Top Ten Winners & Losers In California Politics For The Week Ending 2/20 - Who is the Biggest Loser?

Every week I'm closely following politics here in the Golden State. This is a weekly feature where we call out ten winners and/or losers. Actually, I tend to find more losers... Just saying.

Below is our Top Ten List of Winners and Losers for the Week. This feature is available to all of our subscribers, free and paid. Under the paywall, however, is our “Worst Week In California” special feature. It's me, in rare form, on video, going on why someone’s week sucked. Pithy? You bet! Also, for paid subscribers are several cartoons that didn’t make the top spot!

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⏱️ 5-minute read

This is where we examine state and local politics (or national issues with a California angle) and highlight individuals (or groups) who have achieved notable success or had a particularly challenging week. I strive to call balls and strikes fairly and objectively, which sometimes makes it difficult to assemble this list.

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Top Winners & Losers This Week in California Politics

⬇️ LOSER: BARBARA LEE, MAYOR OF OAKLAND

In a city already plagued by rampant property crime and auto theft, the mayor’s own city-owned SUV was brazenly stolen after a thief reportedly broke into her City Hall office and took the keys. The symbolism is brutal. When crime is so normalized that even the mayor’s vehicle is not secure inside City Hall, it underscores the scale of Oakland’s public safety crisis and the failure of city leadership to restore basic law and order. Given her far-left leanings, one almost expects the reflexive rhetoric about systemic causes and societal failures rather than a hard-line response to criminal conduct.

⬇️ LOSER: MARK ZUCKERBERG, META CEO

Under oath in a landmark Los Angeles courtroom, he was forced to personally defend his company against allegations that its platforms are addictive and harmful to children — a reputational and legal spotlight no tech CEO wants. The trial centers on claims that Instagram and other platforms were designed to maximize engagement among young users while contributing to mental health harm. Even as he denied targeting kids or intentionally engineering addiction, the spectacle of being grilled before a jury and grieving parents underscores mounting legal and political pressure on Big Tech this week. This matters as Meta and Big Tech are growing their footprint in California politics.

⬆️ WINNER: TOM MCCLINTOCK, U.S. REPRESENTATIVE

An icon of the conservative movement and a solid constitutional conservative, McClintock finds himself in a strong position following the Prop. 50 gerrymander that left his 5th District mostly intact. While a small sliver overlaps with neighboring GOP Rep. Kevin Kiley’s reshaped seat — now carved into multiple chunks — talk of a potential intra-party challenge is growing. Wagons are already circling, with both the President and the California GOP backing him. Now, the powerful Club for Growth has added its endorsement, bringing serious financial muscle behind McClintock and making him a clear winner this week. Release

⬇️ LOSER: CALIFORNIA TEACHERS ASSOCIATION AND LOCAL TEACHERS UNIONS

Across the state, union leaders are again leaning on the threat of school shutdowns and labor unrest to demand raises and richer benefits, even as many districts are financially strained and, in some cases, like Los Angeles, openly warn of layoffs and structural deficits. In a stagnant economy where taxpayers and private-sector workers are not seeing comparable pay growth, the optics are damaging. Rather than signaling shared sacrifice, the posture reinforces perceptions of an insulated, politically powerful bloc that prioritizes leverage over fiscal reality and classroom stability.

⬇️ LOSER: GAVIN NEWSOM, GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA

From Davos to Munich to Brazil to London, the Governor continues to rack up frequent international appearances, positioning himself on the global stage while California faces mounting domestic challenges. These trips and speeches increasingly look less like routine governance and more like a world tour of seeking to bracket and troll Donald Trump wherever he can. He’s obsessed. The optics suggest he is clearly prioritizing the next thing he wants to do over the job to which he is currently elected.

⬇️ LOSER: ROB BONTA, CALIFORNIA ATTORNEY GENERAL, AND TRIBAL GAMING INTERESTS

New gambling rule changes make it clear that the tribes, working in alignment with the Attorney General — who has received significant political support from tribal interests — are using the coercive power of government to give tribal gaming a structural leg up over cardrooms. The consequences are real, with cardrooms warning of layoffs and economic fallout. It smacks of corruption, with government power deployed to benefit politically aligned gaming interests at the expense of competing businesses.

⬇️ LOSER: RO KHANNA, U.S. REPRESENTATIVE

In a rush to generate headlines around the Epstein files, he publicly read out the names of several “powerful men” he claimed were concealed in redactions — only for it to be revealed that multiple individuals had no apparent connection to Epstein and were included in documents as part of an investigative photo lineup. I view this as reckless political theater. Reading names tied to one of the most toxic scandals imaginable without airtight context risks smearing uninvolved people and reflects a willingness to prioritize spectacle over responsibility.

⬆️ WINNER: SMALLER LA COUNTY CITIES (NORWALK, PALMDALE, GLENDALE, LANCASTER, AND GLENDORA AT LEAST)

Several smaller Los Angeles County cities — including Norwalk, Palmdale, Glendale, Lancaster, and Glendora — are standing up against yet another proposed sales tax increase, with well-founded fears that already high local tax rates could be pushed to economically dangerous levels. Their resistance reflects fiscal realism: higher sales taxes risk driving consumers, retailers, and revenue out of their jurisdictions. Just as important, these cities are openly questioning the County’s track record of effectively using tax revenues, citing past measures where promised accountability and results fell short. (Note that Supervisor Kathryn Barger was the only Board Member to vote against putting this on the ballot. She explains why at the California Post.)

⬇️ LOSER: IAN CHOUDRI, CEO, CALIFORNIA HIGH-SPEED RAIL AUTHORITY

The head of California’s long-troubled high-speed rail project is now on leave after being arrested earlier this month on suspicion of domestic battery, creating yet another layer of controversy around a project already defined by delays, cost overruns, and credibility issues. Prosecutors declined to file charges, but the arrest itself triggered an internal review and forced him to step aside from leadership of the state’s largest infrastructure effort. One has to note the irony of someone who is traumatizing the taxpayer in his day job having been arrested for domestic violence, further compounding the credibility crisis surrounding the project’s leadership.

⬇️ LOSER: TOM STEYER, BILLIONAIRE CANDIDATE FOR GOVERNOR

At a time when Californians already shoulder some of the highest tax burdens in the nation, he is openly backing the idea of a special election to impose additional corporate taxes. That stance reinforces a major political vulnerability: advocating for higher taxes in the middle of an affordability crisis. Never mind that, as a vastly wealthy individual, none of these taxes is likely to impact him in any meaningful way, while middle-class residents and employers absorb the real economic consequences.

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NOW IT’S TIME… WORST WEEK IN CALIFORNIA POLITICS

Starting this year, we have a new feature for paid subscribers. It’s below the paywall, and I basically do a video dumping session with whoever had the worst week. This time, I included two runners-up, so there was a full ten minutes of beating people over the head. Hey, if they are having a bad week, why not pile on? Fun times! Don’t miss out! You can sign up for the free week below and check it out. If, after a week of getting extra stuff, you don’t think it’s a good value, just cancel with no charge.

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OK, now for all of you paid subscribers… Below, I got on a good length rant on our featured Worst Week In California Politics awardee — check it out! What? Aren’t you a paid subscriber? Hit the red button for a free trial! Also, check out a few cartoons that didn’t make the top of this column!