More Democrats rally for Newsom + Sealing criminal records + What’s next for Kamlager’s seat
Good morning, and welcome to the A.M. Alert!
RECALL WATCH
Via Lara Korte...
California Democrats are rallying around Gov. Gavin Newsom as the recall attempt reaches a critical deadline.
Joining the supportive voices on Wednesday was California Rep. Karen Bass. Speaking to reporters in Washington D.C., Bass said the recall attempt is unnecessary, just like the recall of Democratic Gov. Gray Davis. You might remember that Bass was elected to the state Assembly in 2004, shortly after Davis was voted out.
“I do think that Gov. Newsom will be able to defeat the recall. And the reason I say that is because there is no reason for this recall to happen. And many of us plan to do everything we can, so that it doesn’t happen,” Bass said. “California has been through this before. I remember it very well. It was unnecessary then. And it’s unnecessary now.”
On Sunday, recall leaders will be in Sacramento to give an update on the campaign and then head to a rally on the steps of the state capitol in the afternoon.
Recall proponents say they’ve collected more than 1.8 million signatures, but they need 1.5 million to be valid in order to trigger a recall. Even though the deadline for signature collection is March 17, it could be weeks until we know the results. State law dictates that counties have until April 29 to certify the signatures.
Do you have a tip about the recall? A story idea? Or maybe just a question we’re not answering? Drop us a line at tips@sacbee.com, or check out our tips page for more info on how to securely send us information.
DURAZO INTRODUCES BILL TO SEAL CRIMINAL RECORDS
Stay out of trouble for two years after finishing your sentence, and your criminal record will be automatically sealed under a bill introduced by Sen. María Elena Durazo, D-Los Angeles.
SB 731 also would automatically seal records of arrests that do not result in conviction.
“Our conviction & arrest records system forces the people who go through it - our mothers and fathers, our brothers and sisters - to face obstacles for the rest of their lives, in every aspect of their lives,” Durazo said in a statement. “The completion of a prison sentence should pave the way for a complete return to participate fully in society. But for millions of Californians, their conviction history turns into a lifelong sentence of limited access to employment, housing, education, and the ability to live a full, normal life and provide for their families.”
The bill would tear down barriers to employment for millions of Californians, especially people of color, which costs the state $20 billlion a year in lost economic activity, according to Californians for Safety and Justice, a sponsor of the bill.
“Sealing or ‘sunsetting’ old conviction records aligns with California voters’ repeated decisions to abandon failed criminal justice system policies that are responsible for the expansion of these old legal records, keeping the state on a path toward achieving real safety,” Californians for Safety and Justice executive director Tinisch Hollins said in a statement.
WHAT HAPPENS WITH KAMLAGER’S SEAT?
It appears that Assemblywoman Sydney Kamlager soon will be called Sen. Sydney Kamlager. Assuming her win in a special election this week is certified, what happens to the Los Angeles Democrat’s Assembly seat?
Kamlager is the apparent winner of the special election to fill the Senate seat vacated by Holly Mitchell, but the Secretary of State’s Office has until March 11 to certify the election results.
Once that happens, and Kamlager is sworn in as senator, her Assembly seat will be vacated. At that point, Gov. Newsom will have 14 days to issue a proclamation declaring a special election for the seat.
Here’s where it gets a little bit tricky.
That special election must be no less than 126 days, and no more than 140 days, after the proclamation, according to the Secretary of State’s Office. However, the election can be up to 200 days after the proclamation, if there is another election taking place in all or part of that Assembly seat district. Either way, that lines up for sometime late this year.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“A historically racist institution that has allowed cultural appropriation and sex abuse claims to fly under the radar then decides to bully their first Black princess? Not today Queen.
She’s now our California princess and I’m on her team - #TeamMeghan”
- Sen. Lena Gonzalez, D-Long Beach, via Twitter.
Best of the Bee:
An African American woman employed by the California Republican Party filed a lawsuit this week against the organization saying she encountered an “unending cycle of racially charged” harassment, discrimination and retaliation in 2019 by her supervisors, via Kim Bojórquez.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra barely cleared his first major hurdle to becoming the Health and Human Services Secretary on Wednesday, but not without a hitch, via Kate Irby.
Officials have boosted security at the U.S. Capitol on and around March 4 — the day some QAnon followers falsely believe former President Donald Trump will resume power — amid concerns about demonstrations, via Bailey Aldridge.