• U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-California) failed to receive the endorsement of California Democratic Party delegates for re-election to her U.S. Senate seat after a vote at the party convention on Feb. 24 in San Diego left her with fewer votes than Democratic challenger and state Sen. Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles), who also didn’t win enough votes for the endorsement. Supporters of León reportedly chanted, “Your time is up! Your time is up!” as Feinstein closed out her speech. Feinstein currently leads de León in a Public Policy Institute of California opinion poll by 46 percent to his 17 percent. Feinstein also dwarves de León in fundraising and campaign funds, ending 2017 with nearly $10 million on hand, whereas de León ended the year with a bit more than $350,000 on hand, according to the Federal Election Commission.
• After President Donald Trump said he has considered pulling federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers from the state of California, saying, “Frankly, it’s a disgrace, this sanctuary city situation,” adding that if ICE officers were removed that the state would be “begging” for them back, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-California) issued a statement in reply on Feb. 22, saying the “president’s obsession with our state is growing more outrageous by the day.” Feinstein continued, pointing to California’s economy, “We’re the global hub of innovation and the largest farm state in the country. We’re creating jobs and driving the nation’s economy. At the same time, the state’s murder rate keeps falling and crime is at a historic low. The president’s attacks are not only mean-spirited, they’re patently false.”
• Sens. Kamala Harris (D-California) and Dianne Feinstein (D-California) announced on Feb. 21 that Agricultural Secretary Sonny Perdue approved their request for funding to help keep 119 low-income, rural California residents in their homes. The funding will come from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s $40 million surplus through the Rural Rental Housing program. A lapse of funding would have led to a steep increase in rural rents at 23 California Department of Housing and Community Development rental housing developments in August but not for the renewed funding, according to a statement from Harris’ office. “It is our duty as a nation to look after our most vulnerable populations, including seniors and people with disabilities,” Harris said in the statement. “I’m grateful that this funding has been secured to support 119 rural Californians who no longer have to live in fear of eviction or having their lives upended.”
• State Assemblymember Monique Limón (D-Santa Barbara) joined hundreds of ralliers to march to the steps of California’s Capitol on Feb. 13 in opposition to the Trump administration’s proposed expansion of offshore oil drilling in the U.S. “Today I am proud to be here standing with you as we look at what the federal administration is doing, the attacks on not just our California values, but the attacks on our environment, on our ecosystem, on the marine life, and on a coastal economy that helps everyday Californians be successful,” Limón said to the crowd. “I know a little bit about this coastal economy. My father has worked at a hotel in one of these areas for over 40 years. I know what happens when we have oil spills because they happen.” Limón said that California’s voters and representatives would continue to work against expanding offshore oil in the state. “What you have here are legislative solutions, legal routes, and we more than anything have the most powerful tool of all: you, your voices,” she said, adding, “California has your back.”
This article appears in Mar 1-8, 2018.