Happy Monday! Hopefully you had a chance to rest and recover from last week. California election results are still coming in. Let’s get to the news.
WHAT WE KNOW
Proposition 18 has failed, the Associated Press says. The ballot measure to allow 17-year-olds to vote in primary and special elections has 55.5% voting no, and 44.5% voting yes in the latest count.
WHAT WE DON’T KNOW
The following ballot measures have not been called:
- Proposition 14, the measure to to issue $5.5 billion in bonds for stem cell research. The measure is leading slightly, 51% to 49%.
- Proposition 15, the split roll property tax measure that would require commercial property worth more than $3 million to be assessed at market value. The measure is leading 51.9% to 48.1%.
- Proposition 19, the proposal to give Californians over age 55 a property tax break if they buy a new home. The measure is also leading, 51.2% to 48.8%.
As of Sunday evening, the Associated Press had yet to call the following legislative races:
- In Assembly District 36, incumbent Assemblyman Tom Lackey, R-Palmdale, has 55.1% of the vote, while Democrat Steve Fox has 44.9%.
- In Assembly District 42, incumbent independent Chad Mayes of Yucca Valley has 57.4% of the vote, while Republican Andrew Kotyuk has 42.6%.
- In Assembly District 55, incumbent Republican Phillip Chen holds 55% of the vote, while Democrat Andrew E. Rodriguez has 45%.
- In Assembly District 59, incumbent Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer, D-Los Angeles, has 58.7% of the vote, while fellow Democrat Efren Martinez has 41.3%.
- In Assembly District 68, incumbent Assemblyman Steven Choi, R-Irvine, has 53% of the vote, while Democrat Melissa Fox has 47%.
- In Senate District 21, incumbent Sen. Scott Wilk, R-Santa Clarita, is up with 50.5%, while Democratic challenger Kipp Mueller has 49.5% of the vote so far.
- In Senate District 23 in San Bernardino County, Republican Rosilicie Ochoa-Bogh has 50.8%, while Democrat Abigail Medina has 49.2% of the vote. They’re competing for an open seat held by Sen. Mike Morrell, R-Rancho Cucamonga.
- In Senate District 29, Democratic challenger Josh Newman has 51.5% of the vote, while incumbent Sen. Ling Ling Chang, R-Diamond Bar, has 48.5%.
- In Senate District 37, Democratic challenger Dave Min has 51.2% of the vote, while incumbent Sen. John Moorlach, R-Costa Mesa, has 48.8%.
CAMPAIGN FORMS TO FIGHT HOMELESSNESS
The next legislative session doesn’t begin until January, but a coalition has already formed to advocate for new funding to fight homelessness across the state.
The campaign, called Bring California Home, seeks $2.4 billion in annual state funding for homelessness solutions. The campaign says the funding could come, at least in part, from closing tax loopholes for California’s largest corporations.
The campaign has the support of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, as well as Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, along with several groups, including the Corporation for Supportive Housing, Housing California and the California Coalition for Rural Housing.
“From the start of the COVID-19 crisis, with Project Roomkey, Homekey, and other bold actions, California has shown what can happen when we treat homelessness as it is — an urgent humanitarian crisis demanding a comprehensive solution,” Garcetti said in a statement. “Bring California Home is a diverse coalition with a critical mission: replacing a patchwork system and uncertain funding with a clear strategy and a long-term investment in housing, health care, services, and steps to prevent and help end homelessness in our state.”
AMERICA’S ‘GREAT MIRACLE’ MAY CHANGE
Via Lara Korte…
The ever-quotable California political consultant, Steve Schmidt, didn’t pull any punches in an appearance at a Sacramento Press Club event on Friday as he assessed how the president would react to losing the election.
“The great miracle of America is the peaceful transition of power that has been uninterrupted in this country since 1797,” said Schmidt, who ran the late Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign. “Donald Trump will leave the White House, but what we’re seeing right now is the fomenting of insanity that will leave a residue for a really long time, because a majority of one of the two parties in the country is going to believe this is not a legitimate result.”
Schmidt, one of the founders of The Lincoln Project, had a dim view of just what the transfer of power might look like in the coming months.
“Trump’s not going to invite Biden to the White House,” he said. “Biden is not going to stop by the White House for coffee en route to the inauguration. Trump will not be at the inauguration. Trump will not leave a note in the drawer at the White House.”
“He’s desecrated the office. He has no dignity.”
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Should mail-in ballots be used in all CA elections? It’s safe & increases voter participation. From a budget perspective, it could save money because fewer in-person polling locations & workers would be needed.”
– Assemblyman Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, via Twitter.
Best of the Bee:
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Now that California Sen. Kamala Harris is set to become the next vice president, Gov. Gavin Newsom has a big decision to make, via Sophia Bollag, Hannah Wiley, Kate Irby and Kim Bojórquez.
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No landslide for Biden? California Democrats dismayed by the power of Trump love, via Lara Korte.
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California’s relationship with the federal government is poised to shift dramatically, a change that could mean more federal money for coronavirus response and unemployment backlogs as well as legal victories on greenhouse gas emissions, via David Lightman and Sophia Bollag.
Andrew Sheeler covers California’s unique political climate for the Sacramento Bee. He has covered crime and politics from Interior Alaska to North Dakota’s oil patch to the rugged coast of southern Oregon. He attended the University of Alaska Fairbanks.