Recall myths + Parent group to recruit candidates + A climate change appeal to Nancy Pelosi
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THE ‘BIG MYTHS’ ABOUT RECALLS
Via Lara Korte...
Recall elections are peculiar things
Of the 110 recall elections that Californians have voted on in the past 10 years, 78.5%, have resulted in removal. Those are good odds for those who want to see Gov. Gavin Newsom removed this year in his own recall challenge, but proponents may be leaning on some faulty assumptions about recalls, writes Joshua Spivak, a recall researcher and expert, in an op-ed for The Hill.
“The peculiarities of a recall election have given Republicans some hope that they can reboot Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 2003 victory and once again flip the narrative in the Golden State,” wrote Spivak, a Senior Fellow at the Hugh L. Carey Institute for Government Reform at Wagner College.
One wrongly-held assumption, Spivak said, is that voters won’t turn up for recall elections. But contrary to popular belief, voter turnout doesn’t fall during high-profile recall elections.
9.4 million people voted in the recall of Gray Davis in 2003, compared to the 7.7 million who voted in the 2002 gubernatorial election. Similar patterns have emerged in other high-profile recall races, including the 1983 recall election for then-San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein, Spivak says.
What does this mean for Newsom in the months ahead? Spivak says the governor needs to focus on rallying his own base, and assume there will be a decent showing among recall supporters.
“Getting people turned out, it’s critical to winning the election, especially when you have the numbers on your side,” Spivak told The Bee. “The pro-recall people, we can assume that they’re coming out. Now (Newsom) needs to go get his own voters out as well.”
PARENT GROUP TO FOCUS ON SCHOOL BOARD RECRUITMENT
Parent group Open Schools California announced this week that it is forming a nonprofit organization aimed at increasing political candidate recruitment and support in the aftermath of COVID-19 in California.
“It’s time for a new definition of education reform,” said West Contra Costa School Board member and OSC supporter Mister Phillips, in a statement. “This pandemic exposed what many students and parents already know: There is unequal access to high quality public education in California.”
The newly formed group will develop policy recommendations in collaboration with statewide advocacy groups “to ensure the interests of 6 million children in California’s public schools are prioritized,” according to a statement released by the group.
The group will also identify, recruit and support candidates to run for elected positions, such as school boards, according to the statement.
“As one of the tens of thousands of California moms who stepped back from the workforce to care for my school-age children, working moms must never be the default option for closed schools,” said Megan Bacigalupi, the founding parent and executive director of OSC. “Parent voices and student interests should never again be ignored or deprioritized as they have been during this year. Parents and kids must have a seat at the table.”
CA LAWMAKERS CALL FOR FEDERAL ACTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE
Fifteen Democratic California lawmakers have signed on to a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Zoe Lofgren, chair of the California Democratic Congressional Delegation, urging them to take action on several climate initiatives currently in Congress.
“We know based on experience with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, that investing in a clean energy economy is one of the most cost-effective, resilient job creation sectors economy wide. Not only that, but these investments in a clean energy economy will deliver on reducing climate-risk for communities in California that are at the forefront of climate-fueled disasters like wildfires, extreme heat, sea level rise, drought, and the public health impacts of poor air and water quality,” the letter reads in part.
Among the initiatives that California lawmakers would like to see their federal delegation pursue are investments in clean energy, investment in clean transportation and green jobs, and investments in equitable, thriving, climate-resilient communities, according to a statement released by the California League of Conservation Voters.
“There’s no time to waste with just nine years left to prevent the worst of the climate crisis,” said Mary Creasman, CEO of the California League of Conservation Voters, in a statement. “We need bold action by our leaders in Washington. We need significant investments in clean energy and transportation, and dedicated resources to the communities that are being hardest hit by climate change.”
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“It’s going to be a long day on the Assembly floor. We’ll need a lollipop. #mydayinsacramento”
- Assemblywoman Autumn Burke, D-Marina del Rey, via Twitter.
Best of the Bee:
Exclusive: Companies lobbying Gavin Newsom help fund his wife’s nonprofit — and her salary, via Sophia Bollag and Lance Williams
Top Democratic lawmakers announced Tuesday they want to rely on high tax revenue estimates to spend more on public health, undocumented immigrant health care, early learning and child care than Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed, via Sophia Bollag.
A California task force charged with studying the generational effects of slavery and historically racist policies convened for the first time on Tuesday, beginning a state-backed dialogue on reparations for Black Californians, via Hannah Wiley.