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California Black Media Political Playback: News You Might Have Missed
from June 1, 2023
By Tanu Henry, Edward Henderson and Lila Brown | California Black Media
Your roundup of stories you might have missed last week.
“Sisters on The Frontline:” California Black Women Democrats Host MeetUp at California Democratic Party Convention in Los Angeles California State Controller, Malia Cohen hosted members of Black Women Organized for Political Action (BWOPA) during the California Democratic Party state convention in Los Angeles this past weekend.
Themed “Sisters on The Frontline,” the social gathering held at Fixin’s Soul Kitchen in Los Angeles, brought together Black women who are shifting the balance of power across the state such as U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA-12);
Secretary of State Dr. Shirley Weber; California State Assemblymembers Mia Bonta (D-Oakland) and Tina McKinnor (D-Hawthorne); and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
Other allies who attended to show their support included Attorney General, Rob Bonta and Assemblymember Chris Holden (D-Pasadena).
During the event, Lee spoke about her candidacy for U.S. Senate and Weber shared some details about the proceedings of the state’s Reparations task force.
Weber said she expects the Legislature will approve the task force’s recommendations.
Bill Aims to “Clean Up Wild, Wild West” of Ballot Initiative Campaigns
On May 21, Assemblymember Isaac
Bryan (D-Los Angeles) hosted a virtual rally to discuss Assembly Bill (AB) 421. The bill, which he authored, aims to tackle problems with California’s ballot initiative process.
The goal of the bill is to help voters know who is behind a measure and identify paid signature collection campaigns, Bryan said.
AB 421 would expand oversight of signature collection and referendum campaign funding by the Secretary of State’s Office. It would also require that unpaid volunteers collect at least 10% of a campaign’s signatures.
In California, paid signature collectors, sometimes from other states, are often contracted to interact with the public and canvas for referendums. AB 421 would require that those signature collectors register with the Secretary of State’s office.
“There are 40 million people who are counting on their Legislature and their governor and their voice to be heard in the democratic process,” Bryan said the following day at a briefing announcing the bill.
“You have communities that have been historically boxed out of this process who have found their voice through different statewide initiative processes,” he added.
Assemblymember Kevin McCarty Announces Bid for Mayor of Sacramento
Last Friday, Assemblymember Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento), a member of
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