Decision time for a Dem party chair

Nov 16, 2023

By Jeremy B. White, Dustin Gardiner and Lara Korte

Rusty Hicks speaks during the 2019 California Democratic Party State Organizing Convention in San Francisco.

California Democratic Party Chair Rusty Hicks. | Jeff Chiu/AP

THE BUZZ: MUSICAL CHAIR — California Democrats convene this weekend to discuss the March primary — but they’re chattering about Chair Rusty Hicks.

Hicks’ political future — and the question of the California Democratic Party’s leadership — have become inescapable topics in the week since Assemblymember Jim Wood announced he would not seek reelection. Wood’s exit opens up the safely Democratic Northern California district where the Los Angeles-transplant Hicks now lives.

The possible political ramifications cascade far beyond the 2nd Assembly District. A decision by Hicks to run for Assembly and step aside as chair would create a leadership vacuum in the middle of an election cycle. Hicks did not respond to requests for comment, and a representative said Hicks was focused on the convention.

But he has been talking to local leaders, according to political operatives with knowledge of those conversations who were granted anonymity to speak about discussions ahead of an announcement. He faces an exceedingly tight timeline. The field is already coalescing, with Healdsburg Mayor Ariel Kelley, Mendocino County Supervisor Ted Williams and Santa Rosa Councilmember Chris Rogers confirmed to be running. Things have developed so swiftly that the party won’t consider endorsing any of them this weekend, with Wood still scheduled to get the party’s nod.

Party chairs play a central role in collecting and distributing campaign contributions, but their elections tend to reflect wider Democratic divides. A former Los Angeles labor leader, Hicks was seen as the more establishment-linked candidate when he prevailed over progressive Kimberly Ellis in 2019 for the remainder of ousted former Chair Eric Bauman’s term. Hicks subsequently won a full term that ends in 2025.

It's also not clear that Hicks needs to step aside if he jumps into the Assembly race. Party by-laws don’t prohibit it (and Los Angeles County Democratic Party Chair Mark Gonzalez is currently running for state Assembly), although some party activists see it as an untenable conflict of interest. But people are already speculating about who might succeed Hicks.

A current party leader could rise: When Bauman was forced out in 2018, then-Vice Chair Alex Gallardo-Rooker stepped up as interim chair. Current Vice Chair Betty Yee told us she is focused on running for governor in 2026 and has no plans to seek the top party seat. Vice Chair David Campos — who last year lost an expensive Dem-on-Dem Assembly race to Matt Haney — said he wasn’t getting into hypotheticals. Former Assembly Speaker John Pérez said he had “zero interest.”

You can bet others have more interest. But that will depend on what Hicks does next.

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PLAYBOOK TIP LINE — Are you planning to run for state Democratic chair? Do you know someone who is? Give us a ring or drop us a line.

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FRESH INK

Defendant David DePape (left) testifies Tuesday in the federal trial against him in U.S. District Court in downtown San Francisco.

Defendant David DePape (left) testifies Tuesday in the federal trial against him in U.S. District Court in downtown San Francisco. | Courtroom artist Vicki Behringer

WAITING GAME — California’s most-watched political trial of the year is now in the hands of the jury — and their decision could land a man in prison for decades.

Federal prosecutors and defense attorneys made their closing arguments Wednesday in the case of David DePape, the man who broke into Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s home last year and struck her husband in the head with a hammer.

DePape and his attorneys have repeatedly admitted that he planned to hold the former speaker captive and struck Paul Pelosi with a hammer. The defense has instead focused on a long-shot argument that DePape’s motive had nothing to do with Pelosi’s official duties.

“The government hasn’t proven the ‘why’ that they need to prove for these specific counts,” defense attorney Angela Chuang said Wednesday. “This case is not a whodunit. It’s a ‘why done it.’”

DePape is charged with the attempted kidnapping of a U.S. official and assault on an immediate family member of a U.S. official, federal charges that require prosecutors to show his intent.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Helen Gilbert said the evidence that DePape intended to interfere with or retaliate against Pelosi because of her official duties is overwhelming. “He deliberately targeted her because of her job, because of her role in our political system, because of her official duties,” she said.

Jurors spent nearly five hours deliberating Wednesday afternoon. They are expected to return this morning.

A covid testing tent in San Francisco.

San Francisco officials say that Gentech, an outdoor Covid testing operator, has agreed to cease virus testing in the city. | Dustin Gardiner/POLITICO

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: S.F. OUSTS PHONY TESTING SITES — A company that operated “problematic” pop-up Covid testing sites in San Francisco has agreed to get out of town, according to the city Department of Public Health.

City officials have spent the better part of a year investigating outdoor testing sites — green tents with banners boasting “Free COVID Testing” that have been ubiquitous in the Tenderloin, Mission and South of Market neighborhoods. The sites typically offer patients $5 cash in exchange for their personal information and test sample.

Supervisor Dean Preston told Playbook that workers often weren’t wearing masks or other protective equipment and never sent results to patients. The company associated with the testing sites, Gentech, agreed to cease all local virus testing operations after the Board of Supervisors adopted his legislation banning the practice of paying patients for test samples. Mayor London Breed and City Attorney David Chiu are scheduled to announce the news this morning.

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AI REPORT CARD — A California-based group that has helped push through data privacy and social media regulation in Sacramento is moving into new tech turf: artificial intelligence.

Common Sense Media, the children's advocacy organization, is hoping to shape AI legislation next year with a guide for state lawmakers. The group has sized up the safety and ethics of popular AI apps like Ello, Khanmigo, Kyron Learning, Bard, and ChatGPT in its first-ever set of AI ratings released today.

The hope is that the ratings will be used to inform new legislative and regulatory efforts, which have so far faltered at both the federal and state level. Without action from Congress, several Democratic lawmakers in California have expressed their intent to author bills next session regulating the fast-moving technology.

“If the government fails to 'childproof' AI, tech companies will take advantage of this unregulated, freewheeling atmosphere at the expense of our data privacy, well-being, and democracy at large,” Common Sense Media CEO Jim Steyer said in a statement.

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: GREAT SCOTT – Rep. Katie Porter has scooped up the endorsement of state Sen. Scott Wiener, who praised her as someone “who will go against the grain and speak truth to power.” The pick puts the San Francisco legislator at odds with fellow Bay Area resident, Rep. Barbara Lee, as well as former Speaker Pelosi, the grande dame of his city’s political world who is all in for Rep. Adam Schiff.

WHAT WE'RE READING TODAY

SMOOTHING TIES: President Joe Biden and China’s Xi Jinping met for the first time in a year Wednesday, in a San Francisco suburb. Before the closed-door meeting, the two leaders stressed the need for the superpowers to avoid conflict. After months of tension, officials said the fact that the two men talked at all was an accomplishment. (POLITICO)

FRIENDS OF THE SPEAKER: House Speaker Mike Johnson sits on the board of Living Waters Publications, a California-based Christian publishing house that suggested getting "monkeypox” was “an inevitable and appropriate penalty” for being gay. (POLITICO)

BARBARA BUMP: A large national abortion-rights group has endorsed Rep. Barbara Lee’s campaign for U.S. Senate. Lee continues to trail Rep. Katie Porter and Adam Schiff in polls and fundraising. (San Francisco Chronicle)

MAKING LEMONADE: San Francisco city leaders are rallying around a Czech news crew who were robbed at gunpoint. The incident has led to a series of negative headlines amid the APEC summit, but Mayor London Breed and other officials have sought to turn the narrative around by showering the crew with generosity. (San Francisco Chronicle)

PLAYBOOKERS

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: BUTLER’S TEAM BUILDING — U.S. Sen. Laphonza Butler is touting one of the most diverse communications teams on Capitol Hill.

Her new comms staff is mostly composed of women of color, as she told Playbook Wednesday. Two previously worked for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, including Communications Director Audrey Lopez and Digital Director Mirella Manilla. Others worked for high-ranking lawmakers: Press Secretary Christyna Thompson for Sen. Patty Murray; and Deputy Comms Director Alice Nam for Majority Leader Chuck Shumer.

Butler, the first Black and openly lesbian senator, said it’s important for Californians to “see themselves in their government and know that our team understands and cares about their concerns.”

— Sejal Govindarao

BIRTHDAYS — Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) … POLITICO’s Wes Venteicher … Alexandra I. Goodwin …

(was Wednesday): Michael D. Ullman

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