Going into election night, a talking point in the national media was whether California voters would rebuke the left and move a bit more to the center.
Central to this conversation was a ballot measure to recall progressive prosecutor Chesa Boudin, who became a lightning rod for controversies over crime and homelessness in San Francisco. If the famously liberal city ousted Boudin, and billionaire businessman Rick Caruso had a strong showing in the Los Angeles mayoral race, would that represent a shift in blue California?
Both results underscore how much the issues of crime and homelessness — as well as housing affordability — have become major concerns in both deep-blue cities, with voters demanding change. A UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll, co-sponsored by the Los Angeles Times, asked what two issues were most important in deciding whom to support for L.A. mayor. Among likely voters, these were the results: homelessness 49%; crime and public safety 40%; housing affordability 25%.
But the election results were far from a sweeping shift to the center. Leading Democrats like Gov. Gavin Newsom, U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla and Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta had strong showings. And L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva, whose politics have made a strong shift to the right, was struggling.
Progressive San Francisco Dist. Atty. Chesa Boudin is recalled after a bitter and pricey campaign amid rising fears over crime and homelessness.
Here is a breakdown of the election results:
San Francisco
The recall decision of Boudin was not even close, with more than 60% of voters supporting it.
Critics painted the D.A. as a soft-on-crime prosecutor who doesn’t care about public safety. And they tied his criminal reform policies to a wave of high-profile crimes, including a fatal hit-and-run involving a man on parole, a series of smash-and-grab robberies from high-end Union Square stores and a wave of attacks against elderly Asian American residents.
“This election does not mean that San Francisco has drifted to the far right on our approach to criminal justice,” said Mary Jung, chair of the recall campaign. “In fact, San Francisco has been a national beacon for progressive criminal justice reform for decades and will continue to do so with new leadership.”
The overwhelming vote to recall three San Francisco school members was a forceful show of parents’ frustration with local circumstances. But the proponents think other politicians should take heed of families’ fury over long school closures due to COVID-19.
Los Angeles
With voters in a sour mood after two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, a seemingly intractable homelessness crisis and increased gun violence, the mayoral race was viewed as a referendum on whether Los Angeles would stick with the liberal Democratic leadership that has been in charge for most of the last half-century.
Caruso massively outspent Bass, using his own fortune and hammering a message of solving the homeless crisis and cracking down on crime. While a poll Sunday showed Bass slightly ahead of Caruso, the primary election results were different. Caruso holds the lead, 42% to 37% as of Wednesday morning. They will face a runoff in November.
Fourmembers of the Los Angeles City Council were leading in their contests for reelection, while a fifth was looking at a Nov. 8 runoff, according to partial returns. In the closely watched controller’s race, progressive activist Kenneth Mejia was the top voter and will face Paul Koretz in the November runoff.
Billionaire real estate developer Rick Caruso holds a narrow lead over U.S. Rep. Karen Bass in the race to replace Mayor Eric Garcetti.
Attorney general
Progressives did better in the California attorney general’s race. Democratic incumbent Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta sailed to an easy victory on the Nov. 8 ballot and likely will face one of two Republicans instead of a high-profile independent prosecutor, Sacramento Dist. Atty. Anne Marie Schubert.
Opponents attacked Bonta for his left-leaning legislative record and his support for criminal justice reform laws. Schubert had hoped her relatively centrist politics and experience prosecuting the Golden State Killer and other notorious serial murderers and rapists would convince voters that she could effectively lead the state Department of Justice.
Bonta’s strong showing provided a counterpoint to criticism of the criminal justice reform movement in California, concerns that helped oust Boudin.
Partisan labels were tested in several high-profile races on California’s primary ballot, including the bid for state attorney general.
L.A. County sheriff
Villanueva won the office four years ago as a reformer promising to limit the department’s cooperation in county jails with federal immigration authorities.
But he has made an increasingly hard turn to the right to refashion himself as a conservative law-and-order sheriff. On the campaign trail and on his frequent appearances on Fox News, he has railed against the policies of the “woke left,” whom he blames for the county’s homeless crisis and sharp rise in homicides and other crimes. A major initiative has been to dramatically increase the number of permits issued to allow people to carry concealed guns. His department also has been mired in a series of scandals and faced critics from his own overseers and the Board of Supervisors.
As of Wednesday morning, Villanueva had earned only 34% of the vote in a crowded field. He likely will face former Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna in a November runoff.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva maintains a lead over retired Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna, but not one big enough to win outright.
Statewide races
Newsom crushed a crowded field of scarcely known challengers in California’s statewide primary and will face off against a conservative Northern California Republican, state Sen. Brian Dahle.
Padilla, who was appointed by Newsom just over two years ago, is expected to coast through the November election.
Lanhee Chen, a candidate for state controller, was the GOP’s best chance at winning a statewide office. As the only Republican in the race, the fiscal advisor and educator was favored to come out on top against four Democrats and one independent.
Partisan labels were tested in several high-profile races on California’s primary ballot, including the bid for state attorney general.
Zeneta Everhart, whose son, Zaire Goodman, 20, was shot during the Buffalo Tops supermarket mass shooting and survived, testifies during a House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing on gun violence on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.
Andrew Harnik/AP
hide caption
toggle caption
Andrew Harnik/AP
Zeneta Everhart, whose son, Zaire Goodman, 20, was shot during the Buffalo Tops supermarket mass shooting and survived, testifies during a House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing on gun violence on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.
Andrew Harnik/AP
Parents of children injured and killed during last month’s mass shootings in Buffalo, N.Y., and Uvalde, Texas, implored members of the House Oversight Committee to act quickly on gun control measures.
“If after hearing from me and the other people testifying here today does not move you to act on gun laws, I invite you to my home to help me to clean Zaire’s wounds so that you may see up close the damage that has been caused to my son and my community,” said Zeneta Everhart, mother of Zaire Goodman, a survivor of the Buffalo shooting.
The shooting in a Buffalo grocery store left three dead and 10 injured. The shooting in a Uvalde elementary school left 17 injured and 21 dead, including 19 children.
Kimberly and Felix Rubio, parents of Lexi Rubio, one of the students who died at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, testified virtually, calling for members to ban assault rifles and high-capacity magazines, to raise the age to purchase assault weapons from 18 to 21 years of age, to implement red flag laws and to strengthen background checks and to repeal gun manufacturers liability immunity. The policy suggestions mirror President Joe Biden’s list of proposals.
And Miah Cerrillo, a fourth grade student at Robb Elementary School, testified in a prerecorded video to members that she used her friend’s blood to pretend to be dead while calling 911 for help. She said she fears another incident will happen again.
“He shot my friend Elizabeth and I thought he was going to come back into the room so I grabbed the blood and I put it all over me,” she said. Miah’s father testified in person, asking for some sort of action to help protect kids in schools, noting how difficult it has been for his family since the shooting.
Felix Rubio and Kimberly Rubio, parents of Lexi Rubio 10, a victim of the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, appear on a screen as they testify remotely during a House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing on gun violence on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.
Pool/Getty Images
hide caption
toggle caption
Pool/Getty Images
Felix Rubio and Kimberly Rubio, parents of Lexi Rubio 10, a victim of the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, appear on a screen as they testify remotely during a House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing on gun violence on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.
Pool/Getty Images
Meanwhile, Lucretia Hughes of the DC Project and Women for Gun Rights, the witness put forward by Republicans, came forward to argue that more laws will not make a difference in reducing rates of gun violence.
“Y’all are delusional if you think it’s going to keep us safe,” said Hughes, who lost her own teenage son in gun-related incident. “At Women for Gun Rights, we believe that education is the key to safety, not ineffective legislation.”
Members of Congress have spent the last few days listening to testimony of those affected by recent mass shootings. Wednesday’s hearing came as House members are expected to vote on a package of bills this afternoon that would expand federal gun regulations. Despite calls for action from parents who lost children, the House measures are expected to stall in the Senate as lawmakers there move forward with separate negotiations on a narrow set of proposals.
But lawmakers in both chambers are moving ahead with their talks, despite proposals unlikely to pass both chambers and make it to the president’s desk.
“We are not going to surrender our policy power and responsibility to the Senate,” Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., who sits on the Judiciary panel that advanced the bills the House is looking to pass, told NPR. “We’re going to legislate in a way that meets the immensity and gravity of the problem. … If the Senate comes back with something diluted or inferior to that, we’ll have to reckon with that as a part of the process.”
Following the House testimony Wednesday, Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Ga., told reporters that he has hope a deal can be reached despite the ideological splits.
“There is always the possibility of hope,” he told NPR. “And maybe hearing this testimony some of my colleagues will actually do the right thing.”
The man, described as being from California andin his mid-20s, was taken into custody by police after telling officers he wanted to kill the justice, according to people familiar with the investigation. He apparently did not make it onto Kavanaugh’s property in Montgomery County but was stopped on a nearby street and was found to be carrying at least one weapon and burglary tools, these people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.
Investigators stand outside on May 21 during a moment of silence for the victims of the Buffalo supermarket shooting. (Joshua Bessex/AP)
The 18-year-old White man who opened fire at a Buffalo supermarket, killing 10 and injuring three, was first known to authorities in 2021 after making a generalized threat while attending his high school, according to Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia.
New York State Police took the suspect to a hospital for a psychiatric evaluation after he made a threat and worked on a school project that mentioned murder-suicides. But authorities released him after a day-and-a-half after determining that his threat was not specific enough to warrant further action, investigators have previously said. This allowed him to legally purchase the AR-15-style weapon he used in the attack.
The case of the Buffalo suspect – who pleaded not guilty to the 25-count indictment against him – exemplifies how high-risk adolescents, left untreated and unmonitored, can fall through the cracks of the system that aims to disrupt potentially violent behaviors, which allows those young people to carry out deadly acts of violence, several experts tell CNN.
Experts researching and developing approaches for long-term treatment to troubled teenagers say that they demand intensive services over a long period of time across agencies in mental health, community and law enforcement.
High-risk adolescents are characterized by antisocial disorders, social withdrawal, depressed mood and a lack of empathy or remorse, according to a National Policing Institute report released earlier this year on managing high-risk adolescents in community contexts. Those who become radicalized by extremist groups or harbor dangerous, racist views, experts say, require a more complex treatment plan that seeks to address the underlying causes of their ideology and reframe their mindset entirely.
The role of police in dealing with high-risk adolescents is to respond to an articulated or imminent threat of danger, an arrest, or transportation to a psychiatric or crisis center for an evaluation, according to Frank Straub, director of the National Policing Institute’s (NPI) Center for Targeted Violence Prevention.
Partial results from the San Francisco Department of Elections on Tuesday night showed the recall measure — also known as Proposition H — had the support of nearly 60% of voters, with 40% voting against it.
Boudin sought to reform the criminal justice system, ending the use of cash bail, stopping the prosecution of minors as adults, and focused on lowering jail populations amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Boudin also became the first San Francisco DA to file homicide charges against city police officers.
At an election night gathering, Boudin told his supporters he is just getting started in the push for criminal justice reform.
“We have two cities. We have two systems of justice. We have one for the wealthy and the well-connected and a different one for everybody else. And that’s exactly what we are fighting to change,” he said.
“We know that this is a system that has systematically failed us, not just for decades, but for generations.”
San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin greets supporters after partial election returns showed him being recalled by voters on June 7, 2022. Recall proponents said his policies made the city less safe.
Noah Berger / AP
San Francisco Mayor Landon Breed will choose Boudin’s replacement.
Whoever is appointed will have to run in the general election to fill the remainder of Boudin’s term, which was to last through 2023.
Proponents of the recall claimed Boudin — a longtime public defender — wasn’t prosecuting criminals aggressively and said his instituting progressive policies was putting the safety of residents at risk. They spent over $7 million blasting that message to voters in San Francisco throughout the course of the campaign.
“This election does not mean that San Francisco has drifted to the far right on our approach to criminal justice,” Mary Jung, a chair of the recall campaign, said in a statement. “In fact, San Francisco has been a national beacon for progressive criminal justice reform for decades and will continue to do so with new leadership.”
Momentum to recall Boudin picked up steam throughout 2021 as hate crimes against Asian Americans in San Francisco increased dramatically and victims blamed Boudin, saying he was siding with criminals. Recall supporters also pointed to car break-ins and viral smash-and-grab robberies at major retail stores, claiming they were becoming common occurrences as consequences of Boudin’s policies.
Boudin’s team maintained throughout the campaign that there was no direct correlation between the spike in some crimes and the DA’s policies. But Tuesday night’s results indicate voters didn’t buy that message.
The recall in San Francisco could have implications for other progressive, reform-minded prosecutors across the country. Boudin narrowly won in 2019 as progressive prosecutors pledged to focus on alternatives to incarceration and hold police officers accountable.
In Los Angeles, organizers are now close to gathering enough signatures to force a recall vote for their district attorney, George Gascon. He was elected in 2020 and previously served as San Francisco’s DA. His resignation and subsequent move to Southern California paved the way for Boudin to take office.
There are still votes to count and election results will need to be certified before Breed gets to appoint a replacement.
Breed has not officially weighed in on the DA recall. In October 2019, Breed appointed Susie Loftus, the former president of the San Francisco Police Commission, as the interim DA following Gascon’s resignation.
During that November’s election, Boudin got 36% of the support in the initial count, but San Francisco’s ranked-choice voting system propelled him to victory over Loftus by fewer than 3,000 votes.
Last month, District Two Supervisor Catherine Stefani became the first elected official in the city to endorse the recall. Multiple political operatives involved with the recall effort told CBS News that Stefani would likely be considered by Breed as a potential replacement.
Billionaire real estate developer Rick Caruso and U.S. Rep. Karen Bass will square off in a November runoff in their costly race to become Los Angeles’ next mayor, with the two far ahead of the rest of the primary field.
Caruso held a narrow but widening lead over Bass in partial returns early Wednesday. With 62% of the expected votes counted, Caruso was ahead with 42% to Bass’ 37%.
Los Angeles City Councilman Kevin de León was third, far behind the leaders, with progressive activist Gina Viola fourth.
With a November showdown apparently looming, both candidates said the results put them in a good position to win five months from now.
“This is a great night because so many people have gone to the voting booth and they sent a message: We are not helpless in the face of our problems,” Caruso told supporters gathered at the Grove, his shopping mall in the Fairfax district. “We will not allow the city to decline. We will no longer accept excuses.”
The candidate called his lead “a victory story, about an entire community that refused to let the dream of Los Angeles be extinguished.”
About the same time, Bass met her supporters on the roof of the W Hotel in Hollywood. “We are in a fight for the soul of our city,” she said, “and we are going to win.”
Earlier, L.A. City Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson, a Bass supporter, took a swipe at Caruso’s massive spending in the campaign. “Tonight what we’re seeing already is that the big bad wolf huffed and he puffed and he blew $40 million and he still couldn’t take Karen Bass down,” Harris-Dawson said.
With voters in a sour mood after two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, a seemingly intractable homelessness crisis and increased gun violence, the vote was viewed as a referendum on whether Los Angeles would stick with the liberal Democratic leadership that has been in charge for most of the last half-century.
As the early front-runner in the campaign and a longtime Democratic officeholder, Bass campaigned as a coalition builder who could leverage her connections in Sacramento and Washington to bring more resources to L.A.
Caruso, a onetime Republican turned Democrat, pledged to shake up the status quo and make City Hall more efficient, while hiring substantially more police and moving rapidly to clear away homeless encampments.
The stark choice animated some voters but hardly galvanized the larger electorate, as early vote totals showed only about 18% of Los Angeles voters had cast ballots. Final results will trickle in, as mail-in ballots postmarked by election day will be accepted for one more week.
The primary election will help determine Los Angeles’ next mayor and sheriff.
The election will determine who succeeds Mayor Eric Garcetti, who won the maximum two terms and is scheduled to leave office in December. President Biden has appointed Garcetti to serve as ambassador to India, but his confirmation has stalled in the U.S. Senate. A runoff takes place if no mayoral candidate receives a simple majority of the votes cast in the primary.
The 63-year-old Caruso, waging his first campaign for public office, showed signs of the high emotion surrounding the campaign after casting his ballot Tuesday afternoon in Boyle Heights, where his Italian immigrant grandparents settled after moving west from Pennsylvania.
Caruso punched the electronic screen to cast his vote, then hugged two of his sons, who joined him for the occasion. Asked afterward to reflect on his decision to seek the mayor’s office — after turning aside the contest in earlier years — the candidate choked up and began to cry.
He recalled the home where his father grew up and where his diminutive grandmother, Josephine, was the boss.
“She had that wooden spoon in the kitchen, and she ruled the world,” Caruso said. He said his family’s journey said much more about him than the “billionaire developer” label usually used to describe him during the campaign.
“Like you’re not a human being, right?” he said. “There’s a lot of commitment and emotion and love that went into this decision” to run for office. “It didn’t happen lightly, and so all of those emotions came up.”
Bass, bidding to become the first woman elected L.A. mayor, also had family and larger themes in mind as she cast her vote with her stepdaughter and grandson in the community room of a Baldwin Hills mall. Standing with her arms around the 7-year-old in the mall’s parking garage, Bass told reporters that it was the boy’s first time at the polls.
“It is a tradition in my family and many other families to bring your children with you so that it becomes a habit and they learn that voting is something that is critical,” said Bass, 68. “In the African American community and in the Latino community, people have fought and died for the right to vote.”
The polling place burst into applause after a grinning Bass marked her ballot.
Here’s everything you need to know about the California primary election. How and where to vote. Who are the candidates and what are the issues?
After voting at Highland Park Senior Citizen Center in the morning, De León continued his last-minute sprint to win over and turn out working-class votes in the city’s Asian and Latino communities. He traveled from Grand Central Market downtown to Boyle Heights’ El Mercadito, where he traded fist-bumps, handshakes and hugs with potential voters.
Angelenos have signaled that they are not happy with the status quo, with one survey showing their view of the quality of life in the greater L.A. area has reached a low ebb. UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs found Los Angeles County residents this year offering the lowest scores in eight of nine quality-of-life categories since the survey began in 2016.
Voters said they were most focused on three issues as they looked for a replacement for Garcetti: homelessness, crime and public safety, and housing affordability, according to a poll by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies, co-sponsored by The Times.
Bass has pledged to provide housing for 15,000 people during her first year in office, though it is unclear what portion of those would get permanent homes, as opposed to interim shelter.
She said she would hire enough to return the Los Angeles Police Department from its current staffing of about 9,400 sworn officers to its authorized strength of 9,700. Noting that just more than half of the city’s homicides were solved in 2020, she called for the department to hire more detectives and investigators.
Caruso has promised to find shelter for 30,000 unhoused people in his first year in office. He said he intends to increase the size of the Police Department by 1,500 officers. Though the LAPD has struggled to hire and train enough officers, Caruso has said he will remove bottlenecks and find the money for more officers by rooting out waste in other parts of the city budget.
The race began with the close of candidate filing in February. Of the dozen candidates who qualified to be on the ballot, Bass — who served six years in the state Assembly and more than a decade in the U.S. House — was the clear early front-runner. A poll showed her with support from about one-third of likely voters, while her rivals languished in single digits.
But then Caruso launched a massive media blitz, spending a total of nearly $41 million over the next four months to push past more established elected officials. Councilman Joe Buscaino tried but failed to get traction in the same ideological lane as Caruso, arguing for more police and quicker action to clean up encampments. Buscaino, a former LAPD officer, dropped out of the race last month and endorsed Caruso.
On the latest episode of ‘The Daily Show,’ Trevor Noah demystified the Los Angeles mayoral race.
City Atty. Mike Feuer also found his lane, as a centrist who could get things done, occupied. Unable to gain ground on Bass or the rest of the field, Feuer dropped out a few days after Buscaino. He endorsed Bass.
That left De León as the only elected city official in the contest. De León leaned heavily on his profile as a member of the working class who briefly experienced homelessness early in adulthood. But he too struggled to gain a following, even among Latino voters who he hoped would support him.
In the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll released the weekend before the vote, Bass had the support of 38% of likely voters, with 32% for Caruso. De Leon trailed with support from 6% of likely voters, essentially stuck where he was in April.
The campaign was dominated by Caruso’s advertising, paid for mostly by his personal fortune, which he built by developing malls like the Grove in the Fairfax district and Americana at Brand in Glendale. His nearly $41 million in spending by election day was more than 12 times the amount spent by Bass.
Critics accused the businessman of trying to buy the election. He said he was merely trying to level the playing field, competing against politicians who had been getting attention for years while working on the taxpayers’ dime.
Many who chose not to vote remained impervious to the ads from Caruso and all the others.
“It just hurts my head. It really does,” said Justin Bretado, 22, of El Sereno, adding that he and his friends weren’t voting. “The bottom line is you don’t feel like it’s going to make any difference. It’s all the same old thing, every year.”
The new funds are part of a larger support package of over $4 billion, up from the earlier estimate $3 billion, the World Bank said in a statement. Of the expanded package, $2 billion has been disbursed.
The latest funding was supported by financing guarantees from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Lithuania, and Latvia, as well as parallel financing from Italy, expected future guarantees, including from Denmark, and contributions from a new Multi-donor Trust Fund, the World Bank said.
The U.S. last month also committed $40 billion to Ukraine, while the Group of Seven’s financial leaders agreed on $9.5 billion in new aid.
The World Bank added that it is working to support ordinary Ukrainians in areas such as access to health services, education, social protection, water supply, energy and roads.
“Maintaining these core services, and the ability of the government to deliver them, is essential to preventing further deterioration in living conditions and poverty in Ukraine beyond the suffering inflicted on the population because of the war,” said World Bank country director for Eastern Europe, Arup Banerji.
“In addition, keeping government capabilities functioning will be the bedrock of any recovery and reconstruction going forward.”
An emotional Matthew McConaughey took to the White House briefing room on Tuesday to plead for stronger gun laws in the wake of the mass shooting that claimed the lives of 19 students and 2 teachers in his hometown of Uvalde, Texas.
The veteran actor became emotional as he held up artwork and photos of children slain by the 18-year-old gunman and described the severity of wounds inflicted by the AR-15-style rifle used in that massacre.
“Make these lives matter,” he said. As a photo of a young girl’s green converse shoes appeared on screens facing reporters, he explained that the child’s distinctive footwear was the only way her body could be identified.
Mr McConnaughey also told reporters about meeting a cosmetologist who’d been working on making victims’ bodies ready for viewing at funeral services.
He said she’d told him and his wife that the bodies from the Uvalde shooting “were very different” because they “needed much more than makeup to be presentable”.
“They needed extensive restoration. Why? Due to the exceptionally large exit wounds, an AR 15 rifle,” he said, adding that the child victims “were left not only dead but hollow” by the high-powered rounds.
The veteran actor said the parents he and his wife met in Uvalde wanted their children’s “dreams to live on”, and noted that every person they met there wanted “gun laws that won’t make it so easy for the bad guys to get these damn guns”.
He called on Congress to “lead with humility and acknowledge … values that are above politics” by passing laws to make it harder for teenagers to obtain high-powered rifles.
Camila Alves McConaughey holds the lime green Converse tennis shoes that were worn by Uvalde shooting victim Maite Yuleana Rodriguez, 10
“We need to raise the minimum age to purchase an AR 15 rifle to 21 We need a waiting period for those rifles. We need red flag laws and consequences for those who abuse them,” he said. “These are reasonable, practical, tactical regulations”.
Mr McConnaughey, a gun owner himself, said “responsible gun owners” have become “fed up with the Second Amendment being abused and hijacked by some deranged individuals”.
“These regulations are not a step back,” he said. “They’re step forward for civil society and the Second Amendment”.
He added that passing such legislation should be “a nonpartisan issue”.
Matthew McConaughey, a native of Uvalde, Texas, talks about the mass shooting in Uvalde, as he joins White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre for the daily briefing at the White House
“We got a chance right now to reach for and to grasp a higher ground above our political affiliations — a chance to make a choice that does more than protect your party,” he said. “Choose to make a choice that protects our country now and for the next generation. We got to take a sober, humble and honest look in the mirror, and rebrand ourselves based on what we truly value”.
Salvador Ramos killed 19 children and two adults in the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde on May 24
On the morning of the attack, Ramos sent a direct message to an individual on a Facebook platform reading: “I’m going to shoot an elementary school.”
Local police have since come under fire for their handling of the active shooter scene, allowing Ramos to shoot his victims for over 45 minutes before finally being shot dead by an border patrol officer at the scene.
Seventeen months after pro-Trump rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol, the House Jan. 6 select committee is preparing to test whether revelations from that day still have the capacity to shock the American public.
The big picture: Thursday’s prime-time, Watergate-style hearing will be the first of several meticulously crafted events produced in part by James Goldston — the former president of ABC News and a master documentary storyteller.
The hearings will blend elements from the first and second Trump impeachment hearings: a combination of testimony from key witnesses, harrowing new video footage and committee members laying out their case in televised speeches, sources familiar with the planning tell Axios.
British documentary filmmaker Nick Quested — who embedded with the far-right Proud Boys, including during the group’s private meetings ahead of the insurrection — will testify Thursday, the committee announced this evening. So will Capitol Police officer Caroline Edwards, who suffered a concussion after being assaulted on Jan. 6.
What we’re watching
1. Whether the committee draws a direct tie between former President Trump and the Capitol attack — and proves a premeditated plot to disrupt certification of the 2020 election.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) has said the committee has evidence of Trump’s involvement in “a lot more” than just “incitement” — and that revelations from the hearings would “blow the roof off the House.”
The Washington Post reported Tuesday that Secret Service agents scrambled to secure a motorcade route on Jan. 6 so Trump could accompany his supporters as they marched toward Congress, though D.C. police ultimately nixed the plan.
2. New allegations or evidence of criminality.
The Jan. 6 committee does not have the power to prosecute, but investigators have collected reams of potential evidence over the course of 1,000+ depositions and interviews.
The Justice Department has reportedly asked the committee for transcripts of closed-door interviews — including some with Trump associates.
3. Any discussion of legislative reforms to prevent another Jan. 6.
Axios reported the committee is privately divided on whether to recommend abolishing the Electoral College — a proposal Republicans have seized on as evidence of its alleged partisanship.
4. Ratings.
Nearly every major broadcast and cable news network — except for Fox News — will have live coverage of the hearing, which is breaking the mold of past congressional spectacles by airing in primetime.
Benchmarks: James Comey testimony in June 2017 (19.5 million viewers); Brett Kavanaugh hearing in September 2018 (20 million); day one of Trump’s first impeachment hearing in November 2019 (13 million); day one of Trump’s second impeachment trial in February 2021 (11 million).
The view from the White House
The White House is planning to leave the Jan. 6 messaging to the Hill, a White House official tells Axios.
Biden officials see the hearings as Congress’ turf and are wary of injecting political messaging into an ongoing, independent investigation that could lead to law enforcement actions or further criminal investigation, a second source familiar with the White House’s planning said.
That would give Trump and his allies an opening to allege Biden is politicizing the investigation for his own political ends, the source added.
White House officials also believe the president’s voice shouldn’t be used to provide running commentary on day-to-day procedural developments in the investigation.
It should be reserved for key moments, they argue, pointing to the president’s remarks on the one-year anniversary of the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.
The Biden administration is also being very careful to avoid the perception that the president is politicizing the DOJ.
If Attorney General Merrick Garland ultimately decides to take action against former Trump officials, they don’t want to give Republicans any fodder to muddy the waters or undermine the White House’s credibility.
Voting has finished in all seven states that held primaries on Tuesday, as California polls closed at 11 p.m. ET. Some high-profile incumbents – including South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and Republican Sens. John Thune and Chuck Grassley – have beaten back their primary challengers, and their general election competitors have been determined for November.
In California, results in many races will likely not come on Tuesday night, since the state conducts its elections by mail. It also advances the top two vote getters to run in November, regardless of party affiliation, meaning some match-ups could result in two Democrats facing off or two Republicans.
One of the California Republicans facing a primary challenge is Rep. David Valadao, one of the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump. Two Republicans are challenging Valadao in the primary, former city Councilman Chris Mathys and Education Board Trustee Adam Medeiros, but Trump has not endorsed either of them.
State Assemblyman Rudy Salas is expected to be the Democratic nominee against Valadao, if he makes it,attempting to flip back a seat that was held by a Democrat until 2020.
Democratic Reps. Katie Porter, Josh Harder and Mike Levin are on the target list for national Republicans and are waiting to see who their challenger this November will be. Of the three, Levin may face the toughest race, since his district leans Democratic by only two points, according to data from Dave’s Redistricting App.
Poll workers wait for voters in a polling station at San Francisco fire station 16 on June 07, 2022 in San Francisco. California. California voters are heading to the polls for the state’s primary election.
Justin Sullivan / Getty Images
CBS News projected Gov. Gavin Newsom will advance to the general election. Sen. Alex Padilla, who was appointed to finish out Vice President Kamala Harris’ term, also advanced to the general election in both the regular and special election for U.S. Senate.
There are also two high-profile local elections happening in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti is term-limited, and Rep. Karen Bass and real estate developer Rick Caruso leading the contenders. A UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll from late May showed Bass at 38% and Caruso at 32%, but if no candidate gets 50% of the vote, the top two contenders will go to a runoff in November.
In San Francisco, the Associated Press reported progressive District Attorney Chesa Boudin was recalled amid worries over crime in the city.
Meanwhile in South Dakota, Republican Gov. Kristi Noem, won the Republican nomination for governor after facing a primary challenge from the right. Noem, one of the Republican party’s rising stars and possible presidential contender, focused her victory speech on President Joe Biden.She will face Democrat Jamie Smith in November, who ran unopposed on Tuesday.
Incumbent Sen. John Thune, who is seeking his fourth term, also defeated his primary challengers.
In Iowa, Sen. Chuck Grassley, who is 88, has served in the Senate since 1981, survived his primary challenge from Iowa state Senator Jim Carlin.
Grassley will face Michael Franken, who defeated former U.S. Rep. Abby Finkenauer. She was elected to Congress in 2018, but lost her bid for reelection in 2020. Finkenauer had to fight to get on the ballot after a judge initially ruled that she did not have enough signatures to qualify for the primary ballot. The Iowa Supreme Court reversed that decision several days later.
Franken helped close the gap with Finkenauer, who entered the race as the perceived frontrunner, by outspending her on advertising. He often pitched his military service as helping him appeal to independents and some more moderate Republicans.
“We’re going to work very hard. The central premise of this campaign is leadership, which is often overlooked and underestimated. This will propel us,” Franken said at a victory party Tuesday night. “It’s our time to lead our nation into a better tomorrow.”
Republicans have set their sights on Democratic New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. Television meteorologist Mark Ronchetti won the Republican primary over several challengers to take on Lujan Grisham in November. Lujan Grisham ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination.
As the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol prepares for public hearings this month, Democratic select committee Chair Rep. Bennie Thompson won his primary, according to the Associated Press.
Primaries were also held in New Jersey. Democratic Rep. Tom Malinowski, whose district was redrawn to be more Republican-friendly and won in 2020 by just 1 point, won his primary. Tom Kean Jr. won the Republican primary in New Jersey’s 7th District and will face Malinowski, the same matchup as 2020.
In New Jersey’s 2nd Congressional District, Trump-endorsed Rep. Jeff Van Drew, who switched parties in 2019 to vote against Trump’s impeachment, won his primary. In the 8th District, Robert Menendez Jr., the son of long Sen. Robert Menendez, won the Democratic primary.
McConaughey, a household name from such movies as “Dazed and Confused” and “Dallas Buyers Club,” is not a political figure, but he flirted last year with running for governor of Texas, finally announcing in November that he had decided against it. “As a simple kid born in the little town of Uvalde, Texas, it never occurred to me that I would one day be considered for political leadership,” McConaughey said in a video at the time, adding that he would seek other ways to make a difference.
The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol is in active discussions with former White House counsel Pat Cipollone regarding a potential public appearance in one of their upcoming hearings, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Cipollone and former deputy White House counsel Pat Philbin previously met with committee investigators for an informal interview in April.
Cipollone was one of the few aides who was with then-President Donald Trump in the West Wing on Jan. 6. ABC News previously reported that in the days following the attack on the Capitol, he advised Trump that Trump could potentially face civil liability in connection with his role encouraging supporters to march on the Capitol.
According to sources, there are a number of circumstances that could serve to complicate any eventual appearance by Cipollone — including the issue of who questions him and for how long; whether there are any ongoing issues of privilege; and whether Trump would approve of his appearance.
Michael Purpura, the former deputy White House counsel who was part of the legal team defending Trump during his first Senate impeachment trial, is representing Cipollone in his discussions with committee investigators, sources said.
Cipollone has also made clear that his testimony would be restricted to the effort undertaken by former top Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark to use the powers of the DOJ to further Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election, sources familiar with the deliberations said.
Representatives for Cipollone did not respond to ABC’s request for comment. A spokesperson for the committee declined to comment.
The committee hopes to secure Cipollone’s public testimony on a panel with former acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen and his then-deputy Richard Donoghue, along with one of DOJ’s former top attorneys, Steve Engel, sources said. Both Rosen and Donoghue have received formal invitations from the committee to appear.
Both Cipollone and Philbin were part of a Jan. 3 Oval Office meeting where Trump insisted on replacing Rosen with Clark, a Trump loyalist who had vowed to use the Department of Justice to investigate the election.
The officials in that meeting also debated a proposal by Clark to send a letter to state officials in Georgia urging officials in the state to investigate unfounded claims of fraud with an eye toward overturning President Joe Biden’s victory in the state.
According to Donoghue, Cipollone and Philbin made it clear to Trump that they would resign if Clark were installed, with Cipollone describing the Georgia letter as a “murder-suicide pact” that would “damage anyone and anything that it touches,” according to a Senate committee report released last year that detailed instances where Trump and his allies sought to use the DOJ to overturn the election.
ABC News previously obtained and published emails dated Dec. 28, 2020, showing Clark circulating that draft letter, which he wanted Rosen and Donoghue to sign off on.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday the Russians are trying to procure more troops and equipment to overcome unexpectedly tough resistance as “the absolutely heroic defense of the Donbas continues.”
While waiting for the longer-range rocket launchers and training promised by the United States and U.K, the Ukrainian army kept Russian forces from making any significant advances in that eastern region over the past day, Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address.
Speaking at a Financial Times Global Boardroom conference earlier in the day, Zelenskyy appealed for more of the type of weapons that could counter Russia’s missile strikes. “We are inferior in terms of equipment, and therefore we are not capable of advancing,” he said. “We are going to suffer more losses. And people are my priority.”
Zelenskyy also said sanctions have failed to deter Russia’s invasion and a stalemate in the war is “not an option for us.” He rejected talk of Ukraine yielding Crimea or the Donbas as part of any peace deal and chastised Western governments that might grow impatient because of the economic impact of the war.
“They are supporting Ukraine but also checking what can be done to weaken sanctions so business doesn’t suffer,” Zelenskyy said.
USA TODAY ON TELEGRAM: Join our Russia-Ukraine war channel to receive updates straight to your phone
Latest developments:
►The World Bank predicted Tuesday that the global economy will expand 2.9% this year, down from its 4.1% forecast in January and an even bigger dip from the 5.7% growth in 2021. The agency cited the war in Ukraine, the prospect of widespread food shortages and inflation as reasons for the downgrade.
►The U.S. military has begun training Ukrainian forces on the sophisticated rocket systems the Biden administration agreed last week to provide to better fend off the Russian attacks. About three weeks of training are expected to be required.
►Russia says it has opened a land route between Russia and occupied Crimea through the temporarily occupied southern oblasts of Ukraine. A land connection was a key goal of the invasion.
►Imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny on Tuesday lost an appeal contesting the decision by penitentiary officials to label him as “inclined to commit crimes of a terrorist or extremist nature.”
►The International Skating Union extended the suspension of Russian and Belarusian athletes from international competitions until further notice, ISU Director General Fredi Schmid said Tuesday.
US officials sail away with $325M, Russian-owned superyacht
U.S. authorities took command of a $325 million, Russian-owned superyacht and sailed it out of Fiji’s Lautoka harbor Tuesday after the South Pacific nation’s Supreme Court lifted a stay that had delayed the seizure. Fiji Chief Justice Kamal Kumar ruled that the chances of defense lawyers mounting a successful appeal were “nil to very slim.” He said the 348-foot yacht Amadea “sailed into Fiji waters without any permit and most probably to evade prosecution by the United States.”
The FBI has linked the yacht – featuring a lobster tank, swimming pool and helipad – to Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov. Mark Lambert, a deputy assistant secretary of State, expressed gratitude to Fiji for collaborating on the seizure.
“The world has spoken and has said that we are going to go after these assets together,” Lambert said.
Ukraine pleads with Israel to provide Iron Dome defense system
Ukraine’s urgent plea for access to Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system was drawing no response, likely because of Israel’s complex involvement with Russia in Syria. The Iron Dome system is designed to intercept and destroy short-range rockets fired into Israel. Ukraine’s ambassador to Israel, Yevgen Korniychuk, chastised Israel for declining a U.S. request for Germany to deliver Israeli-licensed “Spike” anti-tank missiles to Ukraine.
“We need Israeli assistance,” Korniychuk said. “I mean that we need the military-technical support, we need the Iron Dome … that will allow us to save our civilian women and children from the shelling of the Russian missiles.”
Japan to increase military spending, cooperation with NATO
Japan is seeking to bolster its ties with European countries and will boost its military spending amid concerns about the impact of Russian aggression and the looming presence of China.
As Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force participated in NATO naval exercises in the Mediterranean Sea, Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi told NATO Military Committee chief Rob Bauer on Tuesday that Japan welcomes the alliance’s expanded involvement in the Indo-Pacific region. The parties agreed Tuesday to increase military cooperation.
“The security of Europe and Asia (is) closely intertwined, especially now with the international community facing serious challenges,” Kishi said.
Later in the day, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s Cabinet approved an annual policy plan that calls for a drastic strengthening of defense capabilities and spending within five years from the current level of just over 1% of gross domestic product.
War contributing to a potential ‘explosion of child deaths’ in Horn of Africa
The war in Ukraine is exacerbating a dire need for food created by two years of drought in the Horn of Africa, putting the lives of hundreds of millions of children at risk, UNICEF’s Deputy Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa said Tuesday.
Speaking at the U.N. office in Geneva, Rania Dagash said the loss of crops, livestock and water resources because of four failed rainy seasons over two years have increased by more than 15% in five months the number of children facing life-threatening severe acute malnutrition. In Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia, that number adds up to more than 1.7 million children.
“If the world does not widen its gaze from the war in Ukraine and act immediately, an explosion of child deaths is about to happen in the Horn of Africa,” Dagash said.
She added that some of the countries that depend on wheat from Russia and Ukraine — like Somalia, which typically imported 92% of the grain from those nations — are receiving shipments because of Moscow’s blockade.
“The war is exacerbating spiraling global food and fuel prices,” Dagash said, “meaning many people in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia can no longer afford the basic foodstuffs they need to survive.”
More than 4,200 civilian deaths confirmed since war began
More than 4,200 civilians have been killed and 5,000 injured since the war began Feb. 24, the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights says. The agency says the actual figures are probably considerably higher, as the receipt of information from some locations where intense hostilities have been ongoing has been delayed and many reports are still pending corroboration.
The confirmed deaths include 1,617 men, 1,064 women, 100 girls and 105 boys, as well as 67 children and 1,300 adults whose gender is yet unknown, the agency said.
Most of the civilian casualties were caused by “explosive weapons with a wide impact area,” including shelling from heavy artillery, multiple-launch rocket systems, missiles and air strikes, the agency said.
Russia says it controls 97% of separatist Luhansk region
A “significant” part of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in the Donbas are now occupied by Russian troops, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Tuesday. Shoigu also said the residential areas of Sievierodonetsk have been seized, and now the army is working to take control of the industrial zone and the surrounding settlements.
The head of the military-civilian administration of Sievierodonetsk, Alexander Stryuk, said fierce street battles are raging. Ukraine forces face heavy artillery fire but are doing their best to defend the city, he said. Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk are the last major cities in Luhansk to avoid complete Russian occupation.
“In general, 97% of the territory of the Luhansk People’s Republic has been liberated to date,” Shoigu said.
Zelenskyy adviser confident all occupied land will be retaken
Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, assured his countrymen Tuesday that Kyiv will retake all land currently under Russian control and urged Ukrainians to be patient. Podolyak said Ukraine must make sure that “every village we temporarily cede and then take back costs Russians a lot of blood” and drains Russia’s military resources. Podolyak stressed that Ukraine is still waiting for more weapons from its allies.
“Don’t let the news that we’ve ceded something scare you,” Podolyak said in a short video address Tuesday. “It is clear that tactical maneuvers are ongoing. We cede something, we take something back.”
‘Life goes on’: Kyiv’s cultural life reawakens
Kyiv’s cultural centers are slowly reopening. The Theater on Podil reopened to sold-out crowds over the weekend, and movie theaters and the National Opera also reopened in recent weeks. The National Museum of History of Ukraine is also open, and its new exhibit features the Russian invasion of the Kyiv region. Visitors can see equipment and personal belongings left by the Russian soldiers who retreated, Russian propaganda instructions and materials, remnants of ammunition and photographs taken by museum staff in the destroyed and looted surrounding towns and villages.
“Our children must also understand what time they live in, what war is,” said Minister of Culture and Information Policy Oleksandr Tkachenko. “But at the same time, understand that life goes on. And cultural life is proof of that.”
Another Russian general killed by Ukrainian forces
Ukraine has added another general to the list of high-ranking Russian officers it has killed in the war. Russian state media and the Ukraine military confirmed Monday the death of Maj. Gen. Roman Kutuzov during fighting in the Donbas region, the BBC reported. The Russian defense ministry has not commented.
Reporter Alexander Sladkov of state-owned Rossiya 1 said on the Telegram social media app that Kutuzov had been commanding troops from the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic. “The general had led soldiers into attack, as if there are not enough colonels,” Sladkov wrote.
Ukraine has targeted Russia’s top officers and says it has killed 12, although some of those claims have been disputed. Western intelligence officials have confirmed the death of at least seven senior commanders, the BBC said.
Mr. Zuberi, according to the filing, “viewed the diplomatic crisis as a business opportunity” and began conspiring to sell lobbying services to Qatar. He contacted Mr. Olson, who had recently left government. Mr. Olson in turn brought in General Allen, according to the filing.
“If we can do this we will own half of Qatar,” Mr. Zuberi wrote to Mr. Olson in a WhatsApp message cited in the filing about their proposed plan with General Allen.
The court document gives a detailed account of several weeks in June 2017 when General Allen was recruited by Mr. Olson and Mr. Zuberi to meet with top Qatari and American officials to diffuse the Gulf crisis — and how General Allen saw the money making potential for his involvement.
The document states that he agreed to travel to Doha, the Qatari capital, at Mr. Zuberi’s expense and negotiated a payment of $20,000, which he referred to as a “speaker’s fee.” The document quotes one message from General Allen showing his aim of making more money down the road — to “work out a fuller arrangement of a longer term relationship.”
Other messages cited in the document show that General Allen pursued other business with firms affiliated with Qatar, one of which would have provided him with a commission of over $1 million. The document said the F.B.I. has not determined whether he received this money.
During this period, General Allen met several times with American officials, including members of Congress and H.R. McMaster, the retired three-star general who was then the White House national security adviser. But the document, citing an interview of General McMaster by federal agents, stated that General Allen never informed General McMaster that he was being paid for his work.
The document also described efforts by General Allen to obstruct the investigation by lying to federal agents who asked him about his lobbying efforts during an interview last August, and withholding documents that showed his financial interest in his interactions with Qatari officials.
HOUSTON (AP) — Texas’ prison system has temporarily stopped transporting inmates as it investigates how a convicted murderer escaped from a bus last month and later killed a man and his four grandsons.
“The agency is conducting an internal Serious Incident Review and also intends to bring in an outside firm to conduct an independent review to identify factors that may have led to the escape of (Gonzalo) Lopez,” the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said in a statement Monday. No timeline was given for how long the internal review would take to complete.
The agency said if it must transport an inmate for an emergency medical appointment or for release, it will have more security.
Such additional security measures were in place when a van that was transporting an inmate from a hospital to a prison in East Texas collided with another vehicle early Tuesday on a freeway north of Houston, according to the prison agency. Three guards were injured but were expected to survive. The inmate was in stable condition.
On any given day, authorities move about 2,000 inmates for various reasons, said Jason Clark, a Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman. According to the agency’s Fiscal Year 2020 Statistical Report, the most recently available such report, there were about 121,000 individuals in prisons, state jails and other facilities run by the Department of Criminal Justice.
“We are reviewing our processes and determining how to reduce the need to move inmates,” Clark said in an email.
Lopez, who had killed on behalf of Mexican drug cartels, fled a prison bus on May 12 after breaking free from his restraints and from a caged area of the vehicle. Lopez stabbed and injured the bus driver before escaping into a wooded area near Centerville, which is between Dallas and Houston.
Authorities believe that on Thursday, Lopez killed 66-year-old Mark Collins, and his four grandsons, Waylon Collins, 18; Carson Collins, 16; Hudson Collins, 11; and Bryson Collins, 11. Waylon, Carson and Hudson were brothers and Bryson was their cousin. Investigators say Lopez stole an AR-15-style rifle and a pistol from the family’s ranch near Centerville, as well as a truck that he drove about 220 miles (350 kilometers) to Atascosa County, south of San Antonio, where officers fatally shot him late Thursday.
Texas state Sen. John Whitmire, who had called for a temporary halt in inmate transports, praised the prison agency’s change in policy.
“While the investigation continues into exactly what happened with the recent escape and tragic murder of 5 members of the Collins family, we must act swiftly to ensure no other Texan is in danger of losing their life or being harmed by an escaped inmate being transported on Texas roads,” Whitmire, a Democrat who chairs the Senate Criminal Justice Committee, said in a written statement.
The committee will likely have a hearing sometime this summer to review what happened and prison system polices related to transporting inmates, said Lara Wendler, a spokeswoman for Whitmire.
The state senator has suggested the Department of Criminal Justice should keep violent offenders in prison units closer to medical facilities or should have medical teams visit the units.
Whitmire also called for additional security during inmate transports, including having another vehicle with armed officers follow close behind.
Funeral services for Mark Collins and his grandsons, who were from the Houston suburb of Tomball, were set for Saturday.
During a service Sunday at the family’s church in Houston, Glen Collins, Mark Collins’ brother, said his faith was helping him get through this difficult time.
“This is where I find solace and comfort. … There is a purpose in this, no doubt. … I lost my best friend. He kept me sharp. But there is a purpose,” Glen Collins said.
___
Follow Juan A. Lozano on Twitter at www.twitter.com/juanlozano70
Here are the latest election updates from around the region and the state:
Justin Phillips: The District Attorney’s Office is filled with talented attorneys. The recall puts their futures up in the air
Tuesday’s successful recall of San Francisco’s district attorney ends a turbulent two-year campaign against Chesa Boudin. Yet in the final hours leading up to the vote, prominent members of Boudin’s staff were thinking less about what they accomplished since January 2020 and more about with whom they accomplished it. Read Chronicle Columnist Justin Phillips’ take on Boudin’s recall.
Heather Knight: Recall backers aren’t conservative, they’re just angry
San Francisco voters who ousted District Attorney Chesa Boudin from office on Tuesday share a common trait. No, they’re not all closet conservatives conned by rich people into thwarting national criminal justice reform — despite what Boudin’s supporters have said ad nauseam, like that old Chatty Cathy doll that repeats the same phrase every time you pull her string. Read the latest from Chronicle Columnist Heather Knight.
What Chesa Boudin’s recall means for San Francisco’s stance on crime — and its status as a progressive bastion
On the night San Francisco voters removed him from office, District Attorney Chesa Boudin — a politician narrowly elected amid the fervor of Black Lives Matter, resistance to the presidency of Donald Trump and hope that local prosecutors could improve the criminal justice system — found the limits of the city’s progressivism.
Challenger leads boss in Alameda County Sheriff race
Yesenia Sanchez, a division commander in the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office was leading her boss, Sheriff Gregory Ahern in early results. Sanchez, a division commander, was leading Ahern in early results. She had garnered 47% of the vote to Ahern’s 36%. JoAnn Walker, a San Francisco police officer, had 16.5%.
Election watch parties react to Boudin’s historic recall
Supporters of recalling Chesa Boudin erupt in cheers and chants of “Recall Chesa” as they toast drinks after first results show Boudin is recalled. People embraced and said they were going to cry, overcome with emotion.
The mood at the Boudin party, where he still hasn’t arrived by 9 p.m., was growing somber as the results trickled through the crowd one person at a time, people staring into their phones with long faces.
Newsom, Padilla advance to November run-off
The incumbent governor and senator easily advanced to the November runoff, the Associated Press projected, with each earning more than 50% of the vote in early totals. State Sen. Brian Dahle, R-Bieber, appeared on track to place second and face off against Newsom.
Chavez, Mahan pulling away in San Jose mayor’s race
In early results in the San Jose mayor’s race, Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez and San Jose City Councilman Matt Hahan were pulling away from the other five candidates. Chavez led with 40.3% of the vote while Mahan has 31.6%. The top two candidates will face off in the November general election.
San Francisco election watch-parties await first batch of recall results
The polls have closed in San Francisco but the first results in the District Attorney recall election aren’t expected until 8:45 p.m. Supporters of the recall and of District Attorney Chesa Boudin are gathering at their respective election night parties. As polls closed at 8 pm, a couple dozen Yes on H supporters wearing “Recall Chesa Boudin” sweatshirts streamed into tiki bar and nightclub Del Mar on Lombard Street.
Meanwhile, at The Ramp, a classic waterfront joint near Chase Center, Boudin backers gathered around propane heaters and bunches of balloons tied to beer kegs as soft jazz wafted in the breeze. At both, news reporters and camera crews set up, awaiting results.
California polls closing soon
7:50 p.m. Polls will close soon in California, with the first batch of election results soon to follow. Keep up with The Chronicle’s election night results here.
Santa Clara sheriff candidates seek to restore trust
Amid a corruption probe, Sheriff Laurie Smith decided not to seek another term in the office she’s held since 1998. There’s a five-way race to replace her, a crowded contest that could be headed for a runoff. Kevin Jensen is the most monied candidate in the race and also has endorsements from local law enforcement groups. Sean Allen, a sergeant in the Sheriff’s Office, pitches himself as a reformer who supports a strong civilian oversight board. Palo Alto Police Chief Bob Jonsen has sought to cast himself as an outsider with decades of experience he can bring to the Sheriff’s Office. Christina Nagaye is a sergeant in the Sheriff’s Office and says she wants “complete” reforms. Ahn Colton, an entrepreneur, is also running but hasn’t put forth a detailed platform. — Joshua Sharpe
Will Alameda County vote for a progressive D.A.?
The Chesa Boudin recall election has received national attention as a bellwether for the progressive prosecutor movement in the U.S. But just across the Bay, a candidate with similar politics could possibly become District Attorney of a larger county than San Francisco.
Her name is Pamela Price. A civil rights attorney with decades of experience, she has secured endorsements from progressive prosecutor Larry Krasner and a raft of local activists, including Angela Davis, a UC Santa Cruz professor and former Black Panther. Price last ran for Alameda County District Attorney in 2018, securing 42% of the vote.
Price is up against three other candidates, including Seth Steward, a fellow progressive and current chief of staff to Oakland Councilmember Dan Kalb; Terry Wiley, the office’s current chief deputy district attorney who touts his 32 years of experience in the county and is endorsed by Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf; and Jimmie Wilson, a more tough-on-crime candidate who’s swept up endorsements from the county’s major police unions.
Whoever wins the District Attorney race will succeed longtime incumbent Nancy O’Malley, who has taken a traditional approach to the office and whose policies have been criticized as contributing to disproportionate rates of incarceration among Black and brown county residents. — Dan Kopf
Polls closed or closing soon in five other states
While California’s polls are open for another couple of hours, voting has concluded or is about to conclude in five other states: Iowa, Mississippi, New Jersey, New Mexico and South Dakota with polls closing at 7 p.m. Pacific Time in Montana. Congressional contests are the big races in most of those states with contests for governor as well in New Mexico and South Dakota and for Senate in Iowa. With primary elections in seven states, Tuesday is the biggest day for primaries this spring.
A rematch in Solano County sheriff’s race
Solano Conty Sheriff Tom Ferrara is running against Daryl Snedeker, who retired after 23 years with the agency and mounted an unsuccessful challenge to Ferrara in 2018. Snedeker said he’s running because the office needs to be more accountable to the public. He criticized the sheriff’s response to a report that members of the Sheriff’s Office were members of the anti-government Three Percenters group. Ferrara said he has the steady hand needed to lead in turbulent times. — Joshua Sharpe
Contra Costa sheriff race marked by police killings
Contra Costa Sheriff David Livingston is fighting for a fourth term against Benjamin Therriault, the Richmond police union leader. Livingston’s candidacy is followed by the controversy of two fatal shootings by deputy Andrew Hall — and the sheriff’s persistent defense of Hall even as he was convicted of assault and sentenced to six years in state prison. Therriault has pitched himself as a responsive leader who will push reforms and support a civilian oversight board to keep the Sheriff’s Office in check, while Livingston is against it. — Joshua Sharpe
Alameda sheriff faces historic opposition
Sheriff Greg Ahern faces opposition for the first time since taking office in 2007. Now he faces two challengers: Yesenia Sanchez, a division commander in the Sheriff’s Office, and JoAnn Walker, a San Francisco police officer. Ahern has endorsements from sheriffs all over the state and the local Republican Party. Sanchez’s campaign is loaded with progressive endorsements and her message has been one of reform. Walker positions herself as an outsider who can tackle problems including conditions at the county’s enormous Santa Rita Jail and increase transparency. — Joshua Sharpe
What voters are saying in a Boudin recall “swing precinct”
Outside of Grace Cathedral in mid-afternoon, tourists took smiling selfies on the church steps and Nob Hill residents strolled down Taylor Street. Just a handful of them walked through the doors of the polling place for 7336, tucked away on the cathedral’s ground floor.
A plurality of voters in Precinct 7336 went for Boudin in the 2019 District Attorney election. But it was among the closest precincts in the city; Boudin garnered 34.6% of the precinct’s vote, just 0.8% more support than challenger Suzy Loftus.
Patrick Metzger, a 34-year-old working in commercial real estate, has lived in the city since 2010. He said he was voting to recall Chesa Boudin because there had been “a lot of crime and homelessness” since 2020. “Somebody in that position could do a much better job with the issues we are facing,” he said.
Jim, an elderly Asian American man who did not provide his last name or profession, said he voted against the recall. “Too many recalls, I think,” he said. “What do you do, vote ‘em in, vote ‘em out, vote ‘em in, vote ‘em out.” He said he voted against the recall because he wanted to give Boudin “a fair chance.” However, Jim said he did vote to recall the school board in February.
Daphne Sheldon, a retired assistant to “a few companies on the New York Stock Exchange” who gave her age as “over 70,” said she voted to recall Boudin “because of all the crime and how he lets out all the criminals.”
“I rarely go downtown anymore,” she added; she said she only goes to see the dentist and get facials now. “At lunch on Sacramento (Street), I wouldn’t dress the way I do now.” She was wearing gold jewelry and expensive-looking clothing.
Chop Yong, a retired service worker in the hotel industry, said he also voted yes on the recall — but said he thought that issues of public safety in San Francisco extended beyond the District Attorney.
“They say there’s a 500% increase in crime,” he said, referencing stories on an increase in hate crimes against Asian San Franciscans.
Hate crime statistics are tricky and often influenced by how they are categorized by prosecutors and law enforcement. San Francisco police reported a 567% increase in anti-Asian hate crimes in 2021, but the number of crimes remained small overall, and just one man was responsible for half of that increase.
“The police take a long time, (and) the D.A. is not responsible for all that,” he said. “Police have accountability, also the mayor. But the D.A. … I still think he is responsible. Since he took office, it seems crime is going up. Car break-ins, window breaking happens all the time.”
Previous Chronicle analyses have found that overall reported crime has decreased since 2019, but some categories of crime, like burglaries, have increased. — Susie Neilson
Timeline: Key moments in the Chesa Boudin recall election
Boudin took office in January 2020 after pitching himself as a former public defender committed to combating mass incarceration. In short order he began making moves to do so, but then came the COVID pandemic, which coincided with massive social upheaval and surges in crime across the U.S.
Before any of this happened, however, some were already taking aim at Boudin. Several weeks before he took office, the website recallchesa.com was registered by an anonymous person.
About 100 S.F. poll workers call in sick, mostly with COVID
Roughly 100 poll workers in San Francisco called in sick Tuesday — most for COVID-related reasons — but the absences didn’t cause any significant impacts at polling places and voting centers, and won’t affect the vote count, Elections Department Director John Arntz said. The number of absences is about 5% of the city’s total poll workers, he said, and the department had 100 employees on standby at City Hall, ready to be dispatched where absences occurred. All polling places remained open, he said, and all will report returns on Tuesday night. No delays are anticipated, Arntz said.
Two attempt to unseat Santa Clara DA
Three-term Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen is fending off competition from the left and the right, battling progressive public defender Sajid Khan and former local prosecutor Daniel Chung, who accuses Rosen of not being tough enough on crime. Rosen has positioned himself as the centrist in the race, while also touting progressive bonafides. Khan is pushing alternatives to incarceration and a more equitable system while Chung says he wants to be focused on public safety. — Joshua Sharpe
Solano DA challenged by her chief deputy
District Attorney Krishna Abrams is trying to hold off Chief Deputy District Attorney Sharon Henry. Henry has endorsements from various Democratic groups while Abrams counts the local deputy sheriffs association among her supporters. Abrams, DA since 2014, touts increased use of diversion programs such as restorative justice and her efforts to connect with the community. She’s also encountered criticism for her handling of killings by local law enforcement — including criticism from Henry. — Joshua Sharpe
Contra Costa DA takes challenge from the right
Contra Costa District Attorney Diana Becton is hoping to beat back a challenge from Mary Knox, a prosecutor in her office. Knox has drawn heavy support from law enforcement interests and has struck a more conservative tone. Becton, one of the few progressive prosecutors to break through in 2018, caused upset among some law enforcement after prosecuting a local sheriff’s deputy for killing a motorist. — Joshua Sharpe
Haven’t voted yet? You’ve still got options
Most California cities and counties have in-person voting centers and some polling places that close at 8 p.m. Every registered voter in California should have received a mail-in ballot — and those can be filled out and dropped into a mailbox as long as they’re postmarked with the June 7 date and received by Jun 14. Many cities also have secured drop-boxes where ballots may be deposited until 8 p.m. It’s best to drop your ballot as soon as possible to avoid delays or uncounted ballots. To track what’s happening with your ballot after it’s dropped off, go to: https://california.ballottrax.net/voter/dashboard
Alameda to elect new DA for first time in a decade
Alameda County voters are choosing a new district attorney for the first time since Nancy O’Malley took office in 2009. Her retirement created a four-way race to succeed her. The candidates are vying to take the reigns of the agency at a time when fears of rising gun violence in Oakland collides with calls for greater investment in criminal justice reforms. As with any four-way race, it could head to a runoff. But whoever wins will make history as the county’s first Black top prosecutor. — Joshua Sharpe
5 things The Chronicle’s politics team will be watching tonight
Though the races at the top of the ticket aren’t seriously contested, plenty competitive races down the ballot are worth watching. From what we can learn about trends heading into November to what the results mean for independents as a political force, here’s what our politics team is paying attention to on California’s election night.
Lyle Guanzon fills out his ballot at Mutiny Radio on Election Day in the Mission neighborhood of San Francisco, Calif. Tuesday, June 7, 2022.Stephen Lam/The Chronicle
“Stay in line,” state officials tell late voters
There is still plenty of time to vote in Tuesday’s primary election, even for those who can’t make it to the ballot box until they are set to close. “If you are in line when the polls close at 8 p.m. tonight, STAY IN LINE. You still have the right to cast your ballot,” the California Secretary of State office tweeted Tuesday. That means even those who feel the urge to vote at 7:59 p.m. are entitled to do so, as long as they make it down to their neighborhood polling place in under 60 seconds. Those who registered late can also vote on Tuesday, per state rules, even if their name is not on the list. “You will vote using a provisional ballot. Your vote will be counted if elections officials determine that you are eligible to vote,” according to the state’s voter bill of rights.
If you are in line when the polls close at 8PM tonight, STAY IN LINE. You still have the right to cast your ballot. This is one of the many rights included in California’s Voter Bill of Rights: https://t.co/imvMyL0CqL voter-bill-of-rights.pdf pic.twitter.com/L86kW62tWQ
Chinatown polling station sees “slow, steady stream” of voters
2:55 p.m. The City College polling location on Kearny Street in San Francisco saw around a dozen in-precinct voters, five provisional voters and around 20 people dropping off ballots as of Tuesday afternoon, said Sandra Fong, a poll worker. She said traffic was comparable to prior elections.
Christina Harsanyi, a Russian Hill resident, dropped off her ballot during her work lunch break and said she strongly supported the Boudin recall. “I don’t feel particularly safe in my neighborhood due to an increase in crime,” she said, citing needles, fires set on the street and break-ins around her home. “I feel like it’s my civic duty to vote.” Harsanyi said she supported replacing Boudin with a more aggressive prosecutor. — Roland Li
Do independents have a shot statewide?
Two high-profile independents running for statewide offices are on the ballot in Tuesday’s election: activist and author Michael Shellenberger, who’s running for governor and Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert, who’s vying for state attorney general. But recent polling suggests both are likely to get edged out by Republicans as they compete for the second-place spot to go against Democratic heavyweights Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta in the November general election. According to a recent poll from the Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies, Shellenberger and Schubert had the support of 5% and 6% of likely voters in their contests, respectively. But if either dark horse candidates squeaks through, it could make Democrats fight harder to hold onto those prized posts. — Dustin Gardiner
Redistricting might shuffle some names on ballots
For some Bay Area voters, Tuesday’s election might be the first time they realize the effects of redistricting. While most of the region was unchanged, a few congressional districts are substantially different than what voters may have been used to the last 10 years. In the East Bay and North Bay, a new district that includes Richmond and Vallejo is being sought by Rep. John Garamendi of Walnut Grove, as his former north state district was broken up among others in redistricting. In the South Bay, San Jose Rep. Zoe Lofgren will represent less of her home city, with a district that now extends south past Gilroy into San Benito. Meanwhile, Carmel Valley Rep. Jimmy Panetta’s district now extends up the Central Coast and into South San Jose. Other districts were changed at the margins. None of the changes jeopardize incumbents, however, and all of those Democrats are expected to return to Congress. — Tal Kopan
Some primary results will not be called Tuesday night
The Secretary of State’s office will compile voting data and publish the statewide results as soon as polls close at 8 p.m. Tuesday, but it may take a few more days to determine winners in some of the tighter races. Secretary of State Dr. Shirley Weber told KCRA that in addition to counting the votes of people who show up to the polls for the primaries, her office will also have to tally absentee and provisional ballots. “We have ballots that may be put into the mailbox today and postmarked today, and so we won’t get a chance to count those until later,” she said. The Secretary of State’s Office has 30 days to certify the election, but Weber said trends in ballots counted today will reveal some early winners. She added that she was not surprised by the low rate of statewide ballot returns, just 15%, ahead of the primary elections. “We’ve had a lot of elections in the last year and a half, and so sometimes folks are like, ‘Are we voting again?’ You know, kind of voter fatigue to some extent. But we’re really pushing hard,” she said.
Pelosi spends Election Day in D.C. focused on gun violence
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, up for re-election in her San Francisco district in Tuesday’s primary, spent election day in Washington, where Congress is considering gun legislation. Pelosi did vote, though, and tweeted a picture of herself dropping her ballot at a San Francisco library on Monday. On Tuesday morning, she appeared at a gun violence memorial on the National Mall to call for legislation to promote gun safety. “We owe the children of our country so much more than excuses to why we don’t have legislation,” Pelosi said. “It is a message that I send to elected officials all the time. You can’t vote for these bills because it’s a problem for you politically? Understand this: your political survival is nothing compared to the survival of our children.” She also met with actor and native of Uvalde, Texas, Matthew McConaughey, who visited the Capitol before making an impassioned speech for gun safety legislation from the White House briefing podium. — Tal Kopan
“There’s people selling drugs right out front”
12:50 p.m. Michael Wilbert, the owner of Del Mar in the Marina, cast his vote at Marina Middle School. He voted to recall Boudin because of his experience both as a business owner and in running a bar in SoMa for several years. “What Boudin is doing is affecting my business,” he said. “There’s people selling drugs right out front.” He said that police have told him they feel like they can’t do their job if the district attorney won’t prosecute. Wilbert hoped the recall would succeed as a step towards getting crime under control. — Danielle Echeverria
Boudin’s office is prosecuting 8 SFPD officers. What happens to those cases if he’s recalled?
District Attorney Chesa Boudin’s office has prioritized police officer prosecutions in a way that is all but unheard of throughout the nation: nine criminal cases against police for alleged misconduct while on duty. One officer accused of excessive force was acquitted earlier this year, but the eight others have yet to reach a resolution. If Boudin is recalled, a replacement appointed by Mayor London Breed would have the power to continue or alter the course of the current cases. Breed would be expected to appoint a moderate Democrat if the recall succeeds, and that direction would almost certainly be good news for the officers already charged, as well as those who will come under scrutiny in the future. — Megan Cassidy
Alex Padilla, likely to retain Senate seat twice, campaigns in final stretch
Democrat Alex Padilla, now filling the Senate seat vacated by Vice President Kamala Harris in 2021, appears on the Tuesday primary ballot twice — running both to retain his seat through January and in a separate contest to win a new six-year term. Without a strong challenger emerging on the ballot, Padilla still has been campaigning hard, and he tweeted out a plea for support on election day. “As California secretary of state, I worked hard to implement reforms that made our elections the most inclusive in the nation,” he tweeted. “Today — whether it’s at a local vote center, or through a mail-in ballot, remember to exercise your right to vote.”
S.F. polling places see slow voter traffic
12:30 p.m. Poll workers in the Inner Sunset, Outer Sunset, Mission and Marina say that in-person voting was slow through the morning. “Hopefully people are dropping off their mail-in ballots,” a poll worker in the Marina said. In the Mission, one joked that she had her first line of the day as two people waited to get their ballots around 11 a.m. — Danielle Echeverria
Newsom casts ballot in Sacramento before heading to Americas summit
Gov. Gavin Newsom voted Tuesday at the secretary of state’s office in Sacramento before heading off to Los Angeles to attend climate-related events at the Conference of the Americas summit, spokesperson Nathan Click said. He did not plan any election night events. An incumbent Democrat in a heavily blue state, the governor faces what looks like an easy re-election race this year. Newsom, who finished his isolation period Thursday after a bout of COVID-19, tweeted a photo of himself voting with a face mask on. He wrote, “Happy Election Day, California! Make sure you take the time to vote today!” The hemispheric summit of leaders from North, Central and South America began Monday and ends Friday. — Sophia Bollag
Tech bolsters Muni bond
Supporters of Proposition A, the $400 million Muni bond measure, have raised over $1.3 million for the measure. Major donors include tech firms Cruise, Salesforce, Facebook parent Meta, Lyft, Airbnb and Stripe. There is no opposition campaign, but the measure requires a two-thirds threshold to pass, not just a simple majority. Read more about Proposition A here. Aside from the Boudin recall, the other San Francisco five ballot measures have each raised less than $400,000, while the uncontested re-election of City Attorney David Chiu has raised $567,805. — Roland Li
Treasurer Fiona Ma’s campaign has raised 7 times as much as nearest rival
State Treasurer Fiona Ma, who has faced a series of scandals during her first term in office, raised about $1.9 million in campaign funds going into Tuesday’s primary election, according to CalMatters. That’s seven times greater than the $273,000 secured by her closest challenger, Republican Andrew Do, a member of the Orange County Board of Supervisors who has been accused of ethical lapses of his own. Ma is likely to reclaim her office, as neither of the other challengers in the race — Jack Guerrero, a council member from the small city of Cudahy in southeast Los Angeles County, and Peace and Freedom Party candidate Meghann Adams, a school bus driver from San Francisco — reported raising over $5,000 as of June 1.
L.A. deputy district attorney warns boss, George Gascon: “You’re next”
As San Francisco voters decide whether to oust District Attorney Chesa Boudin, a Los Angeles deputy district attorney said a campaign to recall his boss — San Francisco’s former district attorney — will be next. “I want to tell everybody and tell George Gascon is, you’re next,” Jon Hatami told Fox News. “The people of Los Angeles have had enough.”
San Francisco and Los Angeles critics have accused the progressive district attorneys of being soft on crime, with fixed policies that favor offenders over victims. The Recall George Gascon campaign, the second recall effort against Gascon, who left San Francisco in 2019 to seek his current position in Los Angeles, said it had collected 500,000 signatures Monday. It needs 67,000 more by July 6 to put the recall on a ballot. “There are many individuals that are willing to collaborate with others and come up with some good reforms, but reforms that don’t sacrifice public safety,” Hatami said.
San Jose looks for new mayor in costly race to run Bay Area’s most populous city
For the first time since 2014, San Jose voters are going to the polls without an incumbent mayor on the ballot. Sam Liccardo is terming out after serving two terms, leaving the office open to seven hopeful successors in the Bay Area’s most populous city. The four frontrunners together have raised over $2.5 million , according to San Jose Spotlight, with top contender Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez pulling in $1.1 million alone.
Chavez has the support of five political action committees, including those backed by labor and police unions, the San Francisco 49ers and Bloom Energy executive Carl Guardino. Her closest rival, Council Member Matt Mahan, is supported by Common Good Silicon Valley, a PAC formed by Liccardo with the backing of real estate billionaire George Marcus, venture capitalist Ron Conway’s family trust, former tech executive turned investor Michael Stoppelman, entrepreneur Joseph Green, Meta executives Monika Bickert and David Wehner and Lyft executive Tali Rapaport.
San Jose Council Members Dev Davis and Raul Peralez, who also have wide popular support, have fallen short of receiving outside financial backing. “It’s always harder to get your message through when you have fewer dollars,” Davis told San Jose Spotlight. “As a voter, I would consider whether people who are getting (PAC dollars) are making promises behind the scenes that the voters don’t know about.”
Pro-recall side in Chesa Boudin race outraised recall opponents by more than 2-to-1
The recall election of District Attorney Chesa Boudin is attracting so much attention that it feels more like a national-level race — and it’s funded more like one, too. Through June 1, campaign finance data shows that fundraising for both sides of the Boudin recall totaled $10.5 million, more than twice as much as the $5.2 million raised by nine candidates during the 2018 special election for mayor. The bulk of the money has been raised by the pro-recall campaign. By the end of May, local groups created to recall Boudin had raised $7.2 million, more than twice as much as the $3.3 million raised by anti-recall committees, according to campaign finance data.
Most of the pro-recall funding came from real estate advocacy groups, tech investors and the super PAC Neighbors for a Better San Francisco Advocacy, which counts Republican billionaire William Oberndorf among its largest contributors. The anti-recall campaign’s biggest donors included several progressive PACs, along with local chapters of the ACLU and the Service Employees International Union. — Susie Neilson
“Onus is on both groups to enforce the law”
10:45 a.m. Andrew Wu, a longtime San Franciscan and musician, dropped off his ballot Tuesday at the Ortega library. He said he votes in every election, but he was particularly passionate about this one, eager to vote against the “conservative push” to recall Chesa Boudin. In his opinion, police officers sometimes see crime and don’t do anything about it, hindering what Boudin as district attorney can do to stop crime. “The onus is on both groups to enforce the law,” he said. He also said that he voted against Pelosi, preferring to see someone more progressive in her seat. — Danielle Echeverria
Newsom declares “Immigrant Heritage Month” on election day
Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is expected to ease into a second and final term in the California primary, issued a proclamation on Tuesday declaring June 2022 as “Immigrant Heritage Month” in the state. “In California, we understand that our strength is in our diversity. Immigrants and their descendants bring new ideas, perspectives and cultural assets that shape and power California and our nation,” the governor said in the proclamation. “Immigrants, whether they arrived to seek safety or opportunity, have been integral to the identity and growth of California as we know it. The state will continue to support and stand with immigrant families and lead in building more inclusive and just policies which foster innovation and advance our collective economic and community growth.”
Early voting data shows unusually low turnout in San Francisco
San Francisco’s Department of Elections received about 110,000 vote-by-mail ballots by the end of Monday — that’s a 22% return rate pre-election day. It is lower than the rates in recent citywide elections: the 2020 presidential election had 62% of ballots returned before election day, the 2021 Newsom recall was 48%, and even the school board recall earlier this year had a higher rate at 24%.
Statewide numbers are similarly low: 15% of ballots returned as of Monday, according to the consulting firm Political Data Intelligence. In the nine-county Bay Area, Napa County has the highest percentage of 24%, while Solano and Alameda counties have the lowest rates at 13%.
San Francisco turnout is on track to likely be the lowest in recent years. Since the start of the pandemic, most San Franciscans cast ballots before election day — either by sending vote-by-mail ballots in the mail or dropping them off at voting centers. In the last three citywide elections, two-thirds or more of all votes came in pre-election day. This is likely true of this election as well — about a third of votes will be cast in-person or delivered to the elections department today or in the next few days.
Thus, it’s hard to imagine overall turnout exceeding the 36% seen in the February school board recall. That’s part of what The Chronicle will consider when calling the elections Tuesday night. — Dan Kopf
How this S.F. ballot measure could affect Boudin recall aftermath
If San Franciscans vote to oust District Attorney Chesa Boudin in the recall election, Mayor London Breed will be the one to choose his replacement. But another measure on Tuesday’s ballot, Prop. C , could add a wrinkle to that policy by requiring that anyone Breed chooses is merely a placeholder district attorney until the next election.
Billed as a recall reform initiative, Prop. C restricts recall replacements selected by the mayor from running for that seat again in an election. If this measure succeeds, anyone who wants to be the city’s top prosecutor for more than a few months would likely pass on becoming Breed’s appointment. If Boudin is recalled, the next election for the position will be in November. If he survives, he will be up for re-election in 2023. — Megan Cassidy
“Give them a chance to finish the term”
10:00 a.m. Mike Rosene, an Outer Sunset resident, cast his vote at Sunset Elementary School. He said that he voted no on the recall, and finds recalls to be a waste of taxpayer dollars. “It’s such a short term,” he said of the district attorney role. “You have to give them a chance to finish the term, and if you’re unhappy, you can vote your guy in at the next election.” — Danielle Echeverria
Boudin, in crosshairs, repeats “Republican” accusations in Democratic S.F.
San Francisco voters fed up with brutal attacks against Asian seniors, brazen burglaries and auto smash-and-grabs will vote on whether to recall the city’s district attorney on Tuesday. Chesa Boudin, a former public defender, was narrowly elected in 2019 on the back of a campaign on which he vowed to target police officers and corporations. But supporters of the recall say Boudin has failed to protect everyday residents of the city due to his lack of experience and fixed ideology, which often finds him seeking to avoid charging criminals and siding with offenders over victims, the Associated Press reports.
His prosecutors are not allowed to seek cash bail for defendants, charge juveniles as adults, or request longer sentences due to a defendant’s gang affiliations. Casting his ballot at City Hall on Monday, Boudin once again branded the recall as a ploy by “Republican billionaires.” But in San Francisco, where just 7% of registered voters align with the GOP, residents may be sending out a broader message. “It’s a vote of general discontent,” said Jason McDaniel, associate professor of political science at San Francisco State University. “San Francisco voters are largely very liberal and favorable toward criminal justice reform and yet, in a time when we’ve got a lot of people upset about a lot of things, you don’t want to become the target of that.”
The race for state controller is exciting, we swear
California’s typically sleepy controller’s race is one to watch Tuesday – particularly to see which of the four Democrats may emerge as one of the top two candidates that will advance to the general election in November.
Stanford University scholar and former Mitt Romney policy advisor Lanhee Chen is likely to advance, given that he is the only Republican in the race and will likely corral most of the 24% of voters who are registered Republicans. The Democrats – Board of Equalization Chair Malia Cohen, Los Angeles City Controller Ron Galperin, state Sen. Steve Glazer, D-Orinda and Monterey Park City Council member Yvonne Yiu – will split the 47% of the state’s registered Democrats along with Green Party candidate Laura Wells. California’s 23% of no party preference voters are up for grabs.
The Democrats are largely in agreement on many issues. But they differ on an issue that affects billions of dollars and tens of thousands of Californians: Should California’s pension funds — among the nation’s largest — divest from fossil fuel companies?
Last month, the state Senate passed a bill that would require them to divest. But representatives for the pension funds — backed by some in big labor — say it shouldn’t. The measure still must be approved by the Assembly and the governor.
Chen and Galperin oppose divestment, as does the current controller Betty Yee. The others support the measure. With a lack of a clear Democratic favorite – although Cohen won the state party endorsement – it could be issues like this that may nudge one candidate into the top two.
Boudin recall organizers start early to get out the vote
More than a dozen volunteers for the campaign to recall San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin waved “Yes on H” signs near the Golden Gate Park entrance at 19th Avenue and Lincoln around 8:15 a.m. as cars honked through the intersection. “We start early, we end late. We just want to get out every vote we can,” said Mary Jung, the chair of the campaign to recall Boudin, who said she had been up since 3:30 a.m. working on last minute efforts to encourage voters. “All eyes are on what’s happening today,” said Andrea Shorter, a lead organizer with the campaign. — Danielle Echeverria
What Mayor Breed will be watching
San Francisco Mayor London Breed will have her eye on a few things on the ballot Tuesday. She introduced Proposition A, a $400 million bond measure to fund Muni, and endorsed former San Francisco Supervisor Malia Cohen for state controller. She could possibly make rounds to either or both related election night parties, although her staff said her schedule wouldn’t be finalized until election night. And while Breed hasn’t come out publicly for or against the recall of District Attorney Chesa Boudin, she’ll surely be closely watching the result, since if he is recalled, she’ll be responsible for picking his replacement. — Mallory Moench
Bonta faces a group of wildcards in his first statewide election
Attorney General Rob Bonta, the former assemblyman appointed to his position by Gov. Gavin Newsom last year, is up for his first statewide election Tuesday. Running against him are Republicans Nathan Hochman, a former federal prosecutor and former assistant U.S. attorney general endorsed by the state party, and private attorney Eric Early, legal counsel for the unsuccessful effort to recall Newsom last year, reports the Associated Press. Also vying for the position are Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert, who gave up her Republican affiliation four years ago and is running as an independent, and Green Party candidate Dan Kapelovitz.
Bonta appears to be the top choice for 46% of likely voters, based on a poll from UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies and the Los Angeles Times. But his challengers are hoping that Bonta’s ties to embattled San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin, who faces a recall election on Tuesday, and to Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón may improve their chances. Hochman has labeled them “the let ’em go guys,” in an election where crime is a hotly contested issue.
Homelessness and crime set course in race for L.A. mayor
Democratic U.S. Rep. Karen Bass and Republican-turned-Democrat billionaire Rick Caruso have emerged as the frontrunners out of 12 candidates in the race to become Los Angeles’ next mayor. Their campaigns have focused on quality-of-life issues like homelessness, crime, and soaring rents and home prices, the Associated Press reports. If elected, Bass could become the first woman mayor of Los Angeles and the second Black person to hold the office. But Caruso, 63, who sits on the board of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and was endorsed by the police union, has gained a surprising groundswell of support in the heavily Democratic region by positioning himself as a centrist outsider running against City Hall’s progressive establishment. The last time Los Angeles veered to the political right was in 1993, when voters turned to Republican businessman Richard Riordan to lead the city following the deadly 1992 riots. Because it is Los Angeles, the contest has drawn several high-profile celebrity endorsements, with Earvin “Magic” Johnson backing Bass, while Caruso has Snoop Dogg and Gwyneth Paltrow behind him.
Newsom expected to cruise to victory in California primary
Having beat back a recall effort less than a year ago, California Gov. Gavin Newsom is expected to easily come out on top in Tuesday’s primary even with 25 challengers to his position on the ballot. “I think the only loss for the governor is failing to win really, really big,” Jessica Levinson, a political commentator and election law professor at Loyola Marymount University, told the Associated Press. “This is almost the definition of a noncompetitive race.” Newsom has not devoted nearly as much time to his re-election effort as he did the recall, primarily taking credit for a string of record budget surpluses during his first term in office. He has also vowed to turn California into a sanctuary for women seeking abortions should the U.S. Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade. Primarily, Newsom has ended nearly all the COVID-19 restrictions that drew the ire of his most vehement critics during the recall fight, countering that his actions saved lives, with statistics showing California’s per capita death rate was better than Texas, Florida and most other states.
California primary on track for a historically low turnout
Even with nearly 82% of eligible Californians registered to vote ahead of the primary election, early data indicates the state could see a historically low turnout at the polls. As of Tuesday morning, about 15% of voters had returned their ballots, according to tracking data from the consulting firm Political Data Intelligence. Political observers believe the lack of interest in the primary has to do with the low-stakes choices in the top competitive races, with early polling suggesting overwhelming support for Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, Sen. Alex Padilla and Attorney General Rob Bonta. If the numbers hold, turnout could be lower than that of the record-setting 2014 primary election, which drew out just 25.17% of registered voters. The numbers in San Francisco could buck the statewide trend, with a much-publicized effort to recall District Attorney Chesa Boudin on the table.
What Chesa Boudin and S.F. supervisors are doing on election day
San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin was expected to urge voters to reject his recall on Tuesday morning at 8 a.m., when he will be joined by Supervisor Dean Preston on a street corner near Alamo Square to begin an election day push against Proposition H. Preston is among a majority of supervisors who oppose the recall. Another opponent, Supervisor Hillary Ronen, spent the weekend canvassing with the No on H campaign and plans to attend an anti-recall party Tuesday night. Supervisors Catherine Stefani and Matt Dorsey support the recall.
Supervisor Aaron Peskin will attend a Tuesday evening gathering at a North Beach restaurant to support Proposition F, the ballot measure that Peskin and Mayor London Breed championed to reform the city’s relationship with trash-hauler Recology. The measure would shake up the way San Francisco approves Recology’s rates and allow the city to potentially cancel the company’s monopoly on local garbage collection without going back to the ballot. The event Peskin is attending is also intended to show support for Proposition A, the $400 million bond proposed to fund various Muni upgrades. – J.D. Morris
Supporters cheer as District Attorney Chesa Boudin speaks at a campaign fundraiser to vote “No on H” at Zeitgeist bar on Friday, June 3, 2022 in San Francisco, California.Gabrielle Lurie/The Chronicle
Chesa Boudin enters election day with odds stacked against him
Boudin faces steep odds in the recall election today, with polls released since March consistently indicating over half of San Francisco voters support his ouster. His chances seemed to have improved as election day drew closer though, with some more recent surveys showing thinner margins or, in one case, an even split.
Polls released by the recall team and the Chamber of Commerce reported that nearly 70% of likely voters supported the recall, while surveys conducted by the San Francisco Standard and San Francisco Examiner showed 57% and 56% of respondents, respectively, favored the recall. A poll released by Boudin’s team this month gives him the best odds, with a tie of 47% in support of the recall and 47% opposed, 48 Hills reported. — Megan Cassidy
Marital bliss … on the ballot
Attorney General Rob Bonta and Assembly Member Mia Bonta appear on Tuesday’s ballot together — a first for the East Bay power couple. The Democratic duo are both running for re-election, though Mia Bonta is only on the ballot for voters in the 18th Assembly District (Oakland, Alameda). The couple is expected to cast their ballots together at a voting center in Alameda. She is running for a full term in the district that her husband previously represented. Mia Bonta won a special election to the seat last summer, after Rob Bonta resigned because he was appointed state attorney general by Gov. Gavin Newsom. Rob Bonta is running for a full term as attorney general (he’s currently serving out the remainder of Xavier Becerra’s term; he stepped down as attorney general to become President Biden’s secretary of health and human services). Political musical chairs at its finest.
Our interview with Chesa Boudin
Last week, Chesa Boudin sat down with San Francisco Chronicle Director of News and Fifth & Mission podcast co-host Demian Bulwa to talk about the recall and the state of crime in the city.
“I’m working as hard as I can every day to make the city safer for all of us,” Boudin said, “and I can’t blame people … for being frustrated. The last two years have presented us individually and collectively with challenges and changes we never could have anticipated.”
Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) walks out of a Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on the Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, May 4, 2022.
Shuran Huang/Special to The Chronicle
Alex Padilla’s debut
Tuesday is the first time on the ballot for his Senate seat for Alex Padilla, and though he has a lot of challengers, he doesn’t have much competition. But Padilla hasn’t been taking it easy since Newsom named him to replace Vice President Kamala Harris when she went to the White House. We spent some time following Padilla around the Capitol and spoke with him at length. The Democrat has been working overtime both politically and on policy since he got to Washington – locking up the endorsements of his colleagues to edge out any major challengers and positioning himself at the center of key legislative debates, including immigration and voting rights. That said, he hasn’t racked up major legislative victories in Washington, where any legislative progress is rare.
Former Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., chats with Democratic congressional candidate Will Rollins at her home in Rancho Mirage (Riverside County). Boxer has thrown herself into the campaign to unseat GOP Rep. Ken Calvert, which Riverside County Democrats say has the potential to be a key pickup in a midterm year.
Martina Albertazzi/Special to The Chronicle
A sleeper race in the Coachella Valley?
Sen. Barbara Boxer was a content retiree in Rancho Mirage, then redistricting came. Her home in the Coachella Valley was added to Republican Rep. Ken Calvert district, which also includes parts of western Riverside County. So she’s been working hard to help the campaign of a former federal prosecutor and political newcomer in Palm Springs, Will Rollins. Democrats hope it’s a sleeper pickup opportunity, while Republicans say Democrats are dreaming if they think they can overcome headwinds from inflation and President Biden’s unpopularity. Tuesday’s results will be an opportunity to test the theories of the case and see whether Calvert shows any sign of being vulnerable.
The campaign to recall Boudin is targeting the city’s Asian American voters with a blitz of Chinese-language ads and endorsements from victims’ families, arguing that the district attorney has failed to adequately address violence against Asians.
Boudin argues that he has charged numerous suspects in murder and assault cases against Asians, and last week he announced the creation of an Asian American Pacific Islander victim services unit.
The push by both sides suggests Asian voters — who make up a third of the city’s population — will be critical to the outcome. While there’s no data on how many are registered voters, nearly 30,000 request Chinese ballots, the largest non-English group in the city and 6% of the electorate.
Sean Bickings, 34, drowned on May 28 in Tempe Town Lake in Arizona.
City of Tempe
hide caption
toggle caption
City of Tempe
Three Tempe police officers who looked on as a man drowned in an Arizona lake late last month have been placed on “non-disciplinary paid administrative leave” as several law enforcement agencies investigate what happened.
According to city officials, officers responded to a call about a disturbance just after 5 a.m. outside the Tempe Center for the Arts, where they found Sean Bickings, 34, and his companion.
Officers were talking to an uncuffed Bickings — who officials described as an “unsheltered Tempe community member” — while they ran his and his companion’s name through a database to check for outstanding warrants, authorities said.
It was then that Bickings climbed a metal fence, descended an embankment and began to swim in Tempe Town Lake, police body camera footage from one of the officers shows.
The footage cuts out before Bickings begins to struggle in the water, but the city provided a transcript of the video from there.
“I’m drowning,” Bickings says.
An officer tells him to swim to a pylon, but Bickings says he can’t.
“Okay, I’m not jumping in after you,” the officer responds.
“I can’t touch. Oh God. Please help me. Help me,” Bickings says moments later.
The Tempe Police Department is investigating Bickings’ death, an inquiry that will also be reviewed by the Arizona Department of Public Safety. The Scottsdale Police Department is conducting a separate administrative review of how the police responded.
City Manager Andrew Ching and Police Chief Jeff Glover called the drowning a “tragedy.” Police said Glover met with Bickings’ mother on Wednesday.
Authorities say they plan to release additional portions of the body camera video this week from all three responding police officers. That footage will also be edited “due to its graphic, sensitive nature,” they said.
Tempe Police and city officials say they are also reassessing their water response protocols, what equipment officers might need and the placement of rescue equipment at bodies of water.
The U.S. was in a “heightened threat environment” already, and these factors may worsen the situation, DHS said in the latest National Terrorism Advisory System bulletin.
“In the coming months, we expect the threat environment to become more dynamic as several high-profile events could be exploited to justify acts of violence against a range of possible targets,” DHS said.
It’s the latest attempt by Homeland Security to draw attention to the threat posed by domestic violent extremism, a shift from alerts about international terrorism that were a hallmark of the agency following its creation after the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Indeed, the threats from overseas rate only passing mentions in this bulletin. It notes that al-Qaida supporters celebrated the January standoff at a synagogue in Colleyville, Texas. And it mentions that the Islamic State group called on supporters to carry out attacks in the United States to avenge the killings of the group’s leader and spokesman.
DHS also warns that China, Russia, Iran and other nations seek to foment divisions within the U.S. to weaken the country and its standing in the world. In part, they do this by amplifying conspiracy theories and false reports that proliferate in American society.
Domestic violent extremists, however, present the most pressing and potentially violent threat, the agency said, citing, for example, the racist attack in which a white gunman killed 10 Black people at a Buffalo, New York, supermarket in May.
The bulletin, which is scheduled to expire Nov. 30, said calls for violence by domestic extremists directed at democratic institutions, candidates and election workers will likely increase through the fall. It said that people in online forums have praised the mass shooting at the elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and encouraged copycat attacks.
“The alert highlights the fact that society is becoming more violent every single day,” said Brian Harrell, a former assistant secretary at DHS. “Would-be criminals and domestic terrorists will always use the path of least resistance, and often times soft targets and crowded places are picked for this violence.”
A senior DHS official, speaking to reporters ahead of the release of the bulletin, said it describes the situation as “dynamic” because authorities are seeing a wider variety of people motivated by a broader range of grievances and incidents than in the past.
The upcoming decision from the Supreme Court, which could overturn Roe v. Wade, could lead to violence from either extremist supporters or opponents of abortion rights depending on the outcome, said the official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss some factors that went into the preparation of the bulletin.
Racial extremists may be motivated by immigration enforcement or whether the government continues to rely on Title 42, the public health order that has been used since the start of the coronavirus pandemic to prevent people from seeking asylum at the southwest border, DHS said.
The agency and the FBI are working with state and local law enforcement to raise awareness of the threat, and DHS has increased grant funding to local governments and religious organizations to improve security, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas said in a statement released with the bulletin.
This is a widget area - If you go to "Appearance" in your WP-Admin you can change the content of this box in "Widgets", or you can remove this box completely under "Theme Options"
