A bill that changes California’s recall election rules were passed last week along with the state budget, to the anger of Republican lawmakers and many political observers in the state.
The maneuver was used by the state’s Democratic lawmakers to essentially bail out a freshman Senator in danger of being recalled. The lawmaker in question, Senator Josh Newman (D-Fullerton) has been a target of a recall effort because of Gov. Jerry Brown’s $52-billion transportation package.
Newman was one of many Democrats who voted in support of the so-called gas tax, but he has been singled out for a recall because of his narrow upset victory in the November election.
Critics say that the real intention of the recall is to strip Democrats of its supermajority in the legislature.
AirTalk invited Senator Newman as well as Senate President pro Tempore Kevin de Leon to participate in our conversation, but both declined our requests for comment.
Guest host Libby Denkmann in for Larry Mantle
Guests:
Katy Murphy, Sacramento-based reporter for the Mercury News and East Bay Times who covers state government; she was at the vote for the recall election rule change last week; she tweets
Carl DeMaio, a former San Diego city councilman and current radio talk show host who’s leading the effort to recall Senator Josh Newman