Camping at Huntington or Shaver Lakes? Fill Your Water Tanks Before Heading Up
California Could See Lowest Voter Turnout Ever on Tuesday
Saturday’s Rainbow Pride Parade Honors the Late Jeffery Robinson
After 16 Months, Controversial Southwest Fresno Rezone Advances
High-Speed Rail Wants to Take a 7-Eleven by Eminent Domain
First Driverless Ride Hailing Service in California Set to Begin Despite Safety Concerns
Progressive DA Faces Ouster in Heated San Francisco Recall Election
Top California Appeals Judge Out After History of Lengthy Case Delays
Central Valley Politics Could Help Tilt Power in Congress
Legislature’s Bid to Create Legal Drug Injection Sites Advances
Poll Details Rift Between Lay Catholics and Bishops in U.S.
Employers Nervously Hope Teens Jump at Summer Job Offers
Fresno Vocational School Students Get Debt Canceled in Notorious Fraud Case
Nancy Pelosi’s Husband Killed His Brother in 1957 Sports Car Crash, Says British Newspaper
With Roe in Doubt, States Weigh Letting Nurses Do Abortions
100 Speeches in 100 days of War: Zelenskyy Rallies Ukraine
Putin’s Hard Choices: Why Russia’s Despot Can Neither Mobilize Nor Retreat
Ukraine Wants Longer-Range Ammunition for Donbas Gunfight
EXPLAINER: At 100 Days, Russia-Ukraine War by the Numbers
Pledge of More Oil Heightens Odds of Saudi Trip for Biden
These Fresno Grads Earned Both High School Diploma and College Degree. Some Already Have Jobs
FUSD Celebrates Students, Schools with Biggest Academic Gains
Fresno Vocational School Students Get Debt Canceled in Notorious Fraud Case
New Fresno Performing and Arts Center Opens Its Doors. Here are Some Fun Facts.
Firecrackers Spark Fears at Central East High Days After Texas Shooting
How Newsom Would Close the Achievement Gap in California Schools
A Return to Permanent War Is Here: First It Will Bankrupt America, Then Destroy It
Anaheim Scandal Continues Southern California Political Syndrome
These Six Charts Show the Key Role Firearms Makers Play in US Gun Culture
State’s Latest Water Restrictions Won’t Fix Shortage. Here’s What Will.
ESPN: Raiders Gives Kaepernick a Workout — First with NFL Team Since Leaving 49ers
Steve Kerr Pours His Heart Out Over Texas School Shooting: ‘When Are We Going to Do Something?’
Fresno State’s Robinson Attends NBA Combine, Hires an Agent
Jack Nicklaus Says Trump Course’s Loss of PGA Championship Is ‘Cancel Culture’
Nike Signs California High School Soccer Sisters to NIL Deal
Unfiltered – Protecting Our Students From America’s Mass Shootings
Unfiltered – Showdown in Fresno County Sheriff’s Race
Unfiltered – How Deadly Fentanyl is Impacting Fresno County
Unfiltered – A Local View on Roe v Wade + How State Control is Raising Your Power Bill, Find Out Secrets to Lower It
Unfiltered – Why is Fresno Losing New Jobs to Other Valley Cities?
After a weekend of lobbying, jockeying, and speculating, then a flurry of parliamentary maneuvers and a six-hour closed-door caucus meeting on Tuesday, California Assembly Democrats finally came to a decision about who ought to serve as speaker.
The answer: The current speaker, Anthony Rendon.
The announcement came not with a bang but a whimper: At 8 p.m., Rendon and his would-be successor, Salinas Democrat Robert Rivas, issued a joint statement.
From Rivas: “I agree with the majority of our current caucus that Speaker Rendon should remain as Speaker for at least the rest of this legislative session.”
From Rendon: “I applaud Robert Rivas for securing the support of a majority of the current Democratic Caucus to succeed me as Speaker of the Assembly.”
Translation: Nice try. Maybe next time.
If you need a quick refresher: On Friday, Rivas announced that 34 of the Assembly’s 58 Democrats supported him to become the next speaker. Rendon refused to acknowledge the declaration publicly. All manner of machinations and mishigas ensued.
Related Story: Will Robert Rivas of Salinas Force Out Anthony Rendon as Assembly Speaker?
It may not be entirely bad news for Rivas. A majority of the current caucus really does want him (for now) to become the next speaker (at some point). The question is whether that will still hold true once other ambitious members start jockeying again — and after 13 current Assembly Democrats leave after this session. With the exodus of lawmakers this year, the internal caucus politics could be very different in 2023.
Watch the money: Since 2019, Rivas has transferred $400,000 from his own campaign account to candidates and Democratic Party organizations, including nearly $200,000 to Assembly candidates. But Rendon and other aspiring speakers may want to throw some campaign cash around, too.
My heroic colleague, Alexei Koseff, spoke to Rivas Tuesday night after all the drama.
Rivas: “This is an important first step in working with Speaker Rendon to build a transition that works…There’s going to be a large class coming in, and I’m excited to work with them and start to plan for the future.”
But some of Rendon’s allies don’t have a transition in mind. Sacramento Democrat Kevin McCarty told Alexei that Rendon plans to run again for speaker next year.
McCarty: Rendon “has a big lead over anyone who wants to be the next speaker.”
Ben Christopher covers California politics and elections. Prior to that, he was a contributing writer for CalMatters reporting on the state’s economy and budget. Ben also has a past life as an aspiring beancounter: He has worked as a summer associate at the Congressional Budget Office and has a Master’s in Public Policy from the University of California, Berkeley.
CalMatters is a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom committed to explaining California policy and politics.
Joe Biden Says 9mm Bullet ‘Blows the Lung out of the Body’
Power Restored in Central Fresno After Driver Collides With Pole