Recall candidates lock in + Longtime Rep. Jerry Lewis passes + June jobs report

Lara Korte here, welcome to another A.M. Alert! Andrew Sheeler is back this week, which means I have to relinquish control of the newsletter. Until next time!

FIRST UP: We now know everyone who is running in the recall against Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Kind of.

A total of 41 candidates appeared on a notice to candidates released Saturday night by the Secretary of State’s Office, including 21 Republicans, eight Democrats, nine NPPs, two Green and one Libertarian candidate.

Notably absent from the list was conservative talk radio host Larry Elder. In a statement, Elder’s campaign said they filed all the required documents by the Friday deadline and expect to be on the final ballot. The secretary of state didn’t respond to a question late Sunday night about why Elder was omitted. But as the Associated Press’ Kathleen Ronayne reports, it seems to be a question of incomplete tax information.

Also missing from the list: Any big name Democrats. Newsom succeeded in keeping any party rivals from running, allowing him to continue to paint as his adversaries as Republican opportunists.

Far more people ran for the big on California’s last gubernatorial recall ballot, when 135 candidates filed in the 2003 recall of Gov. Gray Davis. Davis had opponents from every direction, with Democratic Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante and a roundup of Republicans that included Arnold Schwrarzenegger and now Rep. Tom McClintock.

On Sunday, the secretary of state also released hundreds of pages of the candidates’ tax returns. Later today, we’ll find out the official order the candidates will appear in on the ballot, after the secretary of state conducts a randomized name drawing at 11 a.m.

In other recall news, Jenner seems to have ditched the Golden State to go compete on a reality show in Australia, and Aussies aren’t happy about it. The Daily Mail reports that Jenner’s arrival has “resulted in anger from locals who are currently prohibited from leaving the country, many of whom have been separated from loved ones who are overseas since the start of the pandemic.”

Jenner’s campaign denied rumors that she had halter her campaign all together, saying in a statement that she will soon launch “a multi-week bus tour.... that will take her all across California.”

With all the talk of candidates, it’s important to remember that none of them stand a chance unless Newsom loses on question one. Although polling has shown the majority of likely voters would keep the governor, it’s widely understood that recall supporters are more enthusiastic than Newsom’s Democratic base.

And with the state’s COVID cases slowly climbing, some counties slipping back into mask wearing, and backlash over back-to-school guidelines, the governor could have a challenging campaign ahead of him.

JERRY LEWIS REMEMBERED FOR PUBLIC SERVICE

Longtime Republican Rep. Jerry Lewis died on Thursday, drawing condolences from Californians across the country who praised his decades-long service to the Inland Empire and High Desert communities.

“He lived a life of purpose and service, and left our community, our state, and our country a better place for his many contributions,” U.S. Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Corona, said in a statement.

Prior to his 33 years in Congress (1979 to 2013) Lewis served in the California Assembly and the San Bernardino school board. As a lawmaker, he stewarded through Congress one of the largest flood control measures in the country to protect the communities he represented.

While serving in the Assembly, he authored legislation creating the South Coast Air Quality Management District, recognized today for greatly improving air quality and public health throughout the Southland.

In Congress, Lewis rose to chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. The result of that work and service – in breakthrough medical technology, in education, and in local infrastructure – is felt and seen throughout San Bernardino and Inyo Counties today and will be for generations to come, Calvert said in a statement.

“Jerry was most of all a down-to-earth public servant. When someone addressed him as ‘Congressman Lewis,’ his familiar response – always with his trademark smile – was, ‘My friends call me Jerry. You’re my friend, so please call me Jerry,’” Calvert said.

CALIFORNIA ADDS 73,500 JOBS IN JUNE

The Golden State’s fast-moving job growth slowed a bit last month, adding only 73,500 jobs, compared to 94,700 in May; 102,000 in April; 132,400 in March; and 156,100 in February.

Newsom said the gains are still positive, especially considering the unemployment struggles of the past year.

“Before the pandemic, a 98,500-job increase was California’s largest job gain on record,” Newsom said in a statement. “Since February, we’ve averaged 111,740 new jobs per month. These are promising figures that represent paychecks for Californians...”

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, California was one of 25 states to grow nonfarm payroll employment. in June The largest job gain occurred in Florida, which added 81,300 jobs in June. Compared to this time last year, however, California has added the most jobs of any state (804,900) the bureau said.

Of the more than 2.7 million California jobs lost in March and April 2020, the state has regained 1,470,500, or 54.2%, according to the governor’s office. June’s unemployment rate was also at 7.7% down from 14.1% a year ago.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“In some ways, a lot of the low-hanging fruit is gone. We have to sort of grind it out...it’s much more labor-intensive, much more slower-going.”

- Anthony York, spokesman for the California Medical Association, on the “last mile” effort to vaccinate the rest of Californians.

Best of the Bee:

• Law enforcement unions donate to California Democrats ahead of police reform vote, via Hannah Wiley

• Now that’s what I call impact: California lawmakers have joined a chorus of incarceration-reform advocates — including the author of “Orange Is the New Black” — in demanding reforms over how county sheriffs spend money they collect from inmate phone calls and commissary items after a Bee report unveiled the office’s spending habits. via Jason Pohl and Mike Finch.
• Delta backslide? Noticeable increases in COVID-19 infections are prompting partial, localized reversals of California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s decision to lift practically all of his pandemic restrictions on June 15. via Dale Kasler and Katherine Schwartz