California Republicans reacted strongly to last night’s 10-candidate GOP debate, largely wincing during The Donald’s abrasive performance and looking for leadership among the other nine contenders. Democrats, meanwhile, watched the fracas with glee. Carla Marinucci checked in with Rossmoor Republican and Democrat debate watching parties to take their temperature. SFGate:
“The Democrats held their party at the Rossmoor Event Center, while across the street the Rossmoor Republicans, also one of the most formidable and active political groups in Northern California, watched the two-hour broadcast at their own sold-out event and their own food, drink, and political camaraderie and energy…
“’I think Trump kind of lost a few points, because he wouldn’t support a Republican candidate,’ said retired airline employee Gordon Young of Trump’s lone refusal to take a pledge to support the eventual Republican nominee or rule out an independent candidacy. ‘But (former Florida Gov. Jeb) Bush looked pretty good.’
“…On the Democratic side, the crowd jeered Trump from the opening bell as he talked up his business prowess — ‘I built a net worth of more than $10 billion, I have a great, great company ... hundreds and hundreds of deals’ — and watched him shut down Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly by claiming ‘political correctness’ was a big problem for the country when she questioned him about his previous insulting statements toward women.
“And there were gasps when Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, asked whether God speaks to him, said: ‘It’s only by the blood of Jesus Christ that I’ve been redeemed.’
“Loyal Democratic Club member Jim Ware shook his head and said, ‘They really don’t understand the separation of church and state, do they?’”
Meanwhile, Governor Jerry Brown was left hanging, his debate question – how would the candidates deal with climate change? - left unanasked. As the Republican candidates prepared for the debate, Brown toured fire-ravaged northern California. Stela Khury and David Siders in the Bee:
“’The climate is unstable,’ the Democratic governor told reporters after meeting with fire officials and people affected by the fire. ‘You can imagine, if the drought continues for a year or several years, California could literally burn up.’
“Brown, who urged Republican presidential candidates in a letter Wednesday to address climate change in their first debate, told reporters, ‘My message is real clear: California’s burning. What the hell are you going to do about it?’”
Over at Capitol Weekly, Sawsan Morrar looks at how Brown’s Catholic faith – on rare display on last month’s trip to the Vatican – shaped his political views on addressing climate change.
“Brown is usually reserved about his faith, often avoiding going into detail about it. Even in Vatican City, Brown attempted to dodge a local reporter’s questions about his Catholicism, but ended up explaining that his religion influenced his outlook on life.
“’I think the formation that I’ve undergone growing up in the Catholic faith, the Catholic religion, puts forth a world that’s orderly, that has purpose and that ultimately is a positive,’ Brown said.
“Veerabhadran Ramanathan, a climate change scientist at the University of California, San Diego, who serves on the Pontifical Academy of Science said that he helped organized the conference and suggested to the pope that he invite Brown.
“’He brought down the house,’ Ramanathan said in a telephone interview. ‘There are a number of reasons that California is an example to follow….’
“’Religion teaches people to take care of the poor, and the pope has taken the role to be the modern leader for the planet,’ he said. ‘Brown is a Jesuit. Ultimate Catholics practice simple living and protecting the poor.’”
Lawyers argued that Uber drivers are employees, not independent contractors, and urged a judge to classify their case as a class action lawsuit at a court hearing in San Francisco yesterday. If granted, the case could have a huge impact on the ridesharing company. Carolyn Said, San Francisco Chronicle:
“U.S. District Judge Edward Chen heard arguments Thursday about whether O’Connor et al vs. Uber Technologies deserves status as a class-action case representing 160,000 current and past Uber drivers in California, or whether it should be confined to the three drivers who brought the suit. His decision is not expected for several weeks.
“The case’s outcome also looms over other on-demand companies because workers deemed employees have mandates on wages and benefits that contractors do not. It’s the furthest along of a recent raft of worker lawsuits against such firms, and potentially involves the largest numbers of plaintiffs.
“Chen appeared skeptical of Uber’s arguments at the hearing’s outset. ‘Isn’t it contradictory that Uber says every single driver is an independent contractor and yet also says they are dramatically different from one another and thus can’t be certified as a class?’ he asked.”
Other sharing economy startups are avoiding the issue by preemptively changing the status of their contractors to employees. Heather Somerville, San Jose Mercury News:
“In the latest demonstration that tech startups are bending to mounting pressure to reclassify their workforce, meal delivery service Sprig announced Thursday that it will convert its contract delivery drivers to employees.
“Also Thursday, grocery-delivery company Instacart announced that a large portion of its contract workers in Los Angeles, San Jose and San Francisco can now become employees, a reclassification effort the startup began in February. The San Francisco-based company has converted contractor grocery shoppers to part-time employees in 12 of the 16 cities where it operates.”
It’s Friday, the day we name the “winner” of our #WorstWeekinCA contest – and there’s not much competition this time out.
San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee may be shrugging off allegations that he took $20,000 in bribes, but no politician wants to be dragged into a racketeering case –especially not one that has all the drama (and nearly as much press coverage) as a Hollywood blockbuster.
The story exploded earlier this week: lawyers for Raymond “Shrimp Boy” Chow filed court documents that implicated Lee – and several other San Francisco pols –in various nefarious doings, including bribery, money laundering money and pay-to-play. Jonah Owen Lamb from the San Francisco Examiner:
“The alleged misconduct started at the top, according to the filing and its FBI sources.
“’The FBI alleged in discovery that Ed Lee took substantial bribes in exchange for favors,’ notes the filing, which goes on to say that then-Human Rights Commissioner Nazly Mohajer and commission staff member Zula Jones facilitated those exchanges.
“Jones was reported by the FBI to have said that former mayor Willie Brown taught Lee to do business, according to the filing.
“’You got to pay to play here. We got it. We know this. We are the best at this game … better than New York. We do it a little more sophisticated than New Yorkers. We do it without the mafia,’ Jones reportedly said.
“Mohajer allegedly ‘explained the process by which she launders Ed Lee’s campaign money,’ said the filing, which went on to say that Lee took $20,000 in campaign contributions, gifts and trips in his first four months in office. The filing alleges Jones and Mohajer said Lee ‘knew he was taking the money illegally.’”
Not. Good.
Let’s put it this way: if Lee is innocent, he had a really bad week; if he’s guilty, he’s had an even worse one.
