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Although you are certainly tapping into the depths of CalMatters comprehensive information voting guidelet’s highlight two parts in particular: The race for state treasurer and the California legislative elections:
State Treasurer: Six candidates are vying to be California’s next money manager, but the race is largely between two top Democrats: Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, who Gov. Gavin Newsom has endorsed, and state Sen. Anna Caballero of Merced. Caballero is a longtime legislator and previously served as secretary of the Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency under Gov. Jerry Brown. Although the two candidates agree on most issues, they take different positions on clean energy alternatives.
Under California’s election system, the two candidates who receive the most votes advance to the November election, regardless of party. That means a Republican could also claim the seat. The California Republican Party has endorsed Jennifer Hawkes, a Bay Area GOP activist, against Republican businessman David Serpa. Both candidates say they want to rein in spending from California Democrats.
Read more by Ben Christopher of CalMatters.
California Legislature: Two Assembly seats that Republicans recently flipped are up for re-election. But this time around, the GOP faces a double challenge: President Donald Trump’s approval ratings are plummeting, and the president’s party almost always loses in down-ballot races during midterm elections.
Two years ago, a Republican president Jeff Gonzalez of Coachella pulled off a stunning upset when he won his election for Assembly District 36, a left-leaning, Latino-majority district. He now faces three Democratic challengers who have linked him to Trump’s immigration enforcement. Gonzalez said in a statement that he accused both parties of using immigration as a “political chess piece.”
Read more by Yue Stella Yu at CalMatters.
The CalMatters Festival of Ideas brings together politicians, journalists and community leaders for conversations about the issues shaping California, including a main stage discussion with The Lincoln Project. Join us on May 21st in Sacramento. Buying tickets before the early bird prices expire on May 4th.
Other stories you should know
A successful mental health service on the board
California counties are struggling to figure out how to maintain their mobile crisis response teams as support from the federal and state governments wanes, writes Ana B. Ibarra of CalMatters.
Response teams help stabilize and assess residents in mental health crisis without the involvement of the police. These programs help reduce the number of unnecessary psychiatric detentions, and research shows that these teams do a better job than law enforcement at keeping people out of emergency rooms.
California made mobile crisis response a statewide benefit in 2023 after the federal government increased its share of the cost, allowing counties to expand their services. But with federal aid expected to end, mental health advocates and counties are sounding the alarm over Newsom’s budget proposal, which would eliminate state funding for the programs in 2027 and leave counties to foot the bill.
- Sen. Caroline Menjivara Van Nuys Democrat who supports keeping the services, at a recent hearing: “We’ve invested so much money in creating and improving infrastructure that we don’t fully continue with it. Is that a waste of money?”
CA puts the screws to State Farm
The California Department of Insurance is accusing State Farm of hundreds of violations related to processing claims for last year’s deadly wildfires in the Los Angeles area, CalMatters’ Levi Sumagaysay reports.
After launching its investigation last June, the department said Monday that State Farm — the state’s largest provider of individual property insurance — “demonstrated a troubling pattern of claims processing practices” after the wildfires.
- Ricardo Larainsurance commissioner, in a statement: “State Farm delayed, underpaid and buried policyholders in red tape at the worst time of their lives.”
If the courts side with the state, State Farm could be fined up to $4.3 million and face a possible suspension of its California license.
A State Farm spokesman said the insurance department had “distorted” the picture of the company’s response to the fires. The company also called the department’s threats to suspend its license a “reckless, politically motivated attack.”
California voices
CalMatters columnist Dan Walters: Newsom advocated for single-payer health care while campaigning for governor, but his signing into law in 2023 to simply study how health care could be expanded ensures the issue could be stretched until he leaves the office.
The legislature must reject a bill related to smoke-damaged homes, which would lock in the status quo of the inspection industry and weaponize accepted safety standards as a defense against future restoration disputes, writes Michelle Myersattorney in Sacramento and San Diego representing Eaton Fire homeowners.
Other things worth your time:
Internal ICE records reveal widespread use of force in detention centers // The Washington Post
Kamala Harris endorses list of candidates for CA – but not for Governor // San Francisco Chronicle
How to address CA Election Officers concerns about ICE and voting // Los Angeles Daily News
Newsom scores an early victory in its $787 million lawsuit against Fox News // SFGATE
After criticism of the way CA is distributed education programs, new bill will trigger evaluations // LAist
Turner’s Outdoorsman is sold largest proportion of guns traced to crimes in California // The trail
The county released a first report of the investigation documenting permanent findings against an election official // Shasta Scout
Trump closes SF immigration court for good // KQED
Prosecutors say arson is suspected at the Palisades Fire in Los Angeles was angry “at the world” // AP news
