Top Ten Winners & Losers In California Politics For The Week Ending 2/27 - 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.

This cartoon is POLITICAL SATIRE. I’ve made up this scenario to make a point.

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!

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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: JULIO FRENK, CHANCELLOR OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES

This week brought federal action against UCLA’s leadership as the Justice Department sued the university over an allegedly antisemitic hostile work environment that Jewish and Israeli faculty and staff endured, accusing administrators of ignoring or even enabling pervasive harassment following pro-Palestinian protests. The lawsuit alleges systemic failure to protect employees and enforce basic nondiscrimination policies, and also raises disturbing questions about how rampant antisemitism rose within UCLA’s community under current leadership. Leadership lapses at a flagship public university undermine trust and accountability at the highest academic levels.

⬇️ LOSER: ALBERTO CARVALHO, SUPERINTENDENT OF THE LOS ANGELES UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

This week’s headline-grabbing FBI raids on the Los Angeles Unified School District superintendent’s home and office signal a severe erosion of trust in the state’s largest public school system. Federal agents investigating potential misuse of an AI chatbot initiative have escalated to search warrants, thrusting district leadership into a legal and ethical crisis. Regardless of eventual charges, the optics of this intervention damage credibility, distract from student needs, and expose governance failures at the top of one of the nation’s most consequential school districts.

⬆️ WINNER: MARK KERSEY, PRESIDENT & CEO OF SAN DIEGO TAXPAYERS ASSOC.

Tapped to lead the San Diego County Taxpayers Association, the former San Diego City Councilmember steps into one of the region’s most consequential policy roles. With experience inside City Hall and credibility in fiscal debates, he brings both political savvy and policy depth to the job. This appointment positions the organization for a more aggressive, disciplined defense of taxpayers as local governments continue to search for new revenue streams. If Mark wasn’t a winner for this new role, he would be a winner for having his own brand of bourbon whiskey! Oh yes, Mark has a great column up at the California Post.

⬇️ LOSER: GOVERNOR GAVIN NEWSOM

The Governor frequently makes this list — and this week is no exception. While Californians grapple with crime, fentanyl, and repeat offenders cycling through the system, he was commemorating a newly rebranded San Quentin “Rehabilitation Center” — part of a $239 million state-funded transformation that includes a new 81,000-square-foot education complex designed to “reimagine” incarceration. That’s $239 million that could have been used to perhaps fund Prop. 36. The continued push to shift prisons away from punishment and toward improving the daily experience of convicts reflects a radical philosophical turn. It is fair to ask whether prioritizing comfort and programming for the worst offenders makes this state safer — or more dangerous. Good to know that acts of murder, mayhem, rape, and child molestation get you some awesome government support for your future endeavors. No doubt comforting to the victims and their families.

⬇️ LOSER: OMAR NAVARRO, PERENNIAL REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE

After multiple failed congressional bids, this week brought a far more consequential headline: a four-year federal prison sentence for campaign finance fraud. Prosecutors detailed how donor funds were funneled for personal use, turning what should have been political advocacy into criminal conduct. The case reinforces long-standing concerns about credibility and exploitation of grassroots supporters. Grifters like Navarro expose a problem with a “weak party” system, because the GOP could not deny this idiot the ability to run as a Republican.

⬆️ WINNER: SCOTT PIKE, LOS ANGELES FIREFIGHTER

Testifying under oath, this Los Angeles firefighter stated that the Lachman Fire was not fully extinguished when crews were ordered to leave — a critical detail given that the Lachman blaze preceded the devastating Palisades Fire. That timeline matters. If an earlier fire was not fully contained, it raises serious questions about command decisions and risk management. In an environment where agencies instinctively circle the wagons, his willingness to speak plainly reinforces accountability and the public’s right to know what actually happened.

⬇️ LOSER: GRANT PARKS, CALIFORNIA STATE AUDITOR

California taxpayers pay the State Auditor to spotlight government problems and propose clear legislative fixes. For years, former auditor Elaine Howle issued annual transparency reports listing outstanding recommendations needing legislative action — a kind of public accountability checklist. That reporting stopped in 2022 after her retirement and the appointment of Grant Parks, leaving no easy way for the public or lawmakers to see which recommendations remain unresolved. As a result, CBS News had to build its own database to fill the transparency gap left by the auditor’s office. The decision to discontinue the oversight reports under Parks weakens public insight and invites taxpayer waste.

⬇️ LOSER: CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATIC LEGISLATORS

For more than a decade, lawmakers — overwhelmingly Democratic — have repeatedly ignored routine audit fixes. A CBS News California investigation found that legislators have failed to enact roughly three out of every four state audit recommendations requiring changes to the law, leaving more than 300 statutory fixes unresolved. Many audit-backed bills were introduced, only to die quietly in committee without public votes, reflecting chronic inaction even when taxpayers paid for these audits. This serial disregard costs billions, perpetuates government waste, and undermines accountability — a dereliction by a Legislature that asked for the audits yet refuses to act on them.

⬇️ LOSER: STATE SENATOR TOM UMBERG

At a time when safeguarding election integrity should be paramount, this California Democratic lawmaker has advanced a proposal that amounts to creating “sanctuary polling places” — effectively shielding individuals in the country illegally from immigration enforcement right at the ballot box. Under this idea, agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement would be barred from entering the vicinity of a polling site, even when acting on lawful orders. As an attorney, he should know such a law would be legally unenforceable and likely unconstitutional, yet he still pushes it, signaling misplaced priorities and a fundamental disregard for both the rule of law and voter confidence.

⬇️ LOSER: STATE SENATOR MARÍA ELENA DURAZO & ASSEMBLYMEMBER JOAQUIN ARAMBULA

California’s health care system is already bloated, inefficient, and failing the very citizens it claims to serve — and now these lawmakers want to expand Medi-Cal further by restoring full coverage for illegal aliens in 2027. Costs continue climbing, providers are stretched thin, and taxpayers are footing the bill. Expanding benefits to citizens of other nations who entered illegally, while the state cannot competently manage its existing obligations, reflects backward priorities and deep fiscal irresponsibility — and seeks to further blur the distinction between law-abiding legal immigrants and those who jumped in line, violated the law, and knew it.

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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.