Early voting begins today in California, and some Bay Area cities including Oakland and San Francisco are using a system known as ranked choice voting. Supporters say allowing voters to rank candidates in order of preference saves money by avoiding a separate runoff and rewards candidates with broad appeal, but it’s also confusing for many voters. Scott talks about how ranked choice voting works and clears up some common misconceptions with Lisa Bryant, Associate Professor and Chair of the Depar...
Oct 08, 2024•30 min
Early voting is set to begin on Monday and new polls show the race for mayor of San Francisco is up for grabs. A Democratic member of Congress comes out in favor of recalling Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price. Plus, a statewide ballot measure to toughen penalties for drug use and retail theft seems headed for victory. Scott, Marisa and Guy discuss this week's news in politics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oct 05, 2024•25 min
San Francisco voters will choose their next mayor this November, and we are going to bring you interviews with all of the top candidates. Today, Marisa and Scott sit down with incumbent mayor London Breed who talks about her tenure as mayor, her family, scandals at city hall and how she's approaching the city's ranked-choice election. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oct 04, 2024•33 min
California has six competitive congressional districts that could determine which party controls the House of Representatives next year. In the lead-up to the November election, the Political Breakdown team will cover each of these races. Today, Scott and Marisa discuss the 22nd congressional district in the Central Valley… where Republican incumbent David Valadao is once again facing former Assemblymember Rudy Salas. They’re joined by reporter Joshua Yeager, who covers Kern County and the South...
Oct 03, 2024•27 min
Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed a high profile bill aimed at regulating the artificial intelligence industry. Senate Bill 1047 would have implemented rules for AI developers and was aimed at preventing catastrophes like an attack on the power grid. The bill divided Silicon Valley, with tech titans on both sides of the issue. Scott and senior editor of KQED's Silicon Valley news desk Rachael Myrow talk with state Senator Scott Wiener, who authored the legislation Learn more about your ad choices. Vi...
Oct 02, 2024•21 min
San Francisco’s public schools are in crisis. The district is facing a budget deficit, potential school closures and HR problems. Mayor London Breed has sent in a team of city experts to help the district, but it comes as she faces a tough re-election. Marisa and Scott talk about all that with the San Francisco Chronicle's education reporter Jill Tucker. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oct 01, 2024•30 min
Yesterday the state Assembly passed two bills taking aim at gasoline price spikes, after hours of hearings in a special session called by Gov. Gavin Newsom. Plus, the governor signs a package of reparation bills including one issuing a formal apology for California perpetuating slavery in its early days as a state. Scott and Guy are joined by Politico senior California politics and policy reporter Jeremy B. White. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 28, 2024•26 min
A controversial ballot measure in Sonoma County could reshape agriculture in the region and beyond. Measure J would ban so-called “concentrated animal feeding operations" — essentially a prohibition on large farms, which proponents of the measure derisively call factory farms. It has split the historic agricultural community, pitting, as Politico put it, “people who shop at farmers markets against those who supply them." Marisa and Guy talk with The Press Democrat's Phil Barber and University of...
Sep 27, 2024•34 min
Barbara Boxer retired from the U.S. Senate in 2016, but she’s still actively engaged in politics. Part of that includes supporting the Democrat Will Rollins against incumbent Republican Rep. Ken Calvert in one of the hotly contested congressional races in California that could determine control of the House. Scott talks with Boxer from her home in Rancho Mirage about that race, the historic 2024 election, thoughts about her friend Joe Biden dropping out and what's at stake in November. Learn mor...
Sep 26, 2024•28 min
Everyone knows that California is not a swing state when it comes to presidential races, but the state could decide which party controls Congress. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report lists 69 competitive House races across the country and 10 of them are in California. Marisa, Scott and Guy analyze a new poll this week that shows incredibly tight races in six of those California congressional districts. Democrats seem to have the edge, but the survey shows all the races within the margin of err...
Sep 25, 2024•30 min
The two recent assassination attempts on former President Donald Trump raised troubling questions about why the U.S. Secret Service failed. Scott and Marisa talk with The Washington Post's national investigative reporter Carol Leonnig about how the agency works, its past failures and what we've learned in the past three months. Leonnig is the author of "Zero Fail: The Rise and Fall of the Secret Service." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 24, 2024•32 min
The dust has settled on last night’s debate — sponsored by KQED and The San Francisco Chronicle — with the leading candidates for mayor of San Francisco. Scott, Marisa and Guy discuss highlights and takeaways from the debate, where incumbent London Breed was regularly in the hot seat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 21, 2024•26 min
KQED and The San Francisco Chronicle host a live debate with the top five candidates for mayor of San Francisco tonight at 7 p.m. Scott, Marisa and the Chronicle's Joe Garofoli preview the debate and discuss the state of the race and how it could be affected by ranked choice voting. The debate will be available live, streaming online and broadcast on 88.5FM and KQED 9 TV Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 20, 2024•32 min
In the 2000s, ballooning pension costs were blowing up city and state budgets in California, leading cities like San Francisco to raise the retirement age for firefighters and abandon a program that let police collect a salary and a pension at the same time. Now, San Francisco voters will consider two ballot measures to reinstate those benefits. Marisa talks with Joe Eskenazi, the managing editor at Mission Local, about why these measures are on the ballot and what they would mean for the city b...
Sep 19, 2024•26 min
A national network of Black sororities and fraternities might just be Vice President Kamala Harris’ secret weapon. Known as the Divine Nine, with more than 2.5 million members nationwide, they're in high gear to help usher Harris into the presidency. Scott talks with one member: Los Angeles Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 18, 2024•24 min
Donald Trump and J.D. Vance have doubled down on false claims that immigrants in Springfield, Ohio are eating pets. Over the weekend, Vance said on CNN that he was willing "to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people." In an era of misinformation, how should the media be covering claims like these? And are political journalists doing enough to hold Trump, Vance and even Kamala Harris accountable? Scott talks with Dan Froomkin, who ...
Sep 17, 2024•25 min
The San Francisco mayor’s race is heating up, as a scandal over the misuse of city funds lands on Mayor Breed’s desk and another candidate is hit with questions about ethics. Plus, former President Donald Trump is collecting campaign cash in California while tying the state's problems to Vice President Kamala Harris. Next Thursday, September 19th at 7 pm, KQED is teaming up with the San Francisco Chronicle to host a debate with the top candidates for mayor of San Francisco. It'll be available li...
Sep 14, 2024•25 min
With the presidential election fast approaching, foreign adversaries are working hard behind the scenes to sow chaos and influence U.S. public opinion. Marisa and Scott are joined by Emily Harding, who has worked for the CIA, led the Senate investigation into 2016 Russian election interference and now works at the at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 13, 2024•32 min
Vice President Kamala Harris is widely considered to have won last night's debate against former President Donald Trump. Harris had Trump playing defense most of the night — a stark contrast to the June debate between Trump and President Joe Biden. Scott, Marisa and Guy dissect each candidate's best and worst moments and what difference it'll make in November. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 12, 2024•25 min
It’s Debate Night in America: former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are squaring off in their one and only scheduled debate. This event is historic in many ways and the stakes could not be higher for the candidates and for the nation. What do both candidates need to accomplish? And what kinds of questions will they get? And how should we judge their performances? Scott and Marisa talk about the what to expect and what to look for on the debate stage with New York Times c...
Sep 11, 2024•29 min
Real democracy involves two or more candidates squaring off in elections giving voters a real choice for office. And yet, throughout the United States thousands of elections go uncontested, leaving voters with no choice other than to vote for the one candidate on the ballot or not vote at all. The progressive non-profit Contest Every Race say more often than not, the party not fielding a candidate is the Democrats. The organization is trying to change that by recruiting and financing Democrats t...
Sep 10, 2024•28 min
Next week could be the most consequential week in politics before the November election, with former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala set to square off in their one and only scheduled debate. Scott, Marisa and Guy talk about the stakes for both Harris and Trump, what they need to accomplish and how they might try to define themselves. Plus, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan seems to be itching for a debate with Governor Gavin Newsom over a high profile ballot measure aimed at toughening ...
Sep 06, 2024•27 min
San Francisco voters will choose their next mayor this November, and we are going to bring you interviews with all of the top candidates. Today, Marisa and Scott sit down with Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin, who talks about attending elementary school with Vice President Kamala Harris, his college activism, corruption at city hall, his record on housing and his recovery from alcohol addiction. We want to hear your questions! If you have a burning question that you want us to ask the...
Sep 06, 2024•33 min
California legislative leaders are in a rare public standoff in Sacramento after Governor Gavin Newsom on Saturday called for a special session of the legislature to address gas prices. Why is Newsom pushing this now, two months out from the election? And why is the Democratic leader of the Senate unwilling to go along? Scott and Marisa talk about the political drama unfolding with The Sacramento Bee’s Nicole Nixon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 05, 2024•25 min
Soon after President Joe Biden announced he would not seek another term, identity groups began forming to support Vice President Kamala Harris. Everything from “Swifties for Harris” to “White Dudes for Harris.” Thousands of people have joined Zoom calls to talk her up, raise money and figure out what they can do to elect the nation’s first Black and South Asian woman as president. Scott talks with KQED reporter Nisa Khan about the rise of pop culture fan groups getting involved in politics. Read...
Sep 04, 2024•23 min
It's crunch time in the California Capitol. Lawmakers have until midnight tomorrow to pass legislation out of both houses and send it to the governor for his signature or veto. Marisa and Guy talk about the end-of-session controversies and Sacramento drama with KCRA capitol correspondent Ashley Zavala. This conversation was recorded on Friday morning. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 31, 2024•25 min
Shoplifting and retail theft are hot button issues in California, and Rachel Michelin has been at the center of the debate over solutions. Michelin is the head of the California Retailers Association and she joins Marisa and Guy to talk about new legislation to crack down on thefts and a controversial ballot measure going before voters in November. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 30, 2024•33 min
Former President Donald Trump rarely strays from his red tie, white shirt and blue suit, while Vice President Kamala Harris’ uniform consists of tailored suits in a variety of colors. But what does it all mean? What are they saying to voters? And why do fashion choices in politics even matter? Marisa talks about the politics of fashion with Vanessa Friedman, the fashion director and chief fashion critic at The New York Times. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 29, 2024•31 min
After Sam Bankman-Fried’s fall from grace, it seemed like the crypto industry was on the ropes. But this election season, it's becoming a potent political player — and both parties seem to want its support. Marisa talks about the state of play with Zeke Faux, an investigative reporter for Bloomberg Businessweek and author of "Number Go Up: Inside Crypto's Wild Rise and Staggering Fall." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 28, 2024•30 min
Strength. Patriotism. Freedom. Ever since Vice President Kamala Harris jumped into the presidential race, Democrats have been all in on language and messaging historically more associated with Republicans. Marisa talks with Democratic communications researcher and campaign adviser Anat Shenker-Osorio to get her take on messaging strategies at last week's convention and what Harris needs to do in the weeks ahead to win this dead heat of a presidential race. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...
Aug 27, 2024•33 min
