Newsom takes some heat + Prison racial disparities persist + Rendon, Atkins join child care rally

Good morning, and welcome to the A.M. Alert!

FIRST UP: Forty-three signatures.

That’s how many of the 1.7 million Californians fell off the recall wagon over the last few weeks. Proponents of the effort to Recall Gov. Gavin Newsom had already turned in a sufficient number of verified recall signatures in April. However, in accordance with California election law, voters were given a 30-day period from April 26 to June 8 to request county officials remove their signatures from recall petitions.

You might recall that former State Sen. Don Perata launched an effort in April to remove a slew of signatures from the petition, warning voters who may have “mistakenly” signed the “phony recall” that they have a chance at removing their names before the final count.

But on Wednesday, Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber said the recall count still has enough signatures, and notified the Department of Finance to begin its 30-day budgetary review period, wherein the department will estimate costs related to holding a recall. Look for an election date soon.

RECALL CANDIDATES JUMP ON NEWSOM FOR MISLEADING FIRE STATS

Via Lara Korte...

California Republicans were abuzz on Wednesday after a CapRadio/NPR investigation found Gov. Gavin Newsom overstated some of the state’s wildfire prevention efforts.

Specifically, the investigation found Newsom “overstated, by an astounding 690%, the number of acres treated with fuel breaks and prescribed burns in the very forestry projects he said needed to be prioritized to protect the state’s most vulnerable communities.”

The findings added more fuel to the recall fire, with candidates piling on to ridicule the governor ahead of California’s wildfire season.

“Turns out the pretty boy governor has been playing politics instead of solving problems,” businessman John Cox said in a statement. “Newsom promised transformational attention to wildfire prevention; instead, the only thing transformed has been California’s landscape as a result of record fires.”

Former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer said it’s clear Newsom can’t keep up with California issues.

“Fire season is fast approaching, and Gavin Newsom has left us woefully unprepared for the dangers to come,” he said in a statement. “(Newsom) is in over his head and unable to lead California.”

Caitlyn Jenner, in a tweet, said “Surprise, surprise. Gavin Newsom is a liar and fraud who will say and do anything to deceive us.”

As for Newsom’s response to the findings, CapRadio reported that the governor’s office did not respond to multiple requests for comment over the course of two weeks, including a 500 word email that laid out the investigation’s findings.

NEW REPORT ID’S RACIAL DISPARITIES IN PRISONS

California’s prison population may be rapidly declining, but racial disparities in who’s behind bars remain, according to a new report from the California Budget & Policy Center.

The report found that Black women make up 26% of the state’s female prison population, while Black men make up 28% of the male prison population, compared to making up just 6% of the state’s population.

Native Americans make up just 0.4% of the state population, yet Native American men make up 1% of the male prison population and Native American women make up nearly 2% of the incarcerated female population.

The report also found disproportionate representation of Latino men — they comprise 45% of the male prison population but 36% of the state’s overall population.

“Policymakers must do more to address the racist policies and practices that have created and sustained racial disparities,” the report concludes. “...Advancing antiracist policies would help to improve the lives of Californians of color, including American Indian, Black, Latinx, and Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander communities, which have long faced discrimination and continue to be exposed to the damaging effects of racism inside and outside of the justice system.”

You can read the report for yourself by visiting here.

RENDON, ATKINS TO JOIN RALLY SUPPORTING CHILD CARE PROVIDERS

Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon and Senate President Pro Tempore Toni Atkins are set to take the proverbial stage Thursday morning as they join several union leaders at a Child Care Providers United rally calling on Gov. Gavin Newsom “to stop stalling contract negotiations and finally raise provider pay rates to the bare minimum living wages proposed by the providers’ union,” according to a statement put out by the union.

The legislative leaders join SEIU International President Mary Kay Henry, AFSCME International President Lee Saunders and an estimated 400 child care providers at the event demanding action from Gov. Newsom.

“Although the Newsom administration has expressed a commitment to historic new investments in child care, these investments are meaningless without immediate action to ensure a stable child care workforce,” according to a union statement.

There will be a march to the Capitol, beginning at 900 J Street at 9:15 a.m., followed by a press conference on the south Capitol steps at 9:45 a.m.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Having been a professor for >40 years, I know first-hand that education is the most powerful tool we have to counter prejudice, racism, and fear. I hope leaders across our nation recognize that our students are stronger when they learn our nation’s history in full.”

- Secretary of State Shirley Weber, via Twitter.

Best of the Bee:

• California’s new senator is ready to end the filibuster. Dianne Feinstein’s ‘thinking about it’, via David Lightman

• CalPERS appoints first chief equity officer. Why the pension fund sees value in diversity, via Kim Bojórquez

• California issued millions in COVID fines. Employers have paid almost none of them, via Jason Pohl and Dale Kasler