Abortion Council touts White House support + GOP protests Cohen + Prop 30 campaign launches
Good morning and welcome to the A.M. Alert!
CALIFORNIA FUTURE OF ABORTION COUNCIL TOUTS WHITE HOUSE SUPPORT FOR LEGISLATIVE PACKAGE
The California Future of Abortion Council had a good run with the Legislature this year.
The coalition’s package of bills passed through both houses and made it to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk. They championed and helped secure hundreds of millions of dollars in new state funding. And, of course, they managed to get Proposition 1 on the ballot this November, which would cement the right to an abortion in the state constitution if approved by voters.
Now, California is getting accolades from the Biden Administration, including from Vice President Kamala Harris.
“California leaders passed a legislative package of over a dozen bills to protect and expand access to reproductive health care, complementing the state’s $200 million investment in reproductive care. I applaud leaders across the country who are standing for abortion rights,” Harris tweeted over the weekend.
REPUBLICANS PROTEST OUTSIDE MALIA COHEN FUNDRAISER
The race for Controller, between Democrat Malia Cohen and Republican Lanhee Chen, is one to watch this November, as Chen represents one of the California Republican Party’s best opportunities to pick up a statewide political office.
Now, the California GOP is crying foul on Cohen, demanding that she consent to a series of debates with Chen. As Cohen held a fundraiser in West Hollywood Tuesday evening, Republicans protested outside.
“What is Coward Cohen hiding from,” California GOP Executive Director Bryan Watkins said in a statement. “What skeletons lurk in her political closet? Why won’t she agree to debate Lanhee Chen and tell Californians why she thinks it’s more important to be a ‘collaborator’ with Democrats who’ve mismanaged taxpayer money than to be an independent fiscal watchdog like Chen?”
Reached for comment, Cohen said in a statement, “I’m shocked that out of all the events I’ve hosted over the summer, Republicans aligned with Lanhee Chen would choose to target this event. The fact that they are here protesting an event hosted by Equality California tells voters all they need to know about the Republican party in California right now. We are here to celebrate equality and fight for the rights of LGBTQ+ Californians.”
Cohen added that it shouldn’t be a surprise that Chen would be “in lockstep” with the GOP.
“Let’s not forget that Lanhee’s involvement with the national Republican Party dates back to working on the 2004 Bush-Cheney campaign when George W. Bush called for a constitutional ban on gay marriage,” Cohen said.
PROPOSITION 30 CAMPAIGN KICKS OFF IN LA
Labor Day has come and gone, and that means it’s a straight shot from here to the November election. Supporters of Proposition 30 — the tax on high earners to pay for wildfire prevention, clean air and an expanded electric vehicle infrastructure — kicked off their campaign in Los Angeles on Tuesday, with several VIPs in attendance, including Inglewood Democratic Assemblywoman Tina McKinnor, IBEW Local 11 President Joel Barton and others.
The campaign kickoff comes on the heels of a California Air Resources Board decision to bar the sale of gas-powered cars and light trucks after 2035; supporters of the initiative say that it will help make zero-emission vehicles more affordable through rebates, grants and financial assistance.
“California has the worst air pollution in the United States and some of the worst in the world: 38 out of 39 million Californians breathe unhealthy levels of air pollution — almost every one of us,” the Coalition for Clean Air’s Chris Chavez said in a statement. “Proposition 30 is a bold climate and clean air measure that will invest $100 billion over 20 years to reduce the two largest sources of our greenhouse gas emissions — gasoline-fueled vehicles and wildfires, along with health-harming pollution.”
While the ballot measure is supported by groups including the American Lung Association, the Union of Concerned Scientists, the California Democratic Party and the State Building and Construction Trades of California, it is opposed by odd bedfellows: Gov. Gavin Newsom, who called it “a special interest carve-out,” the California Republican Party and the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
Thinking of running for political office? Outgoing Assemblyman Jordan Cunningham, R-San Luis Obispo, has some advice on what you should consider. You can read it here.
Best of the Bee:
Those dealing with California’s heat wave might be hearing about rolling blackouts at a time when air conditioning and staying indoors is the most prescribed course of action. What exactly is a rolling blackout? Via Vivienne Aguilar.
State workers in Sacramento will return from the Labor Day holiday to offices considerably warmer than usual. And hotter than what most residents will experience. With California struggling to avoid blackouts and energy consumption expected to hit a record, the state will set its thermostats at 78 degrees starting at 4 p.m. Tuesday. For those working late, the thermostats will jump to 85 degrees at 5 p.m., said Erin Mellon, a spokeswoman for Gov. Gavin Newsom, via Dale Kasler.
Butte County prosecutors have accused a building contractor of preying on victims of the most destructive wildfire in California history, filing charges against a career white-collar criminal who, according to his customers, took hundreds of thousands of dollars to rebuild homes without finishing them, via Dale Kasler and Ryan Sabalow.
Now comes the hard part. After averting blackouts Monday night, the managers of California’s electricity grid had to navigate a day when energy consumption in the state is expected to blow past the all-time record. SMUD issued a separate warning to the Sacramento region that blackouts could hit the area for the first time in 20 years, via Dale Kasler.