Bonta finally releases campaign ad + Yes on Prop 30 gets some star power

Good morning, and welcome to the A.M. Alert!

BONTA RELEASES FIRST CAMPAIGN AD OF POLITICAL SEASON

California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Monday launched his campaign’s first digital ad of the election cycle, just over two weeks before Election Day.

The Democrat, who was appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, is featured in the ad, which talks about his support for farm workers, consumers and gun violence victims.

The ad pays special attention to Bonta’s support for the right to an abortion, something that many California voters are concerned about in the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

“I’ll never stop fighting to protect a woman’s right to choose. Our rights are sacred and I won’t let anyone strip them away,” Bonta said in the ad.

With the ad, Bonta continues to position himself as the only person in the race for AG that will guard the right to abortion and contraception. His Republican opponent, Nathan Hochman, is pro-abortion rights and has said that he will enforce reproductive healthcare laws that are on the books in California.

You can watch the ad for yourself here.

PROP 30 GETS SOME CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENTS

The race to pass Proposition 30 has some new star power, as celebrity actors Jane Fonda and Julia Louis-Dreyfus have come out in support of the ballot measure to impose a tax on the state’s wealthiest residents to pay for electric vehicle infrastructure and wildfire prevention.

In a tweet, Louis-Dreyfus wrote, “Spread the word, California! We have a historic opportunity this November to: deliver bold climate action, protect clean air, advance environmental justice. Please vote YES on Prop 30 by November 8th. #YESonProp30.”

Fonda announced her support in a CalMatters interview, telling the news outlet, “People who would choose to get rich and stay rich, as opposed to helping create a livable future, have to really seriously examine their priorities.”

Although she’s not quite as famous as the two actors, Democratic activist Christine Pelosi, daughter of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, also came out in favor of Proposition 30.

That’s not to say that the anti-Prop 30 crowd doesn’t have some star power of their own. No less a luminary than Gov. Newsom himself has come out against the ballot measure, calling it a taxpayer-funded giveaway to Lyft.

Whose star is shining brighter? We’ll see on Nov. 8.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“If you wanted to be a missionary, do you go to the Bible Belt? Or do you go to the dark continent of Africa? If you want to make the biggest change, and if you want to help the people, you go to where there’s the biggest needs.”

- Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mark Meuser on why he’s running in California, in an interview with the Bay Area News Group, via the Mercury News. A spokeswoman for the Sen. Alex Padilla campaign called the statement “racist” and “disqualifying.”

Best of The Bee:

• California departments that employ former state workers for years after their retirements often are violating state civil service rules, and they’re doing it with impunity, a state employee union alleged in a lawsuit filed this week, via Wes Venteicher.

• The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in its annual winter outlook, said this week that California can expect “drier-than-average conditions” — suggesting that one of the worst droughts in recorded history will continue for a fourth year, via Dale Kasler.

• California’s economy is officially slowing down, via David Lightman.

• Homelessness has cast a long shadow across Newsom’s quarter-century in California politics. Throughout his rise from San Francisco supervisor to the state’s highest office, he has overseen the spending of billions in tax dollars, along with his own political capital, in attempts to show progress, via Maggie Angst.