Redistricting challenge rejected + Voters support fast food wage bill + $$$ for Lara’s reelection
Good morning and welcome to the A.M. Alert!
COURT REJECTS GOP CHALLENGE TO REDISTRICTING COMMISSION
Via Lara Korte...
The California Supreme Court on Wednesday denied a petition from a prominent Republican attorney and five voters who alleged that the state’s political redistricting commission worked with partisan advisers and held meetings behind closed doors.
The ruling comes less than 12 days before the commission must submit its final district maps to the federal government.
The suit, led by Republican National Committee member Harmeet Dhillon, said petitioners discovered, through public records, that commissioners met privately with certain interest groups in what the petitioner claimed was a violation of public meeting requirements.
In a response, attorneys for the redistricting commission said there is perhaps no public body in the state of California that has “demonstrated more of a commitment to ‘an open and transparent process’” than the commission.
“At worst, the Petition represents a politically motivated attempt to obstruct the Commission’s efforts by denying it the advice of its chosen counsel in these final crucial days of the redistricting process,” the response said.
On Wednesday, the California Supreme Court denied the request for immediate relief.
Dhillon on Twitter said she was proud to draw “critical attention to redistricting failures in CA.”
“Our state will experience the ramifications of these districts for the next 10 years, so the process should be conducted with the utmost transparency & impartiality.”
POLL FINDS WIDE SUPPORT FOR FAST-FOOD WORKERS
Via Jeong Park...
Voters across the political spectrum support a California bill that would establish a council setting pay and workplace standards for the fast-food industry, according to a latest poll from a left-wing polling firm Data for Progress.
The poll of some 1,200 likely voters nationally found that 74% said they support the bill once it was described to them. Nearly 30% strongly support the bill, according to the poll.
Nearly half of Democrats said they strongly support the bill, followed by 22% of independent and third party voters and 12% of Republicans.
Unions and worker advocacy groups are again pushing for the bill, known as the Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act, to pass the California Legislature. It failed to get enough votes in the Assembly in the summer, with business groups arguing the proposal unfairly targets the industry.
The bill would also hold large parent companies like McDonalds jointly liable for labor law violations of their franchisees.
Data for Progress’s poll also found that 57% of the voters polled said fast-food workers should have more power to negotiate with their employer. A majority of those polled also said they are concerned that companies like McDonald’s are not being held accountable by the government when they violate labor laws.
CALIFORNIA GROUPS TO SPEND $3 MILLION ON LARA CAMPAIGN
A trio of political powerhouses are teaming up to support Democratic Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara’s bid for another term in office.
Equality California, Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California and the California Federation of Teachers announced in a statement that they intend to spend at least $3 million to get Lara reelected.
“It’s unfathomable that in 2021, America has just one LGBTQ+ person of color serving in statewide office. Good thing for California, that person is Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara — and his representation as an out gay Latino son of immigrants has had a transformative impact on the lives of millions of Californians. On issues ranging from fighting discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community to standing up for consumers and wildfire victims, Ricardo Lara has been a bold, progressive champion. Equality California will do everything in our power to ensure he is re-elected as Insurance Commissioner in 2022,” said Equality California Executive Director Tony Hoang in a statement.
Lara faces a challenge from Democratic Assemblyman Marc Levine, who has argued new leadership is necessary for the job.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Private Rights of Action: Texas: Abortion California: Guns Florida: Race What could go wrong?”
- California GOP consultant Mike Madrid, responding to news of Florida following California and Texas’ suit in pursuing a law to allow parents to sue educators who teach Critical Race Theory, via Twitter.
Best of the Bee:
California’s publicly traded companies appointed more women than men to their boards in 2021, likely for the first time ever, according to a report from the California Partners Project released Wednesday, via Jeong Park.
A new study released Wednesday found no big exodus of people leaving California for other states during the COVID pandemic. But California is still losing population to domestic migration, because fewer people than usual are moving in from other parts of the United States, via David Lightman.
The leader of SEIU International relayed concerns to the president of California’s largest state employee union Tuesday about the potential for violence and COVID-19 infections at a union meeting scheduled this weekend in Sacramento, via Wes Venteicher.