Phil Serna, many others pile on Scott Jones over Trump

Good morning. On behalf of The Sacramento Bee’s editorial board, welcome to The Take, your opinion-politics newsletter.

We begin with Phil Serna opening up on Scott Jones over Donald Trump, shift to a Bernie Sanders money issue, spin through the world of opinion journalism in California and beyond, and end with outside spending for and against Darrell Steinberg and Angelique Ashby.

They can’t take it

Add Sacramento County Supervisor Phil Serna to the list of people who can’t take that Republican congressional candidate Scott Jones has vowed to back presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump.

In a letter circulated by Serna and signed by a bunch of Democrats, including Assemblyman Kevin McCarty, Sen. Richard Pan and Sacramento mayoral candidate Darrell Steinberg, they insist Jones’ “decision to support someone as stridently bigoted as Donald Trump is inexcusable.”

Sheriff Jones got a similar message last week from the Teamsters Joint Council 7. The union withdrew its endorsement in the race against Democratic Rep. Ami Bera for Sacramento County’s 7th Congressional District. Given Trump’s racist, sexist and plain-old divisive remarks, it’s tough to imagine he’s worth the trouble. – Erika D. Smith @Erika_D_Smith

Take a number: 639

Sen. Bernie Sanders makes much of the average size of his donations, $27, and the 2.4 million people who have contributed to his presidential campaign. But $27 here and $27 there, and pretty soon individuals on automatic payment plans exceed the $2,700 cap on donations for a single election. The Federal Election Commission sent a letter to the Sanders campaign citing instances in which donors have exceeded the cap, and included a 639-page attachment of “Excessive, Prohibited and Impermissible Contributions.” Actor Mark Ruffalo, for example, is on the list, having given $4,075 in increments between $50 and $250.

Our take

Editorial: Bernie Sanders can’t afford to stay silent any longer.

Editorial: Assemblyman Adrin Nazarian embarks on an elusive search for a little simplicity in taxes.

Marcos Breton: Ricardo Lemus will give the commencement address to fellow graduates at Sacramento City College. He has quite a story to tell.

Dan Walters: California’s glut of cap-and-trade allowances may cut revenue.

Endorsements: The Sacramento Bee editorial board’s primary endorsements so far. More to come.

Gwen Moore: Universal Service must include Internet service to benefit all Californians.

Shalini Shah: Pain specialists are on the front lines in the war on opioid abuse.

Their take

The Orange County Register’s take on Kevin de León’s decision to lift the fundraising blackout.

The Modesto Bee’s take on Kevin de León’s decision to lift the fundraising blackout.

The Mercury News writes that Tesla’s betrayal of workers is especially disappointing. Tesla issued a statement saying “mistakes were made.”

The L.A. Times says Mark Ridley-Thomas should get another four years as county supervisor. Not that there is an alternative.

The News & Observer of Raleigh, N.C., wonders whether the man who declares himself “very, very rich,” actually is not so rich. Looking at you, Donald Trump.

The Kansas City Star writes about Missouri’s incredibly productive Legislature. Yeah, they’re kidding.

Take back

We mistakenly identified Assembly candidates Virginia Madueño and Cindy Marks, running to replace Assemblywoman Kristin Olsen. Madueño is a Democrat and Marks is a Republican.

Syndicates’ take

Dana Milbank: A novel idea: Lawmakers actually making laws.

Leonard Pitts: George Zimmerman takes a victory lap on a dead boy’s grave.

David Brooks: Lost Hills is seeing the rise of intentional community instigators.

Kathleen Parker: Hillary Clinton’s viral nightmare.

Ruben Navarrette: Barack Obama’s anti-immigration legacy grows into a hall of shame.

And finally,

Coming to a mailbox near you. Not surprisingly, an independent expenditure PAC set up by the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California has spent $112,000 to elect Darrell Steinberg as Sacramento mayor. Protecting Sacramento, an IE committee sponsored by the city firefighters and police unions, has spent $105,200 for Councilwoman Angelique Ashby. – Foon Rhee @foonrhee

This story was originally published May 18, 2016 at 5:31 AM with the headline "Phil Serna, many others pile on Scott Jones over Trump."