BayAreaGOP.com

Your Window On Bay Area Republican Politics

California Delivers Congressional Majority for Republicans

 

Congressional Republicans appear to have won at least 221 seats in Congress, three more than the required 218 to achieve an absolute majority.

Five of the closest races — and those last to be called for Republicans – were in California.  Congress members Mike Garcia, Young Kim, David Valadao, Michelle Steel and newcomer Kevin Kiley were the difference between replacing Nancy Pelosi as speaker and having Democrats control all three branches of government for another two years.

The California Republican Party, working closely with the National Republican Congressional Committee, deserves enormous credit for winning these seats, several of which were considered highly vulnerable at the beginning of this election cycle.

But the story of these victories begins more than a decade ago with the redistricting reforms championed by Governor Schwarzenegger and Charles Munger, Jr.

In 2008 after a number of failed attempts, Republicans led by Governor Schwarzenegger succeeded in passing Proposition 11 which created the California Citizens Redistricting Commission with the task of drawing legislative districts after the decennial census.  In doing so, the voters stripped the power to draw partisan gerrymandered senate and assembly districts from the Democratic legislative majority in Sacramento.  Two years later, Munger wrote and financed the successful campaign for Proposition 20, which added the responsibility to draw congressional districts to the scope of the Commission.  At the same time, voters defeated Proposition 27, sponsored by Congressional Democrats, which would have repealed Proposition 11 and disbanded the Commission.

Over the years, some Republicans have criticized these efforts, even though Republicans had been seeking these reforms unsuccessfully for decades.  And while the process wasn’t perfect, in 2020, instead of a partisan gerrymander which could have drastically cut the number of congressional districts represented by Republicans, the Commission drew lines which created competitive districts in a number of areas.  Republicans, who had lost seats in 2018 and won back four of them in 2020 by narrow margins, had a shot at holding on to these seats and possibly expanding their numbers.

While the final votes are still being counted, California Republicans have held their ground with a possibility of adding one additional Central Valley seat, John Duarte in CD 13, when elections are certified.

And Nancy Pelosi will no longer be serving as Speaker of the House.

Republicans can indeed celebrate during this holiday season.  But they should not forget to honor those whose visionary reforms helped make the current success a reality.

California Delivers Congressional Majority for Republicans

Congressional Republicans appear to have won at least 221 seats in Congress, three more than the required 218 to achieve an absolute majority.

Five of the closest races — and those last to be called for Republicans – were in California.  Congress members Mike Garcia, Young Kim, David Valadao, Michelle Steel and newcomer Kevin Kiley were the difference between replacing Nancy Pelosi as speaker and having Democrats control all three branches of government for another two years.

The California Republican Party, working closely with the National Republican Congressional Committee, deserves enormous credit for winning these seats, several of which were considered highly vulnerable at the beginning of this election cycle.

But the story of these victories begins more than a decade ago with the redistricting reforms championed by Governor Schwarzenegger and Charles Munger, Jr.

In 2008 after a number of failed attempts, Republicans led by Governor Schwarzenegger succeeded in passing Proposition 11 which created the California Citizens Redistricting Commission with the task of drawing legislative districts after the decennial census.  In doing so, the voters stripped the power to draw partisan gerrymandered senate and assembly districts from the Democratic legislative majority in Sacramento.  Two years later, Munger wrote and financed the successful campaign for Proposition 20, which added the responsibility to draw congressional districts to the scope of the Commission.  At the same time, voters defeated Proposition 27, sponsored by Congressional Democrats, which would have repealed Proposition 11 and disbanded the Commission.

Over the years, some Republicans have criticized these efforts, even though Republicans had been seeking these reforms unsuccessfully for decades.  And while the process wasn’t perfect, in 2020, instead of a partisan gerrymander which could have drastically cut the number of congressional districts represented by Republicans, the Commission drew lines which created competitive districts in a number of areas.  Republicans, who had lost seats in 2018 and won back four of them in 2020 by narrow margins, had a shot at holding on to these seats and possibly expanding their numbers.

While the final votes are still being counted, California Republicans have held their ground with a possibility of adding one additional Central Valley seat, John Duarte in CD 13, when elections are certified.

And Nancy Pelosi will no longer be serving as Speaker of the House.

Republicans can indeed celebrate during this holiday season.  But they should not forget to honor those whose visionary reforms helped make the current success a reality.

LIST OF UPCOMING GOP EVENTS

View more details for events on the Calendar of Upcoming Events or view the Monthly Calendar of Events.

Republicans Win Around the Bay

By Roger Riffenburgh

In November, Republicans won local elections around the Bay Area by focusing on the needs of their communities.  The wins included mayors, council members, school board members, and the reelection of Republican Ted Gaines to the Board of Equalization in District 1.

Jaime Patiño and Jeff Wang, who were profiled here in October, won their races in Union City.  Patiño, a council member who has been vice mayor, and Wang, an educator and entrepreneur who was on the city’s New Haven school board, ran for separate city council districts, and both won by over 10% of the vote.

There was considerable success in Santa Clara County’s “south county” area.  Mark Turner, recent president of the Gilroy Chamber of Commerce, was elected mayor of Morgan Hill, and Marilyn Librers was returned to the council after four years off.  In Gilroy, Tom Cline, a small business owner and longtime volunteer with the Gilroy Garlic Festival, won a council seat as top vote-getter, while incumbent Councilman Dion Bracco, a towing company owner, was also reelected.

In other mayor races, San Ramon reelected Mayor Dave Hudson.  In Monterey County, Greenfield elected Councilmember Bob White, owner of an insurance and real estate agency, as mayor, and Sand City reelected Mayor Mary Ann Carbone.

The Monterey GOP also had multiple winners in city council races:  Alissandra Dramov in Carmel, Elizabeth Silva in Gonzales, Rachel Ortiz in Greenfield, Mike LeBarre in King City, and Ed Smith in Monterey. Tom Jennings and Juergen B. Smith won in local school board races.

In Santa Clara County, the SVGOP sent direct mail and created digital advertising in support of its endorsed candidates.  Former Saratoga Mayor Chuck Page returned to the council, Milpitas Unified School Board member Hon Lien was the top vote-getter for Milpitas City Council, and Karen Hardy was reelected to the Santa Clara City Council.  School board members Jim Zito and Chris Norwood were reelected, while Mark Cooper and Pamela Gardiner were newly elected.

In San Benito County, Dom Zanger won a county supervisor seat.  The county party helped defeat Measures Q and R, which would have restricted development.  In San Mateo County, Atherton Vice Mayor Bill Widmer was reelected to the council, and former councilman Art Kiesel was returned to the Foster City Council.

In Solano County, Matthew Bidou was elected to the Travis Unified School board.  In addition, redistricting put Solano voters in District 1 of the partisan office of state Board of Equalization, where they will now be represented by Republican Ted Gaines.

San Francisco GOP Chair John Dennis reports, “The SFGOP had a robust precinct and GOTV effort including phone banking, direct mail, email and texting, leading to the defeat of Proposition O, a new parcel tax.”  In addition, he says, “One notable candidate success though is that new congressman Kevin Kiley got his start in politics on the SFGOP.”

Congratulations to the many volunteers, donors and candidates who made these election victories possible.

 

California Citizens Redistricting Commission – District Viewer

The Commission has developed a district viewer that allows you to more easily navigate visualizations and zoom in and out of geographic areas while layering congressional, State Senate and Assembly boundaries.

District Viewer Tool

Republicans Win Around the Bay

By Roger Riffenburgh

In November, Republicans won local elections around the Bay Area by focusing on the needs of their communities.  The wins included mayors, council members, school board members, and the reelection of Republican Ted Gaines to the Board of Equalization in District 1.

Jaime Patiño and Jeff Wang, who were profiled here in October, won their races in Union City.  Patiño, a council member who has been vice mayor, and Wang, an educator and entrepreneur who was on the city’s New Haven school board, ran for separate city council districts, and both won by over 10% of the vote.

There was considerable success in Santa Clara County’s “south county” area.  Mark Turner, recent president of the Gilroy Chamber of Commerce, was elected mayor of Morgan Hill, and Marilyn Librers was returned to the council after four years off.  In Gilroy, Tom Cline, a small business owner and longtime volunteer with the Gilroy Garlic Festival, won a council seat as top vote-getter, while incumbent Councilman Dion Bracco, a towing company owner, was also reelected.

In other mayor races, San Ramon reelected Mayor Dave Hudson.  In Monterey County, Greenfield elected Councilmember Bob White, owner of an insurance and real estate agency, as mayor, and Sand City reelected Mayor Mary Ann Carbone.

The Monterey GOP also had multiple winners in city council races:  Alissandra Dramov in Carmel, Elizabeth Silva in Gonzales, Rachel Ortiz in Greenfield, Mike LeBarre in King City, and Ed Smith in Monterey. Tom Jennings and Juergen B. Smith won in local school board races.

In Santa Clara County, the SVGOP sent direct mail and created digital advertising in support of its endorsed candidates.  Former Saratoga Mayor Chuck Page returned to the council, Milpitas Unified School Board member Hon Lien was the top vote-getter for Milpitas City Council, and Karen Hardy was reelected to the Santa Clara City Council.  School board members Jim Zito and Chris Norwood were reelected, while Mark Cooper and Pamela Gardiner were newly elected.

In San Benito County, Dom Zanger won a county supervisor seat.  The county party helped defeat Measures Q and R, which would have restricted development.  In San Mateo County, Atherton Vice Mayor Bill Widmer was reelected to the council, and former councilman Art Kiesel was returned to the Foster City Council.

In Solano County, Matthew Bidou was elected to the Travis Unified School board.  In addition, redistricting put Solano voters in District 1 of the partisan office of state Board of Equalization, where they will now be represented by Republican Ted Gaines.

San Francisco GOP Chair John Dennis reports, “The SFGOP had a robust precinct and GOTV effort including phone banking, direct mail, email and texting, leading to the defeat of Proposition O, a new parcel tax.”  In addition, he says, “One notable candidate success though is that new congressman Kevin Kiley got his start in politics on the SFGOP.”

Congratulations to the many volunteers, donors and candidates who made these election victories possible.

 

California Citizens Redistricting Commission – District Viewer

The Commission has developed a district viewer that allows you to more easily navigate visualizations and zoom in and out of geographic areas while layering congressional, State Senate and Assembly boundaries.

District Viewer Tool

LIST OF UPCOMING GOP EVENTS

View more details for events on the Calendar of Upcoming Events or view the Monthly Calendar of Events.

In the News

California Energy Policies Driving Higher Gas Prices

By: Edward Ring
californiapolicycenter.org
December 1, 2022

Just a few months ago, Gov. Gavin Newsom was bragging about California’s “$100 billion budget surplus.” At the same time, the California Policy Center was pointing out that the governor’s “surplus” was fantasy – that state and local governments owed about $1.6 trillion. In those heady days, however, with obliging media cheering him on, Newsom ignored reality and forged ahead with a record-breaking $300 billion state budget.

Newsom may come to regret this. We already do.

The latest revenue projections from the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) show our state budget for 2023-24 now faces a potential $24 billion deficit. The concern should focus on why there has been an explosion of state spending, yielding nothing but growing dysfunction.

By nearly every measure, things are worse today in California. Obvious examples include expensive and unreliable energy and water, failing schools, rising crime, unaffordable housing and college tuition, and an exploding homeless population. But that’s hardly the entirety of the bad news facing Californians. The decade-long run of record tax revenue spawned an avalanche of new regulations, driving up prices, discouraging expansion of big business and crushing small businesses. Through its spending priorities, California attracts the dependent and repels anyone striving for independence.

Read More

California Energy Policies Driving Higher Gas Prices

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 29, 2022

CONTACT: Brooke Armour
(916) 553-4093

SACRAMENTO— Rob Lapsley, president of the California Business Roundtable, issued the following statement today regarding the California Energy Commission’s hearing, “California Gasoline Price Spikes, Refinery Operations, and Transitioning to a Clean Transportation Fuels Future:”

“Today’s Energy Commission hearing today made clear that the combination of California energy policies are resulting in higher gas prices for all working families. Since 2010, the data is clear. The price of energy, especially fuel prices, has steadily increased as California has implemented new regulations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while also curtailing statewide exploration and supply. When you add record inflation, threats of a recession, and the ongoing cost-of-living crisis affecting all families and businesses, now is not the time to make the gas price crisis work by imposing taxes, penalties or other costs increases that will drive up the price of gas even higher, which will be paid for by those who can least afford it. The administration and Legislature need to move on from trying to mislead the public on the cost increases of their energy policies and shift its focus to implementing reliable, affordable, and equitable energy policies that achieve the goals in the most affordable way for all Californians.

“Today’s testimony also made it clear that price spikes are the inevitable result of state regulations and policies that have hurt the economic viability of producing fuels in this state. The testimony indicated California has already lost 9.8 percent of its refining capacity since 2019, and another refinery is expected to close soon. We cannot impose policies to phase out fossil fuels and not expect prices to be affected. Rather than policies to increase energy supplies and consequently bring stability to energy prices, the state continues to pursue policies such as a proposed tax that will reduce these needed investments even further.”

Read More

Report: California faces $25B budget deficit in 2023

By Marisa Kendall
MercuryNews.com
November 17, 2022

As the state teeters on the brink of a recession, California is in for a dizzying reversal likely to send us plunging from a record $100 billion surplus to a projected $25 billion shortfall next year, according to sobering new data from the state’s fiscal analyst.

The grim news isn’t as shocking as the numbers — the entire nation is grappling with inflation and soaring interest rates, and Gov. Gavin Newsom has been warning a downturn is coming. But the gloomy predictions — which, if true, would reflect the state’s weakest performance since the Great Recession — could impact everything from efforts to fight homelessness and climate change to the state’s ability to finish key transportation projects to Newsom’s political future.

“The numbers are pretty stark,” said Matt Regan, senior vice president of public policy for the Bay Area Council. “$25 billion is a very, very large sum of money.”

Read More

MENU

Pin It on Pinterest