Top Ten Winners & Losers In California Politics For The Week Ending 5/1
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. At the bottom of this post is our “Worst Week In California Politics” special feature. It's me, in rare form, on video, going on why someone’s week sucked. It is below the paywall for our paid subscribers, though. Please support my independent calling of balls and strikes, and unlock lots of content by upgrading today! It’s only $7 a month (or $70 for an entire year).
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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.
Top Winners & Losers This Week in California Politics
⬇️ LOSER: MATT MAHAN, SAN JOSE MAYOR AND CANDIDATE FOR GOVERNOR
Millions of dollars have been spent trying to turn him into a serious statewide contender, and yet the polling still shows no real traction. The problem may be deeper than messaging. His combination of ideological moderation and temperamental moderation has created a toxic cocktail of voter disinterest. He is not too liberal, not too conservative, not too fiery, and not too memorable. In a crowded race, that leaves him looking less like a fresh alternative and more like political beige. I’m actually rooting for Matt to stop showing up on this list!
⬇️ LOSER: GAVIN NEWSOM AND THE CALIFORNIA HIGH-SPEED RAIL AUTHORITY
The bullet train fiasco somehow got worse. The latest cost estimate has now climbed to roughly $231 billion, a breathtaking leap from the $33 billion project voters were sold in 2008. Even the authority’s own board delayed action on the latest business plan amid criticism that it lacked the clarity required by law. And now Californians learn that about $1 billion may be tied up in a detour around the Cesar Chavez National Monument. Every new disclosure makes the same point: costs keep rising, timelines keep slipping, and accountability keeps disappearing. At this point, “high-speed rail” is less a transportation project than a monument to government failure.
⬇️ LOSERS: DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE
The plan was simple: clear the field, rally behind former state Sen. Bob Wieckowski, and fill Eric Swalwell’s old congressional seat quickly so Democrats could get another vote back in Washington. Instead, they ran into the usual problem — Democrats with ambition, egos, and no interest in stepping aside. With a crowded field, there is no practical way for any candidate to get 50 percent in the primary, which means the race heads to a general election and the seat stays empty longer. A supposedly safe seat has become another reminder that managing Democrats can be harder than beating Republicans.
⬇️ LOSER: KAREN BASS, MAYOR OF LOS ANGELES
When your name is on the door, you are responsible for what happens inside. While California tourism rebounded, Los Angeles had its worst tourism year since the pandemic. That matters because tourism is not some side issue for Los Angeles — it is jobs, tax revenue, hotels, restaurants, small businesses, and civic reputation. A city already struggling with homelessness, crime, high costs, and disorder cannot afford to become less attractive to visitors, too. While a loser this week, Bass appears well on her way to failing to win a second term.
⬆️ WINNERS: OAKLAND UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT PRINCIPALS
It is not every day you see school principals step forward and call for closures when their own jobs could be on the line. That makes this notable. Oakland Unified has too many schools for its declining enrollment, and pretending otherwise only guarantees deeper fiscal problems down the road. These principals are saying the hard part out loud: keeping every campus open may feel compassionate, but it can drain resources from the students who remain.
⬇️ LOSER: CBS NEWS CALIFORNIA AND POMONA COLLEGE GUBERNATORIAL DEBATE FORMAT
The latest governor’s debate was frustrating for anyone trying to actually evaluate the candidates. At times, it felt like some of the moderators were talking more than the people running for governor. The rapid-fire “lightning rounds” of 30 and 45 seconds may sound efficient in a production meeting, but they are mostly useless for voters trying to understand judgment, priorities, or leadership. California needs debates that reveal substance, not formats that reward compressed talking points and moderator control. CNN is hosting the next debate — step it up, Elex!
⬆️ WINNER: XAVIER BECERRA, FORMER HHS SECRETARY AND CANDIDATE FOR GOVERNOR
Something is clearly moving in his direction. In the absence of major paid advertising, it is not obvious why he is gaining ground, but after multiple surveys show the same movement, it has to be acknowledged. The Los Angeles Times says he has “momentum, money and movement” in the governor’s race, including a nine-point jump in a state Democratic Party poll. In a chaotic field, that counts as a real moment.
⬇️ LOSER: HUGO SOTO-MARTÍNEZ, LOS ANGELES CITY COUNCILMEMBER
At a time when Los Angeles is drowning in homelessness, crime, budget stress, and basic quality-of-life failures, this is the hill he wants to climb: letting noncitizens vote in city elections. It is absurd that someone who is in the country in violation of U.S. immigration laws should be enfranchised to vote in American elections. This is not compassion. It is a direct assault on citizenship as a meaningful civic distinction.
⬇️ LOSERS: LA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Knowing full well that massive legal settlements were still coming, the board still blessed an outrageous package of employee raises that put labor first and taxpayers and parents last. The district now faces enormous financial pressure from settlements tied to the Mark Berndt abuse scandal, yet its leaders kept spending as though the bill would never come due. That is not compassion or good governance. It is fiscal recklessness wrapped in union politics.
⬇️ LOSERS: PROTESTERS “CELEBRATING” MAY DAY
May Day is not some harmless spring festival. Politically, it traces back to late 19th-century labor agitation and later became one of the most important symbolic dates for socialist and communist movements worldwide. So when activists in Los Angeles call for “no school, no work, no shopping,” they are not just holding a rally — they are deliberately invoking a radical political tradition built around mass economic disruption. That may excite the union left, but for working Californians trying to earn a paycheck, keep businesses open, and get kids educated, it is another reminder that the radical left’s idea of “solidarity” usually means everyone else pays the price. At its core, America is about individual liberty tied to individual responsibility. Those who seek to advance collectivism are rejecting the birthright of all Americans.
THE WORST WEEK IN CALIFORNIA POLITICS “AWARD” GOES TO…
Below is my weekly pithy video about the person in California politics who has had the worst week! You do NOT want to miss this rant — eight minutes of pure Jon. Upgrade today!
