Latino voters and the recall + Cal/OSHA chief to join Biden + Protecting Native students’ rights
Good morning and happy Monday! Here’s hoping you are refreshed from your weekend and ready for another week of Capitol politics.
Programming note: We’re still offering a one-month free subscription to our Recall Watch texts! You’ll get daily updates on the recall and will be the first to hear about our coverage. Plus, you can ask questions and get real responses from reporter Lara Korte. Normally subscriptions are $4/mo, but you can get the first month free by signing up with this link.
LATINO VOTERS AND THE RECALL
Via Lara Korte...
Latino leaders are the latest cohort to denounce the effort to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom.
As The Bee’s Kim Bojórquez reported last week, members of the California Latino Legislative Caucus gathered virtually to decry the “partisan power grab” and voice their support and appreciation for the governor, who they say has worked hand-in-hand with them throughout the pandemic.
Sen. Maria Elena Durazo, D-Los Angeles, who chairs the 32-member caucus, said Newsom has looked out for the interests of all Californians, including Latino communities, throughout the COVID-19 pandemic by approving rent relief and paid sick-leave protections, as well as providing one-time state stimulus payments and disaster relief for undocumented Californians.
A Probolsky Research poll released last month, showed there could be some slippage for Newsom among Latino voters. According to the poll, 44.5% of Latino voters said they would vote to recall the governor, compared to the 41% of voters who said they vote no on the recall.
During a panel with the Sacramento Press Club on Wednesday, Rescue California’s Anne Dunsmore chided Democrats for losing demographics that “ should be in your back pocket.”
“Look, we’re not going to win the Hispanic vote, but we’re going to get an uncomfortably large margin that you need to keep,” she said.
A more recent survey, however, by the Public Policy Institute of California found that 58% of likely Latino voters would vote to keep Newsom in office, while — 38% — said they would vote to recall him.
For now, top Latino Democrats don’t seem to be worried.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that very few Latinos will support the recall,” Durazo said Thursday.
ANOTHER CALIFORNIAN TO BIDEN’S TEAM
via Jeong Park ...
The Biden administration is tapping another California official to join its team.
The White House said in a press release that it is nominating Doug Parker to head the federal OSHA, which regulates workplace safety. Parker has led California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health, or Cal/OSHA, since 2019.
Before leading Cal/OSHA, Parker worked as executive director of Worksafe, an employee-rights advocacy group. He also worked in the Obama administration as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy in the Department of Labor and was in Biden’s transition team.
If appointed, Parker could help draft and implement federal workplace rules to protect employees from COVID-19 exposure, which President Joe Biden has asked OSHA to do so. Under Parker, Cal/OSHA was one of the first states in the country to pass such rules to protect employees from COVID-19 exposure.
Worker advocates have praised Parker and Cal/OSHA for its workplace safety rules, although they have also criticized his agency for significantly undercounting the number of workers who have fallen ill or died from the coronavirus. The agency has also been criticized for inspecting few workplaces for COVID safety violations.
Parker follows California Labor Secretary Julie Su, who has been tapped by the Biden administration to be his deputy labor secretary. Su has yet to be confirmed by the Senate.
PROTECTING NATIVE STUDENTS’ RIGHTS
The Assembly Education Committee last week unanimously approved a bill aimed at protecting the right of Native American students to wear items of spiritual or cultural significance, such as eagle feathers or beaded medallions, at their graduations.
AB 945, authored by Assemblyman James Ramos, D-Highland, “is aimed at making sure students are not prevented from exercising this right guaranteed by the U.S. and California constitutions and state law to wear cultural and religious items at their graduation ceremonies,” according to Ramos’ office.
“Despite existing protections, local school officials have raised objections to students wearing eagle feathers, sashes with basket designs, basket caps and beaded medallions during graduation ceremonies,” Ramos said in a statement.
The bill would create a 10-member task force, including tribal representatives from across the state and one member selected by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, and would collect comments and input from students affected by noncompliance with existing law and submitting a report to the Legislature by April 2023.
“High school graduations are times of great celebration, especially in tribal communities because tribal kids have the lowest graduation rates of all ethnic groups,” Ramos said. “Our students have a 75.8 percent graduation rate compared to the 84.3 percent statewide rate. Eagle feathers and other symbols of Native American significance underscore not only the personal achievement but also the honor bestowed by the tribal community and the pride the community shares in the graduates’ achievement.”
AB 945 is sponsored by the ACLU of California, the Yurok Tribe and the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band. The bill goes next to the Assembly Judiciary Committee.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Infrastructure is roads and bridges, yes. But it’s also ensuring that those roads connect our families and communities: Safe, affordable homes. Expanded broadband. Clean drinking water. Green energy. Infrastructure is about building a modern economy that lifts everyone up.”
- Rep. Adam Schiff, via Twitter.
Best of the Bee:
California’s embattled high-speed rail could get a lift from Biden plan, Buttigieg says, via Tim Sheehan
Rich Californians have most to gain if Congress lifts cap on local tax deductions, report says, via David Lightman
Will Californians need a vaccine passport this summer? It depends on where you want to go, via Andrew Sheeler.
Is California ready to open health care to undocumented adults? Latino leaders say yes, via Kim Bojórquez.