Listen to Connectopod on KPFK.ORG HERE

Yes, we are doing a call for walls in North Hollywood. Artist Levi Ponce and Connectopod have teamed up to create a mural in NoHo. Are you a business or property owner that would like to have your wall beautified? Let Connectopod know. 

We asked Betsy Foldes Meiman from Connectopod about the North Hollywood mural project with artist Levi Ponce and The Village Family Services.

What is Connectopod and Changing the Narrative? 

Connectopod is a non-profit created by a media professional Betsy Foldes Meiman and a social justice youth advocate Andrea Longoria Lopez. We use podcast as a vehicle to improve literacy and communication skills, and teach youth to create their own path.  They learn by creating with professional guest artists mentors. In the process they build a portfolio of linkable work streaming on our platform, Spotify, iHeart radio and many other podcast streams as well as the audio archives of KPFK.org. And they finish with a wide network of professionals to tap for internships, jobs and support. And have some fun along the way.

Changing the Narrative is our annual podcast series where we work with youth in communities that get a bad rap. We examine the stereotypes in reputation and the media, and then reclaim the narrative with podcasts that reflect their experience with more nuance and accuracy. 

For our third season, Changing the Narrative: Unhoused Youth, we are in residence at The Village Family Services in North Hollywood working with the drop in center. The TAY (Transitional Age Youth 14-24) get personal in one-on-one interviews about homelessness, including issues surrounding mental health, LGBTQ discrimination, pandemic madness, domestic violence, attending college, finding work, dealing with addiction and PTSD, and how to rise above their situation. And as all youth are doing-just trying to figure out who they are in life. 

The TAY are now working remotely and safely distanced with professional media guest artists to create their own episodes. In the works we have a report on mental health and homelessness, an interview with a producer, some creative fiction, and a music episode. 

          Listen to Connectopod on KPFK.ORG HERE

Start date: 8 March 2021 | Start time: 10:00 UTC-05:00
End date: 8 March 2021 | End time: 12:30 UTC-05:00

Location: UN Headquarters, New York, NY, United States of America

UN Women is pleased to invite you to the United Nations observance of International Women’s Day 2021. The theme is “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world on the way to the Generation Equality Forum”.

Register for the event ►

Speakers include:

• E. António Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations
• E. Volkan Bozkir, President of the UN General Assembly
• E. Mher Margaryan, Chair of the Commission on the Status of Women
• Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director of UN Women
• Somaya Faruqi, member of the Afghan Girls Robotic Team

Panel discussion on women’s leadership in a COVID-19 world moderated by Mr. Eddie Ndopu, SDG and disability rights advocate:

• E. Sahle-Work Zewde, President of Ethiopia
• E. Elizabeth Gomez Alcorta, Minister of Women, Gender and Diversity of Argentina
• Aya Chebbi, former African Union Youth Envoy
• Xiye Bastida, climate justice activist

Generation Equality Forum segment featuring key messages from:

• E. Elisabeth Moreno, Minister for Gender Equality, Diversity and Equal Opportunities of France
• Representative of the Government of Mexico
• Chamathya Fernando, member of the GEF Youth Task Force, World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts
• Anika Jane Dorothy, member of the GEF Youth Task Force, Amplify Girls
• Zoneziwoh Mbondgulo-Wondieh, Executive Director of Women for a Change, Cameroon

Panel discussion on Generation Equality Forum Action Coalitions and Compact on Women, Peace and Security and Humanitarian Action.

Special video message by Eva Longoria.

Musical performances by Pihcintu Chorus, Angelica Hale, and Broadway Singers.

The colour for International Women’s Day 2021 is yellow!

Scholars & Citizen Testimonials Will Help Us Learn The History of The Cold War & Its Relevance To U.S. Political Corruption & To Today’s Global Chaos.

We Welcome PRE-RECORDED or IN-PERSON TESTIMONY on:

CIA-backed Global Interventions of The Cold War; McCarthyism and the crushing of labor and the left in the U.S.; the Cold War nuclear legacy;

Hollywood and the Blacklist; the “Red Scare” of the 1930’s; and the red-baiting of social activists as far back as 1850!

I think it’s a great idea! Ideologically, it's right on.”
– Oliver Stone on The Cold War Truth Commission

Hosted by Rachel Bruhnke of Witness For Peace Southwest

Endorsed by CODEPINK, World BEYOND War, RootsAction, Veterans For Peace, Peaceworkers, Covert Action,

Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power In Space  and ADDICTED To WAR

Speakers Include:

Medea Benjamin, Kathy Kelly, David Swanson, Norman Solomon, Peter Phillips, Jeff Cohen, Bruce Gagnon, Joel Andreas,

Jim Lafferty, Gerry Condon, Marcy Winograd, Jeremy Kuzmarov, Alice Slater and Michael Novick

When:

Sunday, March 21^st, 1:00 PM to 7:00 PM (PST)

FREE EVENT ON ZOOM

Register Here: www.codepink.org/03212021

The Angry Kittens, (a placeholder name I gave them until they came up with their own), were having a hard time working as a team. Cesar decided his assigned leadership role was about being the king. He, Sergio, and Ashley G were aggressively arguing ALL THE TIME, and Leticia had checked out, sitting silently in the group. These kids weren't changing the narrative, they were being the existing Pacoima narrative of aggression and apathy that was threatening to devolve any moment into actual physical violence that no amount of cajoling and goodwill seemed to dent.

But. Who really wasn't listening? Us.

Leaning in

All Sergio wanted to talk about was murder.

We teach three steps to change a narrative:

1.Question the status quo

2. Reimagine new possibilities.

3. Rediscover our past and present connections.

This 13-year-old tough kid was sensationalizing murder. That's what Andrea and I saw: an adolescent boy acting out video game attitudes of glorified violence. Isn't that the same present media story? How would that change the narrative of Pacoima? That's what we were attempting, right?

But when we really listened, took away our preconceived notion of what would be fitting for a child to work on, or what we thought the narrative should be - we learned he was trying to process a real murder close to home and that he was trying in a real and honest way to question the status quo. He was disturbed that he could find no news coverage anywhere. Turns out Sergio had a lot of thoughts about this episode idea. He even had the title "A Murder Mystery." The mystery as Sergio stated it- "Why wasn't something as big and terrible as murder not considered important enough for the news?"

Brilliant. Lead on, Sergio!

1.Challenge the Status Quo

Sergio was right. You can't change the narrative if you don't address the existing one. This is exactly what guest artist Daniel P. Castillo taught in his critical media literacy workshop in our first weeks at Vaughn. Part of the existing narrative of Pacoima is violence. It is violent. Over a six-month period in 2019, there were 165 violent crimes compared to 103 in Northridge or 66 in Sherman Oaks. The perception of violence is so normalized for Pacoima that it barely gets reported. How does that apathy weigh on young minds and souls? How does that manifest in attitude and behavior? The Angry Kittens were a microcosm of subconscious coping: none of the toughs in the group were backing down. One was fighting to be heard. One was affirming dominance. One was physically assertive. And one was preserving personal space amidst chaos.

So then, what could the power of affirmation be?

We made a pact with Sergio that if he treated the subject with the level of seriousness it merited and within the guidelines of moving the narrative forward, he was on.

2.Re-imagine New Possibilities

Andrea and I were game to tackle this, but how? This is sensitive ground: dealing with a kid's psyche on something so deep is not to be taken lightly. Were we even qualified? How could we do this in a way that wasn't sensationalist, but healing? As outsiders, how could we connect in a truthful restorative way? Then it dawned on us that one of our collaborating groups, The Gr818ers, does just that. They have re-imagined a difficult and violent Pacoima past into an organization that mentors and celebrates youth facing the same challenges. We'd been in awe of them for years, then Levi Ponce connected us with them. We just had our field trip to their newly opened Unite Cultural Center. We knew Lorenzo and Eric Chapmen would be perfect to collaborate with Sergio. Sergio contacted them, explained his idea for the episode, and asked for their assistance.

3. Re-discover Past and Present Connections

Lorenzo and Eric joined us at Vaughn Next Century Learning to be interviewed by Sergio. Sergio did the normal Connectopod process of preparing his interview. He researched the Gr818ers, and came up with questions to mediate the issue he was interested in- lack of news coverage on a murder that happened on his block. As Connectopod, we did our prep as well. We discussed the issue with Lorenzo and Eric and asked for their help to turn the questioning back to Sergio to help him and the class process the event, and the subject of violence.

Sergio was a total pro! He mediated the discussion allowing Eric and Lorenzo to use the experiences of being around violence in their past to open up discussions about what Sergio and his classmates might be experiencing in the present. They showed a path to turn apathy by the news media into empathy for each other. At this tender age, when many of these kids will soon have to make decisions about the kind of life they want to live in the face of challenge, Lorenzo and Eric shared what spared them from the fate of many of those they loved and how they turned their adversity to their advantage.

Sergio then engaged his classmates in the interview. We were witnessing a new narrative in the making.

The New Narrative

Sergio did not back down. He challenged our intentions, as just another form of media not willing to talk about what was affecting him and his peers the most. He made us question our cowardice in facing an uncomfortable truth. We want it all to be happy joy joy, but there are real troubles here. With 'A Murder Mystery,' he faced his anger, confusion, and fear head-on.

And because of Sergio, we backed up and listened to the rest of the Angry Kittens and reformed the group to great success as you can hear in their episodes, Fight Club, Pacoima Personal, and The Vaughn Experience.

Sergio Gonzalez, Jr. received a Commendation for his work from

US Congressman Tony Cardenas.

November 30th - December 6th

Promoting inclusion and equity is vital to building healthy and resilient communities. This week of action is designed to not just raise awareness about the dangers of hate and the need for respect and civil discourse, but to help community members build stronger connections and foster deeper engagement.

But, awareness isn’t enough. The goal of United Against Hate Week is to bring communities together to learn from each other, acknowledge local concerns and seek solutions together. The activities and relationships developed are designed to build a foundation for sustainable actions in communities and an annual Uniting Against Hate Week.

Communities are planning virtual events: webinars, panel discussions, film screenings, art projects, community dialogues and storytelling workshops. These actions will provide a dynamic way to increase engagement across neighborhoods and support efforts to stand up to hate in our communities. We at the LA vs Hate Program, a project of the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations/Workforce Development, Aging & Community Services department, hope you will join us to strengthen community ties and expand the message that we stand united against hate.

Learn more about the movement on United Against Hate’s website.

Visuals include putting signs and memorials on cars; brief press availability and caravans around state Capitol 

WHAT: The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival will organize Moral Monday caravans to mourn the nearly quarter-million Americans who have died from COVID-19, demand a smooth and open transition of power and lift up the moral policies we need immediately and in the first days of the new administration. 

WHO: The Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II and Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis, co-chairs of the Poor People’s Campaign, along with protesters in their cars.

Speakers/testifiers will include Jamilia Land and Sylvia Ramos

WHEN: 11:30 a.m. PT Monday, Nov. 23, 2020

WHERE: Caravan participants will begin to gather at 11:00AM at the SEIU 1000 Parking Lot, 1808 14th St, Sacramento, CA 95811 to put signs and memorials on their vehicles before heading to California State Capitol where cars will circle the Capitol.

The car caravan will be decorated with colorful slogans and signs with the names and images of loved ones lost from COVID-19 and poverty. Also, the cars will include Fight Poverty not the Poor, and Full and Just Relief Package now!!

Other participating states include Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington, D.C.

You can also join online at https://vote.poorpeoplescampaign.org to hear reports from each participating state capitol. An online mourning wall for COVID-19 victims and a petition demanding short- and long-term action from the White House and Congress will be shared on the website in the days before the caravans. 

WHY: This Thanksgiving, a day already marked by many Indigenous people as a day of mourning, families across the country will remember and mourn the loss of loved ones who have died from COVID-19 and poverty. Millions of poor and low-income households also face mounting bills, evictions, and hunger after months of unemployment, cuts in wages and the government’s failure to pass a comprehensive COVID-relief package.  

The COVID-19 crisis feeds on the fissures of inequality already felt by the 140 million people who were living in poverty before the pandemic, or who were one emergency away from poverty. In California:

• 1.4 million on unemployment (Nov 2020)
• Unemployment rate of 11% (Nov 2020)
• 1.05 million COVID cases
• 18,317 COVID deaths

According to the California Poverty Measure, 17.8% of Californians are living in poverty; in total 36% of Californians live at or near the poverty line.

• 17% of children; 27% of single parent households living in poverty

• In 2018, 22.8% of Latinos; 18.2% African Americans lived in poverty in CA compared with 12.8% of whites
• 79% of poor Californians had at least one working adult in the household

We are now approaching 250,000 deaths while millions remain without health care. Thirty million workers have lost their jobs or significant hours of work, and nearly every state is facing sharp drops in revenue that will threaten even more cuts to essential social programs and jobs. The U.S. economy remains deeply depressed and,  as Federal Reserve Chair Powell warns, may never return to “normal” -- the greatest impact of further economic shifts will be on low-wage workers and others deemed “essential,” but who are still unable to afford all the essentials of life.

Ending the suffering of our families and communities is a moral mandate to all who are tasked with governance now and in the new year. Calls for cooperation cannot compromise with injustice. 

Our political leaders must reject a politics of austerity and meet their commitment to visionary policies that address human needs and cultivate human capacities. They must overcome the divisions caused by hunger, poverty, and racism in the richest country in the world. America must direct its resources and creativity towards the poor and most marginalized rather than lobbyists, insurance companies, financial institutions, pharmaceutical companies, and wealthy corporations. 

**The event will be ASL interpreted and captioned. 

BACKGROUND: More than 140 million poor and low-income people live in the United States, or 43% of the country’s population, and that was before the COVID-19 pandemic. The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, with organizing committees in 43 states, is building a moral fusion movement to address the five interlocking injustices of systemic racism, systemic poverty, ecological devastation, the war economy and militarism and a distorted moral narrative of religious nationalism. Our demands are reflected in our Jubilee Platform.

For additional information: poorpeoplescampaign.org  https://youtu.be/PmOjcUoDhEs

Twitter: @unitethepoor / Instagram: @poorpeoplescampaign / Facebook: @ANewPPC

CONTACTS:

Faye Wilson Kennedy,  916 812-7429/fayek@springmail.com

Nell Myhand,510- 5480/myhand94606@gmail.com

Rose Gudiel Escobar,  626-5967/rose.seiu1000@gmail.com

Martha Waggoner:  mwaggoner@breachrepairers.org | 919-295-0802

Catch the previous STRENGTH THRU UNITY: YOU HAVE THE POWER

With host David Ono veteran anchor of ABC 7 in Los Angeles and guests Marc Morial, President, and CEO of the National Urban League; Hector Sanchez Barba, CEO of Mi Familia Vota, Tamlyn Tomita, Japanese-American actress, and other leaders to listen and learn what experts are saying about this upcoming election.

 Unlike any other election, social justice gains, immigration, economy, and issues like climate change are doomed if all eligible Americans do not vote and get engaged on election day.

Hosted by Cambridge SU Women’s Campaign and Cambridge University Justice 4 Workers Campaign Online Event

Webinar with the Global Women’s Strike

This Political Freshers’ Week, the Women’s Campaign, and Justice 4 Workers Cambridge have teamed up with Global Women’s Strike to discuss one of the most pressing issues of our current times: the crisis of care. COVID-19 could not have made it any clearer: the world would simply stop without the labor of caregivers. And yet despite the vital nature of this labor – providing the very foundations for life on earth – it remains grossly undervalued, both socially and economically.

GWS is an international network campaigning for a living wage for all caregivers, starting with mothers the first carers. Most recently, GWS has joined with the Green New Deal for Europe to launch the Care Income Now! The campaign, which urges governments all over the world to provide a Care Income that prioritizes and supports the work of all those who care for people, for the urban and rural environment, and for the natural world (find out more here)

Join us to get the chance to listen to and engage with some of the most influential feminist authors and activists from the past fifty years, including:

Selma James: renowned anti-capitalist feminist organizer and writer. She co-founded the International Wages for Housework Campaign in 1972, which had a path-breaking perspective in the women’s movement. She co-wrote the classic ‘The Power of Women and the Subversion of the Community’, which launched the ‘domestic labor debate’, one of the most influential debates in feminist thought. Her other pathbreaking work Sex, Race, and Class merged feminism and anti-racism. Almost fifty years on, she continues fighting for what she believes in as coordinator of GWS.

Margaret Prescod: originally from Barbados, Margaret worked alongside Selma in the 1970s, and co-founded International Black Women for Wages for Housework. In 1980 her book ‘Black Women: bringing it all back home’ on the experience of being an immigrant; the first on women and immigration. Based in Los Angeles, she is an award-winning journalist and coordinator of Women of Colour / GWS.

Nina López: originally from Argentina, Nina is the joint coordinator of GWS. She also co-founded Legal Action for Women, a grassroots legal service based at the Crossroads Women’s Centre, which now coordinates the Support Not Separation coalition to stop the State’s unjust removal of children from their mothers. She edited Some Mother’s Daughter: The Hidden Movement of Prostitute Women against Violence.

Maggie Ronayne: lecturer at NUI Galway campaigner for GWS Ireland, Maggie dedicates her time to other social justice struggles through her involvement in her university’s trade union, including against wage discrimination based on women’s caring responsibilities. Recently, she has been engaged in the massive struggle to ensure the safe re-opening of the University and the protection of all its essential workers.

Chaired by Asiya Islam: Cambridge sociologist specialized in issues of gender, class, and labor. Her research explores the lives of young women in urban India in the context of contemporary socio-economic change.

Accessibility information: We will be using Google Meets which allows Closed Captioning. You are welcome to attend with your mic or camera off. If there are any other accessibility requirements message the page.

Multicultural Election Special

The news social justice program, Strength Thru Unity (STU), will focus on the upcoming presidential election. This is a critical election for all Americans, especially minority communities. STU’s guests include filmmaker Gilda Brasch, Genesis Heart artist/activist, Ivette Zamaro, publisher of La Revista, Nancy Yap, Executive Director of the Center for Asian Americans United for Self Empowerment and moderated by Gabriela Teissier, lead anchor for KMEX Univision. 

You can get mmore information on Gilda Brasch and Genesis Heart's trailer video for "Stronger than a Bullet" https://www.strongerthanthebullet.com/

STU: You Have the Power Edition

Unlike any other election, social justice gains, immigration, economy, and issues like climate change are doomed if all eligible Americans do not vote and get engaged on election day.

Host David Ono veteran anchor of ABC 7 in Los Angeles and guests Marc Morial, President, and CEO of the National Urban League; Hector Sanchez Barba, CEO of Mi Familia Vota, Tamlyn Tomita, Japanese-American actress, and other leaders to listen and learn what experts are saying about this upcoming election.

Audio Version 

STU is a LAVA Force production. Support of STU also comes from the Los Angeles Times, the Las Vegas Sun, Las Vegas Magazine, and the National Latino Press Association. 

Because of people like you, KPFK and a better world are possible. The pandemic, climate change, economic uncertainty, social injustices, and the upcoming election are just some of the many things on the line, but we will face them together—all of us.

KPFK is not your normal public media platform. We thrive on the generous contributions from our listeners like you. We want LA and the world to be a better place. But we can't do it alone. It doesn't work that way. KPFK needs you. If you can help today—because every gift of every size matters—please do.

People would not be spending ungodly sums of money to stop us from voting if our vote was not powerful. We have a responsibility to all the people who have fought and suffered and died for voting rights. Black people and poor people have always had to make practical choices at the ballot box, then commit to push people after we elect them. This is no time to sit out!

Watch Rev. Barber on CNN discussing the 9/11 anniversary

The attacks on voting rights, voter suppression, and in-person voter intimidation will only escalate in the weeks to come. Just this past Friday, Florida upheld what is essentially a poll tax. In 2020. Not 1920. That’s why we need to pull the movement family together in this moment for a massive teach-in to spread the tools people need to defend our democracy. Don’t miss it!

Leading civil rights attorneys Sherrilyn Ifill from the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and Caitlin Swain from Forward Justice will lead a powerful session on what grassroots leaders need to know as we enter the voting season. Organizers will lead us through the urgent voter engagement programs of the Poor People’s Campaign.

Poor and low-income people makeup 25% of the electorate and can change the political calculus of this country in the presidential election in 15 states with increases in voter turnout of 1% to 19%. Over 27 million poor and low-income who could vote in 2016 did not for three main reasons: they didn’t hear politicians address their issues; their vote was suppressed, or they lacked transportation or time off to vote.

Those who participate in the program will learn how to overcome the racist voter suppression that hurts both people of color and poor whites, because the politicians who get elected then also vote to block health care, living wages, environmental protection, and other issues that lift up poor and low-income people of all colors.

RSVP to join us for this historic event during this critical election season.

We will be joined by campaign coordinating committees in 43 states and other civic, religious, and social justice organizations and cultural activists Jane Fonda, Mark Ruffalo, D.L. Hughley, Erika Alexander, and Charlamagne tha God. In addition, presidential candidate Joe Biden has accepted our invitation to directly address our agenda and the priorities of poor and low-income people. President Trump was invited to join us but has not responded.

On Tuesday, September 15, at 12pm ET / 11am CT, the Poor People’s Campaign and the AFL-CIO will mark the 57th anniversary of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama, where four girls were killed after white supremacists bombed the church on Sunday, Sept. 15, 1963, with a candlelight vigil and a call to action around a 10-point pledge for social, racial, and economic justice.

I’ll be joining Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, and The Rev. Arthur Price Jr., current pastor of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham. At this moment in history, labor and faith must come together, stand together, and act together to stop the injustices that plague the nation—institutional racism and racist violence, the immoral response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the deepening economic crisis driven by division and greed. Watch the livestream.

Photo by Steve Pavey / #HopeInFocus

On Wednesday, September 16, at 7pm ET, join us for a virtual screening of Capturing The Flag, a documentary that tells the story of three friends, as they seek to make individual change in combating voter suppression in Cumberland County, NC, during the Fall of 2016. 

I’ll be speaking at the beginning to help introduce the film, which includes footage of our work on the ground around the last presidential election. Following the screening, there will also be a powerful panel discussion. Please register now from wherever you are and plan to join us!

The far too prominent politics of rejection in America today necessitates that the rejected must lead a moral revival. 

Together from the State House to the White House, the rejected are coming together across the country to demand this nation never give up on being one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty, and justice for all!

RSVP & join us for the National Moral Monday Mass Assembly and Teach-In: Voting is Power Unleashed!

Forward together, not one step back!

Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II

President and Senior Lecturer, Repairers of the Breach

P.S. Join us for the Mississippi Poor People’s Campaign Virtual Senate Town Hall, Thursday, September 17, at 7:30 pm ET. Watch the livestream.

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California Democrats hit an apex in 2018 when they won three-quarters of seats — “gigamajorities” — in the state Legislature. Two years later, Republicans aim to reverse that trend. But in a state shifting ever bluer — and in a presidential election year sure to generate high turnout — Democrats intend to push their high water-mark even higher. 

And while California’s larger legislative chamber, the Assembly, is dominated by Democrats —  61 to the GOP’s 17, plus one independent — party identification only counts for so much here. This is also home to California’s “mod squad,” a loose confederation of Democrats who regularly torpedo the plans of the party’s progressive base. Even if Republicans win every one of their target seats in this election, Democrats will retain a commanding supermajority. At stake in the 11 competitive races highlighted below: what that supermajority will look like.

— By Ben Christopher

Find Your California Representative

You can use the following map provide by to find your representatives provided by legislature.ca.gov here

Information on the candidates, news, the stakes, and endorsements on all the California districts that are on the November 2020 ballot are listed here.

DISTRICT 13

ABOUT THE DISTRICT

When the national housing market imploded in 2008, it collapsed especially hard upon Stockton, which went bankrupt. In the years since, the area has been on the receiving end of another kind of housing crisis. Working-class and middle-class families fleeing the Bay Area in search of cheaper living have swelled the populations of Tracy and Stockton.

Of all Central Valley districts, this is the most urban. Local debates place gun violence and homelessness over the more traditional Valley fare of agriculture and water. It’s also one of the most Democratic: Hillary Clinton beat Donald Trump here by over 30 points. 

WHERE IS THE DISTRICT?

WHO ARE THE CANDIDATES?

These two Democrats represent the progressive and moderate factions of their party. But Stockton politics is complicated. That rift could just as easily be described as pro- and anti-Michael Tubbs, Stockton’s 30-year-old mayor. 

Democrat - Kathy Miller

Miller is a progressive San Joaquin County Supervisor who has the backing of Tubbs, along with incumbent Assemblymember Susan Eggman and the California Democratic Party. Despite the heavy hitters behind her, Miller is going into November at an electoral disadvantage: In the March primary, her two more moderate opponents won 68% of the vote.

Democrat - Carlos Villapudua

The top primary vote-getter, Villapudua hails from the more business-friendly wing of the party. He’s a former San Joaquin County supervisor who unsuccessfully ran against Tubbs for mayor in 2016 and against Eggman for this Assembly seat two years later. His endorsers include Democratic Assemblymember Jim Cooper, a former sheriff, and criminal justice hawk, and San Joaquin County Supervisor Leroy Ornellas, a Republican. During the primary Villapudua was one of the biggest beneficiaries of political spending by the state oil and gas industry. 

WHAT ARE THE STAKES?

Since 2012, this district has been represented by Eggman, a rare Central Valley progressive. While most of her Democratic colleagues from the region have skewed friendly to Big Ag and tough on criminal justice, her legislating reflects the fact that most of the district is, in fact, a city.

But with no Republican in the race, Villapudua and his coalition of moderate Democrats, Republicans, and business groups are hoping to tug the seatback to the political center. 

ENDORSEMENTS

KATHY MILLER

• Democratic Assemblymember Susan Eggman

• Democratic Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs

CARLOS VILLAPUDUA

• Democratic Assemblymember Jim Cooper

• Republican San Joaquin County Supervisor Leroy Ornellas

DISTRICT 35

ABOUT THE DISTRICT

This is the last of a dying breed: a Republican district with the oceanfront property. Tracing the 101 from Lompoc to Paso Robles, this stretch of the Central Coast is more rural, agricultural, and conservative than Santa Barbara to the south or Monterey to the north. 

But the district’s eclectic mix — farm fields and vineyards, a college town and an Air Force base, sleepy surf towns and exurban sprawl — makes for local politics that averages out to moderate. 

WHERE IS THE DISTRICT?

WHO ARE THE CANDIDATES?

The Republican incumbent crushed his Democratic rival in the March primary, but that 14-point lead may be deceiving. With no one else in the running, neither candidate did much campaigning. Now that the phone banking and ad spending has begun, the race is on.

Republican - Jordan Cunningham

On paper, the incumbent assemblymember ought to be vulnerable. His purple district is trending blue. He’s a member of President Trump’s party in a district Trump lost by 6 points.

But Cunningham, now seeking a third term, hews to the center and touts his bipartisan bonafide. He broke with his party on state climate policies and predatory loan restrictions and bucked business interests by backing pro-privacy regulations. He is the only California Republican running for a legislative or congressional seat with the endorsement of the California Teachers Association.

Democrat - Dawn Addis

A councilmember from the dune-bound beach community of Morro Bay, Addis helped organize the San Luis Obispo Women’s March after the election of President Trump, before making her first run for office. In other words, she’s emerged from a movement of ticked-off left-of-center women who powered the Democratic blue wave in 2018. 

As a relatively new political presence, Addis will need to quickly introduce herself to the voters, a task made tougher by a pandemic that has restricted door knocking and house parties.

WHAT ARE THE STAKES?

In an era of intense partisan polarization, Cunningham is an anomaly: a Republican who has successfully distanced himself from the national party brand. As GOP registration continues dropping in his district, it’s unclear whether he can continue to pull off this trick.

ENDORSEMENTS

JORDAN CUNNINGHAM

• California Teachers Association

• California Correctional Peace Officers Association

DAWN ADDIS

• California Environmental Justice Alliance

• California Nurses Association

DISTRICT 36

ABOUT THE DISTRICT

Bound between the San Gabriel and Tehachapi mountains, most of this high-desert district belongs to Los Angeles County, but it has always cut a different cultural and economic path. The Air Force, its auxiliary industries, agriculture and trucking have provided jobs here, and politics have tilted conservative.

But times are changing, partly due to tens of thousands of priced-out Angelinos — many Black and Latino — who’ve recently moved northward into Lancaster and Palmdale. In 2012, registered Democrats and Republicans were neck-and-neck across the district. Now Democrats outnumber Republicans by 11 points.

WHERE IS THE DISTRICT?

WHO ARE THE CANDIDATES?

Once this seat was represented by Democrat Steve Fox. Then Republican Tom Lackey beat him. The two have been battling it out each election since — and here we are again.

Republican - Tom Lackey

A former special education teacher and Boy Scout turned highway patrolman, Lackey is one of the Assembly’s most moderate Republicans: More than half of the bills he put his name on last year were co-authored with Democrats. He also plays well with others in Sacramento, where there seems to be a bipartisan consensus that, if nothing else, he’s a pretty nice guy.

His legislative highlight reel includes authoring a bill that legalized lane-splitting by motorcyclists, joining Democrats in various efforts to regulate and cut taxes on cannabis dispensaries, and choking up on the Assembly floor while speaking in support of a law that restricts police use of force.

But though Lackey has managed to defy the party registration numbers of his district since 2014, he’s still a Republican in a district that increasingly isn’t. 

Democrat - Steve Fox

A Democrat, the district’s Democratic-bent notwithstanding, is hardly a shoo-in here. Fox is a former Republican and perpetual candidate who held the seat for one term before being ousted by Lackey in 2014. He describes himself as conservative for a Democrat —  a pragmatist who wants to reflect the district. He also has been accused by two former staffers of sexual harassment, allegations he calls “smears.” Both cases resulted in legal settlements with six-digit payouts, but with Fox admitting to no wrongdoing. For that reason, the California Democratic Party refused to endorse Fox this year. 

Most of this district’s voters live in the 25th congressional district, one of the most fiercely competitive races in the country. The turnout surge might be enough to carry Fox over the line.

WHAT ARE THE STAKES?

Before the primary, this was California Democrats’ most promising opportunity to pick up a new seat. But with Fox in the running, some Democratic strategists have already written off the race. This contest will be a face-off between one candidate with the lion’s share of the money and endorsements, and another who is the underdog in every way except for that he’s a Democrat running in 2020.

ENDORSEMENTS

TOM LACKEY

• state Senate Minority Leader Shannon Grove

• California Correctional Peace Officers Association

STEVE FOX

• Frank Roberts, former Mayor of Lancaster

• Democratic Assemblymember Jose Medina

DISTRICT 42

ABOUT THE DISTRICT

Snaking from the outskirts of Riverside through the low desert of Coachella Valley and up the Morongo Grade to Twentynine Palms, this district sits on the knife’s edge of California politics. It holds a virtually identical number of registered Democrats and Republicans. 

That doesn’t make the district purple, so much as checkered red and blue. Republicans dominate in Yucaipa, Yucca Valley and Twenty Nine Palms, where voters helped give President Trump a 4-point lead over Hillary Clinton, district-wide. But Palm Springs and rapidly growing, increasingly diverse places such as Beaumont and San Jacinto (which now host former Los Angeles and Riverside residents seeking more affordable housing) are drifting Democratic. On GOP ballots still tend to outnumber those of Democrats, but that margin has been narrowing for years.

WHERE IS THE DISTRICT?

WHO ARE THE CANDIDATES?

Chad Mayes is running on his appeal to moderates and independents and on his name recognition. Andrew Kotyuk is running as a partisan Republican — and his party is out for revenge.

Independent - Chad Mayes

Back in 2017, Mayes had a vision for the California Republican Party. As leader of the Assembly GOP, he urged colleagues to dwell less on divisive cultural issues and instead offer small-government solutions to reduce poverty and steward the environment.

His fellow party members weren’t buying it. After Mayes helped Democrats reauthorize a cap-and-trade emissions reduction program to combat climate change in 2017, Republicans booted him from his leadership position. Mayes then joined former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to find a “New Way” for the party, an anti-Trump voice within the GOP. This time, Mayes is running without a political party entirely.

Republican - Andrew Kotyuk

After Mayes bailed on the GOP, Republican Andrew Kotyuk, the mayor of San Jacinto, a wealth manager, and propane supplier, jumped in. Business groups have a friend in Mayes and have been spending accordingly. But local conservatives and the GOP establishment are hoping to punish Mayes, whom they see as a turncoat, and replace them with someone who promises to be a reliably conservative voice in the state Capitol.

WHAT ARE THE STAKES?

What happens when an anti-Trump Republican finally gives up and runs as an independent in a district that backed Trump in 2016? Good question. More than a few Republicans will be watching to find out.

ENDORSEMENTS

CHAD MAYES

• Equality California

• National Rifle Association

ANDREW KOTYUK

• California Republican Assembly

• California Republican Party

DISTRICT 55

ABOUT THE DISTRICT

This district overlaps with both the 39th Congressional (where Democratic Rep. Gil Cisneros faces a rematch from Republican Young Kim) and the 29th Senate (which will host the biggest rematch of the Senate political map). Upshot: This tri-country corner of Southern California suburbia is at the eye of three overlapping electoral storms.

Birthplace to Richard Nixon, the region has undergone a radical shift away from the GOP. That trend precedes the Trump era, but the nativist politics of the president, anathema to so many immigrants, and highly educated voters, has exacerbated it. This district is one-third Latino and one-third Asian American, and 40% of adults here have college degrees. In 2014, Republicans outnumbered Democrats in the district by more than 8 points. This year, Democrats have the slight advantage.

WHERE IS THE DISTRICT?

WHO ARE THE CANDIDATES?

A Republican who has hung onto a diverse patch of SoCal suburbia, despite waning GOP registration, faces a new Democratic challenger.

Republican - Phillip Chen

The incumbent Chen is a reliably center-right vote, particularly on business, tax and crime-related legislation. But he’s no firebrand. In Sacramento, he’s been known to make the occasional bipartisan gesture and he seems to prefer a hand-shaking, local-business-boosting approach to politics over the Twitter flamewar. 

That would seem to match his district, which has turned against the politics of President Trump but remains right-of-center. In 2016, Chen won the seat for the first time by an overwhelming margin even as Hillary Clinton beat Trump across the district by 5 points. A prodigious fundraiser, Chen has also been blessed with relatively weak electoral opponents in the past.

Democrat - Andrew Rodriguez

The mayor of Walnut in Los Angeles County, Rodriguez is 27, Latino, and could easily be characterized as the future of the Democratic Party and the state. With a master’s degree in real estate development from the University of Southern California, his policy focus is housing and his politics skew pro-density. As the challenger in one of the most fiercely contested swing seats of the year, he has the endorsement of virtually every major California Democrat and tons of money to spend. 

WHAT ARE THE STAKES?

In 2018, Democrats flipped every Orange County congressional district blue, sacking the heart of Republican political power in the state. This year, the Dems aim to repeat their feat for legislative seats. This is one of the top targets.

ENDORSEMENTS

PHILLIP CHEN

• California Statewide Law Enforcement Association

• California Professional Firefighters

ANDREW RODRIGUEZ

• California Labor Federation

• Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis

DISTRICT 59

ABOUT THE DISTRICT

Running south from the University of Southern California campus, bracketed by the Harbor Freeway and Central Avenue, this stretch of South Central was the destination of choice for thousands of Black migrants fleeing the South during the Great Migration. The Black population continued to swell in the post-war years as shops, restaurants, and clubs formed the seat of Black culture and political power in the city. 

But beginning in the 1990s, the district began to change. Now three out of four residents of this patchwork of Gateway Cities are Latino, even though it has never been represented by a member of that community in the Assembly.

WHERE IS THE DISTRICT?

WHO ARE THE CANDIDATES?

Reggie Jones-Sawyer, a progressive stalwart, and longtime incumbent faces an unexpected challenger from the district’s Latino community.

Democrat - Reggie Jones-Sawyer

An institution of lefty politics in California, Jones-Sawyer is the co-founder of the Assembly’s Progressive Caucus and one of the first legislators to endorse the presidential campaign of Bernie Sanders. He first won this seat in 2012 and has easily held it ever since. He ran unopposed in 2014 and 2016 and beat a half-hearted challenger in 2018. Which is why this year’s primary may have caught him off guard. 

Jones-Sawyer came in second place in March — unusual for an incumbent — and his campaign and the bulk of the California Democratic Party establishment aren’t taking any chances. He has been one of the top fundraisers of any legislative candidate and has the endorsement of virtually every major California Democratic politician and influential labor union, plus the state Democratic Party.

Democrat - Efren Martinez

Though his first place win in the primary may have taken Democrats outside the southeast Los Angeles by surprise, Martinez is a known entity within the district — particularly its east side. The former head of the Florence-Firestone/Walnut Park Chamber of Commerce, he linked local businesses with municipal elected leaders, making connections with both sides along the way. Those ties have helped Martinez solicit campaign contributions from local businesses and the endorsements of Huntington Park and Walnut Park elected leaders and staff. But they’ve gotten him into trouble in the past, too. In 2017, the Los Angeles Times reported that a Huntington Park city council member had worked as a consultant to Martinez, soliciting contributions to his short-lived 2015 Assembly campaign from companies that had business before the council. (The district attorney launched an investigation but dropped it in February).

One of Martinez’s central appeals to voters is that he is “from the community and for the community” and that he is running against a longtime politician who “hasn’t done anything for our community.” That pitch paid dividends during the primary, where Martinez’s votes came disproportionately from the east side of the district where the Latino population is most concentrated.

WHAT ARE THE STAKES?

This race isn’t about party, as both candidates are Democrats. It’s not even predominantly about ideology, though Martinez’s business connections and endorsers would seem to put him to the right of Jones-Sawyer. What this is mostly about: the shifting demographics of one of the state’s most Democratic districts.

ENDORSEMENTS

REGGIE JONES-SAWYER

• California Democratic Party

• California Teachers Association

EFREN MARTINEZ

• Peace Officer Research Association of California Peace Officer Research Association of California

• Huntington Park Mayor Karina Macias

DISTRICT 68

ABOUT THE DISTRICT

The district is all Orange County. That’s a fact of literal geography; from Lake Forest through north Irvine to Placentia, but it’s also a statement about its politics. 

Of all California’s hot district races — legislative or congressional — none have seen a larger drop in the Republican share of registered voters since 2014. That doesn’t mean this former GOP bastion is now solidly blue; Democratic registration has ticked up only slightly. But the types of Republicans who live here — affluent, well-educated— have not been keen on Trump. Hillary Clinton beat him here by 5 points.

WHERE IS THE DISTRICT?

WHO ARE THE CANDIDATES?

In one of the state’s swingiest swing districts, a Republican incumbent goes up against a formidable Democratic challenger whom many within the party’s left-of-center establishment regard as their best hope for victory. 

Republican - Steven Choi

First elected to the Legislature in 2016, Choi is running as a traditional SoCal Republican with passions for cutting taxes, regulations, and crime. He skated by relatively easily last time, despite shifting political terrain, thanks to a challenger with little name ID and money. This year, he has a target on his back.

An immigrant from South Korea, Choi is a soft-spoken, buttoned-up presence in the Capitol — voting with Republicans most of the time but extolling the value of occasional bipartisanship to get things done. Typically a lackluster fundraiser, he has been amassing a considerable war chest this year as GOP donors rally to his defense.

Democrat - Melissa Fox

If Democratic political consultants were building a candidate from scratch to win here, Melissa Fox would make a pretty good mockup.

A lawyer and small business owner who ran for Irvine’s city council on a pledge to improve public transportation and help veterans, she’s since branded herself as a pragmatic coalition-builder.  She happens to share a profile with many of the disaffected Republicans whom Democrats are courting: an educated white woman. 

Oh, and she’s sitting on a mountain of cash. Fox is in the top 15 fund-raisers for any Assembly race in the state this year, having nearly doubled Choi’s haul and outraising any other non-incumbent by far.

WHAT ARE THE STAKES?

Few districts have shifted as quickly from blood red to purple since the election of President Trump. This year, Democrats think they’ve found the right candidate — and the right year — to unseat a vulnerable incumbent.

ENDORSEMENTS

STEVEN CHOI

• Assembly Republican Leader Marie Waldron

• California Republican Party

MELISSA FOX

• California Professional Firefighters

• Equality California

DISTRICT 72

ABOUT THE DISTRICT

Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: A coastal Orange County district, once a GOP bastion, has become in the Trump era a virtual toss-up. In 2014, Republicans outnumbered Democrats by 10 points here. It’s down to 1 point. 

That may be due in part to Trump’s nativist immigration stance. The district is home to Little Saigon, one of the country’s largest population centers of Vietnamese Americans — many first-generation immigrants. But the story is more complicated. Once a reliable block of support for the anti-communist warriors in the California GOP, Little Saigon, and its post-Cold War politics have been in flux since long before 2016, as younger Vietnamese Americans come of voting age.

WHERE IS THE DISTRICT?

WHO ARE THE CANDIDATES?

This seat is now held by Republican Tyler Diep, but he lost his shot to retain it this spring. He had emerged from 2018’s blue wave election as the only GOP freshman in the Assembly, but after siding with Democrats on a law that makes it harder for companies to classify their gig workers as independent contractors, his own party — with the help of Lyft and Uber — turned against him. The top two contenders emerging from the primary present a clearer ideological choice. And unlike previous elections that have fallen along competing ethnic lines, both escaped from Vietnam as children and have deep ties within the district’s Vietnamese community.

Republican - Janet Nguyen

A former state senator who lost her overlapping seat in 2018, Nguyen rose to challenge Diep after local Republican Party activists put out a call for his ouster. She succeeded in elbowing him to the side in the March primary. A mainstay of Orange County GOP politics for the last 15 years, she’s touting her opposition to the gig worker law that tanked Diep’s career and her general support for lower taxes and business-friendly regulations.

Democrat - Diedre Thu-Ha Nguyen

Democrats were already hopeful that Nguyen had the right background to win this district: Born in Saigon, she was drawn into politics in 2016 over a local redistricting process she said cut local Vietnamese and Latino voters out of the process. She ended up winning a newly created seat on the Garden Grove City Council, running as a non-ideological newcomer. 

Since the coronavirus began tearing through California in March, her campaign has been emphasizing another aspect of her resume: Nguyen is a research scientist at Quest Diagnostics, a lab that performs COVID tests.

WHAT ARE THE STAKES?

With the Assembly’s most moderate Republican unceremoniously cleared from the field, now this red-going-on-blue district has to make a clear choice: left or right.

ENDORSEMENTS

JANET NGUYEN

• state Senate Republican Leader Shannon Grove

• Orange County Medical Association

DIEDRE THU-HA NGUYEN

• Equality California

• Sierra Club

DISTRICT 74

ABOUT THE DISTRICT

When people who have never been here think “Orange County,” this district is probably what they envision: suburban surfside idyllic, much whiter and well-to-do than the region as a whole and, until recently, predictably Republican. 

The GOP still holds an ever-so-slight registration advantage here, but in 2018, the district sent a Democrat to the Legislature for the first time since its boundaries were drawn. Voters here also voted narrowly for Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom over his Republican opponent.

WHERE IS THE DISTRICT?

WHO ARE THE CANDIDATES?

In one of the Democratic Party’s toughest retention battles, this race pits a moderate incumbent with a staggering amount of money against a traditional Orange County conservative.

Democrat - Cottie Petrie-Norris

Cottie Petrie-Norris was inspired to run after the election of President Trump. Ivy League-educated with a prior career in banking and marketing, she is the only Democrat in the Legislature representing a district where Republicans still outnumber Democrats. No surprise, she has been one of the Assembly’s more moderate members. When the anti-tax Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association handed out “grades” to every member of the state Legislature last year, Petrie-Norris was the only Democrat to receive an “A.” 

In 2018, she won by 5 points, defeating a male opponent in the “year of the woman” who was also a lackluster fundraiser. Her opponent this year may put up a bigger challenge, but Petrie-Norris has plenty to fund her defense. She has raised more money than any other Legislative candidate this year.

Republican - Diane Dixon

As a city council member of Newport Beach, Dixon offers a distinctly Orange County brand of conservatism aimed at reducing regulations, reining in pension costs, and fighting crime — but also protecting the coastal environment. She contends that her opponent is a secret liberal and a “Newsom Democrat.” Her Exhibit A: Petrie-Norris voted for a new law that makes it harder for companies to classify their gig workers as independent contractors.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Dixon has also emerged as one of the more vocal critics of the governor, whom she assailed as a “new class of monarch” for his decision to close state beaches in Orange County.

WHAT ARE THE STAKES?

With a fresh candidate and more cash, Republicans want a mulligan on this OC race they lost in 2018. For Democrats, this may be their most vulnerable.

ENDORSEMENTS

COTTIE PETRIE-NORRIS

• California Association of Highway Patrolmen

• California Nurses Association

DIANE DIXON

• Irvine Mayor Christina L. Shea

• state Senate Republican Leader Shannon Grove

DISTRICT 76

ABOUT THE DISTRICT

Usually, political change is gradual, but the transformation here seemed to take place overnight on June 5, 2018. 

Thanks to a surplus of Republican candidates and a last-minute false allegation of sexual harassment against the top GOP candidate, two Democrats won the first and second slots for out of the state’s top-two primary. In what had long been a solidly Republican district, not a single GOP candidate qualified.

The political reality on the ground is more complex. As a patchwork of red and blue communities — Camp Pendleton Marine base to the north, Encinitas to the south — the district has been shedding registered Republicans for years. Hillary Clinton beat Donald Trump here by more than 12 points, and Democrats already outnumber GOP voters. 

As for that night on June 5, 2018? The two Democratic candidates together got more than 50% of the vote, meaning this was always going to be a tough one for the GOP to hold. In the March 2020 primary, the Democratic incumbent won nearly 58% of the vote.

WHERE IS THE DISTRICT?

WHO ARE THE CANDIDATES?

Yes, the incumbent, Tasha Boerner Horvath, won this seat in a fluke twist of electoral fate. But there is nothing impromptu about her reelection bid against her poorly funded Republican challenger.

Democrat - Tasha Boerner Horvath

Between the two Democrats running in 2018, Boerner Horvath was the more moderate. That endeared her to many mainstream Democratic party groups, who saw her as a better ideological fit for the district, as well as to business interests hoping to sideline the progressive in the race.

Since winning the seat, she has carried bipartisan-friendly bills that cater to her district (providing more state support for veteran college students, boosting electric vehicle charging stations, promoting cash prize equity at California surfing competitions). She’s also one of the state’s biggest fundraisers.

Republican - Melanie Burkholder

Republican Burkholder’s biography includes a half-decade stint as a Secret Service agent and a doctorate in clinical Christian counseling. An occasional host on Fox News and other conservative outlets — where she dispenses mental health advice and political analysis — she lists her priorities as opposition to new taxes, boosting access to charter schools, and pushing for a part-time Legislature. Like most Republicans in the state, she has campaigned on her opposition to a new law that made it much more difficult for businesses to classify their workers as independent contractors. 

Burkholder has struggled to raise the requisite cash to put up a real fight. Since the beginning of the campaign, she’s been outraised by more than 15-to-1. That may be thanks in part to questions that have been raised about Burkholder’s medical opinions — and her credentials. In December 2019, a judge denied Burkholder the right to describe herself as a “doctor” on the ballot, ordering the state to replace the word with “licensed counselor.” She’s also championed parents’ rights to keep their children from being vaccinated, and encouraged supporters to seek medical waivers exempting them from wearing masks during the pandemic.

WHAT ARE THE STAKES?

Republicans are trying to keep a formerly inevitable GOP hold from falling out of reach for good.

ENDORSEMENTS

TASHA BOERNER HORVATH

• California's Teachers Association

• California Professional Firefighters

MELANIE BURKHOLDER

• San Diego Asian Americans for Equality

• state Senate Minority Leader Shannon Grove

DISTRICT 77

ABOUT THE DISTRICT

Anchored in the residential neighborhoods of inland urban San Diego, the district gets more conservative the further north you go, as it ropes in Rancho Santa Fe and Poway. But the majority of voters have been favoring Democratic candidates after giving Clinton a 16-point edge over Trump. 

WHERE IS THE DISTRICT?

WHO ARE THE CANDIDATES?

A Republican-turned-Democrat squares off against a Republican up-and-comer.

Democrat - Brian Maienschein

After eking out a 600-vote win in November of 2018, Maienschein, who had been the Assembly’s most moderate Republican, became a Democrat two months later. “As the Republican Party has drifted further right, I – and my votes – have changed,” he said at the time, also blaming President Trump. Assembly Republican leader Marie Waldron labeled him a “turncoat.” As a Dem, Maienschein remains a moderate — but he’s no outlier within the party.

Republican - June Yang Cutter

Making hay of Maienschein’s party switch, his GOP challenger has dismissed him as “a career politician who wanted to keep his job.” 

Presenting herself as a contrast, Cutter has never been elected to office. An employment law litigator who regularly represents employers, Cutter has also said the fight against a 2019 law making it harder to classify “gig workers” as independent contractors “is particularly close to my heart.”

WHAT ARE THE STAKES?

The GOP is looking for payback against a candidate who defected from the Republicans to become a Democrat, immediately after his squeaker of a reelection last time.

ENDORSEMENTS

BRIAN MAIENSCHEIN

• California Federation of Teachers

• California Labor Federation

JUNE YANG CUTTER

• San Diego Asian Americans For Equality

• California Republican Party

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Democrats hold nearly three-quarters of the seats in the Senate, which at half the size of the Assembly is the Legislature’s more liberal-leaning chamber. After a few mega-expensive intraparty primary brawls, the Senate map has been winnowed down to just a handful of competitive races. Two in the Bay Area will choose between different flavors of Democrats — center-left versus lefty-left, and a state party favorite versus an Obama-endorsee. The rest of the close contests will resolve a longer standing question: Is this the end of the California GOP’s primacy in the SoCal suburbs? 

— By Ben Christopher

Find Your California Representative

You can use the following map provide by to find your representatives provided by legislature.ca.gov here

Information on the candidates, news, the stakes, and endorsements on all the California districts that are on the November 2020 ballot are listed here.

DISTRICT 11

ABOUT THE DISTRICT

Abandon hope all ye Republicans who enter here. This is San Francisco and its southern suburbs. It’s an incubator of California Democratic movers and shakers — from the governor to the Speaker of the House to both state U.S. senators and the Democratic vice-presidential candidate. The political fights here divide the left from the left-er. And more so than any other place in the state, housing is the central dividing line. 

WHERE IS THE DISTRICT?

WHO ARE THE CANDIDATES?

Two candidates, two very different versions of what it means to be “progressive.”

Democrat - Scott Wiener

The incumbent, Weiner has a knack for taking up legislative causes that makes some people really mad. Since winning this Senate seat in 2016, he’s authored bills that would force President Trump to release his tax returns in order to appear on the ballot, set up a state net neutrality law, create a non-binary gender category on state IDs, and institute a California estate tax. Not all of these measures have gone anywhere, but all have generated headlines.

But none of Wiener’s legislative efforts have attracted as much attention as his housing bills. As one of Sacramento’s most prominent YIMBYs (that’s short for “Yes in my backyard”), Wiener has repeatedly spearheaded efforts that would make it easier for developers to build, and build densely. That’s earned him the ire of anti-gentrification activists suspicious of market-based solutions to the state’s housing shortage, suburbanites protective of their large lots, and President Trump. In August, Trump and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson called Wiener out in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece for his “push to abolish single-family zoning in California.” In Trump-loathing San Francisco, that constituted an in-kind contribution to the Wiener campaign.

Democrat - Jackie Fielder

For those outside the city who see Wiener as some kind of socialist, meet Jackie Fielder: an actual Democratic socialist. A 25-year-old with no electoral experience, Fielder, who is Latina and Native American, is a longshot against one of the Senate’s most prolific fundraisers. But Fielder’s critique of Wiener’s approach to housing — that facilitating more private housing construction in order to increase the housing supply will only benefit real estate developers — is one that’s shared by many on the left in San Francisco.

Fielder also got an unexpected boost in August when the California Labor Federation dropped its endorsement of Wiener over an affordable housing bill that the union group said did not offer sufficient protection for workers. She already has the backing of the powerful California Teachers Association.

WHAT ARE THE STAKES?

In the era of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Cori Bush, Jamaal Bowman, and other leftist dethroners of powerful Democratic incumbents, this is the race to watch — and one with profound consequences for housing policy in California. 

ENDORSEMENTS

SCOTT WIENER

• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

• California Democratic Party

JACKIE FIELDER

• California Teachers Association.

• San Francisco Affordable Housing Alliance

DISTRICT 15

ABOUT THE DISTRICT

Spanning the Santa Clara Valley from One Infinity Loop in Cupertino to East San Jose, this district contains downtown San Jose, affluent suburbs, Little Saigon, and the largest Sikh temple in the United States.

Its politics are not quite so diverse. Nearly half of voters here are registered Democrats, while Republicans represent fewer than one in five. A Republican has never represented the district. 

Incumbent Sen. Jim Beall has held elected office since his late 20s. Now that he’s termed out — after a career marked by his authorship of a 2017 bill to raise the gas tax, and support for better mental health services — he leaves a vacuum in one of the state’s most racially diverse, wealthy but also economically unequal districts.

WHERE IS THE DISTRICT?

WHO ARE THE CANDIDATES?

In this solidly Democratic district, the campaign is less an ideological battle than a contest of allegiances, endorsements, and resumes.

Democrat - Dave Cortese

A known entity in the San Jose area, Cortese has been a county supervisor since 2008 and very nearly became mayor in 2014: He lost to Sam Liccardo by a couple of thousand votes. That name recognition probably helped him stand out in a crowded primary, getting more votes than any other candidate by far. As an experienced lawmaker, Cortese is running on the promise that he will have little on-the-job learning to do. All that time spent in local politics has helped him assemble a commanding phalanx of endorsements: the California Democratic Party, Rep. Ro Khanna, some of the state’s most influential labor groups, and the incumbent, Beall.

Democrat - Ann Ravel

If Cortese is running on the work he’s done within the district, Ravel is running on the work she’s done outside it. She worked as a U.S. Justice Department lawyer before serving as the state’s top election watchdog at the California Fair Political Practices Commission, and then an Obama-appointed commissioner to the Federal Election Commission. She stepped within a few weeks of President Trump’s inauguration, decrying in her resignation letter the “unlimited, often dark money” channeled into political campaigns. Now, with the endorsements of Barack Obama and local Reps. Jackie Speier and Anna Eshoo, she’s running on her pro-transparency bonafide.

WHAT ARE THE STAKES?

This is a contest to replace Beall, who in the era of term limits is about as close a thing there is to an institution unto himself. The outcome will also determine: With so much focus on national politics, can the backing of the state Democratic apparatus overcome the likes of national figureheads like Barack Obama?

ENDORSEMENTS

DAVE CORTESE

• California Democratic Party

• California Association of Highway Patrolmen

ANN RAVEL

• EMILY’s List

• Barack Obama

DISTRICT 21

ABOUT THE DISTRICT

Anchored by its largest population center in Santa Clarita, this district reaches up into Lancaster, Palmdale, and east to Victorville. The population growth in these latter high-desert communities — fueled by former Angelenos seeking cheaper, more suburban, and safer neighborhoods — has shifted the voter registration numbers more Democratic.

But while Democrats have outnumbered Republicans here since 2014, GOP and GOP-inclined voters have always punched above their weight, voting at higher rates and regularly backing Republicans for Congress, state Senate, Assembly, and governor. The exception: Clinton outpolled Trump here by 3 points.

WHERE IS THE DISTRICT?

WHO ARE THE CANDIDATES?

A moderate Republican incumbent tries to hold off a young labor lawyer in this rapidly changing district, and one of the last red bastions of Los Angeles County.

Republican - Scott Wilk

Starting as a community college trustee in 2006, Wilk went on to represent the area in the Assembly before the Senate. That makes him a known entity. His voting record is what you might expect from a Republican in a Clinton-backing purple district. He has occasionally broken with his party on gun control and business regulations. Earlier this year, he was the only Republican to support putting Proposition 16 — which would allow the state to reintroduce affirmative action programs — on the ballot.

Democrat - Kipp Mueller

Mueller’s career as a labor lawyer earned him the endorsement of the Los Angeles County Labor Federation, the Service Employees International Union, and the Democratic Party early on in the primary. In some ways, he embodies the anti-Trump energy that propelled so many Dems into power in 2018. The 33-year-old was an active volunteer on former Rep. Katie Hill’s campaign. But he only moved to Santa Clarita from downtown Los Angeles in the spring of 2019, it will be easy for his opponent to label him a carpetbagger.

WHAT ARE THE STAKES?

In 2012, Republican Steve Knight won this seat by nearly 15 points. In 2016, Wilk won by 6. With the help of anti-Trump turnout, a ton of volunteer energy, and the rapidly changing demographics of Antelope Valley, Democrats think 2020 might be their opportunity to replace one of the GOP’s most moderate members.

ENDORSEMENTS

SCOTT WILK

• California Pro-Life Council

• National Rifle Association

KIPP MUELLER

• California Democratic Party

• Sierra Club

DISTRICT 23

ABOUT THE DISTRICT

As recently as 2016, state Democrats hardly bothered to show up in this stretch of the San Bernardino Valley. Sen. Mike Morrell, the termed-out incumbent, won his last race by 14 points and is one of the Capitol’s most reliably conservative votes. But after a decades-long decline in GOP registration numbers, the inevitable happened in 2018: The number of Democrats surpassed Republicans. 

Forming a bracket around the denser bits of Riverside, this district probably still leans conservative. President Trump narrowly outpolled Clinton in 2016 and in the 2020 primary, GOP candidates won nearly 55% of the vote. But with high Democratic turnout predicted in November, local GOP organizers will have to do something they aren’t used to doing here: Put up a fight.

WHERE IS THE DISTRICT?

WHO ARE THE CANDIDATES?

Two daughters of immigrants with positions on local school boards square off for this open seat. In the swiftly evolving Inland Empire, the contest has given the GOP an opportunity to recalibrate with a new type of candidate. And it’s given Democrats the once-unthinkable chance to win here.

Republican - Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh

They may belong to the same party, but Ochoa Bogh is no Mike Morrell. The daughter of Mexican immigrants who sits on the Yucaipa-Calimesa school board, she has worked as a field representative for Assemblymember Chad Mayes, a moderate who recently defected from the Republican Party. In a rapidly changing district, Bogh was the clear favorite of the party establishment during the primary — the face of what a viable GOP contender in California might look like. The party got its pick.

Democrat - Abigail Medina

A familiar feature on the local ballot, Medina serves as City of San Bernardino’s school board president and very nearly beat former GOP Assemblymember Marc Steinnorth in 2016. Also the daughter of Mexican immigrants, she spent some of her teenage years working in tomato fields. That experience, she said, informs some of her top policy priorities: affordable housing, tougher environmental standards, and expanded educational opportunities. 

WHAT ARE THE STAKES?

Republicans are eager to keep this seat and refresh their image in the process. Whether Medina is able to put up a fight will depend on how thinly stretched Democratic dollars are elsewhere across the state.

ENDORSEMENTS

ROSILICIE OCHOA BOGH

• Republican National Hispanic Assembly

• Riverside County Sheriff’s Association

ABIGAIL MEDINA

• Equality California

• Voices for Progress

DISTRICT 29

ABOUT THE DISTRICT

From western Anaheim to Chino Hills, this mostly suburban district that cuts across three counties saw the GOP’s voter registration advantage disappear in the months leading up to the 2016 presidential election. A Republican hasn’t won in a regularly scheduled election here since.

But in 2018, Democratic state Sen. Josh Newman was recalled, ostensibly over his support for a state gas tax increase. So while Democrats have a narrow advantage, this is hardly a progressive stronghold. 

WHERE IS THE DISTRICT?

WHO ARE THE CANDIDATES?

This is a rematch of a rematch. Ling Ling Chang and Josh Newman are probably sick of campaigning against one another at this point. 

Republican - Ling Ling Chang

The only Asian American woman in the state Legislature, Chang lost this seat before she last won it. In 2016, the one-term member of the Assembly ran against Newman and lost by fewer than 2,500 votes. When Newman was recalled in June 2018, Chang beat out five challengers to replace him. But in a low turnout, winner-take-all election, she won with just over 50,000 votes — a third as many votes as Newman won the year before. 

This has all made Chang’s future representation of this politically mixed senate district uncertain. She has governed accordingly. By some measures, she is the most moderate Republican in the Senate.

Democrat - Josh Newman

With the help of high turnout and ever-worsening voter registration numbers for the local GOP, Newman hopes to be the first state legislator to return to the Capitol after being recalled.  

An advocate for veterans with a penchant for weird election tactics (he spent much of the 2016 campaign in a bear suit), Newman was recalled in the summer of 2018. He wasn’t the author of the gas tax hike, but as the most vulnerable Senate Democrat, he was a top target for Republicans and anti-tax advocates. Running during a regularly scheduled general election with an unpopular Republican president at the top of the ballot, he’s counting on a re-reversal of fortunes.

WHAT ARE THE STAKES?

After a nail-biter in 2016 and a wildly contentious recall in 2018, this is likely to be the most closely watched and exceedingly expensive senate campaign in the state. It’s also a chance for Democrats to get even for their biggest loss in 2018. 

ENDORSEMENTS

LING LING CHANG

• The Orange County Register

• Association of Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs

JOSH NEWMAN

• Gov. Gavin Newsom

• California State Treasurer Fiona Ma

DISTRICT 37

ABOUT THE DISTRICT

Split almost entirely between two longtime GOP congressional districts that flipped blue in the 2018 election, this senate seat — which holds elections every four years — is up now. As a district where voters backed Clinton over Trump by a healthy margin and where Republicans hold only a narrow lead of registered voters, it’s a tempting target for Democrats. All the more so after the March primary, when Democratic candidates received a combined 53% of the vote. 

Running from the Anaheim hills through Irvine down to Huntington and Newport Beaches, it’s one of the more affluent and well-educated enclaves of the state.

WHERE IS THE DISTRICT?

WHO ARE THE CANDIDATES?

One of the most vulnerable members of the Senate GOP caucus and one of its most outspoken fiscal hawks faces a challenge from a law professor with no elected experience but a history of electoral brawling.

Republican - John Moorlach

Moorlach has been a presence in Orange County politics since running for treasurer-tax collector in the mid-1990s and warning of financial ruin. When the county did eventually go bankrupt, Moorlach embraced the image of fiscal Nostradamus. A predictable conservative Senate vote on most issues, Moorlach, a certified public accountant, focuses on fiscal matters, where he rails against unchecked public pension debts and the excesses of state spending.

Democrat - Dave Min

This contest is likely to be fierce, but Min is plenty used to that. A Democrat and UC Irvine law professor, he ran for the overlapping congressional seat running to the right of Rep. Katie Porter before losing in a raucous convention battle. This March he ran as the progressive alternative for Senate against Costa Mesa Mayor Katrina Foley — a faceoff that also turned fairly negative. Finally clear of intra-partisan bickering, Min is hoping to prevail by tapping anti-Trump enthusiasm and raking in vast amounts of cash.

WHAT ARE THE STAKES?

This is one of only two remaining red splotches of coastal California, and where Democrats hope to finish up what 2018’s blue wave started. For Republicans, it’s a vital toehold in an area they once dominated — and it’s held by one of their most seasoned legislative advocates on fiscal issues.

ENDORSEMENTS

JOHN MOORLACH

• California Small Business Association

• Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association

DAVE MIN

• Equality California

• Sierra Club

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Everyone likes a good rematch.

Remember the “blue wave” in 2018, when a pack of Trump-loathing political newbies unseated half of the GOP’s California congressional seats in the largest nationwide Democratic Congressional blitz since Watergate? Now Democrats want to protect what’s theirs and claw back a seat that flipped back during a special election. Buoyed by the president’s persistent unpopularity in the state and high expected turnout, party optimists even hope to expand further into solidly Republican rural California.

But California’s freshman Democrats now have a record — on impeachment, Medicare for All, the Green New Deal, criminal justice, and their perceived closeness with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Republicans plan to hammer them on it. Below, a recap of the most competitive, interesting, or consequential contests.

— By Ben Christopher

Find Your California Representative

You can use the following map provide by to find your representatives provided by legislature.ca.gov here

Information on the candidates, news, the stakes, and endorsements on all the California districts that are on the November 2020 ballot are listed here. 

DISTRICT 1

ABOUT THE DISTRICT

From Sacramento’s northern exurbs to the Oregon border, from just west of Redding to just west of Reno, this district is larger than West Virginia. Its particular brand of anti-Sacramento conservatism is best represented by the yellow flag of the State of Jefferson — a California secession movement that never quite took, but never quite left the popular imagination either.

That strain is also apparent in the district’s electoral history. President Trump won here by 20 points in 2016. Republicans make up a higher share of the electorate than in any other California congressional district and they outnumber Democrats by 12 percentage points. 

WHERE IS THE DISTRICT?

WHO ARE THE CANDIDATES?

A Republican incumbent accustomed to easy wins is once again facing an underdog Democratic candidate. And the challenger is planning to put up a bigger fight this time. 

Republican - Doug LaMalfa

From the Assembly to the state Senate to Congress, LaMalfa has been a feature of California Republican politics since 2002. He’s also a rice farmer, hailing from a family of rice farmers, and plays up his Stetson-toting rustic cred with the campaign slogan “one of us.” For years LaMalfa has served as a quietly reliable workhorse of one of California’s most rural districts, introducing bipartisan legislation on forest management and backing recent Democratic efforts to boost funding for the post office. He’s also a dependably conservative vote and ally of the president. He enjoys an “A” rating from the National Rifle Association. He has said he is not convinced that human activity is responsible for climate change. And he recently introduced legislation that would ban sex reassignment surgery for minors. 

Democrat - Audrey Denney

An education consultant and former agriculture lecturer at California State University, Chico, Denney made a surprisingly strong showing here in 2018, losing by less than 10 points in a seat that went for President Trump by 20. Her candidacy followed a familiar formula that seemed to work for Democrats during the midterms: she was a young, mostly-moderate woman inspired to run after the surprise win of Trump in 2016. During the midterms, she pulled heavily from the more densely populated portions of the district, while LaMalfa ran up the tally among the rural majority. Announcing her second bid in the months after the Camp Fire killed 85 people in Butte County, she’s been particularly focused on forest management and climate change. With more name recognition, more money and likely higher turnout behind her this time, she’s hoping to be this year’s sleeper win.

WHAT ARE THE STAKES?

In 2018, Denney successfully captured the imagination of enough progressive donors to mount a real campaign. She’s playing to those Democratic dreams again, helped by the March primary when LaMalfa received only 54% of the vote. The fact that this race is even remotely competitive is a sign of just how much terrain the GOP has lost in California. 

ENDORSEMENTS

DOUG LAMALFA

• National Rifle Association

• California Pro-Life Council

AUDREY DENNEY

• California Teachers Association

• California Democratic Party

DISTRICT 4

ABOUT THE DISTRICT

Stretching from Truckee to Kings Canyon, this is California’s foothill and mountain district. When California’s redistricting commission cobbled this 300-mile span together, it was to create a block of voters with shared concerns about land management, fire, national parks, mountain recreation, and rural economic development. Electorally speaking, those varied communities have also tended to share a general preference for Republicans. 

But over the last decade, the suburbs and its politics have been slowly creeping in. Sacramento’s metro area has been one of the fastest-growing in California. And while the district remains one of the most Republican-leaning in the state, all those new voters, many fleeing the Bay Area in search of cheaper housing, have created the slightest of openings for less conservative candidates. 

WHERE IS THE DISTRICT?

WHO ARE THE CANDIDATES?

A warhorse of the California GOP was able to fend off his massively-funded challenger in 2018. With demographics and expected turnout in their favor, Democrats hope a new hyper-achieving candidate might just be able to close that gap.

Republican - Tom McClintock

A California Republican Party mainstay since the age of 23, McClintock has been a state senator, member of the Assembly, county GOP chair and candidate for governor, lieutenant governor, and controller. Despite his roots in Ventura County, in 2008 McClintock ran for Congress to represent the 4th district — which then ran from Roseville to the Oregon border. He’s represented the 4th ever since as one of the House’s most conservative members. From his position on the Judiciary Committee, he stood out during the presidential impeachment hearings as among the more combative defenders of the president. Since the start of the pandemic, he’s made headlines as the only member of the California delegation to vote against the second federal pandemic relief bill — and for his refusal to wear a mask during hearings.

Democrat- Brynne Kennedy

A Yale gymnast turned Wall Street investment banker turned remote working consultant who speaks Mandarin, Kennedy is now in her mid-30s and hoping to add “member of Congress” to her resume. Like McClintock’s 2018 challenger, Jessica Morse, Kennedy also represents one of the district’s fastest-growing demographics: highly educated, white-collar suburbanites with middle-of-the road politics. But Kennedy has a few strengths over her predecessor: Morse was accused of exaggerating her CV, while Kennedy has no such baggage. She’s also running as Democrat in during what’s likely to be a high-turnout presidential year.

WHAT ARE THE STAKES?

This has been inhospitable terrain for Democratic candidates. But Democrats would love nothing more than to see McClintock finally retire and, if 2018 is a guide, they’re willing to spend vast sums on that off-chance.

ENDORSEMENTS

TOM MCCLINTOCK

• California Pro-Life Council

• National Rifle Association

BRYNNE KENNEDY

• Equality California

• California Democratic Party

DISTRICT 10

ABOUT THE DISTRICT

It’s in the Central Valley, but the Bay Area’s fingerprints are all over it.

The Bay’s housing market has caused Tracy’s population to surge with super-computers in recent years. During the Trump era, Bay Area campaign cash has made races here among the most expensive, and its weekend volunteers have poured over the hills into Modesto and Turlock.

Though this is a seat Democrats nabbed from Republicans in 2018, it’s been leaning that direction for half a decade. In 2015, the number of registered Democrats surpassed Republicans, and Clinton beat Trump by 3 points.

WHERE IS THE DISTRICT?

WHO ARE THE CANDIDATES?

This Bay Area-adjacent Central Valley district that recently flipped blue was always going to be an uphill battle for Republicans. And that was before the GOP candidate’s ugly social media history made the news.

Democrat - Josh Harder

Harder was born in Turlock before attending Stanford and Harvard. After a stint as a venture capitalist, he returned to the district to unseat GOP Rep. Jeff Denham. In Washington, Harder has voted in the ideological dead center of the Democratic caucus. And with strong ties to Silicon Valley, he’s been one of the state’s most prolific fundraisers.

Republican - Ted Howze

A veterinarian and former Turlock councilman, Howze placed second in the March primary thanks largely to name recognition: He ran for the seat in 2018 as an immigration hardliner. Better yet for the GOP, their party’s share of the vote exceeded the combined total of the Democrats. Then things went off the rails. In May, Politico unearthed a series of sexist, Islamophobic, and conspiracy theory-laden social media posts from the candidate’s 2018 primary run. Soon after, House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy, who represents Bakersfield, pulled his endorsement.

WHAT ARE THE STAKES?

Harder beat Denham in 2018 by characterizing him as a Trump acolyte. With his own record and Washington D.C. association to defend, Harder will have to prove that his win wasn’t merely a reaction to an unpopular incumbent, but to the GOP itself. Howze’s (now-scrubbed) Facebook feed has made that job a lot easier.

ENDORSEMENTS

JOSH HARDER

• California Teachers Association

• California Young Democrats

TED HOWZE

• California Pro-Life Council

• Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association

DISTRICT 21

ABOUT THE DISTRICT

Jutting from the southeastern edge of Fresno south to Bakersfield, this district has the highest poverty rate of any in the state.

It’s also long seemed to defy political logic. Registered Democrats have outnumbered Republicans by double digits for years. Trump was soundly defeated here in 2016. And yet, election after election, voters re-hired a Republican for Congress. That disequilibrium broke last year — barely. GOP Rep. David Valadao lost by 862 votes. 

WHERE IS THE DISTRICT?

WHO ARE THE CANDIDATES?

This is round two for 2018 but in reverse.

Democrat - TJ Cox

In the lead-up to the 2018 midterm elections, Cox ran a quieter primary than Democratic challengers elsewhere — most saw his challenge to Valadao as a longshot. But a massive voter mobilization effort targeted at Latino and younger voters pulled him through. 

In D.C., Cox has voted in line with the bulk of his Democratic colleagues. Outside of Congress, he hasn’t been doing his reelection campaign any favors. In three separate instances in 2019, Cox was forced to fess up to previously undisclosed business ties, including his directorship of a Canadian mining company that got into legal trouble for failing to pay its employees. Then in August, the Fresno Bee reported that Cox convinced federal park employees to give him two passes to Yosemite National Park, circumventing the standard lottery system. But it was later reported that Cox had secured the passes in order to film a video promoting federal conservation legislation.

Republican - David Valadao

Due to his agricultural pedigree and moderate immigration record, Valadao might just be the kind of Republican who can still win in this section of the Central Valley. And he wants his seat back.

But he has had financial troubles of his own and must strike what could be an impossible balance: to sufficiently distance himself from Trump to entice moderate Democrats and independents, but not so much that he alienates his own party. Hence his decision to run a political ad heralding his work with President Obama, while also reassuring members of his own party that unlike in 2016, he will be supporting Trump this time. 

WHAT ARE THE STAKES?

In a reversal of roles from two years ago, Democrats have a battered incumbent to defend of their own. Even with the high turnout that typically accompanies a presidential election year, this is seen as among their most vulnerable seats. 

ENDORSEMENTS

TJ COX

• Equality California

• California Professional Firefighters

DAVID VALADAO

• Fresno Bee

• National Federation of Independent Business

DISTRICT 22

ABOUT THE DISTRICT

From Clovis to Tulare to Visalia, Big Ag is king in this stretch of the eastern Central Valley. It’s also one of the state’s more conservative plots. Republicans outnumber Democrats, and Trump won here by nearly 10 points.

WHERE IS THE DISTRICT?

WHO ARE THE CANDIDATES?

Incumbent Devin Nunes’ fervent defense of Trump and his regular goading of liberals and journalists makes him a national hero to some and a villain to others. That means this race is sure to be closely watched and well-financed — even if it isn’t the most competitive. 

Republican - Devin Nunes

As chairman of the House Intelligence Committee prior to 2018, Nunes protected Trump and railed against the “Deep State.” After the GOP lost its House majority in 2018, Nunes became dismissive, trolling counterpart to Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, who chaired the House’s impeachment inquiry. 

For all those reasons, Nunes is a powerhouse fundraiser with enough cash on hand to run for Senate in many states.

When not sparring with Democrats on CSPAN, Nunes has been busy filing defamation suits to silence an array of critics — against CNN, Twitter, the Fresno Bee, a retired farmer in the district, a Republican political strategist, and, most notably,  two online social media users claiming via parody accounts to be Nunes’ mom and his cow. 

Democrat - Phil Arballo

Phil (Felipe) Arballo, a Fresno financial advisor, has endorsements from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and local trades union groups. He also earned the backing of Andrew Janz, the prosecutor who took on Nunes in 2018. Like Janz, Arballo is a longshot in such a GOP-leaning district. But taking on what Democrats regard as one of their most loathed members of Congress tends to do wonders for a campaign’s fundraising efforts.

WHAT ARE THE STAKES?

Even in a high turnout year, odds are still on Nunes. But like 2018, this looks to be a massive money suck for both parties.

ENDORSEMENTS

DEVIN NUNES

• California Pro-Life Council

• National Rifle Association

PHIL ARBALLO

• California Labor Federation

• The Fresno Bee

DISTRICT 25

ABOUT THE DISTRICT

The three valleys that form the north Los Angeles suburbs — Simi, Santa Clarita, and Antelope — have always been defined in opposition to their metropolitan neighbor. In the 1970s, Santa Clarita became synonymous with white flight, as L.A.’s middle- and upper-middle-class white residents and much of the L.A. law enforcement workforce fled crime, mandatory busing, and urban living. This all gave the region a decidedly conservative bent: Simi Valley is home to the Reagan national library.

But those politics have been changing — partly in reaction to the Trump era but also as a function of diversifying demographics. 

WHERE IS THE DISTRICT?

WHO ARE THE CANDIDATES?

Didn’t this contest just happen? Yes, it did. Businessman Mike Garcia easily beat Assemblymember Christy Smith in a special election to replace Katie Hill, who stepped down after details of her sexual relationship with a campaign staffer and accompanying nude photos were posted by a right-wing political website and a British tabloid. Garcia will have to beat Smith again if he wants to hold onto this seat for more than a few months.

Republican - Mike Garcia

When Hill beat a Republican incumbent in 2018, the narrative for Democrats was clear: The home of the Reagan Presidential Library had rejected the politics of Donald Trump. But Garcia’s sound victory in May flipped that script. A Georgetown-educated defense contractor and former Navy fighter pilot, Garcia ran as the unabashed pro-Trump candidate. He denounced the “socialist agenda” of Democrats and outflanked former GOP Rep. Steve Knight, who had hoped to stage a comeback. Alongside his connection to the military, the thrust of Garcia’s re-election messaging has been that California under Democratic rule is on the wrong track. He’s made a particular point of hammering Smith for her vote for a new law making it harder for companies like Uber and Lyft to classify their workers as independent contractors.

Democrat - Christy Smith

A relative moderate who won election to the state Assembly in 2018, she easily nabbed second place in the March primary despite a cavalcade of other Democratic challengers, including YouTube personality Cenk Uyger. That was thanks in part to full-throated endorsements by Gov. Gavin Newsom, both of California’s U.S. senators, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the state party, and Hill herself. As with many of the Democrats who flipped red seats blue in 2018, Smith is emphasizing health care above all else, vowing to protect and push to expand the Affordable Care Act if elected. 

WHAT ARE THE STAKES?

Suburban, once-reliably Republican but resistant to Trump, this district has “bellwether” written all over it. Both parties will be marshaling their resources accordingly. But for Democrats, a victory here would be symbolic. Hill was a breakout star of the 2018 blue wave who was going places within the party’s ranks. Her unceremonious departure, facilitated as it was by conservative operatives, left many Democratic activists feeling robbed. Garcia may have won this seat in May, but he can expect a much fiercer battle this time. 

ENDORSEMENTS

MIKE GARCIA

• President Donald Trump

• National Right to Life Committee

CHRISTY SMITH

• Barack Obama

• Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence

DISTRICT 39

ABOUT THE DISTRICT

Diverse, well-educated, and suburban, this may be the archetypical example of the once-solidly-GOP district that has slipped from Republican fingers in the Trump era. 

The Republican share of registered voters has been trending down for years, and Democrats now outnumber Republicans by 4 points. Even so, the 2018 election pitting a Latino veteran political novice against a well-known Korean American former legislator was a nail-biter. It took two weeks of ballot-counting before anyone was ready to declare the Democrat the victor.

WHERE IS THE DISTRICT?

WHO ARE THE CANDIDATES?

You’ve seen these two before: The lotto winning ex-Republican versus the former Assemblymember with the backing of the Orange County establishment. After a squeaker in 2018, this is the rematch.

Democrat - Gil Cisneros

Cisneros was an actual lottery winner. He was also lucky enough to make it past the 17-person primary and eke out a 3 point victory in one of 2018’s closest congressional races. Having those millions to spend on the race helped. A former Republican who became an education philanthropist after winning $266 million in 2010, he ran as moderate.

In Congress, Cisneros is on the Armed Services and Veterans Affairs committees, bolstering his foreign policy cred. After news of Trump’s Ukraine affair broke, Cisneros joined six fellow freshmen House Democrats — all veterans of the armed services or intelligence agencies — to call for an impeachment investigation. It was a turning point in the saga.

Republican - Young Kim

Kim’s loss in 2018 caught many by surprise. It was hard to imagine a Republican candidate better suited to the area. She was a Korean immigrant in a district with a large Korean community and a skilled retail politician with electoral experience and connections to the Orange County party establishment. With experience in the state Assembly and close ties to the outcoming incumbent, Kim also had a knack throughout the campaign for saying as little as humanly possible about President Trump, who lost the district by 9 points. 

Republicans evidently still see her as their best chance in 2020, with donors rushing to her financial aid. Befitting an underdog hoping to unseat an incumbent, she’s been on the offensive. The barbs she’s directed at Cisneros have been less about policy and more about the company he keeps. Kim’s attack ads have criticized Cisneros for supporting San Francisco Rep. Nancy Pelosi for House speaker, and for taking campaign contributions from lobbyists and labor-affiliated political action committees.

WHAT ARE THE STAKES?

Cisneros has a reason for optimism, given the power of incumbency and the typically higher Democratic turnout of a presidential year. But a lot has happened since November 2018 and the incumbent no longer has the luxury of running as an outsider looking to shake up the system. 

ENDORSEMENTS

GIL CISNEROS

• California Teachers Association

• Everytown for Gun Safety

YOUNG KIM

• Retired Congressman Ed Royce

• National Federation of Independent Business

DISTRICT 45

ABOUT THE DISTRICT

Hugging the west side of the Santa Ana Mountains, this inland Orange County district runs from Yorba Linda’s edge to Mission Viejo. Republicans still narrowly outnumber Democrats district-wide, with dark blue clusters around UC Irvine. And as with much of Orange County, President Trump and his flavor of GOP politics are unpopular with this affluent, highly educated electorate. Since 2014, the GOP share of the electorate here has declined 7 points — a more precipitous drop than in any other congressional district on this list.

WHERE IS THE DISTRICT?

WHO ARE THE CANDIDATES?

A banker-bashing progressive might not seem the most obvious fit for this district. But viral stardom and far more cash than the other candidate make the incumbent the clear favorite. 

Democrat - Katie Porter

Katie Porter is among the most well-known members of the 2019 freshman class. The UC Irvine bankruptcy law professor with an Elizabeth Warren-inspired left-leaning populism has a knack for dissolving bankers and presidential appointees into humiliating meme-able soundbites from her perch on the House Financial Services Committee. In fact, Sen. Warren used to be Porter’s professor at Harvard Law, and Porter was the co-chair of her presidential campaign. 

Porter’s virality has been good for fundraising — always a helpful thing inside the eye-popping expensive Los Angeles media market. But as a Medicare for All proponent, she is an unusual fit in a district where Republicans still outnumber Democrats.

Republican - Greg Raths

After 30 years in the Marine Corps and a stint at the White House Military Office, Raths ran for Congress twice unsuccessfully before finally winning a seat on Mission Viejo’s city council in 2018. That regular presence on the ballot might be the reason behind Raths’ second-place finish during the primary. He won 18% of the vote, splitting the GOP share with five other candidates. He wasn’t the pick of the party establishment and given Porter’s formidable fundraising advantage, it’s not clear GOP donors are willing to put enough behind Raths to make a real go of it. 

WHAT ARE THE STAKES?

Can a progressive keep winning in a right-leaning district by ginning up enough enthusiasm from its bluest corners? Here’s the test case.

ENDORSEMENTS

KATIE PORTER

• Barack Obama

• Sen. Elizabeth Warren

GREG RATHS

• Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association

• State Senator Pat Bates

DISTRICT 48

ABOUT THE DISTRICT

This 50-mile stretch of Orange County coastline represents the high-water mark of the blue wave. In no California congressional district represented by a Democrat are the Dems outnumbered by a larger spread (5%) or did President Trump receive a higher share of the 2016 vote (46%).

So how did a Democrat capture the seat? Democrats are hoping it was due to a strong candidate and a lasting shift of otherwise conservative voters away from the Trumpified GOP.

But Republicans are counting on a simpler answer: Dana Rohrabacher.

WHERE IS THE DISTRICT?

WHO ARE THE CANDIDATES?

In one of Orange County’s last Republican bastions, a fortunate Democrat hangs on for his political life while Republicans rally around a well-known challenger.

Democrat - Harley Rouda

In the lead-up to the 2018 election, nowhere was anti-Trump electoral enthusiasm as concentrated as in Orange County. Harley Rouda, a wealthy real estate executive with no political experience, was one of eight Democrats to join the race. Their target: Rep. Rohrabacher, a mainstay of Orange County GOP politics whose preference for warmer U.S.-Russia relations earned him the derisive nickname “Putin’s favorite congressman.” 

Despite a pugnacious Twitter presence, Rouda, a former Republican, has gone out of his way to convey his moderate politics to the still GOP-leaning voters in his district. In the 2020 presidential primary, he was the first California member of Congress to endorse New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Republican - Michelle Steel

The once indomitable Orange County GOP political machine is still a force to be reckoned with and Steele sits at the center of it. A county supervisor going on six years and the current chair, she previously represented the region on the state’s Board of Equalization. She’s married to former Republican National Committeeman and ex-state party chair Shawn Steel. No surprise that since the beginning of the election season, she has had the backing of the state party and every California Republican member of Congress.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Steel has also been a central figure in Orange County’s resistance to the Newsom administration’s COVID-19 public health orders. In May, Steel authored a county resolution declaring churches “essential” services — contravening more restrictive state standards — and publicly pressured the county’s public health director to relax a mandatory mask regulation.

WHAT ARE THE STAKES?

On paper, this is the Democrats’ most vulnerable congressional seat. If Republicans are able to take it back, it will indicate that their previous loss was more about Rohrabacher’s unpopularity than anything else. If Rouda holds on here on November 3, it’s a sign that Democrats are probably having a very good night. 

ENDORSEMENTS

HARLEY ROUDA

• California Labor Federation

• League of Conservation Voters

MICHELLE STEEL

• Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes

• Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich

DISTRICT 49

ABOUT THE DISTRICT

It’s a political mishmash of historic Republican strongholds (affluent Rancho Santa Fe, the Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base, and San Clemente, home to President Nixon’s “Western White House”) alongside reliable Democratic voting blocs (seaside Encinitas, the UC San Diego Campus).

In practice, the district has a slight GOP-edge, an environmentalist streak, and a recent history of voting for Democrats. In other words, a toss-up.

WHERE IS THE DISTRICT?

WHO ARE THE CANDIDATES?

Of all the seats California Republicans lost in 2018, this district spanning Orange and San Diego counties may be the hardest one to retake.

Democrat - Mike Levin

Rep. Mike Levin seemed to come out of nowhere in 2018 — an environmental lawyer who was executive director of the Orange County Democratic Party. He won, the first Democrat to do so on this stretch of coast in at least a generation. And he did so by double digits. 

Since going to Washington, Levin’s legislative focus has been divided between veterans’ issues and clean energy. Along the way, he’s nabbed committee assignments that reflect the interests of the district: Veterans Affairs, Natural Resources, and the newly formed Select Committee on the Climate Crisis.

Republican - Brian Maryott

The former mayor of San Juan Capistrano is running as a fiscal conservative, pointing to his career as a financial planner. But he also touts his support for environmental protection, his opposition to offshore oil drilling, and his willingness to work with Democrats.

After the death of George Floyd and the resulting weeks of upheaval, Maryott has taken a sharper rhetorical tact, hammering Levin for what he calls his “silence” over the “defund the police” movement. On his campaign website, Maryott lists himself as “law enforcement’s choice.”

WHAT ARE THE STAKES?

If recent trends are any predictor, this may be the GOP’s last chance to reclaim this district before it slips into the Democratic column for good.

ENDORSEMENTS

MIKE LEVIN

• The San Diego Union-Tribune

• Everytown for Gun Safety

BRIAN MARYOTT

• Kevin Faulconer, mayor of San Diego

• Deputy Sheriff's Association Of San Diego County

DISTRICT 50

ABOUT THE DISTRICT

Head 20 miles inland and San Diego County gets very conservative very quickly. Ranging from suburban to exurban to rural, this is one of the most Republican districts in the state. GOP voters outnumber Democrats by 10 points, and Trump won here by 15.

But Republicans are carrying some baggage into this election. Baggage called “former Congressman Duncan Hunter.”

In December of 2019, the Marine combat veteran from a San Diego political family — who spent the 2018 election accusing his opponent of ties to terrorism — pleaded guilty to misusing more than $200,000 in campaign contributions. Federal prosecutors said he misappropriated the funds for (among other things) bar benders, school tuition, extra-marital engagements, and a cross-country flight for a pet bunny.

WHERE IS THE DISTRICT?

WHO ARE THE CANDIDATES?

In January Hunter stepped down to the collective relief of Republicans across the state. That would seem to clear the way for any non-indicted Republican to stroll to victory. But the Democrat in the race might mount a surprisingly strong challenge.

Republican - Darrell Issa

Acar alarm magnate with millions to spend, Issa represented a coastal district for much of the past decade as the richest member of Congress. His combative style on the House oversight committee during the Obama years endeared him to Republicans across the country. With the president’s approval rating tanking in the coastal suburbs, Issa cast his last decisive vote against the Republican-sponsored tax bill before announcing that he would not be seeking reelection in his old district. A few months later, Democrat Mike Levin took the 49th congressional seat by a decisive margin. 

Now Issa, having found himself a friendlier electorate, is running in this district. In the primary, he successfully elbowed aside competing Republicans in a contest that largely centered around who was more loyal to the president. Now he faces a Democrat, which was undoubtedly the outcome he preferred.

Democrat - Ammar Campa-Najjar

An Obama White House intern who then handled public affairs at the U.S. Labor Department, he’s the millennial son of Mexican and Palestinian immigrants. When he ran for this seat in 2018, it would have seemed a lost electoral cause in this district but for the ongoing federal investigation into his opponent. He did lose to Hunter but by less than 4 points. 

Now the 31-year-old is hoping to prove that his over-performance in the midterms was about more than the disasterousness of his opponent. He’s not running as a progressive, instead touting his support for gun rights and border security and promising to be the “most conservative congressman in San Diego.” Despite the long odds, he’s benefiting from some political tailwinds in 2020. Those include strong fundraising, the institutional backing of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, a less competitive Congressional map in California than expected allowing for a bit of extra help from national Democrats, and a spattering of summer polls suggesting that maybe — just maybe — he actually has a shot.

WHAT ARE THE STAKES?

WIth Hunter gone, hope that a young Democrat could win here has faded. But against a well-known, well-funded opponent in Campa-Najjar, Issa is at least going to have to work for his return ticket to Congress.

ENDORSEMENTS

DARRELL ISSA

• President Donald Trump

• Kevin Faulconer, mayor of San Diego

AMMAR CAMPA-NAJJAR

• Sierra Club

• Service Employees International Union

DISTRICT 53

ABOUT THE DISTRICT

Hooking north and east around San Diego proper before extending into the suburbs, this district has been solidly Democratic since the 1990s. These days its demographic profile is a pretty good description of the national party: majority non-white, a mix of the urban core and inner suburbs, a few highly educated enclaves, and a large LGBTQ neighborhood. Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans 2-to-1.

WHERE IS THE DISTRICT?

WHO ARE THE CANDIDATES?

Rep. Susan Davis’ decision not to seek reelection triggered an electoral blitz as a small army of Democrats rushed to lay claim to this safe seat. 

Democrat - Georgette Gomez

As president of the San Diego City Council going on four years, Gomez climbed the ladder of local politics and has the endorsements of the local powers-that-be to show for it. If elected, she would be the first openly LGBTQ Latina to serve in Congress — not an insignificant selling point in a district that’s home to the historically gay Hillcrest and North Park neighborhoods, and where one-in-three residents are Latino.

Gomez is also a favorite of the left. In January, Gomez, who supports universal Medicare and the “Green New Deal,” earned the endorsement of Sen. Bernie Sanders. She’s also backed by the Justice Democrats, the political action committee created by former Sanders campaign staffers who helped propel Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, Ilhan Omar, and Rashida Tlaib into Congress.

Democrat - Sara Jacobs

Amillennial alum of both the Obama administration and the Clinton presidential campaign, Jacobs has never held office, although she made an unsuccessful bid in a different district in 2018. Saying she was spurred to run after the election of President Trump, she is no conservative — she supports Medicare for All. But given that the Sanders camp and organized labor groups are backing her opponent, she is the default option for moderate voters. In August, she was endorsed by a former GOP congressional candidate. 

WHAT ARE THE STAKES?

In one of the bluest districts in the state, here’s the question: Which version of the Democratic Party do voters prefer?

ENDORSEMENTS

GEORGETTE GOMEZ

• Sen. Bernie Sanders

• California Democratic Party

SARA JACOBS

• Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis

• California Association of Realtors

 Information and banner provided by CalMatters.org a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.

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California’s November election will feature 12 statewide ballot measures. The following are explanation videos produced by CalMatters and links to full descriptions and information on each of the propositions.

In California, 13 statewide ballot propositions are on the ballot for elections in 2020.

• Twelve (12) ballot measures were certified to appear on the ballot for the election on November 3, 2020.

• One ballot measure, Proposition 13, was on the ballot for March 3, 2020, and was defeated.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Uber, Lyft, and Doordash are sponsoring a ballot initiative that would define app-based drivers as independent contractors and not employees, as well as enact several labor and wage policies.

• Californians will decide two citizen-initiated measures, the Criminal Sentencing Initiative and Cash Bail Referendum, designed to amend or repeal criminal sentencing and supervision laws passed during the second tenure of Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown (2011-2019).

• A ballot initiative to amend Proposition 13 (1978) will be on the ballot. The proposal would tax commercial and industrial properties based on market value, rather than their purchase price plus the lesser of inflation or 2 percent.

• After Proposition 10 was defeated in 2018, Californians will vote on a modified rent control ballot initiative in 2020

California Proposition 14, stem cell research

Issues $5.5 billion in bonds for state stem cell research institute

California Proposition 15, split roll

Requires commercial and industrial properties to be taxed based on market value and dedicates revenue

California Proposition 16, restoring affirmative action

Repeals Proposition 209 (1996), which says that the state cannot discriminate or grant preferential treatment based on race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in public employment, education, or contracting

California Proposition 17, parolee voting

Restores the right to vote to people convicted of felonies who are on parole

California Proposition 18, voting for some 17-year-olds

Allows 17-year-olds who will be 18 at the time of the next general election to vote in primaries and special elections

California Proposition 19, portable property tax break initiative

Changes tax assessment transfers and inheritance rules

California Proposition 20, criminal justice changes

Makes changes to policies related to criminal sentencing charges, prison release, and DNA collection

California Proposition 21, rent control

Expands local governments' power to use rent control

California Proposition 22, gig workers as contractors initiative

Considers app-based drivers to be independent contractors and enacts several labor policies related to app-based companies

California Proposition 23, the kidney dialysis initiative

Requires physician on-site at dialysis clinics and consent from the state for a clinic to close

California Proposition 24, data privacy

Expands the provisions of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and creates the California Privacy Protection Agency to implement and enforce the CCPA

California Proposition 25, replacing cash bail

Replaces cash bail with risk assessments for suspects awaiting trial

Come rain, shine, pandemic or crippling recession, California voters can always count on one thing: a very long, very complicated ballot.

Though the presidential race will gobble up most of the attention, the choice between GOP President Donald Trump and former Democratic Vice President Joe Biden will be an easy one for most California voters. The outcome statewide isn’t in doubt — nor was it before Biden picked California’s U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate. Trump won less than a third of the vote here in 2016, and a Republican presidential nominee hasn’t carried the state in more than three decades. 

But Californians will make other vital decisions:

Deciding the fate of 12 statewide ballot measures that seek to raise taxes or lower them; regulate some industries or ban others; and expand voting rights, tighten criminal sentencing and resurrect affirmative action. 
Determining the makeup of the Legislature, now controlled by a gigamajority of Democrats.
Either affirming the sweeping gains Democrats made in California’s congressional delegation, or driving back 2018’s “blue wave.”
Confused about what’s at stake, which races to watch, how to vote during a pandemic or why you’re yet again voting on kidney dialysis? Consider this guide your one-stop-shop.

Important Dates

PROPOSITIONS

California’s November election will feature 12 statewide ballot measures. You can see a full list of the propositions featuring explanation videos and full descriptions and information on each of the propositions here...

CONGRESS RACES

The 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in California will be held on November 3, 2020, to elect the 53 U.S. Representatives from the state of California, one from each of the state's 53 congressional districts. Information on all of the districts can be found here...

STATE SENATE RACES

The 2020 State Senate elections will be held on November 3, 2020, with 20 odd-numbered districts of the California State Senate will elect their representatives. Information on all the California senate races can be found here...

STATE ASSEMBLY RACES

The 2020 California State Assembly in the 80 districts of the California State Assembly will elect their representatives. Information on all the California State Assembly races can be found here...

FAQ

It’s a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic: All registered and active California voters should receive a ballot in the mail by Oct. 12. If you are among the 72% of voters used to voting by mail, proceed as usual. If you’re used to going to the polls, you can still submit your ballot in person — either at a designated drop off point or a polling place. Your questions answered below.

HOW DO I REGISTER?

You can register online before Oct. 19. The state will try to find your signature on file with the DMV. If it doesn’t have it, you may have to print out the application and mail it in. And if you missed the October deadline, don’t panic. You can still register at your local county elections office, polling place, or vote center. You can also call your county registrar’s office.

DO I HAVE TO VOTE BY MAIL?

No. You can still vote in person if you like. But depending on where you live, your county may have a reduced number of polling places. Find your closest polling place or drop box.

DOES EVERYONE GET A BALLOT IN THE MAIL THIS TIME?

Not everyone. To keep potential coronavirus-carriers from crowding into polling places this year, the state opted to send every registered and active voter a ballot. If you aren’t registered — or if you’ve moved and haven’t voted in a while — you probably won’t get one. Check your registration status and make sure it’s accurate.

WHAT IF I DON’T GET A BALLOT IN THE MAIL BY OCT. 12?

There isn’t a hard deadline for when a ballot must arrive in your mailbox. But state law requires county elections officials to begin mailing them out on October 5 — that’s a Monday — and they have five days to get them all in the mail. If you still haven’t received your ballot by the following Monday — Oct. 12 — and you were expecting one, reach out to your county registrar’s office.

CAN I VOTE IF I DON’T HAVE A PERMANENT ADDRESS?

Yes. If you have a temporary location where you can receive mail — say, shelter or the home of a friend — you can use that address when you register. You can even receive your ballot there. If you don’t have a temporary address, register with an intersection close to where you frequently stay or, if available, just check the box that says “I do not have a street address.” In that case, you will have to vote in person. 

AM I ALLOWED TO VOTE FOR A CANDIDATE IF I’M NOT A MEMBER OF THEIR POLITICAL PARTY?

Yes! Vote for anyone on the ballot.

OK, I GOT MY BALLOT IN THE MAIL. I FILLED IT OUT. NOW WHAT?

Stick your ballot into the return envelope and then sign the back of the envelope. This part is really important because it’s the way that county election officials will determine that it’s actually you who did the voting. If the signature is missing or doesn’t match the one on file, county election officials are required to try to get in touch with you, so make sure they have a good email or phone number for you on file too. You can do that here. 

After signing and sealing the ballot, you can drop it in any mailbox (postage is prepaid) or at a dropbox or polling place.

SHOULD I VOTE EARLY? IS THE U.S. POSTAL SERVICE REALLY UP FOR THIS?

California law all but guarantees that your ballot will be counted if it’s postmarked on or before Election Day. So long as the United States Postal Service has it by Nov. 3, California law gives the mail service 17 days to get it to your county registrar’s office. That should be enough to accommodate all but the most extremely unlikely postal meltdowns.

But if you’re certain about how you want to vote beforehand, it’s not a bad idea to drop it in the mail a little early. You’ll be doing the workers at your county registrar’s office a favor by spreading out what’s sure to be a massive workload.

HOW CAN I TRUST MY BALLOT WILL BE DELIVERED AND COUNTED?

You’re vigilant. We like that. Lucky for you, California’s election administrators have rolled out a statewide ballot tracking service. If you wish, it will notify you by email, text, or phone in one of 10 languages when your ballot is sent out, received, and counted.

You can visit California’s election website for more details on voting. If you have any questions or issues or need to check the status of your provisional ballot contact your local elections officials.

 Information was sourced from CalMatters.org a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.

WHO: “Strength Thru Unity” (STU), KPFK FM’s newest trailblazing social justice program, will focus on the hard-hit impact of COVID-19 among Americans of color. Some of the nation’s most influential multicultural leaders will discuss why there is a disproportionate risk among people of color and their recommendations for how to curb this pandemic. STU will stream live and broadcast on KPFK-FM 90.7, one of Los Angeles’s oldest public radio stations.

WHAT: STU’s prominent guests include Jonathan Nez, president of the Navajo Nation; Dr. Elena Rios, president of the National Hispanic Medical Association; Thomas Johnson, CEO of Family Matters of Greater Washington; Michael Kurima, president of the Japanese American Citizens League, San Diego Chapter, Christina Mora, co-Director of Berkeley’s Institute of Government Studies and other thought leaders. Shirley Jahad of USC’s Annenberg School of Communication and an award-winning public media journalist will moderate STU’s conversation.

Topics to be discussed include health and economic disparities, the rise in hate crimes, looming evictions, remote learning, and the White House response and solutions to stop COVID-19 from impacting Blacks, Latinos, Asians, and Native-Americans.

WHEN: Aug. 26 at 1:00 PM PST via Live Stream on Zoom and on KPFK.org

WHERE: STU will also broadcast on KPFK-FM 90.7 on Aug. 28 at 5:00 PM PST. Pacifica radio station KPFK-FM can be heard throughout Southern California.

WHY: Today, there are over five million cases of COVID-19 in the US and over 150,000 deaths. In California, there are over 400,000 cases and 42,000 deaths so far. Most of California’s COVID-19 cases are among young people ages 18-49. Hospitalization is on the rise in poor Latino and Black communities statewide. According to the Association of American  Medical Colleges, if nothing is done to control this pandemic “well into the multiple hundreds of thousands” of people will die.

A new poll from UC Berkeley’s Institute for Governmental Studies reveals this unequal deadly threat on minority communities read the full story here: An Unequal Threat In-State: Black and Latino's people report bigger impact, poll finds

Previous Strength Thru Unity:

Black & Brown Lives Sowing the Seed of Change

Prominent Black and Latino Leaders in the public and private sector who care about social justice in America, who seek change, justice, and an end to racism.

Featured: Dr. Benjamin Chavis, organizer of the Million Man March; Dolores Huerta, Dolores Huerta Foundation, Lydia Camarillo, president of the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project; Eva Plaza, esq., former HUD Under Secretary, Fair Housing; Margret Prescod of KPFK-FM and Gilbert Vasquez, chairman of the LA Latino Chamber of Commerce and moderated by Gabriela Teissier, anchor of KMEX-Univision

Asian and Latino Americans build bridges as US erupts after years of institutional racism against people of color

Reacting to the pain and anger felt across the nation in the wake of George Floyd's death in Minneapolis, protests across Los Angeles began peacefully. After some engaged in looting, graffiti, and the setting of cars and building fires, an unlawful assembly was declared. 8 p.m.-5:30 a.m. curfews are now in place across the region.

Featured: Award-winning journalist Sonali Kolhatkar of KPFK-FM, acclaimed filmmakers Renee Tijama-Pena and Moctesuma Esparza, and novelist Robert Alvardo

Yet, in the lead up to the 2016 elections and for most of the 2020 primary season, there were more than 3 dozen debates without one single hour focused on poverty or the issues facing these millions of people.

How would the political landscape change if the needs and demands of poor and low-income voters were better represented in the electoral process? This new report, “Unleashing the Power of Poor and Low-Income Americans,” uses nationally representative data to illustrate the potential voting power of low-income Americans.

Click Here to View Your State’s Data

The Poor People’s Campaign has consistently described its work as “registering people for a movement that votes.” We know that the votes of poor and low-income Americans can make a difference in our elections.

This research brief provides a closer look at the voting behaviors of these millions of people, relative to the size of the total electorate as well as recent voting margins by state. We believe that its findings support our analysis that organizing among the poor, around an agenda that represents the concerns of the poor, can fundamentally change the political map of this country and lead to policies that are just and representative for all Americans.

Download the Full Report

Report by Robert Paul Hartley, Assistant Professor of Social Work, Columbia University

For more information on the Poor People's Campaign or to Join visit  Poorpeoplescampaign.org

From: https://corona-virus.la

As we all learn to live with COVID-19, we must do everything we can to protect ourselves and one another. Wearing a mask is a sign of respect — to our neighbors, our nurses, doctors, and essential workers, our loved ones, and our fellow Angelenos. 

The City of L.A. teamed up with Studio Number One to develop this poster for you to put up in your home or your shop window. It's free to use — all you need is a printer. More posters coming soon.

Los Angeles is a creative capital, and in the coming days, we'll share more information on how we can put our city's creativity to work with the L.A. Mask Print Project.

How to Download and Print

• To print at home, download the “Print at Home” version linked above. It is sized to print on one piece of 8.5 x 11” paper.
• To print professionally, download the “Print Professionally” version linked above, and send to a print shop in your neighborhood. This file is sized to print a 18”x24” poster, and includes the technical specs to make sure your poster is printed beautifully!
• Hang up your finished poster in your window! Take a photo and share it with the hashtag #LAProtects

Print at Home

Print Professionally

These posters are free for non-commercial use under the Creative Commons license. Do not produce for commercial purposes without the express permission of the City of Los Angeles.

Prominent Black and Latino Leaders in the public and private sector who care about social justice in America, who seek change, justice, and an end to racism.

Live stream program called “Strength Thru Unity”: Black & Brown Lives Sowing the Seed of Change will take place to foster, inspire, and help develop collaborations between Latinos and African Americans for social justice. Panelists include Dr. Benjamin Chavis, organizer of the Million Man March; Dolores Huerta, Dolores Huerta Foundation, Lydia Camarillo, president of the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project; Eva Plaza, esq., former HUD Under Secretary, Fair Housing; Margret Prescod of KPFK-FM and Gilbert Vasquez, chairman of the LA Latino Chamber of Commerce and moderated by Gabriela Teissier, anchor of KMEX-Univision. During “Strength Thru Unity” viewers will be able to ask questions, share experiences, and offer solutions.

July 1 at 1 PM (PST) - Register here

Once you register, you will get a link to watch on zoom 

We must not let the police murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Roshard Brooks, Andres Guardado, and hundreds of other minorities go unstopped. Now is the time, Black & Latinos need to come together to improve the lives of all people of color. “Strength Thru Unity” is communications for social justice, presented by the US Guatemala Chamber of Commerce, the Los Angeles Latino Chamber of Commerce, the National Newspapers Publisher’s Association, and the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project and is a LAVA production.

KPFK-FM is the official media partner. For interview requests or more background, please contact Luis Alfredo Vasquez-Ajmac at 310-421-6479 or Luis@LAVALosAngeles.co

Los Angeles, CA—In case you missed it June 5, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) Commission unanimously selected Heidi Marston to the position of Executive Director.

“Heidi Marston is the exact person we want to reform an entrenched system—she’s brave, energetic and unflappable. She has a commanding mastery of the details of how a bold homeless services system should work,” said Sarah Dusseault, LAHSA Commission Chair. “She came to LAHSA for a challenge and relentlessly led our unprecedented COVID-19 response—housing thousands of seniors in weeks. She will continue the momentum of systemic change and racial justice. I’m proud to announce that her leadership of this organization will continue.”   

Marston’s appointment concludes a nationwide search for the next leader of the organization, a joint powers authority whose governing commission is appointed by both City and County elected leaders. 

“We have made incredible progress toward housing and programs to help our homeless neighbors, and this public health crisis has shown us what we can accomplish when we act urgently together,” Mayor Eric Garcetti said. “Heidi Marston’s leadership has helped us save lives, and I know she is the right person to lead LAHSA forward.”

"Ms. Marston has taken on the task of mounting and executing an emergency response for our County's vulnerable homeless population during the extraordinarily challenging times brought on by COVID-19,” said Supervisor Kathryn Barger, chair of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. “She has shown incredible leadership and collaboration, and helped to get an unprecedented number of high-risk individuals off the street and into safe shelter. Ms. Marston will be a great partner to the County and our many stakeholders as we move toward recovery and beyond."

Marston has served as LAHSA’s Acting Executive Director since December 2019. She came to LAHSA as Chief Program Officer in February 2019 after serving at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in several roles, including Director of Community Engagement and Reintegration Services and Special Assistant to the VA Secretary under President Obama. 

At the VA, her accomplishments included the redesign and administration of Los Angeles’ veteran homeless services system, a program with 600 employees, double the size of most other comparable VA programs. She demonstrated expertise in government administration and the ability to drive collaboration and results. 

In her 16 months at LAHSA, Marston presided over the adoption of a new strategic plan that is currently realigning LAHSA within a broadly reconfigured homeless services system focused on outreach and rehousing, and working in clearly defined partnerships on the roles of prevention and housing creation. Marston developed LAHSA’s Housing Central Command which physically co-locates cooperating departments in order to provide real-time visibility into the rehousing system’s inventory—allowing LAHSA to dramatically increase its ability to move people experiencing homelessness into housing. 

“Homelessness in Los Angeles County is a crisis every day,” Marston said. “We have to respond to it with daily urgency while we redesign this institution to be strong and flexible enough to deliver that response at the scale of need. We need world-class data systems, we need strategies and actions rooted in racial equity, we need constant flexibility in our approach and renewal of our partnerships, and we need to do it all while keeping in our hearts the humanity and vulnerability of every person we serve. I’m honored to have the opportunity to continue leading LAHSA’s dedicated and talented staff on this mission.” 

Marston has also led the response to the pandemic, working with multiple agencies and partners in order to coordinate the rapid expansion of the shelter system, the temporary housing of vulnerable people in hotel rooms through Project Roomkey, and sustained outreach and aid to people living on the street.

“Over the past few months, Ms. Marston has demonstrated that she has what it takes to lead LAHSA,” LAHSA Commissioner Jacqueline Waggoner said. “Under her leadership, LAHSA is on the right path. I look forward to working with Ms. Marston and in continued partnership with the LAHSA team to take meaningful measures to use data and the voices of the people we serve to advance racial equity. Together, we will achieve higher accountability across the system, starting with the recommendations of the Ad Hoc Committee on Black People Experiencing Homelessness.”

“During this pivotal time, the Los Angeles Homeless Services System needs transformative leadership to ensure that programs and interventions are culturally relevant and truly responsive to the growing needs of people experiencing homelessness,” said Veronica Lewis, director of Homeless Outreach Program Integrated Care System (SSG-HOPICS). “We look forward to working alongside Heidi as the new Executive Director of LAHSA to continue to improve and strengthen policies and program design to effectively prioritize limited resources, have a system that is client-centered, develop thoughtful strategies to get people off the street quickly, and have meaningful coordination and shared accountability with other County and City Departments to address this issue. ”

ADDITIONAL SUPPORT FOR THE SELECTION OF HEIDI MARSTON

Mitch Kamin, LAHSA Commissioner, Vice-Chair:

“Heidi Marston’s work in the past year has demonstrated that, in the words of Robert F. Kennedy, she ‘dreams of things that never were and asks why not.’ She has transformed our approach to placing people in homes with Housing Central Command, clarified and elevated LAHSA’s role in the broader homeless services system, and taken on the coronavirus. I’m excited for her leadership.”

Wendy Greuel, LAHSA Commissioner: 

“There is no more important time to have a leader who is dedicated, passionate and understands the complexity of addressing homelessness. Heidi stepped up to the plate during a crisis and demonstrated she has what it takes to lead this organization in challenging times. We will be in good hands with Heidi Marston.”

Student journalists Stephanie Zappelli, Vanessa Arredondo, and Janelle Salanga participate in a training session with the CalMatters College Journalism Network, March 6, 2020. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters.

By Felicia Mello | CalMatters

More than 3 million students. Hundreds of campuses. A state higher education budget of $36 billion. As we’ve heard so often lately, California is a nation-state, and its system of colleges and universities is equally gargantuan.

Only a handful of reporters in California cover this important beat full-time. But across the state, student journalists are reporting for their campus newspapers on issues that affect them directly, from the cost of college to freedom of speech, sexual assault, and now, a global pandemic.

Student journalists are the experts on their colleges. And with the number of local news outlets shrinking, their work increasingly informs not only students but nearby communities. Now more than ever, they need support. That’s why this spring, CalMatters launched the College Journalism Network. 

The network brings together student journalists from across the state to collaborate on group reporting projects, pitch and write stories for CalMatters and our media partners, and receive training. All positions are paid, so students can afford to focus on their professional development. Our goal: to broaden and deepen CalMatters’ higher education coverage, while mentoring a diverse new generation of journalists.

With the generous support of the College Futures Foundation, we assembled our first team of six talented fellows: Vanessa Arredondo from UC Berkeley, Janelle Salanga from UC Davis, Omar Rashad from El Camino College, Ethan Coston from UC San Diego, Aidan McGloin from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and Adria Watson from Sacramento State. They are joined by at least a dozen more students from these and other campuses who have participated in our trainings or contributed reporting to our stories.

As the coronavirus reshapes higher education, our student reporters have covered the challenges colleges faced as they moved instruction online, student campaigns for flexible grading policies, how the UC graduate student strike is evolving post-pandemic, and what it’s like to juggle classes with homeschooling your children. We created a blog, Corona on Campus, that brings together our stories with coverage from student newspapers around the state to document how the virus is affecting California colleges and universities. You can find all our work here.

All California student journalists are welcome to participate in our regular Zoom trainings, which have covered public records requests, solutions journalism, public health reporting basics, managing your mental health while covering a crisis, and more. 

At our two-day kickoff training in March — held just before the pandemic made in-person trainings impossible — student fellow Omar Rashad shared a troubling encounter he’d had with a recruiter for a major national news organization. The recruiter liked Rashad’s work, but said he was reluctant to offer an internship to someone who attended a community college. Rashad was taken aback. 

Now, as a fellow with the College Journalism Network, Rashad is reporting on the effect of COVID-19 on community college athletics and Muslim students observing Ramadan while social distancing.

“It’s given me an opportunity to write about underreported issues that impact a large amount of people in the state,” Rashad said.

We’re just getting started. If you’re a student journalist or faculty advisor and want to join the network, please message me at felicia@calmatters.org. If you’d like to support our work, you can contact CalMatters publisher Marcia Parker at marcia@calmatters.org.

CalMatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.

Text For Donations From the Citizens of Los Angeles To Help Frontline Medical Providers During COVID-19 Pandemic

Supplies Save Lives Spokespeople are available for interviews this and next week via Skype/Zoom or Phone

A group of LA volunteers have set up a national hotline to help during the COVID-19 pandemic and provide medical supplies to the frontline heroes. Supplies Save Lives are a group of volunteers who have set up a text number to collect donations from citizens, businesses and other places that may have a surplus of N95 masks, surgical masks, fabric masks, isolation gowns, gloves and wipes to reduce the barriers around safely donating unused supplies.

The group is providing Zero Contact pick up in the Los Angeles area for those residents and local businesses who want to donate unused surgical or n-95 masks, nitrile gloves, or antiseptic wipes from their earthquake kits as there is a crucial need for these items in local hospitals and homeless shelters.

Supplies Save Lives provides a simple process that will make a big difference - just text MASKS to 844-974-2444 and you will be asked for a description of your donation and your pickup address. Volunteers will then pick up your unused medical supplies and donate them to local hospitals and shelters with urgent need. They are partnered with getusppe.org

With the COVID-19 crisis, we are all sharply aware of the vital roles schools and other community institutions play in our daily lives. And as government at every level struggles to respond effectively to the crisis, we are also deeply aware of the need for policies that support critical institutions like schools, hospitals, and other community-based services.

So we are delighted to share that just a few weeks (and three lifetimes) ago, the Schools & Communities First campaign announced the submission of more than 1.7 million signatures of support to get on the November 2020 ballot – the most signatures ever submitted in California for a ballot initiative.

As a member of the coalition that supports this campaign, CalNonprofits is proud that this achievement came weeks ahead of schedule and surpassed the original 1.6 million signature goal.

The Schools & Communities First initiative would direct $12 billion every year to the most pressing needs in our communities while protecting homeowners, renters, and small businesses.

A recent report from the University of Southern California (USC) showed that every county in the state stands to benefit from the Schools & Communities First initiative.

“These 1.7 million signatures represent 1.7 million reasons to pass Schools & Communities First in November, in support of our teachers, public health workers, nurses, doctors, sanitation workers, and first responders who are saving lives and making our communities more resilient.” – Joseph Tomás Mckellar of PICO California, a network of faith-based, multicultural community organizations representing 400 congregations and 450,000 families across California.

What will, and won't, the Schools & Communities First ballot measure do?

This measure ensures that our schools and communities come first – with the resources to educate all of our kids and the services to support all of our families. This ballot measure:

• PROTECTS all homeowners and renters by maintaining tax protections for ALL residential property.
• RECLAIMS over $12 billion per year for K-12 schools, community colleges, and local communities.
• CLOSES commercial property tax loopholes and ends shady schemes that big corporations and wealthy investors use to avoid paying their fair share of property taxes.
• PROVIDES one of the largest tax incentives in a generation to spur new investments in small businesses. 
• ENSURES strict accountability so that money goes directly to our students and communities.

You can sign up for updates directly from the campaign here.

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Tonight, the Mayor announced the launch of the “Angeleno Card” by the Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles. This initiative is funded by private donations and is not a City program.

The Angeleno Card is an effort led by Mayor Eric Garcetti and the Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles to provide direct financial assistance to Angelenos facing extreme economic hardship as a direct result of the COVID-19 crisis. The Angeleno Card aims to help low-wage hourly workers who had jobs in homes and restaurants, seasonal workers, and other workers such as day laborers, street vendors, or self-employed individuals who are experiencing heightened financial hardship because of COVID-19. This economic hardship may be due to job loss, severe reduction of work hours, or furloughs. This includes Angelenos who qualify for federal and state assistance but may not receive that financial support for weeks or longer.

To be eligible, applicants must provide documentation that confirms that 1) their household is in the City of Los Angeles, 2) their income fell below the Federal Poverty Level per household size before the COVID-19 crisis (see table below), and 3) they have fallen into deeper economic hardship during the crisis because at least one household member lost a job or had a reduction in income of at least 50%. Immigration status is not considered in determining eligibility. Since this program is privately funded, any assistance received is not considered a public benefit and is not subject to the Public Charge rule.

Applications for the Angeleno Card will be available only online by visiting hcidla.lacity.org.

Individual applications can only be completed Tuesday, April 14 through Thursday, April 16, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. People without internet access or who need help applying online may call 213-252-3040, Tuesday, April 14 through Thursday, April 16, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.  Those who pre-qualify based on their online or telephone applications will be given an in-person appointment at a designated community center. These centers cannot help anyone without an appointment. Applicants will need to provide documentation at this in-person appointment and may be able to upload pictures or digital copies of documentation in advance. Approved applicants will receive a card in an amount ranging from $700-$1500 depending on income and household size.

PLEASE NOTE: Due to limited resources, if the number of qualified individuals exceeds the number of available Angeleno Cards grants, the City of Los Angeles Housing and Community Investment Department will randomly select among the qualified individuals to receive the Angeleno Card grants. The Angeleno Card grants are privately funded through donations to the Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles and do not consist of any public or taxpayer funds.

We hope that you can share this information with those most affected by the COVID-19 public health crisis and target outreach with those Angelenos most likely to qualify. Given the limitations of the program, we also ask that you judiciously inform your stakeholders and members – rather than promote the program – so that we don’t create unmeetable expectations.

For questions:

Department of Neighborhood Empowerment

200 N. Spring Street, Suite 2005

Los Angeles, CA 90012

Downtown Office: (213) 978-1551

Downtown Fax: (213) 978-1751

EmpowerLA.org

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara on Friday, April 17th at 10:00 a.m. for a Virtual Town Hall to discuss insurance issues for small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic emergency.

With many businesses experiencing tremendous economic loss, the California Department of Insurance would like to inform and hear from small business owners regarding insurance coverage issues. This will also be an opportunity to learn more details about the Commissioner’s myriad of Bulletins and Notices sent out to insurance companies designed to help protect California small businesses and consumers during this time of emergency.

Commissioner Lara will be joined by the U.S. Small Business Administration, the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz), and Small Business Majority and will discuss coverage options for small businesses today as well as a way forward as we emerge from this pandemic.

We will cover questions including:

• What is the federal government and State of California doing to assist small businesses and their workers?
• What is the role of the Department of Insurance in regulating insurance companies during this current emergency?
• What are my options if I do not have coverage for business losses due to the COVID-19 virus?

The Department of Insurance has also released an FAQ for businesses dealing with the sudden economic downturn.

Please submit your questions in advance by Wednesday, April 15th at 5 PM. Please note that the panelists will not be able to respond individually to every submitted question during the virtual town hall, and submitting a question does not constitute a request for assistance.

The Department of Insurance encourages all businesses to contact their agent, broker, or insurance company to learn what coverage applies to their individual insurance policies. If you have questions regarding your claim and/or wish to file a complaint about your insurance company, please contact the Department of Insurance at (800) 927-4357 or through our website at www.insurance.ca.gov.

After you RSVP for this Virtual Town Hall event, you will receive a call-in number via email in advance of the event.

As Californians continue to acclimate to life in a state of self-isolation, CalMatters will host two “virtual conversations” this week as part of our “Getting Through Coronavirus, Explained” series — one on what small businesses can do to weather the current economic turmoil, and the second on how Californians can maintain their mental health during these stressful times.

On Tuesday, April 7, at 1 p.m., CalMatters Capitol reporter Laurel Rosenhall will moderate a chat with Isabel Guzman, Gov. Newsom’s director of the Small Business Advocate office at GO-Biz, about what California is doing to help keep small businesses afloat and what financial assistance entrepreneurs can seek from the federal and state governments. You can submit your questions for Director Guzman on this form.

Click here to register: How California Plans to Keep Small Businesses Afloat

On Thursday, April 9, at 1 p.m., CalMatters health reporter Jocelyn Wiener will talk to therapists Amy Ahfield and Mark Levine about tips and strategies for how to get through the coronavirus while maintaining your mental health. Questions for Afhield and Levine can be submitted here.

Click here to register: Taking Care of Your Mental Health During Coronavirus

If you haven’t been able to tune into our previous events on applying for unemployment, learning how to homeschool your kids, or getting by as a senior citizen during the outbreak, you can watch recordings of those events here.

CalMatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.

Help us continue to adapt and strengthen our community services by giving what you can today.

With the coronavirus crisis, many of us are stuck between staying healthy or staying housed. With the loss of our incomes, we may not be able to make rent on April 1st or May 1st.  We’re envisioning a future beyond recovery and calling out to our electeds to #CancelRent #CancelMortgages and guarantee #HomesForAll!

Rent Parties have deep roots in the Black struggle for freedom, self-determination and mutual aid. We're bringing back this hundred-year-old tradition to demand a just response to coronavirus.

Join us for 10 consecutive days of the #CancelRent Festival! The first performance was on Sunday, March 29th kicked off with Grammy-nominated artist Aloe Blacc!

Come back at 9 pm ET/6 pm PT every day and tune in early on weekends at 5 pm ET/2 pm PT for bonus shows, where talented and notable acts will raise our demands while we dance! For more information on the #CancelRent Festival lineup, to register for the writing sessions and community discussions, and to invite your friends, family, and community to join us check out the #CancelRent Festival on Facebook!

Spanish interpretation will be provided. // Se proporcionará interpretación en español.

Para traducción al español, llame al: 646-558-8656

Código/ID de la reunión: 989-000-9035

Our homes, health, and collective safety and futures are on the line. Millions of us don’t know how we are going to pay our rent, mortgage, or utilities on April 1st, yet landlords and banks are expecting payment as if it’s business as usual. It’s not.

Join millions of us to fight for a future free from debt and to win a national suspension on rent, mortgage and utility payments!

Please help us continue to adapt and strengthen our community services by giving what you can today.

Democracy Now!: #CancelRent: Tenants Demand Rent Relief & Organize Strikes as Unemployment Surges Due to COVID-19