Political Watch: April 17, 2025

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• On April 3, Assemblymember Gregg Hart (D-Santa Barbara) recognized Tere Jurado with the 2025 California Woman of the Year award as part of an annual celebration of women’s leadership. According to a release from Hart’s office, he presented Jurado with the award in a standing-room-only ceremony attended by family members, friends, and special guests, including Ambassador Ricardo Santana Velázquez of the Mexican Consulate in Oxnard. “I am deeply honored to represent the women of California’s Central Coast as the recipient of this recognition by Assemblymember Hart,” Jurado said, according to the press release. The Santa Barbara resident has served on the boards of the Santa Barbara Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Santa Barbara Eastside Society, Santa Barbara Mariachi Festival, Standing Together to End Sexual Assault (STESA), Marjorie Luke Theatre, Santa Barbara Police Activities League, Old Spanish Days, and other organizations. “Jurado’s tireless dedication can be felt throughout Santa Barbara, from the annual Milpas Holiday Parade she leads, to the countless families she has supported,” Hart stated in the release.

• U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration and California’s former secretary of state, led 11 senators in introducing the Defending America’s Future Elections Act to repeal President Donald Trump’s “anti-voter” executive order and prevent the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing sensitive voter registration data and state records, according to an April 1 statement from the senator’s office. “This illegal and unconstitutional power grab by President Trump is another attempt to make it harder for millions of Americans to vote,” Padilla said in the statement. “It would disproportionately impact women, rural communities, members of our military, and the millions of Americans who don’t have every piece of identification Trump wants to require. We also cannot allow Elon Musk and DOGE to wreak havoc on state voter registration lists, threatening to access sensitive voter information and undermine our free and fair elections.” The Defending America’s Future Elections Act was introduced to prevent any federal funds from being transferred to or used by DOGE to access state voter registration lists, records concerning voter list maintenance activities, federal databases, or other public or private state records related to federal elections, according to Padilla’s office.

•After arguing to the Senate parliamentarian that California’s Clean Air Act waivers are not subject to the Congressional Review Act, U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff (D-California), a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, issued a statement on April 4. “Congress granted California the power to regulate its own pollution and vehicle emissions standards and did so on a bipartisan basis almost 60 years ago. The result has been an important one and advanced clean air and water rules that have had a major impact on California and the rest of the country,” Schiff said in the statement. “Today, another nonpartisan and independent voice has reaffirmed that California’s vehicle emissions standards are not subject to repeal under the expedited processes of the Congressional Review Act, upholding our state’s right to protect our air and the health of our 40 million residents.” U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California) also commented on the ruling. “I am pleased that the Senate parliamentarian upheld decades of precedent and confirmed that California’s Clean Air Act waivers are not subject to the Congressional Review Act,” Padilla said in the statement from Schiff’s office. “This latest stunt from Trump’s EPA was a clearly bogus attempt to undercut California’s climate leadership, and it failed.”

This article appears in Apr 17-27, 2025.