STEYER's money, muscle to DE LEON's Senate bid? -- BROWN releases NATIONAL GUARD details -- FREEDOM CAUCUS could block McCARTHY leadership bid -- DCCC’s big move in crowded CA-39 race Presented by Facebook

By Carla Marinucci ([email protected]) and David Siders ([email protected]) with Candice Norwood ([email protected])

THE BUZZ: State Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León says he’s not deterred as he faces a big gap on the money front in his campaign to oust incumbent Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who holds about an 11-to-1 advantage in cash on hand as of March 30.

-- DE LEON vs. DIFI: “She’s a billionaire from Pacific Heights,’’ he told POLITICO in an interview. That’s the significance of this race: The odds have always been against me, as the youngest child of a single immigrant mother ... and if I was born and raised in San Francisco, the odds would be very high my mother would have been cleaning her mansion,’’ he said.

-- BILLIONAIRE IN HIS CAMP: And now he’s got a nationally-known Democratic billionaire in his camp who may help him on that front: Longtime friend, climate change colleague and NextGenAmerica founder Tom Steyer, who endorsed de León Wednesday.

-- WHY IT MATTERS: Steyer not only has a big checkbook, but his NeedtoImpeach.com campaign has racked up 5.2 million signatures -- an impressive email list, and a growing progressive following as he travels the country to push for Trump’s impeachment. Those are the impassioned progressive voters de León needs to attract.

-- BIG QUESTION: But will Steyer help with efforts to help de León nab those voters who may be energized to turn out in the 2018 midterm elections — say with an independent expenditure? “I’ll sure he’ll make a contribution to me ... but in terms of large amount of money, I can’t coordinate ... that would be illegal,’’ de León notes.

-- ON TRUMP'S TWEETS TOUTING THE ''REVOLUTION" by some cities and counties now rebelling against SB54, the "sanctuary state" bill he wrote: "Instead of answering Donald Trump's racist clarion call, they should focus on not wasting local taxpayer dollars ... because I have news for them. SB54 is constitutional. I wrote this bill with Eric Holder, the 82nd Attorney General of the United States ... knowing the Dept. of Justice was going to scrutinize it with a fine-tooth comb."

-- 187 REDUX? : "We always anticipated the political attacks. So everything that is happening right now is not shocking to me; it took the White House and the GOP much longer than I expected to organize Republican mayors." He predicts their actions will come with long-term political implications: "Prop. 187 was a Pyrrhic victory for the California GOP, which came at a high cost and has now made them a minority party in perpetuity."

-- KDL’s BIG CHALLENGES: “Lauded by many young, progressive activists in California, de León in February deprived Feinstein of her own state Democratic Party’s endorsement, outpolling her by 17 percentage points in the delegate vote.

-- “But the state senator remains largely unknown to the broader electorate in California. Feinstein leads him 42 percent to 16 percent among likely voters, according to a Public Policy Institute of California poll last month.” Story by POLITICO’s David Siders in Los Angeles.

BUENOS DÍAS, good Thursday morning. Gov. Jerry Brown has released the details of his agreement on the National Guard request by the Trump administration. A new private poll tracks the governor's race, and has some bad news for Antonio Villaraigosa. And Gil Cisneros, a Democratic candidate in the crowded CA-39 race to replace the retiring Ed Royce, got some good news from the DCCC Wednesday.

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-- Where’s Jerry: The governor has returned to the state from Washington, DC., where he appeared at the National Press Club and spoke on immigration issues .

L.A. TIMES: "Gov. Jerry Brown says Trump administration will fund his National Guard mission -- without immigration duties," by John Myers: "Gov. Jerry Brown formally mobilized 400 California National Guard members Wednesday for transnational crime-fighting duties, thus preventing any effort by President Trump to have the troops focus on immigration enforcement on the Mexican border.

"The governor announced that federal officials have agreed to fund the plan he announced last week - a mission to 'combat criminal gangs, human traffickers and illegal firearm and drug smugglers' in locations around California, including near the border. The order Brown signed makes clear that the troops will not be allowed to perform a broader set of duties as envisioned by Trump's recent comments." Story.

TWEET OF THE DAY: Former CAGOP strategist, now MSNBC analyst Steve Schmidt @SteveSchmidtSES: “Once there was a bull named Sammy. They called him Sammy the Bull. He was loyal to his owner John. They said John was Teflon. The Teflon DON. Then one day the bull turned and ran. He cut a new deal with new friends at the FBI and DOJ .The Teflon Don died in jail. The End.”

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Make good friends and seek out mentors. Find people who will be invested in your success, who cheer you on, who will lift you up when you fall, and maybe have a good laugh with you when you slip on something along the way. None of us, myself included, has achieved success without the support of others….And when you see others in need, you’ve got to keep going out of your way to lift them up. You are our future. Good luck.’’ -- U.S. Senator Kamala Harris’s message in an open letter to the graduating class of 2018. Read it here.

BONUS QUOTE OF THE DAY: - “Walk out of a meeting or drop off a call as soon as it is obvious you aren’t adding value. It is not rude to leave, it is rude to make someone stay and waste their time.” -- Elon Musk, in a letter to Tesla employees, on some of his leading productivity tips. Read it all here via Jalopnik.

It’s Thursday -- Got a tip? Feedback? News to share? Let us know. By email: [email protected] or [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter: @cmarinucci, @davidsiders and @POLITICOCA.

TOP TALKERS:

-- “Half of Californians support deportations, Muslim travel ban, survey finds,” by Mercury News’ Tatiana Sanchez: “The survey released Wednesday by UC Berkeley’s Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society shows that while residents of the country’s only sanctuary state value diversity and inclusion on all fronts — from economic and racial justice to immigration reform — their viewpoints on politics, race and culture are sometimes complex and even contradictory.” Story

-- OUTRAGE DU JOUR -- “Fresno State professor stirs outrage, calls Barbara Bush an 'amazing racist',” by Fresno Bee’s Bryant-Jon Anteola: “Randa Jarrar, a professor in Fresno State’s Department of English, expressed her displeasure with the Bush family within an hour after the official announcement that Mrs. Bush died Tuesday at the age of 92.” Story

-- ‘’A BEYONCE MASS?” -- “Religion with a pop beat at Grace Cathedral,” by SFChronicle’s Aidin Vaziri: “Following the Grammy-winning singer’s Internet-breaking performance the first weekend of the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral has announced that it will host a special mass devoted to Queen Bey’s music and accomplishments on Wednesday, April 25.” Story

-- THEY KEEP COMING...“Attack of the giant tumbleweed: California town swamped in invasion,” by Guardian’s Rory Carroll: “Heavy winds sent thousands of tumbleweeds into Victorville on Monday in what some residents called an invasion, with the prickly intruders blanketing yards and piling up outside homes.” Story

THE TRUMP ERA

-- THE NEXT BIG SHOW -- “Judge sets Friday hearing on Trump bid to delay Stormy Daniels suit,’’ by POLITICO’s Josh Gerstein: “A federal judge in Los Angeles has set a hearing for Friday on a bid by President Donald Trump and his embattled personal attorney Michael Cohen to delay a lawsuit filed by porn star Stormy Daniels, who claims to have had a sexual encounter with Trump about a decade ago.’’ Story.

-- McCARTHY'S CAMPAIGN -- “Freedom Caucus seeks to make McCarthy pay to become speaker,” by POLITICO's Rachael Bade and Kyle Cheney: “A POLITICO survey of about 20 of the conservative group’s three dozen members found varying degrees of openness to the California Republican known as a deal-making pragmatist. But nearly all the hard-liners said he’ll have to make concessions to win their support. Without it, they could block his path to the speakership.” Story

-- THE REVOLUTION CONTINUES? “San Diego County becomes the latest to fight California sanctuary state laws,” by LATimes’ Kate Morrissey: “The San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted 3-1 Tuesday to support the Trump administration's lawsuit against California over so-called sanctuary laws that the state passed last year to limit its role in immigration enforcement.” Story

CALIFORNIA AND THE CAPITOL CORRIDOR:

-- "Why did California’s major housing bill fail so quickly?,'' by MercNews' Katy Murphy: "Without the political heft of an official housing package backed by top legislative leaders and the governor, a proposal that could have added millions of apartments and condominiums throughout the state failed suddenly this week at its first committee hearing, giving its champions no time to finesse the thorny policy and politics of development. Story.

-- “Kern County prosecutors won't charge ICE agents involved in crash that killed 2 farmworkers,” by LATimes’ Brittny Mejia: “Delano police had asked the district attorney's office to determine whether the two agents, Ramiro Sanchez and Dimas Benitez, should be charged with giving false information to police after statements they made to officers were contradicted by surveillance video.” Story

-- COUGH, COUGH -- “California has eight of 10 most polluted U.S. cities,” by USAToday’s Doyle Rice: “The Los Angeles/Long Beach area took the dubious distinction of being the nation's most ozone-polluted city as it has for nearly the entire 19-year history of the report.” Story

--MORE #HSR TROUBLES? “High-speed rail project vastly underestimated cost of relocating utility lines beneath Fresno,” by LATimes’ Ralph Vartabedian: “Buried beneath Fresno were some costly surprises for the California bullet train authority, which disclosed Tuesday that the price of utility relocations along a 29-mile section of railway has surged from a 2013 estimate of $69 million to $396 million.” Story

-- AND IN OTHER NEWS...“Big quake on Hayward Fault could kill hundreds, USGS says,” by SFChronicle’s Rachel Swan: “Up to 800 people could die and 400 fires could ignite if the Hayward Fault were to rupture on Wednesday, a new report by the U.S. Geological Survey found. “The study, scheduled for release Wednesday afternoon at two events in Fremont and Berkeley, imagined a magnitude 7.0 tremor along the 52-mile fault line that stretches from San Pablo Bay in the north, to just east of San Jose in the south.” Story

-- "Qualcomm is slashing about 1,500 jobs in California to cut costs: The company made a commitment to investors to save $1 billion in January,'' by Thuy On in The Verge: Story.

PODCAST OF THE DAY -- “SacTalks,’’ with host Gibran Maciel, featuring Barry Broome, CEO of the Greater Sacramento Economic Council, in a discussion about the state capitol’s business climate and the outlook for California. Listen on Facebook and YouTube.

CAMPAIGNS 2018 AND BEYOND:

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK -- New poll on the governor’s race and voters’ preferences on early childhood education, sponsored by Choose Children 2018 and the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. BOTTOM LINE: More good news for Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and RepublIcan businessman John Cox, placing in top one and two spots — and bad news for former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who’s fallen back behind state Treasurer John Chiang and Republican state Assemblyman Travis Allen.

-- THE HEADLINE: “Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom continues to lead the field of gubernatorial hopefuls for the June 2018 primary, with 26% of likely voters saying they would vote for him, followed by businessman John Cox (16%), State Controller John Chiang (9%), Assemblyman Travis Allen (9%), former L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (7%) and former State Superintendent of Public Instruction Delaine Eastin (5%).

-- “In a hypothetical general election match-up, Newsom leads Cox 42% to 32%, and Villaraigosa 38% to 21%, with 41% undecided.”

-- MORE: “Half of California’s likely voters (50%) continue to strongly support making quality early childhood education programs available for all children a top priority for California’s next governor, while 53% of likely voters say that paid family leave should be expanded beyond the current six weeks.”

-- POLL DETAILS: 800 likely California primary voters polled between March 30-April 4 by J. Wallin Opinion Research and Tulchin Research, margin of error plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.

GOOD NEWS FOR TONY V ... via California Target Book senior researcher Rob Pyers @Rpyers: "Former L.A. Mayor Richard Riordan is the latest major contributor to the independent expenditure committee backing @Antonio4CA's bid for California Governor. His $1 million comes on top of Reed Hastings' $7M and Eli Broad's $1.5 million."

-- GAVIN’S WARNING ON SINGLE PAYER: “Single payer will take years to implement in California, Gavin Newsom says,” by SFChronicle’s Joe Garofoli: “Among California’s gubernatorial candidates, none has been a more exuberant supporter of transitioning to a single-payer, Medicare-for-all health care system than Democratic Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom. So exuberant that the politically powerful California Nurses Association put his picture on its traveling campaign bus under the words, ‘Nurses Trust Newsom.’” Story

-- THE DCCC’S BIG MOVE IN CA-39: Marking the first time the DCCC has weighed in on contested primary fields in California this cycle, Democrat Gil Cisneros has been named to the “Red to Blue” status in the crowded race to replace retiring GOP incumbent Rep. Ed Royce. The clear message to deep-pocketed national donors, party sources say: “This is the candidate you want to give to.”

-- “DCCC elevates Democrat Gil Cisneros in hopes of uniting Democrats to flip Rep. Ed Royce's seat,” by LATimes’ Christine Mai-Duc: “The move is the latest signal that national Democrats are trying to get activists on the ground to pick a single candidate who can get through California’s tricky top-two primary, which advances the top two vote-getters, regardless of party. With six Democrats and seven Republicans on the ballot in June, national Democrats have long feared conditions will be so unpredictable they could be shut out of a crucial pickup opportunity.” Story

-- IT AIN'T OVER IN #CA-39: Check out Democratic candidate Andy Thorburn’s new You Tube spot, “Guaranteed” here.

MIXTAPE:

-- “Should California expand what it means to be 'gravely disabled'?” by LATimes’ Thomas Curwen: Story

-- “Long Beach bans single-use foam containers for restaurants, food providers,’’ via Long Beach Press Telegram: Story.

-- “Diante Yarber: Police kill black father with barrage of bullets in Walmart parking lot,” by Guardian’s Sam Levin: Story

-- “Herrera’s cease-and-desist letter does nothing to stop SF’s scooters,” by SFChronicle’s Matier & Ross: Story

-- “Even Beyoncé can’t stop Coachella from sucking,” by New York Post’s Hardeep Phull: Story

-- “Italians and Native Americans to share San Francisco holiday,” by AP: Story

-- “California mudslides: as wealthy town recovers, undocumented are left behind,” by Guardian’s Rory Carroll: Story

-- “Supervisors set aside $6M for teacher housing in Palo Alto,” by Palo Alto Weekly’s Elena Kadvany: Story

-- “Former Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer returns to her Google roots, talks #MeToo,” by Mercury News’ Seung Lee: Story

CANNABIS COUNTRY:

-- “Pot holiday 4/20 traces roots to California high school stoners,” by AP: “How the marijuana-loving world came to mark the occasion is believed traceable to five Northern California men now in their 60s with bad backs and graying hair. They are the unofficial grandmasters by virtue of the code they created nearly 50 years ago as students at a suburban San Francisco high school in 1971.” Story

HOLLYWOODLAND:

-- “Extension of California filming tax credit passes key legislative hurdle,” by LATimes’ David Ng: “On Wednesday, the Senate Governance and Finance Committee gave its stamp of approval to the bill, known as SB 832, which would extend the tax credit program by five years to 2025. The bill would keep the annual limit of new credits at its current level of $330 million.” Story

SILICON VALLEYLAND: ELON MUSK EDITION:

-- “Los Angeles could fast-track Elon Musk's first tunnel project in West L.A.,’’ by LATimes’ Laura J. Nelson: Story.

-- “California workplace safety agency opens probe into Tesla,” by CNBC’s Helen Zhao: “The investigation followed a report by Reveal on Sunday alleging that Tesla under-counted and mis-labeled employee injuries at its electric vehicle factory in Fremont, California, as well as a paint shop fire that occurred there in early April. Tesla has disputed the report by Reveal and characterized the fire as ‘small.’” Story

-- “SpaceX to build new Mars-bound Falcon rocket in Los Angeles,” by Shelby Fleig for USAToday: “The private space company plans to build a system called “BFR” — short for Big Falcon Rocket — at the facility. BFR will only be movable by barge or ship, necessitating a port location. SpaceX is headquartered in a Los Angeles suburb and the company already uses the port in other missions.” Story

ENDORSEMENTS:

-- The University Professional and Technical Employees, CWA Local 9119, has endorsed Delaine Eastin for governor. From the Eastin campaign: “They are the union of technical and professional employees at the University of California. Over 15,000 employees are covered by UPTE-CWA contracts throughout the 10 campuses and 5 medical centers of UC, 3 national laboratories and 3 California Community Colleges.”

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