Lots of people in California Democratic circles have buzzed for years about Rick Jacobs, a former aide and longtime ally of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, being a major league asshole. But Yashar Ali has uncovered a mountain of fresh dirt on Jacobs that lays out all the various and sundry ways in which that may have been truer than anyone thought up until now. From Yashar’s newsletter (which, by the way, you should spend the money to subscribe to): In the fall of 2018, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti was talking to an adviser about his top aide, Rick Jacobs. Garcetti told the adviser: “I can’t believe Rick worked at City Hall for three years and we didn’t get sued.” … according to sources, Jacobs regularly engaged in sexual harassment and assault; displayed abusive behavior toward colleagues and underlings; and had questionable ethics. Also stunning, the adviser said, was…
Los Angeles teachers began a strike Monday that could imperil LA Mayor Eric Garcetti’s possible run for president. Garcetti, looking happier than he probably is this morning. Photo via Wikipedia. The Los Angeles Unified School District is the second-largest school district in the country. It serves approximately half a million students. Parents want a short strike. Taxpayers want few to no concessions. And unions want higher pay and at least some concessions. If not resolved on its own and quickly, it’s a political conundrum for Garcetti. According to The Hill, “In internal debates about how to build a campaign, Garcetti’s aides have acknowledged he cannot possibly launch a bid while teachers in his own city are on the picket line, according to sources involved in the conversations.” However, Garcetti has little control over how this plays out. The Los Angeles Unified School District is an independent body. It is accountable to…
CNN has its first numbers for prospective Democratic presidential candidates in Iowa, the first caucus state in 2020, and the news is not pretty for California Democrats. Sitting atop the pile in a cluttered field is former Veep Joe Biden with 32 percent, followed by laggard Bernie Sanders with 19 percent and Beto O’Rourke at 11 percent. No other Democrat gets into double digits. And Sen. Kamala Harris is the only prospective candidate from California who manages above 1 percent. Harris comes in fifth with a whopping five percent. Tom Steyer, Eric Swalwell and Eric Garcetti all manage less than 1 percent according to the poll. Why are Iowans just not that into Californians? It could be that culturally, even among progressives, Iowa is pretty different to California. Iowa is obviously a whiter state than the Golden State. It’s over 90 percent white, including about 5.6 percent of the population…