Voters don’t trust Biden on inflation + Did Newsom interfere in a lawsuit? + Nurses announce strike
Good morning and welcome to the A.M. Alert!
CALIFORNIA VOTERS DISAPPROVE OF BIDEN’S HANDLING OF INFLATION
A majority of Californians disapprove of the job President Joe Biden is doing with handling inflation.
That’s the finding of the latest poll from the Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies, which surveyed 8,676 registered California voters online, in English and Spanish, between March 29 and April 5.
The survey found that 59% of California voters say Biden isn’t doing good enough when it comes to inflation, compared to 34% who approve of his handling of it. Half of California voters rate Biden poorly when it comes to handling the economy, with 45% approving.
The president gets better marks when it comes to the war in Ukraine, with 51% approving his handling of the crisis and 43% disapproving. Things are more evenly split when it comes to the president’s handling of Russia, the aggressor in Ukraine, with 49% approving of Biden’s performance and 44% disapproving.
Overall, the president’s approval rating is 50%, with 46% disapproving of Biden’s job performance. Democrats (76%) are of course much more likely to approve of Biden’s job performance than Republicans (7%) or those with no party preference (45%).
Biden’s No. 2 fares less well.
Vice President Kamala Harris, a former California U.S. senator and attorney general, has a 35% approval rate, with 45% disapproving of her job performance and another 20% with no opinion.
Other prominent Californians in D.C. — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, and House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield — got less-favorable marks. Pelosi has a 42% approval rating, while McCarthy is sitting at 28%. Both Congressional leaders have high unfavorable ratings, with Pelosi at 48% disapproval and McCarthy at 49%.
STATE ATTORNEY RESIGNS, ACCUSES NEWSOM ADMINISTRATION OF INTERFERING WITH LAWSUIT
Lindsey Holden contributed to this report...
A high-ranking attorney for the State of California has resigned from her position to protest what she describes as interference from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office in a state discrimination lawsuit against video gamer studio Activision Blizzard.
Melanie Proctor, who was assistant chief counsel for the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, said she was resigning after Newsom sacked her boss, Chief Counsel Janette Wipper, according to a report from Bloomberg.
According to the Bloomberg piece, both Proctor and Wipper had been assigned to the state’s lawsuit against Activision Blizzard, which faces a flurry of sexual discrimination and misconduct allegations but both had stepped down from the lawsuit earlier this month.
“The Office of the Governor repeatedly demanded advance notice of litigation strategy and of next steps in the litigation,” Proctor alleged in an email to staff, as reported by Bloomberg. “As we continued to win in state court, this interference increased, mimicking the interests of Activision’s counsel.”
Former Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg is a Newsom donor, having given $25,000 to the governor’s 2022 reelection campaign, according to the California Secretary of State’s Office.
Newsom spokeswoman Erin Mellon issued a statement on behalf of the governor, saying, “Claims of interference by our office are categorically false. The Newsom administration supports the effective work DFEH has done under Director Kevin Kish to enforce civil rights laws and protect workers, and will continue to support DFEH in their efforts to fight all forms of discrimination and protect Californians.”
Reached for comment, Kish said in a statement, “In recent years, under this administration and my leadership, DFEH has litigated groundbreaking cases that are a model of effective government enforcement of civil rights. We continue to do so with the full support of the administration. Our cases will move forward based on the facts, the law, and our commitment to our mission to protect the civil rights of all Californians.”
5,000 BAY AREA NURSES COULD SOON GO ON STRIKE
The Committee for Recognition of Nursing Achievement announced Wednesday that an estimated 5,000 nurses who work for Stanford Health Care and the Packard Children’s Hospital will go on strike on April 25, following an April 8 vote that saw 93% of members vote in favor of a strike.
Nurses will strike for better wages and benefits, as well as live anti-bias training for both nurses and managers.
“I am frustrated that Stanford and Packard hospitals would rather cut corners than invest in their bedside nurses, especially after receiving hundreds of millions in federal aid dollars. Providing care at such wealthy hospitals should not cost nurses our health, our sanity, or our time with our loved ones,” said committee President Colleen Borges in a statement. “Instead of acknowledging our sacrifices and rewarding us with the support we need, the hospitals would rather push overworked and exhausted Nurses toward a strike.”
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“People stop gluing your hands to things!! It’s weird and unhealthy.”
- Assemblyman Jordan Cunningham, R-San Luis Obispo, via Twitter.
Best of the Bee:
Vice President Kamala Harris is underwater with California voters, according to the latest survey results released by the Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies, via Andrew Sheeler.
Man pleads not guilty to charges he murdered his California lobbyist parents in Placer County, via Darrell Smith.
OPINION: I glued my hand to a table during a committee hearing at the California Capitol. Here’s why, via Carla Cabral.