‘This is a dire matter.’ California elected official calls for kicking Trump off the ballot

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KOUNALAKIS URGES WEBER TO BOOT TRUMP FROM THE BALLOT

Now that the Colorado Supreme Court has set the precedent for removing former President Donald Trump from the ballot in that state, Secretary of State Shirley Weber should take action to do the same in the Golden State, according to a letter written by Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis on Wednesday.

“I am prompted by the Colorado Supreme Court’s recent ruling that former President Donald Trump is ineligible to appear on the state’s ballot as a presidential candidate due to his role in inciting an insurrection in the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. This decision is about honoring the rule of law in our country and protecting the fundamental pillars of our democracy,” Kounalakis wrote in the letter.

Kounalakis praised the Colorado Supreme Court’s Anderson v. Griswold ruling.

“California must stand on the right side of history. California is obligated to determine if Trump is ineligible for the California ballot for the same reasons described in Anderson. The Colorado decision can be the basis for a similar decision here in our state. The Constitution is clear: You must be 35 years old and not be an insurrectionist,” she wrote.

Kounalakis said that while there will be “inevitable political punditry” about the court’s decision, “this is not a matter of political gamesmanship.”

“This is a dire matter that puts at stake the sanctity of our Constitution and our democracy,” she wrote.

Time is of the essence, Kounalakis wrote. Weber must announce the certified list of candidates for the state’s March 5 primary on Dec. 28.

California Republicans, who have stood by Trump through two impeachments and multiple felony indictments, were not amused by the letter.

MAGA congressional candidate David Giglio, who is running to succeed former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, issued a statement calling for a recall against Kounalakis.

“Any politician who, absent any sound legal reasoning, endorses stripping voters of their right to vote for a candidate they support does not belong in public office and that’s why I am officially demanding the start of recall proceedings against. Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis,” Giglio said in a statement.

KILEY WARNS OF A PRESIDENT HARRIS OR NEWSOM

Via David Lightman...

Look out, says Rep. Kevin Kiley. Should Vice President Kamala Harris or Gov. Gavin Newsom become president, the country’s going to have big problems.

Kiley, R-Rocklin, said he was asked to write about who would be worse to have in the White House, Harris or Newsom.

“It is a very tough question,” he wrote on his blog.

He didn’t really choose, but said that “Since the thought of either occupying the Oval Office is terrifying, I used the opportunity to describe how their shared radical politics have ruined San Francisco, are ruining California, and already infecting the rest of the country.”

Kiley wrote a two page article in the December Ripon Forum, published by the center-right Ripon Society, about his thoughts.

He maintained that both Harris and Newsom “holds an office where it would seem there’s only one way up: The Oval Office.”

Harris made an unsuccessful run for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. Newsom has repeatedly denied he’s interested in running for the White House in 2024, though he’s pursued national forums to offer his views recently.

Look out, said Kiley. If either or both run, “American voters will soon be asked to nationalize a brand of governance that originated in a distinctive political environment.”

That environment is the city of San Francisco. Newsom was its mayor from 2004 to 2011. Harris was the city’s district attorney at the same time. In 2010, Newsom was elected lieutenant governor and Harris was elected state attorney general.

Harris won a U.S. Senate seat in 2016 and was elected vice president four years later. Newsom was elected governor in 2018 and won a second term last year.

To Kiley, ”Newsom and Harris catered their platforms to a political culture far removed from the mainstream of American life.” Their stints as mayor and district attorney, he said, “pushed the outermost reaches of progressive politics.”

Though neither has held local office for a dozen years, Kiley charged they “played starring roles in San Francisco’s decline.”

He argued Harris, as attorney general, “helped spread the lawlessness of her city statewide.” Harris actually billed herself as the state’s “top cop” and some of her tough-on-crime policies were criticized by activists in communities of color..

Still, Kiley argued, Harris and Newsom have already influenced national policy and helped turn it leftward. “This is why, should Newsom or Harris become the Democratic nominee, any attempt to distance themselves from San Francisco will be disingenuous,” he said.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“After 21 months of wrongful detainment at the hands of the Maduro regime, Eyvin Hernandez is finally coming home. A public defender and a beloved member of his community, Eyvin’s absence brought angst and fear to his loved ones for far too long. I am proud to have fought relentlessly alongside Eyvin’s family, friends, federal lawmakers, and the State Department’s Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs to secure his release.”

- Sen. Alex Padilla, in a statement following the release of Californians Eyvin Hernandez and Savoi Wright from Venezuelan custody.

Best of The Bee:

• Former President Donald Trump is still on the March 5 primary election ballot in the state of California — for now, via Jenavieve Hatch.

• California Democrats are taking on statewide retail theft, creating a dilemma for a party constantly facing “soft on crime” criticisms: as they try to tackle an issue of public concern without undoing criminal justice reforms, via Lindsey Holden.

• Despite millions of dollars being spent to combat the crisis, Sacramento County’s population of chronically homeless individuals is now the third-highest in the nation, via Ryan Lillis.

• California’s state worker unions saw membership rates dip ever so slightly in 2023, even as the total number of rank-and-file employees increased, via Maya Miller.