Lee’s way

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THE BUZZ: Rep. Barbara Lee’s Senate hopes hinge on a coalition of progressive and multiracial voters — and this weekend we got a glimpse of how that could coalesce.

Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal is throwing her weight behind former caucus co-chair Lee. “Barbara Lee, in my view, is the OG of progressive intersectional politics” who “knows how to move the needle on some really tough issues,” Jayapal said in a Saturday interview, citing Lee’s work on thorny foreign policy issues like repealing 9/11-era war powers.

The nod from Jayapal boosts Lee’s efforts to seize the progressive mantle. All three Democrats vying to replace Sen. Dianne Feinstein have appealed to the left, knowing it could be the key to a primary plurality. Rep. Katie Porter has leaned into her identity as the scourge of big corporations and other entrenched powers, bolstering that cred with an endorsement from Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Rep. Adam Schiff briefly tried to join the Progressive Caucus before withdrawing his request. Lee also has Berniecrat Ro Khanna in her camp.

Lee trails Schiff and Porter in early polls and fundraising totals. She’s hoping to make up the gap both by capitalizing on her status as a progressive stalwart and by channeling voters of color. If California makes Lee the only Black woman in the Senate, it will likely have much to do with Black women. (As Lee noted in 2020: “Black women have been smart, we’ve been strategic, we’ve helped elect so many candidates to public office.”)

“I think voters will look at this race and think about which voices are not represented in the Senate,” Jayapal said, pointing to Lee’s background as a single mother of color. “While there may be some common views on progressive issues, I think progressives are going to look at who brings a set of experiences and who has the conscience and courage to speak out in important moments.”

The Oakland Democrat has emphasized representation, arguing an upper chamber without a single Black woman doesn’t truly reflect American society. Lee’s campaign has stressed her history of overcoming the barriers society throws in front of people of color. And Lee’s campaign is also asserting — including in her fundraising prospectus — that she’s uniquely suited to appeal to the voters of color who comprise a potentially decisive primary bloc.

Lee is deeply enmeshed in the world of Black political power. She came up as an aide to former Congress member and Oakland mayor Ron Dellums, led the Congressional Black Caucus, founded an organization to help elect Black women and was a top presidential surrogate for then-Sen. Kamala Harris. She didn’t get the call to replace Harris in the Senate despite a campaign to draft a Black woman, and she told POLITICO in February that “the Senate is missing what Black women bring.”

Black women are hoping to help correct that. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass was one of Lee’s early endorsers, joined in short order by numerous Congressional Black Caucus members. This weekend, San Francisco Mayor London Breed, Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton, and She the People’s Aimee Allison joined the national progressive Power PAC+ to launch a pro-Lee super PAC. “We need her in the U.S. Senate so we can have a voice,” Breed said.

BUENOS DÍAS, good Monday morning. Happy May Day to those who celebrate — given organized labor’s clout in California, that probably includes a few of you reading this.

Got a tip or story idea for California Playbook? Hit us up at [email protected] and [email protected] or follow us on Twitter @JeremyBWhite and @Lara_Korte.

WHERE’S GAVIN? Back from his sojourn in Washington, D.C.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Politically, San Francisco is this weird combination of very progressive and quite conservative — very progressive in a lot of the ways that we would consider what is progressive, in terms of having a strong minimum wage and supporting immigrants and supporting LGBTQ people and so forth, and getting rid of plastics. On the other hand, it’s a city that has, in recent decades, been very afraid of change.” state Sen. Scott Wiener on the city he represents, via Ezra Klein in The New York Times.

TWEET OF THE DAY:

WE’RE HIRING — POLITICO is embarking on an exciting expansion in the Golden State and looking for another journalist to join our growing team as a California Playbook author. More in the job description here.

TOP TALKERS

— California to phase out gas-powered truck and bus fleets to meet climate goals, by POLITICO’s Wes Venteicher: The state’s air regulator unanimously approved new rules Friday that will force fleet owners to transition to zero-emission vehicles after a two-day hearing that featured pleas from the industry to slow the transition until more zero-emission vehicle options become available as well as people describing the effects of air pollution on the health of their families.

UNQUENCHABLE KHANNA: In case you missed it, POLITICO’s Thirsties nominations honor the Congress members who are most determined to snag the spotlight, and a certain Silicon Valley member got a nod. Take a look.

CAMPAIGN MODE

— “Sacramento mayoral race has a second candidate, but unknown if Darrell Steinberg will run,” by The Sacramento Bee’s Theresa Clift: “Krell serves as special adviser to the California attorney general, and is former deputy for four attorney generals, specializing in sex trafficking prevention, according to her web page. She is also the former chief legal counsel for Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California.”

CALIFORNIA AND THE CAPITOL CORRIDOR

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: MORE BACKING FOR TECH LAW — A new group of supporters has filed amicus briefs backing California’s landmark internet privacy law, which is currently winding its way through the court system after a group of tech giants including Amazon, Google, Meta filed an injunction against it last year.

Among those backing the CA Age Appropriate Design Code is the Archewell Foundation, operated by the United Kingdom’s Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. You might remember California’s law was modeled after a U.K. law by the same name.

Other signers-on to today’s briefs include: former California Assemblyman Jordan Cunningham (R-San Luis Obispo), the co-author of the California AADC; Tech reform organizations Fairplay, Common Sense Media and Center for Humane Technology; youth-led advocacy groups like Civics Unplugged and Design It For Us; Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen; and former U.S. Reps. Dick Gephardt (D-Mo.) and Chris Shays (R-Conn.). Read the briefs here and here.

— JPMorgan Chase buys First Republic with help from FDIC, by POLITICO’s Victoria Guida: Regulators had scrambled all weekend to complete a deal to sell San Francisco-based First Republic to head off any further market turmoil following the collapse last month of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. California’s state bank regulator shut down First Republic overnight and appointed the FDIC as receiver. That cleared the way for a sale to JPMorgan, which will take on all deposits and substantially all assets.

— Fed blames Trump-era policies, SVB leaders — and itself — for bank’s stunning collapse, by POLITICO’s Victoria Guida: The document is the opening salvo in a renewed debate over bank regulation as the Fed and other agencies consider how to improve their policing of financial risks in the wake of banking industry turmoil.

— “How New York and California botched marijuana legalization,” by The Wall Street Journal’s Zusha Elinson and Jimmy Vielkind: “State agents broke through the doors of a stucco home in a gated community in March shouting “Police! Search warrant!” Inside, they found marijuana growing in bedrooms and the living room, with fertilizer stowed in the Jacuzzi tub.”

— “Public tirades, recall threats as Shasta County roils from decision to dump voting machines,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Jessica Garrison: “AB 969, which now heads to the state Senate, would require a county board of supervisors to have a signed contract in place with a new voting system that meets state approval before canceling a contract with an old one.”

— S.F. drug dealing crackdown: Here’s when CHP officers will arrive, by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Mallory Moench and Sophia Bollag: “Breed said accountability is essential and the initiative will send a strong message to criminals “holding communities hostage.” And in a recurring recent refrain, she rejected the negative narrative of a crime-ridden San Francisco by describing positive events this week.”

— “Long COVID in California: ‘A pandemic of loneliness and social isolation and rejection’,” by CalMatters’ Kristen Hwang: “California long haulers can face years-long wait times to get into specialized clinics. Oftentimes they have to fight for disability payments or to be taken seriously by doctors. Lawmakers, despite holding hearings on the issue last year, have not introduced any proposals this session to assist long haulers.”

MIXTAPE

— “UC Berkeley to embark on $700 million plan to supply its entire campus with clean energy,” by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Sam Whiting

— “Will higher pay lure more teachers? Bill aims to boost salaries 50 percent by 2030,” by The Mercury News’ John Woolfolk

— “‘One of a kind': Family, civic leaders mourn Richard Riordan at cathedral he championed,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Julia Wick

BIRTHDAYS

ProPublica’s Caroline Chen

(Was Sunday): Cheryl Saban

(Was Saturday): Nadeam Elshami … Stacey Snider


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