Top Ten Winners & Losers In California Politics This Week - Starting, Of Course, SalesForce CEO Mark Benioff

Each week we pick ten people or groups that had a particularly good or bad week, and label them winners or losers! This is for the week ending 10/17/25!

Below is our Top Ten List of Winners and Losers for the Week. This feature available to all of our subscribers, free and paid. However, at the bottom of the column, past the firewall is something extra, just for paid subscribers as a thank you!

⏱️ 6 minute read

This is where we look over state and local politics (or national with a California angle), and highlight people (or groups) that have had some solid wins, or who have just had a really rough week. If you want to make your own suggestions for this list — just send in an email (you can just hit reply to any of these e-mails) and suggest away! I promise to keep confidential the people making suggestions! Oh yes, thank you to our thousands of subscribers, and if you know something you think would like this, forward it along! Here we go…

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Top Ten Winners & Losers This Week in California Politics

⬆️ WINNER: MARC BENIOFF, CEO, SALESFORCE

Benioff grabbed headlines after publicly urging that the National Guard be deployed to help address San Francisco’s worsening crime and public safety problems. His comments drew sharp backlash from city leaders and activists—and even cost him a key ally, Ron Conway, who resigned from the Salesforce Foundation board. Yet Benioff’s candor reignited debate over the city’s struggle to restore order and confidence.

⬇️ LOSER: HANG NGUYEN, REGISTRAR OF VOTERS, SACRAMENTO COUNTY

Sacramento County’s Registrar of Voters, Hang Nguyen, oversaw a freak election hiccup when nearly 100 Proposition 50 ballots went missing—later discovered in a homeless camp. Officials scrambled to void all 99 ballots and reissue replacements to affected voters, inviting scrutiny about ballot security, oversight, and chain-of-custody procedures under her watch during an already contentious special election.

⬇️ LOSERS: MAYOR KAREN BASS & LOS ANGELES CITY COUNCIL

A freshly published RAND report finds that LA’s official homelessness counts increasingly understate the real number of people living unsheltered—especially rough sleepers. These growing inaccuracies risk diverting funding from the most needy areas. Under Bass and the City Council, what once looked like progress may in fact be masking worsening conditions and misallocating scarce resources.

⬆️ WINNER: U.S. ATTORNEY BILL ESSAYLI

Bill Essayli has positioned the federal government as a watchdog over billions in homelessness funding—announcing arrests tied to alleged fraud in California’s Homekey program and forming the Homelessness Fraud & Corruption Task Force. His office’s swift action and visible prioritization of accountability underscore a new tone: federal prosecutors won’t hesitate to challenge local and state projects that misuse money meant for vulnerable populations.

⬇️ LOSER: FORMER MAYOR TAMARA WALLACE, SOUTH LAKE TAHOE

Wallace resigned after publishing a letter confessing that she embezzled funds—allegedly more than $300,000—from the Lake Tahoe Community Presbyterian Church, where she also worked. She admitted guilt, revealed she attempted suicide due to overwhelming shame, and pledged to repay what was taken. Shame is right, stealing from your church!

⬇️ LOSER: REPORTER CLARA HARTER AND THE LOS ANGELES TIMES

In her article on Betty Yee’s support for trans athletes in women’s sports, Harter frames Gov. Newsom as more moderate than he has ever been, suggesting he opposes allowing transgender females to compete. But her portrayal overlooks his repeated reversals, where his rhetoric diverges from his actions and laws he signs—misleading readers about his true stance.

⬆️ WINNER: LA COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY NATHAN HOCHMAN

Nathan Hochman’s office charged 13 county employees from seven agencies with stealing more than $430,000 in unemployment benefits while still on the county payroll. The prosecutions signal a sharp shift from the George Gascón era—another sign that Los Angeles voters’ decision to replace a progressive DA with a law-and-order-oriented one is already paying dividends in accountability and public trust.

⬇️ LOSERS: CA TRIBES, LED BY THE CA NATIONS INDIAN GAMING ASSOCIATION

A judge struck down their attempt to sue card rooms under a new state law, ruling that federal gambling law overrides their claims—even though the law gave tribes new standing. Their bid to use political clout and legislation to undercut competitors has backfired, leaving them no recourse for their legal gamble. I guess they will just have to do what normal people do - compete for their market share.

⬇️ LOSER: FORMER SHERIFF CHRISTINA CORPUS, SAN MATEO COUNTY

The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors unanimously removed Corpus from office this last week after a judge’s report found she violated nepotism rules, abused power, engaged in retaliation, and created chaos in her department. It’s the first time in California history a county sheriff has been ousted for misconduct—an extraordinary downfall for a onetime reform candidate.

⬆️ WINNERS: NRA, FIREARMS POLICY COALITION & 2A FOUNDATION

These leading gun-rights groups wasted no time challenging California’s new ban on Glock-style handguns—rushing into federal court before the ink was dry on Governor Newsom’s signature. Their swift action made headlines and ensured that the state’s latest gun-control law faces immediate constitutional scrutiny, marking another major test of California’s ongoing clash with Second Amendment advocates.

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Now that you see what this column is all about, keep your eyes peeled. If you have someone to suggest to be considered for featuring in this column next week, drop me a note. I will keep confidential the names of those who make the suggestions! Four of the awardees above came from suggestions from subscribers!

Now for our paid subscribers I have a treat below the pay wall. I actually made three more awesome cartoon images that ended up not making the column. But they are great. Newsom getting sued by 2A groups, CNIGA losing their gamble, and Essayli kicking butt Try a free week of busting through our paywalls below!