Sacramento DA to challenge AG Rob Bonta + Bakersfield on fracking + Jenner’s in
Good morning and happy Monday! Welcome to the A.M. Alert!
SACRAMENTO DA TO MAKE AN ANNOUNCEMENT
Via Lara Korte...
Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert plans to announce today at 11 a.m. that she intends to run for attorney general in 2022 against newly minted incumbent Rob Bonta.
Schubert is known for her work bringing the Golden State Killer to justice in 2018. She also led the charge in the recent effort to unveil perpetrators behind a massive EDD fraud scheme.
“I’ve done nothing else in my life other than being a public safety advocate,” Schubert said in an exclusive interview with Sacramento Bee columnist Marcos Breton. “I’m running because I believe the system deserves balance. I believe that the attorney general job should not be political. I’ve learned over the last 30 years that no matter what your walk of life is, everyone wants the same thing: They want their community to be safe.”
Schubert, a longtime Republican, changed her voter registration to no party preference in 2018. She follows former Republican Steve Poizner, who ran as a no party preference candidate for insurance commissioner in 2018, in testing whether a former member of the GOP can win statewide office in the heavily Democratic state. Poizner lost to Ricardo Lara.
Over the past decade, Schubert has challenged Democratic-backed ballot initiatives that lightened criminal sentences and made it easier to release inmates on parole. That record will make a strong contrast with Bonta, who has advocated criminal justice reforms including ending the money bail system.
Look for coverage on Schubert’s announcement at SacBee.com later today.
FRACK REAX
California Gov. Gavin Newsom made big waves on Friday when he announced plans for the state to phase out fracking by 2024, and oil drilling by 2045.
Be sure to check out Sophia Bollag and Hannah Wiley’s reporting on the announcement.
The move earned Newsom qualified plaudits from some groups, including the Center for Biological Diversity and Consumer Watchdog.
“It’s historic and globally significant that Gov. Newsom has committed California to phase out fossil fuel production and ban fracking, but we don’t have time for studies and delays. Californians living next to these dirty and dangerous drilling operations need protection from oil industry pollution today,” said Kassie Siegel, director of the Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law Institute, in a statement.
“We applaud Newsom’s executive action to ban fracking, but he shouldn’t kick the can down the road another three years. The ban should be immediate,” said Consumer Watchdog’s Liza Tucker in a statement.
Others were less impressed by the Friday decision.
The California Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Allan Zaremberg said in a statement that fossil fuels will continue to play a crucial role in our economy for the foreseeable future.”
“Oil production in California reduces our reliance on foreign fuel imports and provides good paying middle-class jobs in the Central Valley. Oil production in California is highly regulated and more environmentally friendly than having to import the energy that will be required if we do away with in-state production. Thus, the Central Valley will unnecessarily suffer a loss of good paying middle-class jobs for no additional environmental benefit,” Zaremberg said.
Bakersfield’s political delegation was particularly incensed by the decision.
Assemblyman Rudy Salas, a Democrat, called Newsom’s decision “an abuse of power.”
“While I share the vision for a cleaner future, the governor’s actions today have put the lives, economy and well-being of thousands of California families in jeopardy,” Salas said in a statement.
Sen. Shannon Grove, a Republican, said in a statement that the decision “will have a devastating effect on the state’s economy and jobs, and our energy independence.”
“California’s oil and gas consumption has only been reduced by a miniscule amount in over 30 years. For the governor to destroy these good paying jobs and import oil from countries with abysmal human rights and environmental records is completely irresponsible,” Grove said.
JENNER SAYS ‘I’M IN!’
In case you live under a rock, Caitlyn Jenner officially launched her campaign for California governor on Friday.
It was already rumored that Jenner, 71, was considering a run, but she pulled the trigger on Friday, launching her website, donation portal, and of course, plenty of merch.
Jenner didn’t go into much detail about policy positions, but knocked Gavin Newsom for the current state of business, schools, and taxes in California.
“For the past decade, we have seen the glimmer of the Golden State reduced by one-party rule that places politics over progress and special interests over people. Sacramento needs an honest leader with a clear vision,” she said in a statement.
Jenner — an Olympic hero, reality TV personality and longtime Republican — joins a growing roster of candidates looking to replace Newsom. But can she deliver the same kind of celebrity energy seen in Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 2003 recall run? We’ll have to wait and see.
Read more about Jenner’s campaign and the reaction from Newsom.
MEANWHILE, still no word on the latest signature count from the Secretary of State’s office. The deadline for counties to submit updated verification totals was exactly a week ago, but the office hasn’t released the totals. It’s expected the next report will show that the recall has passed the signature threshold and qualify for the ballot.
When the report is published, we’ll let you know
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Can someone please explain to me, a non-reader of trashy tabloids, what exactly Caitlyn Jenner is famous for? She’s Zsa Zsa Gabor famous for being famous, not Arnold famous for being an A-list actor.”
- RL Miller, Democratic activist, via Twitter.
Best of the Bee:
Doris Matsui was born in an internment camp. At 76, here’s what she wants done about hate crimes, via David Lightman
California schools chief Tony Thurmond on Friday said he has reinstated a state education official linked to anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and claims that the 9/11 terrorist attack was an inside job, via Jason Pohl.
California should close 10 prisons as inmate population falls, advocacy group urges, via Andrew Sheeler.