Monthly Archives: June 2017

SACRAMENTO It seemed like a sure bet for another display of Californias ultra-blue Resistance: Fresh with outrage over President Donald Trumps decision to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, the Democratic-dominated California Assembly considered a bill to curb both global warming and air pollution.

But in a surprising twist that illustrated how Californias Legislature isnt as knee-jerk liberal as the rest of the country thinks, the lower house rejected theclosely watched climate bill late Thursday night. To the dismay of environmentalists, it fell eight votes short amid a force that even politicians in Sacramento are not immune to: industry opposition.

Within its Democratic supermajority, Californias 80-member state Assembly includes business-friendly moderates known as Mod Dems who heed the state Chamber of Commerces list of job-killer bills.

And then there are the Democratic legislatorsfrom swing districts in more conservative parts of the state. With their seats on the line every two years, Assembly membersare in constant campaign-mode.

The Assemblys political complexity could doom big proposals coming its way this summer from the more predictably progressive Senate from bail reform to universal health care.

The health care measure, by Sens. Ricardo Lara, D-Bell Gardens, and Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, would replace private health insurance in California with a government-run health care system thathas energized the partys Bernie Sanders supporters and other progressives. But its sure to have a cooler reception among more centrist Democrats.

The universal health care bill passed out of the Senate Thursday without a funding plan, but it has long odds of making it through the Assembly especially once it includes the tax provisions needed to pay for it. Tax increases require a two-thirds vote in each house.

Asked to predict the bills chances in the Assembly, Assemblyman Adam Gray, a moderate Democrat from Merced, responded, I would think zero.

Gray called the Senates decision to release the bill without funding details an example of juvenile, irresponsible government.

Bill Whalen, a research fellow at Stanfords Hoover Institution, said Californias progressive proposals will generally hit two very big and very realistic speed bumps: a handful of lawmakers who listen to the business community and act accordingly, and the second speed bump is (Gov.) Jerry Brown.

Brown, who has fashioned himself as a fiscal moderate and the political grownup, has expressed skepticism about the challenges of creating a universal health care system in California. Many Capitol observers speculate he will veto any measure that comes to his desk.

If the governor sends such signals or even if he stays silent that gives cover to more centrist Democrats who tend to follow his lead on fiscal matters, Whalen said.

The governor has called on the Legislature to extend Californias signature cap-and-trade program which regulates greenhouse gases past 2020, but he has so far been silent on specific proposals, such as Assembly Bill 378, by Cristina Garcia, D-Bell Gardens. Thats the bill that failed late Thursday.

Garcias bill would have set emissions restrictions on individual power plants and factories, and it was fought by Big Oil and the powerful State Building & Construction Trades Council, which argued that the restrictions would hurt business.

The bills decisive failure caused sharp disappointment among the partys environmentalists.

Vanderwarker said she was struck by the disconnect between the anti-Trump rhetoric throughout the day and the vote tally 33-39 which fluctuated for well over 30 minutesas some Democrats went back and forth over whether to support it.It lost even thoughAssembly leaders thought they had the votes.

When it comes time to taking the tough votes and standing up to industry to make the changes that will directly improve the lives of low-income communities and communities of color, we dont see the votes, Vanderwarker said.

Hector Barajas, a longtime Republican Party strategist who now runs a public affairs firm representing the bail-bonds association and other business interests, said he generally finds the Assembly to be more receptive than the Senate.

Theres a little more independent thinking on the Assembly side, he said. If youve got something thats impacting jobs or impacting how we build youre probably going to have a more willing ear to listen to you over on the Assembly side than on the Senate.

Opponents of the bail-reform legislation warned it would create public safety risks and cause job losses throughout the bail-bonds industry.

You, the taxpayer, will pay to release these criminals, Duane Chapman, known as Dog the Bounty Hunter, said in a robo-call to some 800,000 phone lines last month. Car thieves, burglars, sexual predators and repeat offenders will get out of jail with little accountability, and we will not be able to go after them when they run.

As identical bail-reform measures by Assemblyman Rob Bonta, D-Oakland, and Sen. Bob Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys, headed to the floor of each house, Barajas said, lobbyists tried to make their case to each chamber, but they had less success in the Senate.

We were able to have a nice, open discussion a lot more with members of the Assembly, he said.

Hertzbergs bill to eliminate county bail schedules and replace it with a safety risk assessment of pre-trial detainees sailed out of the Senate on Wednesday, 26-11, even picking up some Republican support. But it could soon hit a roadblock.

Bontas bill failed late Thursday, 36-37, on the Assembly floor.

Continued here:

Is California's Legislature ultra-liberal? Not so fast - The Mercury News

Clark,after anews conference in Vancouver in which she admitted her government is likely doomed (Darryl Dyck/CP)

Imagine the Pittsburgh Penguins had left Sidney Crosby home for the Stanley Cup finals. The guy who told his teammates We can win this again, before the champagne had even run dry during last summers Stanley Cup celebrations. Their best offensive force, now entering the legacy-building stage of his career, who some nights seems to grind his way to a W on the force of will alone. To the B.C. Liberals, Christy Clark is Sidney Crosby.

She clinched a 2013 election victory not one pundit thought she stood a chance of winning, carrying her caucus on her back. She took a majority. Two years previous, shed won the Liberal leadership with the support of a single Liberal caucus member. Like Crosby, her best nights came when the odds were stacked against her. Like the Kid, people accuse her of being addicted to winning. Both have innate talents that cant be taught. For Clark, its the smile, the charisma, the boundless optimism. This spring, the fixed writ dropped just as she entered a legacy stage of her own.

Perhaps not surprisingly for a premier who fashions herself after the late W.A.C. Wacky Bennett, a right winger who ambitiously grew B.C.s a highway and ferry systems, Clark chose two massive infrastructure projects to mark her legacy: the $9-billion Site C dam, the largest hydroelectric project in B.C. history, and the $3.5-billion Massey Tunnel replacement, which was slated to become the largest bridge ever built in B.C.

But when the May 9 vote left her one seat shy of a majority, she needed a dance partner to stay on. The Greens went in minds wide open, says one member of the party with knowledge of the talks; they negotiated in good faith with both the Liberals and John Horgans NDP before settling on the latter earlier this week, throwing both of Clarks legacy projects into doubt (the NDP plans to punt Site C to the utilities commission for review, and Horgan reiterated this week that he will defer to the mayors when it comes to a decision on the 10-lane bridge).

READ MORE: Big changes in store for B.C. under NDP and Greens

It begs the question: why did the Liberals leave Clark out of negotiations, especially in the home stretch? With few scheduled meetings and speeches, and nothing in the way of media engagements, it is hard to imagine the premiers schedule was too jammed up to work them in. She wasnt even in her Victoria office, choosing to remain in her waterfront bureau in Vancouver, at the whim of ferry and flight schedules. She relied on her consiglieri, Mike McDonald to read the room and phone in his takeaway from the days deal-making. Her other negotiators included W.A.C.s grandson, Brad Bennett, a party donor Clark appointed to head BC Hydro; her finance minister, Mike de Jong; and the garrulous MLA Mike Bernier, the former Dawson Creek mayorthere to schmooze, one person present explained.

(Several sources for this story because they had signed non-disclosure agreements).

Whatever her reasoning, in absenting herself, Clark allowed Weaver and NDP leader John Horganwho arrived at the first meeting looking pale and anxious, according to one person presentto form a tight bond over the course of marathon negotiations. There was no love lost between the two men. During the campaign, Weaver had famously castigated Horgan for his temper, suggesting it could make cooperation with the Greens difficult. During the televised debate Weaver and Clark double-teamed the New Democrat leader, taking shots by turn. But as hours turned into days, a genuine warmth and friendship between Weaver and Horgan opened up, say those present; they came to see they had far more in common than either had ever realized. This includes a shared love for both rugby and paintball (yes, really).

When Weaver was first elected in 2013, cynics in the press gallery snickered at his enthusiasm and endearing navet. None is laughing now. Weaver turned out to be a surprisingly good strategist with a deft political touch, playing the two teams off one another, forcing the New Democrats, for example, to move up their planned fall session to summer, by warning them the Liberals had caved to their request to immediately recall the legislature. Youre going to have to do better, he told Horgan.

RELATED: NDP-Green pact lowers curtain on B.C. Liberal reign

Going into the weekend, some believed the Liberals held the advantage; in addition to the recall concession, theyd agreed to the Greens demands for official party status, campaign finance reform, even a referendum on proportional representation. But thats as close as they came.

Mid-Sunday, their team called the Greens in a panic, having apparently been tipped off that a deal with the NDP was imminent. The Greens agreed to bump up their Monday morning meeting to that night.

They met the Greens at Victorias Coast Harbourside, a mid-range waterfront hotel near Fishermans Wharf, a moorage with float homes, fresh seafood and a trio of portly harbour sealsone missing an eyeknown to beg for scraps. The Greens expected they would come with an offer in hand. They brought less than nothing, negotiators say.

Their team was spent. There had been no post-election breather for the three-person caucus. After a hard-fought 30-day campaign, Weaver and his two rookie MLAs, teacher and historian Sonia Furstenau and WSNE businessman Adam Olsen were almost immediately thrust into gruelling negotiations. They hadnt seen their kids in weeks, and were surviving on hotel food, bad coffee and Diet Coke.

That night, however, Weaver, was really on, says one negotiator. He was passionate and emotional, deriding the Liberals for ragging the puck, that is, deliberatelydragging their feeton the climate change file. Late in his tenure, former premier Gordon Campbell had a come-to-Jesus moment on the science of planetary warming, refashioning the B.C. Liberals as climate leaders, introducing North Americas first carbon tax and legislating emissions targets. Clark, however, froze what was meant to be a rising carbon tax, allowed B.C. to fall hopelessly behind on targets, and halted regulations on vehicles, fuels, buildings and waste management aimed at reducing emissions. These were real sticking points, said one Green negotiator.

RELATED: John Horgans roller-coaster ride on B.C. election night

None of the Greens are career politicians. Furstenau and her husband are part of a climate advocacy group that travels to Ottawa and Washington, D.C. to lobby politicians on their own dime. We were never in it to win, said one MLA. We went into politics to inject new ideason climate policy, participatory democracy, engagement. On May 9, the Green negotiator said, the cards fell in the most fascinating way possible, allowing us to put those ideas on the governments agenda.

By 9:30 that night, it was clear to Greens there was no hope of a Liberal deal, said one negotiator. Supporting the NDP was risky; had they thrown support to the Liberals, a strong majority would have ensured their desired legislation was passed. But in the end, we could not see ourselves supporting a continuation of that government, one negotiator explains.

Weaver and Horgan speak to media after announcing theyll be working together to help form a minority government THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito

Weaver had made up his mind that night, but he slept on it, and the following morning advised Liz Lilly, his chief of staff, to alert the NDP. Lilly then called Bennettto give him the bad news. The Liberals say they felt sandbagged by the decision, which the Greens consider curious. They felt Weaver had been crystal clear Sunday night: they were fed up with the Libs?, and the yawning gap betweenthe two parties was too greatto close. Later that morning, Weaver, a University of Victoria climate scientist who has published 16 academic papers since entering politics, ducked into the PhD thesis defence of his final grad student, shutting off his cell phone. He emerged hours later to join Horgan in the grand foyer of the provincial parliament buildings. Clark, still in Vancouver, tried reaching him one last time by cellphone. The premier left a message, then tried texting him, asking Weaver to call her. But by then it was too late.

Bernier says the Liberals, like the Greens, stuck to their core values in negotiations. And in the end, Clarks presence in Victoria may not have much mattered. Thats certainly the spin from the Liberal camp. They are also telling their foot soldiers to rally around the leader, that they will quickly be returned to power when the NDP minority government falls.

And yet Clark only endorsed Kinder Morgan in 2016. Would she have been willing to cave, and withdraw her support for the pipeline expansion project? Would that have been enough to push an agreement past the goal line? Would frank talk and promised of glory from the premier have helped? We may never know. But in do-or-die negotiations, a deft populist so skilled at the game of politics seems a bizarre healthy scratch.

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How the B.C. Liberals squandered their chance to keep power - Macleans.ca