CalWatchdog Morning Read – November 2

02 Nov, 2016 by CalWatchdog Staff

Democrats abandon incumbent assemblywoman
Will closing of nuclear plant spur fossil fuel use?
Another Democrat jumps in 2018 race for governor
San Diego kills proposed ban on Airbnb/short-term rentals
Consumer group sues Anthem Blue Cross for “bait and switch”

Good morning. Happy Hump Day. Democrats are pushing hard to protect and expand their majority in the Legislature. But there’s one odd woman out: Assemblywoman Patty Lopez, a pariah in the Democratic Party since she knocked off Raul Bocanegra, a popular incumbent, two years ago.

Up for re-election in 2016, the party didn’t endorse Lopez (rare for an incumbent absent a scandal), outside interests want nothing to do with her and her Assembly kin are almost nowhere to be found.

But she expects to be back in her office next year, stronger than ever. To her, nothing could be more challenging than her first term.

“I survived,” the thick-accented San Fernando Democrat said with a laugh in a recent interview with CalWatchdog, reflecting on her first term in office. “Believe it or not, the first year was hard.”

CalWatchdog has more.

In other news:

“Will closing Diablo Canyon spur more fossil fuel use?” writes CalWatchdog.
“Delaine Eastin has been out of public office for more than a decade and is confronting a large field of better-known Democrats, but the former state superintendent of public instruction told POLITICO California on Tuesday that she will run for governor in 2018.” Politico has more.
“A proposal that would have outlawed short-term vacation rentals in most of San Diego’s single-family neighborhoods was rejected Tuesday by the City Council following a nearly seven-hour hearing that drew hundreds of individuals representing both sides of what has long been a contentious and much debated issue,” reports The San Diego Union-Tribune.
“Calling it a classic ‘bait and switch,’ a California consumer group on Tuesday lashed out at Anthem Blue Cross of California, claiming it failed to adequately warn customers they were being shifted in 2017 to brand-new, stripped-down plans.” The San Jose Mercury News has more.