Spoiler: It’s Kamala Harris + Gov. Newsom’s tech headaches + Lawsuit challenges ban on soda taxes
Good morning! Newsy day yesterday, huh? Might as well talk about Tuesday’s big announcement!
KAMALA GETS THE SPOTLIGHT
Well the cat is out of the bag: Sen. Kamala Harris will be former Vice President Joe Biden’s running mate in the 2020 November general election.
Her selection assures a Wednesday night speaking slot at the 2020 Democratic National Convention, which starts next Monday. She originally was set to speak on Thursday, but that obviously changed when the junior senator from California was added to the Democratic presidential ticket. The question is, who gets her speaking slot? Perhaps one-time rumored veep pick Rep. Karen Bass, D-Los Angeles?
Speaking of speaking slots, a pair of high-profile Californians are also on the bill next week.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, is set to speak on Wednesday, while on Thursday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom has a slot.
Newsom has put in a lot or practice speaking to Californians with his regular press conferences this year, but will he meet the moment when the stage gets a whole lot bigger?
An even bigger question for Newsom is: Who does he choose to replace Harris as senator if she and Biden win the election?
The Cap Bureau’s own Sophia Bollag and Hannah Wiley run down some of the likely choices.
Newsom through his spokesman insists he isn’t thinking about that decision.
“It’s the furthest thing from the governor’s mind, and he won’t even entertain the question until after the November election,” said Nathan Click, communications director for Newsom. “The governor is squarely focused on leading the state’s response to COVID-19 and helping Californians during this global pandemic.”
Wondering how other California officials responded to Biden’s choice? Here’s a roundup of some high-profile Californians’ reactions from the right and the left.
KEEP THE NEWS COMING: The Sacramento Bee political team is working to bring you full coverage of Harris and her nomination as Joe Biden’s VP at sacbee.com. Value this reporting? Support the fact checks and investigations — and the journalists — with a subscription to The Bee: https://bit.ly/3aiTQVG.
TECH FRUSTRATION AT THE STATE
Via Sophia Bollag and Michael Wilner ...
Before he became California governor last year, Gavin Newsom built his reputation as a tech-savvy Bay Area politician, who wrote a book arguing government should follow Silicon Valley’s lead and embrace new technology.
But five months into the biggest crisis of his governorship, technology problems have become major stumbling blocks to his coronavirus strategy.
The state’s unemployment system has been mired in delays, leaving thousands of people desperate for aid checks in limbo.
California’s health insurance program for low-income residents has dropped coverage for thousands of people due to computer errors.
And last week state officials announced they had vastly undercounted coronavirus case data due to a series of human mistakes and IT glitches.
None of the problems have easy fixes.
“The magnitude of challenges with IT here in the state require a stubborn, long-term effort,” Newsom said at a press conference this week. “It took us decades to get into this place, but we’re now accountable.”
The technology breakdowns Newsom faces in the midst of a global public health crisis follow California’s well-documented history of disappointing results from its tech investments. Those include a $1 billion accounting program that took 16 years to implement and a $90 million payroll upgrade the state abandoned as unworkable.
Newsom called attention to the state’s tech record soon after his inauguration, when he lamented at a press conference that the Department of Motor Vehicles in 2019 didn’t accept credit card payments at its field offices.
“In the private sector, you’re used to having these upgrades to the latest and greatest, and that’s just not the case in government,” said Elizabeth Ashford, who served as an adviser to former governors Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jerry Brown.
Newsom has long capitalized on his connections to California’s technology industry and promoted initiatives to modernize government. In 2019, he created a new Office of Digital Innovation.
When COVID-19 struck, he promised data would drive his decisions and eventually made the state’s data publicly available on coding website GitHub.
But the recent COVID-19 setbacks show the state’s IT problems are deeply entrenched.
LAWSUIT CHALLENGES PREEMPTION LAW
A California law prohibiting local governments from taxing sugary beverages until 2031 is getting challenged in Sacramento Superior Court court.
The plaintiffs include the group Cultiva La Salud, an organization dedicated to creating health equity in the San Joaquin Valley, and Martine Watkins, a Santa Cruz City Council member. They are represented by the firm Jarvis, Fay and Gibson, with backing from the group Changelab Solutions and the American Heart Association.
“It is imperative that local governments have decision-making power and all tools at their disposal to protect the health and safety of their residents, especially during this time of COVID-19. Abusive laws like this one harm families and communities, and they should have no place in California or anywhere else,” Sarah de Guia, chief executive officer of ChangeLab Solutions, said in a statement. “Two years ago, the beverage industry strong-armed the legislature to push through a measure that protects their profits but hurts public health. The court should strike down this blatantly illegal law.”
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Let’s just say it all right now (Rep. Karen Bass) can be Mayor of LA, Speaker of the House or our next CA US Senator. Whatever she picks we will move the earth for her here in Los Angeles. She’s the best!”
- Democratic strategist Michael Trujillo, via Twitter.
Best of the Bee:
Joe Biden’s choice of Sen. Kamala Harris brings to the Democratic ticket a woman who has won three times statewide in California — but has also been a polarizing figure, via David Lightman.
“Outside ain’t cutting it,” Andrew Jacobson’s sign read. Jacobson and about 250 others were gathered on the south side of the state Capitol in Sacramento on Tuesday to protest the closure of hair salons, barbershops and nail salons. Another sign read, “If masks work, why can’t I?” via Molly Burke.
Personal relationships influenced high-level hiring decisions at the state agency that regulates PG&E and other utilities when its executive director appeared to her favor former colleagues over other qualified candidates, according to a report conducted by the State Personnel Board, via Andrew Sheeler.