RFK Jr. picks VP, but still isn’t on CA ballot

Presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy Jr. chose Oakland to announce his vice presidential pick on Tuesday, so it wasn’t too much of a shocker that his pick was Nicole Shanahan, a Bay Area tech attorney and philanthropist.

Like Kennedy, she’s a “disillusioned Democrat” (party leaders have “lost their way”) who has never held elected office. The former wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin, she does have money. She already gave $4 million to the super PAC that aired the Super Bowl ads promoting Kennedy, Politico reports. 

Her wealth may help Kennedy with his far greater challenge: To get on the November ballot in multiple states, including those that require the selection of a running mate. 

In California, he created a new party, We the People. It’s not one of the six parties that qualified for the March primary, but it can qualify in two ways: 

• It can get at least 73,000 voters to register, or change their registration, saying they want to be in the party. (That’s at last count; the real number will be based on registration totals in July, which will likely be higher.) Kennedy’s campaign has until July 5 under this method, and it’s his first choice.

• Or it can qualify by the perhaps simpler method of collecting signatures on petitions. But that requirement is much higher: More than 1.1 million signatures (10% of the votes cast at the November 2022 gubernatorial election). Kennedy only has until June 23 under this route.

Kennedy is also talking to the Libertarian Party, where his controversial and widely debunked anti-vaccination views are more popular. Shanahan said Tuesday that she had only seen “media slander” of Kennedy until she got to know him. In her introductory speech, she said that chronic diseases, autism and other conditions are caused by “forever chemicals,” “electromagnetic pollution” and overuse of pharmaceuticals.

Shanahan said she’ll spend the next seven months getting Kennedy on the ballot in every state. But there’s a potential pitfall from her selection: Either Kennedy or Shanahan would have to leave California to be eligible for the state’s 54 electoral votes because both candidates on the ticket can’t live here. 

Newsom recall: Yes, there’s another possible election, though it seems unlikely to succeed: A second attempt to kick Gov. Gavin Newsom out of office. On Tuesday, the Secretary of State’s office cleared proponents to start collecting the 1.3 million valid signatures they need by Sept. 3. 

Remember, the 2021 Newsom recall didn’t come close (62% said “no”), even with voters angry over the COVID-19 shutdowns. But recall organizers say California is in even worse shape today.

But we’re not past the primary yet: Three weeks after voting ended in California, there are still a handful of congressional and legislative races that are too close to call. And it turns out that several were key races that CalMatters highlighted in our Voter Guide. 

For the U.S. House, they include the 16th District, which may be the closest of all. Assemblymember Evan Low and Santa Clara County Commissioner Joe Simitian have been jockeying for days within a few votes to finish second and join former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo in the November election to succeed Rep. Anna Eshoo, who is retiring after three decades. (If there’s an actual tie, both Simitian and Low would make the November ballot.)

For the state Senate, there’s still the 33rd District, where two Republicans are vying for second place behind Democratic incumbent Sen. Lena Gonzalez of Long Beach. 

And for the state Assembly, the undeclared races include the 75th District, where it’s between GOP-endorsed Andrew Hayes and Democratic-backed Kevin Juza to go up against conservative activist Carl DeMaio in November.

As of 5 p.m. Tuesday, 39,000 ballots out of 7.7 million cast were still uncounted and just 17 of 58 counties reported completing their counts. The glacial vote tally has long been an issue and has been exacerbated by all-mail balloting. 

Two deadlines are coming up: April 5 for counties to report final results in state races and April 12 for the Secretary of State’s office to certify the primary results.

From CalMatters Capitol reporter Jeanne Kuang:

Gov. Newsom’s administration remains mum on how the state should proceed with protecting indoor workers from heat illness, nearly a week after officials abruptly pulled their stamp of approval from the long-delayed workplace safety rule. 

That’s despite a looming administrative deadline this week for the rule to be formally approved if it is to go into effect this summer, as workers have demanded. 

The Department of Finance last week pulled its required approval for the regulation the night before it was scheduled for a vote before the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board, saying it had recently learned the rule would cost state prisons far more than previously estimated. The move infuriated labor groups and workers; the rule was widely expected to be approved after five years of bureaucratic delay. The standards board, equally angry at being “blindsided,” went forward with a unanimous approval vote anyway. 

Workers advocates said this week they want finance officials to honor the vote and sign off on the rule. 

• The California Labor Federation, on social media: “California workers cannot go another year without safety protections. Approve the heat standard TODAY!”

But Finance spokesperson H.D. Palmer told CalMatters nothing has changed since last week. 

No state agency has yet explained why the cost estimates for state prisons increased so much. The labor agencies had estimated the rule would cost prisons $1 million in the first year. 

• Corrections spokesperson Albert Lundeen, in an emailed statement last week: “These regulations would require immediate infrastructure investments in CDCR facilities across the state and would require the department to immediately request the Legislature to appropriate billions of dollars for extensive capital improvements.”

Lundeen did not respond to inquiries seeking a breakdown of that cost estimate or details on what improvements are needed. Neither Palmer nor Lundeen have explained why the new estimates arrived so late when the labor agencies’ figures had been public since at least last May. Housing units in the state’s prisons already have cooling units and fans, according to the corrections department, and staff have access to air-conditioning. 

Newsom’s spokespersons did not respond to questions Tuesday about whether he agrees with the need for indoor heat regulations. 

After the proposed rule expires this weekend, the standards board would have to re-propose it and hold a hearing and public comments period before voting again — a process that can take a few months to a year. Other than action by lawmakers, Cal/OSHA can also re-propose the rule as an emergency regulation this year, or the standards board could consider a petition from the public.

Labor groups are considering filing a petition, but demanded the state act first.

• Sheheryar Kasooij, executive director of the Warehouse Worker Resource Center: “We don’t care what administrative vehicle this happens under…. If we have to look at other options we will. But this thing’s been approved, and the idea that one agency can just throw a wrench in and say the process that was established is null and void, I don’t accept that.”

Gov. Newsom said he would listen to the U.S. Supreme Court arguments Tuesday about the availability of a widely used abortion pill — and then decide whether to replenish the state’s stockpile.

But afterwards, his office said he is still considering his options, reports CalMatters health reporter Kristen Hwang.

• Brandon Richards, Newsom spokesperson: “California remains ready to purchase up to another 1.75 million pills given the ongoing attacks to abortion care access happening across the country — not just at the Supreme Court.”

Newsom also released a statement Tuesday, warning that “Republicans want a national abortion ban,” which should “scare the hell out of everyone.”

Attorney General Rob Bonta — who along with the governor filed an amicus brief supporting the drug, according to The Sacramento Bee — released his own statement ensuring abortion access to Californians.

• Bonta: “Upholding full access to mifepristone isn’t just about preserving access to a medication; it’s about affirming the fundamental right of every individual to autonomy over their own body and reproductive healthcare decisions.”

The high court heard oral arguments in a case brought by a Christian legal group that wants to limit the availability of mifepristone and is challenging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s 24-year approval of the drug. The pill is recommended to be used alongside another medication, misoprostol, to induce abortions. 

Last year, a federal district court in Texas suspended federal approval of the drug, but days later, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals partially overruled the ruling.

Because of the drug’s tenuous legal status, however, California began to stockpile misoprostol. It has since distributed nearly all its inventory of the medication, reports the San Francisco Chronicle, having purchased 250,000 pills from ANI Pharmaceuticals for about $107,000.

Supreme Court justices, both liberals and some conservatives, appear to be “deeply skeptical” about arguments to restrict access to the pills nationwide, according to The New York Times. The court is expected to rule in June.

For more on what this case means for Californians’ reproductive health, read Kristen’s story. And to learn more about abortion access, read our updated explainer.