Sacramento
Governor Gavin Newsom has spent the past few days away from California doing something California governors rarely do.
On Wednesday, he was in Sarasota, Florida to meet students at Florida's new college . It has become a symbol of the nation's culture wars as Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis tries to take over progressive campuses with conservative administrators . .
"I can't believe what you're doing. This is an unbelievable attack," Newsom told the gathering of students and faculty, adding that DeSantis' view "is masquerading as a weakness as a strength."
It was the latest attack in the ongoing rivalry between Newsom and DeSantis , two governors who were easily elected last year after positioning their states as ideological opposites . DeSantis , who is expected to be the Republican nominee in next year's presidential election, has become Newsom's favorite foil. He mentions DeSantis every chance he gets — in media interviews, on the Bills and, of course, on Twitter. Newsom's visit to the Sunshine State took his tour a step further.
A few days ago, Newsom visited Central High School in Little Rock, Truck. It commemorates one of the most famous developments in the civil rights movement, the nine black students who broke up the school in 1957. Newsom attended a fundraiser for the Arkansas Democratic Party.
In Montgomery, Alabama, Newsom met and videotaped prominent civil rights attorney Brian Stevenson in front of his church. Pastor Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. spent time with Jackson Mississippi Newsom Mayor Chokwe Lumumba , a Democrat who has accused the state's Republican legislature of apartheid-like policies and "plant politics," and attended Sunday services at Palms Baptist Church.
Newsom's move with his wife and children is part of a new national campaign he announced last week to fight "authoritarian leaders" and promote progressive values. With $10 million left over from last year's re-election campaign, he formed a new political action committee called the Democracy Campaign, which plans to rally Democrats in red states and push the GOP agenda on abortion, guns, gay rights and more. Strengthening anti-immigration. .
(Side note: Because Newsom used campaign funds for the trip, not taxpayer money, California's 23-state ban on state-sponsored trips is not in effect, although lawmakers are considering legislation this year to lift the ban. Newsom aides and the state Senate Leader Tony Atkins (D-San Diego) (Both tell me it's a coincidence that Newsom announced going on the ban list in his red state the day before they announced legislation to lift the ban. )
Newsom's new campaign is expanding its strategy to take its message beyond California . These include Florida ads reminding Floridians "Come to California, we still believe in freedom." She told the women there that California "protects the right to make decisions about your own health."
So what are we to make of Newsom's latest foray into the Deep South?
Newsom has said he is not interested in running for president next year and supports President Biden's re-election. This year she said she wants to play a role in the statewide fight against the GOP, which was attacked by national Republicans during a failed recall campaign against her in 2021, and what she sees as their agenda to protect the rights of women and people of color. Rejection, and the LGBTQ community has suffered for decades.
The campaign is consistent with those two messages, and will help Newsom build his national profile as Democrats seek the presidential nomination while Biden is not running for re-election.
But the new campaign may say more about Newsom's prospects after 2026, when he leaves the governor's office due to term limits. This allowed him to build a national network of donors and activists and put him in a formative role for the Democratic Party. This year is good preparation if he decides to run for president — or any other political office — in 2028.
Newsom has been saying for years that he is a "future ex-governor." It's unclear what comes next, but Newsome seems to be doing everything he can to make sure his solo title doesn't slip away.
I'm Laurel Rosenhal, Sacramento bureau chief for The Times. Here's what else happened in California politics this week:
The boy hit the ballot
According to Times political reporter Seema Mehta, clicking on BoyMeetsCongress.com will take you to the campaign website of Ben Savage, the same 1990s network sitcom star who is now running to represent the Los Angeles County portion of Congress.
The baby-faced, 42-year-old Democrat is among a dozen candidates vying for the seat of Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank), hoping to replace the outgoing U.S. senator. Replaced Dianne Feinstein. Opponents include a member of the board of trustees of the nation's second-largest school district, a state legislator, a West Hollywood council member and a former Los Angeles city attorney — who won and are running for office.
But none of that got Savage any attention — a television interview on Good Morning America 3, articles in the New York Times, Washington Post and CNN — even though he finished seventh in his only previous run for public office. The candidacy of Savage, whose coming-of-age series Boy Meets World is particularly popular among millennials, is the latest test of the importance of celebrity in American politics.
In this fascinating article, Mehta meets Savage and describes the long history of celebrity running for office, particularly in California.
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Latin Caucus at 50
When Marta Escutia was elected to the convention this year in 1992, she was one of seven Latinos in California's 120 seats, part of a small but growing Latino bloc that has become a powerful force in the state capital.
"We used to tease each other about how [the Latino caucus] would fit in a phone booth," Escutia told Times reporter Vanessa Arredondo .
This year in 1996, California's Latino legislative caucus doubled to 14. Today it has 38 members.
Formed this year in 1973 as an all-Democratic group, the Latino Caucus has proposed policies that improve access to health care for immigrants, allow enrolled students to pay in-state tuition , and end ethnic studies requirements from high school through retirement. Other new policies in 50 years.
Now an established force in the Legislature, Arredondo reports that the caucus is under pressure to make its priorities appeal to a new generation of voters .
Follow political news from California
The once indomitable Harris embraced his multiracial identity in Africa.
Vice President Kamala Harris has always felt more comfortable talking about politics than identity. As a woman of many races in the United States, she refused to define herself by family traditions, making her choice a historical place. But in Africa — a continent known for its first black vice president, where 3 million Indians of Indian origin call home — he was open about his identity not just as a product of the African diaspora, but as a result of his ancestry. Native American ancestors who lived there.
Skelton: California's attack battery has a silver lining — hydroelectric power and clean groundwater
After three years of drought, we're getting an unexpected abundance of water this spring, writes Times columnist George Skelton . Now the government and public services should use this opportunity.
'Resign immediately': San Diego district attorney accused of sexual misconduct asks to resign
San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond is the first board member to call for Nathan Fletcher's immediate resignation, saying sexual misconduct allegations against the embattled supervisor are hurting vital county businesses. Fletcher announced last week that he would step down on May 15 .
The Taiwanese president's meeting with McCarthy caused a rift among local refugees
A highly anticipated meeting between President Tai Ying-wen and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Taiwan, a self-governing democracy, is a separatist territory effectively owned by Beijing.
This was Kevin McCarthy's Bakersfield response to Trump's allegations.
For Republicans here — many of whom have long supported House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) and believe the 15 elections he's had to endure for the presidency have strengthened him — the allegations, as Trump said last week, have pushed him out of office. Should be given as a politically motivated witch hunt.
Skelton: California's evolution into big oil – in the state capital and in my own family
Gov. Gavin Newsom's legislation to legalize Big Oil's greed marks a sea change in California politics. Listener George Skelton writes that his own family has seen dramatic changes in public policy and attitudes toward oil
Jerry Brown found a rare species of beetle named after him
Scientists are naming a rare species of insect after former California governor Jerry Brown found it on his farm. Bembidion brownorum was last seen in 1966, but was not named or described until it was collected near a creek on Brown's farm in Colusa County .
Commentary: Jerry Brown's Beatle legacy
At his insistence, nothing mentions the name of California's top governor. Until now. In Brown's honor , Bembidion brunorum is the beetle's correct name, writes Brown biographer Miriam Powell .
California lawmakers are introducing an "Ebony Alert" law to encourage reporting of missing black children and young women.
The senator spoke out, citing the overrepresentation and under-reporting of missing black children and young women in California. Steven Bradford has introduced legislation to introduce an "Ebony Alert" system that alerts people when they go missing – similar to the Amber Alert.
A new law offers hope to victims of violent crime in domestic violence cases
Rep. Legislation by Matt Haney (D-San Francisco) would allow victims of human trafficking or domestic violence to present evidence of their alleged abuse as an affirmative defense in criminal trials. The law allows survivors to use evidence of abuse to request that their cases be dismissed after they have been convicted of a violent crime.
'Heartbreaking day for Los Angeles': Community leaders speak out over Ridley-Thomas sentencing
The sentencing of Los Angeles City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas on federal bribery charges has sparked widespread backlash, with some calling the sentence unfair and others expressing disappointment at the outcome.
Column: Why Mark Ridley-Thomas' sentence doesn't seem like justice for black L.A
Times columnist Erica D. স্মিথ লিখেছেন, কালো অ্যাঞ্জেলেনোসকে তহবিল, প্রোগ্রাম এবং পরিকাঠামো প্রদানে সফল হয়েছে এমন কাউকে স্থায়ীভাবে বাদ দেওয়া গুরুতর অবিচারের দরজা খুলে দেয়।
ভাষ্য: মার্ক রিডলি-থমাসের দ্বারা ব্ল্যাক অ্যাঞ্জেলেনোস কেন পাগল হওয়া উচিত।
এটা দুর্ভাগ্যজনক যে রিডলি-থমাসকে ঘুষের জন্য দোষী সাব্যস্ত করা হয়েছিল বর্ণবাদের কারণে নয়, বরং তিনি একটি পছন্দ করেছিলেন বলে। তিনি তার ছেলের চাকরির নিরাপত্তা রক্ষা করতে এবং তার ছেলের অলাভজনক প্রতিষ্ঠানে $100,000 দান করার জন্য আমাদের পুরো সংস্থাকে ঝুঁকিতে ফেলেছেন। আমরা কম দামে বিক্রি করেছি। টাইমসের মতামত লেখক এরিন অব্রে কাপলান বলেছেন, এটি আমাদের ক্ষুব্ধ করে।
কলাম: রিচার্ড অ্যালারকন তার রাজনৈতিক উত্তরাধিকার নিয়ে ঠিক আছে – কিন্তু সর্বশেষ LA কেলেঙ্কারি তাকে ক্ষুব্ধ করেছে।
প্রাক্তন এলএ বৈদ্যুতিক ঠিকাদার চ্যাটসওয়ার্থের একটি অ্যাপার্টমেন্টে থাকেন এবং একজন রিয়েল এস্টেট এজেন্ট, পরামর্শদাতা এবং ভ্যান ড্রাইভার হিসাবে কাজ করেন, বাচ্চাদের ডাক্তারের অ্যাপয়েন্টমেন্টে নিয়ে যান। 1993 সালে লস এঞ্জেলেস সিটি কাউন্সিলে সান ফার্নান্দো উপত্যকার প্রতিনিধিত্বকারী প্রথম ল্যাটিনো হিসাবে একটি নতুন মেয়াদ শুরু করা থেকে দূরে, তিনি 1998 সালে এই অঞ্চলের প্রথম ল্যাটিনো রাজ্য সিনেটর হিসাবে দায়িত্ব পালন করেছিলেন ।
সম্পাদকীয়: নথিভুক্ত কর্মীদের ছাঁটাই করা হলে বেকারত্বের সুবিধা দাবি করতে সক্ষম হওয়া উচিত
টাইমস সম্পাদকীয় বোর্ড সিনেটরকে অনুমোদন করে। মারিয়া এলেনা ডুরাজোর বিলটি এমন একটি আইন যা নথিভুক্ত কর্মীদের বেকারত্বের সুবিধা প্রদানের জন্য একটি তহবিল তৈরি করবে যারা মার্কিন নাগরিক বা অন্যথায় দেশে কাজ করার জন্য অনুমোদিত শ্রমিকদের মতো একই মানদণ্ড পূরণ করে।