Barack Obama makes campaign ad in support of Newsom ahead of California recall

Former President Obama is appearing in a TV ad backing California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) as part of his campaign's final efforts to boost Democratic turnout in next Tuesday's recall election.

Watch that ad below:

Here it is: the ad Obama just cut for the Gavin Newsom anti-recall campaign. Focuses on covid, specifically vaccines mandates, and hits Elder for being close to Trump.

"Protect California by voting NO on the Republican Recall." pic.twitter.com/OsCc2YGIHr

— Jacob Rubashkin (@JacobRubashkin) September 8, 2021

Vice President Kamala Harris makes campaign speech for Governor Newsom in recall fight

Vice President Kamala Harris campaigned in California on Wednesday for Governor Gavin Newsom, who is facing a recall election. "They're thinking if they can get this done in California, they can go around the country and do this," Harris said about Republicans. She also took the time to speak about against the Texas Governor, Greg abbot and the recently passed Texas abortion law. Watch her entire speech below:

Gov. Newsom nominates Dr. Shirley Weber as California Secretary of State

Hours after Gov. Gavin Newsom picked California Secretary of State Alex Padilla to be California’s next United States senator, he announced that he will submit to the state Legislature the nomination of Assemblymember Dr. Shirley N. Weber, D-San Diego, to replace him. If confirmed, Weber will become the first-ever African American to serve as secretary of state for California.

“Dr. Weber is a tireless advocate and change agent with unimpeachable integrity. The daughter of sharecroppers from Arkansas, Dr. Weber’s father didn’t get to vote until his 30s and her grandfather never got to vote because he died before the Voting Rights Act passed in 1965.

“When her family moved to South Central Los Angeles, she saw as a child her parents rearrange furniture in their living room to serve as a local polling site for multiple elections. Now, she’ll be at the helm of California’s elections as the next secretary of state – defending and expanding the right to vote and serving as the first African American to be California’s chief elections officer,” Newsom said.

Weber, an assemblymember since 2012, is a former president of the San Diego Board of Education and a retired Africa Studies Department professor for 40 years at San Diego State University. Her nomination is subject to confirmation by the California State Assembly and Senate. A decision must be made within 90 days.

“I am excited to be nominated for this historic appointment as the secretary of state of California. I thank Gov. Newsom for the confidence he’s placed in me and his belief that I will stand strong for California. Being the first African American woman in this position will be a monumental responsibility, but I know that I am up for the challenge. Expanding voting rights has been one of the causes of my career and will continue to motivate me as I assume my new constitutional duties,” Weber said.

[SOURCE: SFBAYVIEW]

California to Study Reparations for Black Americans

California will develop detailed proposals for granting reparations to Black Americans under a new law.

The legislation, which was authored by Assemblywoman Shirley Weber, a Democrat representing San Diego who is chair of California's Legislative Black Caucus, does not commit to any specific payment. Instead, it establishes a nine-person task force that will study the impact of slavery on Black people in California and recommend to the Legislature what kind of compensation should be provided, who should receive it and what form it will take.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the law on Wednesday.

The task force must give its recommendations to the state Legislature one year after its first meeting.

The law would not limit the reparations to slavery.

But it does require the task force to give special consideration for black people who are descendants of slaves.

Similar proposals have been introduced in Congress for decades but have never passed.

California police shooting law propelled by Stephon Clark’s death signed into law

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday signed what it is believed to be one of the toughest laws in the country regulating when police officers can use use deadly force.

The signing of Assembly Bill 392 concludes a legislative battle between law enforcement lobbyists and civil rights groups who, until May, could not agree on how strict the state’s deadly force law should be.

It was shaped by a string of deadly encounters between law enforcement officers and unarmed black men, including the March 2018 shooting of Stephon Clark by Sacramento police. Clark’s death shook the city, with a protest shutting down Interstate 5 one evening and another march leading to mass arrests in East Sacramento this spring.

During the ceremony, Newsom said AB 392 will reduce the number of lives lost by deadly force.

The law “stretches the boundaries of possibility and sends a message to people all across the country that they can do more,” he said. “Training matters, yes. Accountability matters, certainly. Transparency, indeed. But culture. Changing hearts changing minds, changing our approach to dealing with one another.”

The new standard instructs officers to use lethal force only when it is “necessary” based on the totality of circumstances they encounter. That’s considered a stricter standard than today’s practice, which instructs police that they can use deadly force when it is “reasonable” to do so.

The legislation also requires evaluating an officer’s conduct before and after deadly force is used and it emphasizes deescalation tactics as effective alternatives to pulling a trigger.

Read more: California police shooting law propelled by Stephon Clark’s death wins Newsom’s signature.