More pressure on Kamala replacement + Playgrounds reopen + Ma gets appointed to Pope-affiliated group
Good morning and happy Thursday! Let’s get right into the news.
LETTER CALLS FOR BLACK WOMAN TO REPLACE KAMALA HARRIS
A group of 78 Black female civic, business, community and political leaders are calling on Gov. Gavin Newsom to replace Vice President-elect Kamala Harris with a Black woman in the U.S. Senate.
Black women are the backbone of the Democratic Party and their voices should be heard, the women say in the letter.
“With Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris’ departure, there will be NO African American women in the entire U.S. Senate. This is unacceptable in general, but especially troubling now given the racially charged issues confronting our society and the need for more diverse representation,” the letter says.
The letter’s authors suggest Newsom pick Congresswomen Karen Bass or Barbara Lee for the position.
“Both congresswomen have years of community experience building diverse coalitions and have been incredibly successful as legislative leaders in Sacramento and congressional leaders on the national and international stage,” the letter says.
Among the signatories to the letter are Assemblywomen Shirley Weber, Autumn Burke and Sydney Kamlager-Dove, along with former state senator and current Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell.
LATINO CAUCUS BACKS PADILLA FOR U.S. SENATE
Via Kim Bojórquez ...
Meanwhile, Latino groups are urging Newsom to pick Secretary of State Alex Padilla to replace Harris.
The 34-member California Latino Legislative Caucus called on Newsom to make Padilla the state’s first Latino senator.
“We firmly believe that your appointment of Secretary Padilla will send a powerful message of inclusion, hope and opportunity to our residents and the nation,” the caucus said in a Tuesday letter. “Indeed, it will celebrate our state’s great diversity, further its commitment to break down social and political barriers for minorities and honor our state’s 15 million Latinos.”
The letter was signed by caucus chairwoman Sen. Maria Elena Durazo, D-Los Angeles, and caucus vice-chairman Asm. Robert Rivas, D-Hollister.
The letter praised Padilla’s experience as a Los Angeles city councilman, state senator and California’s top elections officer.
Other Latino groups that have supported Padilla for the job include BOLD PAC, the political arm of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus; the Latino Victory Fund, a progressive political action committee; and the United Farm Workers Foundation.
More Latinos live here than any other state, but California has never elected nor appointed a Hispanic person to serve on the U.S. Senate. Only nine Hispanic Americans have served in the Senate, most of them from Florida and New Mexico.
Padilla is a front-runner for the Senate spot following President-elect Joe Biden’s nomination of California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to his cabinet. Other Latinos believed to be on Newsom’s shortlist include Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis and Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia.
PLAYGROUNDS CAN REOPEN
Small children, and parents of small children, rejoice: Newsom has ordered that playgrounds may remain open during the latest stay-at-home order, which affects regions where intensive care unit capacity falls below 15%.
Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego, pushed earlier this month to keep public parks and playgrounds open.
“Every parent knows how important playgrounds are for our youngest Californians,” Gonzalez said in a statement. “A huge thank you to Governor Newsom for hearing our collective concern and rethinking how we can open play structures for our kids.”
MA NAMED TO COUNCIL GUIDED BY THE POPE
California State Treasurer Fiona Ma will join the Council for Inclusive Capitalism, described as “an historic collaboration of CEOs and global leaders working with the moral guidance of Pope Francis to harness the power of business to make economies more inclusive and sustainable with a movement of bold, business-led actions that span the economic ecosystem.”
“This is the decade when we must address the environmental and social challenges of the 21st century, stop climate change, and improve people’s lives. It’s an honor to do that with Pope Francis and other forward-thinking people beside me,” Ma said in a statement.
CSBA NAMES NEW PRESIDENT
The California School Boards Association has a new president, Pleasant Valley School District Board Member Suzanne Kitchens.
The CSBA represents more than 1,000 school districts and county offices of education, as well as more than 5,000 local educational area trustees.
“In this year of the pandemic, CSBA leaders have worked hard to help every board member and give them quality resources,” Kitchens said in a statement. “In 2021, we will continue to advocate for public education and to provide tools and services for board members at every level of continuous learning.”
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“ICU capacity should be looked at regionally because people do utilize different hospitals throughout the region, and healthcare facilities help each other if one hospital is getting at capacity. But any restrictions must reflect the true facts of the situation. But yesterday, CDPH publicly admitted that the decision to close outdoor dining wasn’t based on science or the transmission of COVID. This is an absolute slap in the face to restaurant owners and their employees who are struggling to pay the bills and feed their families. Yet another example of how this Governor’s inconsistency and hypocrisy have caused the public to completely lose trust in his dictatorship.”
- Assemblyman James Gallagher, R-Yuba City, via Twitter.
Best of the Bee:
Liane Randolph, a member of the Public Utilities Commission, was nominated by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday as the next chairwoman of the California Air Resources Board, via Dale Kasler.
California State Lottery employees are still traveling to liquor and convenience stores amid a COVID-19 surge, raising concerns among workers that they could contract and spread the virus on the job, via Wes Venteicher.
After nine months of pandemic pandemonium, warnings to stay home and limit gatherings increasingly are falling on deaf ears, via Lara Korte.