LOS ANGELES
Garvey backs Trump, Newsom all in for Biden
Leading up to the March primary, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Steve Garvey repeatedly refused to say directly whether he would vote for former President Donald Trump in November.
That prompted this zinger from Democratic Rep. Katie Porter in the first debate: “Once a Dodger, always a dodger.”
After advancing to the November election, this week the former Los Angeles Dodgers star confirmed that he voted for Trump in the March 5 primary and that he plans to do so in November, after also supporting Trump in 2016 against President Joe Biden.
“I think that he’s the most capable of the two candidates at this time,” Garvey told a Los Angeles news organization. Not only that, Garvey jumped on the bandwagon suggesting Biden should step aside after last week’s disastrous debate. He then added “I don’t think our eyes deceive us. … He’s clearly at a point in his life where he needs to step down.”
But, Garvey has an uphill climb to beat Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff in November. In the latest poll, Schiff leads Garvey 62% to 37% among likely voters. Gov. Newsom joined other Democratic governors Wednesday at the White House, to back the president, in Newsom’s latest public show of support for Biden. Newsom, in a social media post, after a closed-door meeting: “I heard three words from the president — he’s all in. And so am I. Joe Biden’s had our back. Now it’s time to have his.”
The governor is now headed for surrogate duty in Michigan, Pennsylvania and New Hampshire over the holiday weekend.
—Lynn La, CalMatters
SACRAMENTO
Why Juneteenth isn’t a full California state holiday
In 2021, President Biden recognized Juneteenth as a federal holiday and the state of California followed suit last year. But many state workers were on the job Monday, and the Legislature was in session.
So what gives?
The answer, in short, is that Juneteenth is not one of the 11 paid holidays that all state workers have off in California, despite many pronouncements and measures from state officials acknowledging the day’s significance.
Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer, a Los Angeles Democrat, last year authored a bill that established Juneteenth — a day that celebrates the end of slavery in the U.S. — as a state holiday. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the measure into law in September 2022 and Monday marked the first time it went into effect:
Newsom, in a statement: “This year, California is recognizing Juneteenth as an official state holiday for the first time. Because even as Juneteenth exposes our worst demons, it represents our better angels.”
The Assembly on Monday also passed a resolution (written by Jones-Sawyer as well) to recognize the holiday as “a day to honor and reflect on the significant role that African Americans have played in the history of the United States.”
In 28 other states, government offices are closed and all state workers have paid time off. In California, by contrast, eligible state workers can take Juneteenth off as one of four days they can designate as their personal holiday.
Some labor organizations and lawmakers want to change that. SEIU Local 1000, is including a proposal to make Juneteenth a paid state holiday in its contract negotiations.
And in the Legislature, state Sen. Steven Bradford, a Democrat from Inglewood, said during Monday’s floor session that legislators should advocate for Juneteenth to be a state holiday that “everyone has off.”
Bradford: “Again, African Americans had 250-plus years of no days off.”
Perhaps more consequential than whether workers will get Juneteenth off, however, is how the Legislature will vote on reparations. Final recommendations from the state-appointed California Reparations Task Force are due July 1. The state could distribute millions of dollars to eligible Black residents and enact policy changes to address racial inequities.
—Lynn La, CalMatters
