After a dragged-out battle between two Republicans for San Diego’s 75th Assembly District in North and East County, Carl DeMaio is on track to win against Andrew Hayes by a wide margin Friday, with two-thirds of votes counted.
DeMaio, a former San Diego City Council member and radio host has made a career of fighting taxes, brawling with Sacramento politicians and bucking leadership within his own party.
DeMaio wants to tackle inflation by cutting taxes and government mandates, he told the Union Tribune. He aims to crack down on crime and immigration, improve homeowners insurance access and fight what he called “controversial and politicized curriculum” in classrooms.
DeMaio said he also plans to sponsor 2026 ballot measures to reduce utility charges, repeal the sanctuary state law and require voter ID in elections.
DeMaio wouldn’t talk with Voice of San Diego, but pointed to a statement about his projected win: “This is not about me winning this seat in the Legislature — this is about bringing the voice of the forgotten Californian into the broken political system to demand change!”
Of course, he would enter Sacramento as part of a small Republican minority and wage an uphill battle to get bills past a Democratic supermajority that has blocked more experienced Republican lawmakers.
The open Assembly seat in North and East County became a melee after DeMaio entered the race last year, shortly before the filing deadline. The Republican Party of San Diego had already endorsed Andrew Hayes, a former district director for state Sen. Brian Jones and Lakeside Union School Board member. But DeMaio wanted a redo.
To boost his chances in the general election he supported a Democrat in the primary. Hayes’ supporters filed campaign finance complaints alleging that DeMaio exceeded spending limits, co-mingled money from Reform California with his Assembly campaign, and was not a resident of the district.
Despite the flurry of campaign mailers by both campaigns, many voters on Tuesday said the contentious race wasn’t on their radar. One thing stood out though: DeMaio’s name recognition. That may have paid off.
Crime Prevention Measure Winning
Voters fed up with theft and drug crimes overwhelmingly favored the crime-fighting ballot measure Proposition 36, with more than half the vote counted.
Proposition 36 rolls back part of the 2014 measure Proposition 47, which downgraded some drug and theft crimes to misdemeanors to reduce prison crowding. After spikes in “smash and grab robberies” and fentanyl deaths, big box retailers teamed up with district attorneys to launch a measure to reverse parts of the earlier reform.
Proposition 36 restores stiff penalties for fentanyl trafficking and introduces court-ordered treatment for people convicted of drug offenses. It allows prosecutors to file felony charges for multiple smaller thefts that total more than $950, or for organized theft rings.
San Diego County District Attorney told me she’s preparing to enforce the new law starting Dec. 19, the day after the ballot measure is certified.
“I met with my police chiefs and sheriffs to discuss how this would work and how to implement it with the intent it has, which isn’t just to add to the numbers of people going to jail, but to use it… to have leverage,” against crime.
She expects the new law will allow prosecutors to make greater use of drug courts to place defendants into drug treatment diversion programs, while adding more drug treatment resources with funds from Proposition 1, the March ballot measure that authorizes $6.38 billion in state bonds to build mental health facilities and housing.
Critics lamented the passage of Proposition 36, saying it cuts money from treatment programs and will flood prisons. “It will slash MILLIONS from reentry & prevention services while growing the state’s prison population by 35% over 5 years for theft & drug charges,” the Prison Policy Initiative tweeted.
Bond Measures Get Big Support
Several bond measures are well on their way to passage. Proposition 2, which would authorize the state to borrow $10 billion for schools and colleges, held a solid lead with more than half the votes counted. It will raise $8.5 billion for K-12 schools and $1.5 billion for community colleges, including projects to remove lead, improve safety, fix plumbing, add air conditioning and build career technical facilities
California uses state school bonds to provide matching funds for local school districts that passed their own infrastructure bonds. So the passage of Proposition 2 is good news for San Diego Community College District, Southwestern Community College District and a dozen local school districts that have bond measures on track to pass.
Proposition 4 also held a wide lead. It would similarly allow the state to raise $10 billion for water, wildfire prevention, and protection of public lands. The biggest chunk, $3.8 billion, would go to water projects. So San Diego projects to purify wastewater, improve stormwater systems and restore wetlands might benefit from that funding.
Another proposition that would have made it easier for local governments to issue bonds or affordable housing, water projects and other public works is failing. Proposition 5 would have lowered the voting threshold for cities and counties to issue infrastructure bonds from two-thirds of the vote to 55 percent. It’s far behind with more than half the votes counted.
California Circles the Wagons Against Trump Return
Gov. Gavin Newsom called a special legislative session to launch a legal battle against policies expected under President-elect Donald Trump. Newsom called for expanding the state’s legal resources “to protect civil rights, reproductive freedom, climate action, and immigrant families,” Newsom said in a statement Thursday.
“The freedoms we hold dear in California are under attack — and we won’t sit idle,” Newsom said. “California has faced this challenge before, and we know how to respond.”
California Republicans hit the roof, calling Newsom’s special session a “publicity stunt” and “knee-jerk theatrics.”
“Governor Newsom wants to hand his Attorney General a blank check to wage endless battles against the federal government—while our own state is on fire, both literally and metaphorically,” state Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones, R-San Diego, said in a statement.
The Sacramento Report runs every Friday and is part of a partnership with CalMatters. Do you have tips, ideas or questions? Send them to me at deborah@voiceofsandiego.org
Correction: This post has been updated to correct Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones’ party affiliation.