Then-Finance Director Ana Matosantos with Gov. Jerry Brown in 2012. | AP
THE BUZZ — The billionaire-backed group launching an audacious plan for a new city in Northern California has enlisted the state’s top political players to make it happen.
California Forever, the company behind the secretive purchase of more than $1 billion of land in Solano County, is in the early stages of a decades-long, politically onerous effort to convert 52,000 acres of farmland into an affordable, environmentally-friendly city.
The group already has financial backing, thanks to the investment of Silicon Valley big-timers like Marc Andreessen and Laurene Powell Jobs, but landing a project of this magnitude will require more than just oodles of cash.
In the few months since going public, leader and former Goldman Sachs trader Jan Sramek has compiled a team of political and policy experts with decades of institutional knowledge and ties to power figures in Sacramento — including Gov. Gavin Newsom — to make his vision a reality.
The first order of business will be a ballot measure, put to Solano County voters in November, to rezone the land for development. After that, it’s a gauntlet of environmental, labor and construction barriers that could take a generation to overcome.
The cohort of consultants and strategists, many reported here for the first time, highlights the steep grade of the political challenge ahead.
Ana Matosantos, policy and strategy adviser
Matosantos was “one of the very first calls” Newsom made as he built out his administration. Before serving as Newsom’s cabinet secretary, Matasantos was director of finance under Govs. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jerry Brown.
Matosantos is an expert at balancing different interest groups, said Keely Martin Bosler, a former cabinet secretary in the Brown administration and later Newsom’s director of finance. She helped steer California through both the Great Recession and the Covid-19 pandemic, Bosler added.
She’s advising California Forever on the policy side: working out the mechanics of building a city from scratch in a state known for its red tape around housing and construction.
Angie Wei, labor outreach
Wei served as Newsom’s legislative affairs secretary between 2020 and 2022, guiding the governor’s agenda in the Capitol. Before that, she spent nearly two decades in the powerful California Labor Federation, first as legislative director and public policy director and later as chief of staff.
Wei’s task will be to court labor giants, like the carpenters' unions and the State Building & Construction Trades Council of California — important players that could make or break a building-heavy project like California Forever.
Mike Murphy, campaign strategist
The veteran Republican political consultant resides in Los Angeles but is nationally known for his work advising GOP governors and senators like Jeb Bush, John McCain and Mitt Romney. He ran Schwarzenegger’s campaign for governor and is an outspoken Never Trump-er.
He has been involved in the effort for several years and was instrumental in bringing the new team together.
Matt Rodriguez, campaign manager
Rodriguez is a Democratic consultant who has served public and private clients including AT&T and Uber. Last year he worked with Newsom in opposing Proposition 30, which would’ve raised income taxes to subsidize electric vehicle programs. He runs the day-to-day of California Forever’s campaign operations.
Brian Brokaw and Dan Newman, senior advisers
These two NorCal-based Democratic consultants comprise The Media Company and are helping California Forever craft its public message. Both are longtime Newsom campaign advisers and have worked on a slate of statewide ballot initiatives and candidates, including supporting Vice President Kamala Harris throughout her political career.
Andrew Acosta, political adviser
Another longtime Democratic consultant, Acosta is a prominent name around Sacramento, having advised numerous legislative, statewide and Congressional campaigns including the legalization of marijuana.
Jennifer Hernandez, land use attorney
Hernandez is the expert on California environmental and land-use law. She has written extensively and critically about the state’s environmental quality act, or CEQA: blaming it for slowing down development and contributing to California’s housing crisis.
Thomas Hiltachk, initiative attorney
Hiltachk has historically worked with conservative causes, including defending the California GOP’s ballot harvesting operation, and is helping California Forever craft the ballot measure that will be key to moving the project forward.
GOOD MORNING. Happy Tuesday. Thanks for waking up with Playbook. We had the best time sorting through all your holiday pet pictures yesterday. Scroll down for a few of our favorites and more info on how to submit a photo of your own furry friend.
PLAYBOOK TIP LINE — What is your most memorable/funny/cringy political moment from 2023? Give us a ring or drop us a line.
WHERE’S GAVIN? Out of state on personal vacation; locale not disclosed.
DOUBLE THE FUN —We have an exciting update for California Playbook readers: Starting Jan. 2, all Playbook subscribers will also receive Playbook PM every Monday through Thursday. As a member of the Playbook community, you will get a double dose of scoops, storylines and analysis in the new year as the Legislature returns. No need to take action: You will receive your first PM edition on the 2nd if you aren’t subscribed already. Thank you for being a part of the Playbook community.
CAMPAIGN MODE
California state Sen. Aisha Wahab (foreground) in March 2023. | José Luis Villegas/AP
REFERENDUM WATCH — State Sen. Aisha Wahab is a step closer to facing a recall election following a tumultuous first year in the Legislature that included authoring historic gun legislation and backing a failed effort to ban caste discrimination that drew large protests at the Capitol.
A recall petition was certified for circulation Friday by the secretary of state. Organizers have until May 23 to collect 42,802 signatures — 20 percent of the total ballots cast in her 2022 election — to force a recall vote next year in her Bay Area district.
A website set up by her opponents criticizes her for not doing enough to address crime and public safety in the district, neglecting constituents and “flip-flopping” on issues. They cite several pieces of legislation, including a proposal to ban caste discrimination that Newsom vetoed amid strong opposition from Indian Americans.
Recall organizer Ritesh Tandon, who has previously run for Congress as a Republican, did not return a message seeking comment.
Wahab’s office also did not respond to a request for comment.
If the recall effort receives enough valid signatures, election officials will certify the petition by July and a recall vote would be held later in 2024.
— Sarah Grace Taylor
WAR AND WORDS — Rep. Katie Porter said the U.S. should push for a “lasting bilateral ceasefire” in the war between Israel and Hamas, a shift from her previous lockstep alignment with the Biden administration on the issue, our colleague Melanie Mason reported Monday evening.
The fallout from the Israel-Hamas war has filtered into the California Senate race, as the three top Democratic candidates navigate rifts within their own party on the issue.
A Public Policy Institute of California poll found last week that more than half of likely voters in California believed the U.S. should not be taking sides in the conflict. That view was even more prominent among Democrats, with six in 10 calling for a neutral position.
Young people and voters of color — key parts of the Democratic coalition — were less supportive of Israel than older and white voters.
CHILD CARE — Specialty health care facilities are pouring money into the California Children’s Hospitals Association’s proposed ballot initiative bolstering and better funding the California Children’s Services program, which helps cover the cost of treating young people suffering from serious illnesses. A collection of children’s hospitals UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Los Angeles and MemorialCare Health System have kicked in more than $8.5 million since the start of December, which should be enough pay for quite a few signature-gatherers.
TOWERING VACANCIES: San Francisco’s rate of vacant office space reached a new high of 39.5 percent this year. Efforts to convert unused office space into housing have been slow moving. (San Francisco Chronicle)
DELIVERING THE GOODS: The Port of Long Beach, one of the nation’s busiest container ports, has received a $283 million federal grant to build a rail system to reduce truck traffic. The project is designed to help ease supply-chain snarls. (Long Beach Press-Telegram)
PLAYBOOKERS
Sourdough Misty, Spartacus, and Beignet get into the holiday spirit. | Courtesy of their humans
Calling all animal-loving politicos and policy wonks! Send us a photo of your pet getting into the holiday spirit. We just might feature the best ones in this newsletter. Text your best photo to 916-562-0685 (and don’t forget to tell us your pet’s name and any fun details!).
Many thanks to all the readers who sent in photos yesterday! Pictured above, from left to right: Sen. Susan Eggman’s cat Sourdough Misty; Republican consultant Matt Shupe’s dapper dog, Spartacus; and Beignet, courtesy of Corey Uhden, field representative for Assemblymember Marie Waldron.
BIRTHDAYS —Ronan Farrow … Puck’s Teddy Schleifer … Tal Kopan … Evergreen Strategy Group’s Maggie Polachek … Tomicah Tillemann ... (was Monday): Steven Spielberg … Alvin Eliot Roth … Leonard Maltin
WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Becky Beland McNaught, SVP of communications and external affairs at the Sacramento Kings and an alum of Gavin Newsom and Barbara Boxer, and John McNaught, a consultant at Russell Reynolds Associates and an alum of the Obama White House, Treasury and DHS, on Wednesday welcomed Colette Vivienne McNaught. Pic
TRANSITIONS — Veronica Perez is joining Mercury as a partner and co-chair of their California business. She previously had been CEO of Veronica Perez & Associates.
CALIFORNIA POLICY IS ALWAYS CHANGING: Know your next move. From Sacramento to Silicon Valley, POLITICO California Pro provides policy professionals with the in-depth reporting and tools they need to get ahead of policy trends and political developments shaping the Golden State. To learn more about the exclusive insight and analysis this subscriber-only service offers, click here.
Want to make an impact? POLITICO California has a variety of solutions available for partners looking to reach and activate the most influential people in the Golden State. Have a petition you want signed? A cause you’re promoting? Seeking to increase brand awareness amongst this key audience? Share your message with our influential readers to foster engagement and drive action. Contact Jesse Shapiro to find out how: jshapiro@politico.com.
