Eleven months after leading a successful campaign against a ballot measure that would have repealed fuel tax hikes approved by the Legislature in 2017, Gov. Gavin Newsom is facing bipartisan criticism over his administration’s decision to cancel three road projects in the Central Valley and San Luis Obispo County.

Newsom has rejected the criticism that he had engaged in a “bait and switch” because he previously emphasized to voters in 2018 that at least 60 percent of the $5.2 billion generated annually by the 2017 tax hikes would go to roads and bridges, as specified in Senate Bill 1.

But his Sept. 20 executive order directed state transportation officials “to leverage the more than $5 billion in annual … spending for construction, operations and maintenance to help reverse the trend of increased fuel consumption and reduce greenhouse gas emissions” and to “reduce congestion through innovative strategies designed to encourage people to shift from cars to other modes of transportation.” 

Soon after, Caltrans – citing Newsom’s order – said the three road projects had been subject to “deletion” from a list of scheduled work at a savings of $32.5 million. It also said other road projects had been reduced in scope, creating a total savings of $61.3 million “to be held in reserve for priority rail projects and other priorities aligned with [the governor’s] executive order.”

Assemblyman Rendon says voters remembered ‘clear promises’

This led to criticism not only from Republican officials in the Central Valley and San Luis Obispo but from Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, D-Lakewood.

Gas taxes were raised “with some clear promises … that this money would be used … almost exclusively for roads and repairs,” he told the Los Angeles Times. “Now is not the time to go back on those promises.”

But Newsom said he would honor Senate Bill 1 exactly as it was written and said critics shouldn’t “conflate” his Sept. 20 executive order with the state’s “locked in” commitment to fix roads and bridges.

Nevertheless, Democrats in the Legislature have good reason to be wary about fallout from their support of the 2017 gas tax hike. One of their few setbacks in recent years as they have established lopsided majorities in the Assembly and Senate came in June 2018 when state Sen. Josh Newman, D-Fullerton, was recalled easily after a campaign that focused on his vote for the gas tax hike.

But the potency of the issue has been evident longer than that. In 2002, 69 percent of state voters backed Proposition 42, which made it more difficult for gas taxes to be shifted for use on general needs. In 2006, 77 percent of state voters supported Proposition 1A, which added even more restrictions.

Gas tax revenue diverted to general uses in 2010

Yet these measures were unable to block Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Legislature from raiding gas taxes again in 2010. Facing a huge budget deficit after the Great Recession had led to a nearly 20 percent drop in state revenue, the Republican governor and Democratic lawmakers and their lawyers came up with a plan to end state sales taxes on gasoline while sharply increasing excise taxes. Because the “gas tax swap” didn’t increase revenue, it was allowed to be enacted on a simple majority vote.

And since there were far fewer restrictions on gas excise taxes than gas sales taxes, lawmakers were able to take $1.8 billion in annual gas excise revenue for general uses.

Senate Bill 1 in 2017 eliminated the law setting up the tax swap.

Perceived as the most vulnerable of the legislative Democrats who passed Gov. Jerry Brown’s gas and vehicle tax package by a razor-thin margin, freshman state Sen. Josh Newman, D-Fullerton, faced an intensifying campaign to turn him out of office, potentially depriving his party of the two-thirds majority that allowed them to pass Brown’s infrastructure bill in the first place. 

Targeted politics

“State election officials formally approved the recall campaign against Sen. Josh Newman of Fullerton on [May 8]. The recall is promoted by radio hosts Karl DeMaio of KOGO in San Diego and John and Ken of KFI in Los Angeles,” noted the Associated Press. “Recall organizers have until Oct. 16 to collect signatures from 63,593 voters.” 

Newman was singled out thanks to his narrow victory last year, in a district Republicans held before and believe they can reclaim with voter frustration on their side.” After besting favored Democrat Sukhee Kang last June, Newman squeaked out a surprise 3,185-vote win over Republican Assemblywoman Ling Ling Chang in November,” the Orange County Register reported.

“The seat had been held by termed-out Republican Bob Huff and the win gave Democrats the two-thirds majority they needed to pass tax increases without a single GOP vote. They took advantage of that on April 6, passing a $52-billion transportation package to be paid for by increased gas and vehicle registration fees. While there was one Democratic defection in the Senate, Democrats picked up the support of Sen. Anthony Cannella, R-Modesto, in exchange for $500 million in projects for his district.”

High stakes, big names

Although sinking Newman would be victory enough, DeMaio set his sights on breaking the two-thirds supermajority in Sacramento with room to spare. “After Newman is gone, DeMaio and his allies hope to pick off other Democrats, even those in rock-solid Democratic districts,” wrote Steven Greenhut at the Register. “He’s more than happy to help replace tax-supporting Democrats with those who oppose these transportation-tax increases. In fact, he doesn’t see this as a partisan issue at all, but as a ‘working-class families’ issue. And he doesn’t care who replaces Newman or others, as long as the new legislator opposes these increases.”

“No doubt, if Newman is bounced and the political lions start circling another vulnerable legislator, we might see a change in strategy within the Capitol herd. For now, Democrats and their interest groups are trying to protect Newman, as evidenced by recent comments by Senate President Pro Tempore Kevin de Leon. This is an important seat for them given the implications for their supermajority, which is why even former President Barack Obama endorsed Newman in the November race.”

Lending an additional hand was Gov. Jerry Brown himself, who helped shore up Newman’s shaky fortunes by throwing a special event for the lawmaker. Brown “thinks it is unfair that some activists are trying to recall Newman for his vote favoring an increase in gas taxes to pay for road repairs,” the Los Angeles Times reported, citing top aide Nancy McFadden. “The Brown camp also is skeptical that opponents of the gas tax bill will be able to carry out their threat of qualifying an initiative to repeal Senate Bill 1 but are prepared to do battle if it makes the ballot.”

“It is unusual for him to do an individual legislator’s fundraiser because if he did one he would have do to lots, but Josh is under unfair attack and so the governor wants to make sure he knows that he’s got his back – that’s why he is stepping out and doing this for him,” McFadden said.

“I am honored and humbled that my Republican colleagues have elected me to continue serving as Senate Republican Leader,” Fuller said in a statement. “I am committed and focused on issues that help Californians – jobs and affordability.”

Last month, Chad Mayes, the Republican leader in the Assembly, was also re-elected. Both Fuller and Mayes will be tasked with steering their caucuses through a particularly difficult time for California Republicans. 

The November election relegated Republicans in the Legislature to mostly the role of bombthrowers and bystanders. By gaining a two-thirds supermajority in both houses of the Legislature, Democrats can approve taxes and add constitutional amendments to the ballot without Republican support. (Of course, that requires complete Democratic unity, which is often more elusive than it may seem at first glance.) 

Fuller took the caucus’ reins from Bob Huff, who was forced from the Legislature by term limits in November. In fact, it was losing Huff’s seat, located mostly in north Orange County, that gave Democrats the supermajority.

Democrat Josh Newman, a political newcomer, defeated then-sitting Assemblywoman Ling Ling Chang, a Republican, to win the seat. 

Mr. Issa goes (back) to Washington

Good morning. Happy Tuesday. The Associated Press projected winners in two of the last and most high-profile races in the state: Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista, and Josh Newman, a Democrat who was elected to the state Senate.

Issa was sent back to Washington for his ninth term after squeaking through what was easily the toughest race of his career. He been a constant thorn in the side of the Obama administration in recent years as chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee — a position he recently rotated out of — and had just a 2,348-vote lead as of Monday afternoon. 

Newman’s name is likely not too familiar to most readers, having no prior political career. But his victory over Republican Assemblywoman Ling Ling Chang officially gives Democrats a two-thirds supermajority in the Legislature. In other words, free rein.

Here’s more on what the supermajority means — and doesn’t mean. 

In other news:

• “The presidential campaign focused some attention on the long-simmering debate over policing and the appropriate uses of force, but as is typical with national campaigns, the nuances got lost amid ideologically charged soundbites such as ‘law and order’ and ‘Black Lives Matter.’ Some advocates for police reform worry about what a new Trump administration will mean for these discussions given the president-elect’s expectedly different approach toward the matter than President Obama’s Department of Justice. But others argue the election will send reform back to where it really belongs: at the local level.” CalWatchdog has more. 

• “Critics of Wells Fargo’s scandal are raising questions about why the California Public Employees’ Retirement System — which for three decades has demanded that corporations it invests in must operate under a clear ethical code — didn’t question illicit banking practices by the San Francisco-based banking giant that were first revealed in 2013 and which resulted in huge federal sanctions in September.” CalWatchdog has more. 

• “Silicon Valley entrepreneur Steve Spinner hopes the end is near for one of Washington’s most abhorred rituals: the daily rounds of fundraising calls by elected officials trying to fill the coffers for their next campaign. He thinks it can happen with an algorithm that improves targeting, and reduces time candidates spend casting around for cash.” Politico has more. 

• The Sacramento Bee explains “How California became a blue state.”

Legislature:

• Gone till December. 

Gov. Brown:

• No public events announced. 

Tips: matt@calwatchdog.com

Follow us: @calwatchdog @mflemingterp

New follower: @BinduMedia

Democrats on verge of supermajority

Good morning! Programming note: Morning Read will go dark Thursday and Friday in honor of Thanksgiving. Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving!

Democrat Josh Newman now has a lead of almost 1,400 votes in the Southern California state Senate seat upon which rests Democrats’ chance of a supermajority in the Legislature.

Newman, a political neophyte, had been running behind Republican Assemblywoman Ling Ling Chang since Election Day. But Chang’s lead began slipping away recently. 

On Tuesday, Chang clung to a lead of less than 200 votes. By Wednesday evening, Newman had overtaken Chang, stretching his lead to nearly 1,400 votes.

Chang’s camp is undeterred. A campaign spokesman told CalWatchdog they would wait until “the votes were counted.”

“We never declared victory (while Chang had the lead) and I’m not in the mood to declare defeat,” said Jim Nygren, a campaign consultant for Chang.

CalWatchdog has more. 

In other news: 

No transportation deal before new legislators are sworn in: “Speculation over a potential last-minute push on a transportation funding plan ended Tuesday, when Gov. Jerry Brown and legislative leaders declared there would be no lame-duck negotiations this month,” reports the Los Angeles Times.

SEIU Local 1000 to strike on day of swear in: “California’s largest state-employee union announced Tuesday that it will go on strike Dec. 5 in response to what union leaders complain is ‘unlawful conduct and egregious unfair labor practices’ during negotiations for a new contract,” reports The Sacramento Bee. 

Harris’ big accomplishment may fall flat: “Incoming U.S. Senator Kamala Harris is facing an embarrassing end to one of her final high-profile prosecutions as California Attorney General, with a court poised to throw out a string of sex trafficking charges against the operators of adult classifieds site Backpage.com.” Buzzfeed has more. 

Initiative to bring many bond measures before voters fails: “California voters have rejected Proposition 53, a November measure to limit the state’s use of revenue bonds to pay for large public works projects that could have undermined Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed twin water tunnels under the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.” The Sacramento Bee has more. 

Legislature:

• Gone till December (officially).

Gov. Brown:

• No public events announced. 

Tips: matt@calwatchdog.com

Follow us: @calwatchdog @mfleming

New follower: @landshark805

Newman, a political neophyte, had been running behind Republican Assemblywoman Ling Ling Chang since Election Day. But Chang’s lead began slipping away in recent days. 

On Tuesday, Chang clung to a lead of less than 200 votes. By Wednesday evening, Newman had overtaken Chang, stretching his lead to nearly 1,400 votes.

Chang’s camp is undeterred. A campaign spokesman told CalWatchdog they would wait until “the votes were counted.”

“We never declared victory (while Chang had the lead) and I’m not in the mood to declare defeat,” said Jim Nygren, a campaign consultant for Chang.

Orange County, home to about three-fourths of Senate District 29’s voters, has only 61,649 votes left to count countywide. Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties share the rest of the ballots and are still counting votes as well.  

As of Wednesday, Newman was narrowly winning both Orange and Los Angeles counties, which make up around 92 percent of the total vote.

Chang performed well in San Bernardino, which should present more results soon, according to Nygren. And while San Bernardino only accounts for 8 percent of the district’s votes, a race this close may be decided by only hundreds of votes. 

The linchpin is one Southern California Senate district, where Republican Assemblywoman Ling Ling Chang has a narrow lead over Democrat Josh Newman in the race to replace the former Senate Minority Leader Bob Huff, who is termed out.

While Chang holds a lead, she’s losing ground every day. Last Wednesday, Chang led Newman by around 5,000 votes. The next day, her lead dropped to 3,500 votes.

On Monday, it was less than 200 votes, according to the Secretary of State.

A two-thirds “supermajority” would give Democrats the power to bypass Republican support to pass emergency legislation and put constitutional amendments on the ballot, among other privileges.

“It is important,” said Eric Bauman, vice chairman of the California Democratic Party, noting that there’s a certain level of “bragging rights” that come with the power as well. 

The vote tally changes daily as ballots are still being counted from the election earlier this month. Senate District 29 spans three counties: Orange, Los Angeles and San Bernardino.

There are around 92,000 ballots uncounted in Orange County, where the bulk of SD29 voters live.

County election officials must report final results to the state by December 9, which will certify the results by Dec. 16. 

All eyes on SoCal state Senate race

Good morning! TGIT. Just to piggy back on one thing we wrote yesterday, the only thing standing in the way of a Democratic supermajority in the Legislature is one Southern California Senate seat. 

Democrats are halfway there as the last barrier between them and a two-thirds majority in the Assembly officially crumbled on Tuesday, after the Associated Press determined Democrat Sabrina Cervantes had knocked off Republican incumbent Eric Linder in the Inland Empire.

But to completely enjoy the benefits of a supermajority, Democrats will have to win one more seat in the Senate as well, which means Democrat Josh Newman has to overcome a few thousand vote deficit against Republican Assemblywoman Ling Ling Chang.

Currently, Chang leads Newman by about 2,600 votes, a number that changes daily as ballots are still being counted. On Wednesday, Chang’s lead was around 5,000 votes.

The district is split between Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties, with Orange having the largest swath of voters. 

Orange County estimates that there are still 162,778 ballots left uncounted countywide out of 374,397 post-Election Day. 

CalWatchdog has more. 

In other news:

• “Federal election officials on Wednesday released an accounting from GOP Rep. Duncan Hunter itemizing dozens of apparently personal outlays by the congressman’s campaign — expenses he has now reimbursed to the tune of $60,000. The list resembles a suburban family budget including utilities, a dentist, a nail salon, Albertsons, Costco, Walmart, Home Depot, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Trader Joe’s and Abercrombie & Fitch — and also 32 airline transactions, a hotel in Italy and the Arizona Grand Resort.” The San Diego Union-Tribune has more. 

• “When Nancy Pelosi travels from her home in San Francisco to her job in Washington as House Democratic leader, she flies over millions of voters whom Democrats relied on for decades but who rejected the party this year. The Democrats’ shellacking in the election — below-expectations gains in the House plus the White House loss and minimal wins in the Senate — produced party grumbling that the 76-year-old California liberal may not be the best messenger to lead those once-core Democratic voters back into the fold.” The San Jose Mercury News/AP has more. 

• “When the California State Senate convenes next month, Sen. Connie Leyva, D-Chino, says that she plans to introduce legislation to ban all registered sex offenders from school campuses without exception,” reports the Los Angeles Times. 

• “CalPERS on Wednesday declared that the Sierra County town of Loyalton has defaulted on its debt to the giant pension fund, a move that means the state is poised to scale back retirees’ pension benefits,” reports The Sacramento Bee. 

Legislature:

• Gone till December. 

Gov. Brown:

• No public events announced. 

Tips: matt@calwatchdog.com

Follow us: @calwatchdog @mflemingterp

New follower: @ChaseNYurFace

Democrats are halfway there as the last barrier between them and a two-thirds majority in the Assembly officially crumbled on Tuesday, after the Associated Press determined Democrat Sabrina Cervantes had knocked off Republican incumbent Eric Linder in the Inland Empire.

But to completely enjoy the benefits of a supermajority, Democrats will have to win one more seat in the Senate as well, which means Democrat Josh Newman has to overcome a several thousand vote deficit against Republican Assemblywoman Ling Ling Chang.

Currently, Chang leads Newman by about 3,600 votes, a number that changes daily as ballots are still being counted. On Wednesday, Chang’s lead was around 5,000 votes.

The district is split between Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties, with Orange having the largest swath of voters. Orange County estimates that there are still 162,778 ballots left uncounted countywide out of 374,397 post-Election Day. 

To get a supermajority, Democrats needed to flip two seats in the Assembly and one in the Senate. Republican Assemblyman David Hadley was already deemed to have lost to former Democratic Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi in a Torrance-area district, which, along with Linder’s loss, gave Democrats the desired two-thirds in the Assembly.

If Chang falls too, Democrats would have the power to increase taxes, override gubernatorial vetoes (which rarely happens) and change legislative rules without Republican votes.

But down the ballot, 10 things stood out.

• Nearly 50,000 people voted for Roger Hernandez, a termed-out Democratic assemblyman from West Covina who had been running for Congress until he suspended his campaign after he was placed under a domestic violence restraining order and was stripped of his committee assignments.

• Congressman Darrell Issa seems to have won re-election. Although it’s still close and the Los Angeles Times had not yet called the race, Issa maintains a nearly 4,000-vote lead over Democrat Doug Applegate. This isn’t noteworthy because Issa was vulnerable and squeaked out a win. It was noteworthy because Issa, the richest member of Congress, wasn’t seen as vulnerable. The Vista Republican, in his 15th year in Congress, has been one of the most high-profile Republicans over the last few years as a constant thorn in the side of the Obama administration. But as national money started flowing to Applegate and an endorsement of Donald Trump appeared to be weighing Issa down, the race tightened.  

• As long as these results hold, Rep. Mike Honda, D-San Jose, will be the only incumbent in California’s 53-person congressional delegation to lose. Fellow Democrat, Ro Khanna of Fremont, finished what he started in 2014, when he first challenged Honda.

• A reminder that California is not as uniformly progressive as it often seems: Voters upheld the death penalty as the maximum sentence for murder. Even more surprising is that a measure to speed up death penalty appeals is clinging to a two-point lead in the returns.

• Republicans appear to have held their seats in the state Senate, beating back a Democratic supermajority. Everything hinges on a Southern California district that extends from Cypress to West Covina to Chino Hills, where Republican Ling Ling Chang, a sitting assemblywoman, is holding an almost two-point lead over Democrat Josh Newman. 

• But in the Assembly, Republicans lost three seats, dipping below one-third of the chamber. In the Los Angeles South Bay, David Hadley was knocked out by former Democratic Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi. In Orange County, Young Kim trails former Democratic Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva. And in the Inland Empire, Eric Linder is losing to Sabrina Cervantes.

• While no Senate incumbents of either party were defeated, five incumbent Assembly members either lost or trail. That includes the Republicans, Linder, Kim and Quirk-Silva, along with two Democrats who lost intraparty challenges. Cheryl Brown, the Inland Empire incumbent, lost to Eloise Reyes in a proxy war between environmentalists and unions that opposed Brown and Big Oil and charter schools that supported her. In the San Fernando Valley, Patty Lopez was ousted after the Democratic Party endorsed her challenger, former Democratic Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra, who also had major support from outside business interests.

• Orange County, the traditional Republican stronghold, voted for Hillary Clinton for president. According to The Orange County Register, the county hadn’t supported a Democrat for president since the Great Depression. That result reflects a consistent slide in Republican registration in the county, which has persisted for decades.

• Speaking of Orange County, Democratic Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez lost her home county in the U.S. Senate race by 9.6 points. Sanchez has represented Orange County in Congress since she was first elected in 1996.

• And speaking of the U.S. Senate race, more that 1.1 million people sat it out. The race made headlines after the June primary, when no Republicans advanced to the general election — a byproduct of the state’s relatively new primary system where the top two candidates advance regardless of party. Sanchez lost to Attorney General Kamala Harris, a fellow Democrat.