Carla Marinucci
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POLITICO CA Playbook alum, ex-SFChron senior political writer. All things CA politics. Now also on Bluesky @cmarinucci.bsky.social Email: cmarinucci@gmail.com
Articles by Carla Marinucci
Barbara Boxer: An Oral History - Capitol Weekly
Twitter Facebook Email Love her or hate her, former U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer was one of the most influential and impactful politicians in California history. As such, when we sat down with her to conduct an oral history interview, we knew we needed someone as iconic as her to ask the questions. So we were thrilled to have the estimable Carla Marinucci of Politico do the honors.
Democrats weigh how to rework the recall
THE BUZZ — RECALL AND RESPONSE: It’s clear California Democrats want to overhaul the recall process. It’s less clear what that will look like. The Legislature’s first post-Newsom-victory hearing on changing the rules for ousting elected officials generated many ideas but little consensus. Elections committee chairs Steve Glazer (state Senate) and Marc Berman (state Assembly) made clear they believe changes to our 110-year-old system are overdue.
Newsom boosts the booster shot
THE BUZZ — WINTER IS COMING — Gov. Gavin Newsom rolled up his sleeves for a Moderna booster shot in Oakland on Wednesday, flexing his muscle to stress the efficacy of California’s Covid response. The state leads the nation in vaccinations and has successfully kept a lid on Covid infections — but even in this good mood, Newsom warned that the coming winter months threaten to undo the gains.
Another twist for California’s organized labor
THE BUZZ — SUCCESSION: Change could be coming to one of California’s most powerful political players. California politics-land was thrumming on Tuesday over a letter from San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council Secretary-Treasurer Brigette Browning — first publicly reported by KQED’s Katie Orr — endorsing Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez to be the next leader of the California Labor Federation.
Facebook’s status: Tarred and tarnished
THE BUZZ — TROUBLE AT 1 HACKER WAY: We’re old enough to remember the era when Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg was a golden boy to be courted in American politics. Zuck’s hoodied profile was once so hip that then-President Barack Obama made a trip to Facebook’s Bay Area headquarters just to hold a town hall meeting, and talk about the company’s deep value to American democracy. Facebook “is helping to revolutionize how people get information,...
Newsom reenacts his 2018 landslide win
THE BUZZ — A GLITCH IN THE MATRIX: It’s uncanny just how much the 2021 recall results look like 2018. The share of Californians who voted against recalling Gov. Gavin Newsom was identical to Newsom’s 2018 gubernatorial victory margin,according to the final, certified total Secretary of State Shirley Weber released on Friday. In 2018, Newsom defeated Republican John Cox by 61.9 percent to 38.1 percent.
Democrats get picky
THE BUZZ — ACCESS DENIED: The California Democratic Party is poised to start refusing checks from some major interest groups. Law enforcement and utilities have poured millionsinto party coffers in recent campaign cycles.Democratic activists want to cut them off, arguing that accepting their cash clashes with the party’s stated progressive values.
Newsom’s MO: Big ideas, short on specifics
THE BUZZ — NEWSOM’S LOFTY PROMISES: It’s an enduring source of frustration with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s leadership: the loftiness of his claims can outrun the reality.
Breed goes tough on crime
THE BUZZ — SF IN THE HEADLINES: San Francisco Mayor London Breed is trying to get tough on crime with a creative solution — a privately funded cash reward of as much as $100,000 for information leading to the arrest of members of organized crime rings involved in petty theft and the endemic car break-ins known as “smash-and-grabs.” Breed’s announcement Tuesday comes on the heels of a cavalcade of storiesportraying Fog City as a dystopian haven of destruction.
Assembly’s Gonzalez dishes on labor, Musk and ‘Striketober’
THE BUZZ — LORENA TALKS ‘STRIKETOBER,’ ELON AND LABOR: “Striketober” isn’t over yet, but there are already political lessons to be learned from a month that has generated big labor headlines from Hollywood to Silicon Valley. Among them, Democratic Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez of San Diego says, is just how much Covid has reshaped labor’s priorities and its power — and how some billionaires are still trying to push their workers to the limit.
Covid anger drives recall election targeting 3 San Francisco school leaders Original
In this Sept. 26, 2018, photo, Alison Collins, right, speaks during a meeting in San Francisco. | Liz Hafalia/San Francisco Chronicle via AP, File SAN FRANCISCO — Voters with "recall fever" will decide next year whether to remove three San Francisco school board members in one of the nation's most significant ouster attempts, fueled by parental anger over pandemic shutdowns and controversial school renamings where even Sen. Dianne Feinstein was deemed unworthy.
Salas to vie for Valadao’s vulnerable Valley seat
THE BUZZ — FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: California’s Central Valley will be the battleground for one of the country’s most-watched House races. Five-term Democratic Assemblymember Rudy Salas is launching a bid against incumbent Rep. David Valadao, a Republican who has earned former President Donald Trump’s wrath for being one of the eight remaining members of the House GOP to have backed his impeachment.
To glimpse the future of California recalls, look to LA and SF
THE BUZZ — RE-EXAMINING THE RECALL: The state’s nonpartisan Little Hoover Commission Thursday took a first look at what’s likely ahead as some Democrats push for reforming the state’s recall process. Fasten your seatbelts: If anything, California voters appear to embrace the recall process now more than ever. What’s driving recall fever?
Labor juggernaut’s takedown roils Sacramento
THE BUZZ — SEIU SHOCKER: Allegations against one of the state’s biggest power players — and the major labor union she ran — stunned Sacramento Wednesday. California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office announced a 13-count complaint alleging that Alma Hernandez, the executive director of the powerhouse 700,000-member Service Employees International Union California and her husband, Jose Moscoso, are guilty of perjury, tax fraud, embezzlement and failure to pay unemployment insurance taxes.
Is the next Gascón recall a ‘bipartisan fig leaf’?
THE BUZZ — LA DA RECALL REDUX: Another recall? Indeed. Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón will be facing a high-profile recall early next year. But already, there’s some interesting friction between two camps with the same goal: to oust him from office.
Recall over, bills signed - now what?
THE BUZZ — TURN, TURN, TURN: With some final swipes of his pen this weekend, Gov. Gavin Newsom closed out an unprecedented political year this weekend. That means it’s time to prepare for the next one. Policymaking in 2021 was less chaotic than in the pandemic’s inaugural year,although the virus still forced lawmakers to jettison some bills as Capitol cases proliferated.Even under the shadow of a recall election, some consequential policy came out of Sacramento.
Newsom praises 'extraordinary' Elon Musk despite Tesla HQ move to Texas
Newsom praises 'extraordinary' Elon Musk despite Tesla HQ move to Texas California Gov. Gavin Newsom is pictured speaking at a school in San Francisco on Sept. 7. | Justin Sullivan/Getty Images OAKLAND — Gov. Gavin Newsom lavished praise Friday on Elon Musk despite the Tesla CEO announcing one day earlier he plans to move his company’s headquarters from California to Texas, though the governor asserted that California had helped make the electric automaker what it is today.
New pandemic progress
THE BUZZ — MASKS ON, MASKS OFF: There was actually some good news on the Covid front Thursday, as health officers in nine Bay Area jurisdictions finally issued conditions under which indoor mask-wearing rules will be lifted for good. That prompted a series of celebratory tweets from San Francisco Mayor London Breed: “On October 15, SF will begin easing mask requirements in indoor settings where stable cohorts of fully vaccinated people gather.
Where California stands now on vaccination requirements
THE BUZZ — SHOTS IN THE DARK: Ten months after the first shots went into Californians’ arms, coronavirus vaccines remain at the center of our state’s politics. The Los Angeles City Council enacted one of the nation’s toughest indoor vaccination mandates on Wednesday.Assuming Mayor Eric Garcetti signs the ordinance, the more than 10 million residents of California’s most populous county will need to show proof of inoculation to patronize a variety of indoor businesses.
Newsom casts himself as a uniter
THE BUZZ — NEWSOM HEADS TO RECALL COUNTRY: Gov. Gavin Newsom hit Fresno Tuesday to sign some big education bills, but there was no escaping the tough political realities he faces in red California. While Newsom may have beaten the recall in a landslide, more than a dozen counties within the rural, conservative and oft-overlooked Central Valley voted to recall him, Fresno County among them.
Oil spill in OC revives push to halt new drilling
THE BUZZ — CRUDE MEASURES: Decades after a catastrophic oil spill off the coast of Santa Barbara, another spill now inundating Southern California’s coastal waters has elected officials determined to prevent a repeat.
Newsom dodges questions on Thurmond’s troubles — but for how long?
THE BUZZ — TALE OF TWO TONYS: Last week, as the U.S. reached the incomprehensible milestone of 700,000 dead from Covid-19, Gov. Gavin Newsom made national news by announcing California would be the first state in the nation to mandate the vaccine for all public school students and staff, as POLITICO’s Victoria Colliver and Carla reported Friday.
California To Mandate Student Covid Vaccines Once FDA Gives Full Approval
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Friday that California will mandate student vaccines for Covid-19 once federal officials fully approve the immunizations, becoming the first state to declare that requirement, though it likely will not take effect until next school year.
California to mandate student Covid vaccines once FDA gives full approval
SAN FRANCISCO — Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Friday that California will mandate student vaccines for Covid-19 once federal officials fully approve the immunizations, becoming the first state to declare that requirement, though it likely will not take effect until next school year.
California to mandate student Covid vaccines once FDA gives formal approval
Socially distanced students work on an art project during class at the Sinaloa Middle School in Novato, Calif. Haven Daley, File/AP Photo SAN FRANCISCO — Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Friday that California will mandate student vaccines for Covid-19 once federal officials fully approve the immunizations, becoming the first state to declare that requirement, though it likely will not take effect until next school year.
California to mandate student Covid vaccines once FDA gives formal approval
Socially distanced students work on an art project during class at the Sinaloa Middle School in Novato, Calif. | Haven Daley, File/AP Photo SAN FRANCISCO — Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Friday that California will mandate student vaccines for Covid-19 once federal officials fully approve the immunizations, becoming the first state to declare that requirement, though it likely will not take effect until next school year.
Cascade of criminal justice laws lock in California’s turn towards reform
THE BUZZ — REFORM WAVE: Forget the Giants and the Dodgers for a moment. California’s criminal justice reformers have also been on an historic run lately. Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday bolstered the growing body of legal checks on law enforcement’s power. Preeminent among the bills Newsom signed was a measure enabling California to strip the badges from officers who abuse their authority.
Newsom faces 'anger and ire and frustration’ on homelessness
THE BUZZ — ENCAMPMENTS, ANGER AND ANGST — Gov. Gavin Newsom was signing bills and talking up the homelessness issue Wednesday in Los Angeles. Which is why Fran Quittel was fuming. And why Quittel — a lifelong Democrat who voted against recalling the governor — and the Republicans who pushed for Newsom’s outster may find themselves on common ground these days.
In Oakland, Newsom makes headway on affordable housing agenda
THE BUZZ — A BIG CHANGE IN OAKLAND: Gov. Gavin Newsom’s decision to come to Coliseum Connections, a, shiny new 110-unit apartment building, to sign 27 housing bills dramatized the transformative power of affordable housing in East Oakland, what used to be one of the most notorious neighborhoods in the East Bay. FELIX’S TURF — Decades ago, theblocks in the shadow of the Oakland Coliseum were dominated by run-down public housing and run by East Oakland drug lords.
So dawns the era of mail-in voting
THE BUZZ — ARMCHAIR VOTERS: California voters can mail it in indefinitely. Our temporary transition to universal mail voting became permanent on Monday,as Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation directing county elections officials to mail ballots to every registered, active voter in future elections. This caps California’s gradual march to a mail-based system, which was underway before 2020 but accelerated by the pandemic and arrives amid a national struggle over voting rights.
After recall’s failure, California’s Republicans face their fate
THE BUZZ — ASSESSING THE DAMAGE — It took a decade of electoral defeats and the humiliation of this month’s failed gubernatorial recall. But as the California Republican Party gathered in San Diego over the weekend for its biannual convention, the bleak reality finally sunk in. For the foreseeable future, as even party stalwarts here concluded, Republicans will likely not win top-of-the-ticket statewide races — or even compete seriously in them.
Elder energizes California GOP but steers party against the tide
Supporters of Republican conservative radio show host Larry Elder pray while Errol Webber holds up a cutout of Elder's face as polls close for the California gubernatorial recall election on Sept. 14, 2021. | Ashley Landis/AP Photo OAKLAND — California voters’ staggering rejection of the Gov. Gavin Newsom recall was bad enough for the state's Republicans.
De León on race for LA mayor: ‘Bring it on’
THE BUZZ — KDL IS IN: An increasingly crowded field of candidates is vying for the top job in the City of Stars, ahead of an election late next year. But Los Angeles City Council member Kevin de León says he offers something unique, particularly on the key issues of housing costs and homelessness: He’s been there.
NEW: Oakland home invasion that killed high-profile education advocate Dirk Tillotson appears targeted: police
Northern California Environmentalists Respond to Massive Huntington Beach Oil Spill | KQED One of the largest oil spills in recent Southern California history fouled popular beaches that could end up closed for months as crews scrambled … Surfer bitten by shark is saved by tourniquet of surfboard leashes in California A shark bit a surfer as he paddled out to the waves off a Sonoma County beach near Bodega Bay on Sunday morning, California authorities say.
Breed faces blowback for maskless night out
THE BUZZ — LONDON CALLING: San Francisco Mayor London Breed is learning the lessons of political life in the Covid era: No one gets a pass. The Democrat, already facing criticism for her restrictive coronavirus rules, on Wednesday was photographed while singing and dancing in a packed jazz club — with no masks in sight.
Two of Newsom's children test positive for Covid-19
California Gov. Gavin Newsom. | Justin Sullivan/Getty Images OAKLAND — Two of California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s children have tested positive for Covid-19, though the governor has not, his office said Friday. The children, who were not named to protect their privacy, have mild symptoms and will be quarantined. "The governor's children tested positive for COVID-19," Newsom spokesperson Erin Mellon said in a statement Friday night.
Newsom turns to avalanche of bills
THE BUZZ — BILL TIME: It’s back to work for the triumphant Gov. Gavin Newsom. He has about 700 items on his to-do list. Having decisively defeated the recall, Newsom now turns fully to the business of governing (at least, until the 2022 campaign starts in a few months). First up will be summiting Bill Mountain. Lest you forget, the legislative session ended late last week. Now Newsom has a little over three weeks to decide whether hundreds of measures become law.
Democrats look to restrain recall
THE BUZZ — MOVING RIGHT ALONG: Now that Gov. Gavin Newsom has successfully beaten back a recall, California Democrats are moving onto their next project: preventing a repeat.
How Gavin Newsom survived the recall
Against that backdrop, principals involved in the campaign detailed a furious effort by Newsom's campaign to put the race out of Republicans' reach. The turning point for the campaign, according to Newsom’s strategists, came in the governor’s adoption of aggressive mask and vaccine mandates — both widely popular in California — and in Newsom’s avalanche of spending depicting his top Republican opponent, Larry Elder, as an anti-science clone of former President Donald Trump.
How Gavin Newsom Survived The Recall
For a moment this summer, Gavin Newsom’s inner circle feared the effort to recall him could be drawing uncomfortably close. In late July and early August, the Delta variant of the coronavirus was raging, threatening school reopenings in the fall. Public polling showed many Democrats were so apathetic about voting that it was possible — if turnout was low enough — that a Republican could win.
Newsom defeats recall in blue blowout
THE BUZZ — A BLUE BLOWOUT: California Republicans hoped to deliver Gavin Newsom’s political death knell through a recall driven by grassroots activism — but Tuesday night’s decisive rejection of their efforts at the polls likely boosts the California governor’s fast-track to reelection in 2022 and beyond. And he may even have set up a road map for Democrats nationwide, proving they can lean into aggressive Covid responses as a path to victory in 2022.
Ready or not, it’s recall day
THE BUZZ — THE BIG DAY: Two million signatures, 46 candidates, 22 million ballots mailed (and more than 8 million returned) and hundreds of millions of dollars later, here we are: Election Day. President Joe Biden stands with Gov. Gavin Newsom during a campaign rally at at Long Beach City College, Monday, Sept. 13, 2021. | AP Photo/Evan Vucci This recall campaign has fundamentally been a story of the pandemic. Gov.
California’s recall election, in photos
Democrats may have Republican Larry Elder, right, to thank if California Gov. Gavin Newsom, left, survives Tuesday's recall election. | Getty Images & AP Photo California’s gubernatorial recall has been a stomach-churning political roller coaster ride for Gov. Gavin Newsom — one that looked at the start like a longshot, and even a crazy impossibility, in the deep-blue state.
‘This is a game of Russian roulette’: Gray Davis on the Newsom recall
Former California Democratic Gov. Gray Davis gestures during a Capitol news conference. | AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli OAKLAND — Former California Gov. Gray Davis may be the only person on the planet who gets what Gov. Gavin Newsom is going through these days, trying to salvage his political future while managing a major crisis. "It’s not fun," said Davis, who was recalled in the 2003 election that brought Arnold Schwarzenegger to power, the only time a California governor has been ousted.
Final frenzy - will women save NEWSOM?
THE BUZZ — GRAY’S BEEN THERE: Gray Davis has some comforting advice for Gavin Newsom in the final 48 hours of the California recall election — no, 2021 will not be 2003. The biggest difference: “In my day, the Democratic and Republican parties were pretty evenly divided,’’ the former California governor — the only state governor to be recalled in history — tells Carla in an interview.“There has been a massive shift to Democrats over the past 18 years.
End of session already?
THE BUZZ — END OF SESSESION: Welcome to an eerily quiet end of California’s legislative session. That prediction may prove comically wrong in 24 hours. While the rule that amendments must be in print for 72 hours before a vote has diminished the number of late-proliferating gutted-and-amended bills (new legislation in old vessels, for the uninitiated), you should still expect the unexpected.
‘We’re in a really good place,’ Newsom says as recall looms
California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a No on the Recall campaign event with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on Sept. 8, 2021 in San Leandro, Calif. | Justin Sullivan/Getty Images SAN FRANCISCO — Gavin Newsom is feeling good. The California governor spent weeks warning of the mortal danger posed by the GOP-driven recall election. He whipped Democrats into a tizzy over turnout worries. He called in Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and even Barack Obama to help.
Harris touches down for East Bay blitz
THE BUZZ — HARRIS SAYS HELLO: It lasted all of 12 minutes from start to finish, but Vice President Kamala Harris’ San Leandro appearance as the star reliever for embattled Gov. Gavin Newsom — flying in from and back out to D.C., no stops — said everything about how confident California Democrats and Gavin Newsom are feeling with less than a week until Election Day.
The California Recall: Newsom’s Position Has Improved Down the Stretch
KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE — The pandemic fueled the recall campaign against Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), but its continued salience has arguably helped him at the end of the campaign. — The emergence of conservative commentator Larry Elder as Newsom’s top Republican challenger has given Newsom a useful foil, to the consternation of some recall backers. — Even if Newsom wins the recall, it will have come at a hefty price tag both for Democrats and for taxpayers.
‘We’re in a really good place,’ Newsom says as recall looms
“I’ve been out in every part of the state, and you sort of feel, you don’t intellectualize, you feel where you are, you get a sense,” Newsom said during a wide-ranging interview with POLITICO. “And I feel like we’re in a really good place right now.” He has reason to feel that way: Poll after poll in recent days say he’s going to win. The recall to defeat him will go down by double digits. His message to Democrats — don’t even bother picking a candidate to replace him — seems to have sunk in.
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