| | | | |  | | By Dustin Gardiner and Lara Korte | Presented by Elected Officials to Protect America - Code Blue | | 
Mark Farrell, who is running for San Francisco mayor in November, has disavowed comments from a fundraiser who mocked Covid protections and called the city a "joke of lawlessness and wokeism." | Justin Sullivan/Getty Images | THE BUZZ: PAINT THE TOWN RED — A recent fundraising event in ultra-liberal San Francisco highlights the tricky maneuvering Democrats face as they try to appeal to voters’ frustrations over crime — without sounding too much like Republicans. Playbook obtained a recording of the fundraiser, which captured the commentary as former interim SF Mayor Mark Farrell — incumbent London Breed’s top rival to keep her job — was introduced to the crowd at a wine bar in the ritzy Marina neighborhood. His host, local commercial real-estate broker Larry Buck, lauded Farrell and then launched into what closely mirrored GOP talking points. “We have devolved into an international joke of lawlessness and wokeism, rewarding laziness and punishing those that work hard,” Buck said, according to a recording of the July 16 fundraiser. Buck also mocked San Francisco’s aggressive vaccine and mask mandates during the Covid pandemic, arguing those public-health measures were the start of downtown’s “doom loop.” He called Breed a socialist and blamed her for the city’s retail theft and homelessness problems. Farrell, who spoke immediately after Buck, complimented his host’s assessment: “Sometimes I go through the nasty scenarios on where we are honestly. I think Larry did a great job of that … Larry laid it out pretty compellingly.” The comments are surprising from a moderate Democrat but they come as Breed and several of her most formidable challengers have embraced tough measures to address voters’ concerns about crime and homelessness. Voters in the city have increasingly moved away from more progressive candidates and policies (most notably, with the recall of former progressive District Attorney Chesa Boudin). In an interview later with Playbook, Farrell disavowed Buck’s comments about “wokeism,” laziness in San Francisco and the city’s pandemic-era mandates (which he said he supported). Farrell said he didn’t feel like the fundraiser was the appropriate setting to call out his host’s statements. “It wasn’t worth my time to go line-item by line-item disagreeing with his views,” Farrell said. “I am a proud born and raised San Francisco Democrat. I am running for mayor because London Breed has failed at her job.” But Breed, also a moderate, business-friendly Democrat, is seizing on the opening and arguing Farrell has gone too far right. She compared him to former Republican President Donald Trump — a caricature she’s painted as she tries to simultaneously court progressive voters. “Depending on who he’s in front of, he’s saying what he needs to say,” Breed told Playbook after she listened to the recording. “I don’t have to go around telling people I’m a Democrat. He has to say it because people think he’s a Republican.”
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San Francisco Mayor London Breed. | Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP | Buck stood by his comments at the fundraiser and argued to Playbook that Covid masks and vaccines “don’t do anything.” Unprompted, he outlined his views opposed to transgender people competing in women’s sports and sharing team locker rooms. “I think women’s rights are being taken away right now by what you call wokeism,” Buck said. But he said he’s a registered independent and objected to the notion that his comments reflected conservative views. Farrell’s campaign said he had not met Buck prior to the fundraiser and disavowed his views on trans athletes. The campaign said Buck had not contributed to Farrell and that he would return any money if Buck gives in the future. Breed has a careful line to toe here with Farrell: She’s trying to compete with him on holding similar tough-on-crime beliefs while also not alienating voters who might prefer another rival: Her other leading opponents are Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin — a progressive who has called Breed too conservative for the city — and Daniel Lurie, a nonprofit executive and Levi Strauss heir who’s polling in a close third place. A poll released last week by the centrist advocacy group Grow SF suggests Breed’s current strategy could work. It showed Breed ultimately defeating Farrell — albeit narrowly — if she could pick up supporters from Peskin under San Francisco’s ranked-choice voting system. But the poll also showed nearly a fifth of San Francisco voters are still undecided — and that means the attacks over ideology are likely to intensify. GOOD MORNING. Happy Monday. Thanks for waking up with Playbook. We’re glad to be back in your inboxes after a momentous week in American politics. You can text us at 916-562-0685 — save it as “CA Playbook” in your contacts. Or drop us a line at lkorte@politico.com and dgardiner@politico.com, or on X — @DustinGardiner and @Lara_Korte. WHERE’S GAVIN? Newsom spent the weekend surveying damage from the Park Fire and meeting with emergency crews in Butte County. No public events scheduled today. His office said Newsom will spend the day in meetings and briefings.
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Rep. Josh Harder, a Democrat from the Central Valley, represents one of three blue seats that Republicans are focused on flipping in California. | Justin Sullivan/Getty Images | FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: BRING IN THE BIG GUNS — Three GOP House candidates in competitive California race are part of this year’s class of the National Republican Congressional Committee’s “Young Guns” — a program that boosts the party’s most promising non-incumbent candidates. Earning the designation are Kevin Lincoln, the Stockton mayor running against Democratic Rep. Josh Harder in CA-9; Matt Gunderson, an auto dealership owner challenging Democratic Rep. Mike Levin in CA-49; and Scott Baugh, who is running for an open seat in CA-47 against Democratic state Sen. Dave Min. (This is the second time Baugh has earned the designation. He was named to the program in 2022 when he ran against Rep. Katie Porter.) "Extreme House Democrats' border, crime and cost of living crises wrecked Americans' safety and security," said NRCC Chairman Richard Hudson. "Fortunately, these Republican candidates are already well on their way to running winning campaigns that will grow our House majority in November." The Young Guns initiative, which requires candidates to hit certain benchmarks to work their way through the program, was the brainchild of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy. The branding can help juice the fundraising for candidates, much like House Democrats’ “Red to Blue” program. This year, the NRCC has named two dozen candidates to Young Gun status. — Melanie Mason
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Former Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs. | | FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: TUBBS MAKES A SPLASH — Former Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs’ camp said he raked in $408,000 during the first week of his campaign for California lieutenant governor. That’s a serious haul for a down-ballot race, especially considering the 2026 race for the No. 2 statewide office is more than two years away — not to mention that donors already have a host of intense contests on the ballot this year. Tubbs’ team said 87 percent of his donors contributed $100 or less. NOT THE RUST BELT — Republican vice presidential nominee and Ohio Sen. JD Vance will return to his old stomping grounds in the Bay Area today for a ritzy campaign fundraiser. Vance, who was previously an executive at the biotech company Circuit Therapeutics, has close ties with billionaire tech investors like Peter Thiel, David Sacks and Chamath Palihapitiya, who all cheered former President Donald Trump for picking Vance as his running mate. Admission to tonight’s dinner fundraiser in Palo Alto starts at $3,300 per person; couples can pay $55,000 to join the host committee. Posing for a photo with Vance, who wrote the memoir “Hillbilly Elegy” about his working-class upbringing in Ohio, will run donors $15,000. Vance will also make a fundraising swing through the Central Valley this week.
| | TOP TALKERS | | | | 
Vice president and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris. | Stephanie Scarbrough/AP | COPYCAT ALERT: Billionaire Elon Musk shared a parody video over the weekend that mimics the voice of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris. The video, which uses images closely resembling an actual Harris ad, has stirred concerns among Democrats who worry that artificial intelligence could be used to trick voters. Gov. Gavin Newsom responded in a post on X last night, arguing it should be “illegal” to manipulate a voice in a purported ad. He added: “I’ll be signing a bill in a matter of weeks to make sure it is.” Newsom’s office didn’t specify which bill, though there are several AI and election-related measures before lawmakers. Musk replied to the governor in schoolboyish fashion: “I checked with renowned world authority, Professor Suggon Deeznutz, and he said parody is legal in America.” Musk and Newsom are already in a public spat over the tech billionaire saying he’ll move the HQ for SpaceX and X to Texas from California. Meanwhile, SpaceX announced it will be moving its Dragon spacecraft splashdowns from Florida to Long Beach in 2025. CRIME AND CONSEQUENCES: Harris was California’s top cop during an era of profound change in the state’s criminal justice system, but she largely stayed on the sidelines of consequential fights over sentencing. Now, with Proposition 36 and progressive prosecutors back on the ballot along with Harris, she may find it harder to stay neutral, POLITICO’s Jeremy B. White and Emily Schultheis report. WALKING A LINE: Israel has emerged as an early — and volatile — test of Harris’ ability to navigate a fraught foreign policy issue that’s stumped U.S. leaders for decades. Trump has accused her of “running away” from the issue. At the same time, left-flank Democrats are strategizing how best to use their leverage to elicit more support for Gazans. As our colleagues Blake Jones, Sally Goldenberg and Eugene Daniels report, the middleground Harris has staked out could be a gamble. PARK FIRE UPDATE: State officials are moving quickly to respond to the Park Fire raging near Chrico, which grew to more than 350,000 acres over the weekend. It’s the largest active fire in the United States, and California’s most significant this season. Investigators say the fire was started by a suspected arsonist who allegedly pushed a burning vehicle down a hillside. (San Francisco Chronicle)
| | | AROUND THE STATE | | — Gavin Newsom is urging Oakland city leaders to overhaul the police department’s vehicle pursuit rules, which prohibit officers from chasing suspects in many cases. (San Francisco Chronicle) — Many San Diegans who were forced to leave their homes by January floods remain displaced months later. Renters whose homes were destroyed are still waiting for repairs and struggling to find housing in the meantime. (The San Diego Union-Tribune) — California surfers at the Olympics this week will contend with the world’s “heaviest wave” off the coast of Tahiti, halfway across the globe from the main games in Paris. It’s the second surfing tournament in Olympic history. (Los Angeles Time)
| | | PLAYBOOKERS | | | MEDIA MOVES — Benjamin Oreskes is now a statehouse correspondent for the New York Times. He previously was a politics staff writer for the Los Angeles Times. — Margaux MacColl is now a senior reporter covering tech culture for TechCrunch. She was previously a reporter covering tech culture for The Information. PEOPLE MOVES — Sophie Mittelstaedt is now comms director for the Congressional Progressive Caucus. She previously was comms director for Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.). — Denise Glagau has been promoted to California managing partner at the law firm Baker & McKenzie LLP. She will oversee its offices in San Francisco, Palo Alto and Los Angeles. — Rachel Zaentz was promoted to senior director for strategic and critical communications for the Office of the President at the University of California. BIRTHDAYS — Jason Levin … former Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.) BELATED B-DAY WISHES — (was Sunday): Voleck Taing of ACEC California … Anne Wojcicki ... Josh Curtis … Izek Shomof … (was Saturday): Elliot Schrage ... Jean “Gigi” Pritzker … Berin Szóka … Gaurav Parikh … Jacquelynn Burke … Saumitra Thakur … Michael M. Baden … (was Friday): Lesli Linka Glatter … Sam Schabacker … Lia Seremetis … Jeremy Piven … Barry Munitz … (was Thursday): Peter Suschitzky … Darren Star WANT A SHOUT-OUT FEATURED? — Send us a birthday, career move or another special occasion to include in POLITICO’s California Playbook. You can now submit a shout-out using this Google form. 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 Rebecca Haase to find out how: rhaase@politico.com. | | | | 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 | | | | |
