How big a role for Newsom in Harris campaign?

Before President Joe Biden shockingly withdrew from the presidential race in July, it seemed as if there was no bigger cheerleader for him than Gov. Gavin Newsom. But since the baton was handed to Vice President Kamala Harris, the governor hasn’t been as vocal in his support, writes CalMatters Capitol reporter Alexei Koseff.

After Biden’s poor debate performance, Newsom was quick to do damage control, appearing on TV to defend Biden, delivering a pep talk to Biden’s campaign staff and touring swing states on the president’s behalf.

But besides announcing his initial support for Harris and a handful of other sporadic moments, Newsom has rarely spoken publicly about Harris. In recent weeks, he has focused on admonishing California counties for not clearing homeless encampments, as well as launching a podcast.

Spokesperson Nathan Click says “there’s no ‘step back’” for the governor from the presidential race, and that Newsom will hit the campaign trail after next week’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago. 

How well he does in the fall could be crucial for Newsom: With his term ending in 2027 and his presidential ambitions possibly on hold until 2032 (ambitions he has repeatedly denied having), a post in a Harris administration could be a compelling next move for Newsom.

Read more about Newsom’s role in the Harris campaign in Alexei’s story.

More on the November election:

• Minimum wage: Proposition 32, which would raise California’s hourly minimum wage from $16 to $18, was a much bigger deal when it was first proposed. But even with increases that have already taken effect, and larger hikes for fast food and health care workers, an estimated 2 million California workers would still get a boost in their paychecks if voters approve, CalMatters Capitol reporter Jeanne Kuang explains. Even as battle lines are being drawn between business and labor groups for the fall campaign, some worker groups are pushing for $25 an hour and more. Read more about the politics and impact of Prop. 32 in Jeanne’s story.

• Crime measure: Several local Democratic elected officials, including San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho and Elk Grove Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen, plan to headline a state Capitol rally this morning in support of Prop. 36, which would increase some penalties for theft and fentanyl. A growing number of Democrats are bucking Newsom and Democratic leaders on the measure, which is strongly supported by Republicans and law enforcement. On Monday, the pro-Prop. 36 campaign announced the support of nine Democratic legislators.

• Ballot language fight: In case you were in suspense from Tuesday’s WhatMatters, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association lost its court battle to change the ballot label for Prop. 5. The association argued that the label (a condensed version of the title and summary) does not make it clear that Prop. 5 would lower the majority needed to pass local borrowing measures for housing and other infrastructure from two-thirds to 55%. Last week, a Sacramento County judge agreed with the association. But a state appeals court overturned that ruling, concluding that the attorney general’s label “concisely and accurately describes” the measure. Jon Coupal, the taxpayer group’s president, said it “will do all we can to educate voters despite this horrible anti-transparency decision.”

Researchers warn that smartphones and the round-the-clock access to social media they offer are harmful to young people, especially their mental health. For teachers, smartphones can also be an annoying distraction for students.

With the new school year kicking off for many California students, Gov. Newsom issued a letter Tuesday to school districts urging them to restrict student smartphone usage during school hours, and reiterating the 2020 law granting them the authority to do so. 

In addition to mental health issues, Newsom cited the negative effects phones and social media have on attention spans, learning and social interactions. The governor said “it is urgent to provide reasonable guardrails,” and that educators can create environments where students are “free from the distractions on the phones and pressures of social media.”

The state’s school chief Tony Thurmond echoed Newsom’s sentiment in a separate statement, saying that protecting young people from harm includes setting “clear limits on their access to smartphones at school.”

In other Capitol happenings:

• Job equity: Sen. Lola Smallwood-Cuevas held a rally outside the state Capitol Tuesday to drum up support for Senate Bill 1340. The measure would help ensure equitable hiring practices when hiring for the state’s $180 billion in infrastructure projects over the next ten years. It would require state-funded contractors to prioritize workers from disadvantaged communities “so they have a front seat to getting access to these good jobs,” said the Los Angeles Democrat. 

• Party-switching drama: Less than a week since Sen. Marie Alvarado-Gil of Modesto announced she switched to the GOP, the political dustups haven’t stopped. Alvarado-Gil said she switched parties because Democrats were “heading in the wrong direction.” Democrats booted her off committees and the Latino Legislative Caucus. In a statement Tuesday, she said “it comes with the territory of leaving a supermajority that operates like a mob,” but said her public safety bills should not get shelved. Though Republican legislative leaders and senators welcomed her, Riverside Assemblymember Bill Essayli referred to her as a RINO, or “Republican in name only,” after Alvarado-Gil cut a KCRA interview short when pressed about who she’d endorse in the presidential election.

CalMatters covers the Capitol: We have guides and stories to keep track of bills and your lawmakers; find out how well legislators are representing you; explore the Legislature’s record diversity; and to make your voice heard. 

Nearly 20 months after L.A. Mayor Karen Bass launched the Inside Safe homelessness program, a report from Human Rights Watch slammed the effort as “unsustainably expensive” and inadequate. It also accuses Bass of backtracking on her promises to not criminalize homelessness — pushing unhoused people out of public view instead of helping them, writes CalMatters homelessness reporter Marisa Kendall.

Inside Safe deploys outreach workers who offer hotel rooms to unhoused residents living in encampments. Though the goal is to move individuals into long-term housing, the report found that since its launch in December 2022 through March 2024, Inside Safe put 2,482 people into hotels, but only 440 of them moved into permanent housing. The report also found that the program cost the city more than $300 million in its first year, including more than $3,500 per month for each hotel room.

L.A. has been cracking down on encampments too, according to the report, sometimes citing homeless people or arresting them. Despite Bass publicly condemning the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling to grant cities more authority to sweep encampments, Inside Safe has cleared 42 encampments.

Read more about the report on Inside Safe in Marisa’s story.

Speaking of affordable housing: A $20 billion bond that would help enable nine Bay Area counties to build more affordable housing is the biggest in state history. And construction unions want to ensure they’ll get a huge chunk of the work if it passes, explains CalMatters housing reporter Ben Christopher.

An umbrella trades group of electricians, roofers and other unionized construction workers are pushing for SB 735, which would require developers who want to use the bond money to sign labor contracts that lead to hiring unionized workers.

Critics of the bill argue that it’s unfair to freeze out non-union workers, and that hiring only union members costs more. A study released this week by the RAND Institute, for example, found that a similar labor requirement on a $1.2 billion L.A. housing bond raised development costs by 21%. But bill supporters point to evidence that shows the higher costs for these projects could be due to random chance, not because of the labor requirements.

Learn more about the housing bond and bill in Ben’s story.