| | | | |  | | By Christopher Cadelago and Rachel Bluth | Presented by Heat Pump Nation | MOVIN' ON: Six and a half years into his tenure, Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg announced this morning at City Hall that he won’t run for a third term. He presided over a tumultuous time for the city, and has faced considerable challenges around homelessness, police shootings, a racial reckoning and the global pandemic. But Sacramento has experienced growth amid an influx from the Bay Area, and Steinberg and allies point to raising money for public safety, homelessness and services. He also advanced a difficult project around the railyards that will double the size of downtown. “You don’t get to pick your time,” a reflective and seemingly a little relieved Steinberg said today. “Your time picks you.” An avuncular, self-effacing and exceedingly accessible figure in state politics for decades, Steinberg loves to mediate big clashes between powerful interests, as he did for years in his role as Senate president pro Tem. That time also overlapped with an endless string of crises — from historic state budget shortfalls to legal troubles that ensnared several of his legislative colleagues. At the city, Steinberg said, the raucous council meetings that have featured bigots and hate groups (as well as weeks of unrest over homelessness and police violence against young people of color) didn’t influence his decision not to run again. But he suggested they have affected not just him, but also the council and city leadership. “I’ve learned a lot in this job. I have always been a progressive with a big heart, and yet in this period of George Floyd, I’ve had to dig deeper,” he said. “I, as a middle-aged white man, have had to dig deeper to really grasp and understand the pain of other people.” Steinberg was sanguine but not specific about what he’ll do after his term is up in 2024. He said he’s been vetted to become a judge, and could serve on the bench should he choose to. He also told POLITICO he might want to run for California attorney general should Attorney General Rob Bonta join the race for governor in 2026. (Steinberg had been in the mix for the AG appointment, which Gov. Gavin Newsom made in 2021 when Xavier Becerra went back to Washington.) “Am I open to potentially serving in office again at the state level? Yes,” he said. “But I have not made any of that decision. I will at least try — it’s hard to imagine! — living life a little bit differently, continuing to serve, always. I am not retiring. Steinberg pointed to being engaged in his own foundation on mental health. He’s taught classes in the past, and said he loves to sit down and write. “Anything’s possible,” he said. Hey, Mr. Mayor, we’re hiring at POLITICO.
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In this March 20, 2019, file photo, Darrell Steinberg speaks at a news conference held by Gov. Gavin Newsom, right, in Sacramento, Calif. | Rich Pedroncelli, File/AP | HAPPY THURSDAY AFTERNOON! Welcome to California Playbook PM, a POLITICO newsletter that serves as an afternoon temperature check of California politics and a look at what our policy reporters are watching. Got tips or suggestions? Shoot an email to rbluth@politico.com or send a shout on Twitter. DMs are open! Programming note: We’ll be off Monday, May 29, for Memorial Day, so we'll next see you in your inbox on Tuesday. Have a great long weekend.
| | | | A message from Heat Pump Nation: California lawmakers must protect low-income and working-class communities that are severely impacted by extreme heat and high energy bills. The Equitable Building Decarbonization and Community Resilience Centers programs can lower energy bills, cut pollution, improve public health, and bring clean cooling to those who need it most. Restore the $1 billion in funding for these important programs in the state budget. Learn more. | | | |  | WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY | | GET ORGANIZED: Legislative staffers’ ability to unionize will likely come down to Newsom after a bill giving collective bargaining rights to Capitol employees sailed through the Assembly on a bipartisan vote today. It now heads to the Senate, where a similar bill passed last year — meaning this year’s iteration is on a glide path to Newsom’s desk. Supporters cite inadequate pay and a lack of protection against retaliation or sexual harassment. — Jeremy B. White
| | ON THE BEATS | | STOP SHARING: A trio of civil liberties and digital rights groups issued demands this morning that 71 California police departments stop sharing license plate data with out-of-state law enforcement agencies, a practice they say violates the state’s reproductive rights laws. The Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Northern California and Southern California chapters of the American Civil Liberties Union sent letters to the police chiefs around the state, detailing alleged violations the nonprofits uncovered in hundreds of records requests. The groups specifically criticized the handling of automated license plate reader data, which they argue could be used to track, locate and prosecute abortion seekers and providers. The move comes as conservative state legislatures have passed laws seeking to punish clinicians who conduct abortions in other states. Idaho Gov. Brad Little recently signed a law that makes helping a minor get an abortion in another state punishable by two to five years in prison. Matt Cagle, a senior staff attorney at ACLU NorCal, told POLITICO the groups are demanding compliance by June 15, and are still evaluating options if departments don't respond. EFF and ACLU have both sued law enforcement agencies over their use of license plate reader data in the past. — Alexander Nieves MINIMUM STAGE: A purple rain of health care workers showered downtown Sacramento today as hundreds of SEIU-UHW members rallied in support of the $25-per-hour health care minimum wage ahead of a legislative deadline next week. But instead of taking their chants and purple capes to the offices of elected officials, they marched to the offices of the opposition, the California Hospital Association and California Primary Care Association, which represents community clinics. It’s a truth rarely stated so openly in politics: Often, winning isn’t about swaying the hearts and minds of lawmakers but about taking the fight to your enemies’ lobbyists. MAKE WAY FOR RENEWABLES: Objections from dozens of environmental groups haven’t dissuaded Newsom from seeking to change state permitting laws to speed up energy, water and transportation projects. Newsom says the state must act urgently to meet climate goals. “We don’t have time to hold hands and talk about the way the world should be. We gotta go,” he told reporters today in Richmond. More than 75 environmental organizations urged Newsom in a letter this week to accept public input on his changes by pursuing them through the Legislature’s standard policymaking process, rather than slipping them into budget bills that typically receive much less scrutiny. His proposals, which include shortening time frames for legal challenges under the state’s landmark environmental law, involve trade-offs that could carry unintended consequences for California’s natural resources. “I think it’s really shortsighted; I think there are long-term costs that are really not being considered here,” said Maya Golden-Krasner, deputy director of the Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law Institute. — Wes Venteicher
| | | | A message from Heat Pump Nation:   | | | | | AROUND CALIFORNIA | | “Breed to fund 'wellness hubs' for overdose prevention in upcoming budget,” by The San Francisco Standard’s Annie Gaus: The sites, which were initially outlined in a Department of Public Health proposal last year, are described as low-barrier sites intended to prevent overdoses and provide connections to resources such as basic medical aid, food assistance and connections to treatment. “Sonoma County listed among top 10 most expensive places to raise a child in the U.S., study says,” by The Press Democrat’s Charles Swanson: Raising a child in Sonoma County costs nearly $10,000 more than the annual national average, a new study said. The metro area was ranked tenth in SmartAsset’s list of “Most Expensive Places to Raise a Child,” coming in right behind neighboring Napa.
| | MIXTAPE | | “‘You shouldn’t be on the runway’: 2 pilots abort landings at SFO after spotting plane in their path,” by the San Francisco Chronicle's Matthias Gafni. “State audit of Big Fresno Fair reveals financial concerns, violations within operations, by The Fresno Bee’s Tim Sheehan. “San Bernardino County child services faces class-action lawsuit,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Salvador Hernandez.
| | | | A message from Heat Pump Nation: California lawmakers must protect low-income and working-class communities that are severely impacted by extreme heat and high energy bills. The Equitable Building Decarbonization program expands access to electric heat pumps, weatherization, and other essential home upgrades for low-income households. The Community Resilience Centers program upgrades community centers, schools, libraries, and other public facilities to provide life-saving cooling, backup power, and access to critical resources for working-class communities of color. These important programs lower energy bills, cut pollution, improve public health, and bring clean cooling to those who need it most. Now is not the time to cut or delay funding for programs that serve our most vulnerable communities. To achieve our climate goals and an all-electric future, we need to ensure that all Californians can access clean energy. We must restore the $1 billion in funding for Equitable Building Decarbonization and Community Resilience Centers in the state budget. Learn more. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
