dislike transparency… as well as the public being able to lobby the body directly.
Senate Pro Tem President Toni Atkins and Senate leadership is preparing to suspend the Constitution (specifically Article IV, Section 8 (a)) to allow bills to be amended and heard in committee before the 30-day-in-print rule.
This means a bill introduced today can be heard in a committee as soon as it’s been print 72 hours.
They’ve already limited the public’s access to the legislative process because of the COVID lockdowns, and now they want to limit the public’s right to mobilize against legislation.
The Globe was informed that Senate Republican leader Scott Wilk has signed off on this as the email below confirms, but several members in the Republican Caucus are not happy.” (and he voted for it)
What do you think about this? Contact your member of the Assembly. Which GOP Senators voted NO on this? Grove, Melendez, Nielsen and Dahle.
2. Police data: Burglaries in S.F.’s Richmond District up 370% from 2020
San Francisco’s Richmond District has reported a 370% spike in burglaries this year compared to 2020, according to city data. The number of burglaries reported stood at 108 as of Feb. 7 according to a report from the San Francisco Police Department’s Richmond Station. That’s up from 23 reported at the same time last year. San Francisco police define burglaries as an unlawful entry into a home or business to commit a felony or a theft. The department defines “attempted forcible entry,” “forcible entry” and “unlawful entry,” where no force is used, as different types of crimes.
3. FYI—Faulconer agrees with Newsom on school openings, from Politico:
But, as POLITICO’s Mackenzie Mays reports, neither Republican had many concrete details on what they’d do differently — and indeed, Faulconer’s points broadly aligned with Newsom’s. As Mackenzie writes, that underscores “just how difficult the school reopening balance has been for Newsom to pull off in deep-blue California,” particularly as “unions in big districts have not backed down on their demands, with some superintendents warning in-person classes will not resume any time soon.”
4. “Something’s rotten in the state of California. Is it Democratic political corruption?” by the Sac Bee’s Editorial Board: “Recent stories revealing questionable monetary contributions and lucrative no-bid contracts suggest there’s truth to the adage that ‘absolute power corrupts absolutely.’”
LEADERS LEAD
(Periodically the California Political News and Views will publish tidbits of political news, to keep you in the loop of what the pooh bahs know. The phrase “tom/tom’s” comes from my mentor, Lorelei Kinder who never passed a rumor, just called to tell me what she heard on the “Tom/Tom’s”. This column is named in her honor.)
