Essential Politics October archive

Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Monday endorsed a marijuana legalization initiative.

((Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) )

Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Monday became the latest high-profile politician to endorse an initiative on next week’s ballot that would legalize the recreational use of marijuana in California.

Villaraigosa is considering whether to run for governor in 2018 amid a field that already includes Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, a leading proponent of Proposition 64.

“I took my time on this measure because I wanted to make sure it included protections for children and public safety,” Villaraigosa said in a statement. “In evaluating the measure in its entirety, I am convinced there are enough safeguards to make it a workable proposition.”

The Proposition 64 campaign welcomed Villaraigosa’s endorsement at a time when one recent poll indicated slightly fewer than half of Latino voters support the measure.

“We’re glad to have it,” said Jason Kinney, a spokesman for the campaign.

(Paul Sakuma / Associated Press)

In a rare show of unanimity, every member of the California Senate signed a letter on Monday asking Congress to permanently waive any repayment of bonuses offered to the state’s National Guard members for Iraq war reenlistment.

Most of the soldiers that accepted the money “acted on good faith, relying on bad information from recruiters and others in positions of authority,” said the letter signed by all 39 sitting members of the state Senate.

The letter comes more than a week after a Los Angeles Times investigation into efforts to require nearly 10,000 of the state’s National Guard soldiers to repay the money.

“The federal clawback of the funds is devastating the families of current and former Guard members,” said the letter sent to House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.), Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev).

“The recovery effort ignores that the primary fault lies with the recruiting system’s failure to ensure eligibility at the time of the awards,” wrote the state senators.

Meanwhile, the state’s congressional delegation continues to insist on action from the Department of Defense. Following a conference call with Defense officials last week, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista) sent his own letter on Monday afternoon, demanding that all collected funds be returned to state Guard members immediately.

Times staff writer Sarah D. Wire contributed to this report.

The Congressional Leadership Fund is pouring another $1.5 million into the race between Rep. Jeff Denham and Democrat farmer Michael Eggman.

The group, which is endorsed by House Republican leaders, and works with the American Action Network, has now spent $3.5 million in the race. The race was initially viewed as an easy win for Denham (R-Turlock), but has become increasingly uncertain in recent weeks.

The district is being closely watched as an indicator of how Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump might affect down-ballot candidates. Democrats have spent more than $6 million in the district.

The Congressional Leadership Fund and American Action Network have spent $45 million in 32 districts nationwide so far and have aired ads in other California House races, including in the nearby 21st District race between Rep. David Valadao (R-Hanford) and attorney Emilio Huerta and the 7th District race between Rep. Ami Bera (D-Elk Grove) and Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones.

The group’s newest ad in the 10th District race begins running on television Tuesday. It calls Eggman, an almond and bee farmer, an “extreme liberal” and a “rubber stamp” for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) because he supports the Affordable Care Act.

It previously ran an ad against Eggman that used news footage from the 2015 San Bernardino terrorist attack.

------------

FOR THE RECORD

2:14 p.m.: An earlier version of this article incorrectly referred to the Congressional Leadership Fund as the Conservative Leadership Fund.

------------

The Rev. Al Sharpton and other civil rights leaders gathered at a rally Monday morning to support Proposition 61, the ballot measure that seeks to lower the price state agencies pay for prescription drugs.

Sharpton appeared alongside black community leaders, including Marc Morial, former New Orleans mayor and head of the National Urban League, and Kevin Sauls, pastor of a South L.A. church.

“This issue is very simple,” Sharpton said to a crowd of about 40 supporters. “It’s about the right of people to afford what they need, and they need to have accessibility that is affordable with prescription drugs.”

He likened the issue of prescription drug affordability to a civil right, and recycled the well-known “Yes We Can” slogan from President Obama’s 2008 election to urge voters to pass Proposition 61.

Sharpton’s appearance came a day after he and Morial stumped for the measure at seven different churches in South Los Angeles and the Bay Area.

“The significance of bringing in people of color is that we are the ones who disproportionately are impacted by the prices and impacted by the need for healthcare,” Sharpton said in an interview afterward. “I think it’s a civil right for people to be able to afford healthcare in the wealthiest nation in the world.”

In a statement, No on Proposition 61 spokeswoman Kathy Fairbanks pointed to support for the opposition campaign from groups like the California NAACP, and the California League of Latin American Citizens.

“Higher drug prices resulting from Prop. 61 will decrease access to care,” Fairbanks said. “That’s a policy step in the wrong direction.”

The Rev. Al Sharpton at a Yes on Proposition 61 rally in downtown Los Angeles.

(Christine Mai-Duc / Los Angeles Times)

Last week, Obama announced his endorsement of three Democrats running for the state Assembly.

U.S. Senate candidate Loretta Sanchez casts her ballot at Orange High School in the June primary election.

(Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

U.S. Senate candidate Loretta Sanchez earned a total of $156,674 in 2015 and paid $36,306 in federal and state income taxes, according to the Orange County congresswoman’s 2015 tax returns.

Sanchez declined to release the tax returns of her husband, attorney John “Jack” Einwechter, saying they filed separate returns and that she felt no obligation to disclose his tax information.

“He has no financial conflict,” Sanchez said. “My husband is a lawyer. He has four or five clients. They have nothing to do with anything.”

Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris in mid-October released the joint 2015 tax return she filed with her husband, Los Angeles attorney Douglas Emhoff. The couple reported earning approximately $1.17 million that year and paid just under $450,000 in federal and state income taxes.

The Harris campaign was quick to criticize Sanchez for not releasing her husband’s return.

“Like nearly every aspect of her campaign, Loretta Sanchez’s failure to honestly and completely release her taxes is a joke. And it’s not funny,” said Harris political consultant Sean Clegg. “Every serious candidate for U.S. Senate, including Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, has fully disclosed spousal tax returns.”

The congresswoman said her husband filed separately in 2015 because he was still sorting out some financial matters with his ex-wife. Sanchez added that by filing individually she pays more in taxes because she cannot claim the marriage deduction.

“The Harris campaign can ask and whine for anything and everything they want. That doesn’t mean we need to adhere to their demands,” said Sanchez political advisor Luis Vizcaino.

Both Sanchez and Harris have a net worth in the millions, according to financial disclosure reports.

Here are some highlights from their returns:

• Sanchez claimed $4,394 in charitable contributions, about 3% of her income, including donations to the California Breast Cancer Research Fund and the California Peace Officers Memorial Fund.

• Harris and her husband claimed $32,947 in charitable contributions, about 3% of their income, including donations to USC and the United Nations Children’s Fund.

• Sanchez collected $43,200 in rent from a home she owns in Palos Verdes, and had $41,000 in expenses for the home.

• As California attorney general, Harris makes $158,775 annually. As a congresswoman, Sanchez is paid an annual salary of $174,000.

(Russel A. Daniels / Associated Press)

Voters casting a ballot for Proposition 53 on election day are, in effect, choosing more voting on more propositions in future elections.

The ballot measure, bankrolled by a wealthy Stockton agribusiness owner, seeks to force voter approval of a particular type of borrowing for large public works projects. Its most likely impact, in the near future, would be ballot measures on a landmark water project and on California’s high-speed rail effort.

The proposition’s backer, Dean Cortopassi, argues it’s all about more transparency when it comes to government debt.

His critics suggest there’s more to it than that.

Read More

An overflow crowd watches through a window during a rally with Kamala Harris at the Democratic Party’s headquarters in Santa Clarita.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

U.S. Senate candidate and California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris launched a 10-day campaign bus tour in Santa Clarita on Sunday, holding a rally with down-ballot Democrats who hope she’ll bring out the party faithful in the November election.

The rally, which was jam-packed inside the tiny, local Democrat Party headquarters, will be the first of many Harris will hold this week in congressional districts where Democrats threaten to nab seats from Republican incumbents.

Harris’ rival in the race, Democratic Rep. Loretta Sanchez of Orange, was campaigning in the Inland Empire over the weekend, touting her record on water issues and taking a few swipes at Harris. Sanchez said she’s the only candidate in the race talking about the issues and that all she’s seen from Harris are “commercials on TV.”

Read More

Rep. Jeff Denham represents the Modesto area in Congress and is up against Democratic beekeeper Michael Eggman, the same man he beat just two years ago by 12 points. Denham first won his seat in 2012 even as a majority of his constituents voted for President Obama.

When Denham (R-Turlock) started this latest campaign, most observers thought he would probably win.

But some now wonder if Denham’s 10th District race will be an example of what Republicans fear across the country. Will conservatives expected to win actually lose because voters aren’t excited about Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump?

Read More

U.S. Senate candidate Loretta Sanchez shows Clifford Young, president of the West Valley Water District, where to cut the ribbon for the grand opening on a new water treatment plant Saturday.

(Phil Willon / Los Angeles Times)

With less than two weeks to go before election day, U.S. Senate candidate Loretta Sanchez bounced from the Inland Empire to Monterey Park on Saturday as she tries to drum up support for her uphill Senate bid.

Sanchez, the U.S. representative from Orange, started her day with a gaggle of other Inland Empire politicians at the grand opening of a $23-million water treatment system in Rialto, using the occasion to lay out her record on water issues during her 20 years in Congress.

Sanchez told the crowd of about 60 that shortly after she was elected to Congress, two members of a local water board approached her about a way to deal with California’s serious drought.

“They said, we need to convince people that we’re going to take toilet water and we’re going to clean it up enough for people to drink it,” Sanchez said. “They said, we can’t get anyone to champion this for us. Well, no wonder.”

Sanchez said they won her over, and she helped deliver federal funding for Orange County’s Groundwater Replenishment System to do just that. The system uses treated waste water to recharge the local groundwater basin and provides enough water for nearly 850,000 residents.

After the event, Sanchez accused her rival in the Senate race, state Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris, of having little grasp of the complexities of California’s drought and water crisis.

“One of the biggest differences between my opponent and myself is that I actually talk about issues, I actually meet with people, I actually try to figure out what’s going on,” Sanchez said. “I’ve not seen anything about her. I’ve not seen any policy. All I see is commercials on TV.”

U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Orange) officially opens the children’s Diwali celebration at the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Hindu temple in Chino Hills on Saturday.

(Phil Willon / Los Angeles Times)

A few hours later, Sanchez raced over to Chino Hills to open the Kids’ Diwali Celebration at the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Hindu temple, a family-friendly event filled with carnival rides, booths and food. She thanked festivalgoers, saying they were setting a good example for the rest of the country at a time when the presidential election is filled with “such meanness.”

“This is a time where through tradition and through culture you can show Americans the better part of people,” Sanchez said. “You give the rest of us hope.”

After listening to Sanchez speak, Kay Mistry, a volunteer at the festival, said he still wasn’t sure who he will vote for in the Senate race. He said he was aware that Harris, whose mother emigrated from India, went to a Hindu temple as a child.

“I’m not sure that matters to me,” said Mistry, 48, of Chino Hills. “I’m pretty conservative.”

Sanchez attends her second ribbon cutting of the day, this time for Halloween in the Park in Monterey Park.

(Phil Willon / Los Angeles Times)

The Orange County congresswoman’s final stop of the day was in Monterey Park, where she helped cut the ribbon to open city’s Halloween in the Park festival.

After the ceremony, Sanchez mingled with the crowd, handing out campaign fliers.

Arnold Jeung, 62, stuck the flier in his back pocket. He said he didn’t know much about Sanchez or Harris.

“I’m not sure what I’m going to do,” said Jeung, a Republican. “I might not even vote.”

Perhaps more than any other recent election season, races for seats in the California Legislature and U.S. Congress are being reshaped by the broad, national discussion.

In short, it’s the Trump effect.

On this week’s episode of the California Politics Podcast, we take an overview of some of state’s most closely watched down-ticket races.

There’s new polling data in the U.S. Senate race that suggests a sizable number of voters will skip casting a ballot. Meanwhile, President Obama had endorsed candidates all the way down to the state Assembly level.

I’m joined by Marisa Lagos of KQED News and Anthony York, author of the Grizzly Bear Project website.

The campaign supporting Proposition 61, a measure seeking to lower the prices that state agencies pay for prescription drugs, plans to air an unusual 30-minute documentary-style ad Saturday morning on TV stations around California.

The video, titled “Your Money or Your Life,” features interviews with a war veteran diagnosed with hepatitis C, a nurse, a doctor and politicians who continue the campaign’s strategy of seizing on public anger against drug companies.

In between interviews with patients worried about the cost of prescription drugs is footage of Martin Shkreli, former chief executive of Turing Pharmaceuticals, smirking as a congressman calls him “the poster boy for greedy drug company executives.”

Also featured are Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who has endorsed the measure and campaigned for it in California, and Assemblyman David Chiu (D-San Francisco), who authored a bill on drug-pricing transparency that ultimately failed this year.

The advertisement will air at 10 a.m. Saturday on CBS stations and will be broadcast in the Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Sacramento and Fresno media markets.

Yes on 61 consultant Garry South says the campaign originally purchased the time when it challenged drug company executives to a televised debate on the measure, but will use it instead for the ad.

Opponents and proponents of the proposition have raised nearly $124 million combined, with most of it raised by the “No” campaign.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is one of five officially certified write-in candidates for president in California.

(Christopher Dolan / Associated Press)

California Secretary of State Alex Padilla released the names of the five officially qualified write-in candidates for the presidential race in California, along with their vice presidential running mates.

Contrary to popular belief, votes for write-in candidates only count when the candidate is officially certified. (That means votes for Mickey Mouse, Giant Meteor, or Chuck Norris will not be counted.)

The officially qualified write-in candidates are:

• Laurence Kotlikoff for president and Edward Leamer for vice president

• Mike Maturen for president and Juan Muñoz for vice president

• Evan McMullin for president and Nathan Johnson for vice president

• Bernard “Bernie” Sanders for president and Tulsi Gabbard for vice president

• Jerry White for president and Niles Niemuth for vice president

Now, that doesn’t mean that Sanders and the other candidates wanted to be recognized as official write-ins. California law only requires that 55 “electors” sign on to declare a person a write-in candidate, not that the person consent, according to a statement from the Secretary of State’s Office.

A full list of each candidate’s electors can be seen here.

Write-in votes for these candidates will not be reported until the counties send their final vote certifications after the post-election canvass period, meaning a write-in vote will take longer to count.

You might be wondering: Does spelling count? The Secretary of State says election officials “will accept a reasonable facsimile of the spelling” of a candidate’s name. For example, “Joe Smith” and “Joseph Smith” would both be accepted.

With a poll indicating Latino voters lag in their support for a ballot proposition that would legalize recreation marijuana in California, the campaigns for and against the measure are launching dueling ads aimed at that large demographic.

A poll Wednesday by the Public Policy Institute of California found that Proposition 64 is favored by a majority of likely voters in California, including a majority of all ethnic groups, except Latinos. Latinos support is just under half at 47%.

The campaign against the ballot measure will launch its second ad on Spanish language television, titled “Asusta” or “Scary” on Halloween. The ad warns if approved, Proposition 64 could eventually lead to radio and television ads for “marijuana candy.”

Federal law prohibits such ads on broadcast stations, and the initiative prohibits television advertising aimed at minors if federal law ever changes.

The campaign in favor of the ballot measure said Friday it has launched new counter TV ads targeted to the Los Angeles area, where there is a large Latino audience. One ad, for Spanish language television, labels as “falso,” or “false,” the claims that there will be television commercials for marijuana candy.

A second ad, in English, features a mother of teenagers saying she appreciates that Proposition 64 has “important safeguards for families, like strict product labeling and child-proof packaging of all marijuana products and banning edibles that would appeal to a child.”

The two sides each claimed Friday that the polls are favorable to their cause.

“The polls highlight the lack of support by the Latino community because they know their neighborhoods will have to face the problems that recreational marijuana creates,” said Andrew Acosta, a spokesman for the opposition campaign.

Not true, said Jason Kinney, a spokesman for the Proposition 64 campaign.

“Polls show that Latino support for Proposition 64 and marijuana decriminalization has been increasing as they learn how communities of color are being disproportionately targeted for marijuana arrest and prosecution,” he said.

Actress Eva Longoria this week voiced support for a proposition that would repeal English-only instruction in California by tweeting a new “Yes on Prop 58” online campaign ad that has reached nearly 450,000 views on social media.

Like in radio ads released this month, the commercial features children touting the importance of speaking more than one language.

Proposition 58 helps students learn another language while ensuring they still acquire English in a global economy, the young supporters tell viewers. “To get the best jobs, we need the best education,” one girl says.

The ballot measure, which emerged from a 2014 bill authored by Los Angeles area Democrat Sen. Ricardo Lara, seeks to repeal a 1998 voter-approved law that mandated all children be taught only in English in public schools unless parents request otherwise through a waiver.

Opponents argue the current laws were put in place to end bilingual classes that were failing a population of mostly Spanish-speaking Latino students. But Lara and fellow supporters say they have prevented teachers and parents from developing new and more effective bilingual and multilingual programs.

Proposition 58 has garnered an estimated $2.4 million in donations from a variety of supporters this year, including business groups, school associations and the California Teachers Assn./Issues PAC. It has no organized opposition.

Read More

(Win McNamee / Getty Images)

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) on Friday announced her support for a proposition that would repeal the death penalty in California, calling the practice “cruel and unusual punishment” under the 8th Amendment to the Constitution.

“Even the most heinous of crimes can be punished without killing,” she said. “As Pope Francis said in his address to Congress, where he reaffirmed his advocacy for the global abolition of the death penalty: ‘every human person is endowed with an unalienable dignity, and society can only benefit from the rehabilitation of those convicted of crimes.’”

Pelosi is among a string of top political leaders, Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and celebrities to come out in support of Proposition 62, which would replace the punishment with life in prison without parole and apply life sentences retroactively to death row inmates. The initiative is one of two competing death penalty measures on the Nov. 8 ballot.

She also is among fewer political leaders to denounce the death penalty itself on moral grounds.

“I oppose the death penalty because too many defendants have not had access to appropriate legal counsel; because poor people – especially in communities of color – have been disproportionately charged with capital crimes and sentenced to death, compared with more affluent defendants; and, so many people have been exonerated with DNA evidence. It is time for us to take a moral stand.”

Read More

Charles Munger Jr.

(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

President Obama announced Thursday he was supporting three Democrats running for the California Assembly, a rare move for any sitting president.

One of the candidates is Cheryl Cook-Kallio, a Democrat running against one of the most targeted Republican lawmakers in California, Assemblywoman Catharine Baker (R-San Ramon) in the Bay Area.

Hours later, Republican mega-donor Charles Munger Jr. reported dropping $965,455 to oppose Cook-Kallio, the largest single expenditure he’s reported this election cycle.

Munger has now spent a total of $1.2 million supporting Baker and opposing Cook-Kallio, a close second to the $1.4 million he’s poured into the 66th Assembly District race in Los Angeles County.

In total, Munger has spent more than $3.3 million across 20 legislative races this year — and there are still 10 days left until the election.

(Sarah D. Wire / Los Angeles Times)

President Obama on Friday endorsed 21st District congressional candidate Emilio Huerta, the Democrat’s campaign announced.

“I am proud to endorse Emilio Huerta for the United States House of Representatives,” Obama said in a statement released by the campaign. “In Congress, Emilio will be a fighter for Central Valley working families. Emilio isn’t afraid to take on tough challenges, and he’ll fight for more and better access to clean water, good jobs with fair wages, and an education system that works for every child. Emilio is the kind of smart leader who will build on what we’ve accomplished and move our country forward, and that’s why I know Californians can count on Emilio Huerta.”

Huerta, an attorney and son of labor rights icon Dolores Huerta, is challenging Rep. David Valadao in the Central Valley district. Obama had already endorsed six California Democrats.

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) was in the district Thursday to campaign for Valadao. He’s in the middle of a swing through California to support vulnerable House Republicans.

“David Valadao is exactly the type of representative Central Valley families and those involved in the agriculture industry need. He understands the issues impacting the area, because that’s been his life. David was born in the Central Valley, he grew up there, he went to school there -- and he even met his wife there. In Congress, he has led the fight on water, veterans issues, and education,” Ryan said in a statement.

(Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)

Voters in the 7th and 10th congressional districts might have gotten similar letters in the last few days from the wives of their Republican congressional candidates.

The personal appeals to Northern California voters have matching stationery with font that mimics handwriting and use similar language, including language on college affordability, hard work and the integrity of their husbands. The letters are each dated Oct. 22.

Both races are considered close, and a letter from a candidate’s spouse timed a few days before election day is a well-known campaign tactic that often gets a good reception from voters.”We suggested concepts to them that would be effective in defending their husbands from the attacks, and they put it into their own words as they saw fit. Same print shop produced them,” said Dave Gilliard, who is a consultant for both candidates.

In her letter, Sonia Denham, wife of Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Turlock), makes the case to 10th District voters that her husband was “just as offended and disappointed about the comments Donald Trump made as I was.”

Denham, who supports his party’s nominee for president, used similar language after a 2005 tape of Trump talking about grabbing women’s genitals without their consent became public. The Denham campaign paid for the mailer.

Christy Jones, the wife of Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones, writes to 7th District voters that the ads from Rep. Ami Bera (D-Elk Grove) about her husband are “false and disgusting.” The California Republican Party paid for Jones’ mailer.

Both of the women write about the candidates as good men and fathers, and stress that they have faith voters will make the right choice.

And both ads include the line, “Thank you for taking the time to read my letter. It was not an easy one for me to write, but I could not remain silent.” They also include photos of the couples and their children, and the final line says, “we are proud parents.”

Rep. Loretta Sanchez, left, and California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris in their Oct. 5 Senate debate at Cal State Los Angeles.

(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)

California’s U.S. Senate race is getting hotter.

Orange County Rep. Loretta Sanchez on Thursday launched a new website criticizing the record of her rival in the race, California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris.

The site, called The Harris Files, relies heavily on past news coverage of Harris as attorney general and during her tenure as San Francisco district attorney.

Sanchez, who trailed Harris by a two-to-one margin in the latest opinion poll, started ramping up her attacks on the front-runner in early September.

(Andrew Harnik / Associated Press)

President Obama has thrown his support behind three Democratic candidates running in races the party is targeting for the California Assembly.

Obama endorsed the following Democratic challengers, according to the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee:

• Cheryl Cook Kallio, challenging Assemblywoman Catherine Baker (R-San Ramon) in Assembly District 16
• Abigail Medina, who’s running against Assemblyman Marc Steinorth (R-Rancho Cucamonga) in Assembly District 40
• Al Muratsuchi, a former assemblyman in a rematch against Assemblyman David Hadley (R-Manhattan Beach) in Assembly District 66

President Obama has plans to endorse as many as 150 down-ballot candidates in 20 states this election, Politico reported this week.

While it’s not uncommon for presidents to throw their weight behind federal candidates, it’s rare for them to reach down into local races for statehouse seats.

All three races present key opportunities for the Democrats to capture Republican-held seats in their quest to build a super-majority in both houses of the Legislature.

Obama’s approval ratings — 60% statewide, according to PPIC survey results released Wednesday — could help boost Democrats in swing districts where he won handily over Mitt Romney in 2012.

The three California Assembly races combined have attracted more than $8.6 million in spending by state and county parties on both sides.

The tobacco industry-funded television advertisements against the Proposition 56 tobacco tax increase are ubiquitous.

They all generally have the same message: The money from the tax hike would go to Medi-Cal, the state’s low-income healthcare program, and therefore benefit the doctors and insurance groups that are helping finance the measure.

Comedian Kathy Griffin decided to spoof the advertisements’ follow-the-money message in a video she released on Twitter Tuesday.

Griffin highlighted that tobacco companies had funded the advertisement, which is clear when you read the fine print at the end.

“So in general just be careful of these opposite ads,” Griffin said, dressed in a similar gardening outfit as the actress in the No on 56 ad. “Or in general white ladies gardening.”

You can watch Griffin’s full spoof here:

The Los Angeles County Bar Assn. has joined opponents of a Nov. 8 ballot measure that intends to expedite executions in California, saying it would likely “compromise access to justice at all levels” of the court system.

In a letter released late Wednesday, the organization, which comprises more than 20,000 members, said Proposition 66 would require appellate courts to hear initial death penalty appeals, without providing the roughly $100 million needed to fund additional judges, staff and resources.

“LACBA opposes Proposition 66 based entirely on its damaging effect on the operation of an already over-taxed judicial system, and most importantly, the resulting lack of access to justice for California citizens,” states the letter signed by Margaret Stevens, the association’s president.

The association said it took no position on the death penalty itself, its effectiveness, morality or social merits.

But its opposition to the ballot measure comes as top Los Angeles County officials, including Sheriff Jim McDonnell and Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey, have announced their support. Proposition 66 has drawn wide support and funding from law enforcement officials and organizations that argue California’s death penalty must be preserved and reformed.

It’s a nuanced pitch from Gov. Jerry Brown, asking California voters to oppose an effort that would give them a vote on future big infrastructure projects.

But Brown has more than $15 million in campaign cash to make his case against Proposition 53, in a TV ad that began on Thursday.

Proposition 53 asks voters to add revenue bonds of $2 billion or more to the list of government borrowing that requires statewide voter approval.

Unlike general obligation bonds, which are paid back by taxpayer dollars through the state’s general fund, revenue bonds are paid back with fees charged to users of projects like bridges, dams and buildings.

Brown takes aim in the ad at the fact that “53 is paid for by one millionaire,” Central Valley agribusiness owner Dean Cortopassi. In an interview this week, Cortopassi called revenue bonds “a blank check to sell debt forward into the future.”

Proposition 53 could force statewide votes on two high-profile infrastructure projects: California’s plan for a high-speed train system and the construction of twin underground tunnels to divert water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to Southern California.

Thomas Macariola, center, fills out a voter registration form after a naturalization ceremony on Oct. 26 in Sacramento, where a cardboard cut-out of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was among the witnesses.

(Sophia Bollag / Los Angeles Times)

Alex De Leon, a 30-year-old immigrant from Guatemala, was among more than 400 people who became U.S. citizens at a ceremony in Sacramento on Wednesday. After the program concluded, he walked outside and filled out his voter registration papers.

The registration deadline to vote in the Nov. 8 election for most Californians was Monday. But a 2012 state law allows people like De Leon, who became citizens after the deadline, to register late.

To vote, they must bring proof of citizenship and California residency to show to an official at a county election office. As a precaution against voter fraud, they’re not allowed to vote at a neighborhood polling place or with an absentee ballot.

Read More

Senate candidate Rep. Loretta Sanchez speaks at a news conference to “expose the failure of the mortgage settlement made by Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris” on Oct. 26 in Los Angeles.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Orange County Rep. Loretta Sanchez’s campaign for the U.S. Senate lobbed a new attack at front-runner Kamala Harris on Wednesday, this time criticizing the landmark $25-billion national settlement Harris helped wrestle from the nation’s five largest mortgage firms.

The settlement is one of the California attorney general’s biggest victories: A recent ad from Harris’ campaign featured President Obama praising the settlement. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has too.

Sanchez, as she has done before, held a news conference outside a state building in downtown Los Angeles, joined by members of an activist group called Occupy Fights Foreclosures, a spinoff of the Occupy LA protest group.

Sanchez, who has tried to appeal to conservatives and Republicans in the campaign, tried her hand at economic populism at the news conference.

“Harris has not brought one single prosecution against any major bank executive,” she said.

Michael Troncoso, Harris’ senior counsel in the mortgage settlement negotiations, spoke to The Times recently as part of an article reviewing the settlement. He said building a criminal case against bankers involved in the foreclosures that led to the national mortgage settlement would have been “extremely difficult.”

Harris reiterated that sentiment in an interview with The Times.

“I too, like most Americans, am frustrated. Clearly crimes occurred and people should go to jail,” Harris said. “But we went where the evidence took us.”

Sanchez, who has increased her attacks against Harris in recent weeks, praised the settlement in 2012.

“Special thanks to California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris for her hard work to ensure help for distressed homeowners and also to pursue the investigation of misconduct by banks,” she said in a news release then.

Sanchez spokesperson Luis Vizcaino said Harris “failed to lead” when Gov. Jerry Brown took more than $300 million from the settlement fund and diverted it to the state’s general fund. A judge later ruled the state had to repay the money.

“Sanchez’s false attacks today are nothing more than a bogus stunt from a desperate politician,” said Harris spokesman Nathan Click. “The truth is Sanchez herself praised Kamala Harris’ leadership on the deal in 2012, spoke glowingly about the aid it provided homeowners and lauded Kamala’s perseverance in fighting the big banks.”

(David Zalubowski / Associated Press)

A majority of California’s likely voters continue to favor legalizing the recreational use of marijuana, but the level of support has dipped from a reported 60% a month ago to 55% this month, according to a statewide poll released Wednesday night.

The latest poll by the Public Policy Institute of California found 38% of those surveyed oppose Proposition 64 and 6% are undecided. But the basic finding is that the initiative would still pass with a majority vote if the election were held today, according to Mark Baldassare, the institute’s pollster and president.

“The numbers have been favorable, consistent, and exactly where we expected and wanted to be at this point,” said Jason Kinney, a spokesman for the Proposition 64 campaign.

The poll was conducted Oct. 14-23 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4% at a 95% confidence level.

Proposition 64 is supported by 66% of Democratic likely voters and 56% of independents, but 60% of Republicans are opposed.

“Just under half of Latino likely voters (47%) would vote yes, while majorities of other racial/ethnic groups (65%) and whites (55%) would do so,” the poll report said. Support is highest, at 78%, among those age 18 to 34.

The opposition campaign said the campaign for Proposition 64 has turned voters away from the measure.

“It is clear that voters are realizing that Prop 64 is a 62-page mess that helps the marijuana industry tap into the California market,” said Andrew Acosta, a spokesman for the campaign against the initiative.

Those polled were also asked whether they have ever tried marijuana and, if so, if they used it in the last year: 18% said they have tried marijuana and used it in the last year, while 25% said they have tried it, but not in the last year.

Updated at 9:30 am to include comments by the campaigns.

U.S. Senate candidates Kamala Harris, left, points a finger toward rival Loretta Sanchez during their debate at Cal State L.A. on Wednesday, Oct. 5.

(Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

With ballots already being cast, State Atty. General Kamala Harris leads by a more than a two-to-one margin over her rival in California’s U.S. Senate race, according to a new poll by the Public Policy Institute of California.

The survey showed that 42% of likely voters supported Harris, compared to 20% who favored her opponent, Orange County Rep. Loretta Sanchez. Among the remainder, 20% of voters were undecided and 18% said they will not vote for either candidate by election day on Nov. 8.

The results are dramatically different that those in a PPIC released on Sept. 21, when Harris had just a 7-point lead over Sanchez.

But the new poll numbers are closely aligned with results in the June 7 primary, when Harris received 40% of the vote and Sanchez came in second with 19% in a race with 34 candidates on the ballot. In a PPIC poll in July, Harris also had 38% support among likely voters and Sanchez 20%.

“From the start this has been a race in which Harris, who did very well in the primary, has had a large advantage,” said PPIC President Mark Baldassare. “Loretta Sanchez hasn’t been able to, in any of our polls, get above 25%”

Unlike the PPIC’s surveys in July and September, the new poll included the ballot designations for the two Senate candidates, listing Harris as “Attorney General of California” and Sanchez as a “United States Congresswoman.” Both Harris and Sanchez are Democrats.

There also have been a few major developments in the Senate campaign since Sept. 21, including the Oct. 5 Senate debate at Cal State Los Angeles where Sanchez caused a stir by “dabbing” as her finale. The following day, U.S. Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein endorsed Harris.

Both Harris and Sanchez are trying to succeed Boxer, who is retiring after serving four terms in the Senate.

According to the new PPIC poll, Harris is favored over Sanchez across all general income and education levels of voters, as well as among both men and women. Harris also leads in these major regions of the state: Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay area, Orange and San Diego counties, and the Inland Empire.

Latinos are the only major cross-section of likely voters who favor Sanchez over Harris, by a margin of 41% to 33%, the poll shows.

Harris also gained support from Republicans and independents over the past month, mostly likely from voters who previously said they would not vote. Still, more than a third of likely Republican voters said they would not vote for Sanchez or Harris, and 16% of independent voters also plan to take a pass.

The two Democrats are facing off in the highest-profile contest between two members of the same party since California adopted a top-two primary election system.

(Paul Sakuma / Associated Press)

Some members of California’s congressional delegation aren’t satisfied with a Defense Department plan to verify whether thousands of California National Guard members fairly received bonuses for enlisting during the height of the Iraq war or must repay the money. They said Wednesday that they want a detailed plan by the time Congress returns in mid-November.

Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) organized a call so that California’s 53 House members could question the Defense Department about how it plans to fix the problem, which was first reported Sunday by The Times. Members weren’t sure exactly how many of their colleagues were on the call.

Defense Secretary Ashton Carter on Wednesday ordered the Pentagon to pause efforts to claw back the enlistment bonuses. He said the suspension would continue until he was “satisfied that our process is working effectively.”

Congressional members told The Times that Defense officials said they plan to increase the number of employees reviewing the cases and expect all of them will be examined by July.

After the call, Rep. Julia Brownley (D-Westlake Village) said she was still outraged and wants a more detailed plan from the Defense Department.

“There was definitely a level of skepticism that they would move forward on this in a very fair and evenhanded way,” Brownley said.

Department officials told the delegation there are 13,800 questionable bonus cases in California. Of those, 4,000 have been cleared as properly eligible and 1,200 cases identified as possible fraud, meaning the guard member was not eligible or did not complete the contract. The department still must review the remaining 8,600 cases. (The case numbers relayed to members of Congress on Wednesday differ slightly from those provided to The Times by the department.)

Rep. Judy Chu (D-Monterey Park) said the Defense Department told members its plan is to clear up to 100 cases a day.

“They will give everybody a chance to go through the panels and make their case,” she said, even the 1,200 identified as possible fraud. Brownley’s staff said some Guard members were told to pay back more than $60,000. Many of the bonuses were at least $15,000.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) said that in many cases, Guard members weren’t spending money they knew they weren’t supposed to receive, and that the Pentagon should have the burden of proving the soldier knowingly took a bonus they weren’t supposed to get.

“In the vast majority of cases, soldiers accepted these bonuses in good faith,” Schiff said. “You don’t call them up years later and say, ‘We shouldn’t have offered that’ and try to collect.”

The department will give the California members another briefing when Congress returns Nov. 14. Brownley said several members told the department they would go ahead with legislation to forgive the bonus debt for at least some Guard members if a detailed plan was not ready by then.

Voters make their way in and out of a polling place at the House of Mercy in Los Angeles in November 2012.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Latinos make up the largest ethnic group in California, but are often underrepresented at the polls.

This year, however, experts say they expect good Latino turnout in November, thanks largely to the heated presidential election that is motivating many Latinos to vote against presidential candidate Donald Trump and his anti-immigration rhetoric.

They stand to have considerable impact on many down-ballot races in California, as well as on the outcome of many statewide propositions.

Read More

The Spirit of Democracy California, an independent expenditure committee backed by Republican mega-donor Charles Munger Jr., has dropped more than $1.4 million on a single Assembly race this year between Assemblyman David Hadley (R-Manhattan Beach) and former Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi, a Democrat.

The matchup is one of the most closely watched this cycle, attracting more than $2.6 million in state and local party spending on both sides.

Munger’s group has spent more on the coastal Los Angeles County race than all other races it has spent on combined.

The vast majority of the money — $1.1 million in the last two weeks — has gone toward negative ads against Muratsuchi, including a scathing ad that references the Miramonte teacher sexual-abuse scandal.

The 30-second TV spot titled “Crumbles” details how the LAUSD teacher “fed his students cookies laced with semen” and was later sentenced to prison and features video of a cockroach crawling on a stack of cookies.

The ad accuses Muratsuchi of co-authoring a bill that would have made it “even more difficult to fire pervert teachers.”

The bill, AB 375, grew out of a desire to make the teacher dismissal process easier and more streamlined following the LAUSD scandal.

But Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed it in 2013, saying certain provisions could “do more harm than good,” particularly a limit on the number of depositions each side could take and restricting a school district’s ability to amend charges with new evidence.

The following year, a similar measure was passed and signed into law.

Spirit of Democracy California is at the center of an FPPC investigation into whether it illegally coordinated with the Hadley campaign by sharing a political consultant. The ethics watchdog went to court last week, asking a judge to order Hadley’s campaign to turn over documents and records it says the campaign has not supplied.

Billionaire Tom Steyer is now the largest donor in the effort to raise the state’s cigarette tax by $2 a pack.

With a $3.5-million donation to the Yes on Proposition 56 campaign Tuesday, Steyer’s total spending on the race has reached $11.3 million.

That’s more than a third of the $31 million the primary Yes on 56 committee has raised and more than all the money raised during a similar, but failed, effort to increase the tobacco tax four years ago.

Steyer, who is a major donor to state and national liberal causes, is the focus in two Yes on 56 television advertisements. He’s said he’s motivated to spend to limit youth smoking and the memory of his mother, a smoker who died of lung cancer. Steyer also is frequently mentioned as a potential Democratic candidate for governor in 2018.

The No on 56 campaign, which is almost entirely funded by tobacco companies, has raised $71 million.

Some of California’s members of Congress say California’s National Guard did not explain in 2014 how many guard members were being forced to repay enlistment bonuses.

On Wednesday, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter ordered the Pentagon to suspend all efforts to collect reimbursement from the nearly 10,000 California National Guard members who were improperly given bonuses as an incentive to reenlist at the height of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Earlier in the week, a senior California National Guard official said it told the state’s members of Congress two years ago the Pentagon was trying to claw back reenlistment bonuses from thousands of soldiers, and even offered a proposal to mitigate the problem, but Congress took no action.

After The Times first reported the problem Sunday, most of California’s 55 members of Congress signed onto letters to Carter, or House and Senate leaders, asking for an immediate fix. On Wednesday, they praised the Defense Department for halting the clawbacks and said Congress needs to stop the process entirely and refund the Guard members who already have repaid money.

Still, some members took issue with the California Guard’s characterization of what it told the California delegation two years ago.

Staff in members’ offices said the Guard broadly mentioned the clawbacks in a 2014 letter detailing its policy goals for the year, but officials didn’t meet with members of Congress in person or by phone, and didn’t otherwise tell them about the scale of the issue. Such letters are fairly common from groups working with Congress.

“If they would have come and said, ‘You’re going to have thousands of combat veterans having their wages garnished and tax liens being put on them,’ we would have been all over this,” said Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Alpine). “That was never communicated to us.”

Rep. Tony Cárdenas (D-Los Angeles) said neither the Pentagon nor California Guard officials told him about the large number of soldiers ordered to repay bonuses, though his office had received complaints from individual soldiers.

“I have no record of receiving any formal notice of this widespread issue from any department — federal or state. The only record I have is of individual cases of service members who approached my office to get help, and we are working with these individuals who have served our country to make sure they are treated fairly,” he said.

Several high-ranking members of the delegation said this week they first heard of the scope of the problem from The Times’ reporting.

The California Guard also sent members of Congress a suggested provision that would have allowed debt waivers for the affected soldiers in the 2015 defense authorization bill.

Reps. Paul Cook (R-Yucca Valley) and Jeff Denham (R-Turlock) initially pushed for the provision but later abandoned the effort, and it didn’t appear in the final bill.

Cook and Denham said they dropped the effort after being told the Pentagon already had the power to waive the debts.

Guard officials said they were told the provision was discarded because waiving the debt would have cost the Pentagon money, requiring the estimated costs to be offset with cuts elsewhere in the defense budget.

For the record: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Denham declined to discuss why he dropped the provision to waive the debt. He dropped the effort after being told the Pentagon already had the power to waive the debt.

Ron Nehring, a former aide in Sen. Ted Cruz’s presidential bid, chats with visitors at the California State Fair in Sacramento during his 2014 campaign for lieutenant governor.

(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz’s presidential bid may be history, but his supporters in California are banding together to help GOP candidates locked in tight down-ballot races.

Ron Nehring, the former state GOP chairman who was a top Cruz booster, said the focus will be turning out Republican voters and recruiting volunteers to work on a list of hotly contested congressional and legislative races selected by the California Republican Party.

Among those pinpointed are Vista Rep. Darrell Issa, who faces his toughest challenge since being elected to Congress in 2000, and Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones, who is trying to unseat Democratic Rep. Ami Bera of Elk Grove.

“It is 100% exclusively boots on the ground,” Nehring said.

Michael Schroeder, who was co-chairman of Cruz’s campaign in California and also served as the state GOP chairman, said Republican turnout in the Golden State is expected to be down because of the controversies surrounding GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump.

Having Trump at the top of the November ballot also will motivate more Democrats to vote, and that could endanger GOP candidates in close races throughout the state, he said.

“Trump’s campaign is a lost cause in California at this point,” Schroeder said. “Trump said he was going to drive Hispanic turnout, and I think he’s right -- but not in the way he’s hoping for.”

California’s Cruz alumni have a website and on Monday night held a conference call with 75 former Cruz organizers asking them to activate their local political networks to help with the effort, Nehring said.

Other Republicans they’ll work to protect or elect:

• Reps. Jeff Denham of Turlock, David Valadao of Hanford and Steve Knight of Palmdale.
• Assembly members Catharine Baker of San Ramon, David Hadley of Manhattan Beach, Tom Lackey of Palmdale and Young Kim of Fullerton.
• State Senate candidates Mike Antonovich of Glendale, Scott Wilk of Santa Clarita and Ling Ling Chang of Diamond Bar.

On the final day to register, the number broke the record for online registration transactions, Secretary of State Alex Padilla’s office reported in a release.

It’s not clear how much of the activity was new registrations, but the office said 17- to 35-year-olds made up 58% of all online voter registration in the final two days.

(Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)

The 10th Congressional District race between Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Turlock) and Democrat Michael Eggman is now a toss-up, the nonpartisan analysts at the Cook Political Report announced Tuesday.

The contest in the heavily Latino Central Valley district had been rated lean Republican, meaning the analysts thought Eggman had a chance, but they expected the third-term Republican to be reelected.The Cook Political Report now lists several California House districts held by Republicans as toss-ups, including Rep. Darrell Issa’s seat in the 49th District and Rep. Steve Knight in the 25th District.

This is the second matchup for Denham and Eggman. Denham won their 2014 encounter with 56% of the vote, but this year, there is the added unknown of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s effect on other races and whether his unpopularity will drag down other candidates.

For the record: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Rep. David Valadao’s race in the 21st District is listed as a toss-up. It is listed as leaning Republican.

U.S. Rep. Ami Bera (D-Elk Grove) wrote to top Department of Defense officials Monday urging them to stop asking veterans to repay enlistment bonuses.

The Pentagon has ordered nearly 10,000 California Guard soldiers to repay bonuses that were improperly awarded to them, The Times reported Saturday.

With his letter, Bera joined the chorus of lawmakers who have condemned the action, calling on the Pentagon to waive the soldiers’ debts.

“Soldiers who served our country should not be penalized for the mistakes of others,” wrote Bera, who faces a tough reelection battle in his Northern California district. “I urge the Department to halt the collection of these bonuses at this time to prevent placing more service members in financial hardship.”

In new online ads released Tuesday by proponents of Proposition 62, which seeks to repeal the death penalty in California, crime victims urge voters to end the system and bring peace to grieving families.

Proposition 62 would replace the ultimate punishment for murder with a sentence of life in prison without parole, ending a lengthy appeals process that some victims say has interfered with their healing. It is one of two competing death penalty measures on the Nov. 8 ballot.

In one of two videos, which campaign officials say are geared toward swing voters, Beth Webb tells viewers she has had to face the death row inmate who killed her sister and seven others in a hair salon almost 50 times in court.

“Him sitting there, soaking up all of the attention, loving it, it’s disgusting,” she says.

The commercials come as proponents of the opposing measure on the ballot, Proposition 66, have released their own ads over the last few days, urging voters to reform the system, not end it. In one of those videos, a murder victim’s mother says no punishment other than the death penalty is appropriate for the twice-convicted sex offender who abducted her child.

Read More

Common at the 2015 Academy Awards

(Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

Top celebrities including Common, Tim Robbins and the author of the “Orange is the New Black” memoir are joining forces in what they are calling “Artists for 64” — the effort to legalize recreational use of marijuana in California.

A show of force announced Tuesday includes rapper and actor Common; music producer Russell Simmons; Ty Dolla $ign; actors Danny Glover, Olivia Wilde, Tim Robbins, Sarah Silverman, Shailene Woodley of “The Divergent” series, Jesse Williams of “Grey’s Anatomy” and Michael K. Williams of the HBO series “The Wire”; and Piper Kerman, author of “Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison.”

Jay Z, who last week put out a video calling the war on drugs an “epic fail,” also signed on to the effort.

“In California, the question on whether to legalize marijuana for adult use is a policy change that will have a lasting impact on historically marginalized communities,” Glover, the star of films including the “Lethal Weapon” series, said in a statement posted on Artists for 64. “Marijuana laws have been used as a tool by law enforcement to racially profile, harass, intimidate and criminalize mostly young African American and Latino men for decades.”

“I am shocked and saddened by the harm that marijuana criminalization brings, especially for communities of color,” Wilde said in a statement.

The campaign against Proposition 64 said Hollywood celebrities are not the most credible endorsers, charging they are out of touch with the reality of drug abuse in many communities in the state.

“Today the No on Prop 64 campaign did a press event in Fresno with faith and community leaders who know that the problems that recreational marijuana creates will impact these communities and neighborhoods across California not Hollywood,” said Andrew Acosta, a spokesman for the opposition campaign.

In a video produced by Dream Hampton and included on the website, former Golden State Warrior Al Harrington talks about how marijuana helped him overcome pain and inflammation during a staph infection and helped his grandmother with her glaucoma.

“I’m a California voter and I’m voting `yes’ for Prop. 64,” he says.

Williams spoke from personal experience.

“I’m in recovery and don’t use marijuana, and my Christian faith is my rock when it comes to staying sober,” he said in a statement. “But I don’t believe people should be arrested for marijuana anymore. California can lead the country by voting yes on Prop 64.”

Drug Policy Action, an advocacy group backing Proposition 64 to legalize the drug for recreational use, paid for the site.

The California National Guard told the state’s members of Congress two years ago that the Pentagon was trying to claw back reenlistment bonuses from thousands of soldiers, and even offered a proposal to mitigate the problem, but Congress took no action, according to a senior National Guard official.

What form that communication took and whether the members of Congress understood the scope of the problem at the time is unclear.

On Monday, House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi sent a letter to Speaker Paul D. Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell saying that Congress should pass legislation to halt the Pentagon debt recovery “as soon as we gavel back into session” after the Nov. 8 election.

Other California congressional members, including Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, also sent letters to Defense Secretary Ashton Carter about the matter.

Read More

(Kenzo Tribouillard / AFP/Getty Images)

Turn on any TV in California and you know that all the talk surrounding the Proposition 56 tobacco tax has been about cigarettes.

But if the initiative passes next month, e-cigarettes will also be taxed like traditional cigarettes for the first time — a huge tax increase that could boost the price of a typical 30-milliliter bottle of e-liquid by $10.

Read More

Assemblyman David Hadley (R-Manhattan Beach) greets people after participating in a candidates forum in Torrance.

(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

The campaign of Assemblyman David Hadley (R-Manhattan Beach) has delayed turning over documents related to an official investigation into his campaign practices, according to court documents filed by the state Fair Political Practices Commission.

The investigation grew out of a complaint from Hadley’s opponent, Democrat Al Muratsuchi, that claims Hadley’s campaign was illegally coordinating with an independent expenditure committee that also supported Hadley.

In a letter to the FPPC, Muratsuchi claimed Hadley’s campaign and Spirit of Democracy, a group funded mostly by Republican donor Charles Munger, Jr., shared consultant Steven Presson during at least part of the primary campaign for Assembly District 66.

In court documents filed Oct. 13, FPPC special investigator Garrett Micheels said he initially emailed Hadley Aug. 4, asking him to voluntarily provide certain records to the commission’s enforcement division.

The records requested included emails, letters and text messages between Jan. 1 and June 7 between Presson and the Hadley campaign, or any other individuals or groups concerning the Hadley race.

The next day, Presson responded that the campaign would require a subpoena to “avoid possible public exposure to sensitive emails within the Hadley campaign regarding our strategy.”

After a subpoena was issued on Aug. 12, Micheels said in court documents, Hadley retained attorney Steve Churchwell, who asked for extensions to produce the documents at least three times, but never provided the records.

On Sept. 27, Hadley produced some of the documents, court filings say, but wrote to explain that he was withholding his communications with Presson because there are “hundreds or thousands of such correspondences” that contained “sensitive/confidential campaign communications” that he said he had not had the time to review. As of Friday, the FPPC says, they have not received the rest of the documents requested.

“There is only one reason Hadley would conceal documents, and that is because he is guilty and is trying to hide the evidence,” said Mike Shimpock, a consultant for the Muratsuchi campaign.

A Hadley campaign spokesman declined to comment and Churchwell did not return a request for comment.

Oral arguments in the case are scheduled for 2 p.m. Friday in the Sacramento County Superior Court.

In two new television ads, police officers and prosecutors urge California voters not to repeal the death penalty on Nov. 8, calling it “the last defense” against killers.

The commercials, released late Monday by the California Correctional Peace Officers Assn., are part of the No on Prop. 62, Yes on Prop. 66 campaign.

The effort aims to defeat Proposition 62, which would replace the ultimate punishment for murder with life in prison without parole, and to support Proposition 66, which would change and limit how and how often death row inmates can appeal.

The pro-death penalty campaign has drawn broad support and funding from law enforcement organizations across the state. The Correctional Peace Officers Assn. alone has donated nearly $600,000 since last September.

“I’ve seen what the worst among us can do, killings so brutal families never recover,” Sgt. Dan Cabral of the Sacramento County Deputy Sheriffs Assn. tells viewers in one ad. “It’s why we have a death penalty.”

The second ad features the case of serial killer Charles Ng, who has spent 17 years on death row for the rape, torture and slayings of at least 11 victims.

“This is cruel punishment for the families,” Sharon Sellitto, one victim’s sister, says in the video.

Read More

Vista Republican Rep. Darrell Issa said Monday he was “disappointed but not surprised” by President Obama’s criticism of him for using the president’s photo in a campaign mailer.

At a fundraiser in La Jolla on Sunday night, Obama said Issa’s primary contribution to Congress has been to “obstruct and to waste taxpayer dollars on trumped-up investigations that have led nowhere.” The president called Issa “shameless” for using his image in his reelection campaign.

“I’m disappointed but not surprised that the president, in a political speech, continues to deny accountability for the serious scandals that happened under his watch where Americans died overseas and veterans have died here at home,” Issa said in a statement released by his congressional campaign Monday. “You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who thinks I’ve done too much to hold Washington accountable. I’ve worked with the administration on good legislation where it was possible, called out wrongdoing wherever I saw it and will continue to do so.”

Issa is running his toughest congressional campaign to date, an increasingly nasty race that has been declared a “toss-up” by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. Issa’s Democratic challenger in the 49th Congressional District, retired Marine Col. Doug Applegate, has criticized the congressman as a Washington insider and supporter of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

In the political mailer sent out by the Issa campaign, the congressman said he was “pleased” with the president for signing legislation he co-sponsored that provides victims of sexual assault legal protections in the federal criminal justice system.

At the Sunday night fundraiser, Obama ripped Issa as “a guy who, because poll numbers are bad, has sent out brochures with my picture on them touting his cooperation on issues with me.”

“Now that is the definition of chutzpah,” Obama said.

Issa once called Obama “one of the most corrupt presidents in modern times.” While chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, he led investigations into the Benghazi attack, the Internal Revenue Service scandal, the botched “Fast and Furious” gun sting and other actions by the Obama administration.

(Lori Shepler / Los Angeles Times)

Top California Democrats remembered Tom Hayden on Monday as an influential activist whose pursuit of liberal causes extended far beyond his best-known work leading protests against the Vietnam War.

“Tom took up causes that others avoided,” Gov. Jerry Brown said. “He had a real sense of the underdog and was willing to do battle no matter what the odds.”

Hayden died Sunday in Santa Monica after a long illness. He was 76.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti recalled Hayden’s work negotiating a gang truce in Venice, along with his contributions to an anti-sweatshop ordinance to prevent worker exploitation.

“Tom Hayden was a giant who never stopped pushing for peace and justice, and inspired a generation of change agents to bring new voices and overlooked perspectives to the decision-making process,” Garcetti said.

Hayden, classified by the FBI as a “rabble rouser” in the 1960s, was prosecuted by President Nixon’s Justice Department in the raucous “Chicago 7” trial after violent clashes with police at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. His conviction was dismissed on appeal. He went on to serve in the state Assembly and Senate for a total of 18 years.

John Burton, chairman of the California Democratic Party, recalled two measures that Hayden got passed. One allocated $250,000 to buy tattoo removal machines for imprisoned youth so they could cut their gang ties. The other set up a program for parents to use tax-free accounts for savings dedicated to their children’s college education.

“These bills didn’t get a lot of attention at the time, but they have had a far-reaching impact on young people’s futures,” said Burton, who led the state Senate when Hayden was a member.

The Senate’s current leader, Kevin de León of Los Angeles, said Hayden was “well ahead of the curve on issues involving the environment, social justice, gang intervention and urban peace, access to higher education, domestic violence and much more.”

Hayden, he said, “distinguished himself as a paragon of political integrity and a great intellect.”

The Secretary of State’s office is holding a voter registration drive outside the Capitol today, the last day to register in California before the November election.

The office’s staff registered about 20 people in the first couple of hours, said Milena Paez, who works in the office’s elections division. Many people had also stopped by the booth to ask where their polling place is or check their voter registration status, she said.

LaRhonda Sayles-Willis, who recently moved to the Sacramento area, said she saw the booth as she walked down the street and stopped by to see where she was registered. She ended up re-registering to vote to be on the safe side and said she’s particularly motivated to vote for Hillary Clinton.

“I really oppose her opponent. I just don’t like the guy,” the 56-year-old said. “I just don’t think he’s a good representation of the United States.”

Ada Avelar, 21, said she decided to register because she recently moved to the United States from Mexico City to attend Sacramento State University. Avelar is an American citizen.

She said she saw the booth on her way back from having lunch with a friend and decided to register right there.

“I was like, it’s a sign,” she said. “I have to do it.”

×

We break down all 17 propositions on California’s ballot this year using emojis.

Forget the presidential candidates: California has 17 propositions to vote on in the coming election. Know them all? Take a gander.

And if you haven’t already registered to vote, Monday’s your last chance. Here’s how.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

(Frazer Harrison / Getty Images)

Arnold Schwarzenegger, likely the only recent ex-governor of California with an international following, always rebuffed the question during his seven years in office.

Would you have liked to run for president?

“If I’d been born in America, I would’ve run,” Schwarzenegger said in an interview for the latest edition of the magazine Adweek. “Because now? This was a very good time to get in the race.”

Schwarzenegger, of course, could not have run under almost all legal interpretations of the U.S. Constitution’s “natural born” clause for eligibility to serve as president. Still, it rarely stopped the speculation, most notably after his well-received 2004 speech to the Republican National Convention. The GOP governor was touted shortly afterward by backers of a proposed constitutional amendment to open up presidential eligibility.

Schwarzenegger announced earlier this month that he will not vote for GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, though he is replacing the businessman on the newest iteration of NBC’s “Celebrity Apprentice.” And though he still dabbles in politics, including an Oct. 5 return to Sacramento to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the state’s landmark climate change law, Schwarzenegger has largely returned to his Hollywood career.

“You have to set yourself apart, whether it’s policy or movies,” he said in the magazine interview. “How do you make them remember you?”

(Andrew Harnik / Associated Press)

President Obama will endorse a total of six congressional candidates in California this cycle, as he attempts to make an impact on down-ticket races ahead of Nov. 8.

Many of them are locked in toss-up races against Republican candidates, part of a larger attempt by congressional Democrats to pick up additional seats in California.

But there are several Democrats running for Congress in California who did not find themselves among Obama’s endorsements.

One is Emilio Huerta, son of labor leader and activist icon Dolores Huerta, who is mounting a challenge against Republican Rep. David Valadao of Hanford. The elder Huerta has long been connected with national Democratic politics and was Hillary Clinton’s guest at the final presidential debate in Las Vegas last week.

Obama also has not endorsed in the race for Congressional District 17, where Rep. Mike Honda (D-San Jose) is in a tough reelection fight against fellow Democrat Ro Khanna, a former Obama appointee.

The president stayed out of two other Democrat-on-Democrat races, one between state Sen. Isadore Hall (D-Compton) and Nanette Barragan in CA-44 and another between Democrats Lou Correa and Bao Nguyen, who are fighting to replace U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez in Orange County.

But in Sanchez’s fight against California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris for the open U.S. Senate seat, Obama has sided with Harris.

Obama is supporting the following California Democrats, according to Barb Solish, a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokeswoman.

• Rep. Ami Bera (D-Elk Grove) in Sacramento County’s CA-7
• Michael Eggman, who is challenging Central Valley Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Turlock) in CA-10
• Salud Carbajal, who is running in the open CA-24 seat on the Central Coast against Republican Justin Fareed
• Doug Applegate, who is challenging Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista)
• Bryan Caforio, up against Rep. Steve Knight (R-Palmdale) in CA-25
• Rep. Scott Peters (D-San Diego), who is facing a challenge from Republican Denise Gitsham

Caforio was endorsed last week in one of several ads President Obama cut for congressional candidates.

Applegate has emerged as a competitive challenger against Issa, whose race was only recently reclassified as a “toss-up” by the Cook Political Report. At a fundraiser Sunday night, Obama blasted Issa for sending out a campaign mailer that praised the president, calling it “the definition of chutzpah.”

Patty Lopez watches as ballots are counted in her 2014 race against then-incumbent Raul Bocanegra, who she bested by fewer than 500 votes.

( (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times))

On a recent weekend, with just three weeks to go until the November election, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon made a whirlwind tour of five of the most hotly contested races in the state, stumping for Democratic candidates.

Assemblywoman Patty Lopez (D-San Fernando), who faces a stiff challenge from former Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra, was not one of them.

Instead, she spent part of her Saturday walking through a community street festival, handing out fliers with a handful of volunteers.

“I’ve been blocked from my party, but my district knows who is Patty Lopez,” she said. “Sometimes I feel disappointed, but that’s not stopping me from doing what I need to do.”

In 2014, Lopez shocked many when she eked out a win against Bocanegra by a margin of less than 500 votes.

With six Democrats on the ballot in this year’s primary, Lopez received just 27.2% of the vote, a distant second to Bocanegra’s 44.4%.

Despite this, and the fact that the California Democratic Party has endorsed her challenger, Lopez says she is a “woman of faith” who believes “100 percent” that she’ll be reelected.”

Read More

Orange County Rep. Loretta Sanchez at the U.S. Senate debate held at Cal State L.A. on October 5.

(Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Loretta Sanchez met with the Redlands Tea Party Patriots and other conservatives in the Inland Empire on Sunday, hoping to win their support in the November election.

John Berry, a cabinet member with the Redlands Tea Party, said Sanchez told those at the meeting that although she is a solid Democrat, she has voted against her party at times and also has worked with Republicans in Congress.’

The congresswoman from Orange told the group that her opponent, fellow Democrat and state Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris, has consolidated California’s liberal left, Berry said. Sanchez described herself as a moderate Democrat who supports sensible gun regulations, supports small business and is pro-Israel.

“I hate the cliché ‘lesser of two evils,’ but that clearly applies here,” Berry said. “Kamala Harris thinks we’re all a bunch of deplorables. She’s never going to care about anything we think.”

Sanchez has been courting Republicans and moderates through the summer and fall, and has boasted about endorsements from two prominent Southern California Republicans: former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan and former Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon of Santa Clarita. Vista Republican Rep. Darrell Issa also has backed Sanchez.

Berry said the Redlands group is not endorsing either Democrat in the Senate race. But Berry said he plans to vote for Sanchez and is encouraging conservatives and Republicans to do the same.

Berry said that former U.S. Rep. Steve Stockman (R-Texas) joined Sanchez during the meeting and urged those at the 90-minute meeting to support the Orange County congresswoman.

Stockman is a Tea Party conservative who in 2013 invited Ted Nugent, a rocker turned gun rights activist, to President Obama’s State of the Union address.

Berry said Stockman and Sanchez arrived at the meeting separately and were not campaigning together.

11:03 a.m.: This story was updated to include more information about Steve Stockman.

This article was originally published at 10:24 a.m.

At a California fundraiser Sunday night, President Obama called Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista) “shameless” for using the president’s photo on a recent mailer and praising him after years of criticizing the Obama administration.

Issa is facing an unexpectedly tough race this year as the eight-term Republican squares off against political novice former Marine Col. Doug Applegate.

“Issa’s primary contribution to the United States Congress has been to obstruct and to waste taxpayer dollars on trumped-up investigations that have led nowhere. And this is now a guy who, because poll numbers are bad, has sent out brochures with my picture on them touting his cooperation on issues with me,” Obama told the crowd, according to a transcript, at a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee fundraiser in the La Jolla home of donor Christine Forester. “Now that is the definition of chutzpah.”

The Vista Republican has been a frequent critic of Obama and has called him “one of the most corrupt presidents in modern times.”

The campaign mailer said Issa was “pleased” with the president for signing legislation he co-sponsored into law. Issa was one of 40 House members who co-sponsored the legislation, which provides some sexual assault victims legal protections in the federal criminal justice system.

The president is in Los Angeles today and Tuesday for a taping of Jimmy Kimmel Live and two fundraisers, including a $100,000-per-ticket fundraiser at DreamWorks Chief Executive Jeffrey Katzenberg’s home tonight that is completely closed to the press.

If you live in California and you’re eligible to vote, today is your last day to register to vote in the Nov. 8 election. Here’s how to do it:

• To check the status of your voter registration, go here.

• Not sure which county you live in? Enter your ZIP at the U.S. Census website.

• If you need to register or re-register, visit this site.

Once you register, you will have the opportunity to vote “yes” or “no” on 17 statewide ballot propositions, and many Californians will have the opportunity to vote on local initiatives.

For national elections, California has been a solidly blue Democratic state, and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is projected to win it. But California is also filling the empty Senate seat that will be left by Sen. Barbara Boxer with one of two Democrats that voters will choose between: U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez of Orange or California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris.

In some California districts, no Republicans besides presidential candidate Donald Trump will appear on the ballot.

Along with multiple local government elections down ballot, voters in many California congressional districts will get the opportunity to pick their congressional representatives. Here are the ones we’re watching.

For live coverage on election night, follow along at latimes.com/trailguide.

(Sarah D. Wire/ Los Angeles Times)

In California’s Central Valley, the nation’s most productive agricultural region, the drought drives everything. And the ongoing fight over how much water flows could be the reason Democrats haven’t been able to win in the 21st Congressional District with a national race even though 47% of registered voters there are Democrats.

Here’s a look at the role of water in the race between Rep. David Valadao, and attorney Emilio Huerta.

Read More

(Pat Sullivan / Associated Press)

California voters are weighing dueling death penalty propositions on the Nov. 8 ballot, one that seeks to repeal the system and another that aims to speed it up.

If both pass with a majority, the initiative with the most “yes” votes would supersede the other. If both fail to garner the votes, then the status quo remains, a frustrating prospect for many as advocates on both sides of the issue say the system is broken.

California has more than 740 inmates awaiting execution, the largest death row population in the country. Their appeals go directly to the state Supreme Court and take 25 years to process.

Both capital punishment measures would require current prisoners to work and pay restitution to victims. But Proposition 62 would repeal the death penalty in California for first-degree murder and replace the sentence with life in prison without the possibility of parole. It also would apply retroactively to offenders already sentenced to death.

Proposition 66 would designate lower trial courts to take on initial challenges to convictions and limit successive appeals to within five years of a death sentence. It also would require court-appointed lawyers who don’t take capital appeals to represent death row inmates.

The fact that there are 17 propositions on the statewide ballot has not only made things hard on voters, it’s been almost impossible for pollsters to sample opinion on so many issues.

But one new poll looks at some of the least talked about measures, and it’s our first topic on this week’s California Politics Podcast. The poll suggests a lot of voters remain undecided about several of these low-profile proposals.

We also take a detailed look at one of the most contentious ballot fights, the effort by Gov. Jerry Brown to revamp state prison parole rules through Proposition 57.

I’m joined on this week’s episode by Marisa Lagos of KQED News.

Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Orange).

(Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times)

Orange County Rep. Loretta Sanchez, who was criticized by Muslim groups last year after a comment about Muslims’ support for establishing a strict Islamic state, appears to have made amends.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations California issued a co-endorsement in California’s U.S. Senate race for both Sanchez and her rival, fellow Democrat state Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris.

“For 20 years I have stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the Muslim American community and I am truly humbled and honored to have their support for United States Senate,” Sanchez said in a statement released Friday.

Sanchez said that, last month, she signed a letter addressed to the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Secretary to ensure that individuals inquiring about their placement on the No Fly List, known as the terrorist watch list, are not deprived of their due process rights. The congresswoman also said she is a co-sponsor the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2016 to stop the slaughter of the Syrian people, encourage a negotiated political settlement and hold Syrian human rights abusers accountable.

Sanchez faced criticism after the San Bernardino terrorist attack in December when, during an interview with Larry King, she suggested that 5% to 20% of Muslims support a caliphate, a strict Islamic state. The congresswoman insists that her statement has not been refuted by any credible source.

Joe Salas, president of the CAIR California’s political action committee, which issued the co-endorsement, called Sanchez’s comment about the caliphate “irresponsible and repugnant.” But he said that Sanchez had a good record in Congress regarding protecting the civil rights of Muslims and other communities.

Harris, who was in Sacramento on Friday to address a state NAACP convention, called Sanchez’s comment “ignorant and misinformed.”

4:45 p.m.: This story was updated to include a comment from a representative of the Council on American-Islamic Relations California and additional comments from Sanchez.

This article was originally published at 4:05 p.m.

In three online ads released Friday, Sandra Friend tells California voters they should fix the state’s death penalty system, not end it.

The 43-year-old mother has been a crime victims advocate since Robert Boyd Rhoades sexually abused and killed her 8-year-old son, Michael Lyons, two decades ago. She is now serving as one of the main voices behind a campaign that is working to defeat Proposition 62, which would repeal the death penalty, and in favor of Proposition 66, which seeks to speed up executions.

Voters will weigh the dueling capital punishment initiatives on the Nov. 8 ballot. Both would require current death row inmates to work and pay restitution to victims, but would take opposing approaches to what the measures both call a broken system.

Rhoades, who abducted Lyons on his way home from school in Yuba City, is one of 740 death row inmates in California. Executions have been on hold since 2006, when the state’s lethal injection protocol was challenged in court.

Friend tells viewers it has been difficult coming to terms with the fact that her son was murdered by a twice-convicted sex offender.

“I am living a parent’s worst nightmare,” she says.

Former state Sen. Ronald S. Calderon was sentenced in Los Angeles on Friday to 42 months in prison after he pleaded guilty in a federal corruption case.

The Montebello Democrat, who served in the state Senate for eight years ending in 2014, admitted in a plea deal in June that he accepted tens of thousands of dollars in bribes from undercover FBI agents and a hospital executive in return for official favors.

Federal prosecutors had asked for a five-year sentence for a charge where the maximum possible penalty was 20 years.

U.S. District Judge Christina Snyder, who handed down the sentence to Calderon, said five years was too severe but that a significant prison sentence was needed to punish Calderon and send a message to other elected officials that corruption will not be tolerated.

“The crime is significant,” she said during the court hearing. “This is a true public corruption case.”

Striking a defiant tone throughout, Calderon refused to admit any wrong-doing or to apologize during the court hearing.

“My goal was always to do the right thing for California,” he said. “At no point did I intend to break the law.”

He said he ultimately decided to plead guilty in order to spare his family the ordeal of a trial, but persisted in his innocence, saying he never agreed to any quid pro quo to benefit himself or his family.

Unemployed and tens of thousands of dollars in debt, Calderon said professional relationships had been ruined as had his relationship with his brother.

“My reputation is destroyed,” Calderon said.

Snyder was unmoved. “I did not really hear Senator Calderon accept responsibility or apologize,” she said. “It was really about himself.”

Calderon, 59, had pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud as part of a plea in which he admitted to accepting trips to Las Vegas, jobs for a son and daughter, and cash for him and his brother, former Assemblyman Tom Calderon.

Tom Calderon was sentenced last month to one year in federal custody for laundering bribes taken by his brother.

The Calderon family was politically powerful for decades in California. A third brother, former Assemblyman Charles Calderon, was not implicated in the corruption scandal.

Ronald Calderon’s nephew, Ian Calderon, is a state assemblyman, the last family member in state elected office. He was not alleged to have any part in the corruption scheme.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Mack E. Jenkins wrote a blistering brief opposing Calderon’s request to serve time with home detention or be released for the brief time he already spent in jail.

“Here, defendant’s trafficking in his legislative votes (for, by contrast, over $150,000 in benefits) caused a reverberation of negative effects throughout California and put a stain not just on his career, but on the reputation of the state legislature,” Jenkins wrote.

Read More

Democratic U.S. Rep. Ami Bera, left, shakes hands with his Republican challenger, Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones, after their debate Tuesday in the race for the 7th Congressional District seat.

(Jose Luis Villegas / Associated Press)

Questions about character have been dominating the congressional race between Rep. Ami Bera (D-Elk Grove) and Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones.

Both candidates have been plagued by allegations of wrongdoing. Bera’s father was recently sentenced to jail for illegally funneling money to two of his son’s past campaigns. Jones faces allegations he sexually harassed a subordinate at the Sheriff’s Department more than a decade ago, which he denies.

They’re competing in a divided district that leans Democratic, but not by much. In 2014, Bera beat his Republican challenger by less than a percentage point.

“This race is always one of the closest races in the country,” he said.

Read More

U.S. Senate candidate and California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris speaks during a debate against Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez in Los Angeles on Oct. 5.

(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)

The California Democratic Party says it has increased its direct support of Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris’ U.S. Senate campaign to more than $690,000.

Harris won the California Democratic Party’s support in February when delegates at its annual convention voted overwhelmingly to endorse her for Senate. Her rival in the Senate race, fellow Democrat and Orange County Rep. Loretta Sanchez, has not received any help from the state party.

Harris also is prominently featured on a slate mailer being sent out to voters

by the party that also features Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and local Democrats endorsed by the party.

The price tag for that mailer came in at $431,000.

Rep. Loretta Sanchez, after her speech Thursday.

(Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

U.S. Senate candidate Loretta Sanchez on Thursday urged ROTC cadets at UCLA to have the courage to challenge politicians who call for “ill conceived” uses of military force such as the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

“We need military leaders that understand the limits of our military power,” said Sanchez, who has served in Congress for two decades and sits on the House Armed Services Committee. “Why is it that every generation and every president has to learn that all over again?”

The Orange County congresswoman made the comments during an address to ROTC cadets at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion.

Sanchez said her experience on the House Armed Services Committee made her question the long-term implications of the Iraq invasion, and whether the U.S. might find itself bogged down in a war in the Middle East. In 2002, Sanchez was among the 133 House members who voted against the authorization of military force against Iraq.

“It was a lonely time,” Sanchez told the cadets. “[When] I came back to Orange County, I was spit on. I received death threats.”

The congresswoman told the cadets the military is just one part of a national security strategy that includes intelligence gathering, diplomacy and the use of the country’s economic strength.

“Because so much is at stake, the use of our military should always be a last resort,” Sanchez said.

Sanchez is running against fellow Democrat and state Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris for California’s U.S. Senate seat. She says her expertise on national defense and terrorism are among the reasons she’s the most qualified candidate.

Tobacco companies have unveiled a new claim in their campaign against the $2-per-pack increase in cigarette taxes on the November ballot.

In a television advertisement that debuted over the weekend, the No on Proposition 56 campaign contends that the doctors and health insurance groups financing the initiative wrote it to avoid external oversight over the money going to low-income patient care.

“They even exempted themselves from the new audit requirements,” the ad states. “They can use the new revenue to enrich their top executives, and there’s no requirement to treat even one more patient.”

The claim rests on a part of the Proposition 56 initiative that creates new auditing rules to govern where the new tax money would go. But it ignores the litany of state and federal auditing requirements to which Medi-Cal, the state’s low-income health program, already is subject.

First, here’s a little background about how the money from Proposition 56 would get spent. Assuming fewer people use tobacco because of the tax increase, the tax would raise about $1.27 billion next year, according to an estimate from the Legislative Analyst’s Office.

Of that amount, $710 million – about 56% — would go to Medi-Cal, primarily to increase the payment doctors and other healthcare providers receive when they treat patients. The remaining dollars go to back-filling current state and local sales taxes and other programs because fewer people will buy cigarettes, doctor and dentist training and anti-tobacco efforts. The initiative kicks in $400,000 a year to audit the agencies receiving the money.

Beth Miller, spokeswoman for the No on 56 campaign, said that opponents like that state and local agencies will be audited if the measure passes. The criticism is that the provisions don’t go far enough.

“It would have been nice to have those audit requirements also apply to those end users, so to speak: the hospitals, the insurance companies and the doctors,” Miller said.

Medi-Cal providers, however, get audited all the time. The state’s Department of Health Care Services does internal audits and investigations through an entire department of about 700 employees and a $50-million budget dedicated to reviewing the programs under its jurisdiction, including looking at the financial records of Medi-Cal providers.

Beyond that, the California State Auditor has issued at least two wide-ranging audits involving Medi-Cal providers in the last five years on the state’s oversight of managed-care plans. And the federal Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General also audits programs and providers that receive federal dollars for low-income patients. One recent federal audit of California that examined pediatric dental providers happened last May.

Miller contended that the audits required under Proposition 56 are more transparent than the existing state and federal programs.

Mike Roth, spokesman for the Yes on 56 campaign, said the initiative has plenty of safeguards to ensure the tax money is spent wisely, including the auditing provisions.

“This is another desperate and deceitful red herring from tobacco companies, and it takes the cake as far as their flagrant lies about Proposition 56,” Roth said.

Here’s the full ad:

UPDATES:

3:03 p.m.: This post was updated to include the full video of the advertisement.

This article was originally published at 2:00 p.m.

Assemblyman Adrin Nazarian during Gov. Jerry Brown’s State of the State speech in Sacramento earlier this year.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

A Los Angeles assemblyman who was previously running unopposed is now facing a stiff challenge from a write-in candidate who appears to be gathering steam.

The Los Angeles Daily News announced its endorsement yesterday of Angela Rupert, an immigration attorney and first-time candidate, over incumbent Adrin Nazarian (D-Sherman Oaks).

Nazarian, a two-term legislator, won 99.6% of the votes in the June primary. But the Daily News says Rupert, who won just 131 write-in votes, “has the potential to be a better Assembly member” than Nazarian.

“After four years, we aren’t seeing big results,” wrote the newspaper’s editorial board, which endorsed Nazarian in his last two elections. “Nazarian still sounds less comfortable with confrontation than with negotiation and equivocal positions, and satisfied with incremental victories.”

Nazarian’s campaign has claimed Rupert was recruited to run by his Democratic colleague, Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Glendale), with whom he has had an ongoing public feud.

Rupert is married to Jason Insalaco, a former staffer for Gatto, and Rupert’s write-in candidacy was supported by a group of anti-vaccination parents who have also supported Gatto. Gatto voted against SB 277, California’s new law eliminating personal belief exemptions for schoolchildren.

In an email, Rupert’s campaign spokeswoman said Rupert supports SB 277 and vaccination in schools, and accused Nazarian’s campaign of creating a “false narrative” of his opponent as an “anti-vaxxer.”

Last month, a judge struck down Rupert’s ballot designation as an “educator” after Nazarian complained that it wasn’t her primary job. She will now appear on the ballot as an “attorney/small businesswoman.”

Internal polling released by Rupert’s campaign earlier this month showed the assemblyman leading 34% to 25%, with 41% of voters undecided.

2:40 p.m., Oct. 21: This article was updated to clarify Rupert’s stance on vaccination in schools.

This article was originally published at 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 20.

Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Turlock)

(Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)

The nonpartisan analysts at the Cook Political Report now say it’s a “toss-up” whether Republican Rep. Jeff Denham or Democrat beekeeper Michael Eggman will win the 10th Congressional District race.

The race had been rated “leans Republican” since last fall, indicating that the analysts expected Denham to keep the seat, but felt Democrats had a chance.

This is the second matchup for Denham and Eggman. Denham won in 2014 with 56.4% of the vote.

Democrats have worked for months to tie vulnerable House Republicans to the rhetoric of their presidential nominee, Donald Trump, and this race is one where Trump’s effect down the ballot could be most visible.

Denham has said he disagrees with Trump’s rhetoric, but hasn’t backed off supporting him, a move that could prove unpopular in the Central Valley district where at least 40% of the population is Latino.

Three Republican-held seats in California are now considered toss-ups. The other two are representing the 25th Congressional District, held by Rep. Steve Knight (R-Palmdale), and the 49th Congressional District, held by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista).

California Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León, left, and Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, right, applaud at Gov. Jerry Brown’s State of the State speech in January.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Despite political differences with its author, state Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) on Thursday endorsed Proposition 63, which would expand California’s already tough gun control laws.

Proposition 63 was proposed by Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and would outlaw large-capacity ammunition magazines, require background checks for those buying bullets, require lost or stolen guns to be reported quickly, make stealing a firearm a felony and provide a process for newly convicted felons to relinquish their guns.

De León and Newsom have both been working on gun control issues for years and both have aspirations for higher office. Newsom is running for governor in 2018. Some in the De León camp thought when the initiative was proposed last year that it was being used to try to take over an issue on which the senator has been a leader.

The two disagreed earlier this year on the best way to achieve gun control aims, with De León publicly calling on Newsom to drop his initiative and allow the Legislature to act, and Newsom refusing, charging that the Legislature’s proposals were not extensive enough.

In the end, the Legislature approved several bills, including one by De León that requires background checks for ammunition purchasers, even though a similar proposal is included in the Newsom initiative. The Legislature also mandated that its background-check plan would supersede the one in Proposition 63.

On Thursday, De León made no mention of the differences.

“Earlier this year, our Legislature passed the most sweeping and important package of gun safety laws in the nation, increasing nationwide momentum and grass-roots outcries for common-sense safeguards against gun violence,” De León said in a statement.

“I endorse Proposition 63 because we must send a powerful and united message to the national Gun Lobby that California will not capitulate to political bullying or compromise the public safety,” he added.

The differences between the two politicians were highlighted noted by Richard Grenell, co-chairman of the Coalition for Civil Liberties, which is campaigning against the initiative.

“This is a prime example of why people should trust law enforcement on this question before self-interested politicians,” Grenell said. “Just a few months ago, de León asked Newsom to repeal Prop 63.”

De León’s statement was released a day after Newsom ruffled some feathers in the De León camp when he told the Sacramento Press Club that his initiative accomplishes things that state officials could not.

Newsom noted that 11 other states have enacted the requirement that stolen guns be reported.

“There have been legislative attempts and they have failed multiple times here in the Capitol,” Newsom said. The Legislature did approve such a bill this year, but it was vetoed by Gov. Jerry Brown in July.

The political dispute between the two leading Democrats surfaced last year when De León acted to slash a third of Newsom’s staff, notifying him that two Senate employees who had been on loan to the lieutenant governor’s office were being reassigned.

UPDATED at 1:10 pm to include comment from opponent of initiative.

(Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)

Business groups often make up a triumvirate with Republicans and taxpayer advocates against tax increases.

But on the two tax hikes on the 2016 California ballot, major business leaders are mostly staying away from the fight. They tend to dislike the income tax extensions promised by Proposition 55, but aren’t campaigning against them. And some are even backing Proposition 56’s cigarette tax increases.

Read More

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Early data compiled from local elections officials shows a surge of ballots being returned in the mail, especially in some of the most closely watched races this election season.

A report compiled by Political Data Inc. shows almost 408,000 ballots cast in just the first eight days of voting, with more than half of those ballots arriving in local election offices Wednesday.

As we’ve reported before, election day in California is now more like an election month. A majority of the state’s voters cast their ballots away from traditional polling places, and political professionals can closely monitor which voters in any given race have turned those ballots back in.

The report also shows strong early voting in some of California’s most talked about congressional races.

In the hotly contested reelection race of Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista), more than four times as many ballots have been returned so far compared to the 2014 general election. And even though Republicans have an eight-point registration advantage in Issa’s district, the ballots cast so far have skewed more Democratic. In early voting, the two major parties are almost even in the number of votes cast. Issa, facing a tough race against Democrat Douglas Applegate, recently sent out a campaign mailer trying to appeal to local voters who support President Obama.

Compared to the first few days of the 2014 general election, substantially more ballots have also been cast in the Central Valley races featuring Reps. Jeff Denham (R-Turlock) and David Valadao (R-Hanford). In both districts, Democratic voters are outpacing GOP voters in early ballot returns.

While none of the data offers information on how those ballots were cast -- these are only totals received by county officials -- the early numbers may offer a glimpse at how energized some parts of the electorate are in this contentious campaign season.

There are certain duties that come with being a leader nearing the end of his presidency. It would seem sitting down in front of a camera and recording multiple ads supporting down-ballot candidates is one of them.

President Obama cut at least five ads wearing the same dark suit and purple-striped tie in what appears to be in the same room. Most of the candidates are in hotly contested races that could help Democrats win control of Congress, or they have personal ties to the president.

The latest is an ad supporting California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris, a longtime political ally of the president, in her campaign against Orange County Rep. Loretta Sanchez for the U.S. Senate.

The ad appears to have been shot at the same time as TV spots the president cut for a number of Democratic congressional candidates, including Bryan Caforio, who is challenging freshman Rep. Steve Knight in a tossup race in north Los Angeles County.

It looks like the same room the Harris ad was shot in — minus a statue behind Obama’s right shoulder.

The statue is back in an ad for former Republican Gov. Charlie Crist of Florida, who is now a Democratic congressional candidate running against GOP Rep. David Jolly. Both Roll Call and the Cook Political Report say the seat leans toward Democrats.

Obama also cut an ad for Minnesota congressional candidate Terri Bonoff. She is running against four-term Republican Rep. Erik Paulsen in a race that Roll Call lists as Republican-favored.

Bonoff gets a personal shout out: in the ad Obama says Bonoff’s son is one of his “closest aides” and he calls the candidate “somebody special.”

Obama also appears in an ad for former Rep. Brad Schneider in his race against GOP Rep. Bob Dold in a suburban district outside of Obama’s hometown of Chicago. It is the third time the two are facing off: Schneider beat Dold in 2012 only to lose the seat to him in 2014.

Obama also appears in a radio ad supporting former Nevada Atty. Gen. Catherine Cortez-Masto in her race against Republican Rep. Joe Heck to succeed retiring Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid.

The newest political ad from U.S. Senate candidate Kamala Harris features her biggest endorser: President Obama.

The president praises Harris’ work as California’s attorney general, saying she took on transnational gangs “and won,” sued for-profit colleges for scamming students “and won” and took on the big banks responsible for the mortgage meltdown “and won.”

“Kamala Harris knows you’ve got to be fearless against the special interests,” Obama says, speaking directly into the camera during the 30-second television spot.

The ad appears to be shot at the same time as TV spots Obama cut for a number of Democratic congressional candidates, including Bryan Caforio, who is challenging freshman Rep. Steve Knight in North Los Angeles County.

The president is wearing the same dark suit and purple-striped tie, and appears to be in the same room -- just as he is in campaigns ad for former Republican Gov. Charlie Crist of Florida, who is now a Democratic congressional candidate, and Minnesota congressional candidate Terri Bonoff.

Obama and Vice President Joe Biden announced their support for Harris in the Senate race in July. Harris has been a longtime political ally of the president and served as the California co-chair of his 2008 presidential campaign.

Still, both Harris and Sanchez are Democrats, and the congresswoman’s supporters criticized the president for choosing sides in an intra-party contest. In response, Sanchez accused Obama of being part of the “entrenched political establishment” that she said has failed California voters.

California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks at an event in Los Angeles in April.

(Nick Ut / Associated Press)

Signaling that his gubernatorial campaign will shift into higher gear after next month’s election, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday that he is working on a plan to double spending on roads and other infrastructure since the Legislature failed to act this year.

“This is going to be something you will be hearing a lot more from me on over the course of the next number of months, a very aggressive infrastructure proposal,” Newsom said in a speech to the Sacramento Press Club.

The former San Francisco mayor is running for governor in 2018. He noted that the governor and Legislature did not reach an agreement on a transportation funding program in the face of a $130-billion backlog in state and local road repairs.

Legislative Democrats proposed a $7.4-billion plan earlier this year that would raise the gas tax by 17 cents a gallon. That’s about twice the size of an earlier plan by Gov. Jerry Brown.

“We’ve got to more than double our investment in infrastructure in this state,” Newsom said, adding the problem has reached “code red” in California. Plans by the governor to use proceeds from sale of cap-and-trade credits “have merits,” he said.

Separately, Newsom said he continues to support the vision of a high speed rail system for California but said “I remain concerned about the finances.” He said the private sector must step up to provide more of the money as the project cost has close to doubled from its original $33 billion price tag.

Newsom acknowledged that he has work to do to introduce himself to voters outside his home base.

“I think a lot of the state really doesn’t know me yet,” he said, adding he sees it as a “great opportunity” to tell his story.

He declined to comment on the gubernatorial candidacy of state Treasurer John Chiang and possible runs by former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and billionaire environmental activist Tom Steyer.

“I’m not focused on those others,” he said. “I’m focused on what we have before us.”