The Dodgers can’t dodge controversy + First Partner laments drop in gender diversity

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

CALIFORNIA LAWMAKERS CALL OUT THE LA DODGERS FOR DROPPING DRAG NUNS FROM PRIDE EVENT

Wednesday was the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia. It was also the day that the LA Dodgers decided to disinvite a storied group of drag nuns from a planned Pride event in June.

“We are now aware that our inclusion of one group in particular — the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence — in this year’s Pride Night has been the source of some controversy,” the baseball team said in a statement on Twitter.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, that “controversy” seems to have started when Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (not exactly a Dodgers fan) sent an angry open letter to Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred chiding him for inviting a group of “men dressed like Catholic nuns who mock the (Catholic) faith with the motto ‘Go forth and sin some more!‘”

California elected officials weren’t having it.

“If they’re not invited, I’m not going. Celebrating Pride is about inclusion. Do better,” said Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath in a tweet.

LA-area lawmakers Assemblywoman Tina McKinnor, D-Inglewood, and Assemblyman Rick Chavez Zbur, D-Santa Monica, were likewise unhappy with the Dodgers’ decision.

“Check yourself @Dodgers. I stand with my sisters, ALL of my sisters. You should too,” McKinnor tweeted.

Zbur tweeted that he was “deeply saddened by the hate and ignorance perpetrated by leaders of other states for cheap political points.

“I am truly disappointed that our beloved LA Dodgers have given in to their manufactured outrage,” he wrote.

A couple of Bay Area lawmakers joined the chorus on Wednesday.

Assemblyman Matt Haney, D-San Francisco, tweeted out calling the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence “a national treasure,” while Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, wrote in a tweet that the group does “amazing, life-saving work in the community.”

“We expect more from our sports teams — even the Dodgers,” Wiener wrote.

GENDER DIVERSITY ON CALIFORNIA BOARDS DROPPED SLIGHTLY

Via Maggie Angst...

California may be leading the way in protecting women’s reproductive rights, but increasing their representation in leadership positions is proving more difficult.

California First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom and the California Partners Project released new data on Wednesday showing gender diversity on California’s public company boards dropped slightly for the first time since 2019.

The number of public company board seats held by women dipped for two consecutive quarters from 33.3% to 33%, according to a release from the California Partners Project. The new data comes one year after a state trial court blocked the implementation of Senate Bill 826, which mandated that all public companies headquartered in California add at least one female director by the end of 2019 and two to three by the end of 2021, depending on the company size.

Despite the latest dip, California has more than doubled the number of seats held by women in the past four years and the state remains ahead of the national average.

“Although it’s disappointing to see any dip in the percentage of women at tables of power, ebbs and flows are expected when the goal is to disrupt longstanding boys’ clubs and move the needle toward a more equitable society,” First Partner Siebel Newsom said in a statement.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Have you heard of the ‘Let Them’ philosophy? Basically, let them think or believe or say whatever they like! For example,if someone does not think you have stood up enough for their group, even if you are supportive 80% of the time, Let them have that opinion. Use energy on good!”

- Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva, D-Fullerton, via Twitter.

Best of The Bee:

• West Sacramento City Council will probably break the law on Thursday night, via Randy Diamond.

• How much money will it take to get enough unhoused residents into stable housing before Californians start seeing a visible improvement in the state’s intractable homeless crisis? More than a dozen mayors from California’s largest cities came to Sacramento Wednesday with their answer. They told Gov. Gavin Newsom it will take $2 billion in annual, ongoing funding to ease homelessness on their streets, via Maggie Angst.

• Gov. Gavin Newsom joined state and federal officials at Daguerre Point Dam in Marysville Tuesday to tout a long-sought deal to reintroduce Chinook salmon to the northern fork of the Yuba River for the first time in nearly 100 years, via Maggie Angst and Ari Plachta.

• State Sen. Dave Min, a candidate for Rep. Katie Porter’s U.S. House seat, had a blood alcohol level nearly twice the legal limit when he was stopped and arrested by CHP troopers May 2 for suspicion of driving under the influence, records show, via Andrew Sheeler.