Recall candidate debate tonight + Young voters favor Newsom + Serra statue bill advances
Good morning and welcome to the A.M. Alert!
WATCH THE RECALL CANDIDATE DEBATE TONIGHT
California voters will get to see several gubernatorial recall candidates take the stage Wednesday in a televised debate hosted by Sacramento’s KCRA 3 and the San Francisco Chronicle.
The debate, as reported by KCRA, will feature Republican candidates John Cox (a businessman who unsuccessfully ran against Gov. Gavin Newsom in the 2018 election), Kevin Faulconer (the former mayor of San Diego), and Kevin Kiley (a California state assemblyman). It will also be the first debate to feature Democrat and YouTube star Kevin Paffrath.
KCRA reports that Newsom was invited to the debate but declined to attend. Republican frontrunner Larry Elder and reality TV star Caitlyn Jenner also declined.
The debate comes as Californians across the state have received their ballots in the mail for an election that will decide whether Newsom will be recalled, and if so, who will take his place. There are 46 candidates on the ballot, though one candidate, Doug Ose, has since dropped out and endorsed Kiley.
The debate will be hosted by KCRA anchor Gulstan Dart and moderated by Alexei Koseff of the San Francisco Chronicle and KCRA anchor Deirdre Fitzpatrick.
The debate will air live from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesday on the following stations: KCRA 3 in Sacramento, KSBW in Monterey/Salinas, KERO-TV in Bakersfield, KFMB-TV in San Diego, KHTK-FM in Sacramento, KNTV-TV in the Bay Area, and KSBY-TV on the Central Coast.
It also will be livestreamed on KCRA.com, KSBW.com and SFChronicle.com.
The debate will also air Thursday at 11 a.m. on Palm Springs’ KMIR-TV.
YOUNG VOTERS FAVOR KEEPING NEWSOM
Courage California has commissioned a new poll of young voters that finds a majority of young people (59%) plan on voting in the recall election, with a plurality (43%) saying they would vote no. Another 26% said they plan to vote yes on the recall, while a whopping 32% said that they don’t know how they will vote.
Ballots have gone out, and are due by Sept. 14.
The poll found that 50% of Black voters plan to vote no, as well as 44% of Latino voters, 47% of Asian American voters, 45% of white voters and 29% of “other” voters.
The pollster, Data for Social Good, surveyed 2,343 registered voters, age 18 to 29, from July 19 to Aug. 1. The online poll was administered in English, and deliberately over-sampled geographic and demographic communities that have seen higher rates of growth in the last decade, such as the Central Valley, San Diego County and the Inland Empire area, according to a statement from Courage California.
According to a tracker from Political Data Inc., as of Tuesday more than 1 million ballots have been returned so far, with more than half, 56%, coming from Democrats.
SERRA STATUE BILL GOES TO NEWSOM
Despite an impassioned plea from Sen. Ben Hueso, D-San Diego, the Senate voted 28-2 Monday to send AB 338 to Gov. Newsom’s desk.
Quick reminder: AB 338 is the bill that removes the statutory requirement for the Capitol to maintain a statue of Father Junipero Serra, and replaces it with a mandate to install a work of art that commemorates the indigenous people on whose land California sits.
Serra, a Franciscan priest, established missions all along the California coast, from Mission San Diego de Alcalá in San Diego to Mission San Francisco de Asís in San Francisco.
Of course, no statue of Serra — seen in some circles, indigenous and otherwise, as a symbol of colonial oppression — has stood on the Capitol grounds since protesters tore the old one down last summer.
AB 338 sailed through the Assembly with a 66-2 vote, but when it came time for the Senate to consider it, Sen. Hueso urged that body to pump the brakes.
“We have an entire hall recognizing governors that passed laws in this very building against Native Americans. I don’t see us removing their names. I don’t see us removing them from the grounds. I don’t see us tearing down this building, which is as much a symbol of colonization as anything else,” Hueso said on the Senate floor.
Hueso, who said that he has Native American, Spanish and Mexican ancestry, said that the bill would remove the statue of a historical figure of Spanish heritage, “the only one that we have,” and that that is a huge mistake.
“You’re creating a scar. You’re creating an emotional scar. And on that you’re going to put another monument that honors a different group of people,” Hueso said.
Despite Hueso’s protest, and his no vote alongside Republican Sen. Brian Jones, the Senate voted to move the bill forward.
Assemblyman James Ramos, D-Highland, the author of the bill, issued a statement following the bill’s passage.
“We do not condone the vandalism that resulted in the toppling of the Serra statue last summer, but it did provide an opportunity for us to explore why this figure from California’s founding has become a symbol of the enslavement and genocide for Native Americans. He is undoubtedly seen as the creator and director of a system that held Indians in servitude to force conversions and build the missions, and that led to starvation and disease. Attempts to escape were dealt with harshly,” Ramos said.
The bill now goes to Newsom, who will decide whether to sign or veto it. While Newsom has not publicly opined about AB 338, in 2019 he issued a formal apology to California’s Native communities “for the many instances of violence, mistreatment and neglect inflicted upon California Native Americans throughout the state’s history.”
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Yes I’m a Democrat. But the recall of Newsom is not about political party. It’s about Newsom. Larry Elder for governor.”
– Former Sen. Gloria Romero, D-East Los Angeles, cutting an ad for GOP frontrunner Larry Elder.
Best of the Bee:
Ordinary people, extraordinary ambition. Why 5 regular Californians are running for governor, via Andrew Sheeler and Katherine Swartz.
The Sacarmento area districts of Reps. Ami Bera and Doris Matsui include one of the country’s largest Afghan populations. Now thousands are calling their offices for help getting people out of Afghanistan as the Taliban seizes power, via David Lightman.
Former Republican Congressman Doug Ose endorsed Assemblyman Kevin Kiley, R-Rocklin, in the recall race against Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday, following Ose’s own departure from the race, via Lara Korte.