Lawmaker won’t seek reelection + Leyva urges CSU investigation + Black caucus SCOTUS choice
Good morning, happy Presidents Day and welcome to the A.M. Alert!
BIGELOW WON’T SEEK REELECTION THIS YEAR
Via Bryant-Jon Anteola...
Frank Bigelow — a state assemblyman who has represented the 5th District, which includes parts of Madera County — announced Wednesday that he will not seek reelection this year.
Bigelow, a Republican, has served as an assemblyman since 2012.
“After a great deal of thought and prayer, I have decided I will not be seeking re-election in 2022 for the California State Assembly,” Bigelow said in a news release. “It has been the honor of my career to represent the constituents of the 5th Assembly District in the California State Legislature.
“In our incredible 10 years together, we have seen great success, and have brought our issues and way of life to the forefront in Sacramento.”
Bigelow, 67, said he will finish out his current term and plans to return in 2024 to try serving out the duration of his 12-year term limit.
His district includes parts of Madera, Mariposa, Tuolomne, Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, El Dorado, Placer, and Mono counties.
LEYVA CONTINUES TO CALL FOR CSU INVESTIGATION
In the aftermath of California State University Chancellor Joseph I. Castro’s resignation, Sen. Connie Leyva, D-Chino, who chairs the Senate Education Committee, reiterated her call for a full investigation into the allegations that led to his departure.
“While Chancellor Castro’s recent resignation as leader of the CSU system is certainly a step in the right direction, I firmly believe that the Board of Trustees must still move forward with approving a prompt and thorough investigation into his actions before he became Chancellor. Survivors of the abusive conduct and harassment — as well as the entire CSU community and public at large — deserve to know exactly what happened under Chancellor Castro’s watch at Fresno State,” Leyva said in a statement released Friday.
“I am hopeful that the Board of Trustees will do the right thing by swiftly moving forward with an independent investigation into the shocking findings of the USA Today report. Survivors — and California taxpayers that have paid Chancellor Castro’s salary for many years — deserve answers. This terrible situation certainly highlights the need to believe women and all survivors of sexual harassment and assault.”
Leyva warned that if the Board of Trustees fails to initiate an investigation in the near future, she will convene a Senate Education Committee hearing to examine the extent of the alleged inappropriate behavior at Fresno State.
The California Faculty Association released a statement on Friday calling the Board of Trustees’ plan to hire an outside firm to investigate the allegations to be insufficient.
“Only a public, open, and independent investigation by the state legislature can produce impartial results, which can lead to the systemic changes we need to see. It is also the only way to restore the public trust in the leadership of the CSU,” the organization said in a statement.
The organization called on lawmakers to launch an immediate investigation “into the problematic handling of sexual and gender violence on our campuses, so students, staff, and faculty can be confident in the integrity of the CSU and to ensure that people leading the largest four-year public university system in the United States are actively working to protect the health and well-being of every member of the CSU community.”
BLACK CAUCUS ENDORSES POTENTIAL SCOTUS NOMINEE
President Joe Biden is still pondering his pick to replace Justice Stephen Breyer on the U.S. Supreme Court, but the California Legislative Black Caucus has a suggestion for him: California Supreme Court Associate Justice Leondra Kruger.
Kruger, 45, would be both the first Black woman on the U.S. Supreme Court and the court’s youngest member.
“Justice Leondra Kruger is an award-winning judge, and only the second Black woman to serve on the California Supreme Court. The record shows that Justice Kruger is respected by her peers on the bench. In 2015, the California State Bar group evaluating judicial nominees described her as ‘exceptionally well qualified’,” said Caucus Chair Sen. Steven Bradford, D-Gardena, in a statement.
Vice-Chair Sen. Sydney Kamlager, D-Los Angeles, said in a statement that while Kruger is relatively young, her accomplishments are many.
“She argued 12 Supreme Court cases on behalf of the federal government, and she has a seven-year record on the California Supreme Court,” Kamlager said.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Over the next 20 years the Latinization of America will determine if we can reach our potential as a truly pluralistic multi-racial democracy despite our beginnings or devolve into the tribalism & authoritarianism that has defined most of human history.”
- Republican consultant Mike Madrid, via Twitter.
Best of the Bee:
Two California lawmakers have proposed removing the word “squaw,” a slur against Native American women, from all geographic features and place names in the state, via Andrew Sheeler.
California’s efforts to prevent unemployment insurance fraud have at times proven overly aggressive, resulting in thousands of people who could not get legitimate payments as they waited to have their identities verified, a new Legislative Analyst’s Office report says, via David Lightman.