California politics news feed

A new ad from Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gavin Newsom features Phyllis Lyon, who with her partner, Del Martin, received the first marriage license after Newsom vowed to allow same-sex couples to marry when he was mayor of San Francisco in 2004.

The current lieutenant governor’s push for marriage equality thrust him into the national spotlight and he has emphasized that effort to portray himself as a bold, progressive leader.

Gov. Jerry Brown

(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

Earlier this month, high-profile housing legislation that would have allowed for four- to five-story apartments and condominiums near transit stops failed to advance in the state Legislature. But had it reached his desk, would Gov. Jerry Brown have signed it? Maybe.

“I think that was not a bad idea,” Brown said of Senate Bill 827 at a meeting with business leaders from the Bay Area Council on Monday afternoon.

The bill, written by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), attracted national attention and a maelstrom of opposition in part because it would have eliminated single-family zoning near transit stops in favor of apartments or condominiums. Brown said that a relative of his who lives in West Portal, a low-density neighborhood in San Francisco, told the governor he was “horrified” by the bill.

Brown also lamented dramatically rising housing costs. He said he bought his first house in Los Angeles in 1973 for $75,000 at a time when his salary as secretary of state was $35,000. Now, he said, buying a house for a little over twice one’s annual salary is virtually impossible anywhere in the state.

FOR THE RECORD

May 1, 9:32 a.m.: This post originally misstated the year Brown purchased his house as 1970. It was 1973.

GOP gubernatorial candidate John Cox strolled up to the stack of 12 boxes in front of the Los Angeles County registrar-recorder’s offices in Norwalk on Monday and placed his hands on top of his party’s hope for success in 2018.

The boxes, stacked four across and three high, contained 211,000 signatures for an initiative to repeal recent increases in California’s gas tax and vehicle fees.

Cox says the effort has gathered more than 940,000 signatures from registered voters to put the measure on the ballot — far more than the 585,407 signatures that are required.

The aim: to bring out the party’s base to the polls this November and help candidates in tough congressional and legislative races down the ticket.

A USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll in November found 54.2% of registered voters surveyed said they would repeal the tax and fee hike, but a survey a month earlier by another group said a majority would vote to keep the higher taxes.

Cox was flanked by Bill Essayli, a former federal prosecutor who is challenging Democratic Assemblywoman Sabrina Cervantes of Riverside in the June primary.

Cervantes voted for the gas tax and Essayli plans to use that vote against her. He even launched his campaign at a 76 gas station in Norco.

“This is a central issue in my campaign,” he said.

Cox also submitted signatures in San Diego on Monday and is headed to Bakersfield, Fresno and Sacramento, as well as Shasta and Butte counties in coming days.

“We are going all across the state,” Cox said. “The whole state is paying this tax and the whole state wants it gone.”

Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens)

(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

State lawmakers on Monday introduced legislation that would allow all Californians to serve on state boards and commissions regardless of immigration status.

Senate Bill 174, by Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) and Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo (D-Los Angeles), comes as the state is locked in a broader legal battle with the Trump administration over state immigration laws and his call for mass deportations. Lawmakers point to what they say is the state’s own discriminatory history as their basis for introducing the legislation.

The proposal would amend an 1872 provision that was first adopted to exclude Chinese immigrants and other “transient aliens” from holding appointed civil positions. At the time, antipathy toward the Chinese had been building in California, though, Chinese immigrants opened hundreds of businesses across the state and would play a critical role in building the transcontinental railroad.

The Senate bill would delete the phrase “transient aliens” from the government code and make clear that any person, regardless of citizenship or immigration status, can hold an appointed civil office if they are at least 18 years old and a resident of the state. That would allow any Californian to serve on hundreds of boards and commissions that advice in an array of policy areas, including farm labor, history and employment development.

“California’s two million undocumented immigrants are a source of energy for our state,” Lara said in a statement. “It is shocking to read the words of fear and exclusion that are still in California law but belong in history’s trash can.”

Former state Sen. Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia).

(Steve Yeater / Associated Press)

Political contributions to Tony Mendoza, who resigned from the state Senate under pressure amid sexual harassment allegations, have nearly dried up. New documents he filed with the state in his bid to reclaim the seat he once held show that his support has eroded.

As a result, five other candidates for the 32nd District senate seat in the June 5 election have raised more than Mendoza so far this year. With the June 5 election approaching, Mendoza has reported raising just $7,750 in cash from six supporters during the nearly four-month period from Jan. 1 to April 21.

Mendoza, a Democrat from Artesia, went on a leave of absence from the Senate Jan. 3 and resigned a month later under the threat of expulsion from colleagues. An investigation ordered by the Senate found a pattern of “unwanted flirtatious or sexually suggestive behavior” based on testimony from six women. Mendoza has denied wrongdoing.

Last year, Mendoza’s reelection campaign raised $412,600, or an average of about $34,000 per month, from more than 350 supporters.

Most of Mendoza’s 2018 total was contributed by the political arm of the Southern California Pipe Trades District Council 16 on Jan. 22, a month before Mendoza resigned. Mendoza also reported that his campaign loaned $125,000 this year to his legal defense fund. That left him with $446,600 in his campaign account at the end of April.

Mendoza is running against eight Democrats and two Republicans. Democrat Bob J. Archuleta, a Pico Rivera city councilman, raised the most, $210,000, during the period.

On Monday, Mendoza suffered another setback when the State Legislative Women’s Caucus endorsed Democrat Vicky Santana, a member of the Rio Hondo College Board.

An independent political committee backing Republican John Cox for governor released an ad blasting both Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa for their past sexual affairs.

The “California Deserves Better” ad, which was first reported by Politico, criticizes Newsom for having an affair with a woman on his staff in 2005 while he served as mayor of San Francisco. It also goes after Villaraigosa for having an extramarital affair with a television reporter in 2007 while he was mayor of Los Angeles.

The ad, which begins airing on Fox stations in the state’s top media markets Monday, links Newsom and Villaraigosa to the men accused of sexual impropriety in the #MeToo movement, including movie mogul Harvey Weinstein and disgraced “Today” show veteran Matt Lauer.

“Powerful men are finally being held to account, punished for inappropriate sexual conduct with women over whom they exercise power,” the ad begins. “…Newsom and Villaraigosa think the rules shouldn’t apply to them.”

The independent campaign committee, called Restore Our Values, already has raised more than $100,000, said Leigh Teece of Emeryville in Northern California, co-founder of the group.

Teece, the CEO of a nonprofit that helps line up students with professional mentors, said the campaign will actively support Cox. She called him a “true conservative” and noted that he supports cutting taxes and opposes California’s sanctuary state policy.

“John is a business person who has demonstrated integrity,” Teece said.

Gil Cisneros speaks during a forum at Fullerton College in January.

(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)

With less than five weeks to go before California’s primary, insults and accusations are flying with abandon in the most crowded races Democrats hope to ultimately win.

The latest example of this is in the 39th Congressional District, where a half dozen Democrats are vying for a chance to replace Rep. Ed Royce, who’s retiring.

It’s one of several California contests where Democratic leaders are already worried that divisions could ultimately split votes and shut Democrats out of key pickup opportunities.

In that race, millionaires Gil Cisneros and Andy Thorburn are going negative … about going negative. Cisneros was recently elevated to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s “Red to Blue” program in hopes it would serve as a signal to Democratic activists and donors that his campaign was the most viable. But both Cisneros and Thorburn have poured millions into the race, which promises to be a knock down, drag out fight through June 5.

At the center of the latest controversy is a voicemail, allegedly left by Cisneros on Thorburn’s home answering machine earlier this month.

The recording, which the Thorburn campaign turned over to media outlet The Intercept, lasts less than 10 seconds. “Hi Andy, it’s Gil Cisneros. I’m gonna go negative on you,” a man’s voice is heard saying.

Cisneros’ campaign manager Orrin Evans denied the candidate made the call, posting a cease and desist letter to The Intercept on Twitter. The letter, sent by a Cisneros campaign attorney, called the voicemail “fabricated” and demanded that the story be taken down, calling it “defamatory.” It gave the publication until 3 p.m. Friday to take down the story before they “pursue all legal rights and remedies.”

An attorney for The Intercept, in a letter to Cisneros, said the publication confirmed with “multiple sources familiar with Mr. Cisneros” that his voice was on the recording, and that it stands by its reporting.

Thorburn’s camp says it “flatly rejects” Cisneros’ denial, and that the timing of a negative website filled with unflattering background on Thorburn, released three days later, suggests it was him.

Track the California races that could flip the House

According to The Intercept’s report, Cisneros’ campaign manager did not respond to initial inquiries about the voicemail, calling its questions “ridiculous.” In a follow-up statement Friday, Evans said called the episode a “dirty, desperate trick” by the Thorburn campaign and said they are “readying to pursue legal action for defamation and false light” against both him and the publication.

“It sounded like him to me!” said Thorburn’s wife, Karen, in a statement released by the campaign. She was the one who first heard the voicemail, they said.

Thorburn campaign manager Nancy Leeds called Cisneros’ threats “Trump-like tactics” and accused the candidate of trying to “harass and intimidate anyone who stands in his way.”

It’s not the first time candidates from the same party have clashed in the lead-up to the June 5 primary, and it’s all but certain to not be the last. Cisneros sued two of his opponents, Thorburn and Sam Jammal, over their ballot descriptions until they had to change them.

Earlier this month, Democrat Bryan Caforio asked his opponent, Katie Hill, to sign a pledge rejecting the use of independent expenditure committees, entities that neither of them can legally coordinate with, in the race to unseat Rep. Steve Knight (R-Lancaster). Hill refused and called the attempt “hollow” and likened it to “political theater,” while Caforio accused her of “empty campaign promises.”

With less than six weeks before election day, the cash raised in the California governor’s race mirrors the overall dynamics: one major front-runner and a heated race for second place.

This week’s podcast episode offers a glimpse into those cash reports and how the Republican field seems more settled in a new statewide poll than the battle between Democrats.

We also examine the reasons why a nationally talked-about housing bill in Sacramento was killed by the Democratic author’s own allies.

I’m joined by Times staff writers Melanie Mason and Liam Dillon. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud and Stitcher.

A woman sued an unnamed politician in Los Angeles County on Friday, alleging the man sexually assaulted her when she was a teenager after he gave her an unusual-tasting drink.

The politician, identified as John Doe, was in his early 40s and a “public figure” at the time of the 2007 assault, according to the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court.

The man is an elected official today and lives in Los Angeles, said attorney Lisa Bloom, who is representing the woman identified in the lawsuit as Jane Doe. Bloom declined to say what branch of government the man represents.

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Democrat Antonio Villaraigosa released his first TV ad in the governor’s race Friday, touting his record and accomplishments as mayor of Los Angeles when up against the economic downturn during the recession.

The 30-second television spot opens with a sweeping shot of Los Angeles and cuts to Villaraigosa sitting on a bus.

“In kindergarten, my sister and I took three buses to get to school. As mayor, I remembered that,” Villaraigosa says into the camera. “And despite the recession, we built more new schools and rail lines than any city in America, added 200,000 living wage jobs, built 20,000 units of affordable housing and nearly doubled graduation rates.”

Campaign spokesman Luis Vizcaino said the ad will air statewide over the next week at a cost of approximately $1 million. The commercial will being airing Saturday.

Two Democratic rivals in California’s race for governor, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and state Treasurer John Chiang, also launched ads this week, signaling the biggest ramp-up of the campaign as the June 5 primary approaches.

Newsom is the front-runner, while Villaraigosa is battling for second place with Republican John Cox. One recent poll has Villaraigosa trailing both Cox and Republican Assemblyman Travis Allen of Huntington Beach. Chiang has been stuck in the single digits in almost all polling in the race.

Last week, an independent expenditure group called Families and Teachers for Antonio Villaraigosa for Governor, funded largely by a trio of wealthy charter school backers, launched a spot in support of the former mayor of Los Angeles. That ad campaign is focused on increasing Villaraigosa’s chances of coming in second in the June 5 primary and moving on to the general election.

Villaraigosa’s ad, titled “Three Buses,” emphasizes the struggles he faced growing up in East Los Angeles and addresses one of his central campaign themes — that he’s the candidate best suited to help working-class Californians.

“I know how far a bus can take you,” Villaraigosa says in the ad.

The youth football team Watts Bears (in white) pursue a member of the Southern California Falcons. Players are 7 to 9 years old.

(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Faced with a lobbying blitz by youth football fans, state lawmakers have sidelined a proposal that would have made California the first state to prohibit minors from playing organized tackle football before age 12, representatives said Friday.

The measure had been proposed after consultation with medical professionals who believe limiting tackle football would help prevent young athletes from sustaining long-term brain damage caused by repetitive tackling, hitting and blocking.

Assemblyman Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento) confirmed Friday that he has cancelled a committee hearing scheduled for next week on the Safe Youth Football Act, signaling his decision that AB 2108 will not advance to a vote this year.

“We’re taking a time out,” McCarty said Friday.

Multiple studies are expected in the coming months on the health impacts of football on the brains of children and they could inform a future debate, said Terry Schanz, the assemblyman’s chief of staff.

“It’s an important issue that he is going to continue to look at,” Schanz said.

The bill, which originally banned tackle football for minors before high school, was amended but still faced a lack of support in the Legislature after youth football backers launched a social media drive under the banner of a new Save California Football Coalition. They collected more than 45,000 signatures opposing the legislation.

Pop Warner spokesman Brian Heffron said Friday the decision to shelve the bill “is welcome news for the 100,000 kids who play youth football in California. We’re grateful to those in the Assembly who recognize that tackle football has never been safer, thanks to our many rule changes, improved coaching education and commitment to player safety.”

Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher (D-San Diego), a co-author of the measure, said the bill may not get a vote this year but the issue is not going away.

“I’m going to continue to talk about the dangers of youth tackle football whether there’s a bill or not,” she said. “I’m confident that one day in California, kids under 12 will be playing only flag football.”

Supporters of the bill had cited studies that show chronic traumatic encephalopathy is caused by repetitive impacts to the head sustained over a period of time. Gonzalez Fletcher said children who play contact sports during critical years of brain development are at a significantly greater risk for neurological impairments and CTE later in life.

However, Pop Warner officials said they have taken steps to make the sport safer for young kids, including “a series of dramatic rule changes and safety protocols” implemented since 2010 with guidance from an independent medical advisory committee of neurologists, sports medicine professionals and medical researchers.

California Sen. Dianne Feinstein will not participate in a proposed pre-primary debate because there are too many candidates in the race, her campaign spokesman said Thursday.

Political activists with the group Indivisible Los Angeles said they had a venue and date — May 5 — reserved for a debate with four of the Senate candidates. But they said if Feinstein does not participate, it will be canceled.

Feinstein faces 31 primary opponents in her bid for a fifth full term representing California in the Senate.

Feinstein staffers initially said she had a prior commitment on May 5 in San Francisco. When organizers offered to let her campaign pick another date, her campaign said it wasn’t fair for the group to invite only some of the candidates when there is such a big field, said Tudor Popescu, volunteer community organizer with Indivisible Los Angeles.

The invited candidates, all Democrats, were Feinstein, state Sen. Kevin de León, political action committee director Alison Hartson and lawyer Pat Harris. They were selected based on fundraising and poll numbers. There are 11 Republicans, 10 Democrats, nine independents and 2 third-party candidates running for Senate on the June ballot.

Indivisible Los Angeles is still hoping Feinstein will pick another date, Popescu said.

Feinstein spokesman Jeff Millman pointed to a San Francisco Chronicle endorsement of Feinstein, which indicates that she told the editorial board she would be willing to have a debate ahead of November’s general election.

“Senator Feinstein looks forward to debating her opponent in the general election,” Millman said in an email.

Feinstein holds a substantial lead in both fundraising and in the polls. Front-runners in statewide races have routinely declined to debate their challengers, knowing that it’s free publicity for candidates who don’t have the cash to increase their name recognition on their own.

De León spokesman Jonathan Underland said the state senator has done candidate forums before, but planned to attend the May 5 debate only if Feinstein did.

“We basically said we’ll clear his calendar 100%, we’ll clear his calendar if Feinstein shows up,” Underland said. “We‘d love to make it happen, but we want her to be there.”

Olympian Kim Rhode is a plaintiff in a lawsuit filed by the NRA and its state affiliate against California.

(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

The National Rifle Assn. and its state affiliate have filed a fourth lawsuit against California over its gun control laws, this time challenging new restrictions on the sale and transfer of ammunition.

The NRA and the California Rifle and Pistol Assn. filed a challenge in federal court to a requirement that ammunition sales and transfers be conducted “face to face” with California firearms dealers or licensed vendors, ending purchases made directly from out-of-state sellers on the internet. The lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California also challenged a requirement starting next year for background checks for people buying ammunition.

The lawsuit was filed in the name of Kim Rhode, a six-time Olympic medal-winning shooter, and others. It challenges California’s new ammunition sales restrictions as a violation of the 2nd Amendment and the commerce clause of the United States Constitution.

Restrictions on ammunition purchases were included in Proposition 63, approved by voters in 2016, and in bills approved by the Legislature.

“As a result of these laws, millions of constitutionally protected ammunition transfers are banned in California,” Chris W. Cox, executive director of the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action, said in a statement. “California’s law-abiding gun owners are sick of being treated like criminals and the NRA is proud to assist in this fight.”

Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is running for governor, defended his initiative and vowed to fight the NRA lawsuit.

“We wrote Proposition 63 on solid legal ground and principle: If you’re a felon banned from possessing guns in California, then you should not be able to purchase the ammunition that makes a firearm deadly,” Newsom said in a statement. “California voters said loudly and clearly that guns and ammunition do not belong in the hands of dangerous individuals — but once again, the NRA has prioritized gun industry profits over the lives of law-abiding Californians.”

Rep. Devin Nunes.

(Susan Walsh / Associated Press)

Reps. Devin Nunes (R-Tulare) and Tom McClintock (R-Elk Grove) fell behind in one election handicapper’s ratings on Thursday, giving more optimism to Democrats who hope to regain control of the House in November.

Nunes’ and McClintock’s districts were downgraded to “likely Republican” from “safe Republican” by analysts at Larry J. Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics on Thursday.

Nunes has made a name for himself as a Trump defender and as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, a newfound notoriety that the analysts said could both hurt and help him. He raised more than $1 million in the first quarter of 2018, but so did his Democratic opponent, Andrew Janz, a Fresno County deputy district attorney.

McClintock, who only scraped out a close victory in 2008, a strong Democratic year, sits in a suburban Sacramento district Trump won, but it’s likely he will have a credible Democratic challenger in November.

See how Times politics editors rank the toughness of those races.

In a Central Valley barn decked out in red, white and blue, dairyman and state Senate candidate Johnny Tacherra drew cheers from a crowd of fellow farmers when he said he opposes the California Legislature’s hike on gas taxes and vehicle fees.

“I would not have voted for that. It is not the time to be voting on (raising) the gas tax,” said Tacherra, a Republican running against Democratic Assemblywoman Anna Caballero, who voted for the tax increase last year.

Three hundred miles away the same week, a campaign mailer arrived at homes in Orange County from an Assembly candidate with a message blaring from the cover in bold type: “Republican Greg Haskin — tough enough to stand up to Jerry Brown and repeal the gas tax.”

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In his first television ad in the governor’s race, state Treasurer John Chiang touts his record on fiscal issues as California faced the recession.

“Some thought we were done,” Chiang says in a voiceover in the 30-second spot he released Thursday, with images of him standing seriously at a lectern and complimentary headlines about his work as controller and treasurer. “But I knew better. I made the tough calls. And brought California back from the brink of financial disaster because you trusted me to manage our economy.”

Chiang’s campaign is spending about $500,000 to air the ad in Los Angeles and San Diego in coming days.

That buy is dwarfed by seven-figure purchases for ads supporting Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Newsom is the front-runner, while Villaraigosa is battling for second place with Republican businessman John Cox. Chiang has been mired in the single digits in almost all polling in the race.

His ad, called “Quiet Storm,” tries to portray Chiang as a progressive who is effective and can move policy in Sacramento.

Chiang points to his work challenging Wells Fargo before arguing that he could accomplish what “doubters” say is impossible to improve the state’s healthcare, housing and schools.

“I say, we got this,” Chiang concludes.

On a recent trip to Iowa, Eric Garcetti — the mayor of Los Angeles and a possible 2020 White House contestant — raised eyebrows with a bit of exuberant outreach.

Los Angeles and Iowa, Garcetti insisted, “have a ton in common,” and he didn’t simply mean both are inhabited by carbon-based life forms needing oxygen to survive.

Urban or rural, farmer or fashion plate, all of us harbor the same hopes and dreams, the mayor suggested, and if it wasn’t a terribly original thought it also wasn’t the most egregious sort of political pandering — like, say, ordering that every home in Los Angeles be powered by Iowa-produced ethanol.

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(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

A proposal to borrow $8.9 billion for improvements to California’s water quality systems and watersheds and protection of natural habitats is eligible for the statewide ballot in November, Secretary of State Alex Padilla announced in a press release Wednesday.

Padilla said the measure, which is backed by agricultural interests, had exceeded the 365,800 valid signatures it needed to qualify for the general election ballot.

The bond measure will appear on the ballot unless proponents withdraw it by June 28, the release said.

The bond is one of many voters could decide on in 2018. A $4-billion bond for parks and water infrastructure improvements will appear on the June 5 ballot. State lawmakers approved it last year.

(John Gibbins / San Diego Union-Tribune)

A mother of two turned ringleader of “the resistance” and more than a hundred of her faithful followers gathered on Tuesday morning outside Rep. Darrell Issa’s office in a northern San Diego County suburb. Across the street was her foil, a wedding DJ in a red “Make American Great Again” cap, setting up hefty speakers for an upcoming war of words.

For about 65 weeks the deep divide in America played out along this 100-yard stretch of road in Vista. Here, at 10 a.m. every Tuesday, passersby found signs, chants, songs and, if they were lucky, sometimes a 20-foot-tall inflatable chicken with a Trump-esque coif.

They’d also glimpse the state of the body politic in 2018, a time when shock has turned to anger and post-2016 calls for reconciliation have morphed into grudging acceptance that each side might be better off in their respective corners. Or in this case, their sides of the street.

On Tuesday, the anti-Issa, anti-Trump contingent fought this particular battle for the last time, declaring it their final protest at the congressman’s office. They said they planned to use their energy to knock on doors and get out the vote, with an occasional protest on the side. Their pro-Trump rivals vowed to show up wherever they do.

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Jane Un, chief executive and founder of Abba Bail Bonds, works with a client.

( Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

In recent years, the seriousness and number of official complaints related to the bail industry in California have significantly increased while bail agents and bounty hunters face limited oversight, putting vulnerable communities at risk of fraud, embezzlement and other forms of victimization.

This year, as Gov. Jerry Brown has pledged to work with lawmakers in a push to overhaul how courts assign defendants bail and to better regulate bail agencies, even some who profit from the court practice admit it’s time for regulation. These bail and bail-recovery agents could become unlikely allies, saying they advocate for change because they’ve seen the system abuse the poor.

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After a sleepy campaign, California voters are now being bombarded with television advertisements in the governor’s race, an onslaught that is expected to ramp up in coming weeks.

The ads most frequently seen on television are those promoting Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, the front-runner in the race, and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who is trying to secure the second spot in the June primary.

Newsom’s campaign and an outside group backing Villaraigosa are spending seven figures weekly on these efforts, according to filings with the California secretary of state’s office and a media buyer who asked not to be identified in order to freely discuss the ads.

Other gubernatorial candidates are expected to hit the airwaves soon, the media buyer said. State Treasurer John Chiang has reserved a half-million dollars in the coming days in the Los Angeles and San Diego markets, and Villaraigosa’s campaign has requested availability in at least five of the state’s biggest TV markets.

The GOP candidates in the race, who will be seeking the state Republican Party’s endorsement at its convention next weekend, have been much less active.

Businessman John Cox in recent weeks has been spending about $90,000 per week, but doubled that this week in Los Angeles and added small buys on KFI-AM radio and cable in markets including Fresno, Bakersfield and Salinas.

State Assemblyman Travis Allen of Huntington Beach, who has been scooping up Republican Party endorsements across the state, has yet to make a notable television or radio buy, though he and Cox have received some attention as commentators on Fox News.

A Chevron gas station in Sacramento shows prices last year.

(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

Republican activists said Tuesday that they have collected at least 830,000 signatures for an initiative to repeal recent increases in California’s gas tax and vehicle fees, more than enough to qualify the measure for the November ballot.

The activists need 585,407 signatures of registered voters to qualify the ballot measure.

Because signatures are still being processed and counted by the campaign, backers hope to have 900,000 by the time they begin turning them in to the counties on Friday, according to Carl DeMaio, a former San Diego City Council member and organizer of the drive.

“The breadth and depth of voter anger over the car and gas tax hikes is just amazing,” said DeMaio, who hosts a radio talk show. “We are seeing Democrats, independents and Republicans sign the petition and volunteering to carry the petition, people from all walks of life.”

The initiative targets a law approved in April 2017 by the Legislature and Gov. Jerry Brown that is expected to raise $5.4 billion annually for road and bridge repairs and improvements to mass transit.

The money comes from a recent 12-cents-per-gallon increase in the gas tax, a 20-cent increase in the diesel fuel excise tax and a new annual vehicle fee ranging from $25 for cars valued at under $5,000, to $175 for cars worth $60,000 or more.

The petition drive raised more than $2 million with significant contributions from the California Republican Party and Republican members of Congress from California, including House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield and Reps. Ken Calvert of Corona and Mimi Walters of Irvine.

Republicans hope the issue will help their candidates for office in this year’s election and hurt Democrats who support the higher taxes.

“I think this is going to put Democrats in real bad spot,” DeMaio said.

A spokesman for Brown declined to comment until the signatures are filed.

DeMaio said there were approximately 20,000 volunteer petition circulators who brought in more than 250,000 signatures, with the rest collected by paid circulators who received $1 to $2.50 per signature.

“It’s a pretty comfortable margin [of signatures] that we have been able to hit here,” DeMaio said.

Opposition will grow, he said, as more Californians get their annual vehicle registration notice.

The repeal campaign hopes to raise $5 million for the campaign to pass the constitutional amendment, which would not only repeal the increase in the gas tax and vehicle fees but require future increases to be submitted to voters.

“We know that Gov. Brown and his cohorts are going to spend an amazing amount of money to mislead voters,” DeMaio said. “But I feel pretty confident that we will repeal the gas tax.”

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Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine, has filed paperwork to establish a legal expense fund amid an ongoing federal criminal investigation into misused campaign cash.

Hunter filed the required paperwork March 27, seeking a rarely granted “Legal Expense Fund” through which members of Congress under investigation or being sued in connection with doing their jobs or running for office can raise money for their legal expenses.

Such funds are administered by an independent trustee and allow donors to give above the maximum amount they can contribute a candidate’s campaign. Hunter has spent more than $600,000 of campaign money on lawyers.

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(Jose Luis Magana / Associated Press)

California Sen. Kamala Harris says she will no longer accept money from corporate political action committees.

In an interview with WWPM-FM’s “The Breakfast Club,” in New York that aired Monday, the senator said she wasn’t expecting a question at a town hall this month about whether she would accept money for corporations or corporate lobbyists.

At the time, Harris said “it depends,” but she said on Monday that she had reflected on the matter and changed her mind.

“Money has had such an outside influence on politics, and especially with the Supreme Court determining Citizens United, which basically means that big corporations can spend unlimited amounts of money influencing a campaign, right?” Harris said. “We’re all supposed to have an equal vote, but money has now really tipped the balance between an individual having equal power in an election to a corporation. So I’ve actually made a decision since I had that conversation that I’m not going to accept corporate PAC checks. I just — I’m not.”

You can watch the video of the interview here. (Harris’ corporate money comments come about 30 minutes in.)

Harris wouldn’t be on the ballot for a second Senate term until 2022, though it’s widely believed that she is planning a presidential bid in 2020. Other potential 2020 presidential candidates, including Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), have also ruled out taking corporate PAC money.

Soon after Monday’s show aired, Harris’ campaign sent out a fundraising request noting her new stance.

“As corporate PACs continue to corrupt our politics and twist Congress’ priorities at your expense, we’re going to focus on raising money from small-dollar, individual donors like you,” the email says.

A man sleeps on the sidewalk in front of the Union Rescue Mission in the skid row neighborhood of Los Angeles.

(Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

A measure to spend $2 billion on housing homeless Californians could be on the November statewide ballot.

State Sen. Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) is pushing the idea to deal with what he said was a “burgeoning humanitarian crisis whose epicenter is here in California.”

De León’s new measure is a do-over for a 2016 plan passed by the Legislature to redirect $2 billion toward building homeless housing from a voter-approved 1% income tax surcharge on millionaires that funds mental health services. A Sacramento attorney sued over that decision, arguing that the move violated constitutional rules on approving loans without a public vote and that lawmakers shouldn’t take money away from mental health treatment. The case remains active in Sacramento Superior Court and it’s unclear when, or if, the state will be able to spend the $2 billion.

De León’s Senate Bill 1206 would put the $2-billion loan on the ballot in November, freeing up the money if voters approve the measure. De León said had he been able to predict the 2016 plan would end up in court, he would have sought a ballot measure at the time.

“We thought this was like apple pie and baseball and puppies,” De León said. “Who would oppose the idea of repurposing the dollars to build immediate housing as a permanent solution for homelessness? Obviously with a crystal ball, had I anticipated the litigation, I would have worked to place it on the ballot.”

De León noted that the 2016 plan had bipartisan supermajority support in the Legislature, something his new bill also will need to get on the ballot. Sen. John Moorlach (R-Costa Mesa) is a coauthor of the plan.

SB 1206 is scheduled for its first hearing in the Legislature on Wednesday.

Should De León’s measure be approved, it will join a crowded list of housing issues before voters in November. Californians will decide on a separate $4-billion bond to help finance new low-income housing and home loans for veterans. De León said he’s not worried those two measures will compete against each other because voters are aware of the scale of the state’s housing problems and the proposed homeless housing bond redirects existing dollars instead of raising taxes.

“Once [voters] know that the impact on their pocketbook is not existent, I’m confident that they’ll join me and my colleague John Moorlach in support of this measure,” De León said.

Assemblyman David Chiu (D-San Francisco) along with supporters of bills to allow more former felons to receive professional licenses.

(John Myers/Los Angeles Times)

A trio of California Assembly members urged colleagues on Monday to pass legislation that would prohibit state commissions and agencies from rejecting a professional license for those who were once convicted of less serious crimes.

“We can’t say we want to rehabilitate people, and then block them from getting the jobs that they need when they’re released,” said Assemblyman David Chiu (D-San Francisco). “That leads to more recidivism and to more crime.”

The bills, scheduled to be heard in Assembly committees Tuesday, would ban the use of arrest or conviction records as the reason for denying a professional license. The bill would not apply to Californians who served time for any of the offenses on the state’s list of “violent crimes.”

The authors, all Democrats, said that a government-issued professional license is required for some 30% of all jobs in the state. Their bills would change the licensing process at the California departments of Consumer Affairs and Social Services and agencies that certify emergency medical technicians.

The bills would block prior convictions from leading to the delay or denial of a license unless that crime is “directly related” to the profession the person intends to pursue. Two of the bills also specifically say convictions less than 5 years old could continue to play a role in licensing decisions.

Last year, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law that keeps private sector employers from inquiring about a job applicant’s conviction history prior to an offer of employment.

Advocates joined the lawmakers at a press conference in Sacramento to point out that limits on awarding licenses should focus only on those whose prior criminal activity could pose a threat to consumers.

“Continuing to hold people back for crimes that are 6, 7, 8, 10, 20 years old does not actually make sense if you’re looking at public safety,” said Jael Myrick of the East Bay Community Law Center.

One of the proposals, Assembly Bill 2293, seeks to make it easier for ex-felons to get a license allowing a job with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection — the same agency that often uses prison inmates to battle blazes around the state.

“If a person is good enough to risk their life fighting fires for the state of California as an inmate,” said Assemblywoman Eloise Gomez Reyes (D-Grand Terrace), “their previous actions should not prevent from having a job utilizing the skill set that they learned.”

Gubernatorial front-runner Gavin Newsom released his first television ad of the race on Monday, days after a well-funded effort to boost fellow Democratic candidate Antonio Villaraigosa went on the air with its own spot.

The 30-second ad, being aired statewide on broadcast and cable, highlights Newsom’s record on same-sex marriage, universal healthcare and gun control.

“The one candidate with the record of bold leadership and bold results,” a narrator says over images of Newsom looking serious and making a speech. It also mentioned endorsements he has received from Sen. Kamala Harris and various unions, and included the slogan, “Courage for a change.”

Newsom’s campaign declined to say how much it was spending to air the spot, which appears designed to appeal to Democratic-base voters.

The lieutenant governor and former mayor of San Francisco is dominating fundraising and polls in the race. Last week, an independent expenditure group called Families & Teachers for Antonio Villaraigosa for Governor launched a spot in support of the former mayor of Los Angeles. The group is funded by a trio of wealthy charter school backers, and by law cannot coordinate with a candidate.

Its ad is aimed at boosting Villaraigosa’s chances of coming in second in the June 5 primary and moving onto the general election. In recent polling, Villaraigosa has placed third, behind Republican businessman John Cox.

The group released the ad on Thursday. The following day, the Newsom campaign’s attorney demanded that California television stations stop airing it, arguing that it violated elections law because it used snippets of video from the Villaraigosa campaign. The independent expenditure committee’s attorney responded by saying the allegations have “no merit” and are misleading.

( (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press))

The decision by a politically powerful labor group to openly campaign against an embattled Los Angeles-area lawmaker drew a sharp rebuke on Friday from Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon.

The Lakewood Democrat lashed out hours after the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California filed paperwork for a political action committee to defeat Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia (D-Bell Gardens). Garcia, who’s seeking her fourth term, took an unpaid leave of absence in February following allegations of sexual misconduct. She has denied the reports and an Assembly investigation remains underway.

Rendon didn’t criticize the labor group by name, insisting instead that the decision was driven by oil and gas industry interests.

“This is a thinly veiled attempt by Big Oil and polluters to intimidate me and my members. It is an affront to my speakership,” Rendon said in a statement. “We are proud of the work that the Assembly has done to increase jobs and wages while defending our environment. We will vigorously defend the members of our caucus from any ill-advised political attack.”

A statement from the labor group, which sparred with Garcia last year on her effort to link new climate change policies with a crackdown on air pollution, said it had decided to “reverse” past support for her.

“The Trades have thousands of hard working members in Garcia’s district, and we look forward to lifting up another Democrat in the 58th Assembly to better represent them and their families,” said the statement.

The political action committee’s campaign finance filing on Friday listed nonmonetary “in kind” contributions from Erin Lehane, a public affairs consultant aligned with the building labor group. Lehane said she had begun “researching” Garcia in November. In January, a former legislative staffer accused her of groping him in 2014.

Lehane, who identified herself as a spokesperson for the labor group’s political action committee, said on Friday that she believed Garcia’s “hypocrisy threatened a movement that will dictate how much harassment and abuse my daughter will face in her work life.”

Garcia, who has been an outspoken advocate for women in the #MeToo movement, has complained that her political opponents helped fan the flames of the accusations. Through a campaign consultant, she declined to comment on Friday.

Rendon’s critique came on the heels of a full-page ad in The Times on Friday, partly paid for by the Trades Council, that criticized “well-funded ivory tower elites” who push proposals that hurt the oil and gas industry.

“We are the real jobs that fuel the real California economy,” read the advertisement.

For anyone interested in politics, this weekend’s L.A. Times Festival of Books at USC will be the place for you.

It’s a great event — the biggest book festival in the country and a showcase for ideas and literature in California.

Members of the Times’ California politics team and the Washington bureau will be there in force. We’ll talk about the contest for governor and the midterm elections on Sunday at 1:20 p.m. There also are a number of panels on the Trump administration and politics, moderated by Times journalists.

Here’s the full schedule. To see where we’ll be, filter the list by Politics & History. Also, don’t miss the Ask a Reporter booth on campus.

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An attorney representing Gavin Newsom’s campaign for governor is demanding that California television stations cease airing an ad by an independent political committee supporting his Democratic rival Antonio Villaraigosa.

Attorney Thomas A. Willis, in a letter to the stations, said the ad is “false and misleading and violates California law” because it uses snippets of video footage from Villaraigosa’s own campaign ads. Willis called that illegal coordination between the campaign and PAC.

“Under California law, advertisements made by entities other than a candidate are presumed to be ‘coordinated’ — and thus not independent expenditures — when the advertisement replicates, reproduces or disseminates substantial parts of a communication, including video footage, created and paid for by the candidate,” the letter states.

A representative for the independent expenditure committee — Families & Teachers for Antonio Villaraigosa for Governor — fired back. Attorney Brian T. Hildreth says those allegations have “no merit” and accused the Newsom campaign of being misleading.

Hildreth sent a letter to the television stations in response, urging them to ignore the Newsom campaign’s accusations.

He said the Newsom camp “appears to intentionally misrepresent the law” and that the video use was permissible. He said only six seconds of video from Villaraigosa’s campaign ads was used, which is well within the legal limits.

The independent committee is sponsored by the group California Charter Schools Assn. Advocates, according to the California secretary of state’s office. The ad is airing on broadcast and cable stations statewide.

The committee’s ad is focused on Villaraigosa’s record as Assembly speaker and as mayor of Los Angeles when there was a drop in crime.

Armand Werden, a 29-year-old community college student who works the taps at Dust Bowl Brewery in Turlock, said the state is on the upswing.

(Phil Willon / Los Angeles Times)

As California chooses a new governor — one of just a handful in the last 40 years not named Jerry Brown — the state seems to be enjoying something unusual in these tumultuous political times: a feeling of relative contentment.

Not to say things are perfect.

Still, more than 100 random interviews conducted over the length and breadth of the state — from Redding in the north to Santee in the south, from the Pacific coastline to the edge of the Sierra Nevada — found most saying things are looking up, at least so far as California’s direction is concerned.

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Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco)

(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

Earlier this week, state senators killed legislation that would have boosted the number of homes that could be built near transit stops across Los Angeles and the rest of the California.

The measure, SB 827, attracted national attention because it aimed to address both California’s housing shortage and environmental goals. But SB 827’s author, Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), failed to garner enough support from his colleagues at the bill’s initial committee hearing.

On this episode of Gimme Shelter: The California Housing Crisis Pod, we break down why the bill failed and explain what might come next.

“Gimme Shelter,” a biweekly podcast that looks at why it’s so expensive to live in California and what the state can do about it, features Liam Dillon, who covers housing affordability issues for the Los Angeles Times’ Sacramento bureau, and Matt Levin, data reporter for CALmatters.