By Miriam Raftery

December 22, 2020 (Sacramento) – Governor Gavin Newsom has appointed Secretary of State Alex Padilla to fill California’s U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris.

Padilla, who previously served as a Los Angeles City Councilman and State Senator, is a national leader in the fight to expand voting rights, will become the first Latino to represent California in the United States Senate and the first Southern Californian in nearly three decades.

“The son of Mexican immigrants —  a cook and house cleaner — Alex Padilla worked his way from humble beginnings to the halls of MIT, the Los Angeles City Council and the State Senate, and has become a national defender of voting rights as California’s Secretary of State.” said Governor Newsom. “Through his tenacity, integrity, smarts and grit, California is gaining a tested fighter in their corner who will be a fierce ally in D.C., lifting up our state’s values and making sure we secure the critical resources to emerge stronger from this pandemic. He will be a Senator for all Californians.”

The action also gave Newsom the ability to fill the Secretary of State seat via appointment. Late today, he announced that Assemblymember Shirley Weber (D-San Diego), whose district includes much of East County, will be the new Secretary of State, the first black woman to hold the post.  Newsom bypassed San Diego Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, who earlier had announced plans to run for the position in 2022.  Newsom will also be making an appointment to replace Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who was named by President-Elect Joe Biden to head up the federal Health and Human Services department, if the cabinet appointment is approved by the Senate.

Reprinted from Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Association

Photo: Sara Jacobs during a recent virtual meeting, via her Twitter feed

December 20, 2020 (San Diego)- - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Friday nominated Congresswoman-Elect Sara Jacobs to the influential House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Jacobs, a Democrat who won election in November to succeed retiring Rep. Susan Davis in the 53rd District that includes much of East County, is the only freshman member of congress to be nominated to the committee, which is responsible for oversight and legislation relating to all aspects of U.S. foreign policy.

It’s the second committee placement for Jacobs, who was earlier nominated to the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee.

By Ken Stone, Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Association

Photo:  Rep. Duncan D. Hunter walks from court hearing in December 2019. Photo by Ken Stone

December 16, 2020 (San Diego) - In 20 days, former Rep. Duncan D. Hunter is set to report to prison. But legal and political experts think it’s unlikely he’ll see the inside of Federal Correctional Institutional, La Tuna, near El Paso, Texas.

By Miriam Raftery; Michael Allen also contributed to this story

Photos by Erik Herrara

December 15, 2020 (Santee) – Yesterday’s recount in the Santee District 4 City Council race took place at the Registrar of Voters.  Each candidate picked up one additional vote from ballots that were not previously opened or counted, but it didn’t change the outcome. Dustin Trotter officially has 3,920 votes – a mere five vote margin over Samm Hurst, with 3,915.

The San Diego County Democratic Party agreed to terminate the recount after only minimal changes in the vote count once untallied ballots were examined. 

According to Assistant Registrar of Voters Cynthia Paes, a little over 1,000 ballots were recounted, out of around 8,000 cast in district 4.  The full-day recount involved about 25 staffers. Both sides challenged ballots; out of nine that were uncounted and unopened, and after adjudication by Registrar Michael Vu, three were opened and counted.  Besides one vote found for each candidate, a third untallied ballot was opened and found to have neither candidate marked in the Santee Council race.

East County News Service

December 13, 2020 (San Diego’s East County) – San Diego County Supervisors have voted to delay until January 27, 2021 a decision on Renewable Energy Overlay Options originally slated for Dec. 9, 2020.  The options aim to streamline approval of industrial-scale wind and solar projects across much of East County’s rural, mountain and desert areas.

By Matt Levin, CalMatters

CalMatters is an independent public interest journalism venture covering California state politics and government.

Photo:  CC-By-ND via Bing

December 8, 2020 (Sacramento) - With California’s eviction moratorium set to expire in less than 60 days and 2 million people at risk of losing their rental homes, a group of tenant-friendly lawmakers want to forestall evictions for another year. 

Update November 9, 2020:  The Ramona Water District Board voted last night to fill this vacancy by appointment.  Click here to learn more.

By Miriam Raftery

December 7, 2020 (Ramona) – Thomas Ace, 73, an incumbent on the Ramona Municipal Water District Board and former Lakeside Fire Protection District Chief, died October 24.  He still received the most votes in the November election for the water district’s Division 3 seat, with 1,766 votes to defeat Rex Schildhouse, who got 1,654 votes – a margin of just 112 votes, according to the election results certified Dec. 3 by the San Diego County Registrar of Voters.

The water district’s board of directors has the option to fill the vacancy by appointment, or call a special election. Options will be discussed at the next board meeting Dec.8 at 2 p.m., which will be held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the board agenda indicates.

By Ken Stone, Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Association

Photo by Chris Stone: Republican Joel Anderson returns to office after stints in the state Legislature.

December 7, 2020 (San Diego’s East County) -- Joel Anderson declared victory over fellow Republican Steve Vaus on Thursday as the San Diego County Registrar of Voters certified results of their close county Board of Supervisors race.

“I am grateful to have earned the trust and support of the residents of East County to represent them on the county Board of Supervisors,” said District 2 winner Anderson. “I also want to recognize Supervisor Dianne Jacob, the longest-serving county supervisor, for 28 years of dedicated service to East County.”

Results stayed the same as recent days — with Anderson edging Poway Mayor Vaus by 282 votes of nearly 290,000 cast.

By Helen L. Horvath, PsyD

November 28, 2020 (Lemon Grove) – One of the hottest topics on the November 17th Lemon Grove City Council meeting held via Zoom was how to develop revenue streams to decrease Lemon Grove’s budget deficit. This need to increase the City’s financial strength has led to many hard choices and a community desire to find innovative methods to raise tax revenues. 

By Dr. Juan Andrade, Jr.

Photo via the White House

November 25, 2020 (Washington D.C.) -- Well, it’s that time of year, “I beg your pardon.” Just not sure which turkey should be pardoning which. Of course, Trump will try to pardon both the Feathered One AND the self-anointed “Chosen One,” if he can. There is no consensus among constitutional experts as to whether Trump could actually pardon himself, so don’t be surprised if he does. After all, the question would obviously be decided by a trumped up Supreme Court, so what would he have to lose?

By Miriam Raftery

November 23, 2020 (Washington, D.C.) - The House of Representatives passed the Wounded Veterans Recreation Act to provide all veterans with a service-connected disability a National Parks and Federal Lands Pass free of charge. The bill already passed the Senate and after House approval, now heads to the President’s desk to await signature.

East County News Service

November 20, 2020 (Washington, D.C.) - The House of Representatives passed Congresswoman Susan Davis’s (CA-53) legislation to reauthorize the National Apprenticeship Act that would create nearly one million new Registered Apprenticeship, youth apprenticeship, and pre-apprenticeship positions over the next five years. The National Apprenticeship Act of 2020 invests nearly $3.5 billion over five years to scale-up apprenticeship opportunities, streamline access to apprenticeships for workers and employers, and expand apprenticeships into new in-demand industry sectors and occupations. Davis’s bill passed on bipartisan vote of 246 to 140.

November 18, 2020 (San Diego's East County) -- ECM held an interview via ZOOM yesterday with investigative reporter Greg Palast. 

The award-winning journalist and author shared results of his latest investigative results publicized by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). His investigation found massive numbers of disenfranchised minority voters in Georgia, who were falsely taken off voting rolls for having moved, but they never relocated. His findings have helped many of those voters reregister in time to have their votes counted.

Palast also talks about the Georgia recount, possible (though unlikely) scenarios for  Congress to determine who won the 2020 election should any states refuse to certify their electors, and the upcoming Georgia Senate runoff races that could determine the balance of power in the U.S. Senate.

Palast has East County roots; his late parents were long-time residents of La Mesa.