California’s Democratic gubernatorial candidates aren’t giving up

From CalMatters Capitol reporter Jeanne Kuang:

Ten weeks before the primary, California Democrats still haven’t narrowed the field enough to reduce the chances of splitting the vote enough to get two Republicans on the ballot in November.

Here’s what poll published by the Democratic Party on Tuesday, with the two GOP candidates — Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and former Fox News anchor Steve Hilton are tied for the lead, and Democratic Rep. Eric Swwell, billionaire Tom Steyer and former Rep. Katie Porter are roughly tied behind them. The results mirror other recent studies in the race.

It was the first of several polls that party chairman Rusty Hicks intends to release in an attempt to get some of the candidates to drop out.

• Hicks: “If you’re polling 1 to 2 percent, do you have a path to get to 20? That’s the question. Do you have a path that puts you in a position to win the primary?”

But candidates with lower scores remain unlikely to bow. Former Comptroller Betty Yee, who polled 1 percent to 2 percent, told reporters Tuesday afternoon that she was “staying the course.” Yee is a former deputy chairman of the party and placed second in last month’s tally of party delegate support.

• Yee: “We’ve made this unprecedented effort to try to limit voter choice by sidelining candidates and frankly pushing them out of the race. I’m not going to let that happen.”

The primary election is on June 2. About a quarter of likely voters remain undecided.

Tuesday’s debate, hosted by the University of Southern California and ABC7, may have been a chance for voters to pick a favorite. But USC canceled it at the last minute due to dissatisfaction with applicants who were excluded. All those who failed to qualify based on a “viability” formula developed by USC professors were applicants of color.

Meanwhile, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, who polled just 2 to 3 percent, was included because he has raised millions of dollars, much of it from Silicon Valley, in a short period of time — elevating him beyond his results according to the USC formula.

A nearly decade-old homelessness prevention program in Santa Clara County is piloting its model across the countryCalMatters’ Marissa Kendall reports.

Run by the non-profit organization Destination: Home, the program focuses on providing temporary financial support to people who may be on the verge of losing their housing. This approach is different from what cities, counties and the state typically do, which use resources to help people who are already homeless get back on their feet.

Last year, Destination: Home gave people an average of about $6,500, most of which went toward rent, security deposits and other housing costs. But participants can also use the money to address issues that threaten their housing, such as car repairs, medical expenses or credit card debt.

The program has inspired pilots in 10 other locations, including San Mateo County in California, but also counties in Florida and Texas and communities in Alaska and Minnesota.

Read more.

A dispute that has been brewing since 2014 between California and the Federal Aviation Administration comes to a head as the state answers questions about how expenditure on aviation fuel tax revenue.

As CalMatters’ Levi Sumagasai explains, since the 1980s the FAA has required states to use fuel tax money for airports. The federal agency disputed whether California was spending the money properly.

The state’s finance department responded on March 20 that the state essentially spent more than $2 billion on airport infrastructure during the time period in question and was therefore in compliance with the spirit of the law.

The FAA did not respond to CalMatters’ questions about what form enforcement might take if it finds California wrong, but the stakes are potentially hundreds of millions of federal dollars.

Read more.

A state appeals court has denied California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s request to stop the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office’s attempt to recount votes from last year’s special election. Bonta argued that Bianco’s seizure of 650,000 ballots was intended to “undermine public confidence in our elections.” But the court ruled Tuesday that the case should be filed in Riverside County District Court instead. Read more by Cayla Mihalovich and Jeanne at CalMatters.