Larry Elder draws fire in recall debate + Bonta investigates police shootings
Good morning and welcome to the A.M. Alert!
RECALL CANDIDATE CALLS ‘BULL----’ IN SECOND DEBATE
....Via Lara Korte
In the second Republican recall debate, candidates continued to aim most of their fire at Gov. Gavin Newsom – but one of their fellow competitors also took some shots.
Citing a recent heart attack, former Congressman Doug Ose dropped his recall campaign on Tuesday, hours before he was expected at a debate with fellow Republicans. We wish him a swift recovery.
The debate between Kevin Faulconer, Kevin Kiley and John Cox continued nonetheless, with candidates weighing in on COVID-19, homelessness, wildfires and unemployment. Notably absent, once again, was front runner Larry Elder. Caitlyn Jenner did not respond, and Gov. Newsom declined to join.
The Sacramento Press Club hosted the debate at the Guild Theater, with moderators from CapRadio and The Sacramento Bee. All in attendance were required to show proof of vaccination and wear masks.
To hear the debate in its entirety, tune in to CapRadio at 9 a.m.
Candidates hit on familiar campaign messages over the course of the hour, but there were some notable moments, starting with John Cox. During his opening remarks, a private investigator tossed a court document on stage, shouting, “John Cox, you’ve been served.”
The 2020 court order directed Cox to pay about $100,000 in fees to Sandler-Innocenzi, a Virginia-based consulting firm that worked on his unsuccessful 2018 campaign for California governor.
A spokesman for Cox’s campaign earlier this year told the Los Angeles Times that Cox contested the amount owed.
Both Cox and Faulconer also took shots at Elder. After weeks of touting Republican Party unity, both went after Elder for his belief that the minimum wage should be eliminated. Faulconer called many of Elder’s positions “indefensible” and said in particular his comments about women were “bull----.”
Kiley, after the debate, said he still intends to treat his Republican competitors as teammates.
“I’m going to continue to aim my arguments and draw my contrasts with Gavin Newsom,” Kiley told reporters. “I’ll let other candidates run their own campaigns.”
Elder’s campaign didn’t respond to a request for comment.
You can read the full coverage on the debate from our Capitol Alert team.
BONTA OPENS INVESTIGATION INTO OSCAR GRANT SHOOTING
California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Tuesday announced that he is opening up an inquiry related to the 12-year-old police shooting of Oscar Grant, at the Fruitvale BART station on New Year’s Day in 2009.
Grant, a 22-year-old Black man, was fatally shot in the back by Officer Johannes Mehserle, who later was charged with murder and convicted of involuntary manslaughter.
Grant’s death later was dramatized in the award-winning movie “Fruitvale Station.”
Bonta’s inquiry is into the role that former Officer Anthony Pirone’s in the events leading up to Grant’s death. Pirone was the subject of an investigation by the Alameda County District Attorney’s office, which later announced that it would not be charging Pirone for his connection in Grant’s death, according to San Francisco CBS affiliate KPIX.
“Grant’s family has been calling for Pirone to be charged in connection with Grant’s death after a report from an internal affairs investigation was unsealed in 2019. The report claimed that Pirone’s actions were ‘aggressive and unreasonable’ and noted that he used a racial epithet against Grant when he was being detained. Pirone also at one point knelt on Grant’s neck as the officers struggled with him on the BART platform,” KPIX reported in January.
Following the Alameda County DA’s decision to decline prosecution, Grants family, the BART Board of Directors, the Justice 4 Oscar Grant Coalition and others requested that the attorney general’s office review the matter.
“Transparency is critical to building and maintaining trust between law enforcement and the communities we serve,” Bonta said in a statement announcing the investigation. “The California Department of Justice is committed to conducting a thorough, fair, and independent review and will go where the facts lead.”
This marks only the latest investigation into police killings by Bonta’s office. Earlier this month, Bonta announced an investigation into a police shooting that occurred in Bakersfield. Bonta’s office announced a similar investigation following a fatal police shooting in July in Los Angeles.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“If the state recall process is ruled unconstitutional, how pissed will Gray Davis be?”
- Republican political consultant Matt Rexroad, via Twitter.
Best of the Bee:
Republican gubernatorial recall candidate Doug Ose announced Tuesday that he is dropping out of the race to be governor, following a heart attack, via Andrew Sheeler.
California officials are calling on private employers to require their employees to be vaccinated against the coronavirus or be subject to regular testing, via Jeong Park.
With the recall election of Gov. Gavin Newsom less than 30 days away, two California voters are taking the state to federal court in an attempt to block the election from happening, via Andrew Sheeler.