Newsletter: Essential Politics: Political payday for minimum wage

“This is about economic justice, it’s about people, it’s about creating a little, tiny balance in a system that every day becomes more unbalanced.”

That was how Gov. Jerry Brown summed up his thinking on the necessity of a $15 an hour statewide minimum wage, which is now on the way through the law he signed less than 24 hours ago.

Good morning from the the state capital. I’m Sacramento Bureau Chief John Myers, and the sweeping law to boost the wages of low-income California marks a fascinating turn in Brown’s legacy.

MINIMUM WAGE MAKES HISTORY

Since returning to the governor’s office in 2011, Brown has made fiscal caution and economic practicality his calling card. But on Monday, he didn’t deny criticisms that the economics of a statewide $15 an hour wage might not pan out.

Instead, he argued there were more important factors at hand.

“Economically, minimum wages may not make sense,” said Brown, flanked by labor union members and a phalanx of Democratic legislators. “But morally, and socially and politically, they make every sense.”

And the politics of the day were visible everywhere at the Los Angeles bill signing, writes Christine Mai-Duc. That includes the rivalry with New York, where Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed his $15 wage law less than a hour before Brown.

We covered the signing live on our Essential Politics news feed. See video and photos from the scene.

In a special edition of my California Politics Podcast, we discuss how the minimum wage deal may affect Brown’s legacy as a progressive Democrat. We also analyze what it says about the working relationship between the governor and business groups -- an alliance that’s been pretty reliable these past few years.

DEMOCRATS WAGE WAR OVER THE WAGE

And lest we forget, the political posturing of minimum wage has found its way into the presidential campaign too. Hillary Clinton was with Cuomo as he signed New York’s law. As Michael Memoli reports, the seat onstage allowed Clinton to possibly upstage Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Supporters of the two Democrats have been angrily debating for weeks which of the candidates is the real advocate for efforts to boost the minimum wage.

WATCHING WISCONSIN

The two Democrats, along with the three Republicans left in the race for the White House, are locked in another make-or-break Election Day. This time it’s Wisconsin, with 42 delegates at stake for Republicans by day’s end and 86 for Democrats.

The three Republicans -- Sen. Ted Cruz, Donald Trump, and Ohio Gov. John Kasich -- made their final laps around the Badger State on Monday.

Meantime, Trump’s foreign policy proposal to nix NATO received some new criticism on Monday from President Obama, as Christi Parsons reports.

As always, we’ll have live results and analysis tonight on Trail Guide and via @latimespolitics.

ONE PERSON, ONE VOTE

With all of the presidential and state political news out there, it was easy to miss a huge ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court for California: The long-standing “one person, one vote” way of drawing political districts will remain on the books.

The case, if the justices had ruled the other way, would have restricted political map drawing to the numbers of actual voters and not all persons.

Even so, writes David Savage, the ruling didn’t close the door on other ways to tinker with redistricting efforts by the states. (California, as you’ll remember, handed over the map drawing for legislative and congressional districts to an independent citizens commission in 2011.)

TODAY’S ESSENTIALS

-- Regulations for surge pricing on Uber? As Liam Dillon reports, a San Diego legislator with family ties to the tax industry is proposing new ridesharing rules when it comes to prices.

-- The California Supreme Court ruled that businesses should be giving workers chairs while on the job.

-- Donald Trump’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame continues to take a fair amount of abuse, from a swastika to a “mute” icon.

-- What do you think of Trump? Readers can weigh in with our quick survey.

-- The Festival of Books is coming up. Here are details on the program, which will include panels featuring Team Politics.

LOGISTICS

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john.myers@latimes.com

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