Bonta touts gun seizures + DCCC sets its sights + Hochman runs in LA + Pelosi to speak

Good morning and welcome to the A.M. Alert!

BONTA RELEASES REPORT ON ‘ARMED AND PROHIBITED PERSONS’

California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Monday announced the release of the 2022 “Armed and Prohibited Persons System” report, detailing the state’s efforts to catalog individuals who are prohibited by law from owning firearms.

The database includes people who have been convicted of a felony or violent misdemeanor, who are currently under a restraining order or who suffer from serious mental illness.

The program in 2022 resulted in the seizure of more than 1,400 firearms, including 54 “ghost guns” (guns without a serial number) and one machine gun. Law enforcement also seized more than 2,400 magazines — including 308 “large capacity” magazines — and more than 280,000 rounds of ammunition through the program.

As of the beginning of 2023, there are more than 3.3 million registered firearm owners in the state, with nearly 24,000 (less than 1%) in the prohibited persons database.

Bonta praised the agents responsible for seizing all that ordinance in a statement Monday.

“These brave agents are rarely in the spotlight, but they are working every day to prevent gun violence from ever happening by removing dangerous weapons from communities. When guns are in dangerous hands, it puts the public at risk,” Bonta said in a statement.

DCCC TARGETS 8 CALIFORNIA SEATS FOR 2024

California helped to turn the tide in 2022 for Republicans, who won a narrow majority in the U.S. House. In 2024, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is banking on the Golden State in their bid to retake the speaker’s gavel.

The DCCC on Monday announced that it is focusing on seven vulnerable Republican incumbents and one open seat for next year’s presidential election.

So who’s on the committee’s radar?

There’s Rep. Kevin Kiley in CA-03, Rep. John Duarte in CA-13, Rep. David Valado in CA-22, Rep. Mike Garcia in CA-27, Rep. Young Kim in CA-40, Rep. Ken Calvert in CA-41, Rep. Michelle Steel in CA-45, and then the open seat in CA-47.

In a statement, the DCCC noted that Duarte won his seat in 2022 by just 564 votes, while President Joe Biden won Garcia’s district in 2020 by 12.6 points.

“The path to the Democratic majority could run through California. After protecting the now open CA-47, Democrats only need to flip 5 seats to reclaim the majority – and California has 5 districts currently represented by Republicans that President Biden won in 2020,” the DCCC said.

Now that the DCCC has set its sights on those competitive districts, the cash spigots are sure to start flowing. In 2024, the DCCC is setting up nominee fund pages for its chosen candidates, which allows for small-dollar, grassroots donors to contribute to those campaigns.

HOCHMAN RUNS FOR LA DISTRICT ATTORNEY

With his 2022 defeat in the race for California Attorney General on the books, Nathan Hochman is looking to the future. On Monday, he announced that he is running to unseat embattled reformer George Gascón as Los Angeles County District Attorney.

Hochman, who changed his political affiliation from Republican to independent (according to a tweet from LA Times journalist James Queally), is banking on his background as a former federal prosecutor who “will bring balance back to our justice system,” according to his campaign website.

Hochman has the endorsement of former three-term LA County District Attorney Steven Cooley, (2000-2012) who said in a statement, “The current DA is a failure in virtually all respects. I know what it takes to lead the largest local prosecution office in the United States, and Nathan Hochman is the best candidate to restore honesty, integrity, professionalism, and independence to the role of District Attorney in Los Angeles County.”

Hochman has quite a hill to climb. In 2022, he secured 758,529 votes in Los Angeles County, or 32.6% of the total vote. In 2020, Gascón received more than 2 million votes, 53.5% of the total.

NANCY PELOSI TO KEYNOTE 2023 CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATIC PARTY CONVENTION

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, will address assembled Democratic Party delegates and operatives when they gather for the California Democratic Party Convention next month.

CADEM Chair Rusty Hicks praised Pelosi in a statement released Monday.

“From defending the Constitution of the United States, to leading the American people out of the global pandemic, to spearheading some of the most impactful environmental legislation in history, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi continues to pave the way for Democratic leaders,” Hicks said.

Pelosi will join other speakers, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, Senate President pro Tem Toni Atkins, and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon in addressing the party faithful this May.

Pelosi’s speech comes two months after her successor, Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, addressed members of the California Republican Party at their convention.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Took the family to the Civil Rights Museum in Jackson to see their powerful exhibit on Emmett Till. His tragic story sparked anger and fear— and a powerful movement. It’s a stark reminder of our nation’s history — and how important it is that we teach our kids about it.”

- Gov. Gavin Newsom, discussing his Deep South family vacation/political tour, via Twitter.

Best of The Bee:

• Two and a half years after Gov. Gavin Newsom enacted new laws meant to provide better community-based alternatives to California’s violence-plagued youth prisons, advocates are going to court to fend off the formation of what they say is a new “shadow” juvenile justice system, via Maggie Angst.

• The copious amount of rain and snow that accelerated California’s drought recovery has triggered the state’s next public health concern — and this one sucks your blood, via Brianna Taylor.

• Back-to-back storms at the start of the new year put one Sacramento-area farm 3 feet underwater, drowning crops and squelching income, via Hanh Truong.

• A cavalcade of winter storms have pushed California to an all-time high. State water officials on Monday announced the deepest snowpack ever recorded across the Sierra Nevada using automated sensors, edging a mark that stood for four decades and tied with a 1952 record that was conducted manually, via Michael McGough.